Southern man

Washington's favorite umpire Mario Seneca, pictured, -- a former Frontier League umpire -- has been promoted to the Class AA Southern League this year. If my memoriry serves me correctly, Seneca called games in the Class A Florida State League last year.

Seneca is one of two connections to Washington in the Southern League. Former Wild Things pitcher Tom Cochran plays for the Carolina Mudcats. Cochran has a 2-1 record and 2.72 ERA with five no-decisions in eight starts.

Play ball! Now!

We're working on a rain delay of nearly an hour at Consol Energy Park. Why? I don't know. We've had about 10 drops of rain and three flashes of lightning, the latter more than 30 minutes ago. Yet the tarp is still on the infield and the pitchers haven't started to warm up.

Gee, it sure is a nice night to have a ballgame. Too bad there isn't one at CEP.

The price of victory

Have you ever noticed that when a player hits a walk-off home run he will toss aside his batting helmet before reaching home plate and being mobbed by his teammates? This is done for safety reasons.

Here is a lesson on why it's a good idea to get the batting helmet out of your hand before the teammates get to you:

On Thursday night, Windy City's Tim Alberts – he played right field for Washington in 2008 – smacked an RBI-double in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the ThunderBolts a 7-6 victory over Traverse City. Alberts still had his batting helmet in his hand when greeted by his teammates between first and second base. During the celebration, an overly enthusiastic teammate knocked the batting helmet back into Alberts' face and caused a gash on the player's forehead.

The ThunderBolts' trainer bandaged Alberts' head so that he could make the bus trip to Washington last night. On Friday morning, a doctor in Washington put four stitches in Alberts' forehead to close the wound.

Easy to steal on the Cruisers

Dmitri Young, the former major leaguer who is a vice president and assistant coach with the Oakland County Cruisers, was on Sirius/XM radio today and mentioned that the Cruisers' driver stole the team bus yesterday.

How do you steal a bus?

Thoughts through 3 games

Some notes, observations and thoughts after the Wild Things' season-opening homestand:

* There were plenty of lasting images from the season's first three games and not many were positive for the Wild Things: Washington's baserunning blunders in the opener, the muddy and water-logged outfield, the empty seats ...

* On the positive side, you have to be impressed with the hitting of Adam Amar and Mark McGonigle. They could be two impact hitters. Chris Sidick is off to a better start than last year, which is a good sign. Michael Parker, who had a 24-game hitting streak last season, seems to be hitting the ball as well, if not better, so far this season.

* The Wild Things have to be concerned about attendance, or the lack of it. The 1,624 on hand for Sunday's game was the second-smallest crowd in franchise history. The 6,311 for the series was the second-smallest attendance for a three-game series. The opener didn't sell out -- for the first time. During the first inning of the opener, there was one section of seating along the third-base line that had four empty rows at the top. The same section had one person seated in the front row. The next section down the line also had one person seated in the front row.

There did, however, seem to be more people in the box seats for the opener than last year.

* The pace/length of games have gotten ridiculously long. And don't blame it on the between-innings promotions. Blame it on the "Moneyball" era and umpires.

Hitters today are taught to work the count like never before, and the umpires help them by refusing to call a strike a strike. The rulebook says the upper end of the strike zone is the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is the hollow beneath the knee. The strike zone, however, has become the bottom of the belt to the top of the kneecap.

I have some video/DVD copies of baseball games played in the 1960s and 1970s. The thing that jumps out to me when watching them is the strike zone. The zone was actually called correctly back then, players had to swing and the game moved at a quicker, more fan-friendly pace.

* Have you ever seen an outfield that was only partially mowed on opening day? I hadn't until Friday.

* This is the best Oakland County/Midwest team. The Cruisers/Sliders have more speed than ever before, Zach Pace is always on base, Joash Brodin and Jimmy Baker can hit, Luis Fernandez looks like a good defensive shortstop and pitchers James Albury and Kevin Asselin have track records of success. Too bad the Cruisers/Sliders are playing 51 of their first 57 games on the road. It's hard to stay in a playoff race with that kind of disadvantage.

* Washington catcher Billy O'Conner probably earned a few more starts by going 4-for-5 Sunday.

