Kountis, Beatty named to all-league team

One current Wild Things player and one former standout were named Sunday to the Frontier League’s end-of-season all-star team.

Relief pitcher Jonathan Kountis and designated hitter C.J. Beatty were among the 11 players selected.

Kountis became the first player in Frontier League history to have 30 saves in a season when he pitched the 10th inning of Washington’s 3-2 victory Friday night at Gateway. Kountis has a 1-4 record and 2.70 ERA. He has converted 30 of 32 save opportunities. Kountis had a streak of 26 consecutive save opportunities converted.

Beatty had his contract purchased by the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 12. At the time, he was batting .275 with 18 home runs, 57 RBI and 15 stolen bases. The 18 home runs ranks fourth in the league. Beatty is currently playing for the Winston-Salem Dash of the Class A Carolina League.

Both Kountis and Beatty are on the all-league team for the second time. Kountis made it in 2012 as a member of the Lake Erie Crushers. He signed with Washington as a free agent during the last offseason. Beatty was the all-league second baseman last year.

Evansville third baseman Shayne Houck (.311, league-leading 22 home runs, 62 RBI) was named the winner of the Morgan Burkhart Award as the league’s Most Valuable player. Houck is a Pennsylvania native and played his college ball in the PSAC at Kutztown before being drafted by the San Francisco Giants.

Southern Illinois starter Matt Bywater (8-4, 2.38 ERA, league-leading 112 strikeouts) won the Brian Tollberg Award as the Pitcher of the Year. Bywater has 14 quality starts in 20 outings.

Rockford second baseman Tanner Witt (.305) won the Jason Simontacchi Award as the Rookie of the Year. Witt is from Kansas State.

Evansville’s Andy McCauley was named Manager of the Year.

Others chosen to the all-league team are catcher Tyler Shover and outfielders Sam Judah and Mike Schwartz of Normal, Florence first baseman Sam Eberle, Lake Erie second baseman Vincent Mejia, Gateway shortstop Michael Wing and Windy City outfielder Kyle Robinson.

The Observer-Reporter was voted the Newspaper of the Year.

Wild Things radio broadcaster Randy Gore received the Commissioner’s Award of Excellence for his broadcasting and community work. Gore was instrumental is organizing the recent Ovarian Cancer Night at Consol Energy Park.

Former Wild Things trainer Rebecca McFeaters, who now works for Rockford, was named the league’s top trainer.

Gateway's Adam Young was chosen as the Broadcaster of the Year and the Grizzlies were named Organization of the Year. Gateway's Steve Gomric was named the Executive of the Year. Joliet infielder Max Casper will receive the Fran Riordan Award for citizenship.

A few random thoughts on the all-league selections and awards:

Beatty being chosen as the DH was the most interesting of those on the 11-player team, if only because of the position at which he was put on the ballot. I don't have the exact number, but Beatty played about 17 games at DH. He did play 58 in left field.

Having Beatty on the ballot as a DH meant that Saxon Butler, who is second in the league in RBI and only one behind the leader, did not make the all-league team.

There were some hard decisions for voters. First base had four viable candidates, shortstop was a tough call between Wing and Southern Illinois' Ryan Cavan, Joe Staley of River City had good power numbers at catcher, and in addition to Witt there were three other solid candidates for Rookie of the Year.

McCauley would not have been my first choice for Manager of the Year. That's not a knock on what he has done with Evansville, which has been at or near the top of the East all season and overcame the loss of three starting pitchers to affiliated ball. What caught my attention is the jobs done by Steve Brook at River City and Chris Mongiardo at Lake Erie.

Brook lost six players to affiliated ball, and we in Washington all know what losing just two players can do to a team's lineup. Also, when River City was in Washington the first time, the Rascals had suffered a rash of injuries and were so depleted that they played one of those games without a position player on the bench.

Mongiardo, who probably should be known as Captain Hook, has Lake Erie currently in a playoff spot despite having to start the season with his best hitter, Andrew Davis, on the disabled list and going through the season with the fewest quality starts (25 so far) of any team except the Greys. Mongiardo has worn out a path between the dugout and pitcher's mound. He has made 306 pitching changes. Evansville has made only 180 pitching changes.

