Top 10 lists

In honor of David Letterman's final show tonight, here are two top 10 lists of the things I like about the Wild Things and their season so far, and 10 things I don't like:

Top 10 things I like about the Wild Things and their season so far:

10. Lee Orr's potential - You would think first base would be one of the easiest positions to find a good player, but Washington hasn't had a first baseman with above-league-average production in many years. Orr looks like he will end that streak.

9. Matt Ford's bat - Only a week into the season and he's already working his way up the batting order. That's a good sign for a guy who started the year as the No. 9 hitter.

8. Good parking spaces are available, even at game time - You can figure out why by looking at the attendance numbers.

7. Maxx Garrett's contact - The ball has been jumping off Garrett's bat with much more authority than in past seasons. He could have a breakout year at the plate if he stays healthy.

6. Luke Wilkins' Australian accent.

5. The red hats.

4. Edinson Rincon's patience - For a guy who once walked only 22 times in 521 plate appearances during Class AA season, Rincon has shown a very good eye at the plate, drawing a team-high six walks in 20 plate appearances.

3. Richie Mirowski's split-fingered fastball - A true out pitch, It's why Mirowski has eight strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.

2. Hey, it's baseball season - Going to the ballpark sure beats trudging off to work in the dead of winter with snow falling and the temperature hovering near zero.

And the No. 1 thing I like about the Wild Things' season so far:

1. David Popkins' hitting - Popkins, a switch-hitting outfielder, looks like he's capable of putting up Stewart Ijames-like numbers, especially when hitting from the left side.

Top 10 things I don't like about the Wild Things and their season so far:

10. The schedule - Washington begins a rare 9-game road trip Friday that will include stops at Normal, River City and Gateway. The Wild Things also will log more travel miles this season than any team int he league, and that includes the Greys, who are a travel team.

9. Too many fundamental mistakes - Some of the problems you get when putting a team together in two weeks popped up in the Wild Things' first five games: miscommunication on defense, mistakes during rundown plays, not getting bunts down, baserunning mistakes, etc.

8. The bench - Washington has 23 active players, one under the league maximum. There are only two position players on the bench each night, a backup catcher and a first baseman. There is no backup middle infielder on the roster, unless you count C.J. Beatty, who on some nights is the DH.

7. The record - It says the Wild Things are 1-4 but they could easily be, and probably should be, 4-1. To steal a line from a "Major League" movie, they stranded a small village in the opener and lose 1-0. Then they can't protect a four-run lead in the last inning of the second game. Then they give up three runs because of defensive miscues Tuesday night. The game Wednesday night is the only one in which you can say they were flat-out beaten.

6. Too many walks - Only Gateway, which has a 6.40 team ERA, has issued more walks than the Wild Things. You can count on improvement in this area.

5. The lack of sound effects between pitches - Apparently, this is a directive from the Frontier League office. They can still play the Pro Tech Auto Glass breaking glass sound because it's a paid promotion, but things like "Clap your hands" or organ music or even the "charge!" song (which the Wild Things never used) are taboo this season. This has removed much of the "atmosphere" from the ballpark. In other words, it has made the place rather boring until the ball is hit, even when there is a decent-sized crowd in the house.

4. The attendance - The last two games have drawn the two of the three smallest crowds in Wild Things history. I know it's tough to draw fans on a weekday during May, when the kids are still in school and the weather is crisp, but one has to wonder if Washington really cares if it has professional baseball or not. I'm leaning toward not and the numbers seem to support that belief. When a Class A baseball playoff game being played at the same time and across the parking lot has about the same number of butts in the seats as a Wild Things game, then you have to wonder about the future of professional baseball in this city.

3. The situational hitting, or the lack of it - Improvement needed in this area. In the loss to Evansville Wednesday night, Washington's first 12 at-bats with a runner on base failed to advance the runner. They had a runner on third base with no outs and left him stranded, the second time that has happened.

2. The weather - Too much rain and too cold for May.

And the No. 1 thing I don't like about the Wild Things' season so far:

Knowing the international tiebreaker rule will be used this season. IMHO, this is the dumbest rule in sports. More on this in an upcoming blog post.