Last night, and I have to start with this, I guess — I had two issues on the Wingnuts side. And this isn’t completely fair because I didn’t ask either of the offending parties why they handled the situations the way they did. First, Greg Porter swinging twice on 3-0 counts in the late innings with Wichita desperately needing baserunners. I understand that Porter doesn’t like to walk and he expected to be grooved a pitch in both of those 3-0 counts. But a walk can do damage, too. It can rattle a pitcher, force him to pitch to the next batter differently, create a hit-and-run situation and so on.

So I guess swinging on 3-0 counts isn’t really the issue, though it kind of is. It’s that Porter swung 3-0 and made two outs. One was a fairly long out, but it was still an out. If you swing 3-0, especially in a tie game in which your team has gathered NO offensive traction, you pretty much have to hit the ball out of the ballpark, or at least be standing somewhere in scoring position. Porter has the green light 3-0 and you’d obviously rather have your best hitter swinging than walking. But if the pitcher is willing to throw one in the zone on 3-0, he’ll probably do the same on 3-1 and you’ll get your chance to hit a ball hard then. Just my opinion.

Also, I don’t know if I would have let closer Justin Dowdy back out for a second inning after he retired Lincoln in order in the 10th. That’s just me, though — not telling manager Kevin Hooper how to do his job, because we all know he’s better at it than I could ever dream to be. My thinking, though, was that you brought him in for one inning to hold Lincoln so you could theoretically score and win in the bottom of the 10th.

When that didn’t happen, I think you just have to push the reset button on that game. Start it fresh. The Wingnuts still had a rested long reliever, Brad Davis, in the bullpen. Bring him in — and it’s unlikely he would have had to go more than two or three innings — and you still have everybody else in the bullpen ready to go tomorrow. I doubt Hooper would label Dowdy unavailable today, but how will Dowdy fare a day after throwing 27 pitches, facing seven batters and getting the loss? Take him out after his first inning, and 11 pitches, and you’d probably feel much better about bringing him in for a save tonight.

The other issue was Michael Thompson failing to get from second to third on an attempted sacrifice by Brenan Herrera. I won’t get on Thompson too much for that, because just a half-inning earlier a Lincoln runner was thrown out at third in the same situation and Thompson was probably a little wary about suffering the same fate. And he was probably watching the ball roll toward third, and not the eyes of pitcher Justin Knoff, which apparently gave away that he was going to first, not third, for the out. So yeah, it was a mistake, but with one out the Wingnuts still had two chances to drive in Thompson.

All of yesterday doesn’t matter at this point, though. Lincoln won 3-1 in 11 innings and that’s why I’m here at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium writing this blog. We have a rematch today, with pitchers Will Savage and Jarrett Gardner squaring off for the second time in the series. Savage was strong in Wichita’s Game 1 win, Gardner not so strong in the loss. But like everything that happened last night, that doesn’t matter. Anything can happen tonight. And quite frankly, I have no feel whatsoever for this game. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Wingnuts won, nor would I be surprised if Lincoln did. It’s a total crapshoot, in my opinion.

But both teams are confident and ready. I look forward to watching and writing about this game, and maybe I’ll see you all again on Tuesday for a new Game 1. Or maybe not.

I get, and possibly even support the argument that the object of playing and winning a baseball game is to score runs, and that driving them in is also a necessity. As Allen Iverson would say, I know that — I honestly do. And I ain’t shoving it aside like it don’t mean nothin’. Sorry, I heard that clip on Jim Rome today and am pretty stuck on it even when I don’t hear it. But we’re talking about a player’s individual value. How good am I, on my own merits? In my opinion, RBIs don’t tell that story.

It’s because they’re reliant, for the most part, on other players. If it’s not a solo home run, you can’t drive in a run without somebody getting on base ahead of you. You can’t score runs without getting on base. I’m acknowledging that RBIs are important, but they’re only a situational stat. If I drive you in with a double, I still get the double. My on-base percentage goes up, my slugging percentage goes up. Even if I didn’t drive in a run with that double, the probability that my team scores goes up because of my double.

I don’t know, necessarily, how to put this argument into words. I just know what I think. The statistic I look at most is OPS+, which measures a player’s on-base plus slugging percentage against other players, with the score of 100 equaling league average, 101 being one percent above league average and so on. If you get on base enough and have a reasonably high slugging percentage, you’re going to drive in a lot of runs.

