Ch-ch-ch-changes

The revolving door on the Wild Things' clubhouse has been in full swing the last two days.

As manager Chris Bando said over the weekend, he's a patient man, but not that patient. He saw enough of the Wild Things' struggling offense (league-low .191 team batting average) during the six-game homestand and made several roster moves leading up to tonight's series opener at Windy City.

Gone is catcher Chris Anderson, who was off to an 0-for-13 start, and veteran outfielder Luis Rivera, who was batting .227. Rivera's average is fourth-best on the team. Third baseman/catcher Davis Page (1-for-5) was traded back to San Angelo of the North American League to complete an earlier trade. Page apparently was traded for himself. Washington acquired him five days ago from San Angelo.

Re-signed was catcher David Peters, who joined Washington in the offseason from the Florida Marlins system and then was dealt to the Pecos League before spring training. Peters has played in two games in the Pecos.

Also signed was outfielder Jeriel Waller, who was drafted in the 47th round last year by the Marlins. I can found no evidence that Waller played in any games in the Marlins' system after being drafted out of Grossmont College, a JC in California. On Waller's Facebook page, it says he attended San Diego Christian College.

Waller is the son of Reggie Waller, a former San Diego Padres scoring director, and nephew of Tye Waller, the Oakland A's first-base coach.

Left-handed relief pitcher Shawn Smith was put on the suspended list, apparently to make room for Steve Grife, who can be activated from the same list Friday. Washington also could activate pitcher Gary Lee, who has been serving as the bullpen coach.

Washington still has one open roster spot (assuming Grife or Lee fill one) and has room for an Experienced player.

The biggest surprise for the Wild Things this season is the trouble at the catcher position, especially when you consider Bando is a former major-league catcher. Washington has played four different catchers in nine games, and has had eight catchers on the roster since the start of spring training.

UPDATE: Shawn Smith was placed on the 7-day injured list and Gary Lee was activated for tonight's game.

Enough is enough V3.0

Twice last year, I posted some rules that were to be followed for comments on this blog. They were very clear: discuss the topic in the post, or a game, series, player, coaching decision, the league, something that happened or caught your eye that night, ask a question, etc. In other words, stay on topic. I also said that those who comment should not snipe at others by calling them names or dropping the level of this blog into the gutter.

That's why I had to resort to using comment moderation. It worked for the last few months of last season. I relaxed the rules for the offseason because, well, there isn't much to talk about in the offseason. But it seems that some people need to be reminded about the rules here. There will be no more trolling, and no more hijacking of an O-R blog to further some person's agenda instead of adding to the topic discussion.

We've had enough comments in two seasons about turf, parking prices, concession stand lines, concession prices, ushers and so on to last a lifetime. This is a blog first and foremost about a baseball team and secondly about the league it plays in. At least the conversion about the turf last year was timely and had an impact on the team and games. The conversation became overkill, but at least it relevant to the product on the field.

This year, despite my best efforts, this blog has become the parking lot/concession stand blog, which is why I have remind everyone of the rules for comments. I didn't get into this business to write about parking prices or french fries. I don't care about them. Well, that's not true. I do like french fries, but you get my point.

If you want to discuss parking prices and the cost of a cold hot dog, then I suggest you start your own blog. I'll even tell you how to set one up. But for those who want to simply use the traffic and visibility of a blog provided by the Observer-Reporter to spread their word, it's no longer going to happen.



I was thinking recently about the comments somebody made last year about people using this blog for their own personal agenda or to take a pot shot at another blog reader, and how that's chasing away people who want to talk about baseball or whatever the posted subject matter is. I've had numerous people tell me over the last two years that they've stopped commenting on this blog because of this. That's a shame because I spend way too much time on this silly little endeavor to see it ruined by a few. This blog is not something I have to do. I'm not required to spend time thinking of and writing blog posts about a minor league baseball team. This is something I thought would be fun and interesting to try.

After reviewing the comments on my last five posts, and those comments that were not posted for various reasons (snide remarks, libelous comments, comments that can't be confirmed or proven to be true etc.), I found only seven that had anything to do with the subject matter. One suggested that I not waste my time analyzing this team or league (I thought that's what sportswriters were supposed to do?). That tells me there must not be enough people who want to talk baseball or the Frontier League here, and it's probably not worth my time and effort to continue this blog.

