All the right moves

We are roughly 38 percent of the way through the Frontier League season, so what do the standings tell us? Well, nothing if you're Traverse City manager Greg Langbehn or any other skipper in this league.

Langbehn's Beach Bums are in third place in the East, four games behind first-place Windy City and a half-game ahead of the Wild Things. He's not worried about the standings. Heck, Lake Erie manager John Massarelli says he doesn't even look at the standings until after the all-star break.

"Last year, we were 10 games out of first place, at one point," Langbehn said over the weekend. "Windy City was 12 games out. They were behind us. And both of us made the playoffs. That's why we're not even worried. It's still early."

Langbehn knows from seeing four of the other teams in the East (the Beach Bums have not played Windy City) that nobody is prepared to run away from the pack. But one or two key roster moves could push a team from worst to first in the East. Rockford needs relief pitching. Washington needs hitting. Traverse City needs a starting pitcher and a hitter. Windy City could use another hitter. ... etc.

"That's why we're making a couple of moves when we get home," Langbehn said. "Making the right moves could be the difference."

It always could be worse

Warning: This is not a post about the Frontier League or the Wild Things, though you might think differently about each after reading the following:

Minor-league baseball is filled with thousands of interesting stories, with most prompting the same question: Why do people do this for a living? It doesn't matter if the story is about a player, coach, umpire, owner ... you often wonder if the time and effort is worth the reward.

With that in mind, the following are links to two stories that I came across while searching for information about two players, former California University standout outfielder Sam DiMatteo and ex-Wild Things utility player Joel Hartman. Neither story is about DiMatteo or Hartman, who are currently playing in the Pecos League, an independent circuit with teams in New Mexico and west Texas. This is the bottom of the ladder in independent baseball.

The first link is a story about the Pecos League having a traveling team that played three "home games" in Carlsbad (N.M.). The second link is to press release that actually appeared on the league's website. You'll be be shaking your head in disbelief after each story. I know I was.

Read the Carlsbad story here.


Read the website story here.

Alumni report

Here's a check of the three former Wild Things, including two off this year's club, who are playing in affiliated ball:

Alan Williams - The lefty reliever, who was the first Frontier League player picked up by a major league organization this year, has been assigned to the Helena (Mont.) Brewers of the rookie-level Pioneer League. Helena has played five games and Williams has pitched in three of those, posting a 1-0 record, two saves and 0.00 ERA. The 20-year-old Williams has pitched four innings, allowed one hit and one walk, and struck out seven.

Vidal Nuno - The Wild Things' opening day starter this year, Nuno has been assigned to the Staten Island Yankees of the short-season Class A New York Penn League. Staten island has played seven games and Nuno has pitched in one of those, getting a win with 1 1/3 innings of perfect relief. This is a league that is probably below where Nuno should be slotted. He pitched in the NYP two years ago and had a 5-0 record, then spent last season as a starter in low-Class A.

Tom Cochran - (Have you noticed that all three of these guys are left-handed pitchers?) Cochran continues to pitch well for Louisville, the Cincinnati Reds' Class AAA affiliate. He has a 6-1 record and 3.83 ERA in 12 games, including eight starts.

Banda released

Josh Banda, who started the season hitting in the No. 3 spot in the Wild Things' lineup but struggled offensively all season, was released Thursday by the Wild Things.

During the offseason, Washington traded its first-round draft pick to River City in exchange for Banda, who hit 14 home runs last year for the Rascals. Banda added four more home runs during the postseason as the Rascals won their first league championship.

In Washington, however, Banda lost his hitting touch. He was batting only .127 (8-for-63) with no home runs and one RBI. He struck out 27 times.

Banda was replaced on the roster by Bryan Fogle, a former NCAA Division II Playerof the Year at Erskine College in South Carolina. Fogle hit .420 with 28 home runs and 103 RBI in2010, his final season at Erskine. He was drafted in the 32nd round last year by Tampa Bay and played rookie ball in Princeton (W.Va.), where he was teammates with current Wild Things Justin Hall and Scott Lawson.