Streak is over

The Wild Things are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

That was assured with an 11-4 win over the Gateway Grizzlies at GCS Ballpark. Third baseman Carter Bell had a first-inning grand slam and Washington never trailed.

The question now is where the Wild Things will finish in the standings?

Entering Sunday, the Wild Things are in third place in the East, 1 1/2 games behind co-leaders Evansville and Southern Illinois. The Otters, who clinched their first playoff berth since winning the league championship under manager Greg Jelks in 2006, have six games remaining including a doubleheader today against Florence. The Otters end the season with four games at Washington beginning Tuesday. Southern Illinois has four games left: today at home against Normal and three at Lake Erie, which currently holds the final wild-card spot. Lake Erie cannot finish high enough in the standings to host a wild-card game.

If Washington finishes in the No. 5 or No. 6 spot, it will play a wild-card playoff game Saturday somewhere in the Central time zone. If Washington finishes in a tie with Southern Illinois, the Wild Things win the tiebreaker based on winning the season series, 4-2. In all likelihood, the second-place team in the West will host one of the wild-card games.

Long, long night in Normal

The Corn Crib during last night's record rain delay.

The final days of a baseball season, when mixed with rain, often leads to some long days and nights at the ballpark.

That was the case last night in Normal, Ill., where the CornBelters and Lake Erie Crushers played the final game of their three-game series at The Corn Crib. Both teams are chasing a playoff berth. The Crushers currently hold the final wild-card spot while Normal went into the night trailing the Crushers by four games with seven to play.

On Fan Appreciation Night, which included a prize of a trip to Cancun, heavy rain rolled into the area after the second inning and the game was delayed. Once a game starts, it is the umpires' decision if play will be resumed or the game will be cancelled. In this case, with the game having playoff implications for both teams and several others around the league, umpires T.J. Cunningham and David Fields decided to wait out the storm.

It was a long one.

The delay lasted 4 hours and 39 minutes.

The game resumed, in the top of the third inning, at 12:39 a.m. local time. That's 1:39 a.m. Eastern. According to one person's tweet from the game, "Lake Erie players, manager doing some world class whining."

Who could blame them?

A quick Google check this morning turned up a listing of longest rain delays in baseball history. According to SABR (the Society for American Baseball Research), last night's game had the 7th-longest rain delay in history, the 4th-longest in professional baseball and the 2nd-longest in independent leagues. The only rain delay in an indy game that was longer than the one in Normal was at Yogi Berra Stadium in Little Falls, N.J., on Aug. 14, 2000, when a Northeast League game between the New Jersey Jackals and Catskill Cougars was delayed at the start for 7 hours and 6 minutes. That game was scheduled to start in the afternoon and ended at 11:06 p.m.

Thus, according to SABR, the rain delay in Normal was the longest in-game delay in independent baseball history.

If you're wondering, the longest rain delay ever recorded was 8 hours and 12 minutes in an NCAA game between Harvard and Delaware in 1978.

The longest rain delay in an MLB game was 7 hours and 23 minutes in a 1990 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. That game between the White Sox and Rangers was never started, then rescheduled for five days later in Texas and was delayed in the bottom of the 5th inning because of a brawl.

When the game finally ended last night in Normal, it was 2:19 a.m., more than seven hours after it started. The seventh-inning stretch was at 1:45 a.m. Normal won the game, 6-3.

Big night for Ijames

Former Wild Things outfielder Stewart Ijames

Here is a story from minor league baseball's site about Stewart Ijames' 6-RBI game Wednesday for the Missosula Osprey.

http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20140828&content_id=91867640&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb

Revisiting perfection

A few leftover notes from Matt Sergey's nine-inning perfect game Sunday against Gateway:

* Sergey threw 100 pitches. He had not thrown more than 68 pitches in a game since Aug. 21 of last year, when he made a start for Gateway (yes, Gateway) against the Wild Things at Consol Energy Park. Washington won that game 7-1.

* It was the 24th no-hitter in Frontier League history, and the fifth this season (Windy City's Travis Tingle has thrown a five-inning and a seven inning no-hitter), but the first perfect game in the league's 22-year history.

* It was the first no-hitter thrown at Consol Energy Park in a Frontier League game. No pitcher had even come as close as three outs from a no-hitter.