* Best line of the weekend came after Sunday's game, when someone brought a plate of alligator from the exotic foods stand into the Wild Things' clubhouse for the players and coaches to try. "We got the alligator from left centerfield," the person said. That might be where they'll find next weekend's entree: shark.

* There was no reason to play the Saturday night game. It should have been postponed. The outfield was a swamp Friday, and all the rain early Saturday made it worse.

* According to the Frontier League website, the Wild Things' July 31 game at Oakland County has been postponed and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Aug. 1.

More home cooking

This will probably be included on the magnet schedule giveaway tonight at Consol Energy Park, but if not please take note that the Wild Things' July 16-18 series against the Oakland County Cruisers, originally scheduled for Waterford Township, Mich., has been moved to Washington. The Cruisers will not have their ballpark built this season and have been forced to revamp their schedule.

This switch gives Washington 51 home games and 45 road games.

The Wild Things' road series July 31-Aug. 2 against Oakland County will be played at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti.

Also, the Wild Things' game Wednesday at Kalamazoo has a 10 a.m. start time.

East Division preview

Accurately predicting the division races in the Frontier League is nearly impossible because of the large amount of turnover on the rosters, not only from year to year but throughout the season. But, hey, I'll give it a shot. Here's a preview of the East Division in predicted order of finish:

1. Lake Erie Crushers
Location: Avon, Ohio
Stadium: All Pro Freight Stadium (5,000)
Manager: John Massarelli (2nd year - 286-181 career in Frontier League)
Last year: 57-38, 2nd in East, beat River City in finals
Key returners: P Cordoza Tucker (4-0, 2.63); 2B Andrew Saylor (.320, 10 HR, 62 RBI); SS Jodam Rivera (.255, 16 2Bs); 3B Andrew Davis (.327, 15 HR, 68 RBI, all-league pick).
Impact newcomers: OF Dom Duggan (46 stolen bases in 3 seasons in Giants' system); OF Travis Vetters (.293, 24 HR in 4 seasons in Dodgers' system); P Travis Risser (former Wild Things reliever).
Outlook: Massarelli, the best manager in the league, won his first championship last season despite having only one returning player on the roster to start the season. This year, he began spring training with more returning guys than he's ever had. That's not a good sign for the rest of the league.
Quoteable: "There’s question marks, but I like where we’re at." - Massarelli.

2. Windy City ThunderBolts
Location: Crestwood, Ill.
Stadium: Standard Bank Stadium (2,598)
Manager: Mike Kashirsky (First full season, 42-15 career)
Last year: 56-40, tied for 2nd in East, lost to River City in first round of playoffs.
Key returners: P Matt Jernstad (7-4, 2.31, 97 Ks in 78 IP); 2B Gilberto Mejia (.324, 9 HR, 55 RBI, 47 SB, all-league pick); 1B J.T. Restko (.334, 23 2B, 18 HR, 76 RBI); OF Mike Sullivan (.360 in 14 games).
Impact newcomer: OF Ryne White (.266, 6 HR, 52 RBI in Class A).
Outlook: Windy City switches divisions this year and will continue to be a playoff contender because of an offense built around Retsko and the pesky Mejia. Kashirsky turned in one of the most remarkable coaching jobs in league history in 2008 when he took over a team is disarray at midseason and guided it to the championship. He returned to a coaching position last year but was promoted back to manager in the offseason.
Did You Know? The ThunderBolts made the playoffs in each of the last three seasons, the longest current streak in the league.

3. Washington Wild Things
Location: Washington, Pa.
Stadium: Consol Energy Park (3,200)
Manager: Darin Everson (1st year in Frontier League)
Last year: 43-53, 4th in East
Key returners: P Justin Edwards (4-5, 5.40, 3 saves, 70 Ks in 60 IP); P Zach Groh (6-5, 4.17); DH Jacob Dempsey (.281, league-highs of 31 HR, 95 RBI); 2B Michael Parker (.298 22 2B, 24-game hitting streak); OF Chris Sidick (FL's all-time leader in games, hits, triples, walks).
Impact newcomers: SS Denny Duron (.279 in Class A, former West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year at Pepperdine University); OF Luis Rivera (former 5th-round draft pick of L.A. Angels); OF Mark McGonigle (.294 in 2 seasons in rookie ball).
Outlook: Washington set the team record for home runs last year but couldn't take advantage of its potent offense because of poor defense and pitching. You have to think the pitching will be vastly improved but there are concerns about how much offense the bottom half of the batting order can produce. A good start to the season is a must. Will contend for a playoff berth.
Did You Know? Of the teams that played more than one season in the Frontier League, Washington has the best winning percentage at .589.