Ellis to PPU Hall of Fame

Former Wild Things second baseman and assistant coach Ryan Ellis will be inducted into the Point Park University Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 9.

Here is Ellis' bio from the school's release:

A native of Munhall, Pa., and a graduate of Steel Valley High School, Ryan Ellis holds the Point Park record for single-season batting average at .477 in 1999. Ellis, an infielder, ranks fourth in school history with a .405 career average, and he is one of only four players in school history to hit over .400 for his career. A two-time NAIA Honorable Mention All-American (1998 and 199), Ellis’ ranking in Point Park’s career records include being third in hits (207), third in RBIs (169), second in home runs (27) and second in triples (21). He led Point Park to its 10th appearance in the NAIA World Series in 1998.

Drafted in the 28th round of the 2000 MLB draft by the Montreal Expos, Ellis played five years of minor league baseball, first with Vermont in the New York-Penn League and then with Washington of the independent Frontier League.

Currently, Ellis is the manager of the NY Mets Class A affiliate, the Savannah Sand Gnats, a position he took over prior to the 2011 season. The Sand Gnats won the South Atlantic League Southern Division first-half title and took a 39-30 record into the SAL All-Star break June 20-22. Ellis managed the South Division in the SAL All-Star Game June 21, 2011 to a 6-3 victory. Prior to becoming the manager of the Sand Gnats, Ellis had been a minor league assistant coach since 2003, and he has been coaching in the NY Mets’ organization since 2006.

Ellis was also a three-year member of the Point Park men’s soccer team (1996-98), and he was an NAIA All-Northeast Region Honorable Mention defender in 1997.

Road kill

In golf, there's a popular saying that you drive for show but putt for dough. In other words, it's impressive if you can crush the ball off the tee, but it does you no good if you can't sink the six-foot putts.

The baseball equivalent of the six-foot putt is the road game. Most teams are better at home than on the road. That much is obvious. You can impress the home fans by winning often in your own ballpark, but the playoff-caliber teams are the ones who find ways to win on the road, especially in the close games.

The Wild Things have a winning record at home (8-7) but that means nothing because of their performance away from Consol Energy Park. Washington is 3-10 in road games. Only Evansville (3-12) is worse away from home. Half of the Wild Things' road losses have been by one run, in large part because of their anemic .202 batting average in away games.

When the Wild Things were at their best years ago, they were terrific on the road. From the team's inaugural season of 2002 through 2006, Washington had the Frontier League's best road record in four of those years. In the other, they were second best.

The formula for success on the road, it seems, has been lost. This year, Washington has lost all five of its road series, and going back to last season the streak is eight in a row. In that span, the Wild Things are 4-18 away from Consol Energy Park. More than half of the 18 losses have been by one run.

Maybe the tide will turn tonight at Traverse City. If it doesn't, then the upcoming nine-game homestand will have to be looked upon as a gift from the schedulemaker, a chance to move up in the standings before playing 12 of the next 18 on the road.

Series leftovers

Some notes, thoughts and numbers that didn't get into the print edition during the Wild Things' series against Windy City:

* Surely, in all of baseball's written and unwritten rules, there has to be something about teams shouldn't wear the same colored jerseys. Prior to the opening game of the doubleheader Friday night, Windy City walks onto the Consol Energy Park field wearing royal blue jerseys and blue caps. The Wild Things, meanwhile, opt for their royal blue jerseys and blue caps. The uniform selections made it look like Trinity High School was playing an intrasquad game. Whatever happened to wearing gray on the road? At the very least, the visiting team shouldn't wear a colored jersey that matches any of the home team's jerseys.

* After the game Saturday, Washington signed Ryan Morrow, a switch-hitting catcher out of St. Mary's University in Texas. He has no professional experience. Morrow was drafted in the 44th round by Atlanta in 2010 but did not sign. As a junior, he batted .366 with 14 home runs and 65 RBI but his numbers dropped off (as they did for most players because of the change in bats) this year. Morrow hit .277 with three home runs and 29 RBI. It seems Morrow might have a decent arm because the opponents for St. Mary's stole only 39 bases in 59 games.

