Head Coach Wuerfel

Congratulations to Beach Bums Director of Baseball Operations Jason Wuerfel who has been selected to lead a team in the newly formed Prospect League that will include several former Frontier League cities...Wuerfel, who also served as hitting coach last season, will skipper the Butler BlueSox...He will continue to serve in his role with the Beach Bums...

Butler will play at Pullman Park, situated just north of Pittsburgh in Butler, Pennsylvania...The Prospect League is a summer college league with players from college playing with wooden bats...In addition to the former Frontier League cities, the Central Illinois Collegiate League merged to create a 11-team league...The league will field a 54-game schedule in their inaugural 2009 season...Leo Trich, who worked part-time with the Frontier League as the Director of Development will serve as the GM for the BlueSox...

Prospect League
West Division
Huntingburg, Ind. - Former home of the Dubois County Dragons
Danville, Ill.
Springfield, Ill.
Quincy, Ill.
Lisle, Ill.
Hannibal, Mo.

East Division
Butler, Pa.
Chillicothe, Ohio - The Paints
Richmond, Ind. - Richmond Roosters
Slippery Rock, Pa. - Slippery Rock Sliders
Lorrain, Ohio

Full Details on Coach Wuerfel

Santa Wild Thing

I had to post this...The PA voice of the Wild Things, the guy you hear in the background every time the Beach Bums head to Washington introducing the batter and the man infamous for the sound of, "He just entered the Cricket K Zone!", apparently dresses as Santa every year for the Pittsburgh Steelers press conference before Christmas...Well, he got himself a little national publicity today as I found this on espn.com...

ESPN Story

Bringing Brett Back

Brett Bostelman, who made the adjustment from reliever to starter in 2008, will be back with the team this summer...

Bostelman will be an LS-1 in 2009 and will begin his third season with the team...Originally signed following an open tryout in 2007, Bostelman tied for the team lead in starts and was one of the most consistent pitchers on the starting staff in 2008 after leading the team in appearances as a true rookie setup man in 2007...He becomes the third starter to return from the best statistical staff in the Frontier League and joins four relievers to bring the total of returning pitchers to seven...Bostelman finished 6-5 to go along with an ERA of 3.81 in 106.1 innings...

Bostelman posted four starts of eight innings or more and threw a complete game shutout at Wuerfel Park on July 6, blanking the Midwest Sliders 4-0 while allowing just six hits...He was 5-3 at Wuerfel Park...Bostleman's first pro start came at Washington on May 25...Victimized at times by a high walk total (45) which limited his innings, Bostleman allowed three runs or less in 12 of his 19 starts and posted a 23.1 inning scoreless stretch in July...

Full Details

Stop Thief: Stolen Base Record Holder Returns

Mike Epping, a Frontier League All-Star Game starter and the Beach Bums single season stolen base record holder has signed to return for 2009...

Epping finished second in the Frontier League with a team record 38 steals in 2008 as the starting center fielder...The former Padre prospect who was in Triple-A during 2007 batted .284 in his first full season with the Beach Bums to go with eight homers and 53 RBI...The 53 RBI tied for the team lead with Kyle Maunus, and the .284 average was the highest among those with over 200 at bats...Epping also led the team in on base percentage at .376 and slugging percentage at .428 while making just one error in the outfield...He led the team with 12 multi-RBI games and 28 multi-hit contests including eight of the season's first 11 games leading to an average of .378 in May...

Epping stole more than one base in a game on six seperate occasions in 2008, taking a season best three at Florence on June 30...He drove in five runs at Wuerfel Park against East Division winner Kalamazoo on May 31...Epping closed 2008 with hits in 10 of the final 11 tilts...

Epping will be a veteran in 2009...

Full Details

Changes, Changes, Everywhere Changes...

It has been a busy offseason for the Frontier League, not on the player front, but on the managerial front...

It was announced today that Evansville Manager Jason Verdugo will not return for 2009, citing personal reasons...This on the same day that Washington announced a new, old manager...Former Chillicothe bench boss Mark Mason (Pictured above) will try to start a new streak in Washington after the Wild Things missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history...Mason is one of the winningest managers in Frontier League history and served as the pitching coach for three seasons in Pennsylvania early this decade...Meanwhile, Evansville will name a replacement for Verdugo on Tuesday...

So Traverse City won't be the only team with a new manager this season...In fact, over half the league will see new men in charge including every team in the East Division with the exception of Eric Coleman with the Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti and Fran Riordan of Kalamazoo...The full list is below...

Beach Bums
Old Manager - Jon Cahill (50-46 in 2008, 98-98 in two years)
New Manager - Gregg Langbehn

Florence
Old Manager - Jamie Keefe (47-49 in 2008)
New Manager - Toby Rumfield

Lake Erie
John Massarelli (Formerly of Washington) named first manager in team history

Washington
Old Manager - Greg Jelks (48-48 in 2008)
New Manager - Mark Mason

Windy City
Old Manager - Mike Kashirsky (37-14; Took over on July 8, led team to Title)
New Manager - Tommy Thompson

River City
Old Manager - Toby Rumfield (47-49 in 2008)
New Manager - Chad Parker

Evansville
Old Manager - Jason Verdugo (39-57 in 2008)
New Manager - Wayne Krenchicki

The First Newbie: Kevin Reese

Welcome Kevin Reese to the Beach Bums family...Reese is the first new player to be signed for 2009...He is a new, yet familiar face...Reese was a college teammate of Steve Roberts and Ted Gjeldum at Lafayetter College...He is a Rookie-2...