And if you don’t, it’s because the guys ahead of you in the lineup aren’t doing their jobs. If you come up every at-bat with the bases empty and hit .350 with a .400 OBP and .500 slugging percentage, you’re not going to get a lot of RBIs. But that doesn’t decrease your overall value. If you hit .250 and don’t get on base but get a lot of RBI opportunities and drive in 90, does that make you a good, valuable player?

So I’ll agree to disagree with Mohr because I respect his opinion as an ex-major league player. I know how major leaguers feel about RBIs and the “counting” statistics. I’ve been in major league clubhouses. I don’t knock those players for thinking that, I just fall into a different camp. I’m a stat geek, I never played the game, I live in my mom’s basement, etc. But part of what I love about baseball is the arguments it produces. Mohr took offense to my opinion, but I could have argued with him for days because I love talking about baseball, harmoniously or not.

Onto more important matters — the playoffs. Game 3 of the North Division series with Lincoln, to be exact. I called a Wichita sweep in my last post and was wrong. Now I’m calling a five-game series but not predicting a winner. I can’t even predict who wins tonight’s game because I don’t have a feel for Lincoln starter Tim Brown, who has good numbers but not much experience. He’s still a rookie, and I don’t care what level this is, it’s still a postseason game and he hasn’t pitched in one professionally before. He could be dominant, he could be average, he could be bad. Who knows? Another thing I love about baseball.

On the other hand, Wichita starter Derek Blacksher has pitched in the postseason — last year with Gateway of the Frontier League. But he’s young, too (as are most pitchers in this league, so I won’t hold that against Blacksher or Brown). I’m calling a low-scoring game. Which we know means it’ll be a slugfest, because my predictions are brutal, usually. We’ll see.

I don’t know if I got across in my right-on-deadline written story last night how thoroughly dominating Wichita’s performance was in their 6-2 win last night. On paper, it doesn’t look like the beatdown it actually was. And I guess you kind of have to blame the Wingnuts for that, since they left the bases loaded twice and could have really broken it open with another big hit or two.

But there was no doubt as to who was the better team. Since the Wingnuts finished nine games better than Lincoln during the regular season, I suppose you can change that “was” to an “is”. It’s been nearly 100 games, but during batting practice today I think I finally discovered the secret to the Wingnuts’ success. We’ll just use this series as an example — I don’t even think the Wingnuts know they’re playing Lincoln in this series. I think they’re competing against each other — who can get the most hits, who can hit the ball farthest in batting practice, etc.

Like today. Guys were crushing the ball in batting practice. Josh Horn is in a group with sluggers Dustan Mohr and Greg Porter, along with not-so-sluggerish Nick Blasi (sorry, Nick). After one round of BP, Horn looks at me and says, “I’m trying to hit the (L) screen, and these guys are trying to hit the ball out of the stadium. First pitch of the next round, Horn blasts one over the left-field wall, drops his bat and calls it a day. Nobody wants to be outdone by anyone else. It works that way on the pitching staff, too.

To that end, I’m calling Michael Thompson for a big game today. He was the only Wingnut without a hit last night, and I’m sure he’ll want to catch up with his teammates. I think Mohr also has a big game tonight. Dude is locked in.

More about last night’s domination, though. The Wingnuts outhit Lincoln 15-4 and got a tone-setting performance from starting pitcher Will Savage. Conversely, no tone (at least no good one) was set by Lincoln starter Jarrett Gardner, who tried to nick the corners with his slow stuff and left too many pitches over the plate. Wichita did hit some good pitches, though — usually for singles. Not trying to do too much.

Honestly, and I could be wrong since I’m not really factoring in the gumption of Lincoln’s players, which I haven’t experienced — I really think this will be a sweep. Like I said, I could be wrong. At worst, the series is over because I don’t think Lincoln can win 2 of 3 (or more) in Wichita. Oh, and about last night — I’ve just been informed that Kelly Hunt will be awarded a fourth RBI — he had three officially after last night, but he was given an extra one on a single to left that Gavin Dickey booted, allowing runners to advance. It seemed clear that Porter would have scored from second, so I think the right call has been made.

Had a nice couple days in Lincoln, even though the sun hasn’t been out since I’ve been here. That’s unfortunate, but I can’t really complain. The park is REALLY nice — I can see why I caught some flak for voting for Sioux Falls as the league’s best playing surface. It’s the only other one I’d seen! Besides St. Paul, of course, and I wasn’t too impressed with that one. I’ll say Lincoln wins that race, but Sioux Falls is still close. Lincoln has my favorite P.A. guy and organ player, that’s for sure.

