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Thursday, August 29, 2002

By Pohla Smith, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

No matter how the Washington Wild Things fare in the Frontier League playoffs that begin tonight at Kalamazoo, Mich., their inaugural season already is an unqualified success.

	Howton, Isom earn top hon The Washington Wild Things were named the Frontier League Organization of the Year and Jeff Isom was voted Manager of the Year in league awards announced last night. Left-hander Jared Howton was named most valuable pitcher in the balloting by general managers, managers and coaches. Four players were named to the all-league all-star team: Howton; relief pitcher Robert Garvin; shortstop Brad Hensler, a Chartiers Valley High School graduate; and catcher Shaun Argento. From local dispatches

On the diamond, they won the regular-season Eastern Division championship and top seeding for the two-round playoffs while setting a league record for victories. Their 56-28 record broke the 54-30 mark London set in 1999.

They drew fans. A lot of them. With a little help from a picnic area at Falconi Field, which has a capacity of 3,106, they managed to average crowds of 3,241. They sold out 29 of 41 games and 27 of the final 31.

As of noon yesterday, there were only a few hundred tickets left for the second game of the best-of-three Kalamazoo series at 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Falconi Field. Sales for the "if-needed" Game 3, also at Falconi at 6:05 p.m. Sunday, were brisk.

"We had these goals at the beginning of the season," Manager Jeff Isom said. "We wanted to go to the playoffs and we wanted to win 50 games. They've exceeded our expectations by far."

But Isom won't be surprised if they continue to raise the bar. To move from the semifinals into a best-of-five championship series with Richmond or DuBois City, all they have to keep doing is what they've been doing, he said.

"Our main goal is never worrying about the other team," he said. "It's about taking care of business. And we do that with good pitching, playing strong defense and scoring a few runs. If we take care of that business, we don't have to worry about the other team's business."

The players understand that.

"We've played a consistent game with good pitching, strong defense and excellent offense," said outfielder Josh Loggins, the league's No. 4 hitter with a .347 average. "Against Kalamazoo, from a hitting standpoint, we have to be patient. We're aggressive, and Kalamazoo throws a lot of off-speed stuff -- anywhere in the count. We have to wait until we get in situations where we can get a hit, and if we don't, take the walks."

Starting pitcher Jared Howton, a left-hander who led the league with a 1.98 ERA and shared the league lead with 11 wins, has given some thought to the Kings' batting order.

"It's a pretty good lineup, particularly three guys -- Aaron Sledd, Joe Gerber and Chris Carter," said Howton. "Those are guys you've got to watch out for. I'm just going to have to pitch my game. It's what I've always done. I'm just going to go after them."

Washington will be without catcher Shaun Argento, who has a fractured left thumb. Isom said Argento might be able to pinch-hit.

Isom has one other concern -- the format of the best-of-three first round. The lower-seeded team is the host of the first game, while the higher seeded team gets the second and third games.

"I'm not a big fan of the way the league sets it up," he said. "I've been quite vocal about it. We're supposed to have home-field advantage and we're going to Kalamazoo for the first game, the most critical game of the series.

"If you lose the first game, then you have to win two straight in your park. It can be done, but it's hard."

The championship series used to be best-of-three but was changed to best-of-five this year. Isom would like to see both rounds be best-of-five.

Pohla Smith can be reached at psmith@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1228.