I'll give it a couple of weeks and see if this really is a blog about baseball or a blog about burnt hamburgers and parking spaces. If it's about the latter, then you count me out.

Striz's wild week

In the last week, Nate Striz has driven his car halfway across the country, been told by two teams that they had no place for him on their roster, won two games (including one over a team that declined to sign him) and saved another game.

"Amazing week, huh?" said Striz, who went from unemployed to the Wild Things' closer in roughly four hours Sunday.

Striz, who played his college ball at North Carolina and spent two years in the Cleveland Indians system, was the final cut earlier this month for the Lincoln Saltdogs of the independent American Association (former Wild Things pitcher Justin Edwards plays for Lincoln).

Hoping to catch on with a Frontier League team, Striz called Nick Belmonte, a University of Florida broadcaster who is a consultant for many independent teams, and asked for advice. Belmonte told Striz to drive from Lincoln to Marion, Ill., because the London Rippers, who were playing in Marion against the Southern Illinois Miners, might be able to use another relief pitcher.

Last Saturday, Striz threw for the Rippers but they told him it was too early in the season to make a move with a pitcher who is classified as Experienced.

"They said they weren't going top jump ship on the guys they already have," Striz recalled.
Striz, however, is nothing if not determined. He put in a phone call to Brooks Carey, the pitching coach of the Evansville Otters. Striz knew Carey because the two worked at the same baseball academy in Lakeland, Fla., during the offseason.

Carey said he would watch Striz throw late Sunday afternoon at Bosse Field, if Striz could get to Evansville before the Otters' game against the Wild Things. Carey knew that Evansville didn't have a roster spot open, so he went to the Wild Things' clubhouse and invited Washington pitching coach Tim Ferguson to watch Striz's bullpen session.

Ferguson was actively looking for a power arm for the Wild Things' bullpen and liked what he saw from Striz. Carey said the Otters indeed couldn't sign Striz, so Ferguson and manager Chris Bando offered Striz a contract. There was just one catch: Carey had asked that the Wild Things not pitch Striz against the Otters that night.

"Tim had asked me if I could pitch tonight if I was needed," Striz said. "I said 'Sure' and they signed me to a contract and had it turned in to the league about 40 minutes before the game started. About the third inning, they told me that if there was a save situation, then they'd put me in."

Ferguson didn't plan to use Striz, but as the game approached extra innings, and with the Wild Things' bullpen becoming depleted, Striz was brought in to pitch with two outs in the ninth inning. He benefited from Trevor Pippin's solo home run in the top of the 10th inning, pitched a scoreless bottom of the 10th and earned his first win.

"That was the third time I had thrown in about 24 hours, but the one thing I learned from this is when you think your job is secure, it isn't," Striz said. "Every outing you have to take the approach that you have to prove something. You can't take anything for granted."

As the rest of his new teammates rode the bus back to Washington Sunday night/Monday morning, Striz drove his car back from Evansville.

"I drove three hours that night, stopped and then drove the other four Monday," Striz said.

Two nights after making his Wild Things debut, Striz pitched to one batter in the 10th inning and was credited with the win in a 1-0 victory over Gateway in Washington's home opener. Two days later, he earned his first save.

Striz comes to Washington with an impressive background. He was drafted in  the fifth round by the Minnesota Twins out of high school but did not sign.

"I just wasn't mature enough mentally to play pro baseball at that time," Striz said.

So he attended North Carolina and helped the Tar Heels advance to the College World Series in his freshman and sophomore seasons. A shoulder injury late in his sophomore year gave him a late start to the junior season, but he impressed enough that the Indians drafted him in the 22nd round in 2010.

"I've never been a closer, but it's a job I can like. You throw as hard as you can for one inning," said Striz, who has a fastball that has hit 92 mph. "I like it that a team can think enough of you to put the outcome of the game on your shoulders."

Roster update

Washington's roster continues to change. Here's an update:

Released were sidearming relief pitcher Mickey Cassidy and outfielder James Simmons. Outfielder Mike Miller was traded to Roswell Invaders of the Pecos League. Simmons' release must have come in the last few minutes because he was a participant in batting practice.

