Monthly Archives: May 2009

You Ask, I Answer

May 26, 200911:49 a.m.

Finally starting to get some comments. That’s good. Makes me feel validated. Most of them feature questions about the team, so I’m going to do my best to answer them.

(Shortstop Brenan) Herrera is leading the Team with 4 errors. What is going wrong? Are they just situational or is his head not in it?
Part of the issue with Herrera is concentration. On a play last week, he fielded a routine ground ball but didn’t make the throw in time to get the runner at first. That wasn’t an error, though. Herrera is a good defender — decent range and a decent arm. A shortstop, typically, is going to make a lot of errors, and it would be helpful to have statistics like range factor and zone rating to completely evaluate his performance. But part of making errors is having enough range to get to a ball in the hole but misplaying a ball that others couldn’t even get to. I think Herrera will be fine.

Now that Dustan Mohr seems to have his health concerns under control, what do you think the odds are he gets a call from another major league team again this year?
The odds are not horrible, but it would probably have to be a situation like what happened last season, when the Rockies had a glut of injuries at the major league level and needed minor-league depth in the outfield. At 32 (33 in June), Mohr has probably peaked. But if he keeps playing well in Wichita and gets picked up by an organization to play in Triple-A, he’d be just a phone call away from the majors and anything can happen.

If the ‘Nuts decided to make a roster move who do you think would be the first player to go?
The Wingnuts certainly aren’t thinking about jettisoning anyone now that they’re off to an 8-2 start, and manager Kevin Hooper won’t have a quick trigger finger. That said, if Wichita was looking for an improvement, I would imagine it would be in the pitching staff. Not because any Wichita pitcher is performing poorly, but because there are a ton of pitchers out there and maybe one will be viewed as an upgrade. Such a move won’t come anytime soon, though. The Wingnuts’ pitchers, especially the relievers, are a major reason for the hot start.

Wouldn’t it be awesome if the Wingnuts were in a tight pennant race and Hooper decided to throw the cleats back on and do a little bit of player- managing?
Yes, it would be awesome. But don’t look for that to happen, either. The only way Hooper will activate himself is if an injury, and probably multiple injuries, creates the need for an infielder. It would be good for no one, especially Herrera at shortstop, to have to look over his shoulder and wonder if the manager is going to eventually take his spot. But if the Wingnuts find a dire situation, Hooper might play.

How long do you think it will take for the Wingnuts to sell out on a regular basis?
I don’t think the goal, at this point, is to sell out every game. Of course, that would be nice but at this point it just isn’t realistic. I do believe, however, that attendance will steadily increase in the coming years and that the Wingnuts will be an economically healthy franchise. It could take a lot of time, but Wichita is in many respects a baseball city and I think the Wingnuts will continue to catch on.

Keep the questions coming. I’ll talk to you all soon.

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Walking Back On

May 21, 20096:13 p.m.

Tonight is the final game of Wichita’s season-opening seven game homestand, and regardless of the outcome of tonight’s game against Sioux Falls, the homestand can only be defined as a success. The Wingnuts can’t hit the road with a record worse than 5-2, and a 6-1 start would be outstanding for a team with a new manager and a cast of new players.

Joe Muich ended last night’s game in the 13th inning with a walkoff homer, the second game-ending homer for the Wingnuts last season. Last year, they didn’t have a single such home run. Wichita is already 3-0 in one-run games, too…but I won’t spoil my lead note for the Sunday notes column. So pretend I didn’t just tell you that.

We had the first comment of the season last night. And I need more comments. I thrive on them. Let’s make this a little more interactive, can we? A commentor asked what happened to Byron Embry, last season’s closer. Well, I can tell you that Embry has decided to hang it up after 12 professional seasons. He peaked in Triple-A, making it to that level with the Royals and Mariners, but never reached the majors. Embry compiled a 28-34 record with 77 saves and a 3.41 ERA.

So Embry is done with baseball, and reporters everywhere are weeping. Or celebrating, depending on your viewpoint. It’s a little of both for me. I loved talking to Embry because he would always come up with a juicy quote — including one about hitting his own mother if she disrespected him or one of his teammates. But my relationship with Embry was a little volatile because he didn’t like when I printed the quotes he made when he was a little fired up. But generally, we got along and it’s disappointing to see him give up baseball.