As the season winds down, I wanted to mention that you know this blog has been used for some ribbing of people whom I’ve come in contact with throughout the course of the season. I appreciate all of you taking that how it is meant — good-naturedly. No harm meant. If you’re one of these people, you’re awesome for putting up with me, and I would be honored to one day be on the other end of such behavior.

Also, I really like the Lincoln game notes. The batter-vs.-pitcher facet of said notes is particularly valuable. That is all. Good luck to both teams tonight.

I got caught up in playing N-U-T with Savage, Brooks, Pearson and team trainer Chris Roy. I swished a shot from well beyond the fence that encloses the basketball court. I think I got Brooks a letter with that one. Then Savage and I started endlessly competing in best-of-10 free throw shooting. I think he came out ahead.

This was all well after last night’s game — I went to the postgame get-together to talk to Thunder GM Joel Lomurno about travel plans to Lincoln. On my way out, I drained a jumper and had to keep playing. I ended up shooting for a while — Savage said he couldn’t lose to the beat reporter, and I guess he didn’t. But it was close. He’s 6-foot-4 with a nice-looking shot. What chance did I really have?

Anyway, that wasn’t the point of this blog entry. Some of you may have read the story I wrote on Dustan Mohr that ran in Sunday’s edition. I interviewed him for nearly a half hour in Sioux Falls nine days ago, and I had to leave a lot of good quotes out of the story. Here are some of them:

On reaction to learning he had a cancerous thyroid growth:
Once we found out, it was tough on everybody. Not just me, but my parents (wife Denise’s) parents, everybody involved. But at the same time, we knew what was going on, so we had a game plan on what we had to do to get better. Hopefully that happened.

Coming into this year, it’s been totally different. I’ve had a different perspective as far as… I feel great, I’m having fun. Because last year wasn’t fun for many reasons — being sick, mostly. So I’ve just tried to enjoy every minute of it because this could be my last year playing. Not because I want it to be, because other reasons — not just baseball, but off the field, too.

Once I found out what it was, I just felt like, OK, now what information do I need to get so I can get rid of it. My whole time (in the majors), I was only on the DL once, with a calf injury, and I knew how to get over that. It was a sense of relief, in a weird way, I guess, because it’s like now we know what it is and we know what we have to do. As opposed to not knowing and you don’t know what you’re supposed to do. It was a sense of relief.

On differences between the big leagues and independent ball:
I’ve played at the highest level and I know what I’m capable of. At this level, for me, you have to keep perspective. There’s a lot of things about playing at this level that are a lot different from Triple-A or the big leagues — pitching, defense, umpires, strike zone. That’s just being honest. I’ve actually tried to convey that to other players, especially pitchers. It’s good that you do well in this league and you should feel good about it, but you have to also be realistic that in the upper levels you’re not going to have as big of a strike zone. For hitters, the defenses are going to be much better, so the balls that are hits here aren’t going to be hits at higher levels.

On the realization that he wouldn’t be picked up by a major league organization this season:
I kind of felt fairly early that nothing is probably going to happen like last year. I had been in contact with several teams, and it was always sort of the standard answer: Hey, we’d love to have you, but we just don’t have a spot right now. That’s just code for, we just think what we have is better. And that’s fine. In terms of, did it make it easier to be here or more fun, I don’t know. If I’m being honest, which I try to be always, sometimes it’s hard. That’s the one thing that’s hard about playing in this league. There’s something to be said for knowing that you’re playing for advancement.

It’s just like anybody with a regular job — you want to know there’s an opportunity to be promoted up the ranks and get to the highest place of whatever it is you do. And sometimes feeling like, Hey, I’m doing all this and what’s it really doing? Clearly you play for the team and it’s good for the team, but I think if everybody is honest about it, you want to know that if you do well you have an opportunity to get some recognition for it, to get signed by an organization. So sometimes it’s harder to know that you’re going to be here all year.

On the benefits of having good team chemistry:
The most fun you can have in this game, I think, is when you go out there and win as a team. It’s nice to get your numbers and everything, but in the end if you don’t win there’s a hole there. A piece of the pie is missing. So you feel good about yourself and you can go to parties and tell everybody you hit .300, and it sounds good and it sounds cool, but you’re watching the playoffs like everybody else and wishing you were there.

