More on the Lawson trade ...

Last Monday, the lead story on the North American Baseball League's website was the trade between the Wild Things and San Angelo Colts that sent second baseman Scott Lawson from Washington back to his native Texas. The Associated Press even ran the trade in its transactions section.

The trade involved five players and "future considerations." The Frontier League finally posted the trade on its website today and we've learned the identity of the future consideration. Right-handed pitcher Ryan Turner, also a native of Texas, has been dealt to San Angelo.

Turner, you might recall, was the pitcher Washington signed this offseason who had been drafted four times, including three by Tampa Bay, for whom he played last season. New Wild Things manager Chris Bando had said that Turner "should be at the back end of our bullpen."

Washington also signed right-handed pitcher Alfredo Caballero, who last year pitched for three teams in three independent leagues and compiled a 7-7 record and 5.77 ERA. Caballero was named the Pitcher of the Year in the hitter-happy Pecos League after going 6-3 with a 4.52 ERA for the Alpine Cowboys.

Caballero played his college ball at Incarnate Word, an NCAA Division II school in San Antonio. Caballero's statistics during his final season in 2010 were off the charts. As a reliever, he was 6-1 with 10 saves, a 1.26 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 57.1 innings.

The Wild Things also announced the signing of first baseman Mike Bando.

Waiting for Goudeau: Two trades made

The Wild Things have made their first two trades of 2012, one a five-player deal.

Gone are two players signed during the offseason and one of the top offensive players from last year's team.

Washington traded second baseman Scott Lawson, pictured, and outfielder Trevor Bloom to the San Angelo Colts of the North American League in exchange for three players. The Wild Things also dealt right-handed pitcher Mickey Jannis to the Abilene Prairie Dogs of the North American League.

Lawson had the third-best batting average (.280) among Washington's starting position players last year. Hitting out of the leadoff spot, Lawson had nine home runs and 37 RBI and also stole 16 bases. Lawson is a native of Texas. Bloom was a player Washington signed in the offseason out of San Diego Christian College, where new Wild Things manager Chris Bando is the head coach.

In exchange for Lawson and Bloom, Washington gets infielder Clint Stroud and pitchers Andy Wells and Corey Goudeau.

Stroud has one year of experience in independent leagues, bouncing between the Pecos and North American leagues last year. He did hit 14 home runs in 62 games for three teams. Stroud played college ball at Arkansas Tech in NCAA Division II and signed with Joliet of the Frontier League last February, but he never played for the Slammers.

Arkansas Tech, by the way, has one of the most unique nicknames in college sports: the Wonder Boys.

Wells is entering his third season as a pro and has already played for five teams. He was with four teams in three independent leagues last season and compiled a 2-4 record and 7.14 ERA in 14 games (12 starts). He did make two postseason starts for Roswell, which won the Pecos League championship. Wells was 2-0 (2.77 ERA) in those games.

In 2010, Wells pitched three games in the Frontier League with Evansville and was 0-1 with a 12.00 ERA and gave up 10 hits and seven walks in six innings. He played his college ball at two schools, Wagner and Siena.

Goudeau is entering his second season as a pro, splitting last year between two teams in the North American League. He went 2-6 with an 8.38 ERA in 25 games (8 starts). Goudeau was drafted by the Marlins in the 18th round in 2010 out of Frank Phillips College, a junior college in Texas. He reportedly signed with the Marlins, but I find no information about Goudeau playing with an affiliated team.

Jannis was the most experienced player the Wild Things signed during the offseason, having advanced to high-Class A for two games in the Tampa Bay system last year. Jannis pitched in 34 games over two seasons with the Rays.

5 Wild Things named to All-Star Game

The Frontier League announced Monday the initial rosters for its all-star game and the Wild Things will have five representatives, including three pitchers.

Selected for the game as position players were second baseman Scott Lawson and catcher Blake Ochoa. Both will be backups for the East Division team that will play the West July 13 at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.