* From the How Did That Happen Department? comes this: Washington right fielder Luis Rivera entered the second game of Friday nigth's doubleheader with zero walks in 61 at-bats. Rivera then walked in each of his first three plate appearances against Windy City starter Luis Rivera.

* Former California University pitcher Randy Sturgill made his pro debut Friday night with the Lake Erie Crushers. Sturgill pitched one inning of relief in the Crushers' 3-2 loss at Rockford. He gave up two hits, one run and one walk.

Sturgill, a left-hander from Leechburg, was a two-time PSAC West Division West Pitcher of the Year. He holds Cal's single-season and career records for wins. He led the PSAC in wins, innings and strikeouts this spring, going 10-2 and two saves with a 2.23 ERA and 107 strikeouts in 84 2/3 innings.

Sturgill had another year of eligibility remaining at Cal but opted to leave early. There is a connection between Cal's athletic department and Lake Erie manager John Massarelli that got Sturgill a look from the Crushers.

* The Wild Things' rained out game in Joliet has not yet been rescheduled. It will be played as part of a doubleheader either Aug. 16 or 17 when the Slammers play their first series in Washington.

* Rough week with the bats: Washington hasn't scored more than two runs in an inning since last Sunday's win over Normal.

* When you have a team that is struggling to get hits and score runs, such as the Wild Things have been all season, is it better for the manager to pick a batting order and stick with it for an extended period, or should he change the order nightly? There are different theories about this. Washington's Darin Everson has opted to change the order with each game. He has used 25 different batting orders in 26 games, and five players have hit in five different spots in the lineup.

* That the Frontier League has had eight players (including two from the Wild Things) sold to major league organizations in the first month of the season, shows that what we speculated on this blog last month was true - the talent level in the league was up this year. At this point last year, only one player had his contract purchased.

Making the call in Omaha

According to a story in the Marietta Times, Frontier League umpire Jim Schaly, pictured, will be one of the eight umpires working the College World Series beginning this weekend in Omaha, Neb.

Schaly had been the Frontier League's supervisor of umpires for 17 years, until giving up the job this season. Schaly was the home-plate umpire in this year's Big Ten tournament championship game and worked the Atlanta Regional that was won by Mississippi State. This will be Schaly's first College World Series.

According to the Times, Schaly, 49, has a limited Frontier League schedule this season, working only games played in Washington.

Nuno no more

So much for the thought about the Wild Things' starting rotation being as good as any in the league (see post below). Word is Vidal Nuno's contract has been purchased by the New York Yankees.

Justin time

The Wild Things will play their 23rd game of the season tonight, and this one might be the most interesting. That's because right-handed pitcher Justin Edwards, pictured, will make his season debut after starting the year on the disabled list.

Edwards, who had offseason shoulder surgery, will start tonight's game at Joliet. While Edwards will certainly be on a pitch limit, it will be interesting to see how he performs. If Edwards can be anything close to what he was last year after being moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation, he could solve one of the Wild Things' biggest problems. The rotation spot Edwards is filling has not produced a win or even a quality start.

If Edwards' return -- and we're talking beyond just this game -- is successful, then the Wild Things' rotation could stack up favorably with any in the league. Heck, if you took the five starters (Vidal Nuno, Justin Hall, Jhonny Montoya, Casey Barnes and Edwards) to a tryout camp, the guy the scouts would rank No. 5 on the list would be Barnes, and he's third in the Frontier League in ERA. Nuno, by the way, leads the league in strikeouts.

While Edwards, who was 5-2 with a 3.79 ERA last year, could solve the rotation problem, the hitting remains a work in progress for the Wild Things. A loss to Joliet last night showed Washington what it is missing. Slammers first baseman Erik Lis hit a two-run homer off Nuno in the third inning to give Joliet a 3-2 lead and the Wild Things couldn't generate a run the rest of the way.

