All-Decade Team: DH

If there is a position that should be one of strength for a Frontier League team each season, then it has to be designated hitter. After all, it's much easier to find a guy who can only hit than find one who can hit and play quality defense for 96 games, right?

For most of their 10 seasons, the Wild Things have had a productive designated hitter. Choosing a DH for the all-decade team is a process that starts with four candidates: Jay Coakley, Jacob Dempsey (pictured), Robbie Knapp and Matt Swope. Each put up good numbers, and all but Swope played at least parts of two or more seasons in Washington.

Swope was the Wild Things' DH for the a portion of the 2005 season. An outfielder by trade, Swope was signed after playing in the Montreal Expos' system. He was working his way back from a shoulder injury that prevented him from playing the outfield for the first two months of the season, but when healthy enough to hit, Swope was inserted as the DH. Swope batted .309 with eight home runs, 54 RBI and 11 stolen bases from the leadoff spot. He also holds the team record with a 26-game hitting streak.

However, Swope, who these days hosts a radio talk show on the ESPN affiliate in Baltimore, played only 36 games at DH (played 25 in the outfield), and that's not enough to win the all-decade spot.

The same situation involves Knapp, who played multiple positions for Washington in 2007 and again in '08 before being traded to Rockford. Knapp could hit. He batted .306 with 13 home runs and 54 RBI in '07, and .296 with 15 extra-base hits the following year before being traded. Knapp, however, played only 52 games with Washington at DH.

That leaves Coakley and Dempsey. Coakley was one of the first pickups for Washington after its 2002 season began. A former NCAA Division III Player of the Year at Marietta College, Coakley spent three years with the Wild Things and carried better batting averages than you might think (.307, .284 and .274). He hit 30 home runs and drove in 127 runs. The latter total would have been larger had he not batted behind Josh Loggins for his first two seasons.

While Coakley's numbers were very good, they don't' match those of Dempsey. The lefty swinging power hitter played three years in Washington and produced some eye-popping numbers: 61 doubles, 57 home runs, 221 RBI, 170 walks.

Dempsey put up huge numbers at Winthrop University, then played in the Philadelphia Phillies' system before being released. The Wild Things tried hard to sign Dempsey shortly after he was released, but he opted to return to college for a year. After sitting out one summer, Dempsey signed with Washington. He proved to be worth the wait.

Dempsey's first two seasons with the Wild Things were remarkable, and he was named to the league's postseason all-star team each year. In 2008, Dempsey batted .310 with 17 home runs and 88 RBI. In '09, it was .281 with 31 home runs and 81 RBI.

Dempsey was slowed by an injury in his final season and retired before it's conclusion. But for two years, Dempsey was one of the best hitters in a hitter-friendly league.

Now, it's time to put together a five-man pitching rotation.

All-Decade Designated Hitter: Jacob Dempsey (2008-10)

Who are these guys?

In case you haven't noticed, new Wild Things manager Chris Bando has been busy signing players at a rapid pace. According to the Frontier League's website, Washington has signed 12 players since Nov. 8. I even found a 13th player mentioned on a different website.

If they continue at the current pace, the Wild Things will have more than 50 players in spring training.

So who are these new guys?

Not all the signings have been released by the Wild Things, so finding information about several players was difficult, but here's what we know about the 12 or 13:

The majority of the players are rookies with no pro experience. Only three are classified as Experienced by the FL's guidelines. Many of the 12/13 played small- college baseball, mainly at the NAIA level. Seven of the players are from California.

Here's a quick background for each player:

* INF Nick Spears: From Santee, Calif. Played at Southern Nazarene, an NAIA school in Oklahoma. Senior year was 2010. Put up big numbers in college. Drafted out of high school but did not sign. Played 11 games for St. George of the independent Golden League in 2010 but the team folded. Did not play in a pro league last summer.

* OF Trevor Bloom: From Palmdale, Calif. Played at four different colleges, including San Diego Christian College, where Bando is the athletic director and baseball coach. Did not play pro ball in 2011.

* OF Rashad Taylor: From San Francisco, Calif. Played at Point Loma Nazarene, an NAIA school in California. Was drafted twice but did not sign. Senior season was 2011 and was not drafted. Was a standout high school football player who reportedly had several Division I offers but decided to go the baseball route. In a press release, Bando was quoted as saying "I look for Rashad to catch everything in the outfield, steal bases and drive in runs. It is not often you see a 6-4 frame that athletic on a baseball field." In another story, Bando said "Rashad Taylor will be one of the most exciting players players in the league ... He might be one of the league leaders in stolen bases. ... He'll be one of the more exciting players in the league, if he lives up to his potential."

* RHP Mickey Jannis: From Sparks, Nev. Has the best background of any player on this list. Spent two years in the Tampa Bay Rays' system, reaching high-Class A. Had a 7-4 record, 5 saves and 3.00 in the minors.

* C Rob Herrmann: From Trumansburg, N.Y. Played at Fredonia State in New York. Signed last summer with Las Cruces of the independent Pecos League.

* RHP Ryan McCarney: From Acton, Calif. Coached last season at San Diego Christian College. Did not play professionally in 2011. Played his junior season of college at Cal State-Northridge in 2009 before transferring to San Diego Christian. Drafted twice but did not sign.

* LHP Matt Kretchmer: From Carmel, Calif. Played last spring for Cal State San Marcos, an NAIA school. Played one year at New Mexico State.

* INF Matt McConnell: From Mesa, Ariz. Spent two years in the Philadelphia Phillies' system. Apparently, he did not play in 2011. Played at Metro State, an NCAA Division II school in Denver. His younger brother, Mickey McConnell, was a starting guard for the St. Mary's (Calif.) basketball team that made a run to the Sweet 16 of the 2010 NCAA basketball tournament, upsetting Villanova along the way.

* LHP Shawn Smith: From Saugus, Ariz. Was a 9th-round draft pick out of high school by Tampa Bay. Never advanced out of rookie ball. Did not pitch in 2010 (injured?). Though he has three seasons of pro experience, Smith will be classified as a Rookie because of his age (21).

* RHP Mickey Cassidy: We believe this is a player from Toledo, Ohio, who has three years of independent experience. Played last summer for Rio Grande Valley of the North American Baseball League.

* 3B Wes Kartch: From Irvine, Calif. Played at Point Loma Nazarene. Senior year was 2011. Was not drafted last June.

* RHP Ryan Turner: From North Richland Hills, Texas. Has been drafted four times, including three times by Tampa Bay. Played last spring at Tarleton State in Texas. Was then drafted by Rays and posted 1-1 record and 6.35 ERA in rookie ball. Was released this fall. Though given a quick release by Tampa Bay, his solid college numbers and the fact he was drafted four times makes me think he has a chance to stick on the roster.

* INF Mike Bando: Played at San Diego Christian College. Wild Things have not announced his signing and he's not listed on the FL website as having signed a contract. On the SDCC baseball website, there is a story that says Bando, Bloom and McCarney signed with Washington.

Option plays

The Wild Things announced Tuesday that they have picked up the option on 10 players for the 2012 season. They also declined the contract option on 15 players, making these guys free agents. Some of the players who had their options declined either never played a game with Washington last year or were not with the team at year's end.

Washington also signed two players.

The Wild Things picked up the option on pitchers Steve Grife, Ross Gusky, Justin Hall, Gary Lee, Jhonny Montoya and Chris Smith, second baseman Scott Lawson, first baseman-outfielder Doug Thennis and outfielders Chris Sidick and Luis Rivera. Picking up a player's option doesn't guarantee the guy will be back in Washington. It only allows the Wild Things to retain the player's rights. He can be signed, released, traded or retired.

The Wild Things let go pitchers Matt Barnes, Davis Bilardello, Kevin Hammons, Jake Ramsey and Ryan Gardner, catchers Blake Ochoa, Jonathan Cisneros and Grayson Schram, infielders Ryan Ditthardt, Kevyn Feiner, Emilio Ontiveros and Eric Stephens and outfielders Estee Harris and Tim Battle.

Were there any surprises? A few small ones, though I have no idea who, if anybody, said they had decided to quit playing baseball and thus were dropped from the roster. Hammons' family situation likely prevented him from returning. Bilardello aged out, so it appears the Wild Things couldn't get any takers in other leagues in exchange for him.

