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July 2, 2005Roosters to Beach BumsIndiana club to fold, move to TC after 2005 seasonByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The Traverse City Beach Bums are working on their home field, but now they have some players. Beach Bums owners John and Leslye Wuerfel bought the franchise of the Frontier League's Richmond (Ind.) Roosters on Friday. The deal will be completed in early September at the conclusion of the season. In the meantime, the Roosters will continue to play in Richmond. The deal includes the franchise rights and options on contracts for the 24 Roosters' players. "It's a done deal now," said John Wuerfel, who declined to reveal the purchase price. "I kind of feel bad for the owners of Richmond. They have a good team and some quality ballplayers on their team that we'd be interested in keeping on the Traverse City Beach Bums." He said the deal does not include coaches or items such as bats, pitching machines or balls. "Obviously, Richmond Roosters uniforms aren't going to do us any good," he joked. The sale was announced at the Roosters' current home, McBride Stadium. Richmond will keep the rights to the team name, in case the city can eventually land another team. "It's a very bittersweet day for us," Roosters minority owner Duke Ward said. Ward said the sale of the team resulted from an uncooperative city administration that tried to conduct lease negotiations through the local newspaper. Ward said attacks by the Richmond Parks and Recreation board brought sales of season tickets and advertising to a halt. In a statement read at a press conference, majority owner Allen Brady said, "We never anticipated that the deathblow to the organization would come from our own city government." The Roosters lost between $100,000 and $200,000 the past few years, and are near the bottom of the Frontier League in attendance this year, averaging 1,369 fans a game. The team had an annual budget of about $500,000, also among the lowest in the league. The Beach Bums' new stadium will seat 4,550 and John Wuerfel said he expects an operating budget of between $1.2 million and $1.5 million. Richmond is last in the six-team East Division with a 15-19 record, five games out of first, although they have a better record than three teams in the West Division. The Roosters had been in Richmond for 11 years, winning back-to-back Frontier League titles in 2001 and 2002, becoming the first team to ever win the league in consecutive years. From a player standpoint, the Roosters have a good supply of hitters to build around, and although their pitching is 10th in the 12-team league, 24-year-old right-hander Tony Casoli is in the top 10 in earned run average (2.94) and leads the league in strikeouts with 54 in 49 innings. He has a 5-1 record. Catcher Tony Sanguinetti, 24, is third in the league with 12 home runs and fourth with 34 RBIs in 34 games played. He is also hitting at a .283 clip. Shortstop Josh Hollingsworth, 25, is fourth in the league in homers (11), with 28 RBIs and a .289 average and outfielder Mike Reese, 24, leads the league in on-base percentage (.494) and is seventh in batting (.378). Frontier league contracts have an option year, meaning that the Beach Bums could retain some of the players. John Wuerfel said construction to the TC stadium is coming along well. He stayed in TC to pour concrete instead of attending the press conference for the sale in Indiana. The light poles are up, as is most of the stadium's second floor. He hopes to install trusses and get seating risers in within the next few weeks and be able to move into the clubhouse in two weeks. The Wuerfels hope to hire team personnel - including the coaching staff - in September.
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