Reese was signed by the Washington Wild Things following his college career and appeared in 10 games for the Beach Bums East Division rivals...He was victimized by some early struggles and finished 0-1 with a high ERA in his 12.2 innings of work to go with 10 strikeouts...Washington used him as a long reliever with four appearances of longer than an inning...His best outing of the season came agaisnt the Beach Bums on June 21 in Pennsylvania when he faced the minimum in two innings of work...

Reese will compete for a potential slot in the 2009 Beach Bums rotation...

More Info

Down Periscope: Submariner Back for 2009

Right-handed specialist Nick Pepper will return to the Beach Bums bullpen for 2009, joining Ted Gjeldum, Pete McEneaney, and Jared Locke as returners from a group that was among the league's most feared in 2008...

Pepper will suit up for his third season with the Beach Bums after being acquired following spring training in 2007...Pepper was chosen by the Kalamazoo Kings with the sixth overall pick in the 2007 Frontier League draft but was let go and snatched up by the Beach Bums...

Pepper appeared in 41 games during 2008 and posted a 2-3 record along with two saves to go with a 2.70 ERA...The side-armer stifled right-handed hitters to the tune of just a .209 batting average...He tossed a season best 2.1 innings at Southern Illinois on July 13...

Pepper will be an LS-1 by Frontier League standards in 2009...

Single Season Homerun Leader Returns

Kyle Maunus, who tied the Beach Bums single season homerun record with 10 in 2008, will return to the team in 2009 for his second season with the club...

Maunus will be an LS-2 this season after serving as the everyday first baseman last year...He hit .253 and tied for the team lead in RBI with 53 in addition to matching Aaron Garza's record homerun output from 2007...He posted 26 multi-hit games in addition to having 11 multi-RBI contests...Maunus was one of four players to have a four-hit contest in 2008 to equal the team record for most in a game...His four hits came at Chillicothe on August 30, and he also scored three runs while driving in a pair...Maunus totaled 12 hits in the final six games of the season...He drove in a season best four runs at Rockford on June 4 connecting on a homerun and a double in a three-hit effort...

Perhaps the most under rated facet of Maunus' game is his defense...As part of a team that equaled the team and Frontier League record for fielding percentage, Maunus led all Frontier League first baseman with a .996 fielding percentage, committing just four errors in 997 chances...

Formerly of Western Michigan University, Maunus was signed by the Reds before his senior season and spent one year in Cincy's system...

All-Star Game Starter Returns

The man who started the 2008 Frontier League All-Star Game for the East Division at Wuerfel Park will again wear a Beach Bums uniform in 2009...Ryan Gehring will take the field for his fourth season as a member of the squad, the only player to have been with the franchise in all four seasons of existence...

Gehring will extend Traverse City career records in most pitching categories during the 2009 campaign...He already owns the most wins (19), most starts (56), and many more...Gehring will be a veteran this season, the first veteran to be signed by the Beach Bums...Frontier League rules allow for no more than three veterans...

Gehring won just five games in 2008 but finished fourth in the league in ERA as one of the anchors on the top pitching staff in the Frontier League...He finished with a 5-9 mark to go along with a 2.71 ERA in a career best 126 innings stretched over 19 starts...He threw three complete games, all of which were shutouts to tie for the league lead...He led the team in innings, strikeouts, and tied for the lead in starts with 19, of which 12 went into the seventh inning and 13 of which saw him allow less than three runs...Four of his five wins came at Wuerfel Park where he has won 11 of his 19 Frontier League career decisions...

Gehring threw his first shutout of the season on June 13, blanking the defending champion Windy City ThunderBolts while allowing seven hits in a 9-0 decision...His next home start on June 23 against Chillicothe was also a complete game effort, limiting the Paints to just five hits while walking three and striking out four in a 5-0 win...His third shutout was in a very tough hitter's park at River City's T.R. Hughes Ballpark in his final first half start on July 9, striking out six and allowing seven hits in an 11-0 victory...Gehring fanned a season high eight at Kalamazoo on July 3...

Release that Includes Maunus and Pepper

Double the Lefty Double the Fun...

There were two lefty's out of the Beach Bums bullpen in 2008, one of those, Ted Gjeldum, re-signed already...The other, Jared Locke, The Beach Bums announced is returning today...

Locke will join Ryan Gehring and Steve Young (Both of whom's status for 2009 has not yet been announced) as Beach Bums' players to have worn the Blue and Gold for three seasons...Locke was originally signed in 2007 and appeared in 25.2 innings...

During the 2008 season Locke joined the Beach Bums for spring training after being letgo by the Phillies late in their camp...He appeared in 38 games, tossing 50.2 innings and striking out 52 while sporting a record of 3-1 with three saves and a 3.55 ERA...

