Apr 30, 2014 4 min read

Bart Zeller, the Wild Things’ energetic and well-organized second-year manager, was busy overseeing numerous tasks, both large and small, Wednesday afternoon at Consol Energy Park.

From dealing with player contracts, to practice schedules, to overseeing the distribution of equipment, to making sure each player had his uniform number written in marker on the waistband of his practice pants, Zeller was kept busy. No detail went overlooked.

Except one.

Zeller had not yet checked the weather forecast for this morning, when the Wild Things begin spring training in preparation for their 13th season in the Frontier League.

It’s no surprise that rain is in the forecast for the rest of the week – which could make giving all 37 players on the preseason roster a fair and extended look during spring training a tricky endeavor.

“It’s very difficult to be inside and give everybody a good look, especially the hitters,” Zeller said. “Pitchers can do their work inside, but for position players it’s a lot tougher.”

Zeller will have only two weeks to evaluate hitters and pitchers before trimming the roster to 24 players for opening day, which is May 15 at the Florence Freedom.

Though he won’t get to see anybody throw until today, Zeller likes his revamped pitching staff. After finishing last year with a 41-55 record and missing the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season, Washington made bolstering the pitching staff a priority. In the offseason, the Wild Things acquired Frontier League Pitcher of the Year Scott Dunn, a South Side Beaver High School graduate and Clinton native, in a trade with Traverse City. Chris Phelan was brought in from league champion Schaumburg to complete an earlier trade. Last month, Washington acquired Alex Kaminsky in a trade with Lake Erie. Last season, the trio of Dunn, Phelan and Kaminsky combined for a 29-8 record.

Washington also returns right-handers Shawn Blackwell (4-10, 5.36) and Tyler Elrod (2-0, 4.43), and lefty Zach LeBarron (3-2, 3.91). Elrod made only three starts last year but one was a shutout of Traverse City, which advanced to the playoffs.

“We went into last year with the idea that we had a nucleus of solid players. Our pitchers had a history of success, but some of them didn’t pitch as well as their projection,” Zeller admitted. “We believe that this year, with Dunn, Phelan, Kaminsky and Blackwell – who dominated the Texas Winter League – that we have four solid starting pitchers. We’ll have to find out who the fifth pitcher will be.

“The talk at the league tryout was that we have a solid group of starting pitchers. We still have to be better on offense.”

One position that remains unsettled is designated hitter. Zeller said he could rotate position players into the DH spot, though he prefers to have somebody crack the starting lineup as an everyday DH.

Zeller will be working with one fewer coach than expected. Bob Bozzuto, who was to return for his seventh season on the coaching staff, suffered a heart attack last week. Bozzuto, who also is the athletic director at North Allegheny High School, was released from an area hospital Wednesday.

Zeller’s coaching staff will include two former major leaguers, pitching coach Kevin Gryboski and hitting coach Bob Didier.

The Wild Things have gone back to their red-and-black color scheme that was used for the franchise’s first nine seasons. … C.J. Beatty, who led the Wild Things in batting average (.305), home runs (18) and RBI (66) last season, will move from second base to left field. … Catcher Vinicius DeMelo, who was drafted by Washington in the third round at the league tryout Tuesday, will not report. He is finishing his senior year at Blue Mountain College in Mississippi. … The Wild Things are scheduled to play five exhibition games, including three at home, against the Lake Erie Crushers. The first is a home night game May 8 followed by a morning-afternoon doubleheader at home May 9. The games at Lake Erie will be May 10 and 11.