Friday, August 27, 2010

The Fighting ThunderBolts

You can tell the playoffs are on the horizon for the Frontier League because tempers are starting to flare when contenders meet. There was an incident in Windy City's game Thursday night against Oakland County in which, according to the Daily Southtown, punches were thrown. Oakland County won the game in extra innings to pull to within two games of first-place Windy City in the East Division.

If punches were indeed thrown, it will be interesting to see if any suspensions will be enforced. The Wild Things begin a three-game series tonight at Windy City.

Read the story here.

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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Cleaning out the notebook

Some notes and thoughts and we head down the homestretch of the Frontier League season:

* It seems far removed from the Wild Things and Lake Erie Crushers, two teams who are playing out the string tonight at Consol Energy Park, but there are excellent playoff races in both divisions of the Frontier League.

Windy City rallied Tuesday night to edge Oakland County 3-2 as the ThunderBolts pushed their lead in the East to 2 games over the Cruisers. Meanwhile, Traverse City won a game over Kalamazoo that it probably should have lost and now trails Oakland County by only 1 game and Windy City by 3. Keep in mind that all of Traverse City's remaining 11 games will be played at home, including the final three against Washington.

In the West, Southern Illinois has ran away with the division title. The Miners clinched a playoff berth Tuesday. Gateway, meanwhile, missed a chance to pull closer to second-place River City. The Rascals lead Gateway by 2 1/2 games for the final playoff spot. River City has a big advantage in the remaining schedule as they do not play another game against a team with a winning record.

* Southern Illinois, which was 32-4 at one point, might have seen its championship chances take a big hit earlier this week. Joe Augustine (10-3, 1.97), who is a serious contender for the league's Pitcher of the Year Award, had an emergency appendectomy Monday. The team was returning from Lake Erie when Augustine began experiencing pain. When it was determined Augustine needed medical attention, the bus was within seven miles of a hospital in Louisville.

Augustine leads the league in wins and strikeouts (121). You might recall that Augustine pitched nine shutout innings last week at Consol Energy Park in the game Washington won 1-0 in 11 innings.

Southern Illinois manager Mike Pinto hasn't ruled out having Augustine back for the playoffs, saying his pitcher will be permitted to resume throwing in "10 to 14 days." Pinto called it a "50-50" chance that Augustine will return in the postseason.

* Washington pitcher Justin Edwards, who suffered a groin injury during a start earlier this month at Southern Illinois and was put on the disabled list, was activated Tuesday night and looked sharp against Lake Erie, allowing only one hit in six innings.

Had Edwards left the Southern Illinois game only one out earlier, Washington would have had an interesting decision to make with the right-handed pitcher. A one-out earlier exit would have left Edwards with 60 innings pitched, which is a magic number in the Frontier League. Throw 60 1/3 innings and your roster classification is bumped up one level the next season. Stay at 60 and you status doesn't change. Had Edwards been at 60, Washington could have kept him on the DL for the remainder of the season and his status for next season would have remained at L1. Each FL team is permitted a maximum of 7 L1 players and 3 L2 players.

It doesn't matter now because Edwards was at 60 1/3 and threw six more innings, but this is the time of year when you see guys throughout the league being benched to keep their status from changing. Typically, about half the teams in the league do this. The only Washington player who is near a status-change mark is pitcher Zach Groh, who is currently on the DL. Groh, who is an L1, has pitched 57 1/3 innings.

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Monday, August 23, 2010

Mr. Popular

I was asked this question last week and couldn't come up with an answer that didn't include " ... but maybe (it was fill in the blank) or maybe (fill in the blank)."

The question: Who is the most popular player in Wild Things history? In other words, who was the biggest crowd favorite? There are several possibilities.

So who is/was it?

Friday, August 20, 2010

The Corn Crib

WJPA Radio's Randy Gore was kind enough to pass along these photos of the Frontier League's newest ballpark, The Corn Crib, in Normal, Ill. It's the home of the Normal CornBelters.

The unique parts of this ballpark are the corn stalks in right field, a throwback to "Field of Dreams." I believe the clubhouses are located in the building behind the scoreboard. Players walk through the cornstalk area and enter the field in right centerfield.

If you click on the photo, then you should be able to view a larger image.











