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