On the definition of a leader:
Sometimes guys base what they think of you on your numbers, which is totally wrong in my opinion. But they seem to look up to the guys who have great numbers that season, as opposed to the guys who, maybe they don’t have great numbers, but they know what they’re talking about. (In Colorado in 2005), it was uncomfortable and it was different. I got hurt at the beginning of the year and missed six weeks and could never catch up when I got back. I wish it could have worked out differently there, but it didn’t. I’ll always remember that year, even though we weren’t very good, because I learned a lot from a lot of guys.

On the clubhouse atmosphere with Barry Bonds in San Francisco in 2004:
A fluid clubhouse, you have to have it that way. If there are guys that are uneasy about being around other guys for whatever reason, you’re not going to have a successful team. Barry was polarizing to everybody, whether you liked him or not. Everybody wants to talk to him. It’s like the president — you may not like president Obama, but you’re not going to pass up a chance to meet him. You’re not going to say, I don’t want to meet him because I don’t like his policies. Barry was that way. We had a good clubhouse in San Francisco, but everybody knew it was Barry’s clubhouse.

The difference between San Francisco and Minnesota is that it Minnesota it was everybody’s clubhouse. There were the guys that were the team leaders. They would set the standard, but it was for everybody and everybody had fun. You could pick on everybody, and nobody was exempt from a little hazing. A fluid clubhouse is going to be more successful.

On fitting in with this year’s team as opposed to last year’s:
I get along with everybody. We had some people last year, their character probably wasn’t where it needed to be. I don’t need to mention any names — people who were here last year know who those people are. This year, there’s all good guys. Porter’s experienced, Blasi’s experienced, Kelly’s got some experience. The new guys that come into our clubhouse know what is expected.

Of course, that all starts with (manager Kevin Hooper). There are some things that just aren’t going to be tolerated, regardless of how good a player you are or think you are. Everything is run really smooth and everybody has a good understanding of how we’re going to play the game under Hoop as our manager. Regardless of what happens from here on out, it will have been a successful formula.

On being an ex-major league on an independent league team:
I don’t look at it as being the big fish. I enjoy sharing my experiences with (teammates). I don’t go out of my way to tell people things. I don’t go out of my way to say, Hey, I played in the big leagues and this is how you should do it. I don’t do that. If people have questions, they ask. I don’t force myself on anybody. I don’t just go up to people and say, You’re doing this or you’re doing that. For the most part, I just enjoy talking about baseball and, because of how long I played and the places I’ve been, I have a lot of stories to tell. And I’m more than willing to tell them if people ask. But if people don’t ask, I don’t really tell them. I enjoy the fact that I have knowledge, because of where I’ve been, to help them.

We’ve gone through 186 games in Wingnuts history without ever, NOT ONCE!!! seeing Grand Prairie play a game at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. And what happens when the AirHogs (or is it Air Hogs? Airhogs? Nobody really knows) finally get here? A) They don’t bring a radio guy. Imagine my disappointment. I’ve witnessed every other radio guy come into Wichita — from the cool (Sioux City, Pensacola, Sioux Falls) to the boring (El Paso) to the one I don’t remember (Fort Worth) to the one who now does Sioux City games (Shreveport) to the one who called me a homer (St. Paul) to the one who took four press box hamburgers, meaning others could not eat (unnamed — you figure it out).

But no radio guy for Grand Prairie. And B) also a disappointing showing for the AirHogs’ offense. They came into the game leading the American Association in runs by a wide margin but couldn’t even manage a single run against Adam Cowart and two Wichita relievers. I’m an unbiased reporter, of course, but you can’t tell me a guy with 100 RBIs in 93 games (Cesar Nicoals) is coming to town and not expect me to not want to see what he’s got. It would be disappointing if he didn’t bring his best to Wichita. Last night he was 1 for 4, so I guess the jury is still out.

The Wingnuts are as loose as ever, laughing through their batting practice session earlier. I don’t imagine it will be totally that way when the playoffs begin next week, but why wouldn’t they be laughing now? They’re already in the postseason, they’ve got the best overall record in the league, they’re in first place in the second half and the teams behind them, St. Paul and Lincoln, are feeling all the pressure. Meanwhile, Wichita goes into the postseason peaking (won five in a row). Maybe it’s better to play some pressure-packed games late, though. Who knows?