* Gateway pitching coach Randy Martz, who spent four years in the major leagues and has a been a long-time coach, said it was the first perfect game he had witnessed at any level of baseball, "including Little League." Washington pitching coach Kevin Gryboski has seen three perfect games. He was with the Braves when Randy Johnson threw a perfect game for Arizona in Atlanta, and was a teammate of John Halama in Class AAA, when he threw one in the minor leagues.

* Washington catcher Jim Vahalik said he a conversation recently with his father, who asked him if he had ever caught a no-hitter. When Jim said that he had not, father said he had that over his son. He caught one in back in his youth league days. So, after Sergey's perfect game, the younger Vahalik called his father and said, "I guess I have one on you now."

* Sergey said three balls concerned him when they left the bat. One was a ball Ben Waldrip hit in the second inning that was caught by right fielder Jose Dore on the warning track. The other two were hit by second baseman Tommy Richards, and both were caught by left fielder Scott Kalamar on the warning track in left field near the 375-feet sign. One was in the sixth inning and the other was with one out in the ninth.

* Gateway hit four fly balls in the game that were caught on the warning track. No ground balls were hit to Washington third baseman Carter Bell.

* Sergey had a three-ball count on only four batters, including twice against Madison Beaird. Sergey retired him on a popout and flyout. The last three-ball count came against Michael Johnson, who struck out in the seventh inning.

* It was the first time in Gateway's 14 seasons that the Grizzlies were no-hit.

* The game was the last called by Adam Young after four seasons as Gateway's broadcaster. He begins a television/radio job for New Mexico State later this week. It don't know if that's called going out with a bang or a dud.

* The Washington win moved the Wild Things to 5 1/2 games ahead of Gateway for the final wild-card playoff spot. The Grizzlies are currently the first team out of the playoffs with 11 days remaining in the regular season. The Grizzlies still have the schedule helping them, as they play the Greys three times, host the Wild Things for three games over the weekend and end the season with three games at Joliet (34-53).

* After Sunday's game, Gateway manager Phil Warren ripped into his team for its performance against the Wild Things.

"We're lacking serious grit and heart in the clubhouse," Warren said. "That performance was unacceptable to this office and the handful of guys who haven't checked out on the season. We still want to have something to show for all the hard work we did in the first half of the year. ...

"The bottom line is you get what you deserve. Any manager will tell you that luck is a good thing to have, but we haven't had any in the second half of the season. We just haven't played winning baseball in the second half. If somebody watched this series and knew that both teams were in the playoff race, then they would have expected to see more confidence and a better vibe from Gateway. Unfortunately, we have some guys who have checked out for the season."

* I wonder how many people in the ballpark, at game's end, were aware that Sergey's performance was a perfect game and not just a no-hitter?

Competition coming

New ballpark being constructed in Morgantown, W.Va., that will house the Pirates' New York-Penn League affiliate.

If you're a minor-league baseball fan and live anywhere between Washington and Morgantown, W.Va., you'll have to make a decision in upcoming years about where to watch games.

According to the Charleston (W.Va.) Gazette, the Jamestown Jammers, the short-season New York-Penn league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, is moving to Morgantown and will play at a ballpark that is currently being constructed and will be shared with the West Virginia University team.

Here is the link to the story, though it does not say what year the Jammers will be moving.

http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20140823/GZ02/140829703/1115

The 12 Games of Hell

While driving home from work late into the night earlier this week, I turned on the over-the-top gabfest which is Pittsburgh sports talk radio. The host of the show, who was having a difficult time attracting callers, was talking about the Pirates' 12-game stretch that began last night in Milwaukee. He referred to it as the "12 Games of Hell." Pittsburgh will play Milwaukee three times, Cincinnati three times and St. Louis six times during this stretch.

It got me thinking that the Wild Things' remaining stretch, which is now down to 12 games heading into tonight's contest against Gateway, could be their own version of "12 Games of Hell."