The only other guys who I might have done something different with are Lee, Gusky, Cisneros, Rivera and either Harris or Battle.

I thought Harris and/or Battle would be kept because they have some value and could eventually be traded. Harris has played in the Atlantic League and Battle is a "tools guy" that scouts like. With Sidick being retained and new manager Chris Bando raving about new signee Rashad Taylor, I thought Rivera might be the odd-man out in the outfield. You have to remember that most teams usually sign an outfielder in April who has been released from Class A ball and becomes an everyday player in the Frontier League. Plus, Thennis can play left field.

I know Lee is a favorite of pitching coach Mark Dewey, but if I was confident that I could sign two or three starting pitchers after minor league spring training, then I would have declined Lee's option because I don't see him as a relief pitcher. Keeping Lee is not exactly a bad thing. You can never have too much pitching.

Gusky was wildly inconsistent last year but did show some promise and is a local guy.

Word was that Cisneros fell out of favor with the coaching staff at Florence, which is why he was released by the Freedom last season and ended up in Washington. I do think he has some potential and value as a left-handed hitting catcher, so I might have kept him.

As for the two signings, Washington has picked up right-handed pitcher Mickey Cassidy and lefty pitcher Shawn Smith. The Wild Things didn't announce the signings but Cassidy could be the player of the same name who is from Toledo, Ohio, and bounced around four indy leagues the last three years. Last year, Cassidy was 3-2 4.25 for Rio Grande of the North American Baseball league.

Then again, he might be some other Mickey Cassidy.

Shawn Smith appears to be a 21-year-old pitcher was drafted in the ninth round out of a California high school in 2008 and signed with the Tampa Bay Rays. Smith never made it out of rookie ball but put up decent numbers last year. Rookie-league statistics, as we have learned, are often more deceiving than short-season or full-season Class A statistics.

All-Decade Team: Outfield

Nobody has played in more Frontier League games than Washington's Chris Sidick. So it's no surprise that Sidick's name is found frequently in the league's record book.

Sidick holds Frontier League career records for:

Games (588)
At-bats (2,225)
Runs (414)
Hits (635)
Triples (56 - the player in second place has only 24)
Total bases (1,001)
Hit by pitch (57)
Walks (328)
Strikeouts (375)

Sidick also is second in stolen bases with 166, only 12 behind all-time leader Doug Schutt, and is fourth in sacrifices with 43, seven shy of the league record. And he holds the single-season record for triples.

So with all the games played, hitting and baserunning numbers to his credit, I find it odd that the first thing that comes to mind when analyzing Sidick's play is not his offense, but rather his defense.

For seven seasons, Sidick has roamed center field and covered more ground than any other outfielder in the league. After signing with the Wild Things in 2005 following a standout two-sport career at NCAA Division III Marietta College, Sidick quickly established himself as one of the most exciting players in the league as the Wild Things' center fielder and leadoff hitter. His ability to run down balls in the deep gaps of Consol Energy Park also drew raves from opponents. For example:

The Kalamazoo Kings were taking batting practice prior to a game in Washington a few years ago. On his final swing before exiting the batting cage, a slap-hitting rookie for the Kings smacked a ball about as far as he possibly could, driving it the opposite way to the warning track at the angle in right centerfield. The rookie, wearing a wide smile as if to say he had just laced a triple, quickly exited the cage. A Kings teammate and Frontier League veteran saw this and yelled, "Don't smile! Chris Sidick caught that ball in his back pocket."

The rookie probably might have never heard of Chris Sidick prior to that.

Sidick's offense hasn't been as consistent as his defense. He's had several very good years at the plate, some average ones and a couple of seasons when his average dipped to the .240s. He's also hit as many as 13 home runs in a season, stolen at least 30 bases twice and hit an unthinkable 16 triples in 2006.

For his longevity and all-around play, Sidick gets a starting spot in the outfield for the Wild Things' All-Decade Team.

Sidick currently owns C-Side Sports Academy in North Strabane Township.

All-Decade Team Outfielder: Chris Sidick (2005-11)

All-Decade Team: Outfield

Who was the best player in Wild Things history?

There are several ways to answer this. You can say Chris Sidick because he holds numerous Frontier League career records. You also could answer Mike Arbinger because he was an impact player for three seasons and the only Wild Thing to be named MVP in an All-Star game. Maybe you like pitching and prefer Aaron Ledbetter and his record-setting career. And let's not forget that pitcher Tom Cochran is the only former Washington player to make it to the major leagues, albeit for only two days.

Each of those would be a good answer. However, if you've followed the Wild Things for all 10 of their seasons in the Frontier League, your answer to the above question should be Josh Loggins.

Loggins joined the Wild Things in late June of 2002 after being released from the New York Yankees' Class AA affiliate. He was the final piece to Washington's push to the East Division title. Playing center field, Loggins batted .347 with five home runs and 45 RBI in 60 games.

In 2003, Loggins became the only Wild Things player to be named the Frontier League's Most Valuable Player when he batted .331 with 24 home rusn and 75 RBI in 74 games. He also stole 15 bases.

Loggins was signed by the Colorado Rockies in late August because the Rockies had an injury to their Class AA first baseman and needed a replacement with experience at that level. When Loggins left Washington, he took with him the Wild Things' chance to win the Frontier League championship. It was too late in the year to make a trade or sign an impact player to fill the void in the middle of the lineup.

Loggins' value to the Wild Things can be seen in his offensive numbers, but a better set of statistics are these: The Wild Things' record in 2002-03 without Loggins on the roster: 19-16. With Loggins on the roster: 91-46.

While Loggins was shifted to catcher in 2003, he ended his Washingtob career having played 68 games in the outfield and 60 at catcher, thus he qualifies for the All-Decade Team as an outfielder.

Loggins currently works for Prudential Financial and was a coach for the Lafayette (Ind.) team in last year's Colt League World Series.

All-Decade Team Outfielder: Josh Loggins (2002-03)

All-Decade Team: Outfield

When the Wild Things opened camp for the 2004 season, there were two burning questions: 1. Could new manager John Massarelli continue the success started by Jeff Isom, who left Washington for Joliet and the Northern League? 2. Could the Wild Things find a replacement for slugger Josh Loggins, who won the Frontier League's MVP Award the previos season?

Both questions were quickly answered in a resounding yes.

Massarelli took the Wild Things to the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, and Washington found another power bat in the middle of the lineup by making a seemingly minor trade after camp began to acquire Mike Arbinger from Gary of the Northern League in one of the those famous player-to-be-named-later deals.

If I recall correctly, Arbinger originally wasn't excited to be in Washington because the pay was better in the Northern League and it was a little closer to his home of Toledo, Ohio. However, Arbinger quickly took a liking to the Wild Things, and their fans made the lefty hitter one of their favorites.

Arbinger, who spent two seasons in the Pirates' minor-league system, batted .299 with six home runs in his first year in Washington. Then, in 2005, his power numbers went to 12 home runs and 29 doubles. He batted .317 that year and drove in 88 runs, which was the franchise single-single record.

Also in 2005, Arbinger played in Frontier League All-Star Game at then-Falconi Field -- the only one held in Washington -- in which he was named MVP.

After the season, Arbinger became the second Washington outfielder to be selected for the all-league team, following Jack Headley in 2004.

Arbinger's production slipped in 2006 to .273 with 22 doubles, eight home runs and 53 RBI -- most players would love to have such a "down year" -- and he was released during the 2006-07 offseason.

The first three-year starter for the Wild Things, Mike Arbinger earned a spot on the all-decade team.

All-Decade Team Outfielder: Mike Arbinger (2004-06)

All-Decade Team: Shortstop

As I wrote in an earlier post, the biggest dilemma you have when choosing an all-decade team in minor-league baseball is weighing a one-year wonder against guys who were quality players for two or three seasons. Do you put more value on having the best overall season or being a longtime contributor and fan favorite? That's the question that comes into play at shortstop.