4. Kalamazoo Kings
Location: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Stadium: Homer Stryker Field (4,806)
Manager: Jamie Keefe (1st year in Kalamazoo, 367-404 career)
Last year: 58-38, 1st in East, lost to Lake Erie in first round of playoffs
Key returners: P Dan Baerlocher (8-1, 5 saves, 2.45); P Joe DiPietro (8-7, 3.90); P Brandon Parillo (3-4, 3.54); 1B Destan Makonnen (.272, 12 HR, 37 RBI); DH Brendon Murphy (.257, 17 HR, 61 RB).
Impact newcomers: P Tyler Herron (former 1st-round draft pick of St. Louis); P Josh Whitlock (4-4 in Class A, played at West Virginia University).
Outlook: The Kings are the two-time defending East Division champions, but former manager Fran Riordan and many of last year's key players have gone to an expansion team in the Northern League. There's still enough here to make a strong playoff push but, much like Washington, Kalamazoo might find it too difficult to best veteran teams in Lake Erie and Windy City.
Quoteable: “We have a bunch of talent on this team. A lot of guys in the league are going to think we’re going to be down this year. We have news for them. We’re going to be just fine." - Makonnen.

5. Travese City Beach Bums
Loaction: Travese City, Mich.
Stadium: Wuerfel Park (4,600)
Manager: Gregg Langbehn (2nd year - 42-53 career)
Last year: 42-53, 5th in East
Key returners: P Kevin Reese (8-7, 4.64, former Wild Things reliever); C Andrew Franco (.347 in 121 ABs).
Impact newcomers: OF Matt Brown (.285 in 3 seasons in Indians' system); OF J.T. Hall (152 games above Class A in Tampa Bay system, 100 2Bs in 6 seasons); 3B Bobby Spain (.275, 47 RBI in Class A).
Outlook: After posting the worst record in franchise history, the Beach Bums gutted the roster as only two players return. This year's team will have more speed and power but the pitching staff is young. Could be a sleeper.
Did You Know? Beach Bums pitcher Scott Dunn is a product of Slippery Rock University and South Side Beaver High School. He has relatives who live in Hickory.

6. Oakland County Cruisers
Location: Ypsilanti, Mich., and Waterford Mich.
Stadiums: Oestrike Stadium at Eastern Michigan University (1,313); OU Baseball field at Oakland University (500).
Manager: Eric Coleman (3rd year - 71-121 career)
Last year: 42-54, 6th in East as Midwest Sliders
Key returners: P James Albury (6-2, 2.40); P Nolan Shaffer (5-5, 5.36); C Ben Barrone (.250, 8 HR); INF Jimmy Baker (.310, 16 HR, 53 RBI; INF Joash Brodin (.330, 10 HR, 37 RBI); OF Zach Pace (.304, 37 SB).
Impact newcomers: P Kevin Asselin (6-3, 2.74 in Class A in White Sox system); SS Luis Fernandez (57 games in Class A).
Outlook: The Cruisers are the renamed Midwest Sliders. The team, in its third year in the league, still doesn't have a ballpark to call its own and has sold several home series again this season. Somehow, Coleman has overcome serious obstacles to make the team competitive. There's enough talent here to improve upon last year's record, but playing far more games on the road than at home a .500 record is highly unlikely.
Did You Know? The Cruisers will play their first 12 games, and 36 of the first 42, on the road.