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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Cochran a hit

Former Wild Things pitcher Tom Cochran had a big night Monday, leading the Carolina Mudcats (Reds) to a 3-2 victory over the Jacksonville Suns (Marlins) in the Class AA Southern League.

Cochran pitched five shutout innings, allowing only two hits, and improving his record to 8-5. The eight wins are the team high.

The most impressive part of Cochran's night was that he had as many hits as a batter as he allowed as a pitcher. Cochran's single up the middle in the second inning drove in a run. He later led off the fourth inning with a double and scored.

Because the Frontier League uses the designated hitter, Cochran batted only one time in his two seasons with Washington. Last year, he was 1-for-21 in the Reds' system. This year, he's hitting .138.

It's worth noting that both of Cochran's hits Monday came off former major leaguer Andrew Miller, who was the Detroit Tigers' first-round draft pick (sixth overall) in 2006. Miller has 16 wins in the major leagues and was part of the trade that sent Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from Florida to Detroit. Miller's star has dimmed as his record is 1-8 with Jacksonville.

UPDATE: Miller, despite his struggles, was called up to the majors Thursday by the Marlins. Here's hoping he doesn't have to pitch to Tom Cochran.

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He said what?

After entering the manager's office in the visitors' clubhouse at Consol Energy Park on Tuesday, Southern Illinois' Mike Pinto surprised me with this greeting:

"Chris, how's the blog doing? What's Ron Wilson been writing about?"

I almost fell off the couch.

It's official. The people who leave comments on this blog have an audience outside of the Washington area.

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Tuesday, August 17, 2010

5 Dempsey moments

Jacob Dempsey (pictured) who spent three seasons with the Wild Things as their designated hitter and won Frontier League home run and RBI titles, decided to "find something else to do" after Sunday's game against Normal and retired.

Dempsey put up off-the-charts numbers at Winthrop University (.403, 28 doubles, 17 home runs, 78 RBI) as a senior, was a 20th round draft pick of Philadelphia and finished fifth in the New York-Penn League in home runs in his only season in the Phillies' system. His defensive deficiencies are likely what led him to being released prior to the 2007 season.

The Wild Things pursued Dempsey for more than a year before getting him to sign. The left-handed slugger opted to return to college before joining her Wild Things.

He put up big numbers with Washington before an assortment of injuries hurt his production. He leaves as the franchise's record holder for career and single-season home runs and RBI.

Here are five memorable Dempsey moments, not including the shaving-cream-pie-in-the-face after Sunday's game:

1. Dempsey goes 4-for-4 with two home runs and a grand slam in a win July 25 of this season against Oakland County.

2. He hits a game-winning home run in the top of the 13th inning on May 27 of this season to beat the Kalamazoo Kings at Homer Stryker Field.

3. In a doubleheader at Midwest late last year, Dempsey goes 5-for-7 with three solo home runs, a double and four RBI. He sets the franchise's single-season RBI record that day.

4. In a game July 25, 2009, Dempsey hits two homers and drives in five runs in a two-inning span as Washington rallies to beat Traverse City.

5. On July 12, 2009 against Evansville, Dempsey steals his only base as a Wild Thing. I wasn't there that night, but there had to be some story behind that one.

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Sunday, August 15, 2010

Hits for everyone

Baseball is a game of statistics and numbers. There are wins, losses, runs, hits, errors, ERA and RBI. We know that 300 wins or 500 home runs usually gets you in the Hall of Fame, Joe Dimaggio had a 52-game hitting streak, Babe Ruth hit 714 home runs and Ted Williams was the last player to hit .400 for a season.

Numbers are what makes baseball fun for the fanatics, from historians to the fantasy league players. They also are what baseball players and coaches obsess over, far more than they should and moreso than players and coaches in other sports.

I can't recall ever hearing a running back question a statistician by saying, "I had 75 rushing yards, not 72. You're cheating me." Or a basketball coach say, "The statistics are wrong. John Doe, our point guard, only had eight turnovers in that game instead of nine. They should have given that one turnover to our shooting guard, Thumbs Skurcenski, because he should have caught that pass from Doe that ended up going out the gym door and into the concession stand."