There was an interesting incident in yesterday’s game between Fort Worth and Sioux City. Here is the account from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

Things turned a bit interesting in Crow’s final inning when he hit Carlos Arroyo with a pitch. Arroyo didn’t take the plunking sportingly and threw a bat toward Crow. Cats catcher Kelley Gulledge immediately stepped in front of Arroyo as both teams wound up on the field. No punches were thrown.

So Fort Worth’s Aaron Crow, a first-round MLB draft pick last year who didn’t sign with the Washington Nationals, had a bat thrown at him. That much we know. But we have no comments from Crow or Arroyo or either manager. That seems odd to me. But I guess that could mean it wasn’t a big deal. From what I hear, the bat didn’t come remotely close to hitting Crow. But still, I wish I knew more about this.

That’s all for today. Sioux Falls’ J.D. Reininger had a pulled tooth yesterday but is back in the lineup today for the Canaries. Speaking of lineups, here they are:

SIOUX FALLS (2-4): 2B Joe Anthonsen, 3B Trevor Lawhorn, CF Beau Torbert, DH Cory Harris, LF J.D. Reininger, 1B Patrick Reilly, RF Ben Van Iderstine, C Paul Smyth, SS Tim Hutting. LHP Jino Gonzalez.

WICHITA (5-1): CF Nick Blasi, SS Brenan Herrera, LF Greg Porter, RF Dustan Mohr, DH Kelly Hunt, 3B Mike Thompson, C Joe Muich, 1B Steve Pearson, 2B Josh Horn. RHP Will Savage.

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (2)

Schuster Speaks (Or Types)

May 20, 20091:54 p.m.

I sent some questions to Wingnuts radio announcer Steve Schuster, whose claim to fame is being thrown out at the plate as the potential winning run for my slow-pitch softball team last season. Despite his embarrassment from that moment, he has bounced back and was kind enough to respond.

Can you think of one negative attached to bringing Kevin Hooper aboard as manager?
None whatsoever.  Kevin’s reputation as a player and as a person have, and will continue to take his career far.  The bus driver for a minor league sports team can often be a thankless job, but I distinctly remember our bus driver telling me last year that he appreciates how Hooper treats everyone with respect, no matter who it is.  That’s when it really struck me as to what kind of person Kevin is.  Managing a baseball team is a lot like managing a company.  Yeah, you’ve got to have baseball credentials and baseball know how to be a manager, just like a CEO needs to have proper training in finance, economics, etc.  What makes a great leader though is their ability to manage the actual people, and that’s where Hooper’s skills have the biggest impact.

Which newcomer do you expect to have the biggest impact on the team?
This might be a surprising answer, but I believe that player will be Tyler Rhoden.  I think you know what you’re getting with the new position players in Porter, Hunt, etc.  But with Amad Stephens moving into the closer’s role, there was a big hole to fill in the 8th inning.  The setup man is less heralded than the closer, but in today’s game of specialized relievers, it is just as important of a position.  Rhoden has looked flat out dominant in his first three outings and if he keeps it up, it’s going to change how opposing managers make decisions early in the game.

Will Dustan Mohr put up big numbers and prove last year’s health problems are behind him? 
His early start is a good indication of what the rest of the season might hold.  He is healthy and in good spirits, and I think he will have a very nice year.

Will Amad Stephens succeed as closer? 
Definitely.  He was the setup man last year, but he has been a closer for most of his professional career, including a Reliever of the Year award in 2006.  He’s going to help shorten games this season.

Which is the team to beat in the powerful AA North Division?
You always have to respect the defending champions, so until someone knocks them off, Sioux Falls is the team to beat.  With that being said, every team in the North looks very strong and I could see a record of 28-20 or 27-21 getting the job done in the first half.  The Wingnuts should be right there with the other four teams.  I think there is a good chance the race comes down to the final week, with all five teams potentially still in contention.

Can Brenan Herrera duplicate, or even surpass, last season’s offensive outbreak? 
He’s the smoothest player on the team, offensively and defensively, so yes.  There were only three times last year in which he went consecutive games without getting a hit, so that gives you a good indication of how consistent he was.  He was also moved around in the batting order a lot, hitting second, third, and fifth intermittently, and still put up the numbers that he did.  Now that he is pretty much going to be the number two hitter everyday, I think his play will improve even more.