West Division preview

Accurately predicting the division races in the Frontier League is nearly impossible because of the large amount of turnover on the rosters, not only from year to year but throughout the season. But, hey, I'll give it a shot. Here's a preview of the West Division in predicted order of finish:

1. Southern Illinois Miners
Location: Marion, Ill.
Manager: Mike Pinto (4th year - 163-125 in Frontier League)
Stadium: Rent One Park (3,611)
Last year: 56-40, Tied for 2nd in West.
Key returners: P Joe Augustine 7-5, 3.50; P Ryan Bird 9-7 3.48; 1B Brad Miller .296, 13 HR, 74 RBI; OF Joey Metropoulos .317, 22 2B, 31 HR, 82 RBI; OF Jereme Milons .285, 15 HR, 72 RBI, 38 SB.
Impact newcomers: 1B Ernie Banks .353, 24 HR, 75 RBI with Washington and River City; OF Stephen Head 74 games, 6 HR last year in Class AAA, 206 career games above Class A.
Outlook: Southern Illinois has averaged 57 wins over the last two years and the Miners could be even better this season. The offense is loaded with power hitters and Bird was the league's Pitcher of the Year in 2008. The only concern could be pitching depth.
Quoteable: "We look good on paper. Too bad we can't play the games on paper." - Pinto.

2. River City Rascals
Location: O'Fallon, Mo.
Manager: Steve Brook (1st year)
Stadium: T.R. Hughes Ballpark (5,191)
Last year: 56-38, 1st in West; lost to Lake Erie in finals.
Key returners: P Jason Lowey 3-2, 3.43, 23 saves; 1B Scott Robinson .309, 13 HR, 57 RBI, 10 SB; 2B Joseph Batton .305, 21 2Bs, 11 SB; 3B Ryan Wehrle .317; OF Scott Houin .278, 20 2B, 35 SB; OF Chjad Maddox .307, 31 2B, 14 HR, 67 RBI, 12 SB.
Impact newcomers: OF Stephen Holdren .311, 25 2B, 20 HR, 56 RBI with Gateway and Southern Illinois; OF Caleb Curry, stole 45 bases as senior at University of Iowa in 2008.
Outlook: The Rascals came within one win of its first league championship last season. There is plenty of offense here but the pitching staff has been rebuilt. Brook is a former player and coach for the Rascals.
Did You Know? The Rascals made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2000, their first year in the league.

3. Florence Freedom
Location: Florence, Ky.
Manager: Toby Rumfield (3rd year - 132-156 in Frontier League)
Stadium: Champion Window Field (5,000)
Last year: 49-47, 3rd in East
Key returners: P Everett Saul 12-7, 5.23; P Chuck Tiffany (5-2, 4.23, former top-10 prospect of Dodgers; C Justin Pickett .277, 26 HR, 78 RBI; SS Tim Grogan .270, 12 HR, 60 RBI; 3B Johnny Welch .267, 13 HR, 51 RBI, 12 SB.
Impact newcomer: 1B Daryl Jones, former 4th-round pick of Padres.
Outlook: The Freedom switches divisions and brings a high-scoring lineup and hitter-friendly ballpark to the West. Mottram was the league's best hitter in the first half of last season before tailing off down the stretch. Florence always has been able to score in bunches and hit home runs. As usual, the pitching will determine if Florence can pass the .500 mark and make the playoffs for the first time.
Did You Know? Florence has improved its wins total in each of the last three seasons.

4. Gateway Grizzlies
Location: Sauget, Ill.
Manager: Phil Warren (4th year 154-128 career)
Stadium: GCS Ballpark (6,000)
Last year: 40-54, 5th in West
Key returners: P Mark Brackman 6-10, 4.93; C Charlie Lisk .282, 28 HR 82 RBI; OF Jareck West .254, 7 HR, 40 RBI, 21 SB
Impact newcomers: P Nick Walters, more than 200 IP in affiliated ball; 1B Logan Parker 6 HR, 48 RBI in Class AA last year; 3B Justin Baum 25 HR in 3 years in Padres' system.
Outlook: The Grizzlies had an unexpected and uncharacteristic poor season -- in large part because of the pitching -- in 2009 and Warren has made many changes to the roster. The Grizzlies will be improved but probably not by enough to make the playoffs.
Did You Know? Suaget (population 249 in the 2000 census) is the smallest city in the country to have a professional baseball team.