Locke had two different stints of eight consecutive appearances without allowing a run in 2008...From June 6-June 27 he went 14.1 innings without allowing a run and threw a season high three innings at Washington on June 21...He struck out four hitters in five seperate appearances, the last of which came on September 1 in his final appearance of the season...

Locke Returns

Beach Bums Bring Back Perry

The Beach Bums have resigned Catcher Patrick Perry...

Perry will be an LS-2 by Frontier League standards in 2009 and proved himself as one of the top defensive catchers in the league during 2008...He threw out more runners attempting to steal (28) than any other catcher in the 2008 season...Several people, yours truly included, thought Perry should have been on the East Division All-Star team...He was a big reason for the team having the league's top pitching staff and was cited in more than one postgame interview by pitchers...

He hit .261 in 86 games, also seeing time as the DH...He drove in 36 runs and connected on three homers while leading the team in walks with 47...Perry had three three-hit games and posted multiple hits in 19 games and multiple RBI in nine contests...He also boasted the longest hitting streak of the season for a Beach Bums player at 13 games from July 13-29...In addition, Perry hit safely in 16 straight games at Wuerfel Park from June 24-July 29, the third longest home hitting streak in the league...Perry drove in a season high three runs at Windy City on June 8th in a 16-1 victory and hit his first homer of the season at Washington on May 26...

Release

A Great Read...

To pass the long and cold days of winter I like to spend some time reading, a lot of times its about baseball, sometimes not...I have found a great book that I thought I would pass along to you...

Everything Happens in Chillicothe

The book was written by Mike Shannon and chronicles the 2000 season of the Frontier League as he follows umpire Max McLeary...It is a great read with a lot of inside stories about the history of the league, some of the great cities still in the league, some of the great players and coaches in Frontier League history and so much more...

So this offseason I am not only reading about baseball to keep me looking forward to the spring, but now I am furthering my knowledge of the Frontier League...

Welcome the Lake Erie Crushers to the Frontier League

An announcement was made today that the Frontier League franchise based in Avon, Ohio will be known as the Lake Erie Crushers...Avon is located in suburban Cleveland...

The team name was determined by a "Name the Team Contest" sponsored by The Morning Journal. The contest launched on October 7 with fans submitting ideas for the team name on AvonProBaseball.com. Of the more than 800 entries received, the team narrowed the choices down to seven for fans to vote on their favorite...

The Beach Bums will face the Crushers for the first time in Avon on June 15 when they begin a three-game set...

Isom Continues to Climb Brewers Ladder

Congrats to fromer Beach Bums Manager Jeff Isom, who led the team to a franchise record 57 wins in its inaugural 2006 season...

Isom left the Beach Bums to become a manager in the Brewers system and continues to climb the ladder...The former skipper was named as the manager of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers today...The Timber Rattlers play in the Midwest League and are the Class A affiliate of the Brewers...

Since he left Traverse City, Isom has guided the Helena Brewers of the Pioneer League, the West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League, and now Wisconsin...

More Details

Let the Re-Signing Begin...

And they're off...Earlier you may recall a post regarding the League status of players for the 2009 season, well the Beach Bums have started to announce who will be returning to the team in 2009...Again this spring you can expect a wide array of experience to come into camp for Gregg Langbehn's team to compete for spots, but three players have signed to return from the 2008 team...

Relievers Pete McEneaney and Ted Gjeldum (Pictured at left) will return along with Steve Roberts (Pictured right) who began as a reliever but was thrust into a starting role following a 5.1 inning relief stint on July 21 where he was perfect and struck out five...

Gjeldum will be an LS-1 in 2009 while McEneaney and Roberts will be classified as Rookie-2 players...

The Skinny
McEneaney recovered from an early stint on the injured reserve list to serve as a quality long man/setup man...He made two spot starts as well and finished his rookie campaign with a 3-2 record to go with a save in 48.2 innings of work...McEneaney sported a 3.33 ERA...14 of his relief appearances went for longer than an inning...He tallied his first pro win on July 12 at Southern Illinois following 2.2 scoreless innings...McEnenaney threw a season long four innings of relief also against Southern Illinois on August 24...Both of his starts came against Florence with his long outing being five innings on July 23...McEneaney earned three Player of the Game nods from yours truly...

Gjeldum was one of two leftys out of the bullpen and appeared in a franchise record 46 games while posting a 3.60 ERA that was inflated following a few tough outings late in the season...He struck out 55 hitters in 50 innings of work as a late-inning specialist...Gjeldum's season highlight occurred on July 27 at Wuerfel Park against Washington when he struck out a season high five batters in two innings of perfect relief...Gjeldum struck out more than one batter in 15 of his mound visits...

Roberts made eight starts after being slated into the rotation in late July and at times was unhittable, allowing two runs or less in all but one of his starts...A college teammate of Gjeldum, he made 14 appearances overall and finished with a solid 3-1 record to go with a 2.33 ERA...He struck out 45 in 58 innings...Roberts tossed his first professional complete game in an 8-1 win at Florence on August 15 with the lone blemish being a ninth inning homer by Angel Molina, who was recently named to Baseball America's All-Independent Team...He struck out a career high seven and allowed only five hits in the win...He gathered his first pro win on August 10 against Evansville, allowing just one run on six hits in six innings of work during a 4-1 win over the Otters at Wuerfel Park...Twice Roberts was chosen by yours truly as the Beach Bums Player of the Game...

