TC gets All-Star Imwalle for Hutting

The Traverse City Beach Bums have acquired All-Star 3B Matt Imwalle and a player to be named later from the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association for shortstop Tim Hutting.

Imwalle is a guy who will scare opposing pitchers every time he steps to the plate.  Last year in the American Association he was selected to the All-Star team and hit .263 with 25 doubles, 2 triples, and 15 home runs.  His 15 home runs were 3rd best in the league and his 42 extra-base hits ranked him 5th.

In the past few years there has been a handful of players greatly increase their offensive production by going from the American Association to the Frontier League.  Most notably, 2006 Frontier League MVP Ian Church.  Church hit .269 with 21 doubles and 5 home runs in Sioux Falls in 2005 and after coming to Kalamazoo in 2006, he hit .317 with 38 doubles and 31 home runs.  Last season Southern Illinois Miners All-Stars Ralph Santana and Chris Hall both came from Sioux Falls into the Frontier League and increased their offensive numbers by 20-30%.

I don't expect for Imwalle to have the dramatic increase in production that Ian Church had in 2006, but between Church, Santana, and Hall, Imwalle had the best numbers in the American Association by a good deal.  He is also the only one of the four to be an All-Star in the American Association.  There is no doubt that the spacious outfield of Wuerfel Park will hold down Imwalle's home run potential, but he can hits the gaps just was well as he can hit it out of the park, as his numbers prove.  He will give our lineup a sense of power that Traverse City hasn't seen before.

In order to complete the trade, Traverse City will send newly acquired shortstop Tim Hutting to Sioux Falls.  I completed the deal for Hutting in early December and we immediately notified him and sent him a contract.  Hutting signed that contract and sent it back, however, early last week, well after he signed his contract, I received a phone call from Tim.  During that phone call Hutting expressed a strong desire to not play in the Frontier League in 2007, and despite my best efforts, I was not able to resolve the situation.  Rather than force a player to report to camp and play for a squad that he does not want to play for, I decided to make the best of the situation and trade him to Sioux Falls.

While I have to say that it deeply saddens me that we will not have Tim Hutting at shortstop in 2008, I am very pleased to acquire a player with the potential of Matt Imwalle.  Traverse City will also receive a player to be named later in the deal, and I believe the second player we receive may end up being an impact player as well.

Kalter heads to Orange County

The Traverse City Beach Bums have completed a deal that will send RHP/OF Zack Kalter to the Orange County Flyers of the Golden League in exchange for C/OF Johnny Coit and a player to be named.

Kalter lives within driving distance to the Orange County ballpark and made his wishes known this off-season to play closer to home.  He will hang up his bat in 2008 to concentrate strictly on pitching.  Kalter pitched for USC, but was drafted as an outfielder by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2005 after his junior season.  After putting up a terrific offensive year in Traverse City without being signed, Kalter sees pitching as his best opportunity to make it back into affiliated baseball.

In exchange for Kalter, the Beach Bums will receive C/OF Johnny Coit and a player to be named.  Coit split the season between the St. George Roadrunners and the Orange County Flayers in 2007, his first as a professional.  All together Coit hit .265 with 10 doubles, 2 triples, a home run and 22 RBI in 155 at-bats.  Coit also has a good eye at the plate, drawing 21 walks against just 26 strikeouts, good for a .367 on-base percentage.

Coit was an outfielder in college and was converted to a catcher in pro ball.  He did well in his first season as a backstop, leading the Golden League by throwing out over 30% of the runners who tried to steal against him.  The Beach Bums plan to give Coit a look behind the plate and in the outfield.

Midwest Sliders name Manager

The Midwest Sliders have named Eric Coleman as their manager for the 2008 season.  Coleman takes the place of Greg Jelks, who left the Sliders to manage the Washington Wild Things this season.

According to the article by the Oakland Press, Coleman spent time managing in the Northwoods League, although I have had trouble locating when and where online.  However, I did see where he managed teams in the Texas Collegiate League and Coastal Plains League.  I also found where it appears that he was set to be the pitching coach for the Okotoks Dawgs of the Western Major Baseball League in 2008.  Coleman served as the pitching coach at Niagara University in 2006 and 2007, which is where former Beach Bum and current Gateway Grizzlies outfielder Jeff Vincent went to college.  This will be Coleman's first coaching experience in professional baseball.