Lis is the kind of player Washington doesn't have. The Wild Things are basically a collection of players with Class A and rookie-ball experience who were mid-to-late round draft picks. There are a few exceptions. Lis, however, began this season in Class AA -- for the fourth year. He advanced to Class AAA last year and played in more than 50 games for the Minnesota Twins' affiliate in Rochester. In other words, Lis is the kind of player who in previous years wouldn't have ended up on a Frontier League roster.

When Joliet signed Lis one day before the season opener against Washington, the Slammers traded first baseman Matt Fields to Southern Illinois to open a roster spot. Fields is of the same mold as Lis, having spent two years in Class AA. When the Frontier League loosened its restrictive roster requirements in the offseason, it opened the door for guys like Lis and Fields. They are the kind of players who can carry a team offensively.

Some of the Wild Things' best teams -- though not all -- had guys with at least Class AA experience, like Josh Loggins, Doug Garcia, Ryan Douglass, Pat Peavey etc., who were key hitters or pitchers. This year's offense could use an experienced bat in the middle of the lineup.

The good, the bad & the ugly

The Wild Things are 20 games into the season (two games under .500 at 9-11), so it's a good time to play "The Good, The Bad & The Ugly" of a season that's 20 percent complete.

Let's start with "The Good."

* Despite the last two games, the best part of this team has to be the pitching. Washington is tied for the Frontier League lead with Windy City for quality starts (12 in 20 games). Casey Barnes (1.42) is third in the league in ERA and Jhonny Montoya (2.05) is seventh. Vidal Nuno has looked like a No. 1 starter and Justin Hall has three wins and an 0.38 ERA on the road. The bullpen has been decent at worst and terrific at best. The only time it has failed to protect a lead was in the 17-inning game at Southern Illinois. Overall, the pitching staff is much improved over last year, with harder throwers and more guys who work ahead in the count. Even with the No. 5 spot in the rotation failing to produce a win, this group gets a good grade.

* A couple of other "goods" are Scott Lawson's play at second base and Chris Sidick in center field. The defense at catcher also has been improved, and Emilio Ontiveros was definitely a good defensive shortstop. I also think that Kevyn Feiner might be the best Wild Things third baseman at going into foul territory and tracking down popups. He has made two sensational over-the-shoulder, back-to-the-infield, sliding catches in the bullpen area that other third baseman haven't made.

"The Bad"
* Patience. The Wild Things' hitters are next-to-last in walks with 61. Only Joliet (59) has drawn fewer. Some guys seem to want to to swing at every pitch, others show patience until they get a two-strike count, then swing no matter where the next pitch is located. To illustrate, right fielder Luis Rivera has zero walks and 52 at-bats, and Ontiveros, who is out with an injury, had two walks and 48 at-bats. Frontier League pitchers are known for their high walk rate, so taking pitches is never a bad idea. The Wild Things need to do more of this.

Now, for "The Ugly."
* The Hitting. The Wild Things are last in almost every offensive category, and in some, they're not even close to the 11th-place team. Washington is hitting .221 (the 11th place team is River City at .239). The Wild Things have scored 65 runs. The next-lowest total is Evansville at 80. Gateway leads the league with 135 runs.

The alarming part of the offense is nobody has given an indication that they have the potential to carry the team for an extended period, such as Josh Loggins did in 2003 or Chris Carter did during the second half of the 2006 season. Chris Sidick has shown throughout his career that he can have big weeks, but he's not a 70-RBI guy. Scott Lawson and Kevyn Feiner have had some good stretches, but when they don't hit the team doesn't score.

Nobody in the East Division has shown that they're the clear-cut team to beat. And you can't rule out anybody as a playoff contender. There are six very even teams in the East, playing in the weaker of the two divisions. So it might come down to which team can make the one key player acquisition that pushes them into one of the two playoff berths. For Washington, that player must be a hitter.

Great Scott

If there is one Wild Things player who is swinging the bat well during this homestand, it's second baseman Scott Lawson.

