Pennant race: In or out?

While preparing to turn the page of the calendar from July to the dog days of August and the Frontier League pennant race, we take time to analyze and scrutinize in an attempt to show why the top 10 teams in the standings are either in postseason hunt or have too much working against them to win a division title or garner one of two coveted wild-card spots.

If the season were to end at the time of this writing, Traverse City and Gateway would be the division champions, with Florence and Schaumburg winning a tight race for the wild cards. So let's first look at the remaining schedules and show why each of these four teams can remain in playoff position and add what they have to overcome to hold their spot:

Traverse City
Pro: The Beach Bums have a stretch 24 games in August that includes 18 at home, where they are 20-13. They also are one of only three contenders that have two series remaining against the Greys.
Con: While they play only four road series from here until the finish, the Beach Bums will have just one (River City at 31-32) against a team currently with a losing record. Traverse City also has to play a series at home against Gateway.

Gateway
Pro: The Grizzlies have eight series remaining against teams currently with losing records. No other team has that many against sub-.500 clubs. Gateway also has three series (10 games) left with Rockford, the last-place team in the West. The Grizzlies have the best home record in the league and will play 17 more times at GCS Ballpark.
Con: Gateway still has to go to both Traverse City and Southern Illinois (the latter to end the season) and has to make the long journey to Washington).

Florence
Pro: The Freedom play 18 games at home, and have only one road series left with a team currently holding a winning record (Normal). They also play six games at Washington, a team the Freedom have defeated 19 times in the last 22 meetings.
Con: Florence is the only contender in the East that does not play the Greys again.

Schaumburg
Pro: The only contender from the West that has games left against the Greys. The Boomers have five home series remaining, but only one (Traverse City) is against a team better than seven games below .500.
Con: Lots of road games left, including one series each at Normal, Southern Illinois and Lake Erie, the three teams directly behind Schaumburg in the wild-card standings.

As for the next six teams in the standings, here is why each can be considered in, and out, of the playoff race:

Southern Illinois
In: The Miners have nine games left with Schaumburg and Normal -- two teams either tied with or ahead of the Miners by only one game) and all nine will be played at Rent One Park. Southern Illinois has the second-best home record in the league.
Out: The Miners have the most difficult remaining schedule of all the contenders. Southern Illinois has nine games (six on the road) left against the two division leaders, and only four series will be played against teams currently with a losing record (the least of any contender).

Normal
In: The CornBelters will play two series at home against Rockford, and will end the season with a nine-game homestand.
Out: We mentioned that Southern Illinois has the league's second-best home record. Well, Normal plays six times in a 12-day stretch in August at Rent One Park. Plus, can you make the playoffs when you're 12th in the league in team batting average?

Lake Erie
In: Six games left against the Greys and six against Washington. All 12 of those are at home. Though they have six to play against Traverse City, they're all at home.
Out: The Crushers are next-to-last in the league in runs scored. Can they win enough pitchers' duels down the stretch?

River City
In: The Rascals are the league's hottest team, winning 10 of their last 14. River City has 17 road games left, but only five (all at Gateway) are against teams with winning records.
Out: Eight games left against division leaders, and every team that will pull into O'Fallon, Mo., should have at least an outside shot at making the playoffs.

Washington
In: After playing a three-game series at Lake Erie, the Wild Things will play 21 of 30 at home, including six against the Greys.
Out: Six games left against Florence (see note above about Florence-Washington series) and will play at Traverse City. The Beach Bums have won 21 of the last 22 against the Wild Things.

Evansville
In: Lots of home games. Evansville will play more home games than any of the other top-10 teams. The Otters will be at Bosse Field for five consecutive weekends and will play only one road series (at Joliet) after Aug. 15.
Out: The Otters are struggling, they're 13 in the league in ERA and last in fielding percentage. That's a bad combination.

A whiff of the record

The momentum from the Wild Things' come-from-behind, 10-inning win Saturday night at Southern Illinois -- probably the highlight of the season -- lasted all of about 17 hours and ended when Normal starting pitcher Luis Noel and two relievers began carving through the Washington batting order Sunday evening. The Wild Things were held to two hits -- solo home runs by Stewart Ijames and Shain Stoner -- and struck out 10 times, the latter continuing an alarming trend.