The Traverse City Beach Bums will open the season with a three-game series against Eric Coleman and the Midwest Sliders on May 21st through the 23rd.

Weekend Wrap-up 1/26/08

The Southern Illinois Miners have signed quite a few players recently, including outfielders Josh Farkes and Brad Arnett, and pitchers Clay Zavada and Josh McMurran.  They also received catcher Jake Smith from the Sioux Falls Canaries of the American Association earlier this week.

Farkes is from University of Conneticut and is coming off Tommy John surgery in 2006 that limited his production during his 2007 season.  Zavada is lefthander who was drafted in 2006 and had a great rookie season in the Diamondbacks organization, but took the 2007 season off due to family issues.  Arnett and McMurran are two members of the 2007 NBC World Series Champion Havasu Heat.  The NBC World Series is an amateur tournament held in Wichita, Kansas, every summer.  The Miners have picked several players off that championship team this off-season.

The Gateway Grizzlies announced that 1st basemen Mike Breyman.  The 2008 season will be his 5th with the Grizzlies for the All-Star.  Another big signing for the Grizzlies will be outfielder Michael Campbell, who played last year with the Fort Wayne Wizards.  Campbell, like most of the Gateway hitters, swings left-handed and will be sure to enjoy the cozy confines of GCS ballpark.  The Grizzlies have also resigned All-Star outfielder Stephen Holdren catcher Carlie Lisk, and pitchers Jason Herman and Justin Staatz.  Catcher Eric Beck and pitcher Brandon Kellbach announced their retirement.

Downstate rival Kalamazoo Kings have resigned infielders Joe Ramos and Kyle Kmiecik, outfielders Simon Williams and Brandon Anderson, and pitcher Sam Mann.  1B/3B Rick Owens, who played with the Amarillo Dillas of the United League in 2007, has also signed with the Kings.  Owens is a right-handed power hitter would should enjoy the King's short porch in left field.

For a complete list of recent Frontier League transactions, check out http://www.frontierleague.com/transactions.php.

Vericker Retires, Garza Traded

Traverse City Beach Bums 1st baseman Brad Vericker has announced his retirement.  Brad was recently prompted in his job and accepted back into school and plans on finishing his degree. 

The Beach Bums have also announced a trade that will send Aaron Garza to Grand Prairie of the American Association for future considerations.  Grand Prairie is an expansion franchise in the American Association and their stadium is currently under construction.  They will be managed by former Major League player Pete Incaviglia, who enters his first year as a professional manager after spending several seasons coaching in the Detroit Tigers farm system.

Garza requested to be traded closer to home a couple months ago due to financial and family issues, something that isn't uncommon when dealing with the small amounts of money players make in independent baseball.  As part of the Garza deal, field manager Jon Cahill and I spent last weekend at a tryout in Grand Prairie and saw several players that might be able to help us in 2008.  Announcements on these players will be upcoming once we have them signed.

With Vericker's retirement we are expecting Curtis Ledbetter to move to first base on a full time basis.  In order to fill the gap behind the plate, I came to terms today with an experienced frontline catcher.  An announcement will follow the return of his contract, so all I can say at this point is that it is another signing to be excited about.

I'll also hint to the fact we got yet another monkey wrench thrown in the works early this week, and that some of the positions we thought were solidified are now open.  All I can say at this point is that you shouldn't be surprised if the Beach Bums' roster gets another quick makeover in the coming weeks.

Former Padres Prospect Epping signs with Beach Bums

Former Padres prospect Mike Epping will be a Traverse City Beach Bum in 2008 - if no other affiliated teams snatch him up before then that is.  Pictured:  Epping in 2006 with the short season class-A Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League - from MadFriars.com.

Epping, a 5'11" 190-pound native of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, finished the 2007 season starting in centerfield for the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League, which is the triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.  In 2007, Epping took a roller coaster ride through the Padres organization - from extended spring training, to the class low-A Fort Wayne Wizards, to the class high-A Lake Elsinore Storm, and eventually to the class triple-A Portland Beavers.

Epping finished his collegiate career at the University of New Orleans in 2006 as an All-American - hitting an even .400 with 12 doubles, 8 home runs, 58 RBI, and 42 stolen bases in just 55 games.  Epping's .400 average and 42 stolen bases ranked him 23rd and 3rd respectively in NCAA Division I.