The lefty hitter is 5-for-14 with two home runs, two walks and a stolen base. That's what Washington manager Darin Everson expected when he signed Lawson during the offseason.

A native of Grapevine, Texas, Lawson was drafted in the 29th round by the Tampa Bay Rays last spring but was released after hitting .262 with two teams (one rookie level, one Classs A). Everson targeted Lawson as a player to sign for several reasons, among them he played at Miami (Fla.) -- the Wild Things have three former Hurricanes -- and he liked Lawson's speed.

Throughout Lawson's career, he has shown flashes of brilliance. At Miami, he hit three home runs in three consecutive at-bats during an NCAA tournament game against Texas A&M. With the Wild Things, he has a team-high three home runs, including a game-winner in a 1-0 win at Joliet.

Defensively, Lawson began the year at third base but was shifted to second, where he played with the Hurricanes. He's shown that he's more suited for second base, and even showed terrific range. He made a diving stop on a ball hit up the middle Friday night by Normal's Tyler Keeble. Lawson quickly got to his feet and threw out Keeble. It was the kind of play that hasn't been seen by a Wild Things second baseman since the days of Ryan Ellis.

What Everson especially likes in Lawson is his speed. It's one reason he moved Lawson to the leadoff spot in the batting order and dropped Chris Siick into the No. 3 hole.

"Lawson has the ability to be a really impactful player and play at a higher level, if he can use his speed as a tool," Everson said. "That's why I wanted him -- because of his speed."

Enough is enough, V2.0

Nearly a month ago, I posted some rules that were to be followed for comments on this blog. They were rather clear: discuss the topic in the post, or a game, series or player. In other words, stay on topic. Also do not snipe at other posters by calling them names.

It seems that some people – the Internet community refers to them as trolls – ignored these rules. I guess it has been an attempt to use an O-R blog to further their agenda rather than add to the topic discussion. Other people have written they will not follow the rules. Others have resorted to using what can best be described as potty humor.

The rules obviously haven't worked. It looks like its time to finally give moderation a try. So starting now, comments will be moderated. That means that if you post a comment, it might take some time to appear. So if the comment is off subject, or inane, or otherwise inappropriate, it will never appear. This is a move I didn't want to make, but it has worked well for other blogs, including several on the O-R site.

Wild Things-Miners highlights

Jump to 1:48 into the video and you get Eric Stephens' game-winning home run.

Watch video here.

No place like road

Some notes and numbers:

* The Wild Things have a 3-6 record on the road. All three wins have come with right-handed pitcher Justin Hall (pictured) starting on the mound. The numbers for Hall (3-1) are off the charts in the three road games: 3-0 record, 24 innings, 16 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks and 19 strikeouts. That works out to a 0.38 ERA.

Now, if the Wild Things could figure out how to pitch Hall the first game of each road trip, then get four days of rain, then they'll be OK.

* There was a discussion in the pressbox at Consol Energy Park last week about which division, East or West, will be the dominant one this season. The consensus, based largely on the track records of players and managers, was that the West had more quality teams. That much proved true last week as the West went 23-13 in interdivision play. Of the 13 wins by the East, five were over West cellar-dweller Evansville.

* Through 15 games, Windy City has not hit a home run. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. The ThunderBolts, however, lead the East by a game over Joliet.

* West Division leader Southern Illinois is 6-0 in one-run games.

Offensive

When the Wild Things were off to a 2-5 start that included some ugly offensive statistics, manager Darin Everson indicated that the numbers don't tell the story of his team's offense. He said there were signs the offense was coming around, that some balls were being hit hard, just right at fielders.

In other words, sometimes actions speak louder than words or numbers.

For the Wild Things right now, the numbers are screaming for help.

For example:

Washington is last in the Frontier League with an anemic .216 batting average. The Wild Things have scored 41 runs in 14 games, or 60 fewer runs than Florence. The second-lowest runs total is 52 by Evansville, which has a 2-12 record. Washington also is last in the league in total bases (143), on-base percentage (.287) and slugging percentage (.306), and tied for last in walks (38).

