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).