Six-man rotation?
The Wild Things have used six starting pitchers - Andy Schindling, Jason Neitz, Zach Groh, Brian McCullough, Aaron (A.J.) Jenkins and Craig Snipp - since the all-star break. In those starts, the six have combined for a 2.40 ERA, which is a large reason why the Wild Things are 6-1 since the break.
But can a team go with a six-man pitching rotation? Washington doesn't have a pitcher who can be considered an ace, so why not try a six-man rotation?
Manager Mark Mason says that's not a possibility, at least next month.
"If we did that, it would be almost like a seven-man rotation in August, when we're off for four consecutive Mondays," Mason said. "Not enough rest is bad, and sometimes too much enough rest is bad too."
Mason did say that he'll likely continue with the six starting pitchers for one more trip through the rotation.
"We might have to do that because of the rainout and doubleheader we had at Southern Illinois," Mason said. "If we go with a five-man rotation, we'd have to bring someone back on short rest and I don't want to do that."
So who gets dropped from the rotation late next week? The most likely candidate is Jenkins because he would give Washington a left-hander in the bullpen. Another possibility is McCullough, who pitches exclusively from the stretch position and has extensive experience as a reliever.
Here's guessing that Jenkins goes to the bullpen, but if he makes another strong start it will make the decision doubly difficult.
But can a team go with a six-man pitching rotation? Washington doesn't have a pitcher who can be considered an ace, so why not try a six-man rotation?
Manager Mark Mason says that's not a possibility, at least next month.
"If we did that, it would be almost like a seven-man rotation in August, when we're off for four consecutive Mondays," Mason said. "Not enough rest is bad, and sometimes too much enough rest is bad too."
Mason did say that he'll likely continue with the six starting pitchers for one more trip through the rotation.
"We might have to do that because of the rainout and doubleheader we had at Southern Illinois," Mason said. "If we go with a five-man rotation, we'd have to bring someone back on short rest and I don't want to do that."
So who gets dropped from the rotation late next week? The most likely candidate is Jenkins because he would give Washington a left-hander in the bullpen. Another possibility is McCullough, who pitches exclusively from the stretch position and has extensive experience as a reliever.
Here's guessing that Jenkins goes to the bullpen, but if he makes another strong start it will make the decision doubly difficult.
Labels: A.J. Jenkins, Andy Schindling, Brian McCullough, Craig Snipp, Jason Neitz, Mark Mason, Zach Groh
posted by Chris Dugan at
11:34 AM
44 Comments:
This comment has been removed by the author.
My guess is Jenkins goes to the bullpen as well.
Wow, I thought I was in the movie "Groundhog Day". The last game I had attended before last night was on July 12 against Evansville. In that game, Jason Neitz was excellent, and the Wild Things lost after a bullpen meltdown. Same thing last night! 2 of the baserunners who scored in the 7th reached base via a walk. Most of the runs, however, came as Beach Bums hitters took batting practice against Edwards and Lucas. But the 2 free passes made up the difference in the score.
If you weren't there last night, you missed Matt Sutton gunning down TC's Robby Alcombrack trying to score on a sacrifice fly with a perfect throw in the 3rd inning. Shades of Dave Parker in the All-Star game ('79?).
If Ernie Banks' 7th inning blast to right field hooks 6 feet to the left, perhaps the outcome of the game would have been different. Anybody care to guess when Grant Psomas will break the team record of 24 homers in a season? He's got 19 already with 40 games to go!
Good luck to Kris Rochelle in his future career. He was a hard-nosed player and will be missed. One last note: Evansville signed ex-Lake Erie OF Luke Hetherington yesterday. Go Wild Things!
July 25, 2009 7:54 AM
I doubt Kris Rochelle will be missed by anyone that met him.
You are right about that. Now, if we could just get rid of the Banks guy.
Well, your cars would be safer parked near the outfield fence if we got rid of Ernie Banks. Other than that, keeping a guy that bats .361 (2nd in the league) with 13 homers, 36 RBI and a whopping .694 slugging percentage would seem to make an awful lot of sense. So he seems to get a little ticked off when he doesn't come through in the clutch....good! I'll take a player who plays with passion anytime. Ernie Banks is the most feared hitter in the Frontier League. Let's enjoy him while we're lucky enough to have him.
