Is Rockford the 12th team?

Let's face it, the Kalamazoo Kings have no plans to play in the Frontier League in 2011.

Never did.

That much became obvious when the Kings let their employees go last fall, closed the office, didn't sell season sponsorships for 2011 or sign coaches and players. Who knows what Kings owner Bill Wright was trying to accomplish when he told the Kalamazoo Gazette in mid-February "I’m not leaning towards playing."

Wright knows he's not going to field a team. The rest of the Frontier League knows the Kings won't be around for spring training in May. Commissioner Bill Lee knows it, too.

So why is Kalamazoo still on the schedule? How can a baseball league go ahead with an odd number of teams? Why didn't Lee give Kalamazoo a drop-dead date to announce it's intention to play or "go dark" this season? Will the Frontier League revive the Midwest Sliders and have a travel team as its 12th club?

That's a lot of questions. And because I asked 'em, I'll get the first crack at playing Answer Man. Here goes:

Kalamazoo is still on the schedule because, well, you need a 12th team. Some team is going to play Kalamazoo's schedule. It just won't be the Kings. That Kalamazoo was even on the schedule in the first place, without a commitment from its owner to field a team, makes no sense. Those at the league office must have felt having a schedule with a bogus team at least helped the other 11 clubs in their efforts to start selling tickets and securing ballpark dates.

Obviously, the Frontier League can't have a season with 11 teams. There are two alternatives: the traveling Midwest Sliders or bring in a team from another league.

That leads us to a story by ballparkdigest.com. The website reported Thursday that a group with ties to the Prospect League's Chillicothe Paints (formerly of the Frontier League) is negotiating to purchase the Rockford RiverHawks (formerly of the Frontier League) and move them from the North American Baseball League back to the Frontier.

A quick background: Rockford joined the Frontier League in 2002 and played through 2009. Last year, the RiverHawks defected and joined the Northern League, with its no-age-limit rule and higher salary cap. Though the switch helped both leagues -- each had an odd number of teams before the move -- there were some hard feelings among Frontier League owners toward Rockford's ownership.

To make a long story short, Rockford was one of the three remaining Northern League teams that joined forces several months ago with the struggling Golden League and struggling United League to form the NABL. One of those former NL teams (the cash-strapped Schaumburg Flyers) are no more. The other, the Lake County Fielders, don't have a completed stadium.

The NABL has problems and they are great. It has teams ranging from Calgary to Maui to San Angelo, Texas. Only Rockford and Lake County (Ill.) are in the midwest. Travel is going to be wildly costly for Rockford, if the league even makes it to opening day. Selling the club solves many potential problems for Rockford's owners.

According to ballparkdigest.com, the NAL recently circulated a new 10-team schedule that does not include Rockford. The RiverHawks were supposed to have a news conference last Thursday to discuss their schedule in the NABL. I was told that event was postponed until Monday.

Expect that news conference to either be scrapped again or held to announce the RiverHawks are being sold and moving back to the Frontier League. Let's assume the latter happens. It would create some minor problems and solve many big ones.

Rockford, of course, would inherit Kalamazoo's schedule and play in the East Division. The RiverHawks also would have to trade or release many of its players because they're over the FL's age limit. According to the RiverHawks' website, Rockford has 23 players signed. They would have to get rid of 11 because of the Frontier League's age rules.

That leaves the problem of what to do with the 20 players whose options were exercised during the winter by Kalamazoo. The scenarios that make the most sense would be to declare those players free agents or hold a dispersal draft. Transferring them to Rockford makes no sense.

Then again, what has made sense this offseason in the Frontier League?

Playing catch-up

While this is generally a slow time in the Frontier League as teams await cuts from minor league spring training, there was plenty of news over the last week.

* The Wild Things signed a catcher, Blake Ochoa, who figures to get plenty of playing time. A 25-year-old native of Maracay, Venezuela, Ochoa has six years of pro experience in the Florida Marlins and Seattle Mariners' systems. He's listed as an "Experienced" player under the FL's new roster rules. In the past, he would have been listed as a Veteran.

Ochoa played three games last season for the Mariners' Class AAA affiliate in Tacoma and played three games in Class AA at Carolina in 2007. He played 256 career games in Class A.

* The Wild Things are asking fans to select the club's all-decade team. Online voting will be conducted on the Wild Things' homepage. Currently, you can vote on the left-handed starting pitcher and right-handed starting pitcher.

* The situation in Kalamazoo remains muddled. Here is a link to the Kalamazoo Gazette's video of an interview with Kings owner Bill Wright.

Video here.

* If Wright decides the Kings will be "dark" during the 2011 season, here's one possible location for the Frontier League's 12th team: Schaumburg, Ill.

The Schaumburg Flyers of the North American Baseball League, and formerly of the Northern League, have been evicted from Alexian Field for owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid rent and fees.