Washington has 5 games left against Gateway, 3 at River City and 4 at home against Evansville. Each of those teams has a winning percentage north of .500. Here is a looks at the top 4 teams in the East and what they have left to play:

Washington
Games left: 12
Opponents/games: vs. Gateway-2, at River City-3, at Gateway-3, vs. Evansville-4
Average opponent winning percentage: .586

Evansville
Games left: 13
Opponents/games: at Rockford-2, vs. Windy City-3, vs. Florence-4, at Washington-4
Average opponent winning percentage: .470

Southern Illinois
Games left: 11
Opponents/games: vs. Florence-2, vs. Normal-3, at Traverse City-3, at Lake Erie-3
Average opponent winning percentage: .493

Lake Erie
Games left: 11
Opponents/games: vs. Gateway-2, at Normal-3, at River City-3, vs. Southern Illinois
Average opponent winning percentage: .586.

It's been a long time

Zac Fuesser delivers a pitch Wednesday against River City.

If nothing else, the Wild Things' doubleheader split Wednesday night with River City accomplished one thing:

Washington is assured of finishing with a winning record for the first time since 2007, when it was 55-40.

Wild Things strike out at deadline

The trade deadline in the Frontier League was Monday, and the Wild Things opted to stand pat.

And so did almost every other team in the league. The only trade was the Rockford Aviators picking up a pitcher from the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings of the independent United League for a player to be named.

Washington did make one roster move, releasing catcher Cole Martin, a rookie out of the University of Michigan. Martin batted .357 (5-for-14) with three doubles and seven RBI in five games after being signed July 30.

The move leaves Washington with the league-minimum 22 active players.

With 16 games remaining the regular season, Washington trails first-place Evansville by one game in the East Division. Southern Illinois is 1½ games back of the Otters and Lake Erie is in fourth place, only two games out of first. Each division winner and the four remaining teams with the best records will qualify for the playoffs. Lake Erie currently holds the final playoff spot.

Washington is off until Wednesday (6:05 p.m.) when it hosts West Division-leader River City in a doubleheader. It’s the opening games in a six-game homestand that includes the Wild Things retiring the jersey number of Chris Sidick Friday night.

All 16 of the Wild Things' remaining games will be played against teams currently with a winning percentage of at least .568.

Deadline is approaching

The transactions deadline for the Frontier League is Monday. This is the equivalent of Major League Baseball's nonwaiver trade deadline of July 31. It will be the final day of the season that teams can makes trades, though there are some moves that can be made after the deadline. For example, you can replace players put on the DL or get purchased by a MLB club, but you can't make a trade for the replacements.

Last year, Washington was a seller at the deadline, sending pitcher Shawn Sanford to the Schaumburg Boomers, who went on to win the league championship. A few days before the deadline, Washington dealt relief pitcher Anthony Collazo to the Evansville Otters. Collazo was the winning pitcher Friday night in Evansville's 5-4 victory in 10 innings over the Wild Things.

Washington is a buyer instead of a seller this time. During the team's series this week at Windy City, manager Bob Bozzuto told WJPA Radio's Randy Gore that he's actively pursuing a few deals, talking to teams not only in the Frontier league but other independent leagues as well.

Will Washington make a move? Should they make a trade?

Adding a quality hitter seems the most logical thing the Wild Things can do. They had the 11th-lowest batting average in the league in June and 12th in July, and those numbers were put up with both Stewart Ijames and C.J. Beatty in the lineup. In August, Washington has the best batting average in the league at .308, but can the Wild Things keep that up without Ijames, Beatty and Danny Poma, who hasn't played since last Sunday because of an injury? They were the three players who carried this team offensively for the majority of the season.

Washington does not play another game the rest of the season against an opponent with a winning percentage or less than .570. Six of the remaining 17 games will be played in the hitter-friendly parks at Gateway and River City. Would the Wild Things be willing to deal for a clout-or-an-out power hitter? Should they?

Should they try to add another arm? That they have listed tonight's starting pitcher as "To be determined" suggests they need another starting pitcher. The bullpen, which has been stretched to the limit recently, could use another arm. Pat Butler has pitched each of the last three nights. Matt Purnell had a similar stretch recently.

The clock is ticking. Will the Wild Things pull the trigger on a trade?

Down on the farm

There are currently eight former Wild Things in the minor leagues (might be a record for one time) and, of course, Vidal Nuno is pitching in the major leagues for the Arizona Diamondbacks .Nuno gave up two runs in 5 2/3 innings with no walks and six strikeouts but did not get a decision in the opening game of a doubleheader Wednesday at Cleveland.