Expect more announcements coming frequently in the next few weeks as the roster begins to take shape...The Beach Bums pitching staff led the league in ERA during the 2008 campaign so I suspect that the team will attempt to bring back as many pitchers as possible...

McEneaney and Gjeldum Resign Release

Roberts Follows Suit Press Release

Northern Michigan Native and Former Major Leaguer Roger Mason Tabbed as Pitching Coach

Roger Mason, of whom I own several baseball cards like the one above, has accepted the position of Pitching Coach on Gregg Langbehn's staff for the 2009 season. Mason is a veteran of nine MLB seasons with the Tigers, Phillies, Astros, Giants, and Pirates. Mason appeared in one of the most famous games in World Series history, leaving in line for the win in Game Six of the 1993 World Series with the Phillies...Mitch Williams entered looking to save the game and force a seventh game when Joe Carter hit a walkoff three-run homer (Picture above right)...

More on Roger's Credentials

Another Major Announcement...

The Beach Bums will have another major announcement on Wednesday as Gregg Langbehn will add a significant piece to his coaching staff...The Pitching Coach for the 2009 season will be announced on Wednesday...Here's the teaser; he is a Major League Veteran of almost 10 seasons who has appeared in the World Series...As always...Stay close to Calderwood's Corner; I may attempt to snag an interview with this individual as well...

Broadcasts Will Again Air on The Fox FM

The Beach Bums have signed a three-year deal to keep broadcasts on The Fox FM through the 2011 season...The Fox has been with the team since its inception and I can say that I am excited to again work with the crew...

Full Details

Gregg Langbehn Tabbed as Third Manager in Franchise History

Gregg Langbehn, formerly of the Astros system, was announced as the field manager for the 2009 season at a press conference on Wednesday...Langbehn spent 10 seasons in the Astros organization, serving most recently as the manager of the Lexington Legends in 2008, a Class-A team in the South Atlantic League...He was 45-93 with the Legends and has also managed in the New York-Penn League with the Tri-City ValleyCats for three seasons, winning a pair of division crowns...Look for an interview with the new skipper right here on Calderwood's Corner sometime in the next week...Below are the links to further information on his hiring...The Langbehn era begins when the Beach Bums visit Kalamazoo on May 22...

Full Press Release

Coverage from the Record-Eagle

Questions

Hi everyone!!! I have moved and gotten all settled in so you can expect some more regular updates during the offseason now...First on a broadcast note I have added some dates to my schedule...Nov. 2 at 1pm, Nov. 7 at 4 and 7 and Nov. 9 at 1pm as well...Those are for the Horizon League Soccer Tournament...

For an update...I have been working at Tyndale House Publishers in Carol Stream, Illinois for four weeks now and it is going to be a nice offseason home...I am over my Cubs disappointment although the fact that the Rays made the World Series has renewed it a bit because the Rays have been one of the worst teams in baseball and are in the series before the Cubs...

I get questions often and keep them coming, I will try to address the most popular ones here...

What's the Manager situation?
A: Well, the third manager in franchise history will be announced on Nov. 5

Who is going to be back with the Beach Bums this year?
A: The first priority this offseason was to find the new manager, I would imagine player announcements will begin to follow once the new manager and Jason have an opportunity to discuss what kind of team they want on the field...My guess is that it will be a lot similar to last year with guys who can run and play strong defense, characteristics you can expect every year in Traverse City...Look for a similar setup to last season with a lot of players coming in for spring training...

As an addendum to that question - you may remember in the last game of the year my talking about the player status for 2009...Unfortunately not everyone will be back but I expect a good chunk to return...Below is a listing of every player from the last game of 2008 with what their status will be for 2009 as far as I know, The Frontier League does have some strict rules with regard to status so some changes will need to be made...For instance, there can only be a max of three veterans and you can't have more than five vet/LS-2 in a combo on your roster (1 vet/4 LS-2; 2 Vet/3 LS-2, 3Vet/2LS-2)...You can take more than the minimum players from the class below to fill open slots from another classification, ie taking an additional LS-1 instead of carrying the maximum LS-2...The classifications are all based on how many at bats or appearances you make in a season, 150 at-bats moves you up a class as does either 30 appearances or 60 innings...

Pitchers
David Nathanson - LS-1
Pete McEneaney - Rookie-2
Brett Bostelman - LS-1
Jared Locke - LS-1
Matt Trausch - Rookie-2
Ryan Gehring - Veteran
Ted Gjeldum - LS-1
Steve Roberts - Rookie-2
Nick Pepper - LS-1
Mike Takashima - Rookie-2
Jeff Williams - LS-1
Drew Taylor - Rookie-2

Catchers
Ryan Kottke - Rookie-2
Patrick Perry - LS-2

Infield
Steve Young - Veteran
Brad Miller - LS-2
Eric Newton - Rookie-2
Jeff Brown - LS-1
Damon Lessler - Rookie-2
Kyle Maunus - LS-2

Outfield
Brad Roblin - LS-1
Mike Epping - Veteran
Zack Kalter - Veteran
Reed Welker - Rookie-2

Full Roster from the End of 2008

Updates from Frontier League Land...

