Managerial musings

To put it in baseball terms, the Wild Things' announcement earlier this week that Mark Mason will be the team's manager for the 2009 season was the equivalent of a squeeze play.

It was a surprise offering, like every well-executed squeeze play. With Mason's contract with the Chillicothe Paints expired after last season, you had to expect that the Prosperity resident would be back with the Wild Things in some capacity. Pitching coach seemed the likely position.

Still, the announcement seemed to catch many off guard, like a perfect bunt down the third-base line.

As recent as seven weeks ago, the Wild Things were saying they expected Greg Jelks to return for a second year as manager. In the only season under Jelks' watch, Washington finished with a 48-48 record and missed the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons. Jelks worked on a one-year contract.

I found it odd that Jelks would return after the season to his home in Australia without having signed a contract for 2009. When asked about Jelks' status, a Wild Things official said Jelks was expected back for a second season but a contract had not yet been sent to him. It was only a matter of time until a deal would be put in writing.

At an informal press conference Monday, general manager Ross Vecchio was asked what had changed in the last few weeks to lead to Mason's hiring. Vecchio said it simply made more sense to have Mason as manager. In other words, Mason is a local guy, he's managed for three years in the league under some less-than-ideal circumstances (Ohio Valley as a road team in 2005 and Chillicothe last year when the Paints had one foot out the Frontier League's exit door), and he can be available at any time.

Jelks had to know there was always the possibility he could be squeezed out of the organization and replaced by Mason. It's just like the squeeze play is always a possibility, though a remote one, when a runner reaches third base.

One area having Mason as manager helps the Wild Things is in scouting college games. In the Frontier League, you need a manager who is more like a college recruiter than pro baseball coach. You need to talk to college players and sell them on your team. Jeff Isom, the Wild Things' first manager, had a connection to almost every major college program in the country. His successor, John Massarelli, knew and scouted the Mid-American Conference and some NAIA leagues.

With Jelks in Australia, it was impossible for him to watch Pitt, West Virginia, Ohio State and several Division II teams play in one week. Now the Wild Things can, if needed. This is one benefit of the hire.

Mason also is well-connected with scouts in places like Texas and the West Coast, two areas the Wild Things have rarely pulled players from. And, Mason is one of the most well-liked and respected people in the league.

While Jelks did fall victim to having the weakest Washington team to start with (the lack of pitching depth was obvious as early as the exhibition games), the injuries and poor relief pitching were his undoing. With a little luck and a reliable bullpen, Washington could have made the playoffs.

It's interesting to note that Mason could have been the Wild Things' manager as early as 2005. Here's how:

When Isom left following the 2003 season to manage Joliet in the Northern League, Kent Tekulve (above with Mason) wanted to take the manager's job for only the 2004 season and "groom" a manager to take his place the following year. That person was to be Mason.

As it turned out, Tekulve lost, for the lack of a better term, a power struggle for control of the baseball operations. He left the organization and Massarelli was hired.

Mark of discipline

The Wild Things announced Monday afternoon that Mark Mason will be their manager for 2009, replacing Greg Jelks, who had a one-year stint. The announcement came at a low-key press conference held in the Wild Things' clubhouse.

I was stunned that one of the the first two questions asked - and it wasn't by me - was about readers of this blog being upset with some of the on-field antics of players last year and how would Mason handle such things. Here is Mason's response:

"I will discipline that. I disciplined that in Chillicothe. We won't have any part of that. ... I tell my players that I'm not going to babysit you. I'm not afraid to make an example of anyone. I never had problems with any of my teams, though I did suspend two players while at Chillicothe when we were on a road trip. The were late. If I didn't suspend them, then it wouldn't have been fair for those guys who were sitting on that bus on time.

"That was embarrassing. The players know what I expect of them - play hard and be on time. They know where I stand."

Mason went on to tell the story of how a Chillicothe player, after making an out, threw his batting helmet off the bat rack. The helmet bounced back and hit Mason in the leg. Mason didn't immediately say anything to the player. He waited until the Paints took the field for the next inning and, just as the first batter was stepping into the box, Mason jumped out of the dugout, got the umpire's attention and called the helmet-throwing player off the field. Mason then sent out a substitute.