Wichita also held its fantasy draft after the game against Lincoln on Wednesday night. I’m trying to remember all who participated — Hooper, Robertson, Mileham, Savage, Thompson, Porter, Thompson…that’s all I can come up with off the top of my head. Oh, Blasi and Muich. So I’m leaving one out — there were 10. Hooper got the first pick (obviously) and took Adrian Peterson (obviously). Now he just worked out a trade for Larry Fitzgerald, so that’s a good 1-2 punch. I don’t know about you, but when I hear the term “fantasy football” I think of armor-wearing warriors slaying dragons on a chalked 100-yard field. Maybe I’m mixing my metaphors there.

Anyway, I could get into the playoff scenarios, but the Wingnuts are already in and they start on the road on Tuesday. Who they play is to be determined, but all that will be squared away in two days, at the most. Then we can talk about it, or not. Have a nice little Saturday, everyone (maybe go to Home Depot?) and I’ll be around again soon.

What would that roster look like? Well, it would look like a team of ex-Wranglers, I suppose. It would look, more specifically, like this: DISCLAIMER: I’m killing time in the office, waiting for an e-mail reply and waiting to leave for tonight’s game. I recognize that this blog entry has no meaning whatsoever, but it’s still fun!

Catcher: Adam Donachie (Wranglers 2006-2007)
It’s sad to say, but the catchers who have come up through the Royals system look like, well, a group of players who are suited for independent ball. I went with Donachie because there’s no evidence that Mike Tonis is still alive. Donachie is batting .218 in Double-A with the Orioles.

First base: Craig Brazell (2007)
Brazell started this season with the St. Paul Saints before going back to Japan, where he played last year. He hit a combined 39 homers between Wichita and Omaha in ‘07 and 27 last year in Japan. I’d expect him to hit third in this lineup.

Second base: Jeff Eure (2007)
Well, this is convenient! Eure already plays in the American Association, with St. Paul. He’s batting .265 with five homers. So he’s not very good. But his presence in the league was the basis for coming up with this team in the first place, so he pretty much has to be a part of it.

Third base: Brennan King (2005)
Not to be confused with current Wingnut Brenan Herrera, of course. What other journalist do you know who can say he covered two Bren(n)ans? I feel proud. King currently is in Double-A with the Phillies, but he’s very mediocre even by minor-league standards, so there’s a chance he won’t find an affiliated job next season.

Shortstop: Irving Falu (2005, 2007)
This is another guy who might be tough to snag for an independent team, since Falu is currently in Triple-A. But he’s still in the Royals organization and looks to be on his way to minor-league free agency this season. If nobody else picks him up, why not return to the glory days of Wichita, where he …was well below average.

Left field: Kit Pellow (1997-98)
All this guy does, at every level he’s ever played (except the majors) is hit bombs. He actually has 300 career minor-league homers. On the dot. His M.O. has been to play in the Mexican League before finishing with a team in the American Association (OK, he’s only done that once — last year). So why can’t he play a whole season of independent ball? Last year he hit a combined 40 homers at three stops.

Center field: Mel Stocker (2004-05)
I never would have given Stocker much of a chance to reach the majors, but he actually did, playing in nine games with the Brewers in 2007. He’s never been much of a hitter, but he can really run (298 career steals), and he has decent plate discipline. We need a leadoff guy on this team, so Stocker (who was nicknamed Male Stalker by former Wrangler media relations guru Katie Cook and me) is our guy.

Right field: Tydus Meadows (2002-03)
I wanted to go with Cory Aldridge or Byron Gettis in this spot. But Aldridge is playing very well in Triple-A and figures to have an affiliated job next season, and Gettis hasn’t played since 2005 and I don’t know what happened to him. Meadows gets the job by default, but he has a decent pedigree, with 152 minor-league homers. He was playing with Joliet of the Northern League (where Kash Beauchamp was the hitting coach), but hasn’t played since July 11.

Designated hitter: Josh Pressley (2005)
Sure, he was suspended for performance enhancing drugs back in that magical 2005 season, but he surely learned his lesson. Pressley, who owns more than 100 minor-league homers, hit 30 bombs (with a .354 average) for Somerset of the Atlantic League in 2008. This season, he continues to crush weak pitching, with 14 bombs and 71 RBIs.

