Washington Township Senators 35+

The Washington Township Senators 35+ club today completed their coaching staff, as General Manager Nick Frese named one of the "old guard" to the remaining spot on the staff -- veteran Frank Izzi was named assistant coach.

"I am just thrilled to have Frank in this position along with Pete (Conlin)," Frese said. "The guy is very well-respected among the troops, and he is someone I've always counted on to have my back. He knows the game and knows how to lead. What more can you ask for?"

The long-time Nat hitting star has always been a defacto "sergeant-at-arms" for the club, but this is the first time #10 has served in an official capacity.

"Whatever Nick needs me to do, I am there," said Izzi. "Whatever it takes for us to get that title back. That's what's most important to me."

Izzi and Conlin are expected to work in concert with the GM to manage lineups and player usage, as the Senators work to develop a championship-quality team, one comprised of members from both the 35+ and 25+ Senator teams.

"This looks to be a VERY deep and talented team," Frese said. "We've had some damned good tems over the years, but I don't know if we've ever had this much talent on the roster. It's only October, but I'm already very excited about the possibilities."

Notes: the rumor mill is also swirling about the potential return of yet another former Senator great next year. Details are sketchy and confirmation has not come, but suffice to say this would be quite an amazing coup for the Nat offense and defense.

Washington Township Senators General Manager Nick Frese announced today that Pete Conlin will be one of his assistant coaches on the 35+ club in 2009. Conlin, a long-time member of the Senator organization, had previously announced his intention of moving up to the older club next year.

"It would be impossible to find a player with more knowledge of the game than Pete," Frese said, "And I am very excited to have his insight in our corner going forward. He will be a tremendous resource for us in the dugout."

Conlin's vast experience in the game includes high school ball at Township, a terrific collegiate career, a stint in the pros, and most recently, a long run as skipper of Conlin Baseball in the Tri-County League.

"I am really happy to help Nick out this year as he transitions into the 45+ Division," said Conlin. "We are bringing some nice talent up from the 25s, and with an already deep 35+ squad, I think we have a real chance to be in this thing next year, and to be pretty special."

As always, Frese will be handling the GM duties, which includes financials, rainout management, practices, roster decisions, and league functions. Conlin will have a big role in game management, and lots of input on lineups as well.

"I fully expect to be there  at the beginning of most -- clearly not all -- of the 35+ games," Frese said, "But I also expect to leave many of  them to get my 45+ at-bats. So Pete is going to play a very large role in running the club on the  field. I felt it was important to bring one of the younger Senators into a management role on this club, and I have every confidence that Pete is the man for the job."

It has been speculated that Frese would name a second Assistant Coach, but it does not appear that decision has yet been made.

"Yeah, it would be nice to have another coach to help run things," Frese said, "But I haven't quite wrapped my arms around that one yet. There are certainly plenty of candidates on this veteran team, so I'm sure we'll come up with a plan eventually -- fortunately, there is no urgency."

Frese will also be looking to name two assistants for the new 45+ club before the first of the year, as help will be needed on that side for early in the games.

"I can certainly work with lineups and pre-game planning, for the 45s," he stated, "However, I am sure gonna need someone to help me handle game-day situations such as inclement weather and that stuff, and to get the team prepped and on the field. We'll be talking about that more once I have a clearer picture of the roster. I would expect that to come together better once we get past Florida (MSBL Fall Classic)."

Among others, names such as Bruce Schumin, Tim Carey and Jim Toth have been mentioned for 45+ assistant roles, but nothing official has yet been announced by the ball club.

The Senators have already announced that Frese, Frank Rose, Miles Reader and Bill Trotman will be moving to the 45s next year, and other roster moves are probably forthcoming. Familiar names such as Bob Wood and Mike Dettra have also been mentioned with regard to the 2009 45+ roster.

"You just don't know what the future will bring," Frese said. "You may have guys wanting to hang 'em up, you may have guys wanting to move on, and you may still have guys who want to move up to the 45s. This stuff will all be a lot clearer once we get into December, I think."