Here is a look at how the seven former Wild Things are doing in the minors:

C.J. Beatty (OF, Winston-Salem, Class A, California League, Chicago White Sox)
Beatty made his debut with Winston-Salem Tuesday night after having his contract purchased by the White Sox. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and also threw out a runner at home plate in his first game, then went 1-for-4 with a run Wednesday night. Beatty has been playing right field for the Dash.

Robbie Garvey (OF, Rancho Cucamonga, Class A, California League, Los Angeles Dodgers)
Garvey played 56 games for the Wild Things in 2012. This year, he's batting .240 in 106 games for the Quakes. He didn't show much power with the Wild Things, but Garvey has 15 doubles, nine triples and seven home runs in the hitter-friendly California League. He has 22 stolen bases and has been caught stealing only five times.

Stewart Ijames (OF, Missoula, Short-season, Pioneer League, Arizona Diamondbacks)

Ijames

Ijames is in a league with players who are typically a couple of years younger than he is, but many of those younger players have more affiliated experience. Since joining Missoula, Ijames has been hitting Pioneer League pitching just like it was Frontier League pitching. He is batting .328 with seven home runs and 24 RBI in 18 games. He was named the Pioneer League Player of the Week for Aug. 4-10.
Quincy Latimore (OF, Harrisburg, Class AA, Eastern League, Washington Nationals)
Latimore played for Washington during the second half of the 2013 season. He is having a solid season for Harrisburg, batting .278 with 10 home runs in 97 games.

Steven Messner (P, Augusta, Class A, South Atlantic League, San Francisco Giants)
Messner pitched in eight games for Washington at the end of last season, then was signed by the Giants in the offseason and pitched well enough in spring training to make a full-season Class A team. He has a 6-3 record and 4.50 ERA in 28 outings (9 starts). In a start against Rome on June 26, Messner threw eight shutout innings.

Chris Smith (P, Tampa, Class A, Florida State League, New York Yankees)

Smith

Smith was very good for the Wild Things in 2012, when he had a 9-6 record and 2.92 ERA and struck out 116 in 129 1/3 innings. After playing in Washington, Smith was signed by the Yankees but suffered an injury that caused him to miss the 2013 season. This year, Smith has pitched well in setup relief, compiling a 1-1 record and 2.78 ERA in 27 outings for Tampa, the Yankees' top Class A team. Opponents are hitting only .225 against Smith, who began the year with low-A Charleston before moving promoted to Tampa.

Nate Striz (P, Tula, Class AA, Texas League, Colorado Rockies)
Striz pitched in nine games, getting three saves, for the 2012 Wild Things before he was signed by Boston. He moved to the Colorado system and began this year in the Class A California League, making 16 appearances before being advanced to Class AA Tulsa, where the Drillers' hitting coach is former Wild Things manager Darren Everson. Striz has 2-1 record, 6.83 ERA and two saves in 23 games for Tulsa.

Mark Williams (P, Brevard County, Class A, Florida State League, Milwaukee Brewers)
Williams, who played for Washington in 2011, was having a dominant season, with a 1-2 record, 12 saves and 1.86 ERA in 19 outings for Brevard County. He had allowed only nine hits in 22 1/3 innings. However, he was suspended for 50 games without pay after testing positive for an amphetamine in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. He is currently serving the suspension.

Beatty sold to White Sox; shades of Loggins in '03?

C.J. Beatty, right, is headed home to Winston-Salem, N.C., as his contract was purchased by the Chicago White Sox. His departure couldn't come at a worse time for the Wild Things.

With the Wild Things locked in a three-way tie for first place in the Frontier League's East Division, Washington announced Tuesday that the contract of left fielder C.J. Beatty has been sold to the Chicago White Sox.

Beatty has been assigned to his hometown team, the Winston-Salem Dash of the High-Class A Carolina League.

Beatty was second in the Frontier League in home runs (18) and fourth in RBI (57). Beatty also was batting .275 with 15 stolen bases.

This will be Beatty's second stint in affiliated ball. He spent two years in the St. Louis Cardinals organization after being drafted out of North Carolina A&T University.

