This, that and some other things

After a week of much-needed vacation, it's time to get back to this blog. Here are a few thoughts and notes about the blog, the Wild Things and the Frontier League:

* While on vacation, I checked this blog using both my wife's laptop and my son's laptop. I knew Blogger had problems with the word verification system and was supposed to be working on a fix, still I was surprised to notice that word verification wasn't working when using each laptop. My guess is the word verification problem is related to Windows 7, which each laptop was using. I've never had a problem with the word verification when using Windows Vista at home or a Mac.

As a result of this, I decided to disarm the word verification for the time being. If we get hit with spam, I'll have to turn it back on.

* Pete Rose Jr., who was a finalist for the Wild Things' managerial job (he was brought to Washington for an interview and had some strong recommendations) last offseason was hired last week as the Florence Freedom's hitting coach.

* The winner of Cheap Publicity Stunt of the Week is the Lake Erie Crushers, who announced they they will offer two-time NBA MVP LeBron James a contract worth $1,600 a month, which is the maximum player contract in the Frontier League.

The Crushers also are offering James a host family to “eliminate the stress of a potential commute from the Akron area to Avon.” James also could get a luxury suite where he and other NBA free agents could hold a summit.

It’s all part of Keep LBJ in the C-L-E night during the Crushers game Wednesday. The team will wear special Cavs-themed jersey and with the number 6, which is the same number LeBron plans to switch to. Those jerseys will be auctioned off and, if LeBron comes to the game, the money will be given to the LeBron James Family Foundation.

* The Wild Things made two roster moves last week, putting pitcher Zach Groh on the disabled list and signing right-handed pitcher Matt Lackner (6-4, 210). I don't know if Groh is on the 7-day or 14-day DL because the transaction is not listed on the Frontier League website.

Lackner had a 5-4 record this spring at Park University, an NAIA school in Parkville, Mo. If you look at Lackner's statistics, one thing stands out: He threw three shutouts this season yet had an ERA of 5.00. That's hard to do.

As a junior, Lackner had a 9-1 record with one shutout and a 3.41 ERA.

Lackner made his Wild Things debut Saturday night and it was a rocky one. he entered in the ninth inning of a win over Windy City and faced five batters, giving up four hits, a wild pitch and three runs.

* Which is more surprising: The Southern Illinois Miners leading the West Division with a 31-4 record and 19-game winning streak or the Oakland County Cruisers being in first place in the East Division while playing only six home games, none of which were played in Oakland County, Mich.?

* One player who I thought had a good chance of ending up in a Wild Things uniform was former Seton Hill University catcher Pat Trettel. An NCAA Division II All-American, Trettel played at North Allegheny High School, where Wild Things coach Bob Bozutto is the athletic director. After going undrafted this month, Trettel signed last week with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the independent American Association.

Note to self: Find out when the Wild Things plan to make a decision on which turf company will install the new playing surface at Consol Energy Park.

* Former Wild Things pitcher Tom Cochran has performed well for the Carolina Mudcats, the Cincinnati Reds' affiliate in the Class AA Southern league. Cochran has a 4-3 record, 2.53 ERA and seven no-decisions in 14 starts. The league is hitting only .235 against Cochran, who finished last season in Class AAA.

90-day notice

As I write this, there are 90 days remaining before the start of Frontier League spring training.

And the Wild Things still don't have a manager.

I've been told by the Wild Things that they'll have a decision on their manager by the end of this week. You can take that with as many grains of salt as you wish. I was told in early December that a manager could be hired before the end of 2009. Then, in early January, the Wild Things were saying a manager would likely be named by mid-January.

The question is, does anyone want to be the manager?

Some have jokingly suggested that the team's lack of a manager be tied into a promotion. For example, one fan is named manager for the night, and if the Wild Things win he/she returns to manage the next home game. I thought that was both funny and interesting.

Others have said that not having a manager this late into the offseason is a bad thing and has put the Wild Things behind schedule in putting their team together. I don't agree with that assessment. The players you sign during the fall and winter are almost always the holdovers from your previous season or guys who have little chance to make the club in May. There have been a few exceptions (Grant Psomas comes to mind) to this with the Wild Things, but the impact newcomers are the players released in late March from minor-league spring training. Whether you have a manager or not in early February doesn't impact your ability to sign minor-league releases in April.

As for potential managers, you likely can rule out former Wild Things shortstop and hitting coach John Cahill. If Cahill is going to be the manager, then why didn't they hire him in December? Two other names have surfaced on this blog: Pete Rose Jr., and Darin Everson. Rose spent the last five years as a player in the independent Atlantic League – the league new Wild Things managing director Todd Marlin came from. Everson was a manager in the Florida Marlins' system for the last three seasons and has crossed paths with some former Wild Things. He managed Ernie Banks and Kedrick Martin in 2008 at Jamestown of the New York-Penn League.