Signed were third baseman/catcher Davis Page and outfielder Robbie Garvey. Page was signed Thursday and scored the game-winning run against Gateway. He was acquired from San Angelo of the North American League, where his manager was Doc Edwards. Washington manager Chris Bando played for Edwards when the latter was manager of the Cleveland Indians.

Garvey played two years in the Milwaukee Brewers system after signing as a nondrafted free agent. A native of Las Vegas, Garvey is in the starting lineup tonight in center field.

Outfielder Allen Boyer remains sidelined with a sore shoulder.

Relief pitcher Steve Grife, who is on the supended list, threw a bullpen session before tonight's game. He is eligible to be activated June 1. Grife was on the suspended list because he was an assistant coach at Mercyhurst College and not available for spring training.

Road kill?

Late in the Wild Things' game Wednesday night, Gateway left fielder Jon Myers, who wears uniform No. 15, made a backpeddling catch on the warning track and then crashed into the wall. Myers left the game, but he was eventually OK and played Thursday night. Prior to batting practice Thursday, somebody from Gateway used some athletic tape draw this chalk outline of Myers on the left-field wall at Consol Energy Park.

Oyster stewed

It's amazing what oysters can do to the body.

Nick Schreiber, the newest Wild Things pitcher, found out firsthand in late February when he was in St. Petersburg, Fla., to participate in the Independent Prospect Tournament. A former pitcher in the PSAC with California University, Schreiber was on the London Rippers' roster at the time and playing for the Frontier League team at the tournament. Schreiber decided to take advantage of being in Florida to sample some oysters, which happens to be one of his favorites.

Schreiber didn't give his meal a second thought until the day, just before the Frontier League team was to take the field for its first game in the tournament.

That's when Wild Things pitching coach Tim Ferguson, who was coaching the Frontier League team, heard a frantic yell. One of Ferguson's players was unconscious in the locker room, Ferguson was told.

Ferguson raced back to the locker room to find Schreiber on the floor.

"We called the paramedics and they gave Nick some fluids. It was hot down there. I thought maybe the heat got to him," Ferguson recalled. "The paramedics wanted him to go to the hospital, but he said that he was OK and wanted to go to the game. He thought he could pitch, if needed."

So Schreiber joined his teammates in the dugout. By midgame, he was down for the count again.

This time, Schreiber received more extensive medical attention, and it was discovered that the former Vulcans standout was suffering a bout of food poisoning, the result of eating some bad oysters.

It wasn't the kind of first impression Schreiber wanted to make with Ferguson or his Frontier League teammates.

Schreiber, a member of Cal's 2010 PSAC championship team, was feeling much better the next day and eventually pitched in the tournament. They were was his outings since being acquired by London in an offseason trade. A native of Greencastle in south central Pennsylvania, Schreiber played his first season of professional baseball in 2011 with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the independent American Association. Former Wild Things pitcher Justin Edwards currently plays for the Saltdogs.

Schreiber had an interesting season with Lincoln. As a reliever, Schreiber won his first six decisions and finished the year with a 6-1 record. But had 6.35 ERA in 37 games, which was a heavy workload for a rookie.

"At the beginning of the year, I was pitching every other day, like most relief pitchers, then it became three out of every four," Schreiber explained. "By late in the year, it got to me. My arm wasn't fresh.

"The ERA, obviously it reflected poorly. I guess it was the perfect storm. I got tired at the wrong time. One night, my manager had contacted a scout to come see me pitch and I had a bad game. Everything spiraled downhill from there."

The downhill path led to a trade to London and a short stay with the Rippers. Schreiber went to spring training with the club in Waterford, Mich., earlier this month but was there for only five days.

"I arrived on a Thursday, didn't get to a pitch until Monday, and for only two innings in an intrasquad game," Schreiber said. "I was released at 9 a.m. the next day. I was there for five days, threw for 10 minutes and then released."

So Schreiber returned to Western Pennsylvania -- he was living in Pittsburgh's South Side -- and began sending emails, in an attempt to get a tryout with any professional team. One of about "15 or 20" emails went to the Wild Things.