In all but two games since the all-star break, Washington hitters have struck out at least seven times. One of the exceptions was the second game of a doubleheader against Rockford, a game the Wild Things won and batted in only six innings. Washington has had two 10-strikeout and one 11-strikeout game in the last week.

The Wild Things lead the Frontier League with 498 strikeouts in 61 games, an average of 8.16 whiffs per game. The only independent teams that average more strikeouts than Washington are two clubs in the Pecos League (not all the players in that league are being paid, so should we even count those teams?).

Washington is not on record pace for the most strikeouts in Frontier League history, but it's not far behind. The league record is 840 by Florence in 2010. The Wild Things are on pace for 784 strikeouts. No team since 2010, when both Florence and Evansville did it, has struck out 800 times in a season.

The Wild Things team record for strikeouts in a season is 750, set in 2009. That was a team built on power hitting. It had a player with 31 home runs, another with 24 and another with 19. The current edition of the Wild Things doesn't have anywhere near the power potential of the 20009 team. The current group has to win by hitting doubles and playing small ball. That's why the high strikeout total is alarming.

Manager Bart Zeller and his coaching staff track what they call "quality at-bats." You might make an out, but it can still be considered a quality at-bat if you advance a runner. Strikeouts are not productive at-bats because they don't advance runners.

Beware of falling skydivers

This video has nothing to do with the Wild Things, though it's from a game in the Prospect League, which has teams in former Frontier League cities such as Richmond, Chillicothe and Slippery Rock.

This is video of a shortstop being hit by a wayward skydiver during the national anthem prior to a game in Hannibal, Mo. The impact left the shortstop with a concussion.

To play, or to suspend?

The Wild Things' game Tuesday night against the Rockford Aviators was suspended because of rain.

Or because it was considered too late to resume play.

With dark clouds hovering above Consol Energy Park, rain began falling during the national anthem. The game started, but only two hitters completed their at-bats. Rockford's Brandon Newton stuck out against Washington starting pitcher Shawn Smith, and Brian Bistagne drew a walk. With a 3-1 count on the Aviators' Jeff Kremer, home-plate umpire Tony Maners stopped play and sent both teams off the field.

The rain was heavy, and there was a noticeable drop in temperature during a stoppage of 1 hour and 34 minutes.  Many fans waited out the storm because, with it being a sudden and steady downpour, they couldn't get to the parking lot without being drenched, so they took cover under the seating bowl.

Shortly before it was announced that the game was suspended -- word came at 8:46 p.m. -- the rain stopped, the sun began peaking through the clouds and even another rainbow could be seen in the sky above the left-field wall (see the post below for a photo of the one from Monday night).

With Consol Energy Park's quick-drying FieldTurf playing surface, there was no reason to think the game wouldn't resume.

There was, however, one stumbling block.

Apparently, somebody wanted to get some sleep.

According to Washington manager Bart Zeller, because the series finale was scheduled for 11:05 a.m. Wednesday, the umpires were concerned that resuming the game would mean it would not conclude until around midnight. With the morning game scheduled for Wednesday, playing until midnight would cause too quick of a turnaround.

C'mon!

I hope everyone went to bed early Tuesday night and got that much-needed rest.

Two things can be learned from this:

1. Don't schedule games for 11 a.m. If you want to play early, then schedule a game for 1 p.m.

2. If you do schedule a morning game and it rains the night before, then tell the umpires to suspend the game after 30 minutes, not 95 minutes

She's a rainbow

Here is the photo taken by the Observer-Reporter's Katie Roupe of the rainbow over Consol Energy Park during Monday night's Wild Things game against the Rockford Aviators. You should be able to click on the photo and get a larger version.

Wild Things sign former Pirates prospect

The Wild Things made a roster move Tuesday by signing outfielder Quincy Latimore and releasing outfielder Calvin Culver.

You might recall that the Pirates traded Latimore to the Cleveland Indians back in January in exchange for pitcher Jeanmar Gomez.

Latimore was the Pirates' 4th-round draft pick in 2007 and spent two years playing for Class AA Altoona, hitting 30 home runs and driving in 130 runs in 254 games. In 2010, Latimore hit 31 doubles, 19 home runs and drove in 100 runs for high-Class A Bradenton.

He was batting only .231 for Class AA Akron when he was released by the Indians earlier this month.

Latimore was rated the best power hitter in the Pirates minor-league system in 2010.