He was drafted in the 13th round of the 2006 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres and assigned to the short season class-A Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League.  In Eugene, Epping led the league in runs scored (53) and finished 4th in walks (43) while hitting .265 with 16 doubles, 3 home runs, 19 RBI, and 17 stolen bases in 68 games.  Epping also shined defensively and earned himself a ranking as the 5th best defensive outfielder in the Padres' farm system last off-season.

In 2007, Epping was not assigned to a team out of spring training and was kept behind in extended spring training.  A few weeks later he got a call up to the class low-A Fort Wayne Wizards of the Midwest League where he played in 34 games, hitting .217 with 8 doubles, a triple, 4 home runs, 15 RBI, and 5 stolen bases in just 115 at-bats.  Epping's play earned him a promotion to the class high-A Lake Elsinore Storm, but he would only play in 2 games before being promoted to triple-A.  Epping started out well in triple-A, the highest level of professional baseball in the country below the big leagues, hitting .263 with a home run in his first 13 games before hitting a cold streak to end the season.

The combination of Epping, Tim Hutting, and Steve Young will make the Beach Bums one of the most accomplished and experience defensive teams in the Frontier League.  Offensively, Epping will hit in the top third of the lineup - most likely occupying the lead-off spot.  Epping was also a star in the community for the Padres, earning the organization's 2007 Community Involvement Award for helping out with local little leagues.

The Beach Bums Nation has good reason to be excited about this signing - very few players in the history of the Frontier League have had triple-A experience, and now the Beach Bums have two in Mike Epping and Tim Hutting.

Deck new Orioles Bullpen Catcher, plus Big Moves in Washington & Chillicothe

The Windy City Thunderbolts had one of the greatest seasons in independent baseball history in 2007, and their squad is getting raided from top to bottom because of it.  The Thunderbolt's hitting coach, Ronnie Deck, is the latest to get scooped up.  He has signed on as the bullpen catcher for the Baltimore Orioles.  Deck joins two other former Frontier Leaguers to move on as bullpen catchers in the big leagues - Scott Pickens (Chillicothe & Florence) is the bullpen catcher for the Tigers and Ben Risinger (Springfield Capitals) is the bullpen catcher for the Padres.

Ronnie Deck and I go back to 2004 where we met at International Performance Baseball's World Free Agent Spring Training (recent Beach Bums' acquisition Jake Whitesides was also in attendance at this tryout).  He is a quality person and I'm sure the Orioles will be very happy with the job he does.

This off-season the Thunderbolts have lost manager Andy Haines (Florida Marlins), pitching coach Brenden Sagara (Evansville Otters), hitting coach Ronnie Deck (Baltimore Orioles), pitcher Shawn Phillips (Florida Marlins), pitcher Billy Phillips (Gary Railcats), outfielder Rob Marconi (Gary Railcats), and outfielder John McCarthy (Gary Railcats).

In other news, there has been a big shake up in the roster of the Washington Wild Things, as anticipated.  With an overflow of older ballplayers, Washington traded away pitchers Tom Cochran and Justin Mattison with outfielder Jarod Rine to Worchester of the CanAm League in exchange for pitcher Ryan Mitchell.  Cochran and Rine were both going to be Veterans in 2008, and Mattison would have been an L2.  Another Washington Veteran, catcher Mario Garza, retired along with utility infielder Kyle Padgett.

The Chillicothe Paints' correspondent on the Frontier League's fan blog "From the Bleachers" is reporting that pitchers Perry Cunningham, Eric Teall, and Brian Marshall have retired along with infielder Evan Sobel.  To replace Sobel at 2nd base, the Paints signed Drew Saylor, who was an All-American at Kent State University and bounced around in two seasons in the minors.  Saylor will be a good pickup for the Paints.

Chillicothe also signed Brandon Murphy out of Marshall and Tommy Vrzal out of NCAA DII St. Mary's in Texas.

Tognetti Retires

Traverse City Beach Bums pitcher Phil Tognetti called me last night to announce his retirement.  He is planning on starting his own personal training business.  Pictured:  Tognetti releases a pitch while pitching at the University of Michigan in 2004.

The 2007 season was Tognetti's only season as a professional, and he finished the year with a 2-3 record, 4.16 ERA, 71.1 innings, and 48 strikeouts.  Phil was extremely effective in relief appearances in the first half of the season, posting a 1-0 record and 1.33 ERA in 27 innings including 20 strikeouts while holding opponents to a .207 average.  However, injuries of some pitchers and ineffectiveness of others forced Tognetti into the starting rotation for the second half of the season.