There are only three players to consider for the position: Brad Hensler (2002), Jon Cahill (2003-04) and Brett Grandstrand (2006, 08-09). Let's examine each player:

* Hensler was only a one-year player, but what a year it was. The best-hitting shortstop the Wild Things have ever had, Hensler batted .313 with 25 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, 54 RBI and 15 stolen bases. Each statistic is a record for Wild Things shortstops. The Chartiers Valley High School graduate helped Washington win the East Division and reach the Frontier League championship series. Hensler, who had no professional experience as a shortstop prior to joining the Wild Things, also is the lone Washington shortstop to be named all-league.

* Cahill followed Hensler in 2003 and actually improved Washington's defense at the position, which was hard to belive at the time considering Hensler's play. While Cahill didn't match Hensler's offensive production, he batted .287 and .274 in his two seasons and hit 10 home runs over that period. Cahill was Washington's best shortstop at turning the double play as his 61 DPs (team record) in 2004 shows.

* Grandstrand played three seasons in Washington and his strength was an ability to turn in the spectacular play on defense. He had more range than any Washington shortstop, and his .967 fielding percentage in 2008 is the team record. Granny also was better with the bat during his first two seasons -- which were wedged around a one-year stint in the Tampa Bay Rays' system -- when he batted .284 and .295, than you would think. The latter number is the second-best average for any shortstop. Grandstrand's average dipped all the way to .237 in 2009, but he did have 22 extra-base hits.

So who do you go with?

No matter who you pick, you're probably not wrong. There is a solid case for each.

With shortstop being such a difficult position to play well for an extended period of time, I'm going with Grandstrand, the guy with the most range and was better offensively than he was given credit for.

The question now is, can Chaill or Hensler land a spot as a reserve on the all-decade team?

All-Decade Shortstop: Brett Grandstrand (2006, 08-09).

London team name gets ripped

The new London (Ont.) franchise has announced its nickname, and it has not been well-received by some folks.

The team will be known as the London Rippers.

Apparently, the nickname did not go over well at London's City Hall. City officials, though a written statement, have asked team owner David Martin to change the name. Officials took the time out of their finance and administration committee meeting to announce the following:

“On behalf of London City Council, we want to express serious concerns about the name of London’s newest baseball team. While the team owner’s intention may not have been to draw a connection to Jack the Ripper, we believe this name is unfortunate particularly in light of our focus on ending woman abuse.”

Let's start by simply rating the nickname. It's not good. Let's call it bad. You'd think people who are paid to make advertising decisions could come up with something better than Rippers. There are a lot of terms in baseball, and "rip" or "ripped" is far down the list of marketable ones.

When I think of Rippers and baseball, the first thing that runs through my mind is a line-drive double being ripped into the right-centerfield gap. The second thing is flatulence, which speaks volumes about my childish sense of humor and is a good reason not to use the nickname.

On down -- way down to be more accurate -- the list of things I associate with the London team's nickname is Jack the Ripper. But the more you think about the infamous serial killer who was noted for murdering prostitutes in London (England) during the late 1800s, maybe the criticism of the nickname has at least some merit.

Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if you asked people under the age of 35 who Jack the Ripper was and the majority would answer he was a professional wrestler.

Here is one comment from a newspaper article about the nickname:

"There are three reasons why this is a bad choice for a team name. 1) Regardless of whether or not this is offensive to women, the fact that the name references a serial killer is in poor taste. Even if the reference wasn't intentional, people are clearly interpreting the team name in this way. 2)The idea of Diamond Jack (this is the team's mascot) is confusing, and kind of creepy. So the mascot "lurks" around the grandstand? Phantom of the Opera? It just doesn't really make sense. 3)Lots of people call strip clubs the "rippers" these days. So, not only has the team made reference to a serial killer, it's tale of Diamond Jack is strange, and people will confuse the team with a bunch of strippers. Perhaps a meeting is in order?

On a website of another newspaper, this comment was left:

"I was really looking forward to taking in some games with my wife. Now we'll look forward to doing other things instead. This has got to be one of the stupider moments in sports history."

Really? I can think of thousands of moments dumber than the naming of a team's nickname.

Another person wrote:

"The Rippers? What is this - an episode of Family Guy? We have the London Majors so why do we have to expose ourselves to this character and his goofy ideas? He's determined to make a fool out of Londoners. It was a mistake from the get go to let this character come to London with his non-existent team and this is playing out as a failure already."

The London Majors are an amateur baseball team that plays about 20 home games at Labbat Park, where the Rippers also will play.

Lastly, we have one more comment:

"HAHA REALLY.......as if anyone is making a big deal of this??? its a sports teams name!!! I can hardly believe people are wasting their time making this an issue. Open your eyes people!!! This city has bigger issues to put your time and effort into! Not only that, no matter what the team name is none of you will go out and support them anyway."

Any comments from this blog's readers?

All-Decade Team: 2nd base

When deciding to select a Wild Things All-Decade Team, I knew there would be two positions where some extra thought would be required before settling on a starter. One is shortstop, where there are three deserving players. The other is second base.

Only one player (Michael Parker) was the Wild Things' second baseman for two full seasons. Ryan Ellis did play in three seasons, but only half a season in 2003 and just one game in 2004. Kyle Werman missed a chunk of one season because of a shoulder injury and left during his second year to become a college coach.

There is a variety of guys who have played second base for the Wild Things. There are the fan favorites (Werman and Phil Butch). There was Ellis, a slick fielder who had more range than any Wild Things second baseman and might be the best fielding position player Washington has ever had. There was Blake Woods, who was here for only half a season but batted .378 with 10 doubles and 14 stolen bases. There was Brian Stoecklein, who had had an excellent year with the bat in 2004 (.295, 21 doubles, 10 home runs, 43 RBI) and was better defensively than the Wild Things expected.

Then you could consider Lance Koenig, who had a team-record 125 hits in 2005. Koenig, however, played more games at catcher during his career than at second base, so I'm not going to consider him a second baseman. Plus, Koenig's fielding eliminated him from consideration.

There's also Parker, who had a very good season in 2009, as his .298 batting average, 75 runs and 22 doubles each were the second-best totals by a Washington second baseman. However, Parker's average dropped by 40 points in his second season in the Frontier League and his defensive range was only average.

Scott Lawson, the starter last season, also has a strong case for a spot on the team. He carried Washington offensively for much of the season and delivered some clutch home runs. His defense was excellent as only Ellis prevented more runs from scoring than Lawson. The only drawback with Lawson is he had what has to be considered the worst baserunning year of any Wild Things player in their history.

Choosing a starter comes down the slick-fielding Ellis, Stoecklein or Lawson. Though Lawson had to do more for his team to win, Stoecklein's bat gives him a slight edge. Stoecklein's offensive numbers also dwarf those of Ellis, so the starting nod goes to the former California University standout who is the only Wild Things second baseman to be named all-league.

All-Decade Second Baseman: Brian Stoecklein (2004)

Wild Things sign first 2

The Wild Things and new manager Chris Bando have signed their first two players for 2012. They are shortstop Nick Spears and outfielder Trevor Bloom. Neither player has professional experience.

Spears played at Southern Nazarene University, located in Bethany, Okla., and was a first team NAIA All-American in 2010 and named the Sooner Athletic Conference’s top shortstop after batting .442 batting.

"He has great make up, a powerful bat and arm and is a sure fire ML prospect,” Bando said. “His athleticism will enable us to play Nick at multiple positions.”

Bloom spent a year each at New Mexico State, College of the Canyons, Sacramento State and San Diego Christian College. The latter is where Bando is the head coach. At College of the Canyons, Bloom was named to the Southern California All-American team as an outfielder, and also was the Player of the Year for the Western State-South Conference in 2009.

“He is the ultimate 'gamer.' He plays the game hard, is a consummate team player and was one of the best hitters in college baseball last season,” Bando said. “He can play infield, outfield and pitch. He is a winner and will play everywhere for us this year. He hits everything hard.”

All-Decade Team: Third base

Which position is the toughest for a Frontier League team to fill with an above-average player?

Your first two guesses are likely to be shortstop and catcher. Those two positions, at any level of baseball, are difficult to fill with quality defensive players. The Frontier League usually has two or three good defensive catchers with the others being hitters who spend some time behind home plate. In recent years, the play of Frontier League shortstops has improved significantly.