Yevoli picked up by Cubs

Al Yevoli

Hard-throwing left-handed relief pitcher Al Yevoli became the first Wild Things player this season to join a major league organization when the Chicago Cubs purchased his contract Sunday.

This will be the second stint in affiliated ball for Yevoli, a 23-year-old native of Palm Coast, Fla. After helping Tennessee Wesleyan to the 2012 NAIA national championship, Yevoli signed with the Wild Things last year and had a super season, finishing with a 1-2 record, 2.62 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.

He was signed by the Atlanta Braves during the offseason, but was released at the end of minor-league spring training.

Yevoli re-signed with the Wild Things and got off to a dreadful start this year, struggling with location. His ERA was 33.00 after five outings.

But the lefty, whose fastball can hit 94 mph, had been spectacular of late. Over his last 14 outings, Yevoli had been scored upon only twice and had 21 strikeouts in 17 innings.

Overall, he was 1-1 with a 6.65 ERA and only four walks in 21 2/3 innings.

“The one thing I was scared about was that the first thing scouts would do is check the stats line and say this guy is not very good this year,” Yevoli said. “I hoping they would at the statistics game-by-game. I was bad early, but I’ve bene putting up zeroes lately.

“That start to the season, I can’t do anything about that. All I could do is work hard to get to where I needed to be.”

He will leave today to join the Kane County Cougars, the Cubs’ affiliate in the Class A Midwest League.

“Al came back from affiliated ball and had a rough start. It would have been easy for him to throw in the towel, but he didn’t, and in the last 15 games he’s been lights out,” Washington manager Bart Zeller said. “I couldn’t be happier for him. He’s the type of guy who could be in the big leagues in two years. That wouldn’t surprise me because he has that kind of arm.

“This is the reason why we’re here. We promised every young man that we will give them every opportunity and fight like heck for them to get a chance in affiliated ball.”

Yevoli made his last appearance Friday against Schaumburg, pitching one inning and striking out the side. Several scouts attended that game, and one from an American League team returned to Consol Energy Park both Saturday and Sunday just to see Yevoli pitch again. The Cubs, however, made a contract offer Sunday morning.

Yevoli said seeing some Class A hitters in spring training might help him at Kane County, but he knows he’s never pitched in an affiliated game before and is unsure about the difference between facing Midwest League hitters and Frontier League hitters.

“The biggest thing I learned during spring training is that I’m good enough,” he said. “I didn’t have my good stuff then, and I still competed with guys who have good stuff. I felt like I deserved to be there. Now, my arm is in shape and I’ll try to show the Cubs that they did the right thing by signing me.”

First no-hitter of the season

Gateway's Tim Brown, who was the starting pitcher for the West Division in the Frontier League All-Star game Wednesday, threw the league's first no-hitter this season Saturday night against the Lake Erie Crushers. Gateway won the game, 9-0.

It was the 17th no-hitter in Frontier League history and the third by the Grizzlies.

Brown improved his record to 8-2. He walked two batters and struck out four. Brown threw 120 pitches.

The most amazing part of this no-hitter is it came at Gateway's GCS Ballpark, which is widely regarded as the best hitter's ballpark in the league (
Gateway hit five home runs in the game). There has never been a no-hitter thrown in a Frontier League game at Consol Energy Park.

For those around the league who notice such things, the home-plate umpire for the game was Jeremy Stangelo.

Shoulder surgery for Hall

Early deadlines.

Sometimes they are necessary in the newspaper business. They can be caused by a variety of reasons, such as weather, holidays, the number of inserts going into your newspaper.

Early deadlines can be a sportswriter's best friend, meaning you're not writing on deadline if you're covering an event that runs late. Often, however, early deadlines make for twice as much work. One example is Saturday night when the O-R had an early deadline. I had to write an early story to fill space in case the Wild Things-Schaumburg Boomers played out for three hours or longer. It turned out that the game lasted only 2:28, so a running game story appeared in the O-R's Sunday edition and this early story about pitcher Justin Hall opting for season-ending shoulder surgery never appeared in the print edition.

Here's the story:

By Chris Dugan
Sports editor
dugan@observer-reporter.com

To pitch, or not to pitch?

That was nagging question Justin Hall finally had to answer.

Justin Hall

A right-handed starting pitcher in his third year with the Wild Things, Hall has been sidelined since the end of May because of a small tear in the labrum of his throwing shoulder.

