Thursday, May 30, 2013

Take 2

The Tidbits of the Day: The Wild Things' doubleheader sweep Wednesday night at Joliet was Washington's first twinbill sweep since taking two games from the Kalamazoo Kings (7-3 and 4-2) Aug. 5, 2010, at Consol Energy Park. Justin Edwards and Jeff Sonnenberg were the winning pitchers that night.

In their 12 seasons, the Wild Things have swept only four doublehaders played on the road. The last time was July 22, 2009, at Southern Illinois (3-1 and 8-2). The winning pitchers that night were A.J. Jenkins and Andy Schindling. The other two road sweeps came during the 2004 season, at Kalamazoo and at Florence.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Rolling & stones

The only that has stopped Mark Samuelson during his hot start to the season has been kidney stones.

The Wild Things' first baseman/designated hitter is batting .444 after his 4-for-4 game Sunday in Washington's 7-1 victory over the Southern Illinois Miners. Samuelson had three extra-base hits, including a solo home run in the seventh inning.

Samuelson was one of the few Washington hitters who had a good season-opening series against Schaumburg. He was 4-for-11 with two doubles, and hit safely and had one RBI in each game against the Boomers.

Shortly after the Wild Things made the bus trip from Schaumburg to Rockford on May 19, Samuelson began experiencing intense pain in his back. It was first thought to be back spasms and Samuelson received electronic stimulation as treatment. That only made the pain worse.

"I never had a more intense pain in my life," Samuelson said.

So Samuelson was shuttled off to a Rockford hospital, where he was diagnosed with a kidney stone.

He spent a few hours in the hospital, was given pain medication and sent back to the hotel.

Samuelson said the pain medication did little to ease the pain, which was so intense that he didn't go to the ballpark to watch his teammates the first two days of the Rockford series. Instead of going to watch the Wild Things win last Tuesday morning, Samuelson called a cab and went back to the hospital.

On Wednesday, the final night of the series, Samuelson spent time in the radio booth with WJPA's Randy Gore, and continued to drink a lot of water, hoping that would cause the stone to pass.

Finally, during the bus trip back to Washington, Samuelson said he passed the stone. If you've ever had a kidney stone (you have my sympathy because I've had four bouts with kidney stones), then you know that once the stone is passed you feel 100 percent almost immediately.

Wild Things manager Bart Zeller, himself a multi-time kidney stone sufferer, opted to play it safe and not rush Samuelson back into the lineup. He gave the lefty hitter Friday night off. Against Southern Illinois on Saturday night, Samuelson was 0-for-3, then had the huge game Sunday.

Samuelson, who is from Lake Forest, Calif., was acquired in the purge of the London Rippers last July and played 36 games with Washington, batting .250 with two home runs and 19 RBI. The batting average did sit well with Samuelson, who hit .376 while playing in the independent and now-defunct Golden League in 2010, his first season of professional baseball. Samuelson has a career batting average of .303.

"Last year, I started off well, then I had a big slump in the middle of the season," Samuelson said.

The slumped ended when Samuelson made an adjustment to his swing -- he went from tapping his right foot twice before starting his swing to using a leg kick -- and it paid dividends immediately. The first night he tried the leg kick, Samuelson hit two home runs at Florence. They were the only home runs he hit with the Wild Things last year.

Samuelson closed the season on a 12-for-26 roll and hit safely in each of the final seven games. He continued that roll this season, though Zeller said there might have been a time when Samuelson wasn't sure if he was going to give baseball in Washington another try.

"I honestly think, at the end of last season, Mark made the decision to give it up," Zeller said after Sunday's game. "But then he started thinking that he has something to prove. He wants to end his career on a good note."

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Former Wild Things pitcher suspended

Alan Williams, who made three impressive relief appearances with the Wild Things in 2011 before having his contract purchased by Milwaukee, was having a very good season at Class AA for the Brewers' affiliate in Huntsville (Ala.).

The left-handed Williams had pitched in 13 games for Huntsville, including the first three starts of his professional career. Williams struck out 28 batters in 27 1/3 innings, posted an ERA of 3.00 and threw five shutout innings in one of his starts. Williams was rapidly going from ex-independent league player to legitimate prospect.