For the Wild Things, and many Frontier League teams, the position that has been the biggest trouble spot is third base. Washington has had only a few guys who played the hot corner and displayed the arm strength to throw from foul line to foul line. Several others, such as Chad Ehrnsberger and Chad Kinyon, could hit but didn't have either the range or the glove to be considered better than average. A few, like Eric Earnhardt and John Delaney, were decent fielders but didn't hit. And there were some guys, such as Kevin Feiner last year and Lance Koenig, who were not natural third basemen but played there because there was nobody else on the team who could play the position regularly.

One guy who did a little of everything as a third baseman was Pat Peavey.

A one-year (2006) player for the Wild Things, Peavey came to Washington after his career in the Houston Astros' system topped out at Class AA. Though he had the reputation of being more hitter than fielder, Peavey showed that he had all the tools to be a top-flight Frontier League third baseman. He had a strong arm, good range and was the best fielding third baseman to play for Washington. He committed only nine errors in his one season, led the league in fielding percentage and was involved in 18 double plays (by far the most for a Washington third baseman).

And did I mention that Peavey could hit?

As the cleanup hitter in the Wild Things' lineup, Peavey had a pedestrian .262 batting average but belted 10 home runs, 21 doubles and won the Frontier League's RBI title by driving in 83 runs -- at the time the second-best total in team history. He was named the all-league third baseman.

Though he was only here one year, Pat Peavey gets the nod as the starter on the all-decade team.

All-Decade team 3rd Baseman: Pat Peavey (2006).

All-Decade Team: First base

First base, in theory, should be one of the easiest positions for a Frontier League team to fill with a quality player. After all, it's one of the toughest positions for a young player to advance through the minor league system. There are so many quality first basemen in the majors (except in Pittsburgh) that many good prospects never make it to the big leagues or they eventually get switched to other positions.

There also are many college first basemen who are excellent hitters but don't have the defensive skills necessary to become a prospect. These guys often get shuffled to the independent leagues.

The Wild Things, as expected, have had some quality first basemen in their first 10 seasons but by no means has it been a position of strength each year (see 2011).

Finding a starting first baseman for the All-Decade team wasn't easy. Two players (Andy Hudak and Nathan Messner) played two seasons here and had similar results. Each put up big numbers in their first years, only to have the batting average dip by at least 55 points in the second go-around.

One of the things I had forgotten about Washington first basemen before I began researching the numbers was just how good of a base stealer Zach Cates (2003) was for a big guy. Cates, a power hitter, swiped 20 bases. He had a big first half of the season but tailed off considerably in the second half, batting only .170 in August.

From a numbers standpoint, the best season (at least part of one) for a Washington first baseman was by Ernie Banks in 2009 when he hit .343 with 19 home runs, both highs for the position. However, Banks was suspended by the team during the season and eventually traded after he played in only 54 games. Banks returned in 2011, but his bat had slowed considerably. He hit only .207 and was traded.

So who is the all-decade first baseman? I'll have to go with a guy who spent only one season in Washington, but it was a very consistent and highly productive campaign by the the best defensive first baseman to play for the Wild Things: Bill Greenwell (pictured).

Greenwell played for Washington in 2004 and put up good numbers, batting .293 with 15 doubles, 13 home runs and 72 RBI. The latter number is the record for Washington first basemen and was third-best total in the league in 2004.

Greenwell led the Frontier League in RBI in 2003 while playing for Mid-Missouri, then was acquired during spring training by Washington in steal of a trade for pitchers Jason Elkins and Brian Dorsey. Greenwell's most memorable game with the Wild Things, oddly enough, had to be the first time he wasn't in the starting lineup. That August night he sang the national anthem prior to the game, then came off the bench to hit a walkoff home run to beat Chillicothe.

All-Decade First Baseman: Bill Greenwell (2004)

Former Wild Thing named coach at Massillon

Here's a story about former Wild Things relief pitcher Ryan Hartzell, who has been named head baseball coach at Massillon High School in Ohio. Though more famous for its football program, the Tigers have a strong baseball tradition.

On a side note, current Waynesburg University football coach Rick Shepas was the head coach at Massillon when the documentary "Go Tigers" was filmed and can still be seen from time to time on television.

Hartzell played for the Wild Things in 2004 and pitched in 18 games out of the bullpen.

What I remember most about Hartzell was that he was signed out of the Wild Things' tryout after having a successful career at Ashland University. Washington knew it would sign Hartzell before the camp even began, as long as he did reasonably well at the tryout. When it was time for Hartzell to throw, a hard-driving rain began. You could see sheets of rain moving from the first-base line across the pitcher's mound to left field. Hartzell, however, kept pitching. They never did stop because of the rain.

Read the story here.

All-Decade Team

The 2012 schedule has been released, the new manager has been hired and the Frontier League's two new teams have been revealed. It seems the next season of Wild Things baseball is just around the corner.

Before we think too far ahead, let's spend some time looking back on Washington's 10 seasons in the Frontier League. A good place to start is with an all-decade team.

I've been mulling who should and shouldn't be on the all-decade team and what format such a list should take. I've decided on a 24-player team, though I'm not sure if it will have 10 or 11 pitchers.

When doing an all-decade team, one thing that is always tough to weight is years of service to the club. Is a player who spent two or three years in Washington with inconsistent results more deserving of being on the all-decade team than a player who spent one very good season with the Wild Things? And how do you factor in guys who were signed by major league affiliates after a half season or less with the Wild Things? They were obviously very good with Washington, but do they deserve to be on the all-decade team if they were here for only four weeks?

Any thoughts from the loyal blog readers?

Later this week I'll begin posting my all-decade team, one position at a time. We'll begin with the starting position players. First up will be first base.

New manager hired

Chris Bando, a former major league catcher and coach, has been hired as the Wild Things' manager for the 2012 season.

Bando becomes the sixth manager in the Frontier League team's 11-year history. He follows Darin Everson, who was not retained after two seasons.

A nine-year (1981-89) veteran of the major leagues as a player, Bando was catcher for the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics. He played in 498 major league games, with his best season being 1984 when he hit 12 home runs and drove in 41 runs for Cleveland.

Bando also has major-league coaching experience as he spent three years on the staff of the Milwaukee Brewers, including two as the team's third-base coach.

The 55-year-old Bando also brings managerial experience to Washington. He spent six years as a manager in the Brewers' system, including three at Class AAA. Bando even was the winning manager in the Class AAA All-Star game. At one point, Bando was named the No. 2 managerial prospect in Class AAA by major league general managers. The guy at No. 1? It was Terry Francona.

Bando also was a manager at Class AA Akron and short-season Class A Mahonning Valley in the Indians' system.

Bando's only experience as an independent league manager was in 2007 with the Aiken (S.C.) Foxhounds of the South Coast League, which lasted only the one season. One of Bando's pitchers in Aiken was Wild Things pitching coach Mark Dewey.

The new manager is currently the athletic director and head baseball coach at San Diego Christian College.

Bando is the younger brother of Sal Bando, who played in three World Series in the 1970s as a third baseman for the Oakland Athletics.

Talkin' schedule, alignment

The Frontier League's 2012 is out, and it shows two news teams, two seven-team divisions, six teams switching divisions and some interesting road trips for the Wild Things.

The two new teams are Schaumburg (Ill.) and London (Ontario). Both ownership groups were approved in August, though London originally had plans to play in the Detroit area but was rebuffed by Clawson, Mich. Schaumburg will play in the West Division and London in the East.

Moving to the West Division will be Windy City, Rockford and defending league champion Joliet. Going from the West Division to the East will be Florence, Evansville and Southern Illinois. Florence and Evansville have previously been in the East. This will be the first time Southern Illinois won't be playing with the St. Louis-area teams.

The alignment is basically the Chicago and St. Louis teams in the West Division, and everybody else in the East.

The Wild Things open the season Friday, May 18 at Evansville. The home opener will be Tuesday, May 22 against Gateway.

Washington will play 42 games against teams from the West -- one home and one road series against each team. There will be an unbalanced schedule against East foes. The Wild Things will play four series each against Florence, Lake Erie and London. They will play only two series against Evansville, Southern Illinois and Traverse City.