Who will lead the team in home runs? 
I think Kelly Hunt is a good bet.  He led the Frontier League with 26 last year, but what was most impressive was that he missed over 20% of the season.  I was comparing his numbers to Lincoln first baseman Phil Hawke during the last series, and I’m pretty shocked that Hawke won the MVP award over Hunt.  Hunt had a higher average, more home runs, and more RBIs while playing in 21 fewer games.

Who will lead the team in wins? 
I like Derek Blacksher’s power stuff, so I’ll go with him.  Realistically though, if the offense continues to perform the way that it has, all five starters have the chance to hit double digits in wins.

Can Nick Blasi be the catalyst at the top of the order that the Wingnuts believed they were getting when they signed him? 
I think so.  He hit .316 in AAA one year.  He’s gotten off to a slow start in terms of batting average, but he is seeing 3.6 pitches per plate appearance, best on the team, and has drawn three walks in five games.  The quality at bats are there, so it’s only a matter of time before the hits start to come.

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (3)

Let’s Play One

May 17, 20093:08 p.m.

We’ve got just a single nine-inning game today, but I must admit that I kind of like the two seven-inning games thing. The games go fast and you get to see 14 innings of baseball without it dragging on at all. Though I must say, the American Association is behind the times a little bit in making doubleheader games seven innings. This is professional baseball, isn’t it? Let’s play nine. They’re men. They can handle it.

There were a lot of interesting things going on yesterday. Most notably, a series of Christian bands were performing across the parking lot behind the left field wall, making for quite an interesting ballpark atmosphere. I won’t speak to the skill level of the bands other than to say I probably would have more enjoyed an endless loop of last year’s Stephen Pearson walkup song, “Superstar” by Lupe Fiasco.

Then after the bands, there was some other group with a religious message. I’m not sure exactly what that message was, but there was a lot of yelling and a lot of counting down from 5 to 1. And I thought they announced that former NFL player Shaun King was in attendance, but I don’t think it was him. I think it was somebody else and I misunderstood.

Finally, the fireworks produced a brief episode of mass hysteria. There were no fireworks going into the sky, just flashes behind a few buildings, causing many in the press box to believe that something had gone seriously wrong. Apparently that wasn’t the case, however. The fireworks eventually began going in the right direction and the 25-minute show was marginally entertaining.

All of that paled in comparison to Wichita’s two wins over Lincoln, the Wingnuts’ first wins of the season and the first in Kevin Hoopers managerial career. Dustan Mohr, who lost a lot of weight in the offseason and looks to be in phenomenal shape, blasted two home runs during the doubleheader, including the first walkoff homer in team history to end the second game.

It’s probably not too early to assume that Mohr, after struggling because of health problems last season, is back. But it probably is too early to assume that we won’t be seeing much production from the other middle-of-the-order hitters.

Kelly Hunt has already struck out four times and has only a single to show for his first nine at-bats. Greg Porter had two singles in the first game but was 0 for 7 yesterday. Michael Thompson had two hits yesterday but doesn’t look entirely comfortable at the plate. Former Shockers Nick Blasi and Joe Muich, who didn’t start Game 2 yesterday, are also looking for their first hits.

Still, it’s only three games so we have to imagine that these guys will get it going eventually. Their track records look too solid for them not to. Maybe it will happen today. We’ll see.

Come on out to the ballpark. Just baseball today, no background music.

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Today We Play Baseball

May 14, 20095:51 p.m.

Wingnuts fans, it’s finally here. Opening Day. Finally. Teams in the major leagues have already played long enough to be pretty much eliminated from any playoff hopes, but the American Association is only now just beginning. The Wingnuts open in about an hour against the Lincoln Saltdogs.

I don’t have a lot of observations today. Except that I saw a guy riding his bicycle on McLean Blvd. while wearing a Burger King crown and laughing at passing motorists. I like that, as long as he wasn’t laughing in me. No way. Probably just in my general direction.

Also, I really like watching Kelly Hunt take batting practice because he hits some bombs. I especially like watching the homers he hits to opposite field. This guy is going to hit a lot of homers this year — he had 26 last year in 295 at-bats in the Frontier League.

But he, and probably a lot of the other Wingnuts hitters, are going to strike out a lot, too. And strikeouts are fine, especially from power hitters, when they’re supplemented with homers and walks. But being selective enough to work a deep count when you’re anxious to swing hard and hit the ball a long way is an art few hitters have mastered. Especially power hitters. The ones who have are in the majors right now.

