Ah, shift

The infield shift

Shifting has been the rage in major league baseball for a couple of seasons. That's not news to baseball fans. You can't watch a game without seeing some team utilizing the shift.

The shift is not a new tactic. Putting three infielders on the right side of the diamond against left-handed pull hitters is an old maneuver. Power hitters like Willie Stargell and Willie McCovey faced the shift more than 40 years ago. Heck, Babe Ruth likely had to hit against the shift at some point.

But the current version of the shift, in which the second baseman plays well into shallow right field and the shortstop is swung around somewhere close to second base, is somewhat new. The old shift simply moved the infielders toward first base instead of moving the second baseman into the outfield.

There are more shifts than ever being used in the majors, which gives credence to its legitimacy as a staple of baseball. The Pirates, by the way, use the shift more often than all but four others teams.

The shift seems to have "shifted" to the Frontier League. Jeff Isom, who was managing Lake Erie last year, used the shift extensively with the Crushers. As manager of the Joliet Slammers this year, Isom used the shift against Washington's William Beckwith. Stewart Ijames and C.J. Beatty also have had to hit against the shift.

Even the Wild Things have used the shift, proving that manager Bart Zeller is not too old to change.

"If you have your head stuck in the sand and continue to play old-school baseball, then you're going to discover that it's like running the 100-yard dash in snowshoes. You'll never catch up with the other guys," Zeller said.

So when should a team shift its infield?

Zeller says look at the spray charts for a hitter and then shift against those who pull the ball at least 80 percent of the time.

"If you know you're going to be right 80 percent of the time, then you're better going with the shift," he said. "You might look terrible if the hitter puts down a good bunt or goes the other way for a hit, but if you're right 80 percent of the time ...

"This has nothing to do with sabremetrics. Baseball comes down to playing the percentages."

The Wild Things used the shift against Traverse City's Yazy Arbelo last week, with some success. Arbelo went 3-for-13, including 1-for-8 over the last two games of the series.

Washington's defensive alignment was not as much of an overshift as what we saw from Joliet. Wild Things shortstop Garrett Rau played in the middle of the diamond against Arbelo, but on the third-base side of second.

The one change in strategy that comes with playing the shift is in pitching. Your pitcher often has to pitch to the hitter's strength. In other words, you pitch the hitter inside so that he can pull the ball into the shift. Pitching him outside invites the batter to go the opposite way, where you have only one infielder.