What does Beatty's departure mean for the Wild Things? Well, it creates a huge hole in the middle of the lineup. It also makes some sense of why the Wild Things signed outfielder Pat Kregeloh, a rookie out of Shippensburg University. You had to be thinking that Washington's biggest need was not a backup outfielder.

If you're a longtime fan of the Wild Things, you might be thinking that Beatty's departure, which comes on the heels of Stewart Ijames getting picked up by Arizona last month, has the same feel of losing Josh Loggins in 2003. Washington was 45-29 when the Colorado Rockies purchased Loggins' contract on Aug. 18, 2003 and assigned him to Class AA.

The Wild Things went 8-5 the rest of the way in the regular season, including a 17-6 win over Chillicothe the night Loggins left the team. However, one could sense that without the league's MVP in the lineup Washington didn't have enough offense to go deep in the playoffs. That's exactly what happened as the Wild Things were swept in two games by Gateway in the first round, scoring only three runs in the process.

With Ijames and Beatty gone, and Washington facing the toughest remaining schedule of the top four teams in the East (see earlier post from today), you have to think that it will be a huge uphill climb for the Wild Things to win the division. It's going to take some extraordinary pitching performances or a steal of a trade (think Aaron Ledbetter from River City in 2006) at the league's transactions deadline Monday for Washington to overcome losing this much offense in the second half of the season.

It's a 21-game season

We awake today to find the Wild Things, Evansville Otters and Southern Illinois Miners tied for first place in the East Division (technically, Evansville is .003 ahead of the other two).

The first 75 games of the season now are basically meaningless, unless they are used to break a tie. To win a division title and avoid the dreaded one-game playoff as a wild card or missing the playoffs, the Wild Things must be better than the Otters, Miners and fourth-place Lake Erie Crushers, who are only 3 1/2 games out of first place, over the next 21 games.

The Otters will play another 22 games because of a makeup game remaining against Florence. Evansville and Lake Erie each will end the season with only 95 games because of contests that have been rained out and will not be rescheduled, so winning percentage will be more important than games behind in the standings.

Analyzing the remaining schedules for each of the East Division contenders, we find that all four have three series left at home and four on the road. That, however, is where the similarities end. If you look at the number of games remaining against teams currently with winning records, and the winning percentage of the nine opponents to be played, two things become obvious: 1. The Wild Things are at a distinct disadvantage. 2. Southern Illinois is the favorite to win the title.

The schedulemaker did hit a home run as Evansville will end the season with a three-game series at Washington while Southern Illinois plays at Lake Erie.

Here's a breakdown of each team's remaining schedule:

Washington
At home: River City, Gateway, Evansville
On road: Windy City, Evansville, River City, Gateway
Doubleheaders left: vs. River City
Games left vs. teams with winning record: 18
Winning percentage of remaining opponents: .569

Evansville
At home: Washington, Windy City, Florence (4 games)
On road: Schaumburg, Traverse City, Rockford, Washington
Doubleheaders left: vs. Windy City, vs. Florence, at Traverse City
Games left vs. teams with winning record: 9
Winning percentage of remaining opponents: .489

Southern Illinois
At home: Greys, Florence, Normal
On road: Rockford, River City, Traverse City, Lake Erie
Doubleheaders left: None
Games left vs. teams with winning record: 6
Winning percentage of remaining opponents: .461

Lake Erie
At home: Gateway, River City, Southern Illinois
On road: Joliet, Traverse City, Normal, River City
Doubleheaders left: None
Games left vs. teams with winning record: 12
Winning percentage of remaining opponents: .527

Poma named Player of Week

Washington Wild Things outfielder Danny Poma was named Monday the Frontier League Player of the Week.

Poma, from Monterrey, Calif., had a big week, going 11-for-20 with three doubles and five RBI. Poma also went 5-for-6 in stolen base attempts.

He is the first Washington hitter to be named Player of the Week.

Pitcher signed, Heck of a coach added

The Wild Things have been playing for quite some time while under the Frontier League roster limit of 24 active players. For example, they played a doubleheader Sunday against the Greys with the league minimum 22 active players.

To move closer to the 24-player limit, the Wild Things signed left-handed pitcher Christopher O'Hare from Lynnfield, Mass. He gives Washington 23 active players heading into tonight's game at Schaumburg.