In a stunning personal meeting with Senator GM Nick Frese and former 25+ Nat manager Ken Bevenour, ESPN morning radio hosts Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg, of Mike & Mike Show fame, both predicted the 35+ Washington Township Senators would take back the SJMSBL crown in 2009.

"Who knew they were fans", Frese said from the deck of the U.S. New Jersey in Camden. "It's kinda cool when guys like this want to have a pow-wow with the likes of us. I guess word gets around when you build an organization like we have here in Township."

Yes, it turns out that unbeknowngst to the Senator organization, Golic & Greenie had been keeping tabs on the boys in red.

"We know that the SJMSBL is the cream of the men's baseball crop," Golic said between bites of a Tony Luke's cheesesteak, "and we wanted to sit down with Nick and Ken and let them know the efforts of the organization have not gone unnoticed." Greenberg was even more animated and positive.

"Oh, with the new blood this team has coming up to the big club in '09 they are a STONE LOCK to win this thing", Greenberg gushed. "The only thing that can stop this train is the Tabernacle Tigers signing Sabathia to go with Senior. But I think C.C. is just a bit out of their reach budget-wise."

The dynamic duo had no reservations about making the call some six months prior to opening day.

"Hey, you don't gotta be Nostradamus to call this one," Golic added while wolfing a soft pretzel. "These guys were stacked to the nines already. Adding Bruce Shaw, Pete Conlin, Mike Pavlik, Dave DeRuchie and the Stowell Brothers is like merging the '27 Yankees with The Big Red Machine of the 70s -- the other teams in the division should all start focusing on second place right now."

GM Frese, while ecstatic with the personnel moves, was a bit more cautious.

"It was nice to hear the kind words from those guys," Frese said, "but as good as they are, I don't think you can make brash statements like that this early. Yeah, I like our chances, but the way Golic was eating, he may have popped a blood vessel or something. Greenberg? He's a nice enough guy, but I think being in Camden scared him a little."

Bevenour could not be reached for comment -- he was around the corner in line for the free Tony Luke ham and egg breakfast sandwiches.

For the second consecutive season, the Washington Township Senators dropped an entire weekend's worth of games to bow out of the SJMSBL playoffs. This time, the Tabernacle Tigers were the bringers of pain, beating the Nats 5-3 on Saturday and 8-0 on Sunday to send our heroes packing.

The Senator offense, which to be honest struggled all year long, could do nothing with either Steve Alemi nor Doug Kepple, as the veteran hurlers frustrated the bats. The only Senators to get more than one hit during the weekend were Miles Reader and Joe Collins, who each had two singles. John DiPietro threw well enough to win on Saturday, but Sunday was a quick and early dismissal, as the Tigers got to Senator ace Chris Lawrence for seven early runs. The Nats were missing a lot of firepower on Sunday, as Jim McAllister, Ken Bevenour, Dan Barbara and Dave Koerner were not present.

And so it goes that "wait until next year" becomes the cry for another 12 months.

The Washington Township Senators were off to a good start, leading 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth inning with their offense operating on all cylinders against Steve Alemi and the Tabernacle Tigers.

But the fates intervened, and after a 45-minute stoppage for lightening, the skies opened up and old mom nature washed out the Senators chance to take a 1-0 lead in this best-of-three series. Chris Lawrence was looking to pick up the win, and he might have had a shutout were it not for a mishandled doubleplay chance in the second. But no matter, as the rains had the final say in a thunderous display complete with marble-sized hail, impressive bolts of lightening, and tons of the wet stuff.

The cancelled game will start from scratch next Saturday at Washington Township High School, with Game #2 scheduled for the next day, location to be announced pending the availability of Patty Bowker Field in Tabernacle. The cancellation gives the Tigers the opportunity to use Shawn Senior twice in the series, and they will no doubt take advantage of that opportunity to get the lefty on the hill. Senator pitching plans are unclear as of this juncture.

Bring it, baby!!!!