5. Evansville Otters
Location: Evansville, Ind.
Manager: Wayne Krenchick (2nd year - 28-66 in Frontier League)
Stadium: Bosse Field (5,110)
Key returner: DH Greg Alexander .261, 9 HR, 54 RBI, 12 SB
Impact newcomers: OF Estee Harris .277, 10 HR, 60 RBI with Long Island of Atlantic League, former 2nd-round pick of Yankees; OF Ross McCoy .283 with Rockford; INF Patrick Rose 396 ABs in affiliated ball.
Outlook: Krenchick, who had success in eight years as a manager in the Atlantic League - the highest-level of independent ball - but couldn't duplicate it in Evansville in his first season. Krenchicki said many of his connections were to Class AAA and AA talent, which doesn't help much in the FL. He gutted the roster and brought in former prospect Harris. Like Gateway, will be better but not by enough to make the playoffs.
Did You Know? Bosse Field was built in 1915, and many of the game scenes from the movie "A League of Their Own" were shot there.


6. Normal CornBelters
Location: Normal, Ill.
Manager: Hall Lanier (1st year in Frontier League)
Stadium: The Corn Crib (7,000)
Last year: NA
Newcomers: P Kevin Kreier 5-4 4 saves, 3.77 with Peoria of Class A Midwest League; 1B Steve Alexander 11 HR, 49 rbi with Lincoln of American Association; OF Garrett Bass, son of former major leaguer Kevin Bass; OF Phil Laurent, .310, 8 HR, 40 RBI with Washington.
Outlook: The league's newest team and also its youngest, which makes it difficult to evaluate the talent. Lanier had the same problem in spring training, as all five of the CornBelters exhibition games were cancelled. Alexander could be one of the league's top power hitters, but CornBeletrs could struggle offensively in a hitter-dominated division.
Did You Know? Lanier was the National league Manager of the Year with the Houston Astros in 1986.

Roster set

The Wild Things cut their roster to the Frontier League-maximum 24 active players Wednesday when they released Ryne Nelson, a right-handed pitcher who was acquired several months ago in a trade.

The Wild Things dealt Trinity High School graduate Michael Lucas to Laredo (Texas) of the independent United League in exchange for Nelson, a relief pitcher. Nelson pitched a scoreless inning in an exhibition game Friday night against Lake Erie.

Washington's starting pitcher in the season opener Friday night at home against the Oakland County Cruisers will be Tim Smith. The remainder of the rotation for series will be Spencer Hylander on Saturday and Steve Macfarland on Sunday. Zach Groh, one of two returning pitchers from last season, will start the season's fourth game, Tuesday at Kalamazoo.

Washington's roster - click here.

One move remaining

The Wild Things made one roster move Tuesday, placing right-handed pitcher Kurt Houck on the 7-day disabled list. Washington has 25 players on the active roster and must make one more move Wednesday to get down to the 24-player limit.

Wild Things getting Lexy

WJPA Radio's Randy Gore will be providing updates after each Wild Things game on lexy.com.

If a fan, or "follower" as they're called, signs up to receive a Lexycast alert, they will receive a text message or email alert that there's a new report. The follower can choose whether to receive a text or email update. Also, a fan doesn't have to sign up to access these reports. And it's all free (an individual's cell plan would determine if they are charged for text messaging alerts - if someone has to pay per text, then they will be charged).

Randy has posted a Wild Things preview. Click here to listen.

Bad timing

They say timing is everything in sports, and that goes for sportswriting, too. Sometimes the sportswriter's best best-designed plans can go awry in a hurry.

For example, I had a feature story written about Wild Things catcher Chris Rosenbaum, pictured, that I planned to use in Saturday's edition of the Observer-Reporter. All I had to do was plug in what Rosenbaum did during Washington's exhibition game Friday night and add some details from the game. The only problem was Rosenbaum didn't play Friday night, so the story was scrapped for a few days. It was then planned for Tuesday's edition.

There was one problem. Rosenbaum was released Monday.

So, here's a story about a guy who didn't make the Wild Things:

