All-Decade Team: Shortstop

As I wrote in an earlier post, the biggest dilemma you have when choosing an all-decade team in minor-league baseball is weighing a one-year wonder against guys who were quality players for two or three seasons. Do you put more value on having the best overall season or being a longtime contributor and fan favorite? That's the question that comes into play at shortstop.

There are only three players to consider for the position: Brad Hensler (2002), Jon Cahill (2003-04) and Brett Grandstrand (2006, 08-09). Let's examine each player:

* Hensler was only a one-year player, but what a year it was. The best-hitting shortstop the Wild Things have ever had, Hensler batted .313 with 25 doubles, four triples, eight home runs, 54 RBI and 15 stolen bases. Each statistic is a record for Wild Things shortstops. The Chartiers Valley High School graduate helped Washington win the East Division and reach the Frontier League championship series. Hensler, who had no professional experience as a shortstop prior to joining the Wild Things, also is the lone Washington shortstop to be named all-league.

* Cahill followed Hensler in 2003 and actually improved Washington's defense at the position, which was hard to belive at the time considering Hensler's play. While Cahill didn't match Hensler's offensive production, he batted .287 and .274 in his two seasons and hit 10 home runs over that period. Cahill was Washington's best shortstop at turning the double play as his 61 DPs (team record) in 2004 shows.

* Grandstrand played three seasons in Washington and his strength was an ability to turn in the spectacular play on defense. He had more range than any Washington shortstop, and his .967 fielding percentage in 2008 is the team record. Granny also was better with the bat during his first two seasons -- which were wedged around a one-year stint in the Tampa Bay Rays' system -- when he batted .284 and .295, than you would think. The latter number is the second-best average for any shortstop. Grandstrand's average dipped all the way to .237 in 2009, but he did have 22 extra-base hits.

So who do you go with?

No matter who you pick, you're probably not wrong. There is a solid case for each.

With shortstop being such a difficult position to play well for an extended period of time, I'm going with Grandstrand, the guy with the most range and was better offensively than he was given credit for.

The question now is, can Chaill or Hensler land a spot as a reserve on the all-decade team?

All-Decade Shortstop: Brett Grandstrand (2006, 08-09).

Tuesday night leftovers

If Darin Everson has proven anything in his short stint as the Wild Things' manager, it's that he's not afraid to call for a squeeze play, whether the suicide or safety variety. It was the latter that produced the winning run Tuesday night in Washington's 6-5 victory over Gateway.

Billy O'Conner put down a bunt on the first pitch he saw from Grizzlies reliever David Miller to score Luis Rivera from third base and give the Wild Things a 6-5 victory.

It's at least the second time Everson has used the squeeze play in the season's first three weeks. John Massarelli called for a couple of squeeze plays -- I recall one was with Brett Grandstrand batting and beat Kalamazoo -- with success during his four years as the Wild Things' manager. I don't recall any squeeze bunts called by Washington's other managers. I asked one of those managers why he never uses the squeeze and his response was "Scouts want to see hitters drive people in, not bunt them in."

Everson has shown he's playing to win and isn't afraid to try anything to get a victory.

* For the past week, the best job in the world was to be a Gateway Grizzlies relief pitcher. During a six-game homestand, while the Gateway starters toiled just about forever, the Grizzlies' hitters outscored the opponents 73-18 and hit eight home runs in a 25-1 rout Sunday over Lake Erie. The guys out in Bullpenville had less to do than the night guard at a sewerage treatment plant. David Miller, the Grizzlies' 6-foot-10 reliever, could have visited the family in Fort Worth for a week and nobody would have noticed.

So when Grizzlies were finally locked in a close game Tuesday, you had to excuse reliever Eric Gilliland if he was a little rusty when it came to recognizing the signal to enter a game. While Grizzlies manager Phil Warren held court on the mound during the bottom of the seventh inning, Gilliland trotted into the game from the left-field bullpen at Consol Energy Park.

The only problem was that nobody had called for Gilliland to enter and replace starter John Flanagan. Gilliland nearly made it to the infield before Warren and several Grizzlies began waving frantically for him to get off the field and return to the bullpen.

* One item of concern for the Wild Things has to be left-handed hitting Jacob Dempsey's .059 batting average (1-for-17) against lefty pitching.

* While Washington won in the 10th inning Tuesday, the key frame for the Wild Things was the fourth. That's when they scored two runs after having two outs and nobody on base. O'Conner, the No. 8 hitter, singled to right field and Chris Raniere followed with a line-drive single up the middle. O'Conner made it to third base on the play.

Chris Sidick then chopped a risky two-out bunt past the pitcher's mound for an infield single that scored O'Conner, and Michael Parker hit a sharp single off the glove of sliding Gateway shortstop Tyler Heil to give Washington a 5-3 lead.

Wild ending

Because of an early deadline Tuesday night at the Observer-Reporter, I had some leftover items from a wild finish to Washington's 6-5 victory over the Kalamazoo Kings.