Talking to myself

Sometimes a reporter accumulates an abundance of notes that are too small to make into a story, and sometimes he/she has a opinion or two that are not worth an entire column in print. So what's a reporter to do?
Well, if you have a blog about an independent baseball team and league, then you put those notes and thoughts there and you try to do it in an entertaining manner.
Today, I'll try something different. I'll talk to myself. Or, in other words, I'll interview myself.
Hey, at least it's different.
Here goes:
Q: Chris, do you have any idea if the Frontier League Greys will have a home next year?
Chris: The rumor circulating around the league is that the Greys are headed for Kokomo, Ind. A new ballpark is planned to open in Kokomo in 2015. There is some question as to whether it will be up to Frontier League standards. The capacity is supposed to be 4,000 with 2,350 seats and the rest of the capacity being berm seating. The question is who will own the team? The league runs the Greys, so another owner is needed. I hear current Frontier League owners have a period of time in which they can purchase the Greys at a bargain-basement price, otherwise is will be put on the open market. It seems odd that Kokomo would build a ballpark with a price tag of more than $11 million and not have a professional team as a tenant. Otherwise, that's an expensive high school and American Legion field. Kokomo would fit nicely in the East Division.
Q: Carter Bell has played some spectacular defense at third base for the Wild Things. How does he rank defensively among all Washington third basemen?
Chris: I've said this to several people: Carter Bell is the best defensive third baseman to play for the Wild Things. You don't have to see him play an entire season to come up with that evaluation. He has the strongest arm of anybody has who played the position in Washington and maybe the best hands. The only player who might have come close to Bell's defensive prowess was Pat Peavey, who came to Washington from Double-A ball in 2006. Peavey, however, was a small cut below Bell defensively.
Q: Who would be on your All-Wild Things Defensive Team?
Chris: Some positions are easy, others are very difficult to select only one player. Here goes:
Outfielders -- Chris Sidick, Stewart Ijames and Matt Sutton.
Third base -- Carter Bell.
Shortstop -- Tough call here because Washington has been fortunate to have some very good shortstops. To me, it comes down to A.J. Nunziato or the 2006 version of Brett Grandstrand. Nunziato was so solid that if he briefly bobbled a ball you were surprised. Grandstrand made plays that no other Washington shortstop could make, especially in 2006, when his range was off the charts. He made plays that year that Nunziato would have had no chance of making. But, Nunziato made only 10 errors in two years. Grandstrand committed 18 errors in 2006, so I'll give a slight lean to Nunziato.
Second base -- The 2002 version of Ryan Ellis. Best range of an Washington second baseman and had only five errors.
First base -- Bill Greenwell. Best glove of all Wild Things first basemen and much more athletic than you might recall.
Catcher -- Another tough call as the Wild Things have had at least a half dozen top-shelf defensive catchers. The top two were Shaun Argento (2002) and Randy McGarvey (2004-05). You can make a case, based on the number of no-hitters he caught, that Argento was the best in league history at calling a game. He definitely had the best pickoff throw to first base of all Washington catchers. But for all-around defense, I'll go with McGarvey. He was terrific at blocking balls in the dirt (remember that dirt stuff?) and had the best throwing arm of any Wild Things catcher. He shut down the opponent's running game. So McGarvey gets the nod.
Pitcher -- Justin Hall. When it comes to fielding his position in a game, Hall was an entire level above every other Washington pitcher. When he released a pitch, Hall was always in perfect position to field a ball hit back at him.
Q: Did you think you'd ever see the day that a former Wild Things pitcher beat the Boston Red Sox?
Chris: I guess you're referring to Vidal Nuno getting the win Friday night in the New York Yankees' 6-0 victory over Boston. Nuno started that game and pitched 5 2/3 innings. You probably could have gotten some good odds back in 2002, when Washington joined the Frontier League, on a Wild Things pitcher throwing 5 2/3 shutout innings and getting a win in a Yankees-Red Sox game. It was probably even more stunning that a former Wild Things pitcher was starting a game that had Bob Costas doing the television play-by-play. You had to think that if Bob Costas ever mentioned the Washington Wild Things it was going to be because of an in-game promotion gone horribly wrong.
Q: Are there any former major leaguers currently in the Frontier League?
Chris: Yes, there is. Josh Spence, a left-handed pitcher who was born in Australia and pitched in 51 games for the San Diego Padres over two seasons (2011 and 2012) is trying to rebuild his career by playing for the Windy City ThunderBolts. Spence started this year in Class AAA but is now on his second independent league team. It hasn't been going well in Crestwood, Ill., as Spence has an 0-2 record an 8.31 ERA in two starts.
The MLB-to-Frontier League is a road very seldom traveled. Spence is the sixth player who played in the major leagues and later appeared in a Frontier League game. The others are pitchers Corey Thurman, Billy Petrick, Scott Sobkowiak and Ben Diggins and former AL Rookie of the Year and Wild Things hitting coach Joe Charboneau, who was permitted to take one at-bat in a game with Canton in 2000.
Thurman pitched in 49 major-league games before starting six games for Florence in 2005. One of his starts was a win over the Wild Things. Billy Petrick, who pitched in eight games for the Chicago Cubs in 2007, played for Joliet and beat the Wild Things and Nuno in the 2010 season opener. Sobkowiak pitched the final inning of the final game for Atlanta in 2001 for his only big-league appearance. He pitched for Rockford in 2004.
Q: What do you think of the Frontier League's new playoff format?
Chris: I can give you a three-word answer: I hate it. Just because the major leagues do something doesn't mean it will work in independent ball. The one-game playoff idea is ridiculous. Baseball playoffs are meant to be played as a series, in which a team has to use a variety of starting pitchers. One-game playoffs are high schoolish. Another problem with the four wild cards is they set up scenarios in which teams could go from, for example, Washington to St. Louis multiple times and play only one game in each city each time. Either keep the playoff format at four teams or expand all the way to eight teams.

Pitching move

Matt Sergey

The Wild Things made a roster move Wednesday afternoon, releasing relief pitcher Devin Malone and signing pitcher Matt Sergey. The latter is a 6-4 right-hander who played in the Frontier League last year with Southern Illinois and Gateway.

The move comes one day after Malone (0-0, 6.92) had a rocky outing in relief against Traverse City, giving up three hits and a walk in one-third of an inning. However, the previous outing for Malone was the best of his young pro career. He pitched two innings June 19 at Lake Erie, did not give up a hit or walk, and struck out four of the seven batters he faced.

