Bums bounce back against KZOO

After losing two of three in Chillicothe, the Beach Bums bounced back last night against the Kalamazoo Kings with a 5-3 win.  The win ties the Bums with the Kings for first place, making the next two games even more important as they struggle for early season control of the division.

Beach Bums' ace Bryan Rembisz (2-0) will go up against KZOO's Jeff Long tonight at Wuerfel Park - game time is 7:05 p.m.  

Bums win 2 of 3 in Washington

The Beach Bums squad just got into Chillicothe tonight for a 3-game set starting tomorrow after winning 2 of 3 games at Washington, which is traditionally a very difficult place to win a game.  The Beach Bums won their two games by the scores of 13-3 and 10-2, losing their first game of the season in between those two victories by a 5-1 count.

Mike Goetz came into the series finale hitting .529 and went 4-5 at the plate.  He has been nothing short of incredible in the lead-off role for the Bums this season.  Brad Roblin was back in the lineup after a day off and had two hits including a double while knocking in 4 runs.  Bryan Rembisz got his second win of the season by throwing 6 innings of 2-run baseball.  The Beach Bums bullpen looked sharp as Ted Gjeldum, Nick Pepper, and Jared Locke all threw a scoreless inning to seal the win.

The Bums will throw their 2-3-4 combination of Ryan Gehring, David Nathanson, and JT King against Chillicothe before coming home for a three game set against Kalamazoo starting on Friday.  Kalamazoo are tied with the Beach Bums atop the East Division standings with a 5-1 mark, so this weekend's series should be a big one.  We'll see you at the park!  Go BUMS!

Bums beat Wild Things 13-3

The Beach Bums bus broke down at 4:00 a.m. this morning and we didn't end up getting into Washington until 2:30 p.m., which was just a couple of hours before getting back on the bus to head to the game.  But the Beach Bums scored early and often on Washington and the 2007 Frontier League Pitcher of the Year, Aaron Ledbetter, to come away with the 13-3 victory.  Jake Whitesides finished with 6 RBI including a 3-run homer off Ledbetter in the 3rd and a bases loaded 3-run double later in the game.  Beach Bums' starter JT King went 7 strong innings, allowing just 2 runs.

Brett Bostelman will get the start for the Beach Bums tomorrow against Washington's J.J. Hollenbeck.  Hollenbeck pitched very well against the Beach Bums last season, so it should be a tough game, especially as the long bus ride starts to catch up with the squad.  Make sure to listen on 94.3 The FOX at 6:45 p.m. tomorrow night as the Beach Bums go for their 5th straight win to start the season.  GO BUMS!

Bums Sweep Sliders, 8-0

The Beach Bums completed the sweep of the Midwest Sliders tonight with a 8-0 victory.  The Beach Bums had a great all-around game with several sparkling plays on defense, seven two-hit innings from starter David Nathanson, and several hitters with multi-hit games.  

The Bums head out on a 6-day road trip tonight that will start in Washington before heading to Chillicothe.  The squad will be back in Traverse City next Friday May 30th for a 3-game set against in-state rival Kalamazoo, who won 2 of 3 against the Florence Freedom in their opening series.  It should be a good weekend of baseball next weekend, so make sure to get some tickets and we will see you at the park.  GO BUMS!

Beach Bums 4, Sliders 2

The Beach Bums improved to 2-0 on Thursday night with a 4-2 win over the Midwest Sliders (0-2).  The Beach Bums were paced by the play of left fielder Mike Goetz who had three walks and a huge 2-RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth to put the Beach Bums up 4-0.   The Beach Bums bullpen made it exciting for the second night in a row, allowing two runs in the ninth, but Nick Pepper earned his first save of the season by striking out Anthony Albano with the bases loaded to end the game.  Starting pitcher Ryan Gehring earned the win with 7 one-hit shutout innings. 

The weather should be nice for a Friday Night Fireworks show, so come out to the park and see the Beach Bums go for the first series sweep of the season before heading out on a 6-game road trip.  See you at the park - GO BUMS!