Now, Williams' future with the Brewers is in doubt.

Williams was suspended Tuesday for 50 games under minor league baseball's drug program following a second positive test for a drug of abuse.

While Williams' drug troubles are indeed unfortunate, his suspension could be a break for another former Wild Things pitcher named Williams. Mark Williams, a right-hander who also played with Washington in 2011, also plays for Huntsville. He was promoted earlier this season from Class A and could get more opportunities in Huntsville over the next 50 games.

Super Joe, TV star?

Whether you knew Joe Charboneau as the 1980 American League Rookie of the Year, a one-year wonder, the Wild Things' hitting coach in 2002 and '03 or just one of the most unique people in baseball, then you probably won't be surprised that Super Joe is headed to television.

However, what might surprise you is what station Charboneau will be found on this summer, and what he's doing to be on the tube.

Charboneau is one of the stars of "Catastrophe Inc.," a show that will begin airing in July on HGTV (Home & Garden Television).

According to the Catastrophe Inc.'s Facebook page, the show is described as "When disaster strikes, it's the first responders who save the day -- but the unsung heroes of every catastrophe are the guys who clean it up. In each episode of Catastrophe, Inc., a crew of disaster specialists rescue homes damaged by every type of devastation, including wildfires, hurricane-force winds, floods and fallen trees. From simple debris removal to full demolition, the team is there every step of the way to help families clean up, rebuild and redecorate their homes."

According to Lake Erie Crushers manager Jeff Isom, Charboneau is the "guy who climbs in the crawlspace under a house after a flood and pulls out dead fish."

In other words, Charboneau is on the show to do the dirty work.

If ever there was a person whose life should be made into a movie, or a reality show, it's Charboneau. I don't know how well it will translate into a home recovery program.

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Play ball!

One game into the 2013 season and what have we learned about the Wild Things?

We know that pitcher/coach Gary Lee has is sore. As a result, Washington will tie the world record for most starting pitchers named Shawn used in a three-game series. Shawn Smith started the season opener Friday night and he pitched well enough to win, but the offense couldn't generate much over 11 innings.

We know that the 3-2 loss to Schaumburg looked much like last year (I don't mean eight of the nine hitters in the lineup being returning players), when the Wild Things finished at the bottom of the league in team batting average, doubles and home runs. It was simply another game in which the pitching was solid but the hitters found runs difficult to generate.

Washington did have three doubles, but finished with only six hits. The Wild Things simply didn't have many chances to score as they went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Schaumburg's pitchers were very good on this night.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Nuno to get first start

Former Wild Things pitcher Vidal Nuno will make his first major league start this afternoon in the second game of the New York Yankees' doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians. Nuno has not pitched since April 29.

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Sunday, May 12, 2013

First round of cuts

The Wild Things trimmed their roster to the 28-player limit Sunday by releasing the following:

- Left-handed pitchers Cory Caruso and Tyler Stovall

- Right-handed pitchers Quintavious Drains, Tanner Hamilton and Dominick Ruscetti

- Corner infielder Coty Pate

- First baseman/outfielder Corey LeVier

- Catcher Mike Perez

Seven of the eight players cut were classified as Rookies. The only player classified as Experienced is Stovall, who played in the Atlanta Braves system for four years before joining the Normal CornBelters last year.

Caruso and LeVier were obtained in the trade with River City that sent Casey Barnes and Mike Bando to the Rascals. The Wild Things now have nothing to show for that trade.

Fifteen of the 28 players on the active roster played for Washington last year. The Wild Things have never gone into an opening day with more nine returning players from the previous season's final roster.

Of the players released, I was most surprised to find Caruso on the cut list. I thought he had a chance to make it to opening day. Pate also showed that he has some potential.

Washington must get down to 24 players before Friday's season opener at Schaumburg. There are 15 players classified as Experienced or Veteran (not counting Rogelio Noris and Mario Yepez, both of whom are on the DL). At least two of those 15 players must be dropped from the active roster to meet Frontier League rules.

My guess is, one pitcher, one infielder and two outfielders will be let go to get down to 24 players.

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