But Wichita’s lineup will make for some exciting, possibly high-scoring games this season. There’s not an easy out in the lineup, unlike last year when the bottom third took the Wingnuts out of several potential big innings. If there’s a night when every guy, or at least most of them, are “on” — it could get ugly for the opposition.

But a potent offense means nothing without good starting pitching, and that’s where the question marks are for Wichita going into the season. Not bad question marks — we just haven’t seen any of Gabe Medina, Will Savage or Derek Blacksher to know how they’ll perform. All indications, though, are that they’ll be strong. And we know we can expect consistency out of the other starting pitchers, returning left-handers Brad Davis and Richard Salazar.

Tonight, though, I’m calling for a pitchers’ duel. It’s Medina vs. Lincoln’s Jarrett Gardner, one of the AA’s top pitchers last season. I’ll say 3-1 and the hometown fans go home happy. Michael Thompson hits a decisive two-run homer in the sixth for the ‘Nuts.

Here are the lineups:

Lincoln (0-0): SS Albenis Machado; CF Josh Burrus; 1B Phil Hawke; 3B Juan Richardson; C Shawn McGill; DH Steve Alexander; RF Matt Maloney; 2B Shea McFeely; LF Deacon Burns. RHP Jarrett Gardner (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Wichita (0-0): CF Nick Blasi; SS Brenan Herrera; LF Greg Porter; RF Dustan Mohr; DH Kelly Hunt; 3B Michael Thompson; C Joe Muich; 1B Stephen Pearson; 2B Josh Horn. RHP Gabe Medina (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Roster Finalized

May 11, 200911:36 a.m.

Before I go into the Wingnuts, I’ve got a couple things to talk about.

First, I want to wish a belated Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers in my life. There’s my mom, who is the matriarch of the family. Actually, she isn’t. I just wanted to use the word ‘matriarch’. It sounds important. I really don’t think my family has a matriarch. But she is the mother to perhaps the two best people in the world, my sister and me.

Then there’s my sister, Sarah. This was her first Mother’s Day as a mother, as she had twin boys on Dec. 2 of last year — Connor and Evan, probably the two cutest babies in the world. And future readers of this blog, I’m sure. She’ll actually be in Wichita later this week, along with my brother-in-law and ‘Tha Boyz’. So they’ll get to see their semi-roots for the first time, which is good. The twins share a birthday with Britney Spears, which is not so good.

Also, I wanted to plug another Wichita Eagle blog. One I click on religiously every Monday — Grammar Monkeys. I love that blog, which is actually an audio blog. I wish each edition lasted longer and that it was produced more than once a week. I don’t really know Jill Erickson, who does the audio, but her voice is very soothing. If it were about half an hour long, I’d fall asleep to it. And that’s a high compliment.

OK, now that those things are taken care of, it’s on to baseball. The Wingnuts’ roster is down to the league-mandated 22 after they cut seven from their 28-man spring training roster and added Pat Brooks. He’s not to be confused with Phil Brooks, who is better known as CM Punk of WWE fame. Also my Facebook friend.

None of the cuts were too surprising, though I thought former Italian League player Louie Curcio — say it with an Italian accent, it’s fun. Looooiee Cuurchhhhioo — if you needed help with pronunciation. Anyway, I thought he might make the team because he plays just about every position and, with a two-man bench, that’s pretty valuable. Plus, there’s a guy who knows Curcio and sends me e-mails about things going on with the team. He’s basically my Deep Throat. I hope these e-mails don’t end with Curcio off the squad.

Instead, Wichita opted to sign Brooks, who played in the Frontier League last season, appearing in eight games. Brooks has only 44 professional games under his belt, but Wingnuts brass must have seen something in him that they like — at least enough to make him their utility guy.

I’m in a nice mood today, so I won’t name all the guys who were cut. Instead, I’ll give you the 22 guys who did make the roster:

Catchers (2) — Joe Muich, Zach Goldberg

Infielders (6) — Kelly Hunt, Josh Horn, Brenan Herrera, Michael Thompson, Stephen Pearson, Pat Brooks

Outfielders (3) — Greg Porter, Nick Blasi, Dustan Mohr

Pitchers (11) – Derek Blacksher, Richard Salazar, Will Savage, Brad Davis, Gabe Medina, Doug Hurn, Ronnie Morales, Nathan Parker, Justin Young, Tyler Rhoden, Amad Stephens.

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Exhibition Thoughts

May 7, 200911:51 a.m.