That, in a nutshell, has been Malone's season. The rookie out of Louisiana-Monroe has been good one outing and not so good the next, though the right-hander has much potential.

Sergey, a native of Plantation, Fla., and product of Campbell University, was 0-1 with a 4.32 ERA in 16 relief appearances for Southern Illinois last year before being released in late June. He was signed by Gateway a few days later and pitched in 10 games as a starter, going 2-04 with a 5.19 ERA. For the season, he struck out 71 batters in 67 innings.

Sergey was released by Gateway a few days before the season opener this spring.

Ledbetter in FL's first Hall of Fame class

Aaron Ledbetter

The Frontier League announced Thursday the formation of the Frontier League Hall of Fame. The inaugural class will be honored at the All-Star Luncheon July 15 at the Casino Queen in East St. Louis.

The inaugural Hall of Fame class consists of former players Morgan Burkhart, Aaron Ledbetter, Scott Pinoni, Fran Riordan and Kirk Taylor, special contributor Dr. W. Chris Hanners and the special moment of Brett Gray’s 25-strikeout game for the London Werewolves against Chillicothe June 3, 2000.

Ledbetter is the Frontier League's all-time leader in wins (51-26) and played for the Wild Things in three seasons (2006-08). He is Washington's all-time leader in wins (27-9) and was named FL's Pitcher of the Year in 2007. Ledbetter also holds the league record for innings pitched and career starts.

Burkhardt was a first baseman for the Richmond Roosters (1995-98). The Frontier League’s Most Valuable Player award is named after Burkhart, who was the recipient in 1996, '97, and '98. He holds the Frontier League’s single-season home run record with 36 in an 80-game schedule in 1998.  Burkhart had a .353 career batting average with 86 home runs and 306 RBI. He was the first position player to go from the Frontier League to the major leagues.

Riordan played for the Richmond Roosters (1997-98 and  2001-02) and the Dubois County Dragons (1999-2000). He has held the league records for career games played, at-bats, and RBI. He served as player-manager for Dubois County in 2000 and for Richmond in 2001 and '02, then returned to the Frontier League as manager for Kalamazoo (2004-09) and has led the Florence Freedom since the 2011 .  Riordan has three Frontier League titles as a manager (2001, '02, and '05) and is the career leader in managerial wins.

Pinoni played first base for the Chillicothe Paints (1996, '98-99) and was named Most Valuable Player in 1999. Pinoni ranked second in Frontier League history in career home runs (58) and RBI (237) when he left.

Taylor was an outfielder for Ohio Valley (1998) and Johnstown (1999-2002) and the Frontier League Most Valuable Player in 2001. Taylor finished with a .320 batting average, 64 home runs, 275 RBI, and 87 stolen bases in 327 games.

Hanners founded the Frontier League prior to the 1993 season and owned the Chillicothe Paints from 1993 through 2008.  He has owned the Rockford Aviators since 2011.

From the Pecos to Washington?

The Wild Things have been playing with 23 active players -- one under the Frontier League limit -- during the current series at Lake Erie. That might change sometime this week.

According to a story published on the Pecos League website, the Wild Things have acquired infielder Sam Montgomery from the Roswell Invaders. No word from the Wild Things or the Frontier League about this transaction, but the story was dated June 15 on the Pecos League website.

Montgomery is a first-year pro from Sonoma State and is hitting .446 with 43 RBI through 33 games for the Invaders.

One thing you will notice about the story (link below) is it also mentions that Montgomery will be playing for Joliet.

http://www.pecosleague.com/pecosleague.asp?page=28&article_id=1232

Wild win in Lake Erie

Here's a link to a newspaper story and photos from the Wild Things' 6-5 win Tuesday night at Lake Erie. The interesting part for me is that Washington infielder Garrett Rau is referred to as Garrett Nau several times. You might have to answer a couple of quick questions before the article appears.


http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2014/06/18/crushers-drop-sixth-straight-closer-cant-close-door-wild-things/

Look out!

A baseball diamond can be a dangerous place. The Frontier League has proved as much this season.

While Major League Baseball has recently received much publicity for an alarming number of young pitchers suffering elbow injuries requiring reconstructive surgery, the Frontier League has had a rash of on-field injuries that have been even more serious and frightening.

