What's been happening

Now that the basketball season has basically ended for area teams, I've finally had some time to dedicate to this blog. Here's what's been happening around the Frontier League in recent weeks:

(insert sound of crickets chirping).

Though this is generally the quiet time in the Frontier League -- the calm before the signings flurry in April -- but there have been a couple of things going on that have not been mentioned on this blog:

* The Rockford franchise has changed its name to the Rockford Aviators. I liked the Riverhawks nickname so my reaction to Aviators was .... ehhh. You probably can't do much marketing with the nickname Aviators. And what do you have for a mascot?

I guess Aviators could be worse. They could have renamed the team the London Rippers.

It appears that Rockford's uniforms will include some orange. Here's an idea: Rockford's players should wear orange hats. That way, the team can have Lowell Mather Night and bring in Thomas Haden Church to throw out the first pitch (I know, cheap "Wings" reference.).

At least Rockford didn't change the team colors to red & black, which seems to be the official color scheme of all Frontier League teams, expect the Wild Things, who should be wearing red & black. I never understood why there is an oversized red & black "Wild Things" logo behind home plate at Consol Energy Park but the team is wearing blue hats and socks.

* The Greys, the Frontier League's travel team that will play in the East Division, will hold spring training in Chillicothe, Ohio.

* Because of the league adding the Greys and losing the Rippers, the number of miles teams will be logging on the bus this year will be down significantly. This will be the subject of a future blog post.

* Former Wild Things first baseman Ernie Banks has been released by Normal.

* Though still listed as a minor league free agent by Baseball America, former Wild Things pitcher Tom Cochran has re-signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. Cochran was was 9-5 with a 3.96 ERA in 25 games (23 starts) with Class AAA Lehigh Valley last year.

Celebrate good times

Here's a photo, from the Daily Republican in Marion, Ill., of the Southern Illinois Miners celebrating in the clubhouse after clinching a playoff berth Tuesday night with a come-from-behind win over Gateway. Do you know the guy in the front row of the photo? You get one guess.

Banks gone, Smith signed

Ernie Banks' second stint with the Wild Things ended in the same fashion as his first -- with a trade.

Banks (above left) was traded Wednesday by Washington to the Southern Illinois Miners. In exchange for the first baseman, the Wild Things acquired rookie relief pitcher Joe Tarallo and the Miners' first-round draft pick next year. That pick will likely be No. 10 or 11.

Unlike his first go-around in Washington, Banks struggled mightily at the plate, hitting only .207 in 42 games. He had two home runs (each during the last road trip) and only 13 RBI.

Banks will be heading to Southern Illinois for the second time. He started last season with the Miners, playing 29 games before ending the season in another independent league.

Banks will have an opportunity to play regularly as Southern Illinois has lost first basemen Matt Fields (wrist) and Gordon Gronkowski (foot) to injuries.

"We were definitely looking for another pitcher, and there was some interest from other teams in Ernie," Washington manager Darin Everson said. "He's going back to a place he's been before. The trade narrows out lineup a little bit. Instead of having two experienced hitters on the bench each night we only have one. What is means for the guys who are here is more playing time. It's time to make a push."

In Tarallo (0-0, 3.38), the Wild Things get a pitcher who has appeared in 16 games with Southern Illinois and Florence. He averages more than one strikeout per inning.

The trade was part of a flurry of moves by the Wild Things.

Relief pitcher Michael Cotter (0-0, 6.35) was released. Washington picked up Cotter in a trade with a team in another league only three weeks ago.

The Wild Things signed Chris Smith, a right-handed pitcher who had been playing in the independent Pecos League after beginning the year with Traverse City. He was released by the Beach Bums after only two relief appearances, including one against the Wild Things at Consol Energy Park.

Smith was a draft pick of Lake Erie last year but lasted only one outing. He will start Friday night against Rockford as the Wild Things switch to a six-man pitching rotation.

TRIVIA: Banks is not the first player traded twice by the Wild Things. I can think of one pitcher. Anyone willing to guess who that might be?

Useless information

Cleaning out the notebook prior to the restart of the Frontier League season Friday night:

The topic of discussion in manager Darin Everson's office prior to the Wild Things-Gateway game Sunday was how many wins will it take for a team to secure a playoff berth from the East Division?