One thing that has plagued the Wild Things during their current run of nonplayoff years is poor starts to the season. In 2012, the Wild Things will need to win a lot of games on the road to avoid another bad start. There is a stretch in June in which the Wild Things play nine consecutive road games, each against division opponents. Twelve of Washington's first 15 division games will be played away from Consol Energy Park.

The Wild Things also have a tough stretch that begins July 31 during which they make two trips to St. Louis. Each series in St. Louis is followed by a home game without a travel day in between.

Frontier League goin' north of the border?

We know the Frontier League will be adding a team in Schaumburg, Ill., next season. That team's name will be announced next month.

That brings the league to 13 teams, but you can't have a baseball league with an odd number of franchises. So where will the 14th team be located?

If a Michigan man has his way, it will be in Canada.

David Martin, who bought the Oakland County Cruisers, is trying to put the franchise in London, Ontario. Martin already met opposition for his team in Clawson, Mich. He had hoped to renovate a town park in Clawson but his plan was shot down by locals.

Martin then shifted his target to London, which hosted a Frontier League team from 1999-2001 and won the league championship in '99. If you actually trace the Wild Things' roots, you'll find that the franchise goes back to London. That team moved to Canton, Ohio, and later to Washington.

Martin, whose ownership group has been approved by the league, wants to play in 5,200-seat Labbat Park. The stumbling block at this time is an amateur team plays at the park.

Here are a couple of links:

Read the story here.

Read the story here.

DiMatteo to the Frontier

Former California University of Pennsylvania standout outfielder Sam DiMatteo (picture) has signed a contract with the Traverse City beach Bums of the Frontier League.

DiMatteo played his first season of professional baseball this year. He was in spring training with the Washington Nationals but was released. He eventually found a spot on the roster of the Ruidoso Osos of the independent Pecos League. DiMatteo played in 40 games for Ruidoso, batting .333 with eight home runs, 29 RBI and eight stolen bases.

DiMatteo was one of the best players Cal has ever produced. The Beaver County native was the first player in PSAC history to steal 100 bases in a career, and batted .375 with 31 home runs and 161 RBI. He helped Cal win the PSAC championship in 2010.

This is a good signing by Traverse City. Based on what he did at Cal, I felt DiMatteo was good enough to make a Frontier League roster and contribute.

Another managerial change

After missing the Frontier League playoffs for the first time since 2006, the Windy City ThunderBolts have decided to change managers.

Gone is Mike Kashirsky, who had a 141-100 career record, one league championship and two division titles.

Kashirsky's replacement is Morgan Burkhart, who is widely considered the best player the Frontier League has ever produced. Burkhart was most recently manager of the Calgary Vipers of the North American Baseball League. Burkhart won one league championship with Calgary.

Burkhart played for the Richmond Roosters from 1995 to ’98 and was named the league’s MVP three times. He had a .353 career batting average and his 36 home runs in 1998, when he won the triple crown, still stands as the single-season league record. That same year, Burkhart had a .404 batting average.

After playing in the Frontier League, Burkhart went on to play in 42 major league games with the Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals.

Everson out as manager

The worst-kept secret in the Frontier League became official today as the Wild Things announced that Darin Everson will not return for a third season as the team's manager.

Everson managed the Wild Things to an 80-110 record and a pair of fifth-place finishes in the East Division during his two seasons with Washington. A former manager in the Florida Marlins' minor-league system, Everson guided the Wild Things to a 38-57 record in 2010. This year, Washington improved to 42-53 and were 13 1/2 games behind division winner Joliet.

“After several discussions, we decided it would be better to part ways,” said Stuart Williams, managing partner of the Wild Things. “Darin is a fine man, and we wish him the best as he moves on.”

While Everson was able to put together highly competitive pitching staffs, his teams were never able to generate enough offense to become a playoff contender in a league long known for its high-scoring games. In 2010, Washington finished next-to-last in the 12-team league in runs scored. This season, the Wild Things were last in batting average, runs, hits, walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

The lack of offense was why Washington, despite having perhaps the best starting pitching in the league, never topped the .500 mark all season. The Wild Things led the league in ERA and set the league record for most quality starts.

Everson, who acted as his own director of baseball operations this year, seemed to be hamstrung by a lack of connections to pro scouts and affiliated organizations. Far too often during the season, the Wild Things signed players with little or no pro experience instead of players recently released by major league organizations.

Despite this, Washington did have a successful season this year in one area: Everson helped four pitchers -- Vidal Nuno (Yankees), Alan Williams (Brewers), Mark Williams (Brewers) and Casey Barnes (Phillies) -- get signed by major league organizations. Until this year, Washington never had more than two of its players picked up during a season.

Washington already has started its search for a new manager, the sixth in franchise history.

"I want to thank the front office staff, the fans, and especially the players we have had in Washington the past two years," Everson said. "They have made my two seasons there very special. I will be exploring other baseball opportunities in the future and will always wish the Wild Things the best."

Next on 60 Minutes ...

More of the hard-hitting investigative journalism you can only find only television:

That's quality

Solid pitching has been a staple of the Wild Things. During their first six seasons, the Wild Things didn't finish worse than fourth in the Frontier League in team ERA.

There were a couple of lean pitching years since, but the Wild Things seemed to correct most of those problems this season. Washington won the league's ERA title for the first time since 2002, posting a 3.62, which was .14 better than second-place Lake Erie. Frontier League champion Joliet finished fifth at 4.06.

The strength of the pitching was the group of starters, even after losing opening day starter Vidal Nuno and FL Rookie of the Year Casey Barnes to affiliated ball. The Wild Things set the league record for quality starts (at least six innings pitched and no more than three earned runs allowed) with 59.

Justin Hall had 14 quality starts among his 20 outings, and they weren't the cheap 6-inning, 3-run variety. Hall led the league in innings pitched and complete games. The 14 quality starts equals the team record set by Aaron Ledbetter in 2007, when he went 14-2. Every start Hall made after the all-star break was rated a quality start, including his 11-inning, 14-strikeout outing on the final day of the season at Windy City.

All of this, combined with the Wild Things finishing in fifth place in the East Division, tells you just how dreadful the Washington offense was. The Wild Things' offense finished last in the league in batting average, hits, runs, walks, doubles, total bases, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. As one visiting manager at Consol Energy Park said this season, "It's not hard to crack the Wild Things' lineup these days."

With the pitching staff it had, if Washington produced only an average hitting team, there's a good chance it would have made the playoffs.

Quality Starts by Team in 2011
*59 - Washington
49 - Windy City
48 - Normal
47 - River City
42 - Florence
41 - Joliet
39 - Lake Erie
36 - Gateway
36 - Southern Illinois
35 - Rockford
34 - Traverse City
31 - Evansville

* League record.

First opening

The first official managerial opening in the Frontier League for 2012 is in Normal, Ill., where the CornBelters have announced that Hal Lanier will not return for a third season.

The 69-year-old Lanier, a former National League Manager of the Year with the Houston Astros, guided Normal to a 90-102 record in his two seasons in the Frontier League. The Cornbelters were 46-50 this year and finished in third place in the West Division, but missed the playoffs by 12 games.

"This decision was based on a second season in which expectations were much higher than what was achieved," CornBelters general manager Steve Malliet said. "There's no doubt our talent pool of players grew significantly this season, but that didn't translate into enough wins on the field.

"We felt Hal worked hard to bring a winning team to Normal, and we wish him all the best. We expect to compete for a playoff spot each and every season."

Malliet plans to have a new manager hired by Nov. 1.

Up in smoke, 2011 version

The championship series is set for the Frontier League. It will be the Joliet Slammers, champions of the East Division, against the West Division champion River Ciy Rascals.

River City will be trying to become the third franchise to win back-to-back Frontier League championships. The others were Richmond (2001-02) and Windy City (2007-08). River City is in the finals for the third year in a row, having lost to Lake Erie in 2009.

Joliet swept Lake Erie in the East Division finals, and River City would have swept Southern Illinois had it not been for a ninth-inning meltdown by its bullpen in Game 1. The Rascals squandered a four-run lead in the top of the ninth, giving up six runs and losing 9-7.