A couple of updates from around the Frontier League...

Let's start with Gateway catcher Charlie Lisk, who signed with the Tigers organization following the season...Lisk spent two season with Gateway as the everyday backstop and was the winner of the Catcher's Pop Time Contest at the 2008 Frontier League All-Star Festivites hosted by the Beach Bums at Wuerfel Park...He hit .313 this season for the Grizzlies and was arguably the MVP for most of the season for the Grizz, who returned to the playoffs by edging the Beach Bums for the fourth and final slot this season...He also played with Windy City during the 2006 season...

More on Lisk

Continuing on the Gateway front my good friend in the broadcast business and otherwise, Joe Pott, has been hired at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville as the Assistant to the Athletic Director for Broadcasting...I know Joe is excited and the move will not take him away from the mike for the Grizzlies as he will still work for Gateway in the summer...He will serve to develop the Cougar Broadcast Network...All the best!

Voice of the Cougars

Two managerial moves...First in River City, it was publicized before the 2008 season was over that Toby Rumfield would be out after the season...The Rascals finished 47-49 and in fifth place in the West Division...The Rascals went through their search to replace Rumfield and earlier this month announced a former manager from the South Coast League to replace him...Chad Parker managed the Macon Music in 2007 during the league's only year of existence in his lone season of managerial existence...

Meet the Rascals New Skipper

The Florence Freedom have announced that Jamie Keefe will not be returning in 2009...He was 47-49 this season...I always enjoyed talking with Jamie who was in the Frontier League with Chillicothe for three seasons before joining the Freedom in 2005...He has over 300 career wins and cited family as his reason for not returning...

Keefe Not Returning

And in personnel moves River City made a big deal under new manager Chad Parker, dealing C Andrew Sweet and OF Luke Barganier to Joliet of the Northern League along with a Player to be Named in exchange for two pitchers and a catcher...

Trade Details

Frontier League Bans Maple Bats

I know you saw it if you attended a game at any professional level last year...Shattered bats that go flying...Thankfully the Frontier League had no major incidents that I am aware of...River City set the standard by announcing a ban on maple bats and now the league has followed suit issuing a full ban for the 2009 season on maple bats...

So the question...What exactly is a maple bat...Well, bats are made of several different kinds of wood and maple has grown in popularity the past few seasons with extended use in MLB and was the primary bat for most Frontier League teams in 2008...While studies will tell you that there is no difference in what kind of wood you use (maple, ash, birch, hickory -- very early in baseball history but may begin a comeback), maple is a harder wood and is very durable meaning it has a longer lifespan...Plus the players feel like it jumps off maple quicker than ash which is the other popular variety.

However, they are very easy to break, and it is not often you see a cracked maple bat, they shatter and travel at very high rates of speed, the safety of them is something that MLB is also dealing with but a ban in the majors will be much harder to achieve...

Maple Bats Banned

Managerial Announcement Coming Soon...

The announcement of the third manager in Beach Bums history will be made at a press conference next Wednesday, November 5...Check here for full details when the day arrives or visit tcbeachbums.com...

Along with the press conference there will be a public meet and greet at Wilderness Crossing on Thursday from 6-8pm that includes autographs, giveaways, and special deals...Full details can be found by clicking below...

Details

Now I am already starting to get questions about the new skipper, I know who it is, but you'll have to wait and see...I know the hire brings a lot of optimism for the 2009 campaign...Stay tuned...I will have an exclusive interview with the new skipper to place on Calderwood's Corner shortly after the hiring press conference, if you have questions you want to ask the skip, send them my way...

Go Cubs Go!

As most of you know (Especially Rodger) I am a huge Cubs fan...Tonight begins the 2008 playoffs...100 years ends this season my friends!!! I am decked out in the full Cubs blue today...Chicago might get a little crazy over the next few weeks with both the Cubs and Sox in the playoffs...Make it last forever!!!

Fall Broadcast Schedule

There has been some interest in my fall broadcast schedule so here it is...All times are Central...I will be on the Horizon League Network for Loyola University Chicago...It is free to watch through horizonleaguenetwork.tv...




Volleyball
Oct. 3 vs. Wright State - 7pm
Oct. 17 vs. Youngstown State - 7pm
Oct. 25 vs. UIC - 7pm
Nov. 7 vs. Valparaiso - 7pm
Nov. 8 vs. Butler - 4pm
Nov. 14 vs. Green Bay - 7pm
Nov. 15 vs. Milwaukee - 2pm

Soccer
Oct. 11 Men vs. Bradley - 7pm
Oct. 26 Women vs. Youngstown State - 7pm

Beach Bums League Leaders

As I settle in Chicago for the offseason and attempt to find an offseason job I wanted to reflect upon the accomplishments of the 2008 squad...

Who can forget the night of September 1 when Brad Miller hit for the cycle against Kalamazoo, capping it with a walk-off homer...