The team, up for sale for more than a year, was ordered by a Cook County Circuit Judge to vacate by March 6. The village of Schaumburg and the Schaumburg Park District — co-owners of the stadium — asked for the eviction as last resort to recoup some of the more than $900,000 owed.

Now the village has the right to negotiate with other teams and independent leagues.

According to ballparkdigest.com, the American Association and Frontier League have been invited next week to make a pitch for the Alexian Field lease. The city seems set on having a team in the ballpark for the 2011 season.

With the Frontier League the only indy circuit looking at the possibility of having an odd number of teams (because of the Kalamazoo situation), Schaumburg might be most appealing.

The whole situation, however, could be rendered moot if the Flyers are sold between now and March 6.

To play, or not to play

The three-ring circus in Kalamazoo just keeps getting more bizarre.

Kings owner Bill Wright (pictured) told the Kalamazoo Gazette on Wednesday that he's had at least seven offers from potential owners to buy the team, but he's leaning toward keeping the franchise and not fielding a team in 2011. He has set March 10 as his deadline for deciding if the Kings will play in Kalamazoo this year or "go dark" for one season so he can "regroup."

The March 10 date is a mere 72 days before the Kings are scheduled to throw the first pitch in their season.

Wright said he met with Tuesday with a group from Omaha, Neb., that is interested in purchasing the team, but no deal has been struck.

Read the story here.

Would you pay a ransom for Kings?

As I wrote a few days ago, there is more to the story of the Kalamazoo Kings than we are being told. Bill Wright, owner of the Kings, is indeed in negotiations to sell the team. According to the Kalamazoo Gazette, a businessman from Nebraska is one person known to be interested.

Read the story here.

Will the Kings be overthrown?

The three-ring circus in Kalamazoo continues, and it's apparently reached the crisis point.

According to commissioner Bill Lee, the Kalamazoo Kings are still in the Frontier League. The league's schedule, released months ago, still shows that the Kings will open the 2011 season at home May 21 against the Traverse City Beach Bums. Spring training begins in less than three months.

However, according to team owner owner Bill Wright, there's no guarantee the Kings will be around in May.

Wright still hasn't stated publicly that the Kings will play their 11th season in Kalamazoo. In early January, Wright told the Kalamazoo Gazette that a decision on whether the Kings will play in 2011 will be made "early next week." No announcement has been made and Wright hasn't returned phone calls made by the newspaper.

Several front office employees, including the general manager and director of baseball operations, are no longer with the organization. According to the newspaper, the Kings' office has been empty during the winter, except for somebody stopping by to pick up the mail from time to time.

The Kings did pick up the contract options on 27 players, including designated hitter Brendan Murphy. That was in December, and Murphy says that's the last contact he's had with anyone associated with the Kings.

“It’s not looking too good as far as playing in Kalamazoo,” he told the Gazette. “I’ve just been telling the other guys (from last year’s team) to find another place to play, if they can.”

During the Wild Things' Hot Stove Banquet last month, I asked members of Washington's front office and coaching staff if they knew what is going on in Kalamazoo. The answers were "I don't know. I haven't heard anything," or "Who knows? What have you heard?"

Unless there is something going on in Kalamazoo that the Frontier League isn't telling us (very likely), then the league is taking a laissez-faire approach to something that should be treated with the seriousness of a heart attack.

Perhaps the situation is Wright is finalizing the sale of the Kings. If this is the case, then Wright might not want to make any hirings or enter into contracts with players or advertisers until the sale is complete. If this isn't the scenario, then you have to wonder if the Beach Bums will show up in Kalamazoo May 21 only to find Homer Stryker Field locked and empty.

Kings' future in limbo?

Will the Kalamazoo Kings be back in the Frontier League in 2011?

The league's schedule says yes. The Kings are scheduled to play their season opener May 21 at home against the Traverse City Beach Bums.

There are, however, some people in Kalamazoo who are skeptical about the Kings' future, among them the sports staff at the Kalamazoo Gazette. In a recent story, the Gazette mentioned that questions about the Kings' future have not been answered definitively — despite numerous calls from the newspaper to management and staff, most of whom have declined to comment or failed to respond to messages.

So why doesn't a member of the Gazette drive across town to the Kings' office and get his questions answered? Seems they've already done that. The problem is the Kings' office at Mayors’ Riverfront Park has been locked for the majority of the offseason, with a sign on the door instructing visitors to contact office staff via phone, e-mail or mail.

They might get back to you, if you're lucky.

A person in the office located next to the Kings' office told the Gazette, "One person will pop in every now and then to check mail. Pretty much, just shortly after the end of the (2010) season, nobody is in that building daily.”

The Kings did participate (briefly) Monday in the dispersal draft of the Oakland County Cruisers. Kalamazoo had the first pick in the draft and traded it to defending league champion River City for shortstop Jorge Gutierrez (.222) and pitcher Tony Marsala (10-8, 4.20). The Kings then passed on their remaining picks.

