TRAVERSE CITY -- In a topsy-turvy season, the curveballs weren't limited to the field.
The Traverse City Beach Bums started out strong, hosted the Frontier League's All-Star Game, limped through the end of the season and overhauled its coaching staff.
Jon Cahill is out as manager, replaced by veteran minor-league coach Gregg Langbehn. Former Major Leaguer and Bellaire native Roger Mason steps into the role of pitching coach.
The Beach Bums entered the All-Star Game break with a 30-21 record and what looked to be an easy path to the division title. Trailing Kalamazoo by a single game, TC started the second half with a 12-game homestand. Things looked good.
Then the Bums lost eight of those 12 games and 11 of 15 after the break. TC would go 20-25 in the second half, finishing 10 games behind the Kings and a single game behind Gateway for the final playoff spot.
Manager Jon Cahill and pitching coach John Sexton were not brought back and Langbehn was brought in to manage with more focus on scouting and discipline.
"It's going to basically look like an affiliated team from the way it's run, because that's where I came from," said Langbehn, whose background is in pitching, but likes his offense to be able to play small ball by executing the hit-and-run and stealing bases.
Soon after Langbehn was hired, team co-owner John Wuerfel asked him who he had in mind for a pitching coach. Wuerfel mentioned Mason.
"As soon as he said it, I said, 'Absolutely,'" Langbehn said. "After meeting Roger, I felt like I've known him for 40 years."
"I really hadn't given it much thought and then John called me out of the blue and offered it," Mason said. "I'm really not sure what to expect. It's been a while since I've been involved in baseball. There's some excitement getting back."
After about a 14-year hiatus from baseball since retiring in 1994, Mason is hoping he can help the Beach Bums get to where he excelled: the playoffs.
Mason had a minuscule 0.49 ERA in 181/3 postseason innings that is still among the best for relievers.
Mason hasn't been riding buses for many years now, but hopes it will be better than his previous experiences.
"The electronics are a lot better than when I was in A ball," Mason joked. "It's going from Walkmans to iPods and laptops."
A Wisconsin native, Langbehn also knows a thing or two about road trips. He was in the Houston Astros organization for 10 years prior to joining the Beach Bums.
In nine major-league seasons, Mason appeared in 232 games with a 4.02 ERA, 22 wins and 13 saves, primarily working as a middle reliever. He started his big-league career on the 1984 World Series champion Detroit Tigers and also played for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.
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