In their last 36 innings, the Wild Things have scored two runs and produced 16 hits. Three of those innings were against a backup catcher who was masquerading as a pitcher. In their last 40 innings, the Wild Things have scored three runs and had 20 hits.

Perhaps the most troublesome statistic is the number of walks. There's an old theory that if you're not hitting well, then work deep into the count and get on base via the walk. The Wild Things aren't doing that. Here's a look at some of the walks-to-at-bats ratios of some of the players: 2 walks in 49 at-bats, 2 in 43, 1 in 22, 2 in 37.

A good rule of thumb is you should be drawing at least one walk per every 10 at-bats.

So what is Everson to do about his struggling offense?

Does the manager begin tearing apart the roster only three weeks into the season? Does he ride it out and hope that it's only a collective slump by his hitters while anticipating they'll snap out of of it soon? Does he wait until after Major League Baseball holds its amateur draft this week, then try to pick up some undrafted college hitters?

Does Everson try changing the lineup? Well, he's done that. In 14 games, the Wild Things have used 13 different batting orders. So does Everson pick a lineup and stick with it?

Despite a 5-9 record, the Wild Things are only two games out of second place and three out of first, thanks to being in the East Division rather than the tougher West.

The longest night

The Wild Things tied their team record Wednesday night/Thursday morning for longest game by innings in a 5-4 loss at Southern Illinois in 17 innings.

The 5-hour, 29-hour minute game was easily the longest in terms of time in team history, and the second-longest is not even close to last night's marathon that the Wild Things had a stranglehold on in the bottom of the ninth.

Washington led 4-2 with two outs and nobody on base in the ninth. One out away from a win, closer Taylor Wulf issued a walk that preceded consecutive doubles that tied the score and forced a whole bunch of extra innings.

Here are some of the notables from the game:

* Washington catcher Blake Ochoa hit two home runs.

* The Wild Things' Davis Bilardello made his debut with 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief.

* Wild Things reliever Matt Barnes threw six shutout innings and struck out eight. He did not walk a batter.

* Southern Illinois' Trey Manz, who is listed on the roster as a catcher but entered the game by playing right field, was shifted to pitcher during the extra innings. Manz made his pro pitching debut by throwing three shutout innings and getting the win. The 23-year-old Manz said he hadn't pitched since an intrasquad game in his sophomore year of college.

* Southern Illinois pitcher Ryan Quigley had to play right field for several innings.

* The losing pitcher was Sean Allaire, a backup infielder and catcher who relieved Barnes and started the 17th inning. Allaire pitched in one mopup inning earlier this year. Prior to that, he pitched in only one game in college (an alumni game) and one game in high school. The interesting part is that Washington had two relief pitchers they did not use: Kevin Hammons and Mick Mattaliano. Hammons did not appear in any of the Wild Things' first nine games, except to pinch-hit once in a blowout. He finally pitched in a game Tuesday night in the series opener and faced three batters, striking out two. Mattaliano also pitched Tuesday night, facing only one batter.

* The Wild Things' other 17-inning game was played in 2003 at home against Evansville. The Wild Things lost that one, too, 3-2. That game took only 4 hours and 26 minutes to play and here's why: the home-plate umpire that night had the widest strike ever in baseball. EVER! As I recall, all the pitchers had to do to get a strike call was throw the baseball to between Franklin Farms Road and the Taylorstown exit on I-70.

I know, you think I'm exaggerating. Well, I am. But only a little. Want proof? Here goes: There were only two walks in that game. Think about that for a moment. Only two walks in a 17-inning Frontier League game. None of the walks were issued by Washington pitchers. Only one walk came after the second inning. The first nine innings were played in only 1:58.

Washington's best chance to win came in the 16th inning when Joe Cuervo was tagged out trying to score from third base on a short passed ball. Evansville then won it in the 17th on an error and two singles.

Photo courtesy of the Marion Daily Republican.