More roster moves

The Wild Things announced Monday that seven players -- outfielders Gus Benusa (pictured) and Darian Sandford, shortstop A.J. Nunziato, second baseman Shain Stoner, right-handed pitcher Gary Lee and left-handed pitchers Shawn Smith and Anthony Collazo -- have signed contract extensions for 2013, and that two pitchers have been added to the roster.

Lee (7-5, 2.89), who finished last season as a player/pitching coach, will be a Veteran, according to Frontier League roster rules. A Vet is the one player on the roster who can exceed the FL's 27-year-old age limit.

The newcomers are right-handed pitcher Cole Brand and lefty Matt Phillips.

Brand spent three seasons at the rookie-league level in the St. Louis Cardinals system. Last summer, he had a 2.97 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 30.1 innings. I've written before that you shouldn't put much stock in rookie-league statistics because they don't transfer well to a player's potential in the Frontier League. However, what I like about Brand's numbers is that in 78 innings of pro ball he has issued only 16 walks and allowed just two home runs. Another plus is he has pro experience and is only 20 years old, which means he's still a Rookie by roster standards. Brand was drafted by the Cardinals out of high school in the 42nd round in 2010.

"Cole showed a lot of promise in his time with the Cardinals organization and we're looking forward to seeing what he can do in Washington," Wild Things assistant general manager Steve Zavacky said in a press release.

Phillips was signed by the Boston Red Sox as an undrafted player out of Cal State-Dominguez Hills in 2010. He played rookie ball that year and went 3-0 with a 0.78 ERA in 12 games, but missed all of the 2011 seasons because of an injury. Last year, he was signed by Abilene of the independent North American Baseball League and pitched in one unforgettable game. He went 2/3 of an inning and allowed four hits and four walks.

"(Phillips) comes highly recommended from the Red Sox organization and has been a strikeout pitcher in both college and his year in the Gulf Coast Rookie League," said Wild Things bench coach Bart Zeller.

The Wild Things also announced today that infielder Brad Agustin has been placed on the retired list. Agustin was one of the players acquired at midseason in a trade with London.

After reading the Wild Things' statements on these roster moves, one thing comes to mind: Why hasn't manager Chris Bando been quoted in any of the press releases?

All-star team announced; Lee lands Riordan Award

For the third consecutive year, the Wild Things failed to land a player on the Frontier League's end-of-season all-star team. Pitcher Gary Lee (pictured) did receive the Fran Riordan Citizenship award for his work with youth baseball programs in the Washington area along with spending time with disabled and elderly fans.

The all-star team and award winners:
1B – Chase Burch, Traverse City Beach Bums (also 2010 selection at DH)
2B – Ryan Still, Traverse City Beach Bums
3B – Jose Vargas, Traverse City Beach Bums
SS – Junior Arrojo, Florence Freedom
OF – Javier Herrera, Southern Illinois Miners
OF – Chad Mozingo, Schaumburg Boomers
OF – Jeff Flagg, Traverse City Beach Bums
C – Landon Hernandez, Gateway Grizzlies (also 2011 selection)
DH – Chad Cregar, Windy City ThunderBolts
SP – Mike Recchia, Windy City ThunderBolts
RP – Jonathan Kountis, Lake Erie Crushers

Morgan Burkhart Award (MVP) – Jose Vargas, Traverse City Beach Bums
Brian Tollberg Award (Pitcher of the Year) –Mike Recchia, Windy City ThunderBolts
Jason Simontacchi Award (Rookie of the Year) – Zac Treece, Gateway Grizzlies
Roger Hanners Award (Manager of the Year) – Gregg Langbehn, Traverse City Beach Bums
Fran Riordan Award (Citizenship) – Gary Lee, Washington Wild Things

Coach of the Year – Ralph Santana, Southern Illinois Miners
Trainer of the Year – Satoshi Kajiyama, Normal CornBelters
Groundskeeper of the Year – Guy Massaro, Joliet Slammers
Newspaper of the Year – SouthtownStar (Tinley Park, IL)
Writer of the Year – Randy Reinhardt, The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL)
Broadcaster of the Year – Andy “Bull” Barch, Lake Erie Crushers

Lee added to all-star team

Washington pitcher Gary Lee was one of three players added to the East Division all-star team today. The right-handed starter will be the lone representative from the Wild Things in the game Wednesday at The Corn Crib in Normal, Ill.

Lee (3-3) is fourth in the Frontier League in ERA at 2.27 and has allowed only 29 hits in 39.2 innings. Lee likely pitched his way onto the all-star team Tuesday night when he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against Rockford, the league's top hitting team.