Here are some of the league leaders for the Beach Bums from the 2008 season...

Ryan Gehring finished tied for the league lead in shutouts with three...

David Nathanson led the league in ERA at 2.28...On September 2 he came out of the bullpen and threw six innings on two days rest to earn his 12 win of the year...

As a team the Beach Bums pitching staff led the league in ERA at 3.57...Pitching Coach John Sexton guided his pitching staff to a league best and team record 11 shutouts along with the fewest hits (785), the second most saves (24), and the fewest walks (312)...

Closer Jeff Williams set a team record with 15 saves while reliever Ted Gjeldum also set a team record by finishing second in the league with 46 appearances...

Mike Epping and Steve Young each eclipsed the team record for stolen bases with Epping finishing second in the league with 38 steals and Steve Young finishing fifth with 33...

Just some of the things to remember from 2008...Is 2009 here yet??

Windy City Thunderbolts Claim Second Straight Title

At the beginning of the season I thought they had a great chance, and it took only three games to happen...The Windy City Thunderbolts overcame a mid-season managerial swap and won 60 games for the second straight season and captured their second consecutive Frontier League Title, joining only the Richmond Roosters as back-to-back champs in the league...Before the 2007 season the Thunderbolts hadn't even been to the playoffs let alone win a title...This season they made it two in a row, sweeping the Kalamazoo Kings...Congratulations to first-year Manager Mike Kashirsky, who was instilled in June to replace Brian Nelson...The Thunderbolts were the hottest team in the league in the second half, winning 25 of 28 at one point to take control of the West Division...Game One starter Ross Stout, who threw a complete game, was the MVP...What else is new, Stout threw a league best six complete games in the regular season...Lots to look forward to in 2009!! Offseason here we come...

Championship Series in Windy City

The entire Frontier League Championship Series was moved from Kalamazoo to Crestwood, Illinois following heavy rain that caused the flooding of Kalamazoo's Homer Stryker Field...In chatting with Kings GM Joe Rosenhagen at Game One of the series, he said there was two feet of water on the field and more expected...Check out this picture...

Season Recap

The Record-Eagle wrote up a season recap on the year that was in Traverse City...

Bums had Bittersweet Campaign

Changing of the Guard

If you haven't heard, Beach Bums Manager Jon Cahill will not return for 2009...The article from the Record-Eagle is below...I am certain Jon will land on his feet somewhere...He was 96-96 in his two seasons as manager and always happy to drop by for Cahill's Corner in the On Deck Show...

Cahill Not Returning

Season Highlight Reel

While the 2008 season finished shy of expectations, here is the highlight reel that I put together and aired in the final After Show of the season...Lots of people have requested copies of this...If you would like one just let me know via email and I can send it your way...

The Final Cahill's Corner

This is the final edition of Cahill's Corner aired on September 3...It will be the last one of his as a member of the Beach Bums, more on that later...

Award Winners

The list of Frontier League 2008 Post-Season Award Winners are out...

Congratulations to Steve Young who was selected as the winner of the Fran Riordan Award for citizenship...It is also with great pride that I tell you the Beach Bums have been selected as the 2008 Frontier League Organization of the Year, the second time the team has received the honor in three years...

A special congrats goes out to a good friend, Randy Gore...Gore, of the Washington Wild Things, was chosen as the 2008 Frontier League Broadcaster of the Year...

That Sick Feeling in the Pit of Your Stomach...

Oh you have it too? Tonight will be the final game of 2008 as an amazing season comes to a screeching halt...Gateway rallied from a 2-0 deficit and beat Southern Illinois 4-2 last night to clinch the fourth and final playoff slot...Alex Kerins doubled with the bases loaded in the sixth inning to put the Grizzlies in front...

I was sitting with the coaching staff at around 11 last night when the word came...Jon Cahill's phone rang, it was the commish...moments later I got a text message from Gateway's broadcaster, it read simply 4-2 Grizz Final...Sorry man...The look on our faces said it all...The nervous waiting and the excitement from earlier in the night was gone...95 games and 50 wins brought us to within a game of the playoffs for the first time in franchise history, but its that 96th game that won't have any bearing on what happens for us, instead it will be a chance to celebrate the 2008 season...

Some things to chew on...The number 19, ah, ah, ah...What am I the count from Sesame Street? Yes I used to watch that as a youth...

The Beach Bums have a chance to spoil the season for Kalamazoo...The Kings have never been swept this year and if the Beach Bums do that, the Kings could become the second overall seed rather than the top seed...Make sure to listen in tonight for my famous year-end highlight reel...Airtime is 4:45pm with the Labatt Blue On Deck Show...Thanks to everyone for what has been a great second season here in Northern Michigan...I hope you have enjoyed my posts, I will update some details through the offseason as stuff develops in my world...

Rumors...

Unfortunately the end of the season brings with it rumors from all over the place...In my usual search of ballparkdigest I came across this tidbit...Having just left Chillicothe I'll say that if this is true they will be missed...I loved visiting Chillicothe...

