Boz is back

The Wild Things announced Thursday that their coaching staff has been finalized with the addition of Bob Bozzuto, who will be returning to the Washington after a one year hiatus.

This will be Boz's seventh season with the Wild Things.

Bozzuto, who is the athletic director at North Allegheny High School, has managed successful teams in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, the Erie Shores Summer Collegiate League, the Tri-State Summer Collegiate League.

“I am very happy to return to the Wild Things,” Bozzuto said. “I will work tirelessly with the coaches and players to ensure we have a successful team this season. Our fans are some of the best in professional baseball and I look forward to seeing many familiar faces in the stands. The goal is to bring a championship to the people of Washington.”

Coaching staff announced

The Wild Things announced Wednesday its three-member coaching staff for first-year manager Darin Everson. The coaches include one holder from previous seasons, one former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher and one former coach in the affiliated ranks.

Bob Bozzuto will be back for his fifth season with the Wild Things as the team's bench coach. Last year, Bozzuto was the third-base coach for the Wild Things.

“Bob brings a great factor to our coaching staff with his experience with the Frontier League," Everson said. "He really knows the ins and outs of the league.”

Mark Dewey, pictured, who spent six seasons (1990 and 1992-96) in the major leagues including two as a relief pitcher with the Pittsburgh Pirates, will be Washington's pitching coach. Dewey had a 12-7 career record with the Pirates, San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. Dewey spent the 1993 and '94 seasons with the Pirates, appearing in 66 games with a 3-3 record and eight saves.

Dewey was the pitching coach at Emory & Henry College last spring. His previous coaching experience includes working as the pitching coach with the Kingsport Mets in 2000 and 2002 and with the Aiken Foxhounds of the independent South Coast League in 2007.

“I am excited to join the Wild Things organization and am looking forward to working with Darin,” Dewey said. “I'm also excited to return to the Pittsburgh area, as I enjoyed the two summers I spent with the Pirates.”

The third coach will be hitting coach Dana Williams. A Weirton, W.Va., native, Williams spent 12 years coaching in the Seattle Mariners' system, serving as manager of the Mariners' team in the rookie-level Arizona League for two years and as a hitting coach with various affiliates for 10 years. He played minor league ball for seven seasons (1983-89) in the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox systems. Williams made it to the majors in 1989 and appeared in eight games for Boston.

One interesting note about Williams is he had one major-league hit (1-for-5). It was a double off Minensota's Allan Anderson in a June game.

“Dana has significant minor-league coaching experience. He not only has expertise in hitting, but also in base running and outfielding, so we look for him to help our players in those areas as well," Everson said.

Todd Marlin, the Wild Things' managing director, said, “We are very excited to have a coaching staff with this amount of experience for the 2010 season. We feel these four coaches will do an excellent job putting a quality team on the field and give Washington a great opportunity to capture our first Frontier League championship.”

Coaching staff complete

Manager Mark Mason has completed his coaching staff for the 2009 season. Former Washington shortstop Jon Cahill, pictured, will return to the organization as the hitting coach and Larry Wayman will be back for his second season as pitching coach. Also returning is coach Bob Bozzuto.

This will be Bozzuto's fourth season with the Wild Things. He was the third-base coach last year under manager Greg Jelks.

Cahill spent the last two years as manager of the Frontier League's Traverse City Beach Bums. In 2005, Cahill was an assistant coach under Mason with the Ohio Valley Redcoats.

Cahill's return had been rumored for a long time. The return of Wayman, however, was somewhat of a surprise to me. I expected Mason to bring in someone outside the organization, especially after the Wild Things' pitching struggles last year. One reader of this blog mentioned that Wayman never seemed to connect with the pitchers last year, which got me thinking (I do that once every two weeks). He/she might be right. Not one pitcher mentioned the pitching coach during interviews all season, which was a first.

Mason must think Wayman is the right guy for the job, and with all the injuries and youth in the bullpen last year we'll surely get a better evaluation of the guy this year.