Ch-ch-ch-changes

The revolving door on the Wild Things' clubhouse has been in full swing the last two days.

As manager Chris Bando said over the weekend, he's a patient man, but not that patient. He saw enough of the Wild Things' struggling offense (league-low .191 team batting average) during the six-game homestand and made several roster moves leading up to tonight's series opener at Windy City.

Gone is catcher Chris Anderson, who was off to an 0-for-13 start, and veteran outfielder Luis Rivera, who was batting .227. Rivera's average is fourth-best on the team. Third baseman/catcher Davis Page (1-for-5) was traded back to San Angelo of the North American League to complete an earlier trade. Page apparently was traded for himself. Washington acquired him five days ago from San Angelo.

Re-signed was catcher David Peters, who joined Washington in the offseason from the Florida Marlins system and then was dealt to the Pecos League before spring training. Peters has played in two games in the Pecos.

Also signed was outfielder Jeriel Waller, who was drafted in the 47th round last year by the Marlins. I can found no evidence that Waller played in any games in the Marlins' system after being drafted out of Grossmont College, a JC in California. On Waller's Facebook page, it says he attended San Diego Christian College.

Waller is the son of Reggie Waller, a former San Diego Padres scoring director, and nephew of Tye Waller, the Oakland A's first-base coach.

Left-handed relief pitcher Shawn Smith was put on the suspended list, apparently to make room for Steve Grife, who can be activated from the same list Friday. Washington also could activate pitcher Gary Lee, who has been serving as the bullpen coach.

Washington still has one open roster spot (assuming Grife or Lee fill one) and has room for an Experienced player.

The biggest surprise for the Wild Things this season is the trouble at the catcher position, especially when you consider Bando is a former major-league catcher. Washington has played four different catchers in nine games, and has had eight catchers on the roster since the start of spring training.

UPDATE: Shawn Smith was placed on the 7-day injured list and Gary Lee was activated for tonight's game.

Roster set ... or is it?

The Wild Things trimmed their roster to under the Frontier League limit of 24 active players Wednesday in preparation for their season opener Friday at Evansville.

Washington released right-handed pitchers Gary Lee and Andy Wells, left-handed pitcher Ryan McCarney, outfielder Rashad Taylor and infielder Nick Spears. The Wild Things also placed infielder Nick Lockwood on the 14-day disabled list.

The moves leave Washington with 23 active players, plus Lockwood and outfielder Trevor Pippin on the DL. The Wild Things are one player under the league limit of 24. They can add a player before opening day.

Lee was part of Washington's starting rotation last year, when he was 4-6 with a 4.16 ERA in 16 outings (13 starts). Lee had played for new Wild Things manager Chris Bando in 2007 with the Aiken Foxhounds in the now-defunct independent South Coast League.

McCarney, who is an assistant coach at San Diego Christian College where Bando is the head coach, had an arm injury early in spring training and had been on the disabled list.

The roster:
Pitchers:
Casey Barnes
Mickey Cassidy
Nick Cico
Alan gatz
Ross Gusky
Justin Hall
Jhonny Montoya
Chris Smith
Shawn Smith
Ryan Thomas
Kyle Wahl

Catchers:
Chris Anderson
Brandon Fowler

Infielders
Mike Bando
Nick Lockwood (DL)
Matt McConnell
Michael Mooney
Shain Stoner
Doug Thennis

Outfielders
Allan Boyer
Mitch Dening
Michael Miller
Trevor Pippin (DL)
Luis Rivera
James Simmons

Pitching in

It has been rather quiet lately in the Frontier League as teams await minor league cuts from spring training.

The Wild Things did make two significant signings last week when pitchers Justin Hall and Jhonny Montoya (pictured) agreed to contract extensions. Washington now has four starting pitchers -- Hall, Montoya, Gary Lee and Chris Smith -- back for 2012.

Smith and Lee were acquired during the 2011 season. Smith made only five starts late in the year, but Hall and Montoya were with Washington from start to finish. You could make a case that Hall (10-7, 3.22) was as good as any pitcher in the league over the second half of last year. Pitching for a team that provided almost no offensive support, Hall was 6-3 with a 2.40 ERA after the all-star break. In his final outing, on the season's last night, Hall pitched 11 innings to win at Windy City 6-2. Hall gave up only seven hits and one walk while striking out a team-record 14 batters.

The most impressive statistic from Hall's 2011 season had to be this one: only 22 walks in 145.1 innings.

We all know that in this league, if you consistently throw strikes and pitch ahead in the count, you'll be very successful.