Never had the pleasure of meeting Kris Rochelle personally, but you do have to admire a guy that rehabbed his butt off just play for peanuts in the Frontier League. He was a good competitor.
This is in a story in the Evansville paper about the Otters signing Hetherington:
Hetherington said he was one of 14 players and two coaches involved in an incident in a hotel when the Crushers were on a road trip at River City and he was the scapegoat.
"I'll take it for what it is," Hetherington said. "Maybe it's fate that I came back here."
Well, good thing we didn't "get rid of that Banks guy", because big Ernie turned in YET ANOTHER monster performance tonight. 2 more homers, and shame on you if you're not witnessing this freak of a talent in person. 2 called K's on big Ernie as well, and having front row seats behind the plate tonight, I can tell you that he was robbed on some calls. He also was charged with an error tonight which should have gone to McCullough, who dropped a catchable throw.
Yet another quality start tonight, this time by Brian McCullough. And it was nice to see Michael Lucas and Justin Edwards rebound from bad outings on Friday night to pitch an inning each of scoreless relief tonight. Nick Peterson, on the other hand, just didn't have it tonight. But how about Keith Meyer slamming the door on Wild Things killer Robbie Knapp to end the game? Which brings me to a question I've been meaning to ask. Why in the world do so many folks leave before the 9th inning? Crazy! Anything can happen in this league, and no lead is safe. When Meyer's heater blew past Knapp's bat I thought I was going to vault right out of my seat and over the backstop.
Lady luck seems to be smiling on the Wild Things lately. In the East Division, Traverse City loses their closer, Lake Erie releases an all-star, and Midwest loses their top pitcher. And they are playing this series without their top player, slugger Jimmy Baker, who is out with strep throat. EVERYTHING is going the WT's way the past couple of weeks.
Chris Dugan, by my count there are just 23 players on the active roster....who will be the new guy? It was nice to see Dan Horvath back on the hill at CEP, too bad he's on the other team.
Finally, Florence's Preston Vancil threw a 149 pitch, 7 walks, no-hitter tonight against Traverse City, in only his 2nd start of the season.
It's been a long climb to .500, but they are finally there. Keep it going, Wild Things!
People leave in the 9th inning and any and every baseball game I've been to, the home fans stand and applaud when there are two outs in the 9th inning when the home team is winning. That's just baseball etiquette
my name is david grimes and i am from waterford, michigan. since we got the sliders this season i have made it a point to follow this leage and have been to every ball park.
I have been to washington for 5 games now and have read all the teams blogs and believe me, all the complaining you do is unjust. you have a great park, decent baseball and it's a very entertaining evening.
HOWEVER, you have every right to complain about the PA announcer. This guy (i don't know his name) flat out sucks. Actually, I have been to over 150 ballparks in my 70+ years and he is hands down the worst in professional sports history.
He misprounces name after name. He never pronounces the same name twice. Pronunciation is 100% of the job. A good PA announcer should give his home team energetic intros. You would think the away team was actually the home team by listening to him.
The last game I was at, he announced the wrong batter for all 6 batters in the inning. he then corrected one of the batters and still got the guy wrong. No excuse
The time before that, in the middle of an inning, he started announcing the wild things second basemaen, while the sliders were up. Doesn't top the time he started reading, while there were 2 outs and the pitcher was still pitching.
I don't know this guys name, but if i have only been to 5 games and he is this bad, i cant imagine how bad he is all year. For a professional sports franchise to employ a guy like that is not only unprofessional, it is flat out embarassing
david grimes
my name is david grimes
David, the FIRST rule on this blog is not to use your real name unless you want all the teenage kids to call you everything but a human. Also, you are too old to have a rational thought.
Don't "dis" our PA mand Bill DiFabio.
The Wild Things are a very professional organization and NEVER make any stupid decisions.
david
i dont think i have ever read a more factual statement on this blog. im glad you have noticed how awful bill is. i just dont see why no one else realizes. i got to get out to about 10 games this season and i now listen to the radio broadcast while im there to try and drown out the sound of bill defabio.
and the guy above was right. factual statement #2 is dont ever use your real name
so the man has no energy and is incapable of pronouncing a 2 syllable word without stumbling over it. wheres the problem?
There is a rumor that Bill DiFabio actually pays the Wild Things to let him be the P.A. announcer.