Paints likely to leave Frontier League; owners looking at launching wood-bat league
Posted Sept. 1, 2008 (feedback) (submit story) (discuss)
The owners of the Chillicothe Paints (independent; Frontier League) are planning to leave the world of independent baseball and launch their own summer-collegiate league. The future of the Paints in the Frontier League has tenuous this season: the team draws only 1,302 a game -- dead last in the indy circuit -- but the owners seem to do a better job of managing the facility, hosting many events unrelated to Paints baseball. There are some economic advantages to summer-collegiate ball -- you can take away player payroll and workers-comp (depending on the state; some states, like Wisconsin, do require workers-comp insurance to be paid on summer-collegiate-league players) off the ledger books. But you can also take some revenue off, as summer-collegiate-league seasons are much shorter than indy leagues. And forming a league is a formidable challenge, to say the least. But there are probably a few other cities that should look at shifting from indy ball to summer-collegiate ball, and we expect more movement in this direction in the next few years.

Cahill's Corner: September 1

I don't think we could have realized what was to come when this interview was conducted...Still, its the pregame interview before the opener with Kalamazoo...

Ralph?

Apparently this has become a huge joke so I thought I'd share in some of the humor by induldging you with some grasshopper photos...Yes I was again visited by one while at Chillicothe, and last night one of the suite ushers even brought one up to my booth that he picked up outside...Yick!!!!

First photo is of my new friend, stuffed Ralph! Thanks to Sharon Higaki for that one, I about jumped out of my bradcast booth when I discovered it next to my mike...

That Just Happened...

What a night! I'm still trying to digest what happened...Brad Miller hit for the cycle, the first player in Beach Bums history to do so and the first in the Frontier League since very early in 2004...It wasn't just that he hit for the cycle...It was that he finished it with a walkoff homer, the first walkoff homer of the season for the Beach Bums, and in the process kept the Beach Bums playoff hopes alove for another night...

THE CALL (I went buhzerk but listening back still got everything in that I wanted to, capturing the emotion of the moment)




THE POSTGAME INTERVIEW



What is bad however is that now the playoff hopes are out of the Beach Bums hands...Gateway's magic number dwindled to one with a come from behind 7-4 win last night over Southern Illinois, knocking the Miners out of first in the West...Gateway is one game ahead of the Beach Bums with two to play and owns the tiebreaker with the Beach Bums, having won five of the six meetings this season...So, the Beach Bums need to win the last two with Kalamazoo and hope Southern Illinois does the same at Gateway...Southern Illinois is a game behind Windy City and holds the tiebreak with the 2007 League Champs...

Rockford and Washington were eliminated from playoff consideration yesterday, ending long postseason runs...Washington has been in the playoffs in every season of their franchise, including two years with current Beach Bums Manager Jon Cahill...The Wild Things lost in last year's championship series and will miss the post season for the first time, having been in every year since 2002...Rockford hasn't missed the playoffs since the 2003 season, winning a title in 2004...

On a side note, if the Beach Bums win out Kalamazoo could not end up as the top overall seed...The Kings presently hold a one game edge over Windy City for home field throughout with two to play...Kalamazoo and Windy City split their six meetings this season if they were to finish tied meaning it would go to a secondary tiebreaker...The top seed will play either Gateway or the Beach Bums while the second seed will meet whoever doesn't win the West, Southern Illinois or Windy City...

On a further side note a pair of Major Leaguers hit for the cycle last night as well, the first time since 1920 that a pair of players hit for the cycle on the same day...

Media
Record-Eagle

Kalamazoo-Gazette

The Southern Story about Gateway's Win over Southern Illinois

Marion Daily Republican Story

Belleville News-Democrat Article on the Grizzlies Win

Apparently the Beach Bums Aren't the Only Ones Changing Walk-Out Songs -- More from the Belleville News-Democrat

Washington Eliminated -- Observer-Reporter

Rockford Eliminated

Learning to Dance With Steve Young

If you haven't seen this yet, you need to...

Dancing Steve Young

That would be none other than Steve Young showcasing his dance moves, no wonder he plays second base so well...I had him join me on the Labatt Blue On Deck Show yesterday to tell me about his dancing escapades...Look for it on the Wuerfel Park videoboard...

Random Thoughts

I haven't posted many random thoughts, instead a lot of fun stuff and factual evidence...Here is a chapter of random thoughts...I can't believe there are just nine games remaining in the season...

I'd feel better about having six of the final nine at home if the team weren't just 24-24 this season at Wuerfel Park with a .229 average...The bottom line is this...One game at a time...Rockford, Gateway, and Washington are all in the race along with the Beach Bums for one thing, the final playoff slot...At the beginning of the season I felt as though this was a championship team and I still feel that way...It has been a long season, but one goal remains in the final week and a half, the first ever playoff spot...I'm hoping the offday yesterday helped to refocus and that guys will realize this is it...for some players maybe this is it for good...Finish strong...One at bat, one pitch at a time...Make the most of the opportunities and there is no doubt in my mind that this team can make some noise down the stretch run...Now I sound like a motivational speaker...

