Since I don't know if I'll get a chance to post before practice tomorrow, the Frontier League season officially opens Sunday night in Chillicothe, Ohio...The Paints will meet the Washington Wild Things in the earliest Frontier League opener ever...First pitch is scheduled for 6:05pm...Chillicothe is hosting the MAC Tournament during the week and thus had to open the season early...This will be a good chance to scout out the Beach Bums competition early as both teams will be in the East Division with the Beach Bums this season...The Beach Bums first road trip of the season will take the team to both sites...Washington will play its home opener against the Beach Bums on May 24...that will be the first game since Monday, which is a 10AM game in Ohio...
Below are the links to listen in...
Chillicothe - Ryan Mitchell on Play-By-Play...He won the Frontier League Broadcaster of the Year in 2006 I want to say...
http://www.chillicothepaints.com/
The third link down on the left side of Chillicothe's website says Listen Live...click on that and the broadcast will pop open...I'm going to try and listen to the end of the game...Chillicothe's games are also broadcast live on television...
Washington - Not sure who their radio guy is...I know last year they had like four people hired by the radio station who rotated...
http://www.washingtonwildthings.com/press-broadcast.php
On an interesting note Washington and Chillicothe played each other in exhibitions on Friday and Saturday...Saturday though was rained out, but still...seeing the team you face on opening day on the day leading up to opening day...
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Sandbox News
The newest edition of Sandbox News went out through email today...if you are visiting this site for the first time as a result of reading Sandbox News, Thank you...this will be Beach Bums Central during the season...If you are not a Sandbox News subscriber you can sign up on the Beach Bums website...While you'll get some of the same content here, Sandbox News will give you a look inside the Beach Bums with some great photos by John L. Russell, the official Beach Bums photographer...Fpr those of you new to Calderwood's Corner, audio highlights and interviews from each game's broadcast will be posted here along with recaps, updates, an area to talk while the game is going on and much, much, more...You've gotta love the new media!!
Bowling Addendum
I have no idea if I spelled addendum right :) In my post about Bowl With the Beach Bums I mentioned Ted Gjeldum and his 189 game since it occured while he was bowling against me...while he was the king of my lane and posted the top score that I saw, I was told by the players today that Matt Dillard rolled out a 190 and that Kyle Maunus topped 200...These are the fun things you'll hear me talk about early in the season during my broadcasts, bowling scores... :)
Kids Club Bash Tomorrow
Suntan & Sunburn’s KIDS CLUB Bash presented by TBA Credit Union will be held at Wuerfel Park from 3-5 pm on Sunday, May 18.
The event, exclusively for KIDS CLUB members, will feature an opportunity to meet the 2008 Beach Bums and get autographs from the players and coaches, in addition to Suntan and Sunburn. All kids attending will receive a hot dog, chips, and a drink from the Beach Bums concession stand. KIDS CLUB membership cards must be presented for entrance to the event.
Not a member? No problem. You can still sign up to be a part of Suntan and Sunburn’s KIDS CLUB presented by TBA Credit Union. Members will receive a KIDS CLUB membership card, free admission to four Monday Beach Bums home games, a kids club sling bag, kids club t-shirt, an autographed picture from Suntan and Sunburn, an exclusive kids club newsletter, and 10% off in the gift shop on Monday home games with your membership card. One lucky KIDS CLUB member will be chosen every Monday home game to throw out the first pitch.
Sign up online (click on KIDS CLUB link to the right of this article), come on out to Wuerfel Park today, or visit any of the Traverse City TBA Credit Union locations to sign up.
The event, exclusively for KIDS CLUB members, will feature an opportunity to meet the 2008 Beach Bums and get autographs from the players and coaches, in addition to Suntan and Sunburn. All kids attending will receive a hot dog, chips, and a drink from the Beach Bums concession stand. KIDS CLUB membership cards must be presented for entrance to the event.
Not a member? No problem. You can still sign up to be a part of Suntan and Sunburn’s KIDS CLUB presented by TBA Credit Union. Members will receive a KIDS CLUB membership card, free admission to four Monday Beach Bums home games, a kids club sling bag, kids club t-shirt, an autographed picture from Suntan and Sunburn, an exclusive kids club newsletter, and 10% off in the gift shop on Monday home games with your membership card. One lucky KIDS CLUB member will be chosen every Monday home game to throw out the first pitch.
Sign up online (click on KIDS CLUB link to the right of this article), come on out to Wuerfel Park today, or visit any of the Traverse City TBA Credit Union locations to sign up.
Night Under the Lights
Saturday night marked the first practice under the lights for the Beach Bums. While there was no simulated game with pitcher's this evening, Jon Cahill and his staff made sure that pitchers and fielder's alike were aclimated to the night conditions at Wuerfel Park before the opener on Wednesday night, which by the way is now just four days away...
John Sexton threw to the hitters off the mound, reliving his college days. He threw to three seperate groups in what was kind of a simulated game so the hitters could see what the baseball looked like coming out of a pitchers hand in the different stages of the evening...Jon Cahill hit pop ups to the infielders and outfielders to work on a dual purpose, communication, and finding the ball in the night.
The team will be back under the lights tomorrow night as well...