By Chris Dugan, Sports Editor
dugan@observer-reporter.com

Chris Rosenbaum has an undergraduate degree in finance and a masters in business administration. He has won two NCAA national championships and delivered the game-winning hit in one title game. He’s even written a blog for Major League Baseball’s Website, spent a summer playing baseball in Rancho Cucamonga and has a knowledge of all the new tax laws.
What Rosenbaum hasn’t had, however, is a starting job to call his own. Not since his days at the University of Tampa three years ago.
Rosenbaum, a 26-year-old from Castleton, N.Y., is one of three catchers in spring training vying for roster spots and playing time with the Wild Things.
“I’m just looking for an opportunity to see what I can do,” Rosenbaum said. “I haven’t had many at-bats the last three years.”
Those years were spent in the Los Angeles Angels system. Rosenbaum is a career .272 hitter as a professional but he’s never had more than 116 at-bats in a season. Last year, Rosenbaum batted .319 for Rancho Cucamonga in the Class A California League.
“My agent says I always look good on paper,” Rosenbaum joked. “I just haven’t had a starting job. When I was at Rancho Cucamonga, I was batting .400 at the all-star break but only playing one game every two weeks.”
Rosenbaum was stuck in the Angels’ system behind two Latin catchers who are considered prospects. He was released at the end of spring training this year. Rosenbaum, however, was able to use the MBA he earned at Tampa to work for H&R Block preparing tax returns.
“At the busiest time of the year,” Rosenbaum said. “Was working up to 70 hours a week.”
While the work was steady, there was something missing.
“When you get released, a part of you doesn’t know what to do next. You’ve played baseball almost your whole life,” he said.
Rosenbaum’s girlfriend went to work finding all the independent teams with no more than one catcher on their roster. At the time, that included the Wild Things. Rosenbaum emailed each of the teams and Washington was the first to offer a contract. It helped that new Wild Things catcher Darin Everson is a former catcher.
“I was just looking for an opportunity to see what I can do, maybe have some success and see where it takes me,” Rosenbaum said.
Rosenbaum had plenty of success at Tampa, which won NCAA Division II national championships during his junior and senior seasons. Rosenbaum had a pinch-hit game-winning hit in the 10th inning in the championship game. As a senior, he went wire-to-wire as Tampa’s starting catcher, batting .341.
He signed a free agent with the Angels and began writing a blog about his experiences in the minor leagues for his hometown newspaper. In 2008, while playing for Cedar Rapids (Iowa) of the Class A Midwest League, Rosenbaum’s blog was picked up by the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Major League Baseball eventually learned of Rosenbaum’s blog, entitled “Looking Through the Mask”, and struck a deal for it to appear on mlb.com during the 2009 season.
Rosenbaum hopes to write the next chapter in his baseball career in Washington County.
“He’s competing for a job,” Everson said. “He’s improved each day he’s been here. He’s a tireless worker and handles pitchers very well.”

Prime cuts

The Wild Things made their first significant moves to get down to the Frontier League roster limit Monday by releasing six players and putting another on the disabled list.
Washington, which opens its ninth season Friday (7:05 p.m.) at home against the Oakland County Cruisers, released pitchers Javier Gomez, Ben Rodenwald and David Trivett, catcher Chris Rosenbaum and infielders Pat Kinney and Lock Haven graduate Matt Palko. Trivett was Washington’s first-round draft pick at the Frontier League tryout and draft.
The Wild Things also placed pitcher Jeff Sonnenberg on the 14-day disabled list.
The moves leave Washington with 26 players, including 14 pitchers, on the active roster. The league limit is 24 players.

Winless in the preseason

The Wild Things finished their three-game exhibition series against the Lake Erie Crushers with a 7-4 loss in 10 innings Sunday at All Pro Freight Stadium, pictured, in Avon, Ohio.

Washington lost two of the three games and played to as tie on Saturday.

The Wild Things trailed 4-0 before scoring twice in both the seventh and eighth innings. Lake Erie scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth. The Wild Things batted in the top of the 10th but did not score.

Washington used four pitchers with Tim Smith starting and throwing five innings, allowing three runs on eight hits. Justin Edwards was the losing pitcher.

Lake Erie outhit Washington 13-8. Kyle Surprenant was the only Washington player with two hits.

Click here for the boxscore.

Ties in baseball?

The Wild Things and Lake Erie Crushers played to a 2-2 tie Saturday afternoon at All-Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio.

Much like the exhibition opener Friday night (won by Lake Erie 4-3) at Consol Energy Park, runs were hard to come by for the Wild Things but the pitching was very good. Washington used seven pitchers Saturday and they gave up only five hits with seven strikeouts.

The Wild Things led 2-1 in the eighth inning when Lake Erie used two singles, a hit batsman and wild pitch by Kurt Houck score to the tying run.

Mark McGonigle had two doubles among Washington's six hits.

Click here for the boxscore.