"They told me to keep working out, stay in shape and they'll call if they need me," Schreiber said.

Schreiber was brought in for a workout the day before the Wild Things left for a season-opening series at Evansville. When the Washington bullpen struggled against the Otters, Ferguson recalled liking what he saw of Schreiber in Florida, at least when the pitcher wasn't lying on the locker room floor.

Schreiber was brought back to Washington to throw for Ferguson on Monday, an off day in the Wild Things' schedule. He was signed and activated Tuesday before the home opener against the Gateway Grzzilies.

At Cal, Schreiber had a 6-4 record and 6.89 ERA in 17 games (10 starts) in 2010, his last season with the Vulcans. That also was the last year before the NCAA switched to the less-lively aluminum bats.

In 2009, Schreiber was 4-4 with a team-best 4.17 ERA.

Are you experienced?

Is a team better off signing a player with multiple years of pro experience who is on the back end of his career or going with a younger and less-experienced player who hasn't reached his potential as a professional?

Most people will tell you there is no substitute for experience. That theory, however, didn't work for every Frontier League team last season. Before getting into the reasons why, let's go back one year and look at a change the Frontier League made to its player eligibility requirements to make them less restrictive. The result was a higher level of play, faster games and more-experienced players.

Prior to 2011, players were classified as either Rookie, L1, L2 or Veteran, based on the number of professional at-bats, games and innings pitched they accumulated. Rookies had less than one full year of experience, an L1 had one full season, an L2 had two years and a Veteran had at least three years. A full season was any in which a hitter accumulated more than 150 at-bats. For a pitcher, it was more than 30 appearances or more than 60 innings. Teams used to be limited to 7 L1 players, 3 L2s and three Veterans, which included no more than one Super Vet (older than 27). There were some other rules, but these were the basic guidelines.

As you can see, keeping more than a half dozen players together for multiple years was very difficult. If you had seven good L1s one year, then you had to get rid of at least four the next season, and more if you signed an L2 released from an affiliated team. Last year, the league did away with the L1, L2 and Veteran classifications and replaced them with a class called Experienced. Teams are limited to 13 Experienced players. You can have 13 guys who were Veterans under the old system, if you can sign 'em and stay under the salary cap.

Last year, I checked each team's roster at the start of the season and found that three teams were able to stock up on more "old-school" Veterans than other teams. Evansville (which went to spring training with 9 Vets), Rockford and Southern Illinois each opened 2011 with six Vets on the roster. Rockford finished last in the East and Evansville was fifth in the West. Only Southern Illinois (2nd in the West) made the playoffs.

Breaking it down even further, Rockford and Gateway had the most combined Vets and L2s with 10 each. Gateway finished 4th in the West.

So, loading up on "old-school" L2 and Vets is not the best way to go? I won't go that far because last year might be an exception to what could be the rule over the next 10 years.

With nothing better to do last weekend, I checked this year's rosters to see how each breaks down according to the old player eligibility. What I found is defending league champion Joliet (9 Vets) and Windy City (12 combined Vets and L2s) are the two most-experienced teams in Frontier League history, and the Wild Things are one of the youngest this year. Here are the results (did not include players on the DL):

East Division

Evansville

L1: 6

L2: 4

Vet: 6

Florence

L1: 4

L2: 6

Vet: 3

Lake Erie

L1: 3

L2: 2

Vet: 5

London

L1: 2

L2: 3

Vet: 5

Southern Illinois

L1: 6

L2: 5

Vet: 4

Traverse City

L1: 6

L2: 4

Vet: 4

Washington

L1: 6

L2: 1

Vet: 4

West Division

Gateway

L1: 5

L2: 4

Vet: 4

Joliet

L1: 6

L2: 1

Vet: 8

Normal

L1: 7

L2: 1

Vet: 2

River City

L1: 6

L2: 3

Vet: 5

Rockford

L1: 6

L2: 3

Vet: 3

Schaumburg

L1: 6

L2: 4

Vet: 3

Windy City

L1: 4

L2: 7

Vet: 5

Managers used to say that your L2s and Vets were the players who had to carry their ballclub. The teams currently with the most combined L2 and Vets under the former eligibility system are Windy City with 12 and Evansville with 10. Joliet has the most Vets with 9, followed by Evansville with 6. Florence and Normal each have only two old-school Vets. The CornBelters have the fewest combined Vets and L2s at only 3.