John Sexton threw to the hitters off the mound, reliving his college days. He threw to three seperate groups in what was kind of a simulated game so the hitters could see what the baseball looked like coming out of a pitchers hand in the different stages of the evening...Jon Cahill hit pop ups to the infielders and outfielders to work on a dual purpose, communication, and finding the ball in the night.
The team will be back under the lights tomorrow night as well...
Friday, May 16, 2008
Progressing Towards 24: Pitching Staff Set
It appears that the pitching staff is set for the opener on Wednesday as several cuts were made following the workout on Friday...I was going to wait to post details, but they are already off of the roster on the website so here goes...Released today were RHP Will Jackel (2nd Round Frontier League Draft Pick),
1B Charlie Yarbrough (3rd Round Frontier League Draft Pick), RHP Josh Myers, RHP Stephen Read, RHP Rory James, and RHP Shannon Wirth, which leads me to believe that we may see Brett Bostelman as a starter after his outing today...As I mentioned earlier, it is never an easy job for a manager to let players go, especially with the talent the Beach Bums had in camp...It is however, part of the baseball business...Having watched a ton of spring training I can say that in no way were these easy decisions to make with everyone working extremely hard and helping make the entire staff better...I feel in my own opinion that anyone of the players let go are definetly capable of playing in the Frontier League...The roster now stands at 27with the Frontier League maximum being 24...The final roster is expected to be announced on Monday and the other decisions won't be easy either...I can say that with four catchers at least one will come from there...Here's the pitching staff for 2008 with their status...
RHP Brett Bostelman (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
RHP Zac Cole (Pitched for the Gulf Coast Orioles last year -- Rookie-2)
RHP Matt Dillard (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
LHP Ryan Gehring (3rd Year with TC -- LS-2)
LHP Ted Gjeldum (Pitched for the Burlington Royals in the Appy League -- Rookie-2)
RHP J.T. King (Pitched for West Virginia Power -- Brewers Organization -- LS-1)
LHP Jared Locke (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
RHP Pete McEneaney (1st Round Pick in the Frontier League Draft -- 6th Overall)
RHP David Nathanson (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
RHP Nick Pepper (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
RHP Bryan Rembisz (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
RHP Jeff Williams (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
1B Charlie Yarbrough (3rd Round Frontier League Draft Pick), RHP Josh Myers, RHP Stephen Read, RHP Rory James, and RHP Shannon Wirth, which leads me to believe that we may see Brett Bostelman as a starter after his outing today...As I mentioned earlier, it is never an easy job for a manager to let players go, especially with the talent the Beach Bums had in camp...It is however, part of the baseball business...Having watched a ton of spring training I can say that in no way were these easy decisions to make with everyone working extremely hard and helping make the entire staff better...I feel in my own opinion that anyone of the players let go are definetly capable of playing in the Frontier League...The roster now stands at 27with the Frontier League maximum being 24...The final roster is expected to be announced on Monday and the other decisions won't be easy either...I can say that with four catchers at least one will come from there...Here's the pitching staff for 2008 with their status...
RHP Brett Bostelman (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
RHP Zac Cole (Pitched for the Gulf Coast Orioles last year -- Rookie-2)
RHP Matt Dillard (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
LHP Ryan Gehring (3rd Year with TC -- LS-2)
LHP Ted Gjeldum (Pitched for the Burlington Royals in the Appy League -- Rookie-2)
RHP J.T. King (Pitched for West Virginia Power -- Brewers Organization -- LS-1)
LHP Jared Locke (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
RHP Pete McEneaney (1st Round Pick in the Frontier League Draft -- 6th Overall)
RHP David Nathanson (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
RHP Nick Pepper (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
RHP Bryan Rembisz (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
RHP Jeff Williams (2nd Year with TC -- Rookie-2)
Oh What a Night!!!
The guys told me I had to blog about last evening's Bowl With the Beach Bums event...I will preface this by saying that in no way do I have any bowling skills (and those of you who were there can confirm this)...I have been practicing since I've been up here in anticipation of last night's fun but unfortunately my practice did not pay off under pressure...I rolled somewhere around eight games and feel like my arm is going to fall off...I began by taking on Damon Lessler, James Conrad, and Ted Gjeldum...As I told them I can talk-the-talk, but sure can't walk-the-walk...I think in the entire evening I broke the century mark maybe three times...Gjeldum meanwhile was like the bowling king...He rolled four straight strikes at one point and finished with a 189...Note to self, don't bowl with Ted! I started off strong but faded fast...James (Homerun King) Conrad had like 18 pins through the first four frames and beat me because he heated up...Nick Pepper did make a couple tries in his sidearm motion...that was funny...He still beat me too...Like I said bowling, while fun, is definetly not my thing...I'll stick to the microphone and writing here...I did get to use my mad microphone skills to Emcee the evening's event by announcing winners of our drawings for autographed T-shirts and four-packs of tickets to the second game of the season...A ton of fun was had by all...
I even got to try my hand at the most awesome laser tag venue ever...Unfortunately I also ran into Bryan Rembisz who apparently has mad laser tag skills...I think he shot me like 20 times in a 15-minute game of fun...I was also wearing white so I kinda give myself a pass on that one since in a black-light arena I stuck out like a sore thumb...Fortunately for me, Erin Wood of the front office staff was also wearing white, so I wasn't the only one...It was awesome with most of the team running around in the arena and popping out of nowhere to fire lasers...I finished 11th out of how many I'm not sure but there were at least 20 I've gotta believe...Some of the guys told me they were still seeing lasers when trying to drive home...