Early retirements

Matt Cotellese's second stint with the Wild Things didn't last much longer than his first.

The former NCAA Division II All-American was placed on the retired list Monday because of recurring elbow discomfort. The outfielder from Boyertown and West Chester University played in only one game last summer before being released because of a strained elbow ligament.

Maybe it was the curse of the O-R that sidelined Cotellese. He was the subject of a feature story in today's edition.

Cotellese was one of two players retired by the Wild Things. The other was first baseman Paul Chmiel. During Thursday's intrasquad game, Chmiel probably did more to help his case for making the team than any other player. Chmiel went 2-for-3 including a home run off Zach Groh. Chmiel, who played in the Baltimore Orioles' system, told the Wild Things that he is getting married in October and no longer had the fire to play baseball.

Chmiel's retirement comes less than a week after the Wild Things traded first baseman Robbie Wine to another league. Washington has gone from having three first baseman a week ago to one (Adam Amar). Jacob Dempsey was playing first base during practice Monday.

The moves leave Washington with 34 players in camp.

Exhibition game called off

The exhibition game between the Wild Things and Florence Freedom scheduled for tonight (Saturday, May 8) has been cancelled because of wet field conditions at Consol Energy Park.

Camp notes: Thursday

The Wild Things spent five hours on the field Thursday, which included a four-inning intrasquad game, but the only significant news out of camp was that left-handed pitcher Jason Neitz has been put on the 60-day disabled list because of an arm injury. Neitz had a 7-7 record and 5.61 ERA in 20 games (19 starts) last season.

Four pitchers (18 are in camp) were used in the instrasquad game. The pitching lines were:

Zach Groh 2 2/3-5-5-0-0-3
Tim Smith 3-3-1-1-1-4
Sean Grieve 1-2-1-1-0-1
Kurt Houck 1-2-2-1-0-0

Groh and Smith each threw two shutout innings until the hitters caught on a little the second time through the order. The five runs Groh allowed were unearned because of two errors in the inning that also featured three home runs. First baseman Paul Chmiel and second baseman Michael Parker back-to-back homers, and two batters later shortstop Denny Duron homered.

Smith gave up a two-run homer to shortstop Pat Kinney.

Parker went 2-for-3 with a double and home run.

Other than the home runs, the only things that stood out were three errors by infielders and the pitchers gave up only one walk.

Wine sent to Amarillo

The Wild Things, in an attempt to clear a cluttered first base position, have traded Cory Wine to the Amarillo Dillas of the independent United League in exchange for a player to be named.

Wine is the son of Penn State baseball coach Robbie Wine and the grandson of former major league shortstop Bobby Wine.

Washington had three first baseman on its roster -- Wine, Adam Amar and Paul Chmiel. Without Wine, but couting the two players drafted at the Frontier League tryout Tuesday, the Wild Things have 36 players on their roster. Spring training begins Thursday and the first exhibition game is Saturday (7 p.m.) at home against Florence.

You saw this coming

The Oakland County Cruisers will not have a ballpark to call their own this season. That's no surprise to the people who follow the Frontier League.

The Cruisers announced Saturday – one day before league meetings in Avon, Ohio – that funding for a ballpark in Waterford Township, Mich., has fallen through.

The Cruisers planned to open a new 4,000 seat stadium – called Diamond at The Summit – behind the Summit Place Mall. The team held a groundbreaking ceremony last December and Rob Hilliard, pictured, one of the owners, said earlier this year that construction would start by mid-April. The Cruisers had arranged to play at Eastern Michigan University until a July 16 series against the Wild Things, which was was to be Oakland County's home opener in the new temporary ballpark. The final phase of the ballpark's construction was to be completed after the 2010 season.

According to the Cruisers, they have rescheduled all but one of their home series. They will use the ballparks at Eastern Michigan, Oakland University and something called Ford Field in Livonia, Mich. I haven't seen an updated scheduled to tell you where the Wild Things will be playing the Cruisers July 16-18 and July 31-Aug. 2.

The ballpark's original $9 million funding plan consisted of a combined Small Business Administration/U.S. Department of Agriculture hybrid financing system. When that fell through, the Cruisers hooked up with a Southern California private lending group, working on a construction loan and takeout financing package.

Hilliard told the Oakland Press that the ballpark could be ready for the 2011 season.