Which begs the question, how good is River City's bullpen? The Rascals certainly have some impressive arms at the back of the pen, with three relievers having ERAs under 2.22. The Rascals tied with Joliet for most saves in the league with 34. However, River City had several more blown saves, and many of those came in the second half of the season.

Is that simply a byproduct of River City playing more games with late leads than Joliet, or do the Slammers have a more reliable bullpen? It's probably a little of both.

Here's a look at the blown saves for each team (note that Washington's blown saves totals were 14 in 2010, 15 in 2009, 15 in 2008 and 5 in 2007):

2011 Blown Saves
15 - Florence
12 - River City
12 - Rockford
12 - Southern Illinois
11 - Gateway
11 - Washington
11 - Windy City
9 - Joliet
9 - Lake Erie
9 - Normal
9 - Traverse City
8 - Evansville

Last word on attendance

Change has always been slow to come in baseball. Heck, it took almost 100 years until somebody decided it was OK to wear jerseys colored something other than white or gray.

When the nation's financial meltdown hit several years ago, minor-league baseball -- especially the independent level -- didn't feel the pinch in all markets the following season. Some teams were hit hard, others saw attendance rise slightly, others saw no significant change. Last year, half the teams in the Frontier League logged an increase in attendance over their 2009 figures.

It took some time, but the meltdown has finally trickled down to the Frontier League and all of independent baseball.

This year, every team in the Frontier League saw its average per-game attendance drop from 2010's numbers. And the dwindling turnstile counts were not limited to the Frontier. Only seven independent teams showed an attendance increase this summer, and that number should have an asterisk. The San Angelo (Texas) franchise in the North American Baseball League reported a per-game average increase of one fan. I'd be willing to bet that somebody in the Colts' front office figured out ahead of time just how much attendance he had to report in the season's final home game to get that one-person increase.

Another team that saw an increase was the Yuma Scorpions of the NABL. Yuma brought in Jose Caneseco as its manager this year and probably got a bump from having a household name in the dugout. That bump was an average of 81 fans per game.

Here is a look at how far attendance dropped per game in 2011 for each Frontier League team:

* Figures used from 2010 for Joliet and Rockford were when each of those franchises were in the Northern League.

Drop in Att. = Team
-39 = Traverse City
-77 = Windy City
-111 = Gateway
-201 = Normal
-205 = Washington
-290 = Evansville
-390 = Southern Illinois
-442 = Florence
-449 = Lake Erie
-750 = Rockford*
-799 = River City
-1,135 = Joliet*

Joliet's numbers are staggering, but you have to remember that the Slammers replaced a team called the Jackhammers, who played in the Northern League and left behind a trail of debt, which probably turned off plenty of people.

Those who say on-field success has little or no impact on attendance in minor-league baseball might be correct. In the FL this year, four of the six markets that showed the largest drop in attendance made the playoffs. And what's up in River City? At one time, this was the best-drawing market in the FL. Now, it's the worst despite the Rascals having an opportunity to be back-to-back champions.

In Washington, where attendance hit an all-time low of 2,226 per game, there are many factors that have caused the decline: the economy, three consecutive losing seasons, the 6:35 p.m. start time, the novelty of pro baseball has worn off, many people have been-there, done-that when it comes the Wild Things and Consol Energy Park. Stu Williams, one of the Wild Things' owners, even pointed to Washington having 27 home dates in the first of the season this year and only 21 in the second half as a contributing factor. Games in the first half of the season have more competition from youth baseball leagues.

The reasons for the dwindling attendance is probably all of the above. With baseball slow to change, reversing the trend will be difficult in 2012.

Winning debut

Here is the link to a story about former Wild Things pitcher Justin Edwards, who tossed six shutout innings for a win in his debut with the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League.

Read the story here.

Tweet!

If anyone reading this is a user of Twitter, you can follow me @ CDuganOR.

With the offseason rapidly approaching, I won't be tweeting much about Wild Things but will have plenty of local sports and random throughts and observations.

Then again, it could be a very busy offseason for the Wild Things. The Twitter account might be working overtime.

Frontier League awards

The Frontier League announced their annual end-of-season awards Thursday and one went to a former Wild Things player.

Right-handed pitcher Casey Barnes was named the Jason Simontacchi Award winner as Rookie of the Year. Barnes (pictured), who signed with the Philadelphia Phillies last month, had a 5-5 record and 2.34 ERA (third in the Frontier League). At the time he was signed by the Phillies, Barnes was second in the Frontier League in ERA. He was the starting pitcher for the East Division in the 2011 All-Star Game.

It was quite a memorable stay in the Frontier League for Barnes. He began the season by being released in spring training by Traverse City and then was picked up by Washington before the regular season even began. He went from being the Wild Things' No. 5 starter to their ace.

Barnes is now pitching for Williamsport in the Class A New York-Penn League.

River City swept the top player and pitcher honors. Stephen Holdren (.333, 20 HR, 78 RBI) was voted the Morgan Burkhart Award winner as Most Valuable Player. Right-hander Josh Lowey (10-2, 2.53) won the Brian Tollberg Award as Pitcher of the Year. Joliet's Bart Zeller is the Manager of the Year.

WJPA Radio's Randy Gore won the Broadcaster of the Year Award. There's probably not another person in the league who goes to work each day more prepared to do his job than Randy Gore.

The Observer-Reporter also picked up some awards.

The All-Frontier League team and award winners:

1B – Logan Parker, River City Rascals
2B – Will Block, Southern Illinois Miners
3B – Chris Curley, Florence Freedom
SS – Andrew Davis, Lake Erie Crushers
OF – Stephen Holdren, River City Rascals
OF – J.T. Hall, Traverse City Beach Bums
OF – Alvaro Ramirez, Normal CornBelters
C – Landon Hernandez, Gateway Grizzlies
DH – Charlie Lisk, Gateway Grizzlies
SP – Josh Lowey, River City Rascals
RP – Ryan Quigley, Joliet Slammers

Morgan Burkhart Award (MVP) – Stephen Holdren, River City Rascals
Brian Tollberg Award (Pitcher of the Year) – Josh Lowey, River City Rascals
Jason Simontacchi Award (Rookie of the Year) – Casey Barnes, Washington Wild Things
Roger Hanners Award (Manager of the Year) – Bart Zeller, Joliet Slammers
Fran Riordan Award (Citizenship) – Danny Sawyer, River City Rascals

Coach of the Year – Mike Breyman, River City Rascals
Trainer of the Year – Matt Yonkof, Lake Erie Crushers
Groundskeeper of the Year – Lance Adler, Evansville Otters
Newspaper of the Year - The Observer-Reporter (Washington, Pennsylvania)
Writer of the Year – Chris Dugan, Observer-Reporter (Washington, Pennsylvania)
Broadcaster of the Year – Randy Gore, Washington Wild Things
Clubbie of the Year – Nate Six, Lake Erie Crushers
Executive of the Year – John Dittrich/Bill Waliewski, Joliet Slammers
Organization of the Year – Lake Erie Crushers
Umpire of the Year - Tony Maners

Voting for awards was done by general managers, coaching staffs, and local media in all 12 Frontier League markets.

Keep on pitchin'

According to WTRF-TV in Wheeling, W.Va., Wild Things pitcher and Wheeling native Justin Edwards (pictured) will continue to pitch after the Frontier League season ends. It was reported that Edwards will join the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League after the Wild Things' finale Sunday.

York's pitching coach is former Wild Things manager Mark Mason.

The Atlantic League's regular season runs through Sept. 18.

Edwards is unlikely to return to the Wild Things next year because he will exceed the Frontier League's age limit. He is one of three Wild Things pitchers who will age out. The others are Kevin Hammons and Davis Bilardello.

Edwards is currently second in the Frontier League in ERA at 2.04. He will make one more start with the Wild Things during their season-ending road trip that begins tonight at Lake Erie.

Celebrate good times

Here's a photo, from the Daily Republican in Marion, Ill., of the Southern Illinois Miners celebrating in the clubhouse after clinching a playoff berth Tuesday night with a come-from-behind win over Gateway. Do you know the guy in the front row of the photo? You get one guess.