The series with Southern Illinois didn't go well, but it had the feel of a playoff series, three close games decided by a total of six runs and all three games could have just as easily swung in the direction of the Beach Bums...But they didn't...it's over, in the past...While ground was lost the team is still in a good spot with nine games to go...It is important tonight to set the tone of the game early against Florence...To make the playoffs these are the playoffs...All the work all season long comes down to this...Nine Games...

The question is always asked of me what I do in the offseason...Well I'll be going back to Chicago when the time comes and attempting to find some form of work...I also get asked a lot about the future here for me in TC...I love it here and am staying until the good Lord give me another opportunity, when and where that will be who knows but I think the goal of all of us in the broadcast business is to take a step forward so we'll see what happens this offseason...

Between Game Fun With Damon Lessler

So I forgot to post this a while ago, but...Here is my between game interview with Damon Lessler from the Gateway doubleheader back on July 31...It is timely because I think as part of today's Labatt Blue On Deck Show I am going to have Damon cut my hair Zohan style...

Gold Medal Interview

Now that I have your attention here is my interview with Mike Phelps (Pictured at right), closer for the Southern Illinois Miners, aired during the Labatt Blue On Deck Show on Sunday August 24...Phelps posted his second save of the season that night...He has earned national recognition of late due to his name (See Left, some guy who won eight gold medals) and was in fact on ESPN earlier in the week...Similarities??? I don't know...You tell me...

More Miners Stuff

On a side note I think that I may attempt to interview Mike Phelps today for the Labatt Blue On Deck Show...Here's some more stuff on the Miners...Today I was sitting in my broadcast booth with the television on when something caught my attention...My favorite show on ESPN is Outside the Lines...I think Bob Ley is amazing and if ever I was to leave play-by-play the only thing I'd want to leave for would be a show like Outside the Lines...A story caught my attention, and this story just happened to feature the Southern Illinois Miners as well as my Cubs...You may recall in 2007 that the Miners signed Danny Almonte...This story was about the parallel between him and Matthew Cerda, who made the last out of the Little League World Series against Almonte...Cerda was drafted by the Cubs this year in the 4th Round, while Almonte's only pro experience came in a 34-day stint with the Miners...This link has both the video that aired on ESPN as well as an interesting article...and while it wasn't extremely kind to the league I have grown to love, it is a mention of the Frontier League on ESPN...further proff that the league is exploding in the indy circuit...(PS...that would be the Gateway Grizzlies in the background of this picture...Even I am impressed with my knowledge :))

Revenge of the Baeball Gods

Miners Walking Wounded??

I don't usually post articles about other teams from around the league but there is a lot going on these days and a couple of these deal with the Miners, currently in town to tackle the Beach Bums...An article from The Southern, a newspaper that covers Southern Illinois on a daily basis, recently wrote on the injury bug that has bitten the team late in the season...There's also an article about switching to a four-man rotation...

Walking Wounded?

Four Man Rotation

Evansville Manager Hospitalized

Jason Verdugo, Manager of the Evansville Otters, was rushed to the hospital after collapsing during batting practice yesterday...He is recovering after being released and treated for heat exhaustion...While it sounds as though a major problem was averted, Keep the Evansville family in your thoughts...

Story from the Evansville Courier-Press

David Nathanson After Show Interview

Jeff Williams - Labatt Blue On Deck Show

Cahill's Corner -- August 19

Steve Young on the Labatt Blue On Deck Show

Veteran Steve Young talks about the the recent plight of the Beach Bums as well as his season in the Labatt Blue On Deck Show...

Deadline Moves

The Frontier League transaction deadline has come and gone...(It was Monday night at 11:59pm for those wondering)...The Beach Bums made a series of moves, signing OF Reed Welker (Pictured) of Saginaw Valley State University, and releasing OF Tycen PoVey and OF Jake Whitesides...Whitesides will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury...The release of PoVey opens a slot for David Nathanson, who is eligible to come off of injured reserve on August 17...The rules this season said that in order for a player to come off of injured reserve there has to be an open slot for him by the transaction deadline...

Full Details

Around the league not much noise was made...again a new rule this year...Team's can't rent players, or in other words you can't trade for a guy and then trade him back to his team which was done frequently in the past...The big move involved Southern Illinois and Gateway...Gateway traded Manny Paula (.266, 3HR, 29RBI) to Southern Illinois in exchange for All-Star Willie Keene (.287, 12HR, 37RBI)...Florence was the only other team to make a trade, snagging RHP Andy Schon from the United League...Schon Pitched in seven games for Washington last season...Its hard to deal with other leagues because players need to clear waivers in order to be traded...

Chatting With Trainer Kira Olds

Trainer Kiras Olds is on her way back to Western Illinois University...I chatted with her before her final game with the Beach Bums...

Words With Wuerfel: August 10

CALDERWOOD'S CORNER EXCLUSIVE: Catching Up With Tom Thornton: Evansville Otters

Before the final game with Evansville I caught up with former Beach Bums hurler Tom Thornton for a Calderwood's Corner Exclusive...Ironically, he pitched that night and did not receive any boos, tossing two scoreless innings of relief for the Otters...Thornton is pictured in his last start with the Beach Bums on September 1, 2007, a 5-4 walkoff win over Windy City, the 46th and final win of 2007 for the Beach Bums...