Tognetti represented the Beach Bums with class and character.  We wish him nothing but the best.

Beach Bums pick up two pitchers from Amarillo

The Traverse City Beach Bums have received pitchers Josh Myers and Matt Lawrence from the Amarillo Dillas of the United League in exchange for a player to be named later.  Pictured:  Josh Myers delivers a pitch during his sophomore season at the University of Virginia in 2003.

Josh Myers is a 6'3" 185-pound right hander from Chesapeake, Virginia, and played collegiately for the University of Virginia from 2003-2006 before being signed by Amarillo at the end of the 2007 season.  In two starts for Amarillo, Myers had a 1-0 record with a 1.56 ERA in 17.1 innings to go with 12 strikeouts while allowing just 6 walks.  Myers held opponents to a .217 average.

At Virgina, Myers compiled a 5-1 record with a 1.43 ERA, allowing just 38 hits in 50.1 career innings including 44 strikeouts while giving up only 19 walks.  During his senior year in 2006, Myers had a 0.00 ERA in 16.2 innings, giving up just 8 hits with 20 strikeouts and 8 walks.

I had the chance to talk to the pitching coach and head coach at the University of Virginia in addition to the field manager of Amarillo about Myers, and all of them raved of his intelligence in addition to his talent on the mound.  Reports have Myers throwing in the mid to high 80s with a plus slider and a, "really, really, really deceptive motion."  His coaches and teammates in Amarillo nicknamed Myers, "The Bird," because of his lanky frame and funky delivery.  

We're excited bring Myers into training camp to see what he has.  If our reports are accurate, we think Myers could fill the void left by David Nathanson, who was traded to Joliet in the Hutting and Whitesides deal (read further down for details on that trade).

The Beach Bums also received RHP Matt Lawrence in the deal.  Lawrence pitched collegiately at Bellhaven College in Mississippi, where he was the school's closer in 2007.  After his senior season, Lawrence was picked up by the Shreveport Sports of the American Association where he had a 1.80 ERA in 5 innings with 6 strikeouts.  Then Lawrence was released by the Sports and picked up by Amarillo where he pitched another 7 innings before the end of the season, striking out 6 and walking 4.

Lawrence will compete for a role in the bullpen in 2008.

Game Worn Jerseys still Available

The Traverse City Beach Bums will be sporting new uniforms in 2008, which means the one-of-a-kind game worn jerseys worn by the Beach Bums in 2006 & 2007 are on sale.  There are three jerseys (blue, white, and gray) for the numbers 1-40 and most of them are still available.  These jerseys are authentic and will never be reproduced again - you can get yours by calling our Director of Merchandise, Scott McDowell, at 231-943-0100.  Our organization will be making our decision on a new hat design and alternate logo as well, so make sure you keep checking the website in upcoming months for the announcement.

Windy City continues to make moves

The Windy City Thunderbolts have made a couple of moves recently to help reload from their 2007 Championship Team, which is already facing the replacement of manager Andy Haines, pitchers Shawn and Billy Phillips, and outfielders Rob Marconi and John McCarthy.  Pitching coach Brenden Sagara has also left the team to head south with the Evansville Otters in 2008.

The most significant pickup was a trade for 3B Kevin Noles from the Anderson Joes of the South Coast League for a player to be named.  Noles had a great offensive season for the Joes in 2007, his first professional season, hitting .325 with 16 doubles, 2 triples, 0 home runs, 37 RBI, and 36 walks against 53 strikeouts.  Noles finished 5th in the league in average, 2nd in hits (108), and 4th in games played (87).  Defensively, Noles struggled.  He made 26 errors and finished with a .890 fielding percentage.

This trade is a curious move unless Windy City is looking to break up their infield from last year.  Currently, they are returning Frontier League All-Stars at 3rd base (Josh Horn), shortstop (Wes Long) and first base (Phillip Hawke).  Their second basemen, Gilberto Meija, is one of the few players in the league with double-A experience.  The Thunderbolts also have Amos Ramon on their bench, who can play both 2nd and 3rd.  There are no classification issues to juggle, either, so it will be curious to see how Noles fits in with their plans.  I can only assume that a couple of these players have asked to be moved to older leagues after the sense of accomplishment that came with the Frontier League Championship in 2007.  Otherwise, it wouldn't be worth even giving up a "player to be named" to just invite a player like Noles into camp.  I expect there will be some interesting moves this spring concerning that championship roster, which  has already lost two-thirds of their outfield and two-fifths of their starting rotation (and two members of their coaching staff to boot).