Thanks again to everyone who came out last night and if you haven't had the chance to check out Wilderness Crossing, it is worth the venture...
I even got to try my hand at the most awesome laser tag venue ever...Unfortunately I also ran into Bryan Rembisz who apparently has mad laser tag skills...I think he shot me like 20 times in a 15-minute game of fun...I was also wearing white so I kinda give myself a pass on that one since in a black-light arena I stuck out like a sore thumb...Fortunately for me, Erin Wood of the front office staff was also wearing white, so I wasn't the only one...It was awesome with most of the team running around in the arena and popping out of nowhere to fire lasers...I finished 11th out of how many I'm not sure but there were at least 20 I've gotta believe...Some of the guys told me they were still seeing lasers when trying to drive home...
Thanks again to everyone who came out last night and if you haven't had the chance to check out Wilderness Crossing, it is worth the venture...
Friday Practice Notes
The Blue defeated the Gold 3-2 early this afternoon in a six-inning contest...Brett Bostelman got a look as a starter for the Blue team while Jared Locke also got some work for the Blue...The Gold used the bullpen, starting Matt Dillard, but also throwing Ted Gjeldum (Bowling Master...More on that later), Nick Pepper, and Pete McEneaney...Jeff Williams tossed an inning for each side after needing just six pitches in one half...
Brett Bostelman looked strong in a starting role, working four innings and surrendering just one run on three hits...He walked three and struck out two to earn the win...It will be interesting to see which way the coaches lean with Bostelman, who was solid out of the bullpen last season but was a starter in college...Today was his longest outing as a Beach Bum...The lone run he allowed came on a solo homer off the bat of Johnny Coit into right-center-field...Coit's homer was the first of two Beach Bums long balls on the day...
Kyle Maunus provided the loudest noise of the afternoon, drilling a Pete McEneaney pitch over the wall in left-center for a three-run homer...It was an absolute no doubter that landed up near the walkway beyond the hill...Maunus also added a sharp single into left-center and stole a base as well...The Beach Bums stole four bases on Friday...
Jake Whitesides contributed a pair of hits and a stolen base, tripling into right-center and reaching on an infield hit...Steve Young also tallied two hits including a double down the right-field line on a good pitch by Jeff Williams...Young stole a bag as well...John Brummett kicked in a pair of singles as he battles for a slot...Mike Goetz posted the other steal of the day...
Ted Gjeldum and Jeff Williams both worked out of jams...Williams had runners at second and third with one out and Gjeldum posted a pair of strikeouts with the bases loaded...Bostelman also avoided early trouble, leaving runners at the corners in the first...
Defensive highlights of the day included a tremendous leaping grab by Brad Miller at short to rob Pat Perry of a hit, and Steve Young made a tremendous play up the middle to throw out Brad Roblin...Mike Goetz made a sliding grab to end the game in left field on a sinking liner by Damon Lessler...Another interesting note of the day ocurred when Lessler lined a foul ball off of one of the suite windows on the first base side, registering the first break of the season...
Practice under the lights tomorrow night after the Glen Lake High School Invitational...The Glen Lake Tournament will be the last of the high school games this season at Wuerfel Park...
Stuff I'm Working On: Trying to get an interview with the crew from Astroturf to talk about the project at Wuerfel Park and how quickly it came together...
Brett Bostelman looked strong in a starting role, working four innings and surrendering just one run on three hits...He walked three and struck out two to earn the win...It will be interesting to see which way the coaches lean with Bostelman, who was solid out of the bullpen last season but was a starter in college...Today was his longest outing as a Beach Bum...The lone run he allowed came on a solo homer off the bat of Johnny Coit into right-center-field...Coit's homer was the first of two Beach Bums long balls on the day...
Kyle Maunus provided the loudest noise of the afternoon, drilling a Pete McEneaney pitch over the wall in left-center for a three-run homer...It was an absolute no doubter that landed up near the walkway beyond the hill...Maunus also added a sharp single into left-center and stole a base as well...The Beach Bums stole four bases on Friday...
Jake Whitesides contributed a pair of hits and a stolen base, tripling into right-center and reaching on an infield hit...Steve Young also tallied two hits including a double down the right-field line on a good pitch by Jeff Williams...Young stole a bag as well...John Brummett kicked in a pair of singles as he battles for a slot...Mike Goetz posted the other steal of the day...
Ted Gjeldum and Jeff Williams both worked out of jams...Williams had runners at second and third with one out and Gjeldum posted a pair of strikeouts with the bases loaded...Bostelman also avoided early trouble, leaving runners at the corners in the first...
Defensive highlights of the day included a tremendous leaping grab by Brad Miller at short to rob Pat Perry of a hit, and Steve Young made a tremendous play up the middle to throw out Brad Roblin...Mike Goetz made a sliding grab to end the game in left field on a sinking liner by Damon Lessler...Another interesting note of the day ocurred when Lessler lined a foul ball off of one of the suite windows on the first base side, registering the first break of the season...
Practice under the lights tomorrow night after the Glen Lake High School Invitational...The Glen Lake Tournament will be the last of the high school games this season at Wuerfel Park...