O'Hare played college baseball at Fisher College in Boston, Mass., and comes to the Wild Things after spending parts of two seasons in the Philadelphia Phillies system. O'Hare was drafted in the 23rd round by the Phillies in 2013. At Fisher, O'Hare led the NAIA with a 0.86 ERA, had a 28-inning scoreless streak and a 19-strikeout game.

O'Hare pitched in only 18 games in affiliated ball, including 12 this year for Class A Lakewood and one with short-season Williamsport. O'Hare's career was derailed when he received a 50-game suspension in January after a second failed test for a banned substance, reportedly a drug of abuse. Players are given a warning after their first positive test for a drug of abuse.

The Wild Things also filled a coaching vacancy Tuesday by hiring former Washington outfielder Andrew Heck as its first-base coach. Heck played for the Wild Things in each of the last two seasons and was in spring training this year. Heck is in his second season as the head baseball coach at Sewickley Academy and guided the Panthers to the postseason each season, including a spot in the PIAA Class A playoffs this spring.

Marks named Pitcher of the Week

Though the Wild Things have been in first place in the Frontier League’s East Division for the majority of the season they did not have a player receive one the league’s top weekly honors until Monday.

Washington right-hander Troy Marks was named the Frontier League Pitcher of the Week after compiling a 2-0 record and 0.63 ERA in two starts.

Marks pitched 14 1/3 innings and allowed only five hits and one run in wins over Evansville and the Frontier Greys. Marks had 20 strikeouts and walked only one batter during the week. He took a no-hitter into the seventh inning Saturday night against the Greys.

After joining the Wild Things July 23, Marks has made three starts, compiling a 3-0 record and 0.92 ERA.

The Normal CornBelters’ Sam Judah was named the Hitter of the Week after going 15-for-32 with three doubles, two home runs and eight RBI.

The Wild Things made one roster move Monday, placing left-handed pitcher Zach LeBarron on the 7-day disabled list. LeBarron (1-2, 4.50) has not pitched since July 28.

Bozzuto named manager

Bob Bozzuto

About an hour before Saturday night's schedule game time, Wild Things owner Stu Williams announced to the players that Bob Bozzuto has been named manager.

He also announced that hitting coach Bob Didier has "left" the team.

Williams told the O-R that Didier's decision to leave came before any decision to name Bozzuto the manager was made.

Here are some of the comments made by Bozzuto following Washington's 5-2 in over the Frontier Greys Saturday night:

"I'm the luckiest guy in the world, to be involved in professional baseball for a long time doing this. I'm very fortunate. ... I always said, even when I was coaching a college summer league team and American Legion teams, that any time you get put on a uniform, you should feel fortunate. To be able to represent a great organization, city and baseball team, I feel fortunate to have this opportunity.

"This team, this town, the season-ticket holders, the people who have filled this ballpark, they are like my family and friends. They’re very important to me. And this group of players is fantastic. They play through adversity, they do their job, they’re true professionals.

"I don't take this position lightly. It is very special, but it’s not about me. It’s about we and us."

According to Williams, the owner was informed several days ago that Didier had purchased a plane ticket to return to Arizona. After asking the coaches to meet after Friday night's game against Rockford and come up with a plan on how to delegate roles and work out any differences for remainder of the season, nothing had been finalized before the owner left the ballpark. Sometime early Saturday, Williams was told Didier was leaving. The two met at 2 p.m. and Didier informed Williams that he indeed was quitting and going back to Arizona. Didier wanted to talk to the players and inform them of his decision but was denied access.

Kaminsky traded

The Wild Things made a flurry of transactions Friday prior to the series finale against Rockford.

* Washington traded pitcher Alex Kaminsky (2-5, 4.96 ERA in 10 starts) to the Joliet Slammers for a 2nd-round draft choice.

* Second baseman Sam Montgomery (.211, 7 RBI in 30 games) has been released. A somewhat surprising move.

* Scott Dunn was activated from the 7-day disabled list and will pitch tonight's game against the Aviators.

* Dan Johnston (6-4, 200), a first baseman from Portola Valley, Calif., was signed. Johnston played college ball at Pacific with his senior year being 2012. He was drafted by the Marlins in the 46th round in 2010 but has not played professional baseball.