Hall was trying to avoid surgery to repair the tear, instead opting to rehab the injury. Recently, he threw a couple of impressive bullpen sessions and Washington manager Bart Zeller said he had wanted to activate Hall from the disabled list and get him a start before the all-star break.

So when it came time to make a decision, the crisp velocity on Hall’s fastball told him to pitch again.

The lingering discomfort in the shoulder, however, told him to call it a season.

Hall decided to go for season-ending surgery, though he’s convinced it won’t be a career-ending procedure.

“I told myself that it’s time to put on my big-boy pants and make the decision to get the surgery,” Hall said Friday. “I don’t want to try to deal with the pain and have it the rest of my life.”

A 25-year-old native of Virginia, Hall was off to his best start with the Wild Things, going 2-0 with a 0.53 ERA in two May outings. He opened the season with a five-hit shutout at Rockford and followed it with eight innings of one-run ball against Southern Illinois May 26. That was Hall’s final game of the season. He experienced discomfort in the shoulder while long-tossing prior to a game at Joliet.

“It just felt tight,” Hall said. “I probably overexerted while long-tossing. I was throwing the ball farther than I have. It’s disappointing because of how well the season started. It was a very good start. I’m probably at the best point of my career from a mental standpoint, from learning so much about how to pitch and prepare myself.”

After an MRI revealed the small tear in the front of the shoulder, Hall tried some rehabilitation therapy before starting a throwing program. He recently had a setback after throwing a bullpen session in Florence.

“Everything was good. I threw five innings, about 75 pitches. I lost a bit of my control in the fourth or fifth inning, but the soreness after that was normal,” Hall explained. “It went away quickly, but I still had irritation. I knew that I was still not right.

“I can throw. I still have velocity. I was throwing 87 to 90 (mph), and that was in the bullpen without the adrenaline rush your get while pitching in a game.”

Hall will have the surgery in Pittsburgh. The same surgeon who performed a similar procedure – though on the back of the shoulder -- on former Wild Things pitcher Justin Edwards will operate on Hall. The rehabilitation is expected to take eight months and Hall could be back in time for spring training next year.

Hall has been a workhorse for the Wild Things since being signed in the spring of 2011, after he spent one season in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He holds several Wild Things pitching records, including most complete games in a career (9), innings pitched in a season (145 1/3 in 2011) and strikeouts in a game (14 at Windy City on the final day of the 2011 season, a game in which he pitched 11 innings).

He has an 18-14 record with Washington.

The Wild Things placed Hall on the retired list, though Zeller said that was more a paper move that allows the team to retain Hall’s rights than one that signifies the end of career.

“We want to keep him and he wants to stay with the Wild Things,” Zeller said. “The only ways to do that were to suspend him or retire him, and putting him on a suspended list just looks bad.

“I think he made the right decision with the surgery. There’s a tear there and it’s not going to repair itself.”

At the break

As the Wild Things prepare for the start of the Frontier League's second half tonight, it's a good time to analyze what has happened over the course of 51 games.

Are the Wild Things better at this point in the season than in recent years? I think we can all agree they are, though being in sixth place does continue an alarming trend. Not since 2008, when they were 26-24, has Washington been higher than fifth place in the East Division standings at the all-star break. They are seven games behind first-place Traverse City, which is the closest they've been to the division leader at the break since 2008.

Where do they need to improve? Washington is fifth in the league in fielding percentage, fifth in pitching (was in the top three until the road trip to Gateway and Evansville earlier this month) and seventh in batting average. The latter is what must improve significantly. The Wild Things need to hit better if they are going to get in the thick of the playoff race.

The one thing the Wild Things haven't done is shown an ability to hit their way back into a game -- get a come-from-behind win because of their hitting. The statistics show the Wild Things are 2-21 when they trail after five innings. And they are next-to-last in a statistic called last at-bat wins (when you score the game-winning run in your final inning of batting).

Last At-Bat Wins:
11 - Schaumburg
 9 - Normal
 8 - Gateway
 8 - Southern Illinois
 7 - River City
 6 - Rockford
 5 - Lake Erie
 4 - Evansville
 4 - Florence
 4 - Windy City
 3 - Joliet
 3 - Traverse City
 2- Washington
 0 - Greys

When Washington gets a lead, it has done a good job of protecting it. When Steve Blass spoke at the all-star luncheon Tuesday, he mentioned how the Pittsburgh Pirates' bullpen has turned games into 6- or 7-inning contests. When the Pirates have the lead after six or seven innings, the game is over. They don't give up the lead.