Stuff I'm Working On: Trying to get an interview with the crew from Astroturf to talk about the project at Wuerfel Park and how quickly it came together...
Friday's Random Notes
The Beach Bums faced Gary on Tuesday in an exhibition contest, Gary opened the Northern League season at home last night with a 3-0 defeat to the Joliet JackHammers...The Railcats managed just three hits, one of which came from former Beach Bum Mike Reese who's interview with me can be heard in an earlier post from this week...In other Northern League action former Beach Bum Lance Koenig was 0-for-4for Schaumburg with a walk and a caught stealing in the Flyers season opening loss to Fargo-Moorhead 7-4 in 12 innings...The Beach Bums, it appears, will not have the fortune of facing Scott Fogelson this season...Fogelson has struggled against Traverse City during his two seasons in the Frontier League, last year finishing 0-3 with an 8.22 ERA against the Beach Bums while with Kalamazoo, totaling just 7.2 innings in three starts...He then made two more appearances while with Florence, going 0-1...All-in-all he was 0-4 against the Beach Bums in five starts...A lefty, Fogelson was released today by River City...In another interesting move, Paul Rutgers announced his retirement from Chillicothe...Rutgers played 93 games for the Paints last season in the outfield and hit .254...While I haven't seen officially I would imagine that Washington and Chillicothe both have set their rosters...The teams open against each other on Sunday in the earliest Frontier League opener in league history (2008 marks the 16th season of FL Baseball)...Another interesting move came in Rockford where new/old manager Bob Koopmann (He managed Rockford from 2002-04 before signing on again this season, replacing J.D. Arndt, who stayed on as the defensive coordinator) opted to let go of Justus Kimbrough...Kimbrough was Rockford's best catcher a year ago but the Riverhawks have a pair of rookies on the roster for 2008...The Beach Bums also released Kenny Smith , trimming the roster to 33...Smith as you may recall my writing in the Gary blogs, suffered a significant hand injury at the end of the first exhibition game...
Exhibition Slate: Lots of games on the final weekend of spring training...Midwest gets its first exhibition action with a game against Windy City tonight in Chicago...I've heard a lot of good things about Midwest Manager Eric Coleman and am looking forward to chatting with him when the Sliders open the season at Wuerfel Park five days from tonight...Kalamazoo hosts Midwest on Saturday night...Windy City travels to Rockford for a doubleheader on Saturday...River City concludes its exhibition schedule by hosting Gateway tonight and travelling to Gateway on Saturday...The Grizzlies will then host the Military All-Stars on Sunday...Washington beat the Military All-Stars 19-2 last night...Evansville hosts Southern Illinois tonight and Florence hosts Chillicothe...
Exhibition Slate: Lots of games on the final weekend of spring training...Midwest gets its first exhibition action with a game against Windy City tonight in Chicago...I've heard a lot of good things about Midwest Manager Eric Coleman and am looking forward to chatting with him when the Sliders open the season at Wuerfel Park five days from tonight...Kalamazoo hosts Midwest on Saturday night...Windy City travels to Rockford for a doubleheader on Saturday...River City concludes its exhibition schedule by hosting Gateway tonight and travelling to Gateway on Saturday...The Grizzlies will then host the Military All-Stars on Sunday...Washington beat the Military All-Stars 19-2 last night...Evansville hosts Southern Illinois tonight and Florence hosts Chillicothe...
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Spring Training Simulated Game Update
Last night was Meet Your Seat Night so the Beach Bums did not have a simulated game, instead taking batting practice after being introduced to the fans who were in attendance...
Today marked the first game action since the split at Gary on Tuesday...The Gold shutout the Blue 2-0 with both runs coming in the first inning...Pitching for the Blue was Josh Myers, Will Jackel, and the newcomer Pete McEneaney...On the Gold side was J.T. King, Stephen Read, and Zac Cole...
Josh Myers threw five innings for the Blue and surrendered both runs. He struck out six and allowed six hits. J.T. King also tossed five innings on the Gold side and did not allow a run while scattering three hits and striking out three. Will Jackel posted a strikeout in his inning and Zac Cole overcame a pair of walks to tally a save. Pete McEneaney worked a 1-2-3 frame in his spring debut. McEneaney's college team was eliminated last weekend, but he threw a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts in the University of Rochester's lone win during the Liberty League Tournament.
Jake Whitesides drove in a run in the first inning with a sharp single up the middle while the other run scored on an error. Four individuals posted more than one hit. Mike Epping had a pair of singles and a stolen base, Johnny Coit pounded a double to center and also singled, Kyle Maunus tallied a pair of singles and Charlie Yarbrough hammered a double into right center to go along with a single. In total the Beach Bums amassed 10 hits.
Defensively the Beach Bums turned three double plays. There were also a pair of highlight plays as Damon Lessler made a diving grab of a sinking Steve Young liner and Jeff Brown made a running play in foul ground by the wall in left.
Today marked the first game action since the split at Gary on Tuesday...The Gold shutout the Blue 2-0 with both runs coming in the first inning...Pitching for the Blue was Josh Myers, Will Jackel, and the newcomer Pete McEneaney...On the Gold side was J.T. King, Stephen Read, and Zac Cole...