I know batting practice means virtually nothing, but after watching a BP group featuring Greg Porter, Kelly Hunt and Dustan Mohr hit tape-measure bombs, I was led to believe we might see an impressive offensive showing from the Wingnuts in their exhibition opener against Newman U on Wednesday night.

We didn’t.

Now I know that hitters are slow to get their timing going early in the season and that Newman’s pitchers have had basically a whole season to find their own rhythm, but would it have been too much to ask for Wichita to at least collect an extra-base hit against a Division II pitching staff?

Actually, I don’t think a box score was produced last night, so there might have been a double somewhere, from somebody. I just don’t remember one.

A couple things contributed to a less-than-stellar offensive performance for the Wingnuts. First, there was the fact that most of these guys haven’t had an at-bat against live pitching for a few months. They get a 100 percent pass for that. I’m not expecting guys who haven’t hit for a while to light up the field with doubles and bombs.

Second, Newman’s pitchers weren’t exactly electrifying. Some of them had decent arms, but for the most part they were guys whose fastballs didn’t ramp up to the MPH levels professional hitters are used to. I don’t give the Wingnuts as much of a pass for this, because they didn’t adjust too well.

There were some poor approaches last night. Lots of weak infield pop-ups on off-speed pitches the other way and just not a lot of hard-hit balls, period.

I still believe the Wingnuts’ offense will be just fine, though. Better than fine, actually. Brenan Herrera executed a perfect hit-and-run in the first inning and had a single down the line later in the game. Stephen Pearson has shed some weight (though he didn’t really need to) and hit the ball well last night. Josh Horn had a couple sacrifice flies and had a good approach with a runner on third base.

And that trio of Hunt, Porter and Mohr will still be plenty scary. Mohr looks to be in phenomenal shape after some health problems last year, and Porter and Hunt will hit some long, looooong home runs this season. The Wingnuts get a grade of Incomplete for their first game, though. It’s just too early to tell.

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Re-Predicting the final roster

May 6, 200912:40 p.m.

Shortly after the Wingnuts signed former Wichita State players Nick Blasi and Joe Muich to bring their spring training roster to 28, I made my best educated guess as to which 22 would make up the opening day roster.

After a few days of camp and some more time to think, as well as talk to manager Kevin Hooper, general manager Josh Robertson and radio broadcaster Steve Schuster (who spelled my name wrong in the team’s media guide), I would like a do-over. So here we go:

There are several locks, namely the nine players who will make up the opening day starting lineup. Those players are:

C – Joe Muich
1B – Kelly Hunt
2B – Josh Horn
3B – Michael Thompson
SS – Brenan Herrera
LF – Greg Porter
CF – Nick Blasi
RF – Dustan Mohr
DH – Steven Pearson

The pitching staff is not so clearly defined. There are several with a 99.9 percent chance to make the roster, but the only three that we know will absolutely, positively make it are returning left-handers Brad Davis and Richard Salazar and right-hander Amad Stephens. That brings the total to 12, with 10 spots remaining.

A question that goes a long way in determining the roster is whether Hooper will carry 10 or 11 pitchers. An 11-man staff means there can only be two bench players, and one of them has to be a backup catcher. That means the other will have to be quite versatile.

It makes sense to carry 11 pitchers because early in the season starters won’t be expected to pitch too deep into games, making a deep bullpen a necessity.

In that case, my pick for the second bench spot is Louie Curcio, a former Italian League player who is apparently on the radar of the Detroit Tigers and can play pretty much any position. He’ll join backup catcher Zach Goldberg as Wingnuts reserves.

The rest of the starting rotation, joining Davis and Salazar, features three of those 99.9 percent guys — right-handers Gabe Medina, Derek Blacksher and Will Savage, all newcomers. Hooper worked hard to acquire all three, so I don’t imagine they’ll be left off.

Now, the bullpen. We know Stephens will be the ninth-inning guy. My pick for long reliever is Doug Hurn, who had two stints with the Wingnuts last season. The bullpen lefty will be either Nathan Parker or another former Shocker, Ronnie Morales. I’ll go with Parker, who is more of a strikeout guy.

For the final three bullpen spots, I’ll pick Tyler Rhoden, Lance Odom and Jeff Reekers. That would mean returner Justin Young would be left off, but he has a good chance to beat out Hurn for the long reliever spot or even earn a spot in the rotation, though that’s a long shot.

Either way, I reserve the right to change my mind before the season starts on May 14.

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off