There is a rumor that Bill DiFabio actually pays the Wild Things to let him be the P.A. announcer.
One thing for sure is that the super intelligent and cheap Wild Things don't pay him much and their still getting cheated.
"I have been to washington for 5 games now and have read all the teams blogs and believe me, all the complaining you do is unjust. you have a great park, decent baseball and it's a very entertaining evening."
Yoy are just another person making statements about things you know nothing about
David, stay in Michigan and mind your Sliders. The WT management are just a loosly grouped bunch of donkeys stinking up the rest of the League. You will never find more a** holes in one place unless you go to Washingtonb, D.C.
Ad for the PA man - he's in a class by himself!
it is flat out embarassing
david grimes
David, what actually IS embarrassing is your 27 mistakes (unofficially by my count) in your post. Have you ever heard of capital letters, punctuation marks, etc? It makes it very difficult to believe that you are an adult of 70+ years. Have you ever noticed the blue "preview" box on this page? USE IT, please. I'm surprised the Sliders would even employ a PA announcer. After all, they average a whopping 489 fans per game. I personally think Bill is a fine announcer. I don't have any complaints about him. The most obnoxious announcer I've heard was a recent road opponent of the Wild Things. I can't remember if it was Traverse City or Southern Illinois.
How's this for a new routine for Bill....after Sliders' CF Zachary Pace gets on base yet AGAIN, Bill could say "there goes another reason to use Preparation H" because Pace is a pain in the butt! He's reached base in 8 of 10 plate appearances so far in this series. Sam DeLuca was the killer tonight, though. 3/5 with a homer and 4 RBI. Ouch.
Not much to cheer about for the Wild Things tonight, although big Ernie hit yet another homer. Who will get to shatter Loggins' record of 24 homers first? Psomas? Dempsey? Banks? Also, yet another highlight catch by Chris Sidick, per Mark and Radio Randy.
They can't win them all, they'll get 'em tomorrow!
next wt homer is wt single season franchise record i believe
Somebody needs to relay a message to Mark Mason: don't use your backup catcher as a pitcher!!!!!!!!
If Eachues is your backup catcher, why bring him in to pitch in the fourth inning? There is no logical explanation for this other than Mason is a total idiot and doesn't understand baseball.
What would have happened if Robbins would have gone down with a injury in the seventh inning? Or been ejected again? Who would have been the catcher? This isn't the first time this situation has happened. I remember Grandstrand or some infielder having to a catch an inning or two in a game.
Is Mason just naturally stupid or did he work hard to get this stupid? There's not a manager anywhere in baseball who would use the only backup catcher as a pitcher in the fourth inning. That move is so stupid you can make a case for firing the guy on the spot.
You would think Ross would have the common sense to tell Mason to stop doing this. Maybe Franni will tell Mason to stop doing that? No, she's too busy counting the parking money.
speaking about robbins, it could hurt the team big in the long run, that the entire league is going to run on him until he can throw someone out. i think he has only thrown out 5 of a potential 49 base stealers.
i may be off on that, i don't have the numbers infront of me anymore, but the catching position looks to be a huge weakness at the momment. that doesn't take into effect his non-existing bat.
swiss, I usually agree with your baseball discussion, but the fact that you find DiFabio to be a good PA announcer means that you simply do not make it to the ballpark enough and rely on the WJPA staff to get you your information, you are a complete idiot, or you are somehow related to/know DiFabs personally.
Please go ahead and tell me which one it is.
Now Swisscheda is the new "policeman" on this blog. I'm getting a little fed up with his ‘holier than thou ‘attitude. Just because he is a WT apologist does not give him the right to critique everybody else’s comments. He gets on here every day with his analysis of what’s good and bad about the WT.
Now, he thinks he can say what’s good and bad what other people post. I think we already understand that NOBODY knows more than you Swisscheda.
Go blow it out your exhaust pipe!
Joe from Gabby
Maybe Franni will tell Mason to stop doing that? No, she's too busy counting the parking money.
...............
Franni is no longer the head honcho in the Wild Things mess often referref to as their "Front Office". She blew the top of her head off yelling at employees during the country music concert. She is still a part owner but not the boss lady.