Josh Myers threw five innings for the Blue and surrendered both runs. He struck out six and allowed six hits. J.T. King also tossed five innings on the Gold side and did not allow a run while scattering three hits and striking out three. Will Jackel posted a strikeout in his inning and Zac Cole overcame a pair of walks to tally a save. Pete McEneaney worked a 1-2-3 frame in his spring debut. McEneaney's college team was eliminated last weekend, but he threw a complete game shutout with eight strikeouts in the University of Rochester's lone win during the Liberty League Tournament.
Jake Whitesides drove in a run in the first inning with a sharp single up the middle while the other run scored on an error. Four individuals posted more than one hit. Mike Epping had a pair of singles and a stolen base, Johnny Coit pounded a double to center and also singled, Kyle Maunus tallied a pair of singles and Charlie Yarbrough hammered a double into right center to go along with a single. In total the Beach Bums amassed 10 hits.
Defensively the Beach Bums turned three double plays. There were also a pair of highlight plays as Damon Lessler made a diving grab of a sinking Steve Young liner and Jeff Brown made a running play in foul ground by the wall in left.
Bowl With the Beach Bums Tonight!!!!
Tonight at Wilderness Crossing is Bowl With the Beach Bums! The event begins at 7pm and will be your chance to showcase your skills against the likes of me and the Beach Bums players...You can also get autographs, play laser tag against players, enjoy food, and check out Northern Michigan's newest entertainment destination...It should be a fun time...I had the chance to roll with several of the players about a week ago and I held my own despite at best a 115 average...so give it a shot! Apparently I've improved because I never used to be able to break 100...I believe I heard that WKHQ will be there though I can't confirm that...It should be an awesome time and a great chance for you to meet the Beach Bums up close and personal...I hope to see you there tonight at 7pm!!!
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Slowly Progressing Towards 24
With opening night against the Midwest Sliders just a week away (Order your tickets today, last year's opening night SOLD OUT with a record crowd of 6,532), the roster currently stands at 34...The Frontier League maximum is 24...
Any manager will tell you that the hardest part of the job is making cuts...You wish you could keep everyone but unfortunately its just part of the business...Last season the Beach Bums brought back more than one player after cutting them early in the season so just because they won't make the opening day roster doesn't mean we won't see them at some point...I say it again and again but this is some kind of talent level assembled for 2008...There are 17 pitchers on the roster, 12 pitched yesterday...
The first decisions were made prior to the Gary trip as the Beach Bums released LHP Jacob Cook and RHP Matt Lawrence retired...
Also at Gary the Beach Bums unfortunately had an injury...Kenny Smith suffered a hand injury at the end of the Gary game and did not play against Windy City...one of the reasons to have a bigger camp is to have backups in case of injury, but its always unfortunate to see it happen...
Any manager will tell you that the hardest part of the job is making cuts...You wish you could keep everyone but unfortunately its just part of the business...Last season the Beach Bums brought back more than one player after cutting them early in the season so just because they won't make the opening day roster doesn't mean we won't see them at some point...I say it again and again but this is some kind of talent level assembled for 2008...There are 17 pitchers on the roster, 12 pitched yesterday...
The first decisions were made prior to the Gary trip as the Beach Bums released LHP Jacob Cook and RHP Matt Lawrence retired...
Also at Gary the Beach Bums unfortunately had an injury...Kenny Smith suffered a hand injury at the end of the Gary game and did not play against Windy City...one of the reasons to have a bigger camp is to have backups in case of injury, but its always unfortunate to see it happen...
Exhibition Thoughts
Well I've been getting the question a lot today so I thought I'd comment on it here...Tim, what'd you think of the team?
The answer is I saw exactly what I was hoping to see...a team with a lot of grit and fight that never gave up despite getting down 4-0 to Gary and 2-0 to Windy City...I saw a bullpen that was unhittable...10 pitchers threw and allowed only two runs, both by one pitcher...Just six hits against the bullpen in those 10 innings...Jared Locke and Nick Pepper worked two of the quickest innings I have ever seen...11 pitches between the two, six outs, four broken bats...
I saw speed...Mike Goetz stole second which helped him score the winning run against Windy City...James Conrad stole second and third in the same at bat to eventually lead to scorign the tying run against Gary...
I saw range...there were literally three center fielders in the outfield for the Gary game...Goetz, Epping, and Roblin...They covered ground like no other...
I saw patience...Some amazing at bats by the hitters, fighting off pitches, battling, making pitchers work to get them out...
I saw persistence...Ryan Gehring and David Nathanson both put difficult first innings behind them to throw great...Gehring retired 10 straight after allowing his fifth hit of the first inning...
I saw the old Steve Young...Wow what a healthy Young can do...three hits against Windy City and another against Gary...two different slots in the order (2nd and 9th)...
That's all I got...I'm happy to answer any questions based on what I saw...One week until opening night!
The answer is I saw exactly what I was hoping to see...a team with a lot of grit and fight that never gave up despite getting down 4-0 to Gary and 2-0 to Windy City...I saw a bullpen that was unhittable...10 pitchers threw and allowed only two runs, both by one pitcher...Just six hits against the bullpen in those 10 innings...Jared Locke and Nick Pepper worked two of the quickest innings I have ever seen...11 pitches between the two, six outs, four broken bats...
