Useless information, V2.0
Some random thoughts and notes about the Wild Things and Frontier League:* Has any Wild Things player ever had a better road trip than the one Chris Sidick (pictured) is having? In the first five games of the current six-game trip to Traverse City and Rockford, Sidick is 14-for-21 with 11 runs, 5 RBI, 2 home runs and 5 stolen bases. He has raised his batting average from .243 to .286.
A few other guys I recall having good road trips were Josh Loggins, Chris Carter and Mike Arbinger.
Loggins had a trip to Evansville and Chillicothe in 2003 in which he went 7-for-17 with 3 home runs and 9 RBI and was signed by Colorado during the trip.
When Washington ran off a 13-game winning streak in 2005, Arbinger and Carter were the catalysts. During a nine-game road trip to Gateway, River City and Mid-Missouri, Arbinger was 17-for-44 with 2 homers and 16 RBI. On the same trip, Carter went 15-for-38 with 5 homers and 15 RBI.
* According his Twitter account, Chris Smith, a right-handed pitcher who has been playing with the White Sands Pupfish of the independent Pecos League, has signed a contract to play with the Wild Things. Smith, who is from Louisville, was Lake Erie's first-round draft pick in the Frontier League draft in 2010. He played two games for Traverse City this year, including a rough outing out of the bullpen against the Wild Things at Consol Energy Park in May. Smith later signed with White Sands. In the Pecos League, Smith had a 3-0 record and 1.39 ERA in four outings. He struck out 28 in 26 innings.
According to the Twitter post, Smith said he will be a starting pitcher with the Wild Things.
* Former Wild Things relief pitcher Alan Williams, who was signed by the Milwaukee Brewers early in the Frontier League season, has been promoted from rookie ball to Class A. Williams was sent from Helena (Mont.) to Appleton (Wisc.), where he will play for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League. Williams pitched in nine games with Helena and had a 1-1 record, 4 saves and 2.57 ERA. He struck out 28 in only 14 innings.
* When Luis Rivera homered in the fifth inning Wednesday at Traverse City, it was the first time all season the Wild Things received a home run from the cleanup spot in the batting order. That one came 52 games into the season.
* Remember Steve MacFarland, who pitched for the Wild Things last year until an injury ended his season? McFarland was the Pittsburgh Pirates' 9th-round draft pick in 2006 but never made it past low-Class A with the Bucs. He was traded by Washington to another independent league last offseason. Since then, MacFarland has been released from three different indy leagues but is back in the Frontier. He was signed this week by the Florence Freedom.
Labels: Alan Williams, Chris Carter, Chris Sidick, Chris Smith, Florence Freedom, Josh Loggins, Luis Rivera, Mike Arbinger, Pecos League, Steve MacFarland, White Sands Pupfish
posted by Chris Dugan at
1:59 PM
5 Comments:
first, there was the wednesday collapse. now, the sunday night debacle...mr. smily has totally lost this team. it is time to go...now. right now. immediately. don't worry about the door. someone will get it.
i left when flop-r-dello gave up the lead, hitting a batter to force in go-ahead run, that after 2 walks and an infield hit allowed. i get to the car and hear gregg talking about bilardello trying to give the ball to mr. smily before he even got to the mound...they should take it, and his uniform, and his locker key, and help him get on down the road. he's a quitter, and wasn't even very good to begin with.
then gregg asks mr. optomism why cotter didn't start throwing until the the last batter, the one bilardello hit. radio randy simply said, "i have no idea. i don't have an answer."
cotter goes on to be the "other cotter". after getting an out, he gives up a 2-run single, a stolen base "he never looked", another 2-run single. gregg says, "that's what happens when you get behind .200 hitters."....
and then this: "this is the second ugliest wild things inning i have ever seen." truth never more clearly spoken.
justin edwards pitched pretty well. too bad nobody else could and too bad smily didn't have anybody ready sooner to get them out of there.
Mr. Gregg is a lose cannon when the Wild Things are losing.
When they are winning, he is a good announcer.
I am surprised the WT management has not asked that he be banned from announcing WT games.
With the recent trend of losing over multiple years, I hope Radio Randy doesn't end up the same way as Pirates Lannie and turn to the bottle for relief.
even if mr. gregg is a "lose canon" when the wild things are losing, how/why should they ask for him to be banned? on what basis? for what purpose?
was that not ugly last night?
should someone not have been loosening sooner, given the history?
are .200 hitters not much better when the count is 2-0 than 0-2, or even 1-1?
so, what did he say that wasn't true? why should he be banned? and what position do the wild things have to ask for such a ridiculous move? 'cause you don't like his truth telling?
"even if mr. gregg is a "lose canon" when the wild things are losing, how/why should they ask for him to be banned? on what basis? for what purpose?"
You are correct, Sir.
Ima Fraid
I just remember a couple of year ago when Chris wrote an article about the WT and was banned from the club house following the loss that booted them from the playoffs.
With this history, I am surprised the WT ownership has not held Bob's comments against him.
That is what I was getting to.
Nothing he said was wrong, but when you are dealing with rectum specialists, you have to be careful.
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