Windy City also made two other signings recently in outfielder Ryan Addison out of Elon University and first basemen Cleveland Brownlee from Clark-Atlanta University.  The 2008 season will be the first in professional baseball for both players.

Addison hit .283 with 10 home runs and 20 stolen bases for Elon as a senior in 2007, while Brownlee hit .268 with 6 home runs and 12 stolen bases during his final college campaign.  Addison will probably compete for a spot in the outfield vacated by the departure of Marconi and McCarthy, while Brownlee will have an uphill climb making the squad unless the Thunderbolts plan to move 1B Phillip Hawke.  

News about Windy City will affect the Beach Bums less in 2008 as it did in 2007 since the league decided to revert back to the old East/West format.  The new format will divide the old North division in two parts - Traverse City and Kalamazoo will split to join Washington, Chillicothe, Florence, and the Midwest Sliders, while Rockford and Windy City head west to join Gateway, River City, Evansville, and Southern Illinois.  The playoffs will include the two division winners and the next two best overall records (wild cards).  Teams will play teams in their division 12 times (six home, six away) and out of their division 6 times (three home, three away).  The exception will be the Midwest Sliders, who will play 96 games on the road before moving to Oakland County, Michigan, in 2008.  This leaves the Beach Bums with a record 54 home games in 2008.

See you at the ballpark!

Keep checking back over the next few weeks - the announcements on player moves should be fast and furious as contracts continue to trickle in and deals become finalized.

GO BEACH BUMS!

Around the League 1/12/08

The Traverse City Beach Bums won Digital Ballpark's 2008 Ballpark of the Year Award this week, marking the second time a Frontier League team has won the award.  The Gateway Grizzlies won the award in 2005.  You can check out the Digital Ballpark's website at www.digitalballparks.com.

Here at the Beach Bums we continue to shake things up behind the scenes to make a run at the Frontier League championship this season.  We came to terms this week with a former San Diego Padres prospect who finished the 2007 season starting in center field for the class triple-A Portland Beavers.  This is a really significant signing for our club and adds even more experience up the middle to go along with triple-A caliber shortstop Tim Hutting and veteran Beach Bums second basemen Steve Young.  We will put out a press release on the outfielder once we have his contract signed and returned.

We have some other deals in the works and we should be able to announce a few players moves this week, so make sure you keep checking the blog for the latest on your Beach Bums. 

In other news, Frontier League teams continue to piece their teams together this week including the Evansville Otters, who filled out their coaching staff by naming Brenden Sagara the pitching coach and Bobby Bell the hitting coach.  Sagara was the pitching coach at Windy City last year and should be a big boost to an Otters club who struggled mightily in 2007.  Bobby Bell was the hitting coach for former Beach Bums field manager Jeff Isom in Joliet before he came to Traverse City.

The Southern Illinois Miners signed pitchers Jon Bjelland and Nick Starnes this week.  Bjelland had a great year at Minnesota State as a 5th year senior in 2007 and signed before the draft with the Arizona Diamondbacks, but he was promptly released when the team physical discovered a tear in his rotator cuff.  He had surgery in August and will attempt to rehab and be ready by training camp.

Starnes was undrafted out of UNC Greensboro and played for NBC World Series Champion Havasu Heat last summer.  The NBC World Series is a great event that takes place in Wichita, Kansas, where a 64-team field of qualifying amateur teams play literally around the clock in a double elimination tournament until there is a winner.  Summer collegiate leagues teams that don't have internal championship tournaments also take place such as the Alaskan League, Jayhawk League, etc.

The Rockford Riverhawks signed a trio of players this week - infielder A.J. Reed and pitchers Drew Himes and Matt Enderle.  Himes pitched briefly in the Frontier League last season with both Gateway and Rockford.  He had a good year with Gateway in 2006, but struggled in 2007 before being released.

Neither Enderle nor Reed have previous professional experience.  Reed played for University of North Alabama last year and Enderle pitched at St. Joseph's College. 