Bums win on Opening Day

Opening night was a gut check for the Beach Bums as steady rain and sub-40 degree temperatures dumped down on just over 3,000 poncho covered fans at Wuerfel Park tonight.  The Bums came out on top 9-5 after jumping out 9-0 through the first four innings.

The Bums did an outstanding job blocking out the elements defensively, failing to commit a single error even though the rain had been soaking the new turf for over six hours before game time at 7:05 p.m.  Bryan Rembisz was spectacular on the mound, battling through six innings while only giving up two runs on two hits.

My hats are off to the Sliders, who surged late in the game to come within four runs after falling behind big, showing the next two games in the series will be a dog fight.  Nick Pepper did an excellent job in the ninth inning after sitting in the freezing weather for two straight hours - it's not easy to be that cold and come in and try to throw strikes.

The weather looks much better for tomorrow and we have a great promotion lineup up with Brittany and Bernie from the hit TV show "The Biggest Loser" stopping by to throw out the first pitch and sign autographs.  See you at the park - GO BUMS!

Final Cuts Announced

The Traverse City Beach Bums are now down to 24 players.  Below is a short synopsis of each position.

Outfield

The Beach Bums' outfield will consist of Mike Goetz, Mike Epping, Brad Roblin and Jake Whitesides.  Whitesides will also see time at DH and 1B.  Goetz, Epping, and Roblin all impressed during spring training both defensively and offensively.  All four outfielders are speed threats on the bases and Beach Bums' fans can expect a lot of excitement out of this group.

Infield

The Beach Bums infield includes 3B Matt Imwalle, SS Brad Miller, 2B Steve Young, and 1B Kyle Maunus.  The Beach Bums' have kept two utility infielders, Jeff Brown and slick fielding Damon Lessler.  After a difficult year defensively in 2006, Imwalle impressed the coaching staff at 3rd base this spring, only making one error during two weeks worth of intrasquads.  SS Brad Miller will pick up where Justin Holmes led off as one of the best shortstops in the league while late addition Kyle Maunus has been outstanding at 1st base and at the plate during spring training. 

Catching

The Beach Bums' will have veteran Patrick Perry along with former Oakland Athletics' farmhand John Brummett behind the plate.  Perry was the only catcher selected to the post-season All-Star Team in the CanAm League last season, which is widely considered to be a class double-A caliber independent league.  Althought this is Perry's 5th year of professional baseball, he is only an LS-1 by Frontier League standards.

Starting Pitching

The 1-2-3 combination of Bryan Rembisz, Ryan Gehring, and David Nathanson return for the Beach Bums along with newcomers to the rotation JT King and Brett Bostelman.  King, a former Brewers prospect, has looked great on the mound this spring while Bostelman, who was in the Beach Bums' bullpen last season, dropped 15 pounds in the off-season and will make the move into the 5th spot in the rotation in 2008.

Bullpen

The Beach Bums' return Matt Dillard, Jeff Williams, Nick Pepper, and Jared Locke from last year's squad along with newcomers Zac Cole, Ted Gjeldum, and Peter McEneaney.  Of the seven relievers, only Dillard and the submarining Pepper don't have the ability to hit 90 mph.  We have a great group of power arms in the bullpen this year, which should take a lot of pressure off the starting staff.  

Opening Day Roster Nearly Set

With a few days left until opening day at Wuerfel Park, we have cut the squad down to 27 players.  All three of the remaining cuts will be positions players including two catchers.  As of right now the pitching staff will include starters Bryan Rembisz, Ryan Gehring, David Nathanson, JT King, and Brett Bostelman.  The bullpen will consist of righties Matt Dillard, Zac Cole, Jeff Williams, and Nick Pepper with lefties Jared Locke and Ted Gjeldum.  The Beach Bums' first round draft pick in the Frontier League Tryout Camp, Peter McEneaney, has also made the squad and will start the season in the bullpen.

The exact order of the rotation has not been announced yet, but I'm assuming we will be able to make that public soon.  A list of position players who have made the cut should be available tomorrow or the next day.