‘Nuts’ takes Kernels under his Wing

They call him Nuts, though it has nothing to do with his mental state. That's Michael Wing's nickname, and it's a pretty good one.

“Mose started that,” Wing said, referring to Manager Bill Mosiello. “Rob Picciolo, one of our roving instructors started calling me Wing Nut. Then I got here, and Mose kind of turned it into Nuts. Hey, whatever. It's cool.”

This Wing has had a prayer in August for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Sorry about that one.

He's hitting over .400, including going 2-for-2 with a home run and a couple of walks in last night's 6-3 win over Kane County at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The streak has inched Nuts' season batting average to .287.

“He has started believing he can play. And he can play,” Mosiello said. “We've had meetings with him. I told him ‘I'm hitting you in the three-hole, what's that tell you? That means I think you can hit. What else does anyone have to tell you? I hope that we don't think that you can play more than you think you can play.' You've gotta believe as a player.”

Wing, 21, was a 26th-round prep draft pick in 2007 who is probably more excited than most to get promoted to the next level of the Los Angeles Angels farm system. He resides in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., which is where you go after you graduate from Cedar Rapids.

It's just a palm tree or two from Rancho to Angels Stadium, too.

“I live probably five, 10 minutes at the most from the park,” Wing said. “I've got two little brothers who play ball. I just want to be around my family. It'll be a great experience. Definitely looking forward to that next season.”

Wing is 14-for-35 in August, including a solo homer down the left-field line in the seventh that capped this comeback. Cedar Rapids trailed 3-1 but scored a run in the fifth and three in the sixth to rally.

The winning hit was a two-out, two-run double to left by Jose Jimenez. The Kernels (70-44) came in hitting an amazing .302 with runners in scoring position.

Cedar Rapids is at Wisconsin for three games beginning tonight, then returns home for three against Kane County.