Another look at how last year's roster classification system changed the league: The following is the number of professional at-bats each opening day roster for the Wild Things had accumulated:

2012: 6,490

2011: 9,197

2010: 6,842

2009: 7,269

2008: 5,997

2007: 4,139

2006: 5,433

2005: 3,140

2004: 4,129

2003: 4,648

2002: 1,829

Opening salvo

The Wild Things won their season opener Friday night, which over their history has been rare.

The 4-3 win over the Evansville Otters leaves Washington's record at 3-8 in season openers. It was their first win on opening night since a 4-1 victory over the Slippery Rock Sliders in 2007. That was the night Washington pitcher Aaron Ledbetter tied the Frontier League record for career wins.

The win also marked the first time Washington ended a day with a winning record since July 31, 2009, when they won at Florence 4-3 to improve its record to 32-31. As luck would have it, the Wild Things' bus broke down that night on a trip from Florence, Ky., to Ypsilanti, Mich., for a series against the Midwest Sliders and spent 8 1/2 hours at a Sunoco station in Dayton, Ohio. The Wild Things were swept by the Sliders and had not been above .500 since the start of that series. ... until today.

Here is the game story from the Evansville Courier-Press, though it does not include quotes from anybody from Washington.

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2012/may/19/score-line-otters-hed-herppppppp-deck-hed-goes/

Update: After checking some things Sunday night for Radio Randy, I found a note in one of my statistics books that corrects the above post. The last time the Wild Things were above .500 at the end of a day was June 2, 2010, when they had a 6-5 record. This was in large part because of a road sweep at Kalamazoo in the second series of the year.

Roster set ... or is it?

The Wild Things trimmed their roster to under the Frontier League limit of 24 active players Wednesday in preparation for their season opener Friday at Evansville.

Washington released right-handed pitchers Gary Lee and Andy Wells, left-handed pitcher Ryan McCarney, outfielder Rashad Taylor and infielder Nick Spears. The Wild Things also placed infielder Nick Lockwood on the 14-day disabled list.

The moves leave Washington with 23 active players, plus Lockwood and outfielder Trevor Pippin on the DL. The Wild Things are one player under the league limit of 24. They can add a player before opening day.

Lee was part of Washington's starting rotation last year, when he was 4-6 with a 4.16 ERA in 16 outings (13 starts). Lee had played for new Wild Things manager Chris Bando in 2007 with the Aiken Foxhounds in the now-defunct independent South Coast League.

McCarney, who is an assistant coach at San Diego Christian College where Bando is the head coach, had an arm injury early in spring training and had been on the disabled list.

The roster:
Pitchers:
Casey Barnes
Mickey Cassidy
Nick Cico
Alan gatz
Ross Gusky
Justin Hall
Jhonny Montoya
Chris Smith
Shawn Smith
Ryan Thomas
Kyle Wahl

Catchers:
Chris Anderson
Brandon Fowler

Infielders
Mike Bando
Nick Lockwood (DL)
Matt McConnell
Michael Mooney
Shain Stoner
Doug Thennis

Outfielders
Allan Boyer
Mitch Dening
Michael Miller
Trevor Pippin (DL)
Luis Rivera
James Simmons

All-Decade Team: Reserve

The offseason project of a Wild Things All-Decade Team and short essay on each selection draws to a close with the 24th and final roster spot.

It was a tough call between several quality players. There were many hitters deserving of mention, such as catcher/designated hitter and three-year player Jay Coakley, slick fielding Ryan Ellis and some one-year guys like outfielders Matt Swope and Jarod Rine. There was simply too many quality hitters to mention all of them in this space.

In very Frontier League-like fashion, I could go with 12 pitchers on the roster. There were many quality pitchers who just missed the cut, guys like J.J. Hollenbeck and Tom Cochran, the latter the only former Wild Things player to make it to a major league roster.

But the final roster spot came down to one position player (shortstop Jon Cahill) and one pitcher (Brendon Davis).