The Frontier League went to a 96-game schedule in 2004, and since then the playoff team with the worst record each season has averaged 52 wins. There was a low of 46 (Evansville in 2006) and it took 56 wins to make the postseason in 2009. It doesn't look like the East will have a team pull away from the pack, or one that finishes with less than 30 wins, so the magic number will likely be closer to 52 than 56.

What does that mean for the Wild Things? To get to 52 wins, they need to go 33-16 after the all-star break.

* In Wednesday night's Frontier League All-Star game in Avon, Ohio, Washington's Casey Barnes and Jhonny Montoya each pitched a scoreless and hitless inning. Justin Hall gave up one solo home run in his inning. Catcher Blake Ochoa went 1-for-2 with a walk, and second baseman Scott Lawson was 0-for-1 with a throwing error.

* Washington does not have a home run from the No. 4 spot in the batting order all season.

* Remember Joel Hartman, who was a utility player for the Wild Things last year before suffering a season-ending finger injury? He joined a team in the Pecos League, based in New Mexico, after being released in spring training by the Wild Things. Hartman suffered another season-ending injury recently. According to the Pecos League website, Hartman broke a leg during a play at home plate.

* In Ernie Banks' first 128 at-bats with the Wild Things in 2009, he hit 12 home runs. In 128 at-bats this year, Banks does not have a home run.

* Both Vidal Nuno and Alan Williams -- the two Wild Things pitchers signed this season by MLB organizations -- are off to strong starts with their new teams. Nuno is playing for Staten Island (Yankees) in the Class A New York-Penn League. In five relief appearances, Nuno is 4-0 with one save and a 0.98 ERA. He has 17 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings with only three walks. Williams is with Helena (Brewers) in the rookie-level Pioneer League and has a 1-1 record with three saves in seven outings. The lefty has pitched 11 innings and struck out 24 with only three walks.

Former Wild Things pitcher Tom Cochran, who is in Class AAA with with Cincinnati, took the loss last Saturday in Louisville's 2-0 setback against Indianapolis, the Pirates' top affiliate. Cochran started the game and gave up only one run in five innings to drop his record to 6-2.

* Rockford, which is in fifth place in the East, made a key signing over the weekend, bringing back Jason James. The outfielder has one Frontier League batting title and finished second twice.

* In 46 games this season, Everson has used 45 different batting orders.

* Gateway manager Phil Warren on starting the season with three former West Virginia players and an ex-Pitt player on the Grizzlies' roster: "This is an area of the country that seems to get overlooked in the (major league) draft, for whatever reason."

* Despite losing Nuno, the opening day starter, Washington is tied for second in quality starts with 24. Florence also has 24. Windy City is tops with 28.

Wild Things Average Attendance
at the All-Star Break:
2002 - 2,942
2003 - 3,390
2004 - 3,242
2005 - 3,048
2006 - 3,133
2007 - 3,180
2008 - 2,899
2009 - 2,734
2010 - 2,373
2011 - 2,176

Let's Play Two, v2.0

The announcement Thursday night by the Wild Things that they re-acquired first baseman Ernie Banks in a trade with the Lake County Fielders of the independent North American Baseball League certainly was met with surprise.

It wasn't that Banks didn't produce in his first stint with the Wild Things. In 2009, Banks hit .343 with 19 home runs and 55 RBI in only 54 games with Washington before being sent to River City at the trade deadline. He helped the Rascals make the championship series.

Banks, however, is a guy who wears his emotions on his sleeve. When you're playing well and the team is winning, that often is a good thing. But when you're in a slump or the team is losing, those antics can often make things worse. Washington struggled in 2008 and Banks was suspended by then-manager Mark Mason for a stint that season.

Current Wild Things manager Darin Everson says he understands Banks. That's because he managed Banks in 2008, when both were with the Florida Marlins' affiliate in the New York-Penn League.

"Ernie and I have a great relationship," Everson said Thursday night. "He was with me in 2008 on a team that lost in the finals. I had him all through extended spring training that year. We have a lot of respect for each other.

"He's two years older than when he was here last time. My talk with Ernie was very productive. Everything he said was the right thing. He knows what kind of ship I run. He's at his best when all he has to do with work hard and go play.

"Our roster is filled with experienced players," he continued. "Ernie will be surrounded by guys who played multiple years, and guys he played with in the past. He should feel very comfortable here."

Everson said he likes the idea of plugging a player with Banks' power potential into the middle of the lineup.

"The goal when you put a lineup together is to have one that doesn't give the pitcher a break," Everson said. "Ernie helps lengthen our lineup."