Batting order
CF Stocker
SS Falu
1B Brazell
DH Pressley
LF Pellow
3B King
RF Meadows
C Donachie
2B Eure

Starting pitcher: Tyler Lumsden (2006)
Once a big-time prospect in the White Sox organization, Lumsden had no success after coming over in the Mike MacDougal trade, even going 3-13 in Omaha last season. He’s a lefty currently in Triple-A, so he’s likely to find work in an organization. But if teams collectively give up on him next year, there’s a spot for him in Wichita.

Starting pitcher: Kyle Middleton (2004-06)
Even though Middleton pitched in the AA this season with Pensacola, he’s not a strong candidate to return since he’s pitching well in Triple-A with Oakland. The Wingnuts would have loved to pry Middleton from Pensacola earlier this season and I’m sure they would welcome him with open arms if he happens to fall out of favor in Oakland and can’t get picked up by another team.

Starting pitcher: Ryan Baerlocher (2001-05)
This is another guy whose whereabouts are unknown to yours truly. But he pitched as recently as 2007, so I’m sure he could be ready to go by the start of 2010. Baerlocher spent way too much time in Wichita, perhaps not getting the chance to develop into the capable, mid-rotation major league starter he looked to have the potential to be. He finished (or maybe started) 2007 in the Atlantic League.

Starting pitcher: Thad Markray (2005-06)
Markray’s time in Wichita was marred by the death of his young daughter. He looked to have the capability of being a major league reliever at some point, but he was probably never the same after that happened. He’s currently pitching his second season with Shreveport-Bossier in the American Association.

Starting pitcher: Les Walrond (2003)
Walrond seemed like a perfect candidate for this team until I discovered he pitched in the majors last season. Six games for the Phillies, who I imagine gave him a full World Series share for his efforts. But Walrond hasn’t played this season, so I imagine he’s hurt. What better place to prove you’re healthy for 2010 by starting in the city where you pitched (and won!) two games six years ago?

Closer: Ryan Braun (2005-06)
Another ex major-leaguer (35 combined games in 2006 and 2007), Braun dealt with some injuries and is trying to make his way back. He missed all of 2008 and has pitched this season in rookie ball and Class A with the Chicago White Sox. If he returns to Wichita, I hope the mustache he rocked back in 2005 returns, too. Oh, and it’s not THAT Ryan Braun.

What a team, huh? I didn’t do a bench or name relievers — gotta make Robertson do SOME work, you know? But I’ve given him a head start. This was done all in fun and would never actually work, obviously, because of roster rules that necessitate rookies, but this would be a darn good squad. Of course, I doubt any of these players, while they were in Wichita the first time, ever got excited about the opportunity to one day return on the bottom rung.

Hey, it’s time to go to the ballpark! It worked!

I sat with former Sioux Falls Canary and Wichita Wingnut Kevin Cheppenko and his fiancee, along with my friends Jeremy S. and Asa S. Their last names are very similar, so I just went with their last initials. I was pretty much the only one of us to actually watch the entire game, though I must say Asa did well. And Cheppenko. Jeremy and Cheppenko’s girl, Bekah, were off doing their own thing most of the time.

I liked a lot of things about the atmosphere. The promotions weren’t over-the-top and the on-field girl, while being way cuter than Wichita’s Matt Brokaw, did a good job. She engaged the participants, usually children, and got the promos wrapped up quickly. I also enjoyed the ballpark and the fans – passionate, mostly, but not over-the-top. Although one couple got really agitated with Asa when he cheered for the Wingnuts. I didn’t too much care for that.

I didn’t like that the P.A. announcer said too many things — he’d tell us when somebody scored, when there was a meeting on the mound — just too much. And nearly every time a foul ball went into the stands he said, “Heads up.” Helpful, I guess. I say “nearly” because the one time a foul ball really almost did do some damage, when it skipped off the top of the third-base dugout and nearly into the faces of three little kids in the front row, the guy was nowhere to be heard.

Also, instead of playing actual music, in many cases they’d go to a guy on the third-base concourse who annoyingly sang songs like “Wooly Bully” and “Glory Days”. Very accomplished organ player, but his singing left a little to be desired. Even Cheppenko thought so.

But I had a good time. Looking forward to another good time this evening. Last night was enjoyable, also. We went to a tavern downtown that was also attended by every 21-30-year-old in the city. Too loud. I sat in the corner with Bekah, Cheppenko, Asa, Jeremy and whoever else wanted to visit. After early-morning breakfast, we all got a poor- to average-night’s sleep at the Cheppenko house.