“Clearly, we hope and believe this is the case given the timing,” Hilliard said, “but we’ve been at this for three years, so I don’t think we could honestly say anything at this point other than the people we’re dealing with now are very committed to getting this done and they understand what our time frame is.”

Money from sales of 2010 tickets and corporate sponsorships has been kept in an escrow account. All interest earned on those funds will be applied to the full cost of tickets and sponsorships for the 2011 season.

For the Frontier League, this is bad P.R. The league had to know that you can't build a ballpark in three months, so it should have stepped in months ago and made the Cruisers schedule their home games at another location or make them (again) a traveling team. The warning signs were apparent last winter, when the Cruisers started selling home games to opponents. They did talk to the Wild Things about purchasing home dates but, according to one source, the Cruisers found the Wild Things' owners too troublesome to deal with, so the idea was dropped.

The Cruisers' ownership has been shabby at best, shady at worst. It has likely killed the Detroit market for the Frontier League.

According to the Oakland Press, the Cruisers are likely to be sold. Remember, the Frontier league has a new team in Woodstock, Ill., coming into the league in 2011.

Read the story here.

Wild Things: Gimme 2!

The Wild Things drafted two right-handed pitchers Tuesday at the Frontier League's annual tryout. Washington selected David Trivett in the first round (sixth overall) and Quinn Bright in the second round.

Trivett (6-4, 215), who is from Washington state, played in one game last year for the Sioux City Explorers of the independent American Association. Before that, he played at Olivet Nazarene University.

“David threw well, up to 92 (mph), at the tryout and showed good secondary pitches,” Washington manager Darrin Everson said. “We look for him to compete for a bullpen spot.”

Bright (6-0, 175), a native of Virginia, played at Norfolk State, where he compiled an 11-11 record with one save and walked only 38 batters in 157 1/3 innings. He began his collegiate career at NCAA Division III Bridgewater (Va.).

Bright attended the Wild Things' open tryout Saturday.

"He increased his velocity each time I saw him pitch,” Everson said. “He's an 88-91 (mph) guy with good sink on the ball and we look forward to having team.”

Three pitchers from last year's Wild Things team were selected in the draft. Matt Maradeo, who played in Washington in 2008 and '09, was taken by Florence in the second round (one pick after Washington selected Bright). Chris Kupillas was chosen by Kalamazoo with the final pick of the second round, and former California University pitcher Rob Hedrick was selected by Southern Illinois in the fourth round. Hedrick was the next-to-last pick in the draft.

Try, try, try

These are trying times for the Frontier League. That's trying as in tryouts. The Wild Things held their annual open tryout Saturday, though they did not offer a contract to anyone. The league's tryout camp starts today and concludes Tuesday afternoon with a player draft. Each team is required to draft and sign a minimum of two players.

New Wild Things manager Darin Everson has been busy during the offseason filling his roster and doesn't have a pressing need to draft more than two players. Washington already has more players on its roster than Everson said a month ago that he wanted to bring to camp.

So what does Everson look for in a player? The manager said he wants to see a position player with a track record of high on-base spercentages, and pitchers with low walk rates and a low opponents' batting percentages. There also was one intangible that Everson was looking for.

"I was going to sign the best hard-nosed players who have the fire and desire to allow themselves and opportunity to get back to affiliated ball," he said.

One thing Everson did not sign was a third Veteran to fill an open roster spot. A Veteran is any players with three pro seasons of at least 150 at-bats, or for pitchers it's 60 innings or 30 games. Each FL team is permitted three Veterans and Washington has signed only two (Chris Sidick and Jacob Dempsey).

"I wasn't going to sign a Vet just to fill a roster spot," Everson said. "All Vets and L2s have to be big-game performers, and I wasn't going to sign a Vet with a .230 career batting average or ERA of 5.00 just to fill the spot."

Everson also said that it doesn't matter how much pro experience a player has, he still will have to perform well during spring training, which begins Thursday.

"My goal for spring training is ... every job is open," Everson said. "Within that competition is to have two or three guys batting for a position. We've been able to sign guys to create that competition in spring training. We have a lot of good rookie talent."

While the best position battles are likely to be at pitcher, catcher and first base, there seems to be a void at shortstop. Everson said he might have another shortstop signed this week.