Banks on the move

Former Wild Things first baseman Ernie Banks is changing teams again.

Banks, pictured, was acquired by the Southern Illinois Miners in a trade that sent outfielder Stephen Holdren and relief pitcher Derrick Miramontes to the River City Rascals. Southern Illinois is Banks' third Frontier League team in less than a year.

Banks played in only 77 games last year but hit 24 home runs, which ranked fifth in the league. Banks also made the FL's year-end all-star team. With shortstop Tony Roth and outfielder Joey Metropoulos, the Miners now have three of the nine hitters from that all-star list.

"This is as big a deal as we have done with the Miners," Southern Illinois manager Mike Pinto said. "And it's a great trade for both teams. It brings us a bonafide middle of the order power hitter. Ernie not only hits for power but also for average and on-base percentage. Just as important, Ernie plays the game with intensity and with a will to win. He is very competitive, and I believe he will flourish here this season. As an LS-2 in our league, this is a great pickup for us."

Southern Illinois had to give up a lot for banks. Holdren .311 with 20 home runs and 56 RBIs last year. The three-time all-star has 63 career home runs, which ranks fifth in Frontier League history.

Cleaning out the notebook

A few random notes and thoughts about the Wild Things and Frontier League teams, both current and past:

The synthetic turf issue for Consol Energy Park should be settled as early as this week, and that has nothing to do with Pennsylvania finally having a budget. Though nothing has been decided, the Wild Things are considering several options, one of which is starting the turf project before the end of October and finishing it early in the spring when the weather breaks. In this scenario, all the work under the rubber chips can be done in the fall, with the playing surface installed in the spring. The only problem would be it jeopardizes the early part of California University's schedule.

* The expansion Normal CornBelters have hired former major league infielder Hal Lanier as their first manager. Lanier played 10 seasons (1964-73) with the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees and played against the Pirates in the 1971 NLCS.

The hiring of Lanier, 67, can be considered a coup for the CornBelters. Lanier manged the Houston Astros (186-88) and was the National League Manager of the Year in 1986.

In recent years, Lanier has managed in the independent leagues, first with Winnipeg and Joliet in the Northern League and Sussex in the Can-Am League. He put together highly competitive teams in Winnipeg and guided Sussex to the league championship in 2008.

When Lanier took over at Joliet in 2005, he replaced former Wild Things manager Jeff Isom.

* You have to wonder about the state of the Kalamazoo Kings. Kalamazoo has been at the bottom of the Frontier League's attendance chart for several years. If you throw out Midwest because it was playing in a temporary home, Kalamazoo was last in attendance this year, averaging 1,469 fans per game. This despite the Kings winning the East Division title.

The Kings reportedly lost more than $100,000 in 2006 and were on pace to match that total in 2007. That's when owner Bill Wright said he was committed to keeping the Kings in Kalamazoo through the 2008 season.

It's 2009 and things haven't gotten any better in Kalamazoo. Earlier this year, Wright told the Kalamazoo Gazette that it takes $500,000 a year to run the team and break even, something that hasn't happened since 2001.

You wonder how long Wright, an owner of several car dealerships, will keep the Kings in Kalamazoo.

"I can make it work forever, but I'm not going to forever with that attendance," he said. "You can only pour so much heart into something, and when you only have two-or three-hundred fans in the seats on a Monday and 1,000 on a Friday, it's very disheartening."

* The Rockford RiverHawks left the Frontier League after the 2009 season and joined the Northern League, which has no age restrictions and a significantly larger salary cap. You have to wonder if that was such a smart idea after the RiverHawks recently made a pitch for relief on their taxes.

Lawyers for the team wrote letters to the Rockford School District, Winnebago County and the Rockford Park District, among others, seeking tax breaks.

"Without the abatement, Park Stadium LLC stands to potentially lose (Road Ranger Stadium) to foreclosure and the community stands to lose a resource,” attorney Aaron Szeto wrote in a letter to School District officials seeking an abatement of the more than $25,000 the stadium pays to the district in property taxes.

According to Rockford Register-Star and Winnebago County records, the stadium has a fair market value of $1.4 million and in 2008 owed $38,245.32 in property taxes. The School District’s $25,622 was by far the highest share of that bill.

Kurt Carlson, majority owner of the RiverHawks and Road Rangers Stadium, said a Chicago bank that gave him and his partners money to build and operate the ballpark most likely won’t renew their loan.