Cahill joined the Wild Things in 2003 after beginning the year in Class AA in the Angels' organization. He quickly established himself as the best-fielding shortstop in the league, and was a better hitter than you might recall. Cahill batted .287 and .274 in his two seasons. And he was durable, missing only three games in two years.

The 61 double plays Cahill turned in 2004 remains a record for Washington shortstops.

Davis was the one pitcher who I can't give a reason for not being on the All-Decade Team. As a reliever in 2004, the hard-throwing Davis was reliable with a 3-2 record, four saves and 2.76 ERA. Converted to a starter in 2005, Davis was even better, posting a 9-1 record and dropped his bothersome walk rate to 3.1 per nine innings.

But when I began the process of selecting an all-decade team, I wanted 11 pitchers and 13 hitters. Davis would be a 12th pitcher. Plus, when selecting an all-star team, you can't go wrong picking a player who is on the field each night instead of once every five nights.

All-Decade Team Reserve: Jon Cahill (2003-04).


All-Decade Team:
C--Shaun Argento
1B--Bill Greenwell
2B--Brian Stoecklein
SS--Brett Grandstrand
3B--Pat Peavy
OF--Mike Arbinger
OF--Josh Loggins
OF--Chris Sidick
DH--Jacob Dempsey
C--Randy McGarvey
OF--Chris Carter
INF--Brad Hensler
INF--Jon Cahill
SP--Ben Ally
SP--Dave Bradley
SP--Ryan Douglas
SP--Jared Howton
SP--Aaron Ledbetter
RP--B.J. Brosa
RP--Justin Edwards
RP--Robert Garvin
RP--Kevin Hammons
RP--Anthony Kozol
RP--Jim Popp

Ello, mate

Wild Things manager Chris Bando said he would use the exhibition games to settle roster battles at multiple positions, including the outfield spots. It was apparent from talking to Bando that he has not been satisfied with his group of outfielders, and the first three exhibition games did little to determine who should open the season in which spots.

That might be why Washington signed outfielder Mitch Dening (pictured) to a contract Saturday. The left-handed hitting Dening is a native of Toowoon Bay, Australia, and he played last year at Class AA Portland in the Boston Red Sox system. Dening was released by the Red Sox in March at the end of spring training.

Dening was signed by Boston at the age of 17. He hit .264 with 24 doubles in Class A at age 20 and played for Australia in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. His career with the Red Sox stalled last year at Double-A when he batted only .220, but he did get 264 at-bats.

Less-crowded dugout

After their practice Wednesday night, the Wild Things trimmed six players off the roster, including three who were selected at the Frontier League's tryout/draft.

Released were catchers Juan Reyes and Doc Neiman, left-handed pitchers David Jensen and Kevin Johnson, right-handed pitcher Eric Binder and infielder Garrett Jenner. Reyes was one of the Wild Things' two first-round draft picks, and Neiman and Jensen were also picked up at the league draft. Johnson was a bit of a surprise because he had been drafted twice out of the University of Cincinnati and spent last year in Class A.

Jenner, you might recall from a story in the O-R last week, played the last two years for the "Heroes of the Diamond" military all-star team (the O-R jinx strikes again?).

The moves leave Washington with 34 players on the official roster (one on the DL), though I have seen one player not on the roster at camp.

First glances

Wild Things fans get their first glimpse of a Chris Bando-managed team tonight when Washington hosts Lake Erie in an exhibition game at Consol Energy Park. It's the first of four games in four days between the teams -- tonight and Friday in Washington, Saturday and Sunday in Avon, Ohio.

Between now and Wednesday, when opening day rosters must be set at no more than 24, the Wild Things must drop 16 players -- if nobody is added between now and the regular season. So there will be many players in Washington's dugout the next two nights who won't be here for the home opener May 22.

With a record number of players in camp, and no numbers on the back of the practice shirts, it was hard to tell who was doing what during the two days I spent at camp. There were, however, a few things I noticed:

* Outfielder James Simmons is big and fast. Make that very fast, especially going home-to-third or first-to-third. Most impressive position player in camp.