For example:

• Florence third baseman Jacob Tanis, the Frontier League’s Most Valuable Player last year, is out indefinitely after being struck in the head with a baseball. Tanis was standing outside the Freedom’s dugout during a game last month at Evansville when he was struck in the head by a wayward pitch from a Florence relief pitcher who was warming up in the bullpen. Tanis has been on the disabled list since May 27 and is out indefinitely.

• Washington pitcher Tim Flight suffered two broken bones in his left (throwing) arm when he was hit by a line drive Sunday at Rockford.

• In a game Friday night against the Wild Things at Consol Energy Park, Joliet center fielder Chadwin Stang broke his left fibula while making a late and hard slide into second base on a double.

• Schaumburg pitcher Charle Rosario was struck in the head by a line drive that went into the Boomers’ dugout and suffered a concussion. He is currently on the disabled list.

• Perhaps the scariest incident happened Sunday at All Pro Freight Stadium in Avon, Ohio. During a game between Joliet and Lake Erie, base umpire Chuck Adya was struck in the head by a line drive off the bat of the Slammers’ Adam Giacalone.

“He hit that ball as hard as you can possibly hit one,” Joliet manager Jeff Isom said.

Adya, who was positioned behind the pitcher and just to shortstop side of second base, barely had time to react or protect himself. The umpire did duck his head just before the wicked liner struck him in the top of the head.

“You could hear the ball hit his head,” Isom said. “It was a sickening sound. That was the worst thing I’ve ever seen.”

Adya fell to his knees as the baseball ricocheted toward the bullpen down the right-field line. After receiving medical attention on the field for nearly 15 minutes, Adya was able to stand and was then taken to the Cleveland Clinic.

The ball hit the small metal button on the top of Adya’s cap, which caused a gash that required eight staples to close. Remarkably, Adya suffered no other significant injuries.

Adya is a Youngstown, Ohio, resident and umpires Frontier League games played in Washington and Lake Erie. He also is the umpire assignor for the Presidents’ Athletic Conference.

In college baseball and minor leagues that are affiliated with Major League Baseball, all base coaches are required to wear protective batting helmets. The Frontier League, which as an independent league is unaffiliated, does not require its coaches to wear batting helmets. Base umpires in all levels of college and professional baseball are not required to wear batting helmets.

“I’ve always said the hardest-hit balls are the ones hit back up the middle, not the ones pulled down the line at the coaching boxes,” said Isom, a former Wild Things manager who wore a batting helmet while coaching for six years in the Milwaukee Brewers’ system.

“I didn’t mind wearing a batting helmet, but if I had to wear one I don’t understand why a base umpire wouldn’t be required to wear one,” Isom said.

Ratajczak released

The Washington Wild Things have released Nick Ratajczak, who began the season as their starting second baseman.

A rookie out of the University of Louisville, Ratajczak struggled at the plate and was batting only .087 (4-for-46) with two runs and two RBI. Ratajczak was hitless in his last 20 at-bats.
Ratajczak was the toughest player to strike out in college baseball last year, striking out only nine times in 240 at-bats.

The Wild Things (18-9), who lead the Frontier League’s East Division by 2½ games over second-place Evansville, begin a three-game series tonight at Lake Erie.

The moves leaves Washington with 23 active players, one under the league limit.

Fast starts

The Wild Things are off to a 16-6 start, which you would think is the best record after 22 games in franchise history.

At least that's what I thought.

The Wild Things have typically been slow starters, even in the best of seasons. A check of the archives, however, shows that this is Washington's second-best 22-game record. Back in 2003 -- the second year for the Wild Things -- Washington had a 17-5 record under manager Jeff Isom. That team, which went on to finish second in the East Division with a 54-34 record (Chillicothe finished first at 54-31, playing three fewer games than Washington), started 17-5 and then lost three in a row and four of five, capped by a 17-inning home loss to Evansville.

Here are Washington's records after 22 games for each of its 13 seasons:

Year   W-L
2014: 16-6
2013: 14-8
2012:   9-13
2011: 10-12
2010:   8-14
2009:   7-15
2008: 10-12
2007: 14-8
2006: 11-11
2005: 13-9
2004: 12-10
2003: 17-5
2002: 11-11

Flight grounded

Tim Flight

Prior to the Wild Things' game Wednesday night against Schaumburg, Washington placed left-handed starting pitcher Tim Flight on the 60-day disabled list.

