Cleaning out the notebook

Some random thoughts, opinions and notes from the pressbox at Consol Energy Park:

* The Wild Things made one roster move Saturday, releasing pitcher Matt Maradeo. In his second season with Washington, Maradeo had a 1-0 record and 8.22 ERA in 12 games. The sidearming right-hander has been plagued by inconsistency and his numbers in Washington did match those he put up in the Chicago Cubs' system.

* Pitcher Justin Edwards, who left Friday night's game with back spasms, will not go on the disabled list. According to manager Mark Mason, the spams were related to Edwards being dehydrated. Edwards is expected to be out for two days. Opponents are batting only .222 against Edwards, who has 21 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings.

* To fill Maradeo's spot on the roster, Washington will sign relief pitcher Aaron Guinn, a 6-5 right-hander from Mesa (Ariz.) State, which finished the year ranked No. 5 in NCAA Division II. Guinn had a 5-2 record, 9 saves and 1.40 ERA this year.

* It sure looks like center fielder Chris Sidick has lost his confidence when hitting against left-handed pitching. Sidick is only 2-for-25 (.080) with 10 strikeouts against lefty pitchers, but the average isn't the big concern. It's that many of his swings against lefties have looked bad.

* If you're going to attend a Wild Things home game and stay from start to finish, plan on being there a long time. Washington has played 12 home games with 11 going at least nine innings (there was a rain-shortened game against Gateway). of those 11, only one has been played in less than three hours, that being a 2-hour, 59-minute game against River City June 6. The Wild Things' nine-inning home games are averaging 3 hours and 8 minutes.

* Washington will have to drop a player from the roster Monday when Craig Snipp comes off the disabled list to pitch against Midwest.

* Phil Laurent doesn't get cheated on any of his swings. There's no check-swings or half-hearted swings with that guy.

* With the 13-run output Saturday night, the Wild Things are now in a three-way tie for the most runs scored in the Frontier League, though their record is only 10-17. Of all professional baseball teams that have played at least 27 games this season, only two (Midland of the Class AA Texas League and High Desert of the Class A California League) are averaging more runs per game than the Wild Things.

* Here's the humbling statistic: No team in pro baseball that has played at 27 least games is giving up more runs per game than the Wild Things (7.04).

* Manager Mark Mason on his team's 6.63 ERA: "I want a team ERA of 4.00 or under. If that's what our ERA was, then our record would be reversed. We've hit enough to win almost every game. The pitching has to come to the party."

* Has anyone noticed that closer Nick Peterson has 23 strikeouts in 11 1/3 innings pitched?

* Here's one that's hard to do: Chris Demons had two singles last night, which were his first singles all season. Demons had two home runs and a double but no singles in his first 32 at-bats.

* I forgot to mention this when I originally posted this article: Am I the only one who thinks the umpiring has gotten significantly worse this year? Talking to people from visiting teams, it seems to be that way around the league, not just in Washington.