I saw speed...Mike Goetz stole second which helped him score the winning run against Windy City...James Conrad stole second and third in the same at bat to eventually lead to scorign the tying run against Gary...
I saw range...there were literally three center fielders in the outfield for the Gary game...Goetz, Epping, and Roblin...They covered ground like no other...
I saw patience...Some amazing at bats by the hitters, fighting off pitches, battling, making pitchers work to get them out...
I saw persistence...Ryan Gehring and David Nathanson both put difficult first innings behind them to throw great...Gehring retired 10 straight after allowing his fifth hit of the first inning...
I saw the old Steve Young...Wow what a healthy Young can do...three hits against Windy City and another against Gary...two different slots in the order (2nd and 9th)...
That's all I got...I'm happy to answer any questions based on what I saw...One week until opening night!
Exhibition Media Coverage
Check out the media coverage from yesterday's exhibitions...
My Full Recap
http://www.tcbeachbums.com/news_view.php?id=451
The Record-Eagle Recap
http://www.record-eagle.com/sports/local_story_135100115.html
Gary's Writeup
http://www.railcatsbaseball.com/PressRelease_detail.asp?ID=1101
Windy City's Writeup
http://www.wcthunderbolts.com/news/gamenotes/?id=6387
The Frontier League Recap (Rehash of my story)
http://www.frontierleague.com/cgi-bin/dist/news.cgi?id=1210772843
Gary's Newspaper wrote a story but I can't get the link to work so I won't post anything...
My Full Recap
http://www.tcbeachbums.com/news_view.php?id=451
The Record-Eagle Recap
http://www.record-eagle.com/sports/local_story_135100115.html
Gary's Writeup
http://www.railcatsbaseball.com/PressRelease_detail.asp?ID=1101
Windy City's Writeup
http://www.wcthunderbolts.com/news/gamenotes/?id=6387
The Frontier League Recap (Rehash of my story)
http://www.frontierleague.com/cgi-bin/dist/news.cgi?id=1210772843
Gary's Newspaper wrote a story but I can't get the link to work so I won't post anything...
Gary Audio 2: Do You Know Who is the First Player Signed in Beach Bums History??
Do you know who is the first player signed in Beach Bums history?? If you know the answer then you will know who my next guest from the Beach Bums visit to Gary is with...He currently plays for the Gary Railcats...won a championship for them in 2007...spent all of 2006 with the Beach Bums...you're getting warmer...He was a leadoff man, led the team in stolen bases, served as an outfielder and designated hitter...If you answered Mike Reese then you are correct!! I caught up with him and chatted about among other things, his memories of Traverse City, the differences between the Northern League and the Frontier League, whats its like seeing friends across the way in the other dugout, and the toughest pitcher he has ever faced...the answer might surprise you...
Gary Audio 1: Chatting With Windy City's New Manager Brian Nelson
Well...I didn't get as much audio as I wanted to from Gary, but I did get some good stuff...In this edition its my interview with the new Windy City Manager Brian Nelson...As I mentioned yesterday he was a nice guy to talk to...He talked to me about how he landed the Windy City job, what he's trying to do in spring training, his adjustements to becoming the boss, and how he thinks a repeat of a 68-28 season will be tough...One thing he did mention to me which I thought was interesting was that his starting rotation may be better than last years...The Thunderbolts lost Billy Phillips to Gary and Shawn Phillips to the Marlins, but return Eric Fussell (Who pitched against the Beach Bums yesterday), Isaac Hess (Who also pitched against the Beach Bums yesterday), and surprise rookie Brock Hunton (who won 10 games for the TBolts last season)...Check out my interview below...
Wednesday Notes
Here are the randoms for Wednesday...Florence lost a pair of games with the Joliet Jackhammers of the Northern League, getting one-hit in a 2-0 loss on Monday, and following that with an 8-5 loss yesterday...Exhibition contests have ceased for the Frontier League until this weekend...Tyler Meigs, the Beach Bums closer in 2007, made the opening day roster for the Jackhammers and appears to be a setup man...Aaron Garza, who set the Beach Bums homerun record last season, is off to a 1-for-14 start in the American Association with the Grand Prairie AirHogs...Pete McEneaney arrived in Traverse City today...The first round pick in the draft (Sixth overall) brings the current number of players in camp to 34 and the total pitchers to 17...His college team, the University of Rochester, was eliminated in the conference tournament this past weekend...
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Tuesday of Champions Part Deux-- vs. Windy City (2007 Frontier League Champions), 5:30pm EST
LINEUPS
BEACH BUMS
Mike Goetz - LF
Steve Young - 2B
Jake Whitesides - RF
Pat Perry - DH
Kyle Maunus - 1B
Johnny Coit - C
Jeff Brown - 3B
Brad Roblin - CF
Damon Lessler - SS
David Nathanson - P
WINDY CITY
Gilberto Mejia - 2B
Mike Coles - CF
Wes Long - SS
Phil Hawke - 1B
Ben Barrone - DH
Brett Amyx - LF
Josh Horn - 3B
Carlos Medero - C
Phil Grau - RF
Eric Fussell - P
I'll post some general thoughts on the exhibitions upon return from Gary...Overall even though the first game was a loss I came away very impressed...lots of fight, good hustle, patience at the plate...Look in the comments for the running play-by-play of this one...