Flight was struck in the left wrist by a line drive off the bat of Rockford’s Edgar Corcino during the first inning of a game Sunday against the Aviators. Flight suffered two broken bones in his arm but still managed to pick up the baseball and throw out Corcino at first base.

“I don’t know how, with two broken bones in his arm, he was able to throw the ball to first base, but he did it,” Zeller said. “He was in terrible pain in the dugout. It wasn’t a glancing blow.”

Flight had his arm in a sling the rest of the night and did not get X-rays until Monday, after the Wild Things returned to Washington.

In five starts with the Wild Things, Flight had a 2-0 record and 3.42 ERA. He struck out 21 in 23 2/3 innings. Flight, who played college ball at Southern New Hampshire, signed with Washington after one season in the New York Yankees’ system.

“Flight was starting to throw well,” Zeller said. “He was building confidence and commanding the strike zone. It’s a tough break for a guy who had his sights sets on getting back to affiliated ball.”

Washington filled Flight’s spot on the roster by signing first baseman Connor Lewis, a rookie out of Lander University, an NCAA Division II school in South Carolina. That’s the same school that produced former Wild Things shortstop A.J. Nunziato.

Lewis (6-3, 245) played two years at Lander and helped the Bearcats to the Division II World Series and a 52-9 record this year. He led Division II with 77 RBI while batting .353 with 16 doubles and 20 home runs.

The Wild Things will replace Flight in the starting rotation by activating Zach LeBarron from the disabled list Saturday. LeBarron had shoulder surgery last year and has been on the DL all season, though he has been with the team since the start of spring training.

LeBarron had a 3-2 record and 3.91 ERA last year with Washington after being released from the Los Angeles Angels’ system.

Pecos League TV show: thoughts, observations

A reader of this blog asked a week or so ago what I thought about the Fox Sports 1 reality series about the 2013 Trinidad Triggers of the independent Pecos League. The show airs on Tuesday nights on FS1. At 9 p.m., the previous week's episode is re-aired followed by the new episode at 9:30.

If you haven't seen this show, then I suggest you watch tonight. You won't be disappointed. If you can't miss Gregory Polanco's debut with the Pirates tonight, then set your DVR or VCR (do people still use these?) to record "The Pecos League."

The Pecos League is supposed to be one step below the Frontier League on the independent baseball ladder. When you watch the show, you'll think it's much closer to the Fayette County Baseball League or the Washington-Greene Adult League than the Frontier.

For example, teams in the Frontier League travel via motor coach. Teams in the Pecos League, well, at least the Triggers, travel in an old school bus with no air conditioning. They do this while taking trips through rural Colorado, New Mexico and West Texas during June and July. I imagine it's difficult to sleep on an old school bus in those sweltering conditions.

Here are some of my observations and notes that I took while watching the series:

* Apparently, only players with multiple large tattoos can play in the Pecos League.

* Many, maybe even the majority, of the fields in the WPIAL are better than the ones shown so far in the series. Trinidad and Santa Fe are terrible. It seems that somebody attempts to make the field at Roswell look good and playable.

* The Trinidad players double as the ground crew.

* The Trinidad manager has a Harvard Law School degree and has written three plays (maybe it was musicals; I can't remember which) but yet he wants to manage in the Pecos League. There's a true baseball guy. Quitting law for the Pecos League might be the worst career choice since Mick Taylor quit the Rolling Stones in 1974.

* There is a local public access TV show about the Triggers. It's recorded in the basement of a Trinidad funeral home. That's also where they keep the bodies.

* I've yet to see a ballpark in the show with "real" dugouts.

* My favorite moment of the show: When the Triggers' PA announcer says he's going to Santa Fe for the all-star game because "I'll finally be off probation and that's the first week I'll be allowed to leave the state." Again, a guy who loves baseball.

* The visiting hotel (if that's what you want to call it) in Roswell, N.M., was either an old rest home or an office building. There is one long hallway with rooms off to each side, but there were no doors on the rooms.

* Some of the players in the Pecos are paid $50 per week. The minimum in the Frontier is $600 per month plus per diem when on the road.

* Pecos Leaguers play 70 games in 72 days. Brutal.

* There are about 20 things in every episode that make you appreciate the Frontier League.

Anybody who has spent one season in the Pecos League has my respect. To play in that league, you really have to love baseball. You're not playing the game because you're in nice ballparks or you're getting a decent paycheck or the travel is easy or the league has a history of sending players to Single-A, Double-A or even the major leagues. No Pecos League player has ever made it to the majors, so these guys are playing simply because they love baseball and want to play at a higher level than their local rec league.