“We were told it’s not likely, so we’re looking at all funding options,” he said. Carlson stated he and his partners will subsidize the team and the stadium for about $250,000 this year.

“On average it’s about $500,000 a year, and it was as high as $800,000 when we first started out because we did a lot of advertising and promotions,” he said.

Road Ranger Stadium is the only minor-league stadium among seven in Illinois that is privately owned and was built without public dollars. Rent One Park in Marion, which opened in 2007, received $3 million in state tax dollars.

* Former Wild Things first baseman Ernie Banks was named a second team all-star on Baseball America's all-independent team. Banks was one of four Frontier Leaguers to make the two-team squad. Rockford outfielder Jason James and Southern Illinois designated hitter/outfielder Joey Metropoulos were named to the first team. Banks and Lake Erie pitcher Paul Fagan were on the second team.

Maz or Ernie?

One person with connections to the Wild Things will win a Frontier League championship in the next week. Will it be former Wild Things manager John Massarelli? Or will it be former Wild Things first baseman Ernie Banks?

Massarelli's Lake Erie Crushers will play Banks and the River City Rascals in Game 1 of the best-of-five Frontier League championship series tonight (8 p.m.) at T.R. Hughes Ballpark in O'Fallon, Mo.

The only person I can recall having played or coached with the Wild Things who won a Frontier League championship is Greg Jelks (let me know if you can think of anyone else), so the number will double this year.

I hate to go against a trend – Massarelli has been the league's no-luck manager when it comes to the playoffs with four previous trips and no championships – but I'll take Lake Erie in four games because of the Crushers' defense and relief pitching. Two players who can swing the series in favor of River City are Scott Houin (35 stolen bases) and Chris Colton (34 stolen bases). River City was second in the league in steals while Lake Erie's catchers were last by a large margin in caught-stealing percentage, throwing out an anemic 18 percent of potential basestealers. Lake Erie must keep Houin and Colton off base.

Dempsey named to league all-star team

Washington designated hitter Jacob Dempsey was named Friday to the Frontier League's all-star team.

Dempsey, the Wild Things' designated hitter, went into Friday night's game against Florence leading the league with 91 RBI and 53 extra-base hits, and was second in home runs with 29. The RBI and home-run totals are the Wild Things' single-season records. Dempsey, who is in his second season with Washington, is third in the league in slugging percentage (.611).

Dempsey mentioned to me prior to Thursday night's game against Kalamazoo that he has played much of the season with a torn labrum that will require surgery later this month. Dempsey received the results of an MRI Thursday and they revealed the extent of the injury.

Ernie Banks, who played for Washington until being traded to River City early in August, was named the all-star first baseman. Banks has 24 home runs and is second in the league with a .355 batting average.

Southern Illinois' Joey Metropoulos, who has a league-best 30 home runs, was voted the Most Valuable Player. Lake Erie's Paul Fagan (14-3, 2.51) was the Pitcher of the Year, Windy City outfielder Vinnie Scarduzio the Rookie of the Year and River City's Chad Parker the Manager of the Year.

The 2009 all-star team:
1B – Ernie Banks – Washington/River City
2B – Gilberto Mejia – Windy City
SS – Tony Roth – Southern Illinois
3B – Andrew Davis – Lake Erie
OF – Jason James – Rockford
OF – Joey Metropoulos – Southern Illinois
OF – Chad Maddox – River City
C – Charlie Lisk – Gateway
DH – Jacob Dempsey - Washington
SP – Paul Fagan – Lake Erie
RP – Jason Lowey – River City

Washington breaks ties with Banks

The Wild Things have traded first baseman Ernie Banks (pictured) to the River City Rascals in exchange for left-handed starting pitcher Chris Ingoglia and outfielder Ryan Groth.

The Wild Things also signed catcher Kyle Obal and announced the retirement of pitcher/catcher Josh Eachues.

Banks is fourth in the Frontier League with a .343 batting average and leads the league with a .686 slugging percentage. He has 19 home runs and 55 RBI.

Ingoglia has a 5-7 record and 6.66 ERA. The league is batting .321 against him. This is Ingoglia's second year in the Frontier League. He had a 6-8 record last year with Florence.

Groth has played in 29 games with the Rascals and has a .270 batting average with three home runs and 14 RBI. Groth has one year of experience in affiliated ball.

Obal played this spring for Temple University after transferring from Winthrop. He batted .313 and did not have a home run.