But in baseball, it seems everyone questions the official scorer. Everyone thinks they or their guy is getting cheated. It's that way from the major leagues to the Frontier League. It's reached the point that I'm wondering if some players and coaches forget that the only statistics that are worth a damn at the end of the night are those found in the standings, under wins and losses.

I've covered major league games in which players called the pressbox and tried to get the official scorer to change an error to a hit or vice versa. Major league infielder Orlando Cabrera is famous for calling a pressbox twice during the same game a few years ago.

My best official scoring story doesn't involve a player or a coach. There was a game that had one of those unusual and seemingly hard-to-score plays. However, the play in question is described as a scoring example in the Baseball Rulebook. A couple of days after the game, a team executive demanded the official scorer change the ruling from a fielder's choice to a single because the player involved was having a bad season. The guy needed a hit. The scorer said he couldn't do that because the rulebook clearly states the play is scored a fielder's choice. The executive replied, "I don't care what the rulebook says, change it to a hit."

He didn't care what the rulebook states. Amazing!

That's an example of one of the problems with baseball these days: too many official scorers give away hits like they're lollipops. It seems they should have Hit Night as a ballpark promotion. Every batter who puts the ball in play gets a hit regardless of the result of the play.

We've reached the point that I feel bad for pitchers. Their ERA gets inflated because they induce a routine grounder but a major league middle infielder can't be expected to catch the ball if he has to take more than one step. It seems as if there's a rule that errors are scored in major league games only on throws that end up in the boxseats. If the ball stays on the field of play, it's a hit. I guess you can't score errors because it could hurt the fielder and the hitter in his next contract negotiations.

Managers and coaches usually have an agenda when asking an official scorer to review a call. Most of the time, the scoring decisions are routine. A quick explanation of the rules or judgment decision usually satisfies those questioning the calls.

Sometimes, however, you have to wonder if the people questioning the scoring were even watching the game. Here's an example: A Frontier League manager asked the Wild Things to change two scoring decisions in a game this year at Consol Energy Park. He wanted plays that were scored as errors on the Wild Things to be reversed and hits awarded to his batters.

On one of the two plays, the visiting team's batter hit a slow roller about 30 feet up the third-base line. The Washington catcher fielded the ball cleanly but his throw sailed down the right-field line. A throwing error on the catcher was correctly scored. Upon the request of the visiting coach, the scorer reviewed video of the play several days later. I watched the replay too. When the ball reached first base, the batter's lead foot was only to where the infield grass ends and the semi-circle cutout begins on the first-base line. Had the throw been on target, the batter would have been out by at least two full strides, yet the manager wanted hit. If anything, the play could have been changed to an error on the first baseman because the throw was catchable. No way was it a hit.

On the other play, the batter hit a ball that Washington's second baseman had go under his glove. The manager wanted it scored a double (on a grounder up the middle no less) because it would have given his player the cycle.

The more I think about it, the better that Hit Night promotion sounds. Hits for everyone.

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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Manager skipping series to play softball

The Wild Things begin a three-game series Friday at Consol Energy Park against the Normal CornBelters, the Frontier League's newest team.

The CornBelters are managed by Hal Lanier, pictured, the former major league infielder and 1986 National league Manager of the Year with the Houston Astros.

The 68-year-old Lanier, however, won't be in Washington this weekend. Word is he's staying behind in Normal, Ill., to play softball.

That's right, softball.

Lanier will skip the series in Washington to play in the State Farm Legends Softball Classic with a bunch of former St. Louis Cardinals, including ex-Pirates center fielder Andy Van Slyke and pitcher John Tudor.

With the CornBelters nine games out of a playoff berth in the West Division and Washington 10 1/2 games behind second-place Windy City in the East, the feeling in Normal is there's no need for Lanier to manage his team. Apparently, the CornBelters are sending only one coach to Washington.

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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Watch Wild Things-Miners game

You can watch a live webcast of the Wild Things' series at Southern Illinois at the following site:

Click here to watch.

Last year, the games included multiple-camera video and Southern Illinois' live radio feed. I checked out one game earlier this year and the only sound was the crowd microphone and the public address announcer, so who knows what you'll get tonight.

Monday, August 9, 2010

How many pitchers do you need?