Things a looking up!
joe from gabby is back. must have let him out of rehab early
Franni out? hmm wonder if she'll be at the game tonight? If so I'd say she's still in. And I told you the WWT would be starting the climb back to .500!
"Hey Washpa, whatta ya say, the things are going to win today!"
There seems to be a lot of ongoing problems with the WT management.
First, they cancelled the annual picnic given for the season ticket holders. I’m
not a season ticket holder but I know several people that are. These people are really upset by that
and view it as a sign that the WT no longer appreciate their patronage.
The parking situation has been screwed up from the opening day of the season. This is especially true
for the handicapped people. I am handicapped and have had to walk much farther to get into CEP
than ever before. Some of the kids working the parking lot are testy little jerks.
The WT told the Wild Ones, the WT fan club, that they were not welcome this season and therefore
the Wild Ones were disbanded.
There was an ugly incident between the concessions manager and two season ticket holders recently
that nearly ended up with a physical fight. The way that manager acted would have gotten him a punch in
the nose if he had tried that crap on me.
During the Willie Nelson concert the ushers acted more like thugs than anything else. Then Franni
wigged out on the kids at the concession stand because they ran out of poison hot dogs. That was
fun to watch but not too much fun for the poor youngsters that were getting reamed out! Needles to
say that whole evening was total disorganization in steroids!
Then there is always that fantastic Bill DiFabio. What a friggin goofy idiot he is. Can’t that guy get anything right?
So, it’s no wonder to me that, even though the teams has been playing fairly well recently, that they still can’t get people into the ball park. The economy isn’t that bad yet. The WT management is just too big for it’s britches. Well, you reap what you sow.
BTW: Franni never did give Chris Dugan that interview. Is she ever a class act, or what?
"So, it’s no wonder to me that, even though the teams has been playing fairly well recently, that they still can’t get people into the ball park. The economy isn’t that bad yet."
Um, the Wild Things are in the top five in the league in attendance. But I guess to the above anonymous, that's not very good.
^ Are you off your rocker?? Top 5?? The FL doesn't check that, they only report what the teams give them, so WWT makes up their attendance every night and adds about 800 to the actual sold. Look around the ballpark, attendance is struggling!
There will be 1,500 there tonight
5th in attendance out of 11 franchises (Midwest obviously doesn't count). Not good. Average, but not good.
Maybe it's not great, but it's not bad either. Considering 3 of the top 4 teams ahead of Washington in attendance are three of the newest teams to the league. Attendance is stable.
Joe from Gbby said:
Now Swisscheda is the new "policeman" on this blog. I'm getting a little fed up with his ‘holier than thou ‘attitude.
For once in his life Joe is right about something. Swisscheda thinks his you know what doesn't stink.
Won't be long until he will think he is Chris Dugan. If this guy had a real job we would not have to suffer through all this Wild Things analsis crap every day.
He is probably some smart a** from the WT office/ Who else would care about all this FL minutiae?
Anon said
Attendance is stable.
Compared to what?
What? Franni's out? So who's running the S.S. Disorganization?
It's amazing me the team has won this many games while riding on a train wreck.
So the owners cancelled the annual picnic given for the season ticket holders. Doesn't surprise me. That would require spending a few $$ to buy a couple packs of hot dogs. Cheap, cheap, cheap.
They also forced the Wild Ones to disband. Hmmm. I guess Wild Things ownership didn't want to be shown up by a better-run organization.
With the front office in a constant state of disorgnization, wouldn't you think the league's commissioner would pop in once in a while to see what the hell is going on in Washington? I'm sure he would be surprised if he took a look around and talked to the fans. Has the guy even been in Washington this year?
I can see this team being sold by year's end. I'll put the odds at 70-30 in favor of a new ownership group by January.
I can see this team being sold by year's end. I'll put the odds at 70-30 in favor of a new ownership group by January.
....
God would that ever be great!! Too good to be true. OUT wilth all the bun holes!
Anonymous said...
He is probably some smart a** from the WT office
Wow, you know you've truly achieved stardom when one of the notorious "anonymous" bloggers accuses you of being a Wild Things office employee. LMFAO!!!! Dude, they do make medications now for your paranoid delusions!