The reason I mention this today is Tony Smith, a pitcher for last year's Triggers (and the 2012 Triggers, too) who is featured prominently in the first few episodes, plays for the Schaumburg Boomers, who will be at Consol Energy Park for a two-day, three-game series starting Wednesday evening. If I see Smith at the ballpark, then I'll tell him that his passion for the game and his ability to stick with his career choice even when the sport seemed to be giving up on him is something I admire.

It's unlikely that Smith will be pitching against the Wild Things because he started for Schaumburg in the Boomers' win Sunday over Southern Illinois. He pitched six innings and improved his record to 2-1.

One of Smith's teammates' on the Triggers was former California University standout Sam DiMatteo. I bet Smith never through that a year later he'd be playing on the same field where DiMatteo played his home games in college.

If you want to watch the first few episodes of "The Pecos League" and you have Comcast cable, the shows are available for free using the On Demand feature.

Temper, temper

There was an interesting incident in the opening game of the Wild Things' doubleheader Sunday night against the Rockford Aviators and it was caught on video by a Rockford television station.




The Wild Things led 9-3 when Rockford manager James Frisbie started arguing across the infield with somebody in Washington's dugout. According to the TV station, it did not seem to be a specific play that sparked the yelling. Frisbie then walked to home plate and started arguing with the umpire before going to the Wild Things' dugout to yell at the coaches or players or both. Washington pitching coach Kevin Gryboski confronted Frisbie and then both teams got involved with a little pushing and shoving. Eventually, the teams separated and Frisbie was ejected. None of the players were ejected.


Click on the link below to watch the footage.



http://eplayer.clipsyndicate.com/embed/iframe?aspect_ratio=3x2&auto_start=0&pf_id=
12142&rel=3&show_title=0&va_id=5159421
&volume=8&windows=1

High water mark

My wife and kids think I'm a pack rat. Or maybe a hoarder.

I prefer to think I'm part squirrel. I like to stockpile things.

You never know when they'll come in handy.

I learned a long time ago that, if I throw away something that has anything remotely to do with sports, then a week or so after pitching it in the trash I'll find a need for that discarded item.

It never fails.

I could have a program, a scorebook or some other item go untouched and collecting dust in my basement for 15 years, and shortly after throwing it in the trash I'll be writing a story and saying "I wish I hadn't thrown that away. It would come in handy right now."

I guess that's one of those unwritten rules of sports.

Some things I'm glad I still have stashed away are three-ring binders with boxscores from every Wild Things game and various statistics from each season. There is one binder for every season from 2002 to this year. Those binders come in handy on days like today, when I received a text from WJPA Radio's Randy Gore.

Radio Randy wanted to know when was the last time the Wild Things, who take a 14-5 record into tonight's game at Rockford, were either 9 or 10 games above .500. Thank goodness for those three-ring binders because that's something you can't determine with a Google search.

The answer is: Washington was 55-40 after the final game of the 2007 regular season.

Since then, the closest the Wild Things have come to 9 games above .500 was last year, when three times they were 6 games above .500, the last time at 15-9 following a June 14 game against Normal. Washington was 5 games above .500 in 2008 under manager Greg Jelks. In the other seasons since 2007, the Wild Things never came close to 9 over.

By the way, keeping a three-ring binder of stat sheets for a team is something I learned from former O-R sports staffer Bob Grove. He used to keep 'em for the Penguins, and I have a feeling he still does so that he can pull out some obscure facts during Penguins radio broadcasts.

Statistics can lie

Devin Malone

As I begin writing this, the Wild Things are about 90 minutes from the scheduled start of a three-game series at Traverse City. Before looking ahead, let's reflect on last weekend series against the Windy City ThunderBolts.

Washington won two of the three games, and the key to the series win was a come-from-behind win Friday night. In that game, Scott Dunn had a quality start, C.J. Beatty delivered a game-tying home run in the 8th inning, Al Yevoli was credited with a win and Stewart Ijames had a game-winning hit in extra innings.

However, the player who might have done the most, considering his experience and the circumstances, to give Washington the win in that game was relief pitcher Devin Malone, who got nothing more than one impressive line in the boxscore. Malone threw 2 1/3 perfect innings of relief during a tie game. And it was only the third outing as a professional by Malone, who was drafted in the second round by the Wild Things at the Frontier League tryout in April.