Washington pitchers Casey Barnes, Justin Hall and Jhonny Montoya will be on the East's staff.

Lawson leads the Wild Things with a .319 batting average, and his .425 on-base percentage is fifth-best in the league.

Ochoa is batting only .198 but is second on the Wild Things with 21 walks and has thrown out 22 percent of opposing base stealers.

Barnes (2-3) is second in the league in ERA at 1.91. Hall (4-2, 3.27) is tied for the league lead with two shutouts and is tops on the Washington pitching staff in wins. Montoya (1-1, 2.20) is fourth in the league in ERA and second on the team in strikeouts with 32 in 49 innings.

The final three rosters spots for each team will be chosen by the game's managers Thursday.

Getting offensive

The rock group Blue Oyster Cult had a hit in 1977 with its song "Goin' Through the Motions." The Wild Things, their manager suggested, had not hits over the last six innings Thursday night against River City in part because they went through the motions at the plate.

"We need to become more offensive and be able to make adjustments throughout the game, not just go through the motions with our swings," Everson said following the 7-1 loss to the West Division-leading Rascals.

Thirty-seven games into the Frontier League's 96-game schedule, the Wild Things' offense is producing at a rate clip. But it's the wrong kind of record pace.

Washington is batting an anemic .225 as a team. The league record for lowest batting average for a season was set by Lake Erie last year at .229. That the Wild Things are even five games from .500 with that kind of offense is a credit to its pitching staff. Despite losing two lefties to affiliated ball, Washington is second in the league in ERA (3.35) and quality starts (21). The pitching staff deserves better support than it's getting.

The Wild Things' offense has been so poor this season that it would take their first 39 batters reaching base via hits tonight just to raise the team batting average to tie Rockford (.249) for 11th place in the 12-team league.

I don't think that's going to happen.

Second baseman Scott Lawson (.310) and center fielder Chris Sidick (.283) have been the only consistent threats in the lineup, and the former has had trouble staying on base because of baserunning mistakes. Other than those two, the offense has struggled mightily all seasson.

Even the designated hitter position has been a bust. Washington's DHs are hitting .191 with one home run, seven RBI and 41 strikeouts in 136 at-bats.

So what is manager Darin Everson to do about his offense? He brought in DH Bryan Fogle (.292) and third baseman Ryan Ditthardt (.143) last week. Does Everson continue to make changes or hope that his current players can fight their way out of what has been a collective funk?

Great Scott

If there is one Wild Things player who is swinging the bat well during this homestand, it's second baseman Scott Lawson.

The lefty hitter is 5-for-14 with two home runs, two walks and a stolen base. That's what Washington manager Darin Everson expected when he signed Lawson during the offseason.

A native of Grapevine, Texas, Lawson was drafted in the 29th round by the Tampa Bay Rays last spring but was released after hitting .262 with two teams (one rookie level, one Classs A). Everson targeted Lawson as a player to sign for several reasons, among them he played at Miami (Fla.) -- the Wild Things have three former Hurricanes -- and he liked Lawson's speed.

Throughout Lawson's career, he has shown flashes of brilliance. At Miami, he hit three home runs in three consecutive at-bats during an NCAA tournament game against Texas A&M. With the Wild Things, he has a team-high three home runs, including a game-winner in a 1-0 win at Joliet.

Defensively, Lawson began the year at third base but was shifted to second, where he played with the Hurricanes. He's shown that he's more suited for second base, and even showed terrific range. He made a diving stop on a ball hit up the middle Friday night by Normal's Tyler Keeble. Lawson quickly got to his feet and threw out Keeble. It was the kind of play that hasn't been seen by a Wild Things second baseman since the days of Ryan Ellis.

What Everson especially likes in Lawson is his speed. It's one reason he moved Lawson to the leadoff spot in the batting order and dropped Chris Siick into the No. 3 hole.

"Lawson has the ability to be a really impactful player and play at a higher level, if he can use his speed as a tool," Everson said. "That's why I wanted him -- because of his speed."