What a pounding the Wild Things dished out tonight. Stars of the game go to Phil Laurent, who went 4/5 with 4 runs scored and 3 RBI, Grant Psomas, going 2/4 with a monster homer and 4 RBI, and Chris Sidick, getting on base in all 5 plate appearances, going 2/2 with 4 runs scored. And yet another outstanding catch by Sidick in the 5th inning. Good start by Schindling as well. He and Aaron Guinn limited Sliders CF Zachary Pace to a 1/5 night.
Let's hope Brett Grandstrand is O.K. after that collision at 2nd with Robbie Knapp. This guy gets banged up time after time, yet keeps coming back and plugging away.
Oh, forgot to say excellent job to the gentleman who sang the anthem on Sunday night. And excellent job as well to the very young lady who sang tonight, very tough thing to do in front of 2000+ people. Not as courageous as slamming Wild Things employees anonymously, of course, but brave!
Chiizu wa kimitachi no naka ni iru!
To the handicapped person complaining about parking, that is complete and total bullshit because everytime I show up to the stadium half of the parking lot is roped off and they said it's for handicapped parking! So if you "have to walk much farther to get to CEP than ever before," you're doing it wrong.
"that is complete and total bull...."
what?! you mean somebody wrote something on this blog that wasn't 100% completely accurate? if that's the case, mr. NOT night editor could be the new head bloggist here.
OMG, chris dugan, come back from vacation quickly and shut this thing down. the whole world has gone to hell in a handbasket!
Hey Swisscheda, so just what did you tell us about the game last night that we did not already know?
You’re so full of yourself that it's sickening. Go back into you’re shell and give us all a break
and what did YOU tell us that we didn't already know...about the game or yourself?
the wild things bashed the sliders. we knew that.
you're an idiot. we knew that.
i see Ron Wilson is writing as anonymous now and not signing his name at the end of the posts (i wonder why?), and his followers are back too,oh joy .... im sure Chris Dugan is happy because this blog was getting no action for the longest time. The only problem i see now is Swisscheda is getting the baulk of the "hate" posts from the army of grumpy old men,... sorry you have to be subjected to that Swiss, i enjoy your posts, dont take it personally, Ron just gets mad when the attention isn't directed at him so he gathers his troops up for a meeting at the games and discusses what to say on here. Can't blame the guy, when you hate the world that much it must be hard to enjoy the game like the rest of us do.
Swisscheda,
I also enjoy your posts. Keep the baseball talk rolling. The team is playing well and it's nice to see somehow write about what actually happens on the field.
Always enjoyable when the talk is about baseball...keep it up.
swiss,
also agree. keep posting. it is a baseball blog. don't take it personally. these old bastards love all the attention
Folks, don't worry. There is a greater chance of the Wild Things having a sellout on "Joe from Gabby Bobblehead Night" than there is of me quitting the blog. I do appreciate the support. Especially from Bob Gregg. It is an honor to join you among the Top 10 hated bloggers...ha ha. Am I supposed to be afraid of a few anonymous cyberpunks? LMFAO!!! What are you going to do, beat me up for my milk money while waiting in Ross Vecchio's line? If nothing else, the hate comments give me a good laugh after work. There must be a Prozac shortage in Washington today.
I really do appreciate the support sincerely, folks. Show your support even more by participating more often on the blog. I don't know who the haters are, and I really don't care. There are posters who never have a kind word to say....why bother? They hate Bill D., Dutch, Ross Vecchio, Mark Mason, the official scorer, the concession employees, etc etc. Anyone with an I.Q. of at least double digits would notice that the vast majority of my posts are positive and supportive. The haters....well they hate themselves, probably. Oh well, I'm sorry for you. I have a pretty happy life. I've been to at least 50 or so Wild Things games since 2006. I've taken a variety of guests with me and never heard a complaint. If you can't enjoy yourself at a Wild Things game, do something else more entertaining, like heckle the greeter at Wal-Mart. Watching the Wild Things sure beats watching the Pirates constantly lose and have an annual fire sale. Sure, the players are far superior in the majors, but MLB will continue to be completely irrelevant until they get a salary cap. And that will never happen. Give me the Wild Things anytime, it's fun and exciting. There's nothing more foolish than paying to see something that you hate.
I have never intended to be the #1 blogger here. I am a devoted fan, so I post often. Chris Dugan does an excellent job of keeping the fans informed, and it is greatly appreciated. Bill D. does an excellent job, do your worst, haters.
very well said swiss
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