That's also been the story for the Wild Things. They are 21-2 when they lead after six innings, 22-2 after seven and 17-0 after eight. They have only two blown saves (and one of those was all the way back in the second game of the season), which is tied with Joliet for the least in the league.

Blown Saves
11 - Rockford
 9 - Southern Illinois
 8 - Normal
 8 - Schaumburg
 7 - Greys
 6 - Gateway
 6 - River City
 5 - Evansville
 5 - Florence
 5 - Lake Erie
 5 - Traverse City
 4 - Windy City
 2 - Joliet
 2 - Washington

The starting pitching is not what it was last year, when it set the league record for quality starts. Then again, you can't expect to duplicate that feat. For the most part, the starting pitching has been very good. It has produced 25 quality starts, which is six behind league-leader Normal.

So if the starting pitching, bullpen and fielding can hold steady, then Washington can get in the playoff race with some improved hitting. However, hitting, or a lack of it, has been the one thing holding the Wild Things back for years. Washington just can't seem to find many guys who can "swing it." The last Wild Things team that could hit was the 2009 team, which had absolutely no pitching. This team needs one or two impact hitters, but those kind of players aren't found on the waiver wire at this time of year. If you can hit, then you're already on a roster.

One of the big questions heading into this season was would fielding a better and more-competitive team improve attendance? The team is only 4 games better than last year at the break and attendance has continued its trend of a downward spiral. Though the drop this year is small and attendance has been much more steady than last year's first half, when you had both a sellout and a game that drew a record-low 702.

Wild Things Attendance at the All-Star Break
2002 - 2,942
2003 - 3,390
2004 - 3,242
2005 - 3,048
2006 - 3,133
2007 - 3,180
2008 - 2,899
2009 - 2,734
2010 - 2,373
2011 - 2,176
2012 - 1,686
2013 - 1,638

Player acquired

According to the Pecos League website, the Wild Things have acquired Chris Costantino in a trade with the Roswell Invaders (one of the best team names in baseball). There was no mention of what the Wild Things gave up, but it's likely a player to be named.

Don't know much about Costantino other than he was batting .382 with 10 home runs and 46 RBI in 44 games for Roswell, which is off to a 46-15 start.

Costantino is the second Pecos League player acquired by the Wild Things this month. They also picked up Calvin Culver from the Taos Blizzard just before the all-star break.

UPDATE: Costantino began the year with the Taos Blizzard in the Pecos League. He's a versatile player, having played 58 games at third base, 24 at first base and 14 in the outfield.

Star gazing

Some random thoughts and notes from the Frontier League all-star festivities hosted by the Wild Things:

* The big winner of the all-star break? The Schaumburg Boomers.

Schaumburg produced the Home Run Derby winner in Steve McQuail (pictured) and the MVP of the all-star game, Sean Mahley, who drove in two runs in the second inning with a triple to right field that sparked the West to a 4-2 victory.

* Guess where Schaumburg opens the season's second half? Against the Wild Things Friday night at Consol Energy Park.

* No, the Schaumburg all-stars, and broadcaster Tim Calderwood, don't have to make a trip from Washington to Illinois today and then return Friday. They are staying in Washington County and will wait for the rest of the team to arrive.

* The Most Amazing Play of All-Star Week? That's an easy one.

During the Home Run Derby, Traverse City's Chase Burch hooked a line drive down the left-field line that stayed in the field of play but headed for the visitor's clubhouse. Just as an Akron Racers softball player opened the door of the clubhouse and stepped out, the ball hit by Burch went between the player and door, ricocheted off the metal and went into the clubhouse on a fly. You could hit a thousand baseballs and not have that happen again. The odds of that happening are astronomical.

* It's looking like Washington will field a team in the National Pro Fastpitch women's softball team as early as next year. No official announcement has been made, but even the Akron Racers players were saying they've heard the rumors.

* A couple of fellow O-R employees said they were surprised the Racers won the Battle of the Sexes game against the Frontier League All-Stars. My response was, "You're kidding, right?"

I can remember former Olympic softball pitcher Jennie Finch striking out Mike Piazza, Albert Pujols and Larry Walker during a segment for "This Week in Baseball," so I didn't think the baseball players had much of a chance against any of the Racers' pitchers. If you're a baseball player and you've never played fastpitch softball, it's going to take many at-bats to get used to the pitching and make the necessary adjustments to your swing.