Read the story here.

Will Kings be overthrown?

Will the Kalamazoo Kings be back in the Frontier League next season? That has become a question that gets asked at the end of each season. This year, there is no clear-cut answer.

According to David Drew of the Kalamazoo Gazette, Kings ownership met this week but did not make a decision on the ballclub's future. That won't happen until late September, at the earliest.

The Kings averaged a league-low 1,280 fans per game at poorly located Homer Stryker Field. This is down from more than 2,500 in 2006, but that was when the Kings were putting highly competitive teams on the field. This year, Kalamazoo has clinched the worst record in the Frontier League.

Team owner Ed Bernard said a decision on the team's future will come after the books are closed on the 2010 season.

“Like any business, you look at reality. The reality is we didn’t do as well this year. The question is, can we do better next year Should there be a next year?" Bernard said. "You evaluate them from a rational standpoint. It becomes a point where even we can’t continue. Not saying we aren’t, but potentially we might make that decision.”

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.

Playoffs update

The Kalamazoo Kings have forced Game 5 in their best-of-five playoff series against the Lake Erie Crushers. The Kings won 7-5 in Game 4 Saturday afternoon. Lake Erie seemed to have punched its ticket to the finals by taking a 5-0 lead in the first inning against Kalamazoo starter John Brownell, who was pitching on three days rest.

However, after the rocky start Brownell shut out Lake Erie the rest of the way, throwing 141 pitches in a complete game.

“Brownell had a very impressive performance,” Crushers manager John Massarelli told the Chronicle-Telegram after the game. “You’ve got to tip your hat to him. That was about as impressive as I’ve ever seen."

Kalamazoo scored the tying run when Lake Erie center fielder Tyler Johnson tried to make a basket catch on what was described as a catchable fly ball and dropped it. The Kings scored two runs in the eighth to win the game.

Massarelli held a 10-minute closed-door meeting with his players following the game.

“I told them, ‘This is a hell of a series and it’s going to be a hell of a Game 5,’” he said. “I told them what I said from the beginning of the first game. It doesn’t matter how we do it, you can lose two and win three, or split at each home field like we’ve been doing, as long as we get that third win. It doesn’t matter how you win a five-game series. Home-field advantage is bull (bleep). It’s all about who gets to three first.

“We only won two, and so have they. That’s why we’re going to Game 5.”

Game 5 is Monday night in Kalamazoo.

In typical minor-league playoff fashion, Game 4 drew a crowd of only 1,319, the smallest of the year, to All Pro Freight Stadium. It was a rare afternoon game in Avon, Ohio. I haven't seen a reason why the game was played in the afternoon but I'm guessing it was because of the Ohio State-USC football game Saturday night.

River City, which won its first playoff series in 11 years, awaits the winner. The Rascals swept two-time defending champion Windy City. Former Wild Things first baseman Ernie Banks hit two home runs for River City in their Game 2 win. Banks was 5-for-15 with 5 RBI in the series.

Who's watching in K-zoo?

Here's the link to the story in the Kalamazoo Gazette about the Kings' attendance woes despite having the best record in the Frontier League. The Kings have a 29-14 record but are next-to-last in attendance, averaging only 1,489 fans per game at Homer Stryker Field. I've never been to Kalamazoo, so I can't give you any first-hand knowledge about why the Kings don't draw better, but everyone I've talked to about this says the ballpark is in a terrible location.

Read the story here.

Cleaning out the notebook

If you thought there were some long rain delays at Consol Energy Park, then you should have been in Kalamazoo, Mich., last night. The Kings and Evansville Otters waited three hours before starting their game at 10 p.m. This three-game series is Evansville's only trip to Kalamazoo, and with rain in the forecast for today (the game is in a rain delay as I type this), they wanted to do everything possible to get in the series opener. The Tuesday game lasted only eight innings before being cut short because of rain.

* Former Wild Things pitcher Patrick Stanley has been fitted for a lot of uniforms this season. Stanley, who is in the Detroit Tigers' system, played for his third team in less than a month Tuesday night when he pitched for the Erie Seawolves of the Class AA Eastern League.

Stanley began the year with Class A Lakeland, was promoted to Class AAA two weeks ago and pitched in one game for Toledo. In that game, Stanley tossed 2.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts and was credited with a win. He was sent to Erie on Friday, and was the starting pitcher Tuesday against the Harrisburg Senators. Stanley pitched five shutout innings, allowing two hits with four strikeouts.

* The Frontier League team that will play next season in Normal, Ill., will be called the Normal CornBelters. Ugh!

The name received approximately 40 percent of the votes in an online contest.

“We like it for its promotional, retail and marketing potential," said team president Steve Malliet.

Other nickname finalists were Nutz, Coal Bears, Fellers and Camelbacks. The team will play at a new ballpark on the heartland Community College campus.