Roster trimmed

The Wild Things trimmed their roster to the mandatory 24 active players Tuesday by releasing two pitchers and placing two others on the disabled list.

Released were former California University player Rob Hedrick and Kalen Gearhart. The latter was signed out of the team's open tryout and has four years of experience in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system.

Placed on the disabled list were Jace Smith and Aaron Fuhrman. Smith was the last arrival to spring training. He's only been in town since Friday night.

The roster:

Pitchers (13 +2)
12—Aaron Fuhrman (DL)
14—Kedrick Martin
16—Jason Neitz
20—Eric Evans
21—Jon Lewis
22—Nick Peterson
23—Carig Snipp
25—Josh Eachues
30—Michael Lucas
33—Matt Maradeo
34—Kyle Heyne
36—Jace Smith (DL)
38—Justin Edwards
43—Sean Heimpel
44—Rick Austin
Catchers (2)
6—Alan Robbins
24—Kris Rochelle
Infielders (5)
1—Joe Spiers
2—Michael Parker
13—Brett Grandstrand
18—Grant Psomas
28—Ernie Banks
Outfielders (4)
4—Chris Demons
5—Chris Sidick
7—Matt Sutton
9—Jacob Dempsey

Roster musings

Some thoughts and notes after watching two exhibition games Friday against Lake Erie, the latter of which ended in a 3-3 tie after 10 innings:

- The Friday games did little to help manager Mark Mason figure out who to keep in his bullpen. For example, lefty Dan Horvath was the only consistent reliever on the team last year (with the exception of one puzzling outing against Traverse City) but he gave up six hits, two walks and hit a batter in one inning of the day game. Do you judge Horvath on what he did last year or do you write off Friday's outing as just one of those days?

- Sidearmer Kyle Heyne gave up a home run but it was a swing-late fly ball down the left-field line by a left-handed hitter that ended up in the visitors' bullpen. More of a wall-scraper than a blast. Otherwise, Heyne threw strikes. He also has a track record of pitching well in tight situations - he's the all-time saves leader in the Mid-American Conference.

Kedrick Martin walked three over 2 1/3 innings but retired five in a row (two on strikeouts) at one point.

Josh Eachues, Kalen Gearhart and Michael Lucas combined for four scoreless innings (two hits and one walk allowed) in the opener. Each helped his case for a roster spot. My guess is that only Kris Rochelle and Alan Wiggins will make the team as catchers, so does Eachues' value increase because he can be a third catcher? I don't know because I haven't seen him catch this spring. I guess that means no.

- Second baseman Michael Parker went 3-for-4 with a walk in the night game. It looks like he will be an impact newcomer.

- Rob Hedrick is creating another difficult decision for the coaching staff. They like the former California University player's arm strangth as a pitcher, which was not his primary position with the Vulcans. Hedrick played second base in the day game, then pitched a perfect 10th inning in the night game, retiring Lake Erie's 3-4-5 hitters. If Hedrick makes the team it will be as the 24th man, a utility guy who can be worked with all year to refine his pitching mechanics.

- Heyne probably made the team Friday night and Horvath lost a spot on the roster.

- It seems that three pitchers who have locked up spots in the starting rotation are Rick Austin, Craig Snipp and Eric Evans.

- The three pitchers with no pro experience (Michael Mondesir, Brian Honeyman and Hedrick) began the spring at the bottom of the depth chart but tossed a combined eight scoreless innings against Lake Erie.

- Right-hander Jace Smith arrived in Washington Friday night, which brings the number of pitchers in camp to 21. Smith will pitch in tonight's exhibition game.

- Mason has said he wants to trim the roster to 24 or 25 players by the end of the weekend.

Spring training: Game 1

The Lake Erie Crushers, the newest franchise in the Frontier League, scored eight runs in the top of the sixth inning Friday to beat the Wild Things, 8-2, before a crowd of 2,800 school kids at Consol Energy Park.

Five Lake Erie pitchers combined on a six-hitter. Left fielder Jacob Dempsey had two of Washington's hits, including a home run to lead off the eighth inning.

Dempsey was the only Washington player who has locked up a spot in the starting lineup to play in the game. Lake Erie also held out several of its top hitters.

Lake Erie scored all of its runs against left-handed relief pitcher Dan Horvath. The Crushers had six hits in the big inning and combined them with two walks, a hit batsman and two errors.

Four other Washington pitchers - starter Michael Mondesir (3 innings), Josh Eachues (2 innings), Kalen Gearhart (2 innings) and Michael Lucas (1 inning) - combined to blank Lake Erie on four hits over the other eight innings.

Washington scored first on Alex Paluka's triple down the right-field line that drove in Joe Spiers, who had two hits and reached base three times.

The teams will play the nightcap of the day-night doubleheader at 7:05 p.m.

Trying out some notes

Some notes, thoughts and observations from the Wild Things' tryout camp:

* Kalen Gearhart, the pitcher the Wild Things signed Saturday, certainly has a chance to make the team. He's not your typical player who shows up at a tryout camp in that he has four years of pro experience. Gearhart, who is only 23, spent four years in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system, pitching in 67 games (all in relief) and compiling a 5-3 record with a 3.81 ERA.

* The most impressive thing about Gearhart's career statistics is he walked only 27 batters in 106 innings in pro ball. The guys throws strikes.

* Wild Things manager Mark Mason said 12 pitchers will compete during spring training for five spots in the rotation.

* You can get a sunburn when it's overcast.

* Gearhart also uncorked only one wild pitch in his last three seasons with the Dodgers.

* Two Washington players - catcher Steve Pickerell and pitcher Jace Smith - will be late arrivals for spring training. Mason said Smith will be one of the candidates for a starter's spot and would be surprised if he makes it, even with a late arrival to camp. With Pickerell being delayed, you can count on the Wild Things selecting a catcher Tuesday at the Frontier League draft.

* The drainage in the outfield at Consol Energy Park isn't any better than it was last year.

* I feel like I've heard of as many colleges and universities as anyone out there, but tryout camps usually bring players from places I've never heard of. Saturday's where-is-that schools were Danville Community College and Southern Wesleyan University. Each of those schools had a player at the tryout. Danville Community College is in Danville, Va., and Southern Wesleyan is in Central, S.C.