* The one player who appears to be a much better hitter than I expected is catcher Michael Surina. In two seasons of independent ball, Surina has a .214 career batting average. He doesn't have a .214 swing. The ball jumps off his bat and he could be an impact hitter in the middle of the lineup.

* Outfielder Luis Rivera has been bothered by a hamstring injury suffered early in camp. He sat out some intrasquad games but will play in the exhibition contests.

* Wish I could tell you more about the pitchers, but I only saw four of them throw, and two were Casey Barnes and Justin Hall.

All-Decade Team: Reserve

When Jeff Isom began putting together the first edition of the Wild Things back in 2002, the manager believed there was one glaring hole in his lineup: shortstop.

Washington didn't have a shortstop with pro experience, only a former junior college player (Allen Clay) and another guy who was better known in Western Pennsylvania for his basketball exploits than baseball. The latter was Brad Hensler, who ended up filling the biggest gap in the lineup and making the Frontier League's end-of-season all-star team.

Hensler had made a name for himself in the area during his days as a basketball player at Chartiers Valley. He was one of the first standout players CV produced while head coach Tim McConnell began building the program into a WPIAL powerhouse.

Hensler went on to play college baseball at NCAA Division III Allegheny and had a productive career with the Gators, leading them to the College World Series as a senior. He was signed by the New York Mets as a nondrafted free agent, but the Mets didn't envision Hensler as a shortstop. They tried to convert him to catcher, and he even played a few games at first base and in the outfield during his only year in the organization.

The Wild Things contacted Hensler after his release and talked him into attending their open tryout. There were several reasons for this: Washington could sign a local guy out of the tryout camp, which would help their PR, and it gave Isom an opportunity to see Hensler play shortstop and decide before camp began if another player at that position was needed.

It didn't take long to see that Hensler could play shortstop in the Frontier League. He was better defensively than expected, and his bat made him the best hitting shortstop the Wild Things have had. Hensler batted .313 with 25 doubles, eight home runs, 54 RBI and 15 stolen bases. With the glove, he made only 13 errors.

Hensler was one of two Washington position players (catcher Shaun Argento was the other) to make the league's all-star team in the team's inaugural season.

Hensler gets the 23rd spot on one guy's All-Decade Team. With one roster spot remaining, there are plenty of players who deserve mention on the team. Will it go to another shortstop, Jon Cahill? Perhaps an outfielder or slick-fielding second baseman Ryan Ellis? What about another pitcher?

All-Decade Team Reserve: Brad Hensler

Attention, campers

The Wild Things are ready to open camp Thursday morning with their first official workout.

Players checked in Wednesday at Consol Energy Park and dealt with all the nettlesome things that come with the arrival at camp: getting pictures and video shot for the videoboard and website, physicals, filling out paperwork and getting hooked up with host families or moved into a motel.

According to manager Chris Bando, everyone on the roster will be on the field Thursday except for catcher Eric Curtis. The Wild Things selected Curtis, from Chester, Va., in the third round of the Frontier League draft Tuesday. Curtis informed Bando that he had other opportunities that he wished to pursue and would not be reporting to camp.

Washington made six selections in the draft, which might be the most by any club since the Wild Things entered the league in 2002. The Wild Things had two first-round picks and chose outfielder Mike Miller (Oregon State and Roswell of the Pecos League) and catcher Juan Reyes (Inter-American University) at Nos. 6 and No. 12 respectively. The Reyes pick came from Southern Illinois to complete a trade for first baseman Ernie Banks.

Washington did not have a second-round pick. They had traded the pick to River City last year in the Josh Banda deal.

The Wild Things also drafted Curtis, pitchers Ryan Thomas and David Jensen, and first baseman Doc Nieman. Thomas pitched in four games for Washington last year before being released.

Though he wasn't on the Frontier League transactions list as of this writing, another player that has been added to the roster is Paul Raglione, a 6-6 right-handed pitcher who spent four seasons in the Kansas City Royals organization after being drafted out of high school. Raglione, however, last pitched professionally in 2008.

Washington has 39 players one the roster, including 19 pitchers.

UPDATE: Just noticed in the transactions, on the Associated Press wire, that San Angelo of the North American League has released second baseman Scott Lawson, who was acquired from Washington in a trade during the offseason.