Throwing strikes is what was a problem for Montoya (4-7, 3.77) last year. Though he was able to pitch in an out of trouble often enough to register 11 quality starts, Montoya too often left games early because of high pitch counts. He walked 51 batters in 117 innings. You have to expect that ratio will improve this year.

The Wild Things also continued to rebuild the Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions by signing Allen Boyer. An outfielder, Boyer played for Point Loma in 2010 and 2011. He batted .312 with three home runs and 14 RBI last year, but did hit .350 with 13 doubles, 19 home runs and 51 RBI as a junior. Keep in mind that there was a significant change made to the aluminum bats in the college game last year, making them play more like wood.

Boyer gives Washington three former Point Loma Nazarene position players currently on the roster. A fourth was signed this offseason but recently traded to another league.

By my count, the re-signing of Hall and Montoya, and the signing of Boyer, give the Wild Things 30 players under contract. There are a four others players -- Steve Grife, Ross Gusky, Chris Sidick and Luis Rivera -- whose contract options have been picked up but have not yet signed for 2012. If Washington re-signs all four, picks up at least two more (which is mandatory) from the league tryout, then they'll have 36 players and that's not counting those signed after minor league spring training.

It's going to be very crowded inside the Wild Things' refurbished clubhouse in early May.

Slow season

March might be a busy time in college basketball, but in the Frontier League it's the calm before the storm. In April, after minor league spring training ends, managers will be busy filling the remaining spots on their roster with players recently released from affiliated organizations.

Until then, there will be only a few signings, mostly players who are re-signing with their 2011 clubs.

The Wild Things have made a few roster moves in the last two weeks, including a trade announced today on the league's website. Washington shipped infielder Wes Kartch to Roswell, the defending champion in the Pecos League, in exchange for a player to be named later.

Kartch was signed in December by Washington. He was one of the many former NAIA players signed in the offseason. Kartch had last played at Point Loma Nazarene in 2010. At the time of his signing, Kartch was called a "gold glove" infielder by new manager Chris Bando. Apparently, the coaching staff decided Kartch's bat need some pro experience before joining the Wild Things.

Another player traded to the Pecos League was catcher Rob Herrmann, who also was acquired by Washington this offseason. Herrmann was traded to the Alpine Cowboys for a player to be named later.

Herrmann was traded back to the league in which he played in last year, only to a different team. He was a player I had questions about based on one statistic: He led the Pecos League in passed balls last year with 32. That's 32! In a shorter season than the Frontier League. The Frontier League leader in passed balls last year had 23 and the guy who was second had 18.

Washington did sign right-handed pitcher Eric Binder, lefty pitcher Daniel Schmidt and utility player Shain Stoner.

Binder is a pitcher who began his college career in the Big Ten at Northwestern and finished it at Division III Trinity University in Texas. He signed as a nondrafted free agent last summer with the St. Louis Cardinals and posted a 3-1 record and 7.07 ERA in a season split between rookie ball and the short-season New York-Penn League.

Binder pitched for Trinity in 2009 and 2010. His numbers those two seasons weren't good, 1-4 with a 7.36 ERA in '09 and 0-1 with a 9.35 ERA the next year.

Schmidt pitches for Perth in the Australian League in the winter and bounced around two independent leagues the last two summers. A possible connection for the Wild Things would former Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Grame Lloyd is the pitching coach at Perth and Washington manager Chris Bando is a former coach with the Brewers.

Schmidt was 6-2 4.08 this year in Australia. In independent ball in the states, Schmidt played in the American Association and Can-Am League, going 7-7 with a 6.00 ERA.

Schmidt will be the first native of Australia to play for the Wild Things.

Stoner is another product of Point Loma Nazarene, an NAIA power in California. Stoner played third base and led Point Loma with a .365 batting average along with 14 doubles and 10 home runs last year. Stoner also played in the NAIA at Southern Nazarene in Oklahoma.

The signing of Stoner and trade of Kartch leaves Wild Things with four infielders (five if you include unsigned Doug Thennis as a first baseman). Here's thinking that Washington will be in the market for two and maybe three infielders when the minor league roster cuts happen.

One player was re-signed for 2012. Pitcher Gary Lee will be returning fro a second season in Washington. Lee was 4-6 with a 4.18 ERA last year.

Lee will actually be playing for Bando for the second time. Lee began his pro career in 2007 by pitching in 35 games in relief for the Aiken Foxhounds of the now-defunct South Coast League. Bando was Aiken's manager.

Lee is only the second player from the 2011 team to agree to a contract extension.