Today we watched a couple movies at the Cheppenko house, including the Nicholas Cage epic, “The Family Man”. Not sure how I feel about that movie. But I’d say it probably features the worst airport “Don’t go, I love you” speech in cinematic or television history. Just awful — no way to suspend disbelief for that one. “We have a house in Jersey!” Yeah, OK, Nic.

After lunch at Chili’s, I came to the ballpark to take care of some business. Now I’m just looking forward to the game. Oh, another thing I like — the Sioux Falls press box has a bathroom. Unisex, but still. That’s big.

I like Sioux Falls a lot. Very clean. It’s like a suburb, only bigger. It’s well taken care of with some historical aspects and some areas of the city that look quite new. A good balance. I could definitely see myself living here. If only the Cheppenkos would take me in. They’re getting married Sept. 26 — what newlyweds wouldn’t want a houseguest. And I know they read this blog (or used to, anyway), so let me know, guys.

Surely the Eagle wouldn’t send me to cover a game in Sioux Falls, right? Surely not. I travled up in a rental Kia Sportage with Jeremy and Asa, two members of the Nuthouse, section 118 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Last year we went to St. Paul, so I suspect we’re just making our way north to south through American Association cities. Next year it’s Sioux City, followed by Lincoln, then Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, etc.

I got about three minutes down the road from my apartment this morning before I realized I’d forgotte. n my cell phone charger. When I went back to retrieve it, I should have also grabbed a sweatshirt. Because it’s not exactly warm up here — it’s windy and the sun isn’t out. But I’m in a (excessively) heated press box, so I can’t complain too much. Except about the excessive heat. And Jeremy and Asa are at Wal-Mart (allegedly) purchasing cheap long-sleeve T-shirts for everybody. We’re good.

We passed the Wingnuts’ bus on the way up here. It’s about a 7 1/2 hour drive from Wichita. We left at 9:05 or so and arrived at 4:35, so the math works out there. The bus didn’t arrive until about 5:40, so the Wingnuts will have to scamper a bit to get ready for this one. When we passed the bus, manager Kevin Hooper was asleep in the front, so I imagine everyone is well-rested.

The field is nice. Very nice. Much nicer than I expected. Actually, I didn’t know what to expect, but I’m very impressed. The dimensions are a little wacky, but the ballpark is clean and it has an intimate setting. It looks new — much newer, much nicer than Lawrence-Dumont. I have no problems with L-D, but this part is just nicer. Grass infield, that helps.

Now, about those dimensions. I’m reading them off the outfield wall here — 312 down the right field line, 330 to straight-away right field, 410 to just right of center, 393 to just left of center, 380 to the left field power alley, 343 to straight-away left, 317 to a little more left, and 313 down the left field line. No dimension posted for the right-field power alley, but it’s probably 360 or so, I’d say. Lots of turns and corners, so it might be difficult for outfielders who aren’t used to it.

Interviewed Joe D’Alessandro for the first time last night and was impressed. Nice kid. He’s younger than me, I can call him “kid.” Not taking the loss of his closer’s role too hard. That’s the kind of guy you want on your team — doesn’t complain, just does what he’s told. Hopefully for the Wingnuts’ sake he reduces those shaky outings, because with his electric fastball he can be a weapon in the postseason.

Better go see what Jeremy and Asa are up to. I’m sure they’re in the parking lot, trying to relate to the Sioux Falls natives. The unlimited mileage on the rental car tells us we should check out Rushmore tomorrow, but the five-hour trip quickly talks us out of it. So tomorrow, or whenever, I’ll have a report on the happening town of Sioux Falls. Talk to you then. Or whenever.

Closer: Justin Dowdy
He’s a left-hander, and in last night’s game he was hurt by right-handed hitters in allowing a ninth-inning run. An argument could be made to play matchups, since Dowdy is the only lefty in the bullpen, and not always use him in the ninth. He could be a more situational late-inning pitcher, I suppose. But in the interest of giving each pitcher a defined role, he keeps his ninth-inning job.