More on Schaumburg

According to reports out of Chicago, Joliet Slammers owner Alan Oremus has sold the lease for Alexian Field in Schaumburg, Ill., to Patrick Salvi, who owns the Gary Southshore Railcats of the American Association.

So what does this mean for the Frontier League? Oremus had originally planned to put a Schaumburg team in the American Assocation in 2012, then changed course and had the franchise ticketed for the Frontier League.

With Salvi, a Chicago attorney, already owning a team in the AA, my first thought was the Schaumburg franchise would join that league. However, several stories on the Oremus-Salvi transaction have mentioned that Schaumburg is still headed for the Frontier League. In the final paragraph of the story linked below, it's mentioned that a Schaumburg franchise was approved Tuesday by the Frontier League.

Read the story here.

A complete mentality

In this age of closely monitored pitch counts and six inning "quality starts," the Wild Things' Justin Hall (pictured) arrives for work every fifth game with a refreshing outlook to his craft as a starting pitcher.

Hall (8-6, 3.44) wants to finish what he starts.

The right-hander has four complete games, and it would not have been surprising if Hall had been allowed to pitch the ninth inning of the Wild Things' 5-2 win Wednesday night over the Joliet Slammers.

But after throwing 115 pitches, Hall's night was over. Washington manager Darin Everson had decided to call upon closer Tyler Wolf to get the final three outs for his 10th save. That, however, doesn't mean Hall couldn't have completed the task.

"We were thinking about maybe letting Justin go out for ninth, but it was a save situation, so you've got to go to your closer," Everson explained.

That was disappointing for Hall, who seems to be a different breed of starting pitcher in the Frontier League. While other starters generally start looking to the bullpen for help after pitching five or six innings, Hall has a nine-inning mentality.

"Most of our starters don't have that six-inning mentality," Everson said. "From day one, we've told our starters that we'll let them go as long as they can. They built up their arm strength to pitch nine innings and are in great shape, which is a credit to (pitching coach) Mark (Dewey).

"Lately, it seems I've been going out to the mound in the sixth and seventh innings just to ask a pitcher how he feels, not to take him out of the game."

While Joliet is enjoying a 6 1/2 game lead in the East Division, Hall has a 2-0 record in as many starts against the Slammers. Back in the second game of the season, Hall threw a four-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts at Joliet.

"The key is Hall throws strikes, gets ahead of the hitters and makes them hit his best pitches," Joliet manager Bart Zeller said. "It's a real simple formula, but it's really effective. He's always pitching ahead in the count."

Zeller said he was impressed by Hall in the fifth inning, after Joliet scored twice in the fourth to pull to within 3-2.

"He didn't get flustered after we scored those two runs," Zeller said. "He got six straight outs after that. That's the sign of an outstanding pitcher."

Hall ended up retiring 13 of the last 14 batters he faced.

Roster move

According to the Frontier League website, the Wild Things released catcher Ryan Morrow and signed pitcher Jake Ramsay. At this moment, I don't know anything about the pitcher, other than there was a Jake Ramsay who pitched for a team that was just eliminated from the independent Pecos League playoffs that had a Jake Ramsay on its roster.

Morrow, a rookie catcher from St. Mary's (Texas) had a .034 batting average. He was 1-for-29.

The Wild Things will host the East Division-leading Joliet Slammers today in a doubleheader at Consol Energy Park. The first game will begin at 5:05 p.m.

Washington has 19 games remaining. The Wild Things must go at least 6-13 in those games to better last year's 38-57 record.

Market value

Here's a short but interetsing story from Pittsburgh Business Times about where Washington ranks among the 241 minor-league baseball markets.

Read the story here.

Broom service?

The Wild Things have a chance to sweep a series tonight -- on the road, no less -- when they play the Evansville Otters at Bosse Field.

Being the Frontier League team with the fewest road wins (12) this year, Washington getting a road sweep would be something that hasn't for this franchise a long time. Just how long? I had to search a while for that one.

The last three-game road sweep for the Wild Things came May 25-27 of last year, at Kalamazoo. Washington completed the sweep by winning the final game of the series 12-8 in 13 innings. If I recall correctly, Jacob Dempsey had home run in the 13th.

Barnes is the 4th

There's not much for the Wild Things to play for these days. The playoffs are only a pipe dream and a winning season seems unlikely.

Personal goals, such as players getting a contract offer from a Major League Baseball organization, are about all that remain. For two pitchers, that goal has been reached during the current six-game road trip.

Washington starting pitcher Casey Barnes (pictured) signed a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies organization Sunday night, 48 hours after reliever Mark Williams was picked up by Milwaukee.

Barnes was second in the Frontier League with a 2.34 ERA. A right-hander out of Kansas Wesleyan University, Barnes had a 5-5 record in his rookie season. Released by Traverse City during spring training, Barnes was signed by the Wild Things prior to the start of the season and quickly became their most reliable starting pitcher.

"We’re thrilled with the success Casey has had with us, and we hope it continues with the Phillies,” Wild Things manager Darin Everson said in a press release.

If you know Barnes, you can't help but feel good for him. In 10 years of covering the Wild Things, I think Barnes is the most excitable and appreciative player I've met. He was genuinely thrilled to have a chance to pitch for the Wild Things and seemed to enjoy every moment of being a professional baseball player.

Barnes is the fourth Wild Things player (all pitchers) to have their contract purchased this season, which speaks volumes about the job pitching coach Mark Dewey has done. The Wild Things also lead the Frontier League with 40 quality starts (at least six innings pitched and no more than three earned runs allowed).

"It says a lot about Mark Dewey,” Barnes said. “Mark is a great guy, both as a coach and as a role model. ... I just hope I can find someone like him to work with in the Phillies organization.”

Barnes will join the Phillies' rookie-level affiliate in the Gulf Coast League.

Former Wild Things pitcher Vidal Nuno was recently promoted in the New York Yankees' system from the short-season New York-Penn League to low-Class A Charleston (S.C.). With Staten Island, Nuno was 5-0 with one save and an 0.72 ERA in eight games. He struck out 29 and walked only three in 25 innings.

Random notes, thoughts

Cleaning out my cluttered mind and notebook:

* If you didn't hear WJPA Radio's broadcast of the Wild Things' game Saturday night at Florence -- and I can't blame you if you didn't want to listen to a Wild Things game on a Saturday night -- Washington lost right-handed pitcher Mark Williams to the Milwaukee Brewers. According to WJPA's Randy Gore, Williams was signed by Milwaukee after the Wild Things' game Friday in Florence. There was no mention of the signing Saturday on the websites of the Frontier League or Wild Things.

The hard-throwing Williams, who helped Marietta College win the NCAA Division III national championship this spring, didn't have eye-popping numbers with the Wild Things. He was 1-1 with a 7.54 ERA. Early in his stay in Washington, Williams was known as a pitcher who could throw hard but didn't always know where the fastball was going (ala the original Wild Thing). He pitched 14 2/3 innings, allowing 15 hits and 16 walks with 24 strikeouts.

However, Williams seems to have corrected his control problems and has been impressive in his last six outings, each of which was scoreless. In those 5 2/3 innings, Williams allowed only two hits and struck out 13.

Williams is the third Washington pitcher to be signed by an MLB organization this season, following Alan Williams (Milwaukee) and Vidal Nuno (New York Yankees). This is the first time the Wild Things have had three players picked up during a Frontier League season.

* Here's a safe bet: No Wild Things hitter will be signed by an affiliated team before the season ends.

After its second 3-0 loss to Florence in as many nights, Washington's offense, which has been the worst in the league all season, is on a run of 26 consecutive innings without generating a run. The worst part is the streak has come against Evansville and Florence, the bottom two teams in the West Division.

The Wild Things' struggling offense has managed to score more than one run in only three of its last eight games.

* I was wondering if Gateway pitcher Mark Brackman, who is currently on the disabled list, could win the league's ERA title without throwing another pitch this season. It turns out that he can't. Brackman (2.12 ERA), has pitched 72 1/3 innings. He must throw 77 innings to qualify for the ERA title.

Traverse City's Scott Dunn (a South Side Beaver graduate) is second in ERA at 2.22 followed by Washington's Casey Barnes at 2.34.