It was a tight situation for a rookie to be put in, but Malone delivered. He fell behind the first batter he faced 3-0, but battled back to strike out Ryan Soares, the T-Bolts' No. 3 hitter. Malone retired all seven batters he faced, including two on strikes. He showed poise, control and a 90 mph fastball.

Those were things you would not have expected if you looked at Malone's statistics the last two years at Louisiana-Monroe. Malone had a 5.94 ERA and issued 16 walks in 16 2/3 innings as a senior for the Warhawks. His record was 0-1 with two saves. As a junior, Malone pitched in only five games for all of six innings.

Those are not the kind of statistics that get a pitcher noticed by a professional team at any level.

"He's a walking example of a guy, who if you pay more attention to what is on paper than what your eyes see, then you're going to miss him," Washington manager Bart Zeller said. "I don't know what happened in college, but he looked very good at the Frontier League tryout. (Pitching coach) Kevin (Gryboski) and I really liked his composure, the movement on his pitches and his command of the strike zone."

Putting a guy with all of two outings of pro experience into a 3-3 game in the 9th inning was a bold and risky move.

"When Devin fell behind the first batter 3-0, I was saying to myself 'What did we do?' But he battled back and pounded the strike zone like a veteran," Zeller said. "That first at-bat changed the whole complexion of the game. When he got a 1-2-3 inning, you could see everybody's outlook picked up."

Malone's senior season at Louisiana-Monroe started well. He was named the Warhawks' closer and earned two saves, but as soon as he ran into his first tight spot, he says, the coaching staff started to lose faith in him. And Malone lost some confidence in himself.

"It seemed liked every time I was put in the game, we had somebody warming up in the bullpen," Malone said. "It was like I was always looking over my shoulder. I never got comfortable, then I was pitching only once every three weeks. But pitching here, it seems the coaches believe in me."

After a forgettable senior season at Louisiana-Monroe, Malone found that not many baseball people wanted to reply to his emails asking for a tryout or even answer his telephone calls.

"I finally got somebody with the Alpine Cowboys of the Pecos League to answer by calls," Malone said. "I signed with them in October, but I thought I could do better than that and decided to go to the Frontier League tryout."

The Wild Things were tipped off about Malone, who did not play baseball until he was 14, by first baseman William Beckwith. Malone and Beckwith were high schools teammates for three years at West Lowndes High School in Crawford, Miss. Malone was better known for his exploits on the football field and basketball court than in baseball. As a senior wide receiver, Malone caught 54 passes, including 11 touchdowns. He also was all-state in basketball, averaging 14 points and eight rebounds per game.

The lost story

Danny Poma
(Photo by Mark Marietta)

Every so often, you hear about a television show that has a "lost episode." These are episodes that did not air because either the network didn't like the subject matter or the show never aired because of a variety of other reasons, such as it was preempted by breaking news. Sometimes an entire year or more of a show is considered "lost" because the network refuses to rebroadcast it, such as the "Price is Right" years in the 1970s when Dennis James was the host.

Well, here at the Observer-Reporter, because of earlier deadlines this year than in the past, there is the potential for what I call "lost stories," particularly sports stories.

Let me explain: The O-R's deadline for its Sunday edition is 10:30 p.m. That means all pages must be paginated, checked and sent to press by this time. With the Wild Things playing at 7:05 p.m., that means any game that runs three hours or gets delayed by rain is in jeopardy of not making the Sunday edition. So what is a sportswriter to do about this? The solution is to write a feature story prior to the game that can be placed in the Sports section and appear in the print edition if the game runs long. If the game is played at a normal pace, then the feature story is removed and replaced by the game story.

The last two Saturday nights, I had a feature on Wild Things outfielder Danny Poma written and used as a placeholder for Wild Things game stories. Both times, the game was completed in time to be included in print and the Poma feature was pulled. The story finally appeared online Sunday, but it has not yet appeared in print. If you haven't seen it, then here it is:


By Chris Dugan
Sports editor
dugan@observer-reporter.com
The first thing you notice about Wild Things center fielder Danny Poma is the guy is fast.
He has the speed and instincts necessary to run down a fly ball hit into the spacious gaps at Consol Energy Park. He also can utilize his speed on the basepaths to beat an opponent. In the last year, Poma has played in only 57 games on the pro level, yet he has stolen 27 bases and been thrown out attempting to steal only two times. Poma once stole 38 bases – an off-the-charts total – in a college summer league.
So it’s ironic that Poma’s career with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization ended last June because it was progressing slowly. As Poma said, he didn’t exactly “hit the ground running” with Arizona.
As a result, the former first team college All-American and 10th-round draft pick of the Diamondbacks is spending this summer roaming the outfield in Washington and the Frontier League.
Poma (6-1, 200) has been an impact player, filling holes in the lineup at center field and the top of the batting order. Puma has replaced last year’s center fielder, Quincy Latimore, who is hitting .303 for the Washington National’s Class AA affiliate in Harrisburg.
“Poma came highly recommended by a Diamondbacks scout,” Washington manager Bart Zeller said. “He said, ‘If you need a center fielder, then go get Danny Poma.’”
That’s exactly what the Wild Things did, though they had to make a trade to get the Monterey, Calif., native. After Poma was released by Arizona, a family friend who knew Pete Incaviglia, the former major leaguer and manager of the independent American Association’s Laredo Lemurs, made a phone call and put in a good word for the young outfielder. It led to a contract offer.
Poma played the second half of last season with Laredo, batted .319 and was successful on 19 of 20 stolen-base attempts. The Wild Things, however, were able to lure Poma away from the Lemurs by trading the rights to pitchers Amalio Diaz and Matt Phillips.
That Poma is even playing professional baseball is proof that sometimes a player needs more than speed and a good swing.
A good email system helps, too.
Poma spent three injury-filled seasons at Cuesta Junior College in California. He redshirted the first year after suffering a separated shoulder and torn labrum when he fell during a rundown drill. He had a good redshirt freshman year, but suffered a broken hamate bone when he was hit by a pitch during his final in JC ball.
Because of all the injuries, Poma was overlooked by Division I coaches. Without a scholarship, Poma sent a mass email to 80 major college coaches, hoping that one would have a scholarship left for a speedy outfielder.
“I had nothing left to lose at that point,” Poma said.
Hofstra, located in Hempstead, N.Y., had a scholarship available, and a coach for the Flying Dutchmen flew to San Diego to watch Poma play in a summer league. He had Poma sign a letter of intent on the spot.
All Poma did at Hofstra was become an All-American as a senior in 2012, when he was a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, which is given to the nation’s best college baseball player.
Poma was drafted in the 10th round by Arizona in 2012, but 12 months later he was released. He played in four for the Diamondbacks’ rookie league affiliate in Missoula, Mont., last summer and did well, going 5-for-14. But at age 24, Poma was deemed too old for rookie ball.
“Being a fifth-year senior out of college, I was older than most guys in rookie ball, so I didn’t get much time to develop,” Poma said. “I had to hit the ground running. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I struggled at the plate. I worked hard, but in pro ball it’s all about your age.”
During his first two weeks with the Wild Things, Poma made an immediate impact. He took a .333 batting average into Saturday night’s game against the Windy City ThunderBolts and has been a key factor in Washington’s streak of nine wins in 10 games. He had three doubles in a game against the Greys last week and three stolen bases the next night. He also contributed a game-winning, last-inning hit Wednesday at Joliet. His seven stolen bases are second in the league.
“He can play the game,” said Washington third baseman Carter Bell, who also played in the Diamondbacks’ system. “He can run, he can throw, he can hit. He’s also a great clubhouse guy. It was pretty exciting to find out that Danny was already here when I signed with the Wild Things.”

Roster move

Brandmaier

Prior to their game Sunday evening against Windy City, the Wild Things signed corner infielder JC Brandmaier and released backup catcher Michael Allen.

Brandmaier comes to Washington as a rookie out of Dowling College, an NCAA Division II school located on Long Island. Brandmaier (6-2, 225) had a productive career at Dowling and completed his senior season last month. He batted .323 with 19 doubles, four triples, four home runs and 44 RBI in 51 games.

Though he had only 75 at-bats as a junior at Dowling, Brandmaier popped onto the scouts' radar last year when he was the Most Valuable Player in the Hamptons Collegiate Summer League. He led the league in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He also was rated the top power hitter in the league.

Brandmaier is eligible to be drafted when the Major League First-Year Player Draft begins Thursday.

Allen was in his second year in the Frontier League. He was the catcher for the Greys, the league's travel team, last season. He was considered a long shot to make the Wild Things' opening day roster but impressed during spring training. Allen, however, had played in only three of Washington's first 14 games, going 1-for-4 at the plate.