* I enjoyed listening to Steve Blass talk at the all-star luncheon almost as much as watching him pitch Game 7 of the 1971 World Series.

* All-star games are nice, but I prefer covering any regular-season or playoff game.

* It was good to see former Wild Things general manager Ross Vecchio back at CEP and working as a scout for the Seattle Mariners. Vecchio said he had also been to the Atlantic League all-star game in Waldorff, Md.

Remember Nick Akins?

You might remember Nick Akins. He was signed by the Wild Things early this season and played eight forgettable games in the outfield. A former 13th round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Akins batted .235 with three RBI for the Wild Things before being released.

Akins has spent the last month playing with the Joliet Slammers, and Sunday he ended a game in the most dramatic fashion possible with a walk-off grand slam to beat the Rockford Aviators. Here's the video clip:

Broken nose or not, Vahalik wants to play

There is no doubt that catcher Jim Vahalik is one of the leaders of the Wild Things, both on the field and in the clubhouse. He's a two-year pro, now a two-time all-star game selection and a player whose professionalism is praised by Wild Things manager Bart Zeller at every opportunity.

Now, there is no questioning Vahalik's toughness.

Vahalik suffered a broken nose during the Wild Things' game at Evansville last Saturday. It happened when he moved up the third-base line to catch a throw from the outfield, just as Evansville baserunner J.R. Higley, who was racing to home plate to score a run, went past Vahalik and hit him with a forearm directly in the face.

Snap, crackle, pop.

Vahalik, who wasn't wearing his catcher's mask at the time of impact, said he doesn't know if he was hit with a cheap shot or had simply veered into the path of the runner.

It didn't matter which it was. The pain doesn't go away simply because an injury is the result of a clean play.

"I knew it was broken right away. I heard and felt it break, then the blood followed," Vahalik recalled.

While such an injury would cause many players to go on the disabled list, all Vahalik did was miss a few innings Saturday while getting treatment on his nose. The next day, Vahalik didn't start but did pinch-hit. The Westerville, Ohio, native and University of Toledo product was back behind home plate in Washington's next game.

"This is nothing new. I've had my nose broken four or five times," said Vahalik, who still sports some black marks near the nose and under an eye because of the most recent injury.

"I saw a doctor (Wednesday) and he wanted me to have surgery on the nose right away. I told him it will have to wait until after the season. My teammates have been telling me that wasn't that good looking anyway and that I can't get any uglier if I wait to have the surgery."

Vahalik's refusal to miss games and ability to play through the discomfort both in his nose and sinus goes back to what Zeller has mentioned many times about his catcher. The guy is the ultimate competitor. He wants to play every pitch of every game, and he approaches each as if it's Game 7 of the World Series.

And now, Vahalik is Washington's indestructible man. It will take more than a broken nose to keep him out of the lineup.

"I wish I had an entire team of Jim Vahalik's," Zeller said recently. "He never takes a play off. He's a battler."

Said Vahalik, "I just like the game so much that I want to play every day. I guess you could call me a control freak.

"I feel like every day that I'm out there, I can control part of the game and help us win, based upon what I know about the hitters in this league. I feel like when I'm not out there, then I'm letting my teammates down."

Vahalik has been playing some of his best baseball during the last three weeks. Since June 21, Vahalik is 15-for-43 (.349) and had a four-hit game with a home run only one night before suffering the broken nose. The surge has pushed his batting average to .260. Defensively, Vahalik has thrown out 26 percent of potential basestealers, including gunning down Lake Erie's Craig Hertler at third base for the second out of the first inning in the Wild Things' 3-1 win Thursday.

Vahalik's improved play is one reason he was a manager's addition to the Frontier League All-Star game that will be played Wednesday at Consol Energy Park. He will be one of four Wild Things in the game, joining second baseman C.J. Beatty, outfielder Stewart Ijames and third baseman Jovan Rosa. Beatty and Ijames will be in the starting lineup for the East Division. Like Vahalik, Rosa was one of five manager's additions to the East team that were announced Thursday.

Vahalik was batting .261 last year when he was named to the all-star game while playing for the London Rippers. He was traded to Washington about two weeks later, less than an hour before the Rippers franchise ceased operations.

"I'm honored and thankful for the coach's decision to be chosen for the all-star game," Vahalik said. "I definitely could have used three days off, but to be able to represent the Washington Wild Things in the all-star game is an honor."