In 2003, Rockford's Jason Shelley won the ERA title without throwing a pitch in the league after the all-star break. Shelley was 7-1, 0.85 at the break, then signed by the Milwaukee Brewers and assigned to Class AA. At the time he was signed, Shelley was seven innings over the minimum to qualify for the ERA title.

* I thought Gateway and River City were supposed to be bitter rivals. Apparently, that's not the case. It seems the front offices of the teams are fairly chummy. When Gateway traded all-star first baseman Logan Parker to River City earlier this week for a pitcher and three players to be named later, it was the fourth trade between the teams this season.

The latest trade has been reported as one that was done as a favor for Parker, who is said to be retiring after the season. Gateway sent Parker to River City so that he would have a chance to end his career with a FL championship.

I hate those kind of trades.

Maybe I missed something, but I always thought the idea was to field as competitive a team as possible. Heck, I even cringed when Washington acquired Aaron Ledbetter from River City in 2006 for two forgettable and inexperienced pitchers (can you name them?).

* With Windy City losing games as quickly as the schedule allows, I have the feeling Lake Erie will end up with the second playoff spot in the East.

* That final playoff berth might come down to the final series of the regular season: Lake Erie at Traverse City. If Windy City is still in the playoff hunt come September, the ThunderBolts get to play a three-game series at home against Washington to close the season.

* The two pitchers the Wild Things traded for Aaron Ledbetter were Greg Lasinski and Shawn Phillips.

A number to forget

The Wild Things' game Thursday night against the Evansville Otters had a little more meaning to it than just a game Washington needed to win. It also had a dubious attachment to it.

The game was the 150th in a row the Wild Things have played without entering with a winning record. Washington has not played a game while sporting a .500-plus record since June 3, 2010. The Wild Things lost that day at Gateway, 15-2, and since have been at .500 or worse for every game. No winning records.

This is obviously in stark contrast to the franchise's early days. Washington played only 25 games while sporting a losing record, including just one game in 2005, over its first four seasons. In 2007, the Wild Things won their season opener and went wire-to-wire with a .500 record or better.

But starting with the final 32 games of the 2009 season, Washington has been above .500 for only eight days -- all early in the 2010 season.

Schaumburg to Frontier League?

According to ballparkdigest.com, the Frontier League will be adding Schaumburg, Ill., to the lineup next year.

You might recall that Schaumburg, which had a Northern League team that ran up approximately $9000,000 in debt before ceasing operations after the 2010 season, was rumored to be headed for the Frontier League this season. What prevented that from happening was the lease at Alexian Field (pictured) being granted to Alan Oremus, who just happens to be the owner of the Joliet Slammers. After acquiring the lease, Oremus said he planned to put a Schaumburg team in the independent American Association in 2012.

However, according to the website, there was never a legal agreement tying Oremus to the American Association, and after having some success in Joliet the decision was made to go to the Frontier League.

Nothing has been announced by either Oremus, the Frontier League or American Association, so we'll just have to wait. If this report is true, it leaves the Frontier League with 13 teams and opens the door for the potential return of the Kalamazoo Kings. It Kalamazoo doesn't return, the a traveling team would be the most likely option for the 14th club.

Not the same old Otters

Tonight was supposed to be the beginning of an important stretch for the Wild Things. For weeks, Washington had talked about the advantage of having six games remaining against the Evansville Otters, the last-place team in the West Division. While the other teams in the East -- except Lake Erie -- would be playing more challenging games against West rivals, the Wild Things would face Evansville and Florence, the latter having fallen into fifth place in the West.

This looked like a good thing for the Wild Things, especially in late June when Evansville was off to a 6-25 start.

Well, timing is everything in baseball, and playing the Otters in August might not be the advantage it was thought to be a few weeks ago. These aren't the same old Otters.

Evansville seems to have gotten its act together. The Otters have won seven straight road games entering tonight's series opener at Consol Energy Park.

Evansville also is 8-6 in its last 14 games.

If Washington is going to make a move toward reaching the .500 mark, then it must take advantage of the games against Evansville and Florence. But it's the games against Evansville that might prove to be more difficult for Washington. While Evansville has improved, Florence has been in a tailspin. The Freedom are 5-20 since July 4, with two of the five wins coming by one run. Florence has lost 12 of its last 13 road games.

While there might be some advantage to playing Evansville and Florence late in the year instead of say, River City and Gateway, the break might be in playing the Freedom, not the Otters.

Back to 5

Sometimes the best laid plans can go awry in a hurry.

The Wild Things had been planning to go to a six-man pitching rotation beginning last night. Those plans were scrapped before they were put into motion.

Washington had signed right-handed pitcher Chris Smith to a contract Wednesday and had planned to have him start last night's game against Rockford. Smith first had to pass a physical, which is something he still hasn't done.

According to manager Darin Everson, Smith has inflammation in his shoulder and will be put on a seven-day program and then re-evaluated. Because he didn't pass the physical, Smith's contract was voided and he hasn't been placed on the disabled list.

"He probably could have pitched, but we don't want to put a guy out there who's not 100 percent," Everson said.

Prior to coming to Washington, Smith pitched in five games for the White Sands Pupfish of the Pecos League, an independent league based in New Mexico. In his next-to-last outing with White Sands, Smith pitched a nine-inning complete game and threw 141 pitches -- a total unheard of in minor-league ball for a 22-year-old pitcher. You have to wonder if that had anything to do with the injury.

Everson said he's still considering the six-man rotation but will keep the five-man setup through at least the open date on Aug. 8. There were several reasons for going to a six-man rotation, one of which being the doubleheader against Joliet in mid-August.

I was interested to see how a six-man rotation would work. I recall asking former Wild Things manager Jeff Isom back in 2003 if he had ever considered using a six-man. The reason being, it seems many starting pitchers in this league develop dead arms late in June. That, I reasoned, was because many were relief pitchers in affiliated ball and had not been a starting pitcher in at least two years. Plus, any college guy you put in the rotation probably has 80 to 110 innings for the year already on his arm.

Isom shot down the idea, saying scouts want to see guys pitch every fifth day, plus that's what the players want.

Another former Wild Things manager, John Massarelli, has made a habit of using a four-man rotation in the season's second half.

Banks gone, Smith signed

Ernie Banks' second stint with the Wild Things ended in the same fashion as his first -- with a trade.

Banks (above left) was traded Wednesday by Washington to the Southern Illinois Miners. In exchange for the first baseman, the Wild Things acquired rookie relief pitcher Joe Tarallo and the Miners' first-round draft pick next year. That pick will likely be No. 10 or 11.

Unlike his first go-around in Washington, Banks struggled mightily at the plate, hitting only .207 in 42 games. He had two home runs (each during the last road trip) and only 13 RBI.

Banks will be heading to Southern Illinois for the second time. He started last season with the Miners, playing 29 games before ending the season in another independent league.

Banks will have an opportunity to play regularly as Southern Illinois has lost first basemen Matt Fields (wrist) and Gordon Gronkowski (foot) to injuries.

"We were definitely looking for another pitcher, and there was some interest from other teams in Ernie," Washington manager Darin Everson said. "He's going back to a place he's been before. The trade narrows out lineup a little bit. Instead of having two experienced hitters on the bench each night we only have one. What is means for the guys who are here is more playing time. It's time to make a push."

In Tarallo (0-0, 3.38), the Wild Things get a pitcher who has appeared in 16 games with Southern Illinois and Florence. He averages more than one strikeout per inning.

The trade was part of a flurry of moves by the Wild Things.

Relief pitcher Michael Cotter (0-0, 6.35) was released. Washington picked up Cotter in a trade with a team in another league only three weeks ago.

The Wild Things signed Chris Smith, a right-handed pitcher who had been playing in the independent Pecos League after beginning the year with Traverse City. He was released by the Beach Bums after only two relief appearances, including one against the Wild Things at Consol Energy Park.

Smith was a draft pick of Lake Erie last year but lasted only one outing. He will start Friday night against Rockford as the Wild Things switch to a six-man pitching rotation.

TRIVIA: Banks is not the first player traded twice by the Wild Things. I can think of one pitcher. Anyone willing to guess who that might be?