Bobby Mosby returning to Rascals

The River City Rascals announced that 1B/DH Bobby Mosby will rejoin the club in 2008 after getting traded to the Joliet Jackhammers of the Northern League for the last month of the season in 2007.  Mosby is 6'3" 260-pounds and could probably play defensive tackle in the NFL when he finishes with his pro baseball career.

The 2008 season will be Mosby's 7th professional season and last year with River City he hit .273 with 13 doubles, 19 home runs, and 53 RBI in 62 games.  Mosby also has the advantage of playing in cozy T.R. Hughes ballpark, which isn't quite as homer-happy as GCS Ballpark (Gateway Grizzlies), but it isn't far behind.  Either way, Mosby isn't a guy you want to feed a 2-0 fastball even when you're playing in Wuerfel Park.  It might never come down.

A word to Beach Bums fans - when the Rascals come into Traverse City next season, don't eat your dinner at the picnic tables beyond the left field wall during Rascals batting practice.  Mosby almost killed someone sitting there last year.  It was the first time I've seen someone hit a ball in BP then yell, "Heads up!"

Beach Bums acquire veterans Hutting & Whitesides

Here at the Traverse City Beach Bums, we are going to announce a huge deal today to bring in veteran shortstop Tim Hutting and veteran outfielder Jake Whitesides in exchange for pitchers David Nathanson and Tyler Meigs.  Hutting will replace shortstop Justin Holmes, who retired to join the coaching staff at the University of Georgia, and Whitesides can play all three outfield positions.  He also has experience playing second base as well.

Tim Hutting is a 6'0" 200-pound native of Newhall, California, and played collegiately at Long Beach State before being drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 8th round of the 2003 MLB  draft.  Hutting moved quickly through the Giants system, playing in short season-A in 2003, low-A in 2004, double-A in 2005, and split time between high-A and triple-A in 2006.  Last season, Hutting played all 96 games for the Joliet Jackhammers and hit .281 with 17 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, and 48 RBI.  

Hutting's 111 games in double-A and 24 games in triple-A are the most of any current Frontier League player (to the best of my knowledge Windy City 2nd basemen Gilberto Mejia would be the closest with 60 games in double-A).  Defensively, Hutting has only fielded below .950 once in his career (2006 when he fielded .946 in class high-A San Jose).  Last year in Joliet, he finished 3rd in the league in assists (287) and double plays (68).  Hutting's range factor of 5.06 would have been tops in the Frontier League last season (range factor = total chances divided by games, total chances are calculated as putouts plus assists plus errors).

Jake Whitesides is a 5'11" 200-pound native of Columbia, Missouri, and started his pro career out of high school when he was drafted in the 5th round by the Houston Astros in the 2000 MLB draft.  The 2007 season will be Whitesides 9th in professional baseball, and I can confidently say that is tops in the Frontier League.  Whitesides has made the rounds in affiliated and independent baseball, playing in the farm systems for three MLB teams, the Houston Astros (2000-2002), Chicago White Sox (2004), and Chicago Cubs (2006), while playing in four different independent leagues including the Frontier League (2003), CanAm League (2004-2005), American Association (2006-2007), and the Northern League (2007).

Last season Whitesides was traded from the St. Joe Blacksnakes of the American Association to the Joliet Jackhammers of the Northern League midway through the season.  Along the way he compiled a .281 average with 22 doubles, 11 triples, 3 home runs, and 12 stolen bases to go along with a .331 on-base percentage (Whitesides' 37 extra-base hits would have led the Beach Bums in 2007, the closest being Zack Kalter with 28).  The last time Whitesides played in the Frontier League was with the Mid-Missouri Mavericks in 2003, when he was named to the league's All-Star team have hitting .298 with 68 runs, 23 doubles, 11 triples, 4 home runs, and 22 stolen bases.

Worth noting when trying to project Northern League statistics to the Frontier League - the Northern League is widely considered to be a double-A caliber league while the Frontier League is a low-A caliber league.  For example, Windy City's All-Star outfielder Mike Coles played in 2006 for the Gary Railcats and hit .274, with a .346 on-base percentage and a .372 slugging percentage.  After moving to Windy City of the Frontier League, Coles hit .330, with a .398 on-base percentage, and a .485 slugging percentage.  His increase in production is a little better than normal, but typically you will see a +30 in all three categories (AVG/OBP/SLG) when moving from the Northern to Frontier.

