This, that and some other things
After a week of much-needed vacation, it's time to get back to this blog. Here are a few thoughts and notes about the blog, the Wild Things and the Frontier League:
* While on vacation, I checked this blog using both my wife's laptop and my son's laptop. I knew Blogger had problems with the word verification system and was supposed to be working on a fix, still I was surprised to notice that word verification wasn't working when using each laptop. My guess is the word verification problem is related to Windows 7, which each laptop was using. I've never had a problem with the word verification when using Windows Vista at home or a Mac.
As a result of this, I decided to disarm the word verification for the time being. If we get hit with spam, I'll have to turn it back on.
* Pete Rose Jr., who was a finalist for the Wild Things' managerial job (he was brought to Washington for an interview and had some strong recommendations) last offseason was hired last week as the Florence Freedom's hitting coach.
* The winner of Cheap Publicity Stunt of the Week is the Lake Erie Crushers, who announced they they will offer two-time NBA MVP LeBron James a contract worth $1,600 a month, which is the maximum player contract in the Frontier League.
The Crushers also are offering James a host family to “eliminate the stress of a potential commute from the Akron area to Avon.” James also could get a luxury suite where he and other NBA free agents could hold a summit.
It’s all part of Keep LBJ in the C-L-E night during the Crushers game Wednesday. The team will wear special Cavs-themed jersey and with the number 6, which is the same number LeBron plans to switch to. Those jerseys will be auctioned off and, if LeBron comes to the game, the money will be given to the LeBron James Family Foundation.
* The Wild Things made two roster moves last week, putting pitcher Zach Groh on the disabled list and signing right-handed pitcher Matt Lackner (6-4, 210). I don't know if Groh is on the 7-day or 14-day DL because the transaction is not listed on the Frontier League website.
Lackner had a 5-4 record this spring at Park University, an NAIA school in Parkville, Mo. If you look at Lackner's statistics, one thing stands out: He threw three shutouts this season yet had an ERA of 5.00. That's hard to do.
As a junior, Lackner had a 9-1 record with one shutout and a 3.41 ERA.
Lackner made his Wild Things debut Saturday night and it was a rocky one. he entered in the ninth inning of a win over Windy City and faced five batters, giving up four hits, a wild pitch and three runs.
* Which is more surprising: The Southern Illinois Miners leading the West Division with a 31-4 record and 19-game winning streak or the Oakland County Cruisers being in first place in the East Division while playing only six home games, none of which were played in Oakland County, Mich.?
* One player who I thought had a good chance of ending up in a Wild Things uniform was former Seton Hill University catcher Pat Trettel. An NCAA Division II All-American, Trettel played at North Allegheny High School, where Wild Things coach Bob Bozutto is the athletic director. After going undrafted this month, Trettel signed last week with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the independent American Association.
Note to self: Find out when the Wild Things plan to make a decision on which turf company will install the new playing surface at Consol Energy Park.
* Former Wild Things pitcher Tom Cochran has performed well for the Carolina Mudcats, the Cincinnati Reds' affiliate in the Class AA Southern league. Cochran has a 4-3 record, 2.53 ERA and seven no-decisions in 14 starts. The league is hitting only .235 against Cochran, who finished last season in Class AAA.
* While on vacation, I checked this blog using both my wife's laptop and my son's laptop. I knew Blogger had problems with the word verification system and was supposed to be working on a fix, still I was surprised to notice that word verification wasn't working when using each laptop. My guess is the word verification problem is related to Windows 7, which each laptop was using. I've never had a problem with the word verification when using Windows Vista at home or a Mac.
As a result of this, I decided to disarm the word verification for the time being. If we get hit with spam, I'll have to turn it back on.
* Pete Rose Jr., who was a finalist for the Wild Things' managerial job (he was brought to Washington for an interview and had some strong recommendations) last offseason was hired last week as the Florence Freedom's hitting coach.
* The winner of Cheap Publicity Stunt of the Week is the Lake Erie Crushers, who announced they they will offer two-time NBA MVP LeBron James a contract worth $1,600 a month, which is the maximum player contract in the Frontier League.
The Crushers also are offering James a host family to “eliminate the stress of a potential commute from the Akron area to Avon.” James also could get a luxury suite where he and other NBA free agents could hold a summit.
It’s all part of Keep LBJ in the C-L-E night during the Crushers game Wednesday. The team will wear special Cavs-themed jersey and with the number 6, which is the same number LeBron plans to switch to. Those jerseys will be auctioned off and, if LeBron comes to the game, the money will be given to the LeBron James Family Foundation.
* The Wild Things made two roster moves last week, putting pitcher Zach Groh on the disabled list and signing right-handed pitcher Matt Lackner (6-4, 210). I don't know if Groh is on the 7-day or 14-day DL because the transaction is not listed on the Frontier League website.
Lackner had a 5-4 record this spring at Park University, an NAIA school in Parkville, Mo. If you look at Lackner's statistics, one thing stands out: He threw three shutouts this season yet had an ERA of 5.00. That's hard to do.
As a junior, Lackner had a 9-1 record with one shutout and a 3.41 ERA.
Lackner made his Wild Things debut Saturday night and it was a rocky one. he entered in the ninth inning of a win over Windy City and faced five batters, giving up four hits, a wild pitch and three runs.
* Which is more surprising: The Southern Illinois Miners leading the West Division with a 31-4 record and 19-game winning streak or the Oakland County Cruisers being in first place in the East Division while playing only six home games, none of which were played in Oakland County, Mich.?
* One player who I thought had a good chance of ending up in a Wild Things uniform was former Seton Hill University catcher Pat Trettel. An NCAA Division II All-American, Trettel played at North Allegheny High School, where Wild Things coach Bob Bozutto is the athletic director. After going undrafted this month, Trettel signed last week with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the independent American Association.
