Halfway home

The Wild Things reached the halfway point in in their season Saturday night with one of their best games, a 5-0 shutout of the Schaumburg Boomers (the second 5-0 win over the Boomers this season). Washington matched its season-high with 14 hits and allowed only five, three of which didn't leave the infield.

The win came one night after one of Washington's most disappointing losses, a 5-4 setback to the Boomers in a game the Wild Things led 4-1 in the seventh inning. A hit batsman, a walk, an infield dribbler that went for a single and two wild pitches (on consecutive pitches) contributed to a three-run most seventh. Schaumburg won the game with two doubles in the eighth.

Washington has a 26-22 record at the midway point. The Wild Things trail first-place Joliet by only one game in the East Division. They have made up 2 1/2 games in the last week.

The Frontier League has changed its playoff format this year by eliminating the wild-card games, which trims the number of postseason qualifiers from six to four. The two division winners will qualify along with the two remaining teams with the best records. Entering today's series finale against Schaumburg, which is the final game before the all-star break, Washington currently holds the final playoff position.

This begs the question: Do you consider the Wild Things contenders or pretenders?

And plenty of other questions, such as:

Can this team stay in playoff contention if they continue to be last in the league in team batting average (currently ,235 -- it has gone up .007 in the last week)?

Will the hitting improve?

Are center fielder Chris Grayson and second baseman Jamodrick McGruder the impact players the Wild Things' offense needs?

Only two teams have more quality starts than the Wild Things' 25. Can the starting pitching hold up over the final 48 games?

The bullpen was the most dependable part of this team for the first 39 games but it has two blown saves since June 29. Is it just a bad stretch or is the bullpen beginning to leak oil?

These questions will be answered over the 48 games. Stay tuned.