Keep in mind this deal is one in several that we have completed or are working on this off-season.  More details will be ready once deals (and paperwork) are finalized.  Unlike MLB, sending contracts through the mail and via fax takes a little longer in independent baseball, so deals get done much sooner than we are able to announce them. 

Windy City sends three to Gary

The Windy City Thunderbolts are going to have a tough time replacing RHP Billy Phillips, CF Rob Marconi, and OF John McCarthy, all three of which were sent to the Gary Railcats today to complete earlier trades.  The Thunderbolts have already lost manager Andy Haines and RHP Shawn Phillips, who both signed contracts with the Florida Marlins.

The loss of Shawn and Billy Phillips will be tough to replace in what was a dominating rotation for the Thunderbolts in 2007.  Together the duo started 38 games and went a combined 16-9.  They were also #1 and #2 on the staff in innings pitched, eating up 237.2 of the 843 total innings pitched by the Windy City last year.  That's over 28% for those scoring at home.

The loss of Marconi and McCarthy in the outfield will be just as tough.  Marconi, McCarthy, and Mike Coles made up one of the best defensive outfields I've seen in the Frontier League in the past five seasons.  Offensively, McCarthy was the toughest player to strikeout in the league and Marconi hit .263/.369/.419 while stealing 24-26 bases.

This is why the Frontier League is great - every year is a clean slate.  Players retire, players get traded, players get released - no matter how you did the year before, you always have a shot the next season.  Just ask Windy City, they went from 41-54 in 2006 to a league record 68-28 in 2007.  Anything can happen at least level, folks, reserve your season tickets today!

Frontier League News 1/6/08

Former Gateway Grizzlies pitcher Scott Patterson has signed a Major League deal with the New York Yankees.  Patterson pitched for the Grizzlies from 2002-2005 and in the Atlantic League before being signed by the Yankees. Last season Patterson pitched for double-A Trenton Thunder and went 4-2 with a 1.09 ERA in 74.1 innings with 15 walks and 91 strikeouts.  He held hitters to an incredible .170 average.

Patterson was not drafted out of West Virginia State University, but was given his shot in independent ball in 2002 by the Grizzlies.  More and more independent players continue to make it to the big stage, and Patterson's story will give Frontier League players hope to continue to pursue their dream despite the odds.

In other news, the Rockford Riverhawks resigned closer Mark Marksbury for the 2008 season.  Marksbury got signed by the Milwaukee Brewers midway through the 2007 Frontier League season, but struggled at class high-A Brevard County before being released this off-season.  Marksbury joins outfielder Phil Laurent of River City as the 2nd Frontier League player who was signed by an affiliated team just to get released in the off-season.  Personally, I think neither of these two guys got a fair shake - it doesn't cost these teams much to invite them into spring training to see if they can make a roster.

Here at the Traverse City Beach Bums, we've come to terms with a significant outfield prospect, but we will have to refrain from commenting until the contract goes out and comes back signed.  We are also waiting on four contracts that will close two separate trades and another that will give a nice boost to our pitching staff in 2008.  Details for all these moves will be made available as soon as we are able to make the announcements.  Suffice it to say that we are shaking things up in 2008 - not rebuilding, not transitioning - but making moves that will help us bring a championship to Traverse City THIS SEASON.

Happy New Year Beach Bums Nation

There was only one player move in the last couple weeks - the Quebec Capitales of the CanAm League traded LHP Jonathan Burke to the Rockford Riverhawks in exchange for future considerations.  Burke is a big lefty who had a good rookie season for Quebec after finishing his college career at NYIT (New York Institute of Technology).  Burke was 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in 14 innings in 2007 for the Capitales.

Rockford has been making some off-season moves to acquire some young pitching in an effort to fill the holes in a older pitching staff that will need to be broken up pretty significantly due to the Frontier League's roster restrictions.  Rockford will also need to replace ace RHP Tanner Watson, who was signed by the Cubs earlier this off-season.

Here at the Traverse City Beach Bums, we continue to piece together our roster.  We have made some significant changes this off-season and are on the verge of adding some key players, but it takes a while for contracts to go out and come back and we have to wait to make announcements until we have contracts in hand.  Keep checking the Beach Bums website and the Beach Bums blog to get up-to-date on player moves as they happen.