TRAVERSE CITY -- Day one of year two begins tonight.
Second-year Traverse City Beach Bums manager Jon Cahill is ready to put what he learned in his first season at the helm when the 2008 campaign begins tonight at Wuerfel Park.
The Bums open their season with a three-game set against the Midwest Sliders, who were a league-worst 29-66 in 2007.
One of the big things Cahill learned in his first season as manager was about preparation. That's why he was tying up as many lose ends as he could on Tuesday.
"I'm ready," Cahill said. "I'm chomping at the bit. I'm getting everything ready today so tomorrow I can just get in the right frame of mind."
Traverse City will send returning right-hander Bryan Rembisz to the mound for the Opening Day start. Rembisz was 7-0 with a 1.87 ERA after starting the season in the Bums' bullpen.
"He throws strikes," Cahill said of the decision to start Rembisz in the opener. "He's not so much a pitcher that throws to contact. But he throws strikes, he's always around the strike zone and he keeps the defense in the game behind him. He works fast, he works quick and hopefully we can keep him in the dugout as much as possible and let our offense do the work.
"He earned (the Opening Day start) last year with the way he finished for us."
With cool weather in the forecast and it being the first of 96 games, Cahill said Rembisz will be on a pitch count.
Cahill said he's unsure who the Sliders -- who will play every game on the road this season -- will start. Cahill added he expects to see former Beach Bums' pitcher Jeremy Dow at some point during the three-game series.
Traverse City, coming off a 46-50 campaign, is looking to get off to a fast start this season. That didn't happen in 2007 as the Bums were slow out of the gates before going 28-22 in the second half of the season.
A combination of factors hurt Traverse City in the early going, which is why one of the big things Cahill learned in his first season as manager was to 'expect the unexpected."
"In all my years at every level of baseball, I've never seen so many injuries and so many things go wrong at once ... all in my first season," Cahill said.
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