2 more Wild Things to All-Star game

Wild Things third baseman Jovan Rosa and catcher Jim Vahalik were among four players added to the East Division All-Star roster Thursday. Also added were Traverse City first baseman Chase Burch and Beach Bums pitchers Nick Capito and Jake Sabol.

Rosa is Washington's second-leading hitter with a .315 batting average. He has 12 doubles, three home runs and 20 RBI. He has committed only six errors at third base.

Vahalik has used a recent surge to push his batting average up to .258. He has six doubles and three home runs.

The East team will be managed by Traverse City's Gregg Langbehn. He will have a large coaching staff as it will include coaches Matt Pulley and Dan Rohn from Traverse City and the entire Washington staff of manager Bart Zeller and coaches Bob Buzzoto, Rich Pasquale and Gary Lee.

West Division manager Phil Warren of Gateway added Grizzlies utility player Jose Flores and pitcher Richard Barrett, along with Windy City catcher Zach Aakhus and Normal pitcher Drew Provence to the roster.

Leftovers

Some Tuesday night leftovers before baseball for breakfast Wednesday morning:

* Wild Things manager Bart Zeller was happy that outfielder Stewart Ijames and second baseman C.J. Beatty were voted in as starters for the Frontier League All-Star game that will be played July 17 at Consol Energy Park, and added that Washington has several other players who are deserving to be added to the East squad when the rosters are completed Thursday.

"I think both Ijames and Beatty are well-deserving. They are two of the hardest workers you can find on our club," Zeller said. "They're always doing extra hitting, trying to improve.

"Ijames is a silent leader on this club. Every manager I talk to says he's one of the best rookie hitters in this league. And Beatty, he amazes me with some of the shots he hits.

"I think we could have some other guys who can get those final spots on the all-star team," he continued. "Jim Vahalik is one. He never takes a play off. He battles all the time. He's put together some good offensive games lately and he's thrown out of good percentage of base stealers. You can make an excellent case for him.

"You also can make a case for Jovan Rosa. He's hitting over .300, and there's not many third baseman in this league hitting .300. And there are several pitchers who could have made the team if we hadn't gone into a funk."

* During their recent road trip to Gateway and Evansville, the Wild Things played before crowds totaling 24,848 over the six games. That's an average of 4,142 per game -- about 2,400 more than what the Wild Things are drawing per game at home. Two of the games drew more than 7,000 fans.

"You love to play in front of crowds like that," Zeller said. "There's something electric about playing in front of that many people."

* Lake Erie manager Jeff Isom, who was the Wild Things' original manager in 2002, said the turning point in that season was when Washington signed outfielder Josh Loggins just before the all-star break. Loggins' hitting helped propel the Wild Things to the East Division title.

Isom also said that with so many teams in the East being closely bunched in the standings this year, one key pickup could be what pushes a club into the postseason. While it's unlikely that Craig Hertler will have the kind of impact with the Crushers that Loggins had for the 2002 Wild Things, the utility player and lead off hitter does improve Lake Erie. Hertler, who went 3-for-5 with a run scored and had the game-winning two-run single Tuesday in the Crushers' 4-2 victory, was traded from Schaumburg to Lake Erie last week.

"We needed someone at the top of the lineup," Isom said. "If you look at the stats, we were last in walks drawn. We needed someone at the top to take walks, get on base and at least see a few pitches because that's one thing we don't do well."

Zeller also was talking about the top of his batting order Tuesday. He pointed out that the top two spots in his lineup went 0-for-8, which has continued a recent trend. Over the last 15 games, during which Washington has a 5-10 record, the players in the No. 1 spot in the batting order have hit .212 (11-for-52) and the No. 2 spot is hitting only .164 (9-for-55).

Set that DVR

If you want to see former Wild Things hitting coach Joe Charboneau as the "unhandiest handyman" on the television show Catastrophe Inc., tune in to HGTV Sunday morning for two episodes, at 10 and 10:30 a.m.

Wild Things put 2 in all-star game

The Wild Things will have at least two representatives in the Frontier League All-Star game that will be played July 17 at Consol Energy Park.

Rosters were announced Monday, and Washington second baseman C.J. Beatty and outfielder Stewart Ijames were named starters for the East Division, based on voting by the league’s managers, general managers, coaches and media.