Setup: Doug Hurn
Though batters are hitting .270 against Hurn, he leads the relievers with 37 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings and has allowed just three home runs. So the likelihood of a big inning against him are fairly slim. Hurn was next in line to get a shot at being the full-time closer before the team acquired Dowdy, so moving him back an inning makes sense. The only potential drawback is the eighth-inning role removes the possibility of him being able to pitch more than one inning, and he’s been effective in the past as a long reliever.

Seventh inning: Justin Young
I debated slotting Young in as the eighth-inning guy, but the seventh is just as important. Usually the middle of the opposition’s order doesn’t come up in the ninth, so Young would be relied upon to get some big outs against dangerous hitters in the seventh. That fits his style and personality, because he likes to challenge hitters with fastballs. After struggling with control early in the season, Young has reduced his walk rate significantly, and he has allowed two homers in 40 2/3 innings.

Sixth inning/middle relief: Diego Soto
Soto has made just five appearances since signing with the Wingnuts last month. As a rookie, he might not have reached the level of trust from Hooper and pitching coach Luke Robertston that the veteran pitchers have. Still, the numbers, while accumulated in a small sample size (seven innings) don’t lie. Soto has eight strikeouts in seven innings, a 2.57 ERA, and a .174 opponents’ batting average. The only thing not to like is the four walks.

Undetermined: Joe D’Alessandro
The former closer has been electric in some outings, shaky in others, and just plain bad in still others. That’s not unusual for a reliever, but after blowing another lead last night, it’s difficult to see where he fits in with the pitching staff. You probably don’t want him to come in with runners on base because, even though his mid-90s heat creates a lot of strikeouts, he’s just as liable to walk a hitter and make a situation even more dangerous. Confidence might be an issue, so give him outings in which the team is comfortably ahead or trailing by a lot and let him regain that confidence so you might be able to use him in more high-leverage situations later. Right now, it’s difficult to trust him.

One of my favorite things is checking the transactions wire of the American Association to see if there are any names I recognize. My assumption is that if I recognize your name as you join the league, then you’re going to be a difference maker. And I recognize a lot of names, so maybe that’s not the best assumption. If I don’t recognize your name, that’s when your team could be in trouble.

Anyway, I’d like to welcome two ex-Indians to the American Association. Jim Brower, who pitched for the Indians for two seasons (1999-2000) and had his most MLB success with the Giants, is now a member of the St. Paul Saints. In fact, Brower led the National League in games pitched, 89 with the Giants in 2004. That year Brower also had an ERA+ of 132. Which is good. Go look up ERA+ if you’re not familiar with the statistic.

But Brower was bad in 2005 then awful in 2oo6 and 2007, when he made his last MLB appearance with the Yankees. Last year he pitched in Triple-A with Cincinnatti, Houston and the Cubs. As far as I know, he hasn’t pitched anywhere this season, but now he’s a Saint and a teammate of former Cleveland farmhand Jason Cooper.

Joining Grand Prairie last week was Lee Gronkiewicz, who never pitched in the majors with Cleveland but had some nice minor-league seasons in the Indians system. Gronkiewicz has one MLB game to his credit, with Toronto in 2007. He has 159 saves in the minors, including 37 with Cleveland’s High-A affiliate in 2003. I’m sure he’ll be the closer for Grand Prairie, and I wonder, with the Wingnuts also picking up a closer, if they were in on Gronk.

Nice segway into the Wingnuts, huh? The closer they picked up, as you may have seen in the newspaper this morning, is Justin Dowdy, formerly of Shreveport-Bossier. He’s a pretty filthy left-hander from what I’ve heard. Definitely what the Wingnuts need, because they have gotten poor production from the back end of the bullpen this season. Got my first look at Dowdy today during pregame, and he’s pretty tatted up. Looks intimidating. So we’ll see. After proclaiming Joe D’Alessandro the next big thing, I’m going to watch my words. But this guy looks more “hit” than “miss” I think.

And how about Kevin Hooper almost activating himself? I think this was actually very, very close to happening, but with the acquisition of Dowdy, the Wingnuts had to clear salary and drop the roster to 21. Since Hooper would have to be on a veteran’s salary, they would have had to let go of two players to add one and the roster would have been at 20. That’s not enough for the playoffs, so I think Hooper and the team made the right decision to keep him in the coaches box. He definitely would have helped, though.

Three-game series starting today with Sioux City. I’m sure the Wignuts are hoping this feels a lot longer than three days, because I doubt another road series seems too inticing after the long road trip from which they just returned. Excited to see them play again, though. It’s been too long.