If you missed it, the Wild Things won when Kalamazoo attempted a double steal with runners on the corners and one out in the top of the ninth inning. With a 3-2 count on batter Destan Makonnen, pinch-runner Bryan Marquez attempted to swipe second base. Makonnen struck out swinging on a pitch from Washington reliever Justin Edwards and catcher Alan Robbins tried to throw out Marquez. With the Kings' Joseph Ramos breaking from third base and trying to score, shortstop Brett Grandstrand cut off Robbins' throw between the pitcher's mound and second base.

Grandstrand's throw back to Robbins was low. Robbins, however, was able to gain control of the baseball and, while still on his knees, take a big hit from Ramos. Robbins held onto the ball for the final out.

That is the way the play was originally supposed to work when Makonnen stepped into the batter's box to face Edwards. Robbins, however, wanted to change the plan during a meeting at the mound later in the at-bat.

"I think that's the first time that play has worked all year," Robbins said. "I told the infielders, with a full count, I'll just try to throw the guy out at second base."

When Grandstrand cut off Robbins' throw he wasn't sure if the catcher was expecting a return throw to home.

"Granny double-clutched on the throw because he thought Robbins was looking somewhere else," Washington manager Mark Mason said. "That's why the throw was low."

"It short-hopped me," Robbins said. "I was able to scoop it off the ground right as (Ramos) hit me. If he would have slid, then he probably would have scored. I knew he was out. When you try to run the catcher over and he hangs onto the ball, then you're usually out. You're making the tag for him."

- Paid attendance was only 1,933, the third-smallest crowd for a home game in Wild Things history.

- Is this the final homestand on a grass field at Consol Energy Park? Bids have been submitted and representatives from six synthetic turf companies were at CEP last week checking out the dimensions of the playing surface.

However, a final decision on when to install the turf had not been made as of Tuesday afternoon. The Wild Things' owners met last night and the turf situation was one of the topics.

Turf companies require at least six weeks to install a field, and work can't be done when the ground is in a freezing-and-thawing mode. California University begins its schedule at CEP early in the spring, so the only time to install a turf field is in the fall. Work likely will have to start by early October, which means the Wild Things have little time to secure bank funding, if needed. The money coming from the motel tax is spread over 10 years, so the Wild Things must generate some up-front money, either through a bank loan or out-of-pocket. These turf companies generally like to be paid in full when installing their product. They're funny about that.

4 returnees, 2 newcomers, 1 retiree

The Wild Things announced several signings today and one retirement, which clears up the L2 roster problem.

Signing contracts for the 2009 season were shortstop Brett Grandstrand, designated hitter Jacob Dempsey (pictured), outfielder Tim Alberts and second baseman Chris Carrara. The Wild Things also announced the signing of two rookie pitchers, Brian Honeyman and Michael Mondesir, and that first baseman Nathan Messner has retired.

Grandstrand returns for his third season in Washington after posting career highs in batting average (.295), at-bats (295), runs (48), hits (87), home runs (4), RBI (47), and stolen bases (13). Grandstrand, who I consider best defensive shortstop in the Frontier League, has spent time in the Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay farm systems.

Grandstrand is currently the head baseball coach at Ringgold High School.

Dempsey was Washington's top offensive player last year and a league all-star. He hit .310 last season and led the league in games played (96), doubles (31), and RBI (88). He finished second in extra base hits (52) and fourth in total bases (203), walks (67) and on base percentage (.422). Dempsey's 31 doubles is a Wild Things single-season record, and his 88 RBI tied for the team record (Mike Arbinger 2005).

Carrara and Dempsey were teammates at Winthrop University and will be together for a second season in Washington. Carrara had a strong second half of the 2008 campaign and finished the year with a .285 batting average and 19 stolen bases.

Alberts also finished strong after signing with the Wild Things at midseason out of Niagara University. As a right fielder and DH, Alberts batted .289 with 11 home runs and 39 RBI. He hit nine home runs at Consol Energy Park. Only a handful of players have hit that many home runs at CEP in half a season.

Honeyman and Mondesir have no pro experience. Honeyman was the East Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year in 2008 at NCAA Division II Queens (NY) College. During his senior season, Honeyman had a 6-0 record with three saves and a 2.20 ERA. Mondesir joins the Wild Things from Division II Dominican (NY) College, where he led all D2 pitchers with a 1.12 ERA and 5.3 hits allowed per game last season. he had a 6-2 record.

Messner was a Frontier League All-Star in 2007. He appeared in 80 games last
season, batting .261 with 21 doubles, five triples, seven home runs, and
47 RBI.

The re-signing of Dempsey and Messner's retirement means the Wild Things will likely begin the season with Dempsey and closer Jonathan Lewis as their two L2 players and go with three Veterans and seven L1s.

An updated roster will be posted later.

Brett, Brett Grandstrand

In case you missed it in today's O-R, Wild Things shortstop Brett Grandstrand has been named head baseball coach at Ringgold High School.

2009 Read story here.