Voting determined 24 players for both the East and West division teams. The final three players for each club will be chosen by the respective managers and be announced Thursday.
Ijames, a rookie out of the University of Louisville, leads the Wild Things with a .324 batting average and 14 doubles. He has seven home runs and 21 RBI.

Beatty, a former St. Louis Cardinals minor leaguer who was signed by the Wild Things last offseason, has team-highs of nine home runs, 30 RBI and 20 walks. He is batting .299, which is tops among all East Division second basemen.

The Gateway Grizzlies, who are in first place in the West Division with a 29-15 record, had a league-high seven players, including three starters, chosen for the all-star game. Gateway’s Phil Warren will manage the West team.

The Schaumburg Boomers also have three players in the West starting lineup.

Lake Erie, which is in sixth place in the East, led the division with six all-stars, including two starters. The Crushers’ Andrew Davis will start at third base. He leads the league with 11 home runs.
Last year, the Wild Things did not have a player voted into the all-star game. Pitcher Gary Lee was a manager's addition to the East roster.

The last time Washington hosted the all-star game was 2005. The Wild Things had four representatives in that game, which was won by the East, 5-4.

And it wasn't even the largest on the trip

As this photo from Jason Clark of the Evansville Courier-Press shows, there was a big crowd Friday night at historic Bosse Field for the Wild Things' game against the Evansville Otters. The announced attendance was 7,315, which was the third-largest to ever see a game involving the Wild Things, though not even the largest on the current road trip.

Over the last three nights, the Wild Things have played before crowds totaling 21,240 and the four-game road trip has an attendance of 22,949.

That's even more people

The attendance at the Wild Things' game against the Gateway Grizzlies in Sauget, Ill., last night was even better than Wednesday. The announced attendance was 7,611, which was the second-largest crowd to see a game involving the Wild Things (exactly 600 shy of a game at Traverse City in 2010) and the third-largest in Grizzlies history.

The three-game series drew a total of 15,634.

That's a lot of people

In case you missed it, the attendance for the Wild Things' game against the Gateway Grizzlies Wednesday night at GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., was 6,314. That's the third-largest crowd to ever see a Wild Things game. The only larger ones were 8,211 at Traverse City in 2010 and 6,820 at Evansville in 2004.

By the way, the population for Sauget, Ill., is 249. I'm not kidding. Only 249.

Last chances

The conventional wisdom -- or maybe it's simply wishful thinking -- suggests that wins like the Wild Things' 6-5 come-from-behind victory Sunday over the Greys can turn a season around or provide the impetus for a hot stretch.

Washington erased two late-game deficits against the Greys and won in the 10th inning. It's was only the Greys, the travel team, the last-place team in the East Division, you say. Well, that's true, but the Greys' Bryce Shafer has been a reliable closer. All seven of his saves, of course, have come on the road. He doesn't get any of the so-called room-service saves. And Washington scored in consecutive innings against him.

The biggest development, from my perspective, in that win was the manner in which it was accomplished. The Wild Things had to hit their way back into the game, which is something they've rarely been unable to do ... for several years. This time, they tied the game in the 7th and 9th innings and won in their last at-bat.

Last at-bat wins are sometimes a good barometer for what kind of an offense a team has. A lot of last at-bat wins means you have a team that can hit its way back into games and is rarely considered out of a contest. When Washington fielded its best teams, the Wild Things made last at-bats wins, especially at home, the house specialty.

Here's a look at each Frontier League team's last at-bat wins this season:
7 - Normal
7 - Schaumburg
6 - River City
5 - Gateway
4- Florence
4 - Lake Erie
4 - Southern Illinois
3- Rockford
3- Traverse City
3 - Windy City
2 - Evansville
2 - Joliet
2 - Washington
0 - Greys

Nice job with the seeds

There has been some discussion on this blog from readers about the Wild Things' lack of advertising outside of Washington. The best piece of advertising the Wild Things ever did was a series of television commercials back in either 2002 or 2003 (can't remember which). These commercials were eye-catching, funny and put the Wild Things brand in homes throughout the tri-state area for 30 seconds. There were at least two commercials. If there was a third, I've forgotten what it was about and been unable to find it. Maybe somebody can let me know how many commercials were made.

Many of you remember these commercials, which are still floating around on YouTube. For those who are newcomers to this blog, here they are:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVrb6Fp7Ob0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6XQu23YwXI