The Wild Things made two roster moves prior to Sunday's game against the Traverse City Beach Bums. They put right-handed starting pitcher Zach Groh on the disabled list and signed catcher Scott Clement, who went 0-for-3 with a walk in his Washington debut while being the designated hitter.

Putting Groh on the DL, one day after Matt Vieira retired, left the Wild Things with only nine pitchers for the game. Clement, however, gives the Wild Things three catchers. With Washington down to the league minimum 22 active players, the Wild Things will likely be adding one or two pitchers prior to Tuesday night's series opener at Southern Illinois.

Clement had been playing for the St. George Roadrunners of the independent Golden League (it's the one indy based on the West Coast) when last week the Roadrunners closed shop and became a travel team. Ownership said the Roadrunners' money simply ran out, in part because beer sales were not permitted at home games. Manager Darrell Evans and his entire coaching staff were fired.

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Saturday, August 7, 2010

Vieira gone

According to the Frontier League website, Washington left-handed relief pitcher Matt Vieira has retired. Vieira was the losing pitcher in Friday night's 8-3 setback against the Traverse City beach Bums.

Vieira spent two years in the Florida Marlins' system, including one in the New York-Penn League with current Wild Things manager Darin Everson, before being signed by Washington this spring. Vieira had an 0-2 record and 5.52 ERA for Washington.

Prior to Friday's game, Washington put right-handed relief pitcher Sean Keeler (0-0, 5.59) on the disabled list. These two moves leave the Wild Things with only 10 pitchers and the league minimum 22 active players.

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Thursday, August 5, 2010

Sidick activated

The Wild Things activated outfielder Chris Sidick, pictured, from the disabled list today, though he is not in the starting lineup for Game 1 of a doubleheader tonight against Kalamazoo. Sidick has not played since pulling a hamstring in a game at Florence July 11. At the time of the injury, Sidick was in the top five in the Frontier League in batting average and on-base percentage and was leading the league in stolen bases.

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Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Blown call

So did anyone see the storm hit Consol Energy Park between 7 and 8 p.m. last night? I must have missed it. Surely, it was a doozy because the Wild Things' game against the Kalamazoo Kings was postponed at 8 p.m., approximately one hour after an announcement was made over the P.A. system that the game would start at 8:05.

So what happened in that hour between 7 and 8 that caused the game to be postponed? It had to be a storm, right?

But did it rain? No.

Was the tarp pulled and the water dumped in the outfield, making it unplayable? Sure, the outfield was it was unplayable, but the tarp was pulled before the announcement that the game would start at 8:05.

Did the umpires look at the outfield and give their opinion on whether the game should be played or not? Yes, but it's not the umpire's call to start or stop a game until the first pitch is thrown. The decision to postpone was in the hands of the Wild Things, and they dropped the ball on this one. It was a no-brainer to cancel ... at 5 p.m.

Anyone who was outside, or anywhere near a window, at 5 p.m. Wednesday could have told you that the Wild Things should postpone the game. When a storm rips through town, topples trees and knocks out stoplights only two hours before game, it time should be an indication to postpone a baseball game. When the storm rips four signs off the right-field wall and leaves three others flapping in the wind, it's a good indication that the game should be postponed. If you've seen how Consol Energy Park's field drains (or doesn't), then you had to know the game should have been postponed.

I feel bad for anyone who had to fight rush-hour traffic on the interstates, through countless construction zones, just to get to the ballpark by 7 p.m., then bought food and beverages when told the game would start at 8:05, then found their seats just in time to be informed the the game was postponed -- something that should have been done three hours earlier.

Lounging in Livonia


The Wild Things and Oakland County Cruisers traveled to Henry Ford Field, pictured, in Livonia, Mich., Saturday to watch all of three pitches. That's how long it took for the pitcher's mound to break apart because of a lack of clay. But, hey, the accomodations were interesting to say the least. Check out these photos from WJPA Radio's Randy Gore:


There were walk-in dugouts. …


And a spacious air-conditioned clubhouse. …


Outdoor batting cages. …


An open-air pressbox that I'm sure Randy Gore was happy about during the rain delay before the three pitches. By the way, can a field really have a pressbox if the working press is not allowed in the box?

You can click on each photo to see a larger image.

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