Note to self: Find out when the Wild Things plan to make a decision on which turf company will install the new playing surface at Consol Energy Park.
* Former Wild Things pitcher Tom Cochran has performed well for the Carolina Mudcats, the Cincinnati Reds' affiliate in the Class AA Southern league. Cochran has a 4-3 record, 2.53 ERA and seven no-decisions in 14 starts. The league is hitting only .235 against Cochran, who finished last season in Class AAA.
Labels: Lake Erie Crushers, Matt Lackner, Pat Trettel, Pete Rose Jr., Tom Cochran, Zach Groh
posted by Chris Dugan at
3:34 PM
9 Comments:
Time to shake things up some. The Wild Things really need to make some roster changes – NOW!
So, who should go, and who should stay. My first three picks for the go list are, 1. Parker because he just doesn’t know how to play the game. 2. Duron because he can’t use his glove except for maybe keeping his hand warm. and 3. Dempsey. because he is just dead weight. He is just used, with very few exceptions, as the DH. I don’t think it is worth it have a player taking a roster spot that does not produce any more than he does. He is very good at displaying his immaturity went he fails to perform which is most of the time. For some reason, probably because of “going for the fences” at every AB, Dempsey gets under the ball and pops up too much. Probably needs to cut down his swing a bit.
Anyway, those are the changes I would make. I don’t expect that everybody would agree. Since most of us think some changes are needed, what changes would you suggest, and why?
When Dempsey does deliver it is usually spectacular but, if you take a hard look at it, you will find he
usually fails much more often than not. It is just the nature of the game to fail more often than succeed. My problem with Dempsey is that he is very far from being a complete player. The DH is the biggest farce in all of baseball designed by people that want to see players like Dempsey hit the long ball instead of having to use the bunt when the pitcher’s spot in the batting order is due. I guess it’s what the fans want but it definitely takes a lot of strategy out of the game. It certainly keeps some ‘geezers’ on the payroll.
I would start at the top with Darin. I would keep Sidick,Delaney and Parker and get rid of everyone else.I would also get rid of whom ever makes the changes to the roster on their web site.(Not up to date).
The blame starts with the starting rotation. How many quality starts does the staff have this season? It surely has to be near the bottom of the league, I would guess? Through the first 36 games, the starters have issued a combined 190 walks/hit batsmen. Horrendous. Southern Illinois just released Ryan Bird, who was a dominant starter in the league the past 2 seasons. Any word on why? Is he injured? If not, what are the Wild Things waiting for? Could he do any worse than what we currently have?
Jacob Dempsey.....wow. 3 homers, 16 RBI, and a .233 average. He averaged a RBI per game the past 2 seasons. If I had to guess, I'd say the offseason shoulder surgery is at the root of the problem. The veterans are supposed to be impact players, clearly he is not this season. Next year, he is too old to play in the Frontier League, unless the Wild Things give him the "super-vet" designation. They need to make a hard decision on Dempsey soon. The lack of power on this team is a major concern. McGonigle has no homers, Amar has just one. The only 2 starters I'd keep are Chris Sidick and the O'Conner/Robbins platoon.
The lack of crowds is alarming, and there is zero atmosphere at the games now. I've been to 6 of them so far this season. At this rate, they won't be here much longer. The blog has been boring as well. The articles are good as always, but the lack of participation clearly shows there just isn't much interest anymore. Either that, or people just tired of the Springer-like mentality of last year. Recent events in my life prevent me from listening to as many games as I'd like, or blogging like I used to.
Finally, how about those Southern Illinois Miners? 32-4, and riding a 20 game winning streak. And all of that with "clubhouse cancer" Ernie Banks. Great trade, Ross Vecchio! Ernie is only hitting .241 and is currently on the DL, but has 20 RBI in the 23 games he's played.
I am more than just tired of Dempsey’s “act”, and that’s just what it is – an act!! Why does is glory seeker the DH every day? Give us a break Mr. Everson.
As far as Swiss Cheeda’s (a.k.a. Dutch) remarks about giving Demspey “super vet” status – you’ve just got to be kidding, right? The only thing super about Dempsey is his total lack of hustle. He was thrown out at first on a play that he should have beaten out if he had any hustle at all!
The lack of ‘atmosphere’ that Dutch referred to is terrible. The guy that is doing it now is trying, VERY, VERY, trying! He even pulled that whoop, whoop, crap again last night. That just has to be the most stupid thing I’ve ever seen at a public event.
The new guy Stephens actually looks like he enjoys playing baseball so; he won’t be long for this team!
IMO, "that whoop, whoop, crap" is pretty funny.
IMO, "that whoop, whoop, crap" is pretty funny.
Dumbest thing ever. They should refund your money for having to put up with that at a ballgame
The above anonymous has no sense of humor. Maybe he's suffering from constipation. Maybe he sits too close to Ron Wilson. It's funny!
As far as Swiss Cheeda’s (a.k.a. Dutch)
Buddy, whatever you are on, PLEASE take a smaller dosage. I am not "Dutch". And it's sad that you still can't spell my nickname even when it's right there in front of you. I have met "Dutch" many times, he's a nice guy. But even he would be the first to tell you he couldn't possibly follow what was going on during the game, because he was busy with his emcee duties. I have yet to see him at a Wild Things game this year, I hope he's doing well. Pardon me if I focus intently on the game while I'm at CEP.
And here's hoping Dempsey snaps out of the season long slump. I have to laugh when I see complaints about him swinging for the fence, that's what power hitters DO. Gee, all he did was swat 31 homers last year while playing HURT for peanuts, the nerve of the guy!
There is still time to salvage the season, but the Things had better make a move immediately. But I really think they are destined to finish right where they are at now.
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