There is no questioning Banks' ability to hit. The trouble spot for the first baseman has been his attitude. He was suspended by the team for 14 days early in the season after being ejected twice in a three-game series at Traverse City. He was at the center of the benches-clearing incident at Florence last month and had to be restrained last week during a similar incident against Lake Erie.

After being robbed of a hit Saturday night by Kalamazoo third baseman Amos Ramon, Banks returned to the dugout and either threw or knocked several plastic cups onto the field that were retrieved by Brett Granstrand.

Mason said Banks' attitude wasn't the primary reason for the trade.

"It was a combination of stuff," Mason said. "We were looking for a pitcher and an outfielder, which we were able to get. They wanted a first baseman because their guy is returning to school. The deal made sense for both teams.

"We're getting a guy who is hitting almost .300 as an outfielder, and Ingoglia is a guy we wanted in the offseason but couldn't get anyone to deal with us. We tried to trade for him in the offseason."

Eachues was retired because he suffered a broken right collarbone when hit by a foul tip in the ninth inning Saturday night.

The Wild Things are expected to make several more roster moves after Sunday's game. They are hopeful of re-signing outfielder Tim Alberts, who played with Washington last year. Alberts was with Joliet of the independent Northern League thisseason but was placed on waivers over the weekend.

Florence free-for-all

If you're not listening to the Wild Things' game at Florence tonight – and with Florence leading 9-0 in the fourth inning, nobody can blame you for not listening - there was a benches-clearing situation in the sixth inning.

After Ernie Banks hit a long home run to left centerfield to make it 9-2, Florence manager Toby Rumfield took exception to Banks' reaction to the homer and got into a confrontation with Wild Things first-base coach Jon Cahill. According to Florence radio (I'll let you tell me what Radio Randy's version was), Rumfield took two swings at Cahill as the benches emptied.

Rumfield was ejected, as was Cahill and Washington pitcher Andy Schindling.

There have been hard feelings between these teams dating back to the second game of a doubleheader in mid-June when Florence was stealing bases with a 10-run lead during its last at-bat.

Early in tonight's game, Florence's Elvis Andrus was hit by a pitch from Craig Snipp, then stared down the Washington pitcher as he walked to first base. Later, Andrus scored and collided with catcher Alan Robbins and the two had words.

The ejections of Cahill and Schindling gives the Wild Things six ejections for the year. According to Frontier League rules, when a team has five ejections the manager will be suspended for three games. At least I think it's three games. It might be five games. I don't know if the manager gets suspended for any additional games when the ejections total reaches six.

Useless knowledge

The following is recap of the Wild Things' record and attendance figures at the all-star break each season, along with a hitting statistic that Washington first baseman Ernie Banks (pictured) leads the league in by a large margin.

This is the first time Washington has been as low as fifth place in the standings at the break and eight games out of first place is the most they've trailed the division leader. In 2006, they were in fourth place, 7 1/2 games out of first, and still made the playoffs.

The first-half attendance slipped for the second year in a row (though only by 165 per game, which in this economy isn't bad) and is at the franchise's all-time low. A game this year against Gateway drew a paid attendance of only 1,340 – the smallest in franchise history – and there couldn't have been more than 500 people in the park.

RECORD AT THE BREAK:
2002 - 23-16
2003 - 26-20
2004 - 30-17
2005 - 27-18
2006 - 21-22
2007 - 28-17
2008 - 26-24
2009 - 21-27

ATTENDANCE AT THE BREAK (PER GAME)
2002 - 2,942
2003 - 3,390
2004 - 3,242
2005 - 3,048
2006 - 3,133
2007 - 3,180
2008 - 2,899
2009 - 2,734

One of the sabremetric categories is Batting Average on Balls in Play. This is a measure of the number of batted balls that safely fall in for a hit. The sabremetrics people do not include home runs when calculating this, but for our purposes we will. If you take every Frontier League hitter with at least 100 at-bats and toss out their strikeouts, no player has a higher batting average than Ernie Banks, not even Rockford's Jason James, who has a 38-game hitting streak. In other words, when Banks makes contact, he's been hitting like, well, the other Ernie Banks.

The 5 highest batting averages of balls in play:

.526 - Ernie Banks, Washington
.480 - Joseph Scaperotta, Gateway
.473 - Jason James, Rockford
.446 - Charlie Lisk, Gateway
.436 - Frank Meade, Evansville