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)