BEACH BUMS
Mike Goetz - LF
Steve Young - 2B
Jake Whitesides - RF
Pat Perry - DH
Kyle Maunus - 1B
Johnny Coit - C
Jeff Brown - 3B
Brad Roblin - CF
Damon Lessler - SS
David Nathanson - P
WINDY CITY
Gilberto Mejia - 2B
Mike Coles - CF
Wes Long - SS
Phil Hawke - 1B
Ben Barrone - DH
Brett Amyx - LF
Josh Horn - 3B
Carlos Medero - C
Phil Grau - RF
Eric Fussell - P
I'll post some general thoughts on the exhibitions upon return from Gary...Overall even though the first game was a loss I came away very impressed...lots of fight, good hustle, patience at the plate...Look in the comments for the running play-by-play of this one...
Tuesday of Champions -- vs. Gary (2007 Northern League Champions), 2pm EST
STARTING LINEUPS
BEACH BUMS
Mike Goetz - LF
Brad Roblin - RF
Matt Imwalle -3B
Pat Perry - C
Jake Whitesides - DH
Mike Epping - CF
Kyle Maunus - 1B
Brad Miller - SS
Steve Young - 2B
Ryan Gerhing - P
RAILCATS
Mike Reese - DH
Brett Wallace - C
Jay Pecci - SS
Steve Haake - LF
Cristian Guerrero - RF
Tanner Townsend - 3B
Mike Rohde - 1B
Eric McNamee - 2b
Rob Marconi - CF
Gerald Plexico - P
We left Northern Michigan at 7am, departing from Wuerfel Park for the US Steel Yard in Gary, Ind...Home of the Northern League Champions Gary Southshore Railcats, who split a pair of 10-inning games with River City last night in St. Louis.
Arrival was just after 10:30 local time (Gary is in the Central Timezone)...We were greeted by former Beach Bums outfielder Mike Reese who gave us a quick tour...Look for an interview with Reese on this blog soon...
Here's how the day is going to roll...I am going to post the starting lineups on here and then in the comments is where I will provide a running play-by-play of the action...Gary is broadcasting their game but the Windy City contest will not be broadcast...The best way is to read my blog and comment with questions during the updates :)
NOTES: Jon Cahill is not with the team as he is being inducted into the UMass-Lowell Athletic Hall of Fame today...Good luck buddy! See yuh soon!! Gary made their final roster cuts after their doubleheader with River City so the team on the field against the Beach Bums this afternoon will be the one that opens in Gary Thursday night as the defending Northern League Champions...I also plan on tracking down the Frontier League's all-time winningest manager Greg Tagert for an interview, he is the skipper of the Railcats...Billy Phillips, John McCarthy, and Rob Marconi, all of Windy City last season, made the Gary roster...I'll also try and chat with one of them...Other than that, enjoy!!!
BEACH BUMS
Mike Goetz - LF
Brad Roblin - RF
Matt Imwalle -3B
Pat Perry - C
Jake Whitesides - DH
Mike Epping - CF
Kyle Maunus - 1B
Brad Miller - SS
Steve Young - 2B
Ryan Gerhing - P
RAILCATS
Mike Reese - DH
Brett Wallace - C
Jay Pecci - SS
Steve Haake - LF
Cristian Guerrero - RF
Tanner Townsend - 3B
Mike Rohde - 1B
Eric McNamee - 2b
Rob Marconi - CF
Gerald Plexico - P
We left Northern Michigan at 7am, departing from Wuerfel Park for the US Steel Yard in Gary, Ind...Home of the Northern League Champions Gary Southshore Railcats, who split a pair of 10-inning games with River City last night in St. Louis.
Arrival was just after 10:30 local time (Gary is in the Central Timezone)...We were greeted by former Beach Bums outfielder Mike Reese who gave us a quick tour...Look for an interview with Reese on this blog soon...
Here's how the day is going to roll...I am going to post the starting lineups on here and then in the comments is where I will provide a running play-by-play of the action...Gary is broadcasting their game but the Windy City contest will not be broadcast...The best way is to read my blog and comment with questions during the updates :)
NOTES: Jon Cahill is not with the team as he is being inducted into the UMass-Lowell Athletic Hall of Fame today...Good luck buddy! See yuh soon!! Gary made their final roster cuts after their doubleheader with River City so the team on the field against the Beach Bums this afternoon will be the one that opens in Gary Thursday night as the defending Northern League Champions...I also plan on tracking down the Frontier League's all-time winningest manager Greg Tagert for an interview, he is the skipper of the Railcats...Billy Phillips, John McCarthy, and Rob Marconi, all of Windy City last season, made the Gary roster...I'll also try and chat with one of them...Other than that, enjoy!!!
Monday, May 12, 2008
He's Back
OK, I missed the weekend but heard the team played just two innings of a simulated game yesterday. AKA I didn't miss much...
On to the fun of Monday...With the team preparing to face actual opponents on Tuesday at Gary (Remember Gary will be broadcasting and I will be blogging here with an initial blog featuring the lineups and then posting comments to update...Gary game is at 1pm, Windy City is at 3:30) the workload begins to increase for the pitchers as the Gold beat the Blue 3-1 in a six-inning affair.
Bryan Rembisz started for the Blue with Shannon Wirth taking the ball for the Gold. Both pitchers went five innings and were charged with the runs on the board. Both walked three while Rembisz struck out three and Wirth one. Nick Pepper threw just 10 pitches in a 1-2-3 sixth for the Blue while Jacob Cook allowed a hit for the Gold but got a double play ball. Overall the defense (Which at times featured the likes of pitchers Jeff Williams, Nick Pepper, and Matt Dillard playing spots) turned three double plays in the six innings.
The big offensive blow for the Gold team came in the top of the third. With two outs (both reaching after two were out), Catcher John Brummett connected on an opposite field homer down the line in right. Brummett also walked and was hit by a pitch. The hitters recorded eight hits, all from different individuals. Mike Goetz posted the only other extra base hit, a hustle double into the right-center gap.
On to Gary!!!!!
On to the fun of Monday...With the team preparing to face actual opponents on Tuesday at Gary (Remember Gary will be broadcasting and I will be blogging here with an initial blog featuring the lineups and then posting comments to update...Gary game is at 1pm, Windy City is at 3:30) the workload begins to increase for the pitchers as the Gold beat the Blue 3-1 in a six-inning affair.
Bryan Rembisz started for the Blue with Shannon Wirth taking the ball for the Gold. Both pitchers went five innings and were charged with the runs on the board. Both walked three while Rembisz struck out three and Wirth one. Nick Pepper threw just 10 pitches in a 1-2-3 sixth for the Blue while Jacob Cook allowed a hit for the Gold but got a double play ball. Overall the defense (Which at times featured the likes of pitchers Jeff Williams, Nick Pepper, and Matt Dillard playing spots) turned three double plays in the six innings.
The big offensive blow for the Gold team came in the top of the third. With two outs (both reaching after two were out), Catcher John Brummett connected on an opposite field homer down the line in right. Brummett also walked and was hit by a pitch. The hitters recorded eight hits, all from different individuals. Mike Goetz posted the only other extra base hit, a hustle double into the right-center gap.
On to Gary!!!!!
Summer of the Frontier?
Could this be the best summer of Frontier League baseball ever in this its 16th season?? Early returns indicate that it might be...Doug Simunic, Manager of the Northern League's Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks, labeled his league at best the fourth best independent league this season in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press here...
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/columnists/top3/story/4171151p-4759259c.html
What else leads me to this conclusion? How about some great early returns for the Frontier League against Northern League opponents in exhibition contests...Southern Illinois blanked tomorrow's Beach Bums' opponent Gary, 1-0 on Saturday...The Miners allowed just one hit...Rockford tied Joliet 3-3 on Thursday (On a side note former Beach Bums hurler Tyler Meigs threw a 1-2-3 8th for the JackHammers)...Another upset occurred on Saturday night as Florence knocked off Joliet 9-6...The two teams meet again today after being rained out yesterday...
Today River City meets Gary in a doubleheader down in suburban St. Louis...Other games today include Windy City hosting Southern Illinois...Joliet hosts Florence in the second game of their exhibition sequence...
RANDOM NOTES: Windy City traded catcher Gavin Concepcion to Evansville and released outfield Scott Balster, who was a member of the championship squad...The release of Balster could pave the way for former Beach Bums outfielder LaFringe Hayes (Who was 0-1 for the Beach Bums last season) to make the squad as a reserve/pinch runner similar to what R.C. Dickerson was with the Beach Bums last season...Upon scanning the schedule for this season the Beach Bums will face Washington in the second series of the year but Washington will have not played since May 19...Chillicothe is hosting the MAC Tournament and plays Washington on May 18 and 19 before both teams take a break...According to the roster on their website it looks as though former Beach Bums Lance Koenig and Steve Shippey have both made the Schaumburg Flyers for 2008...The Flyers open the Northern League season on Thursday against the afforementioned Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks...
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/columnists/top3/story/4171151p-4759259c.html
What else leads me to this conclusion? How about some great early returns for the Frontier League against Northern League opponents in exhibition contests...Southern Illinois blanked tomorrow's Beach Bums' opponent Gary, 1-0 on Saturday...The Miners allowed just one hit...Rockford tied Joliet 3-3 on Thursday (On a side note former Beach Bums hurler Tyler Meigs threw a 1-2-3 8th for the JackHammers)...Another upset occurred on Saturday night as Florence knocked off Joliet 9-6...The two teams meet again today after being rained out yesterday...
Today River City meets Gary in a doubleheader down in suburban St. Louis...Other games today include Windy City hosting Southern Illinois...Joliet hosts Florence in the second game of their exhibition sequence...
RANDOM NOTES: Windy City traded catcher Gavin Concepcion to Evansville and released outfield Scott Balster, who was a member of the championship squad...The release of Balster could pave the way for former Beach Bums outfielder LaFringe Hayes (Who was 0-1 for the Beach Bums last season) to make the squad as a reserve/pinch runner similar to what R.C. Dickerson was with the Beach Bums last season...Upon scanning the schedule for this season the Beach Bums will face Washington in the second series of the year but Washington will have not played since May 19...Chillicothe is hosting the MAC Tournament and plays Washington on May 18 and 19 before both teams take a break...According to the roster on their website it looks as though former Beach Bums Lance Koenig and Steve Shippey have both made the Schaumburg Flyers for 2008...The Flyers open the Northern League season on Thursday against the afforementioned Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks...
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