The Sports Report

Kremer: You'll Be Rooting for These 2 Slammers Pitchers

Evan Anundsen and Jacob Sanchez represent what Frontier League Baseball is all about—a chance to get noticed or find redemption. The two will suit up for the Slammers' season-opener on Friday night at Silver Cross Field.

Let me introduce you to two young, professional ballplayers who epitomize what independent baseball is all about. Both are pitchers with the Joliet Slammers in the Frontier League ranks. Let me remind you the Slammers, with a new ownership group in place and a new manager in the dugout, open regular-season play against the Traverse City Beach Bums on Friday night. Joliet mayor Tom Giarrante will throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Silver Cross Field. Action begins at 7:05. You’ll want to keep a close eye on the two men who stand at the head of the Slammers’ rotation, right-handers Evan Anundsen and Jacob Sanchez. Anundsen will start vs. the Beach Bums. He once was a fourth-round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers. He spent seven …

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Get to Know Joliet Slammers

Read about this business, whose owner just claimed their listing on Joliet Patch.

We would like to welcome the Joliet Slammers to the Patch community! When a local business interacts with Patch by claiming its listing, we like to say thank you with a short question-and-answer session to help community members get to know the business. Contact us if you're interested in having your business featured here. Today, Patch features Aaron Morse, Director of Broadcasting & Media Relations for the Joliet Slammers What do the Joliet Slammers offer? The Slammers offer affordable entertainment for the people of Will County and the surrounding areas. Our tickets start at only $5. We have fireworks after every Friday night home game during our season. Every Monday-Wednesday home game we offer the "Blue Collar Buffet" which is an all-…

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Be Original -- Buy Local for Mother's Day

No need to go out of town to shop for your gift. Consider these local choices and keep those sales tax dollars here!

Not to get too dollars-and-cents on you, but if you just received your property tax bill, you're probably feeling more than a little deflated right about now. But here's something to consider: If governments can collect more money through sales tax, they can charge less in property taxes. Ergo -- buy local and maybe that bill will be less next year! And that leads us to Mother's Day. With the holiday right around the corner, you've got to buy a gift so why not spend your dollars locally and support local merchants at the same time? After all, their property tax bills just arrived, too. Allow us to offer some suggestions... Nothing says Joliet like something that says "Joliet." Why not pick up a Joliet Slammers T-shirt or a Spikes stuffed …

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Slammers' New Hound Dog Needs a Name

The baseball team is asking fans to submit name ideas for their newest addition. The winner will receive four game tickets and a chance to throw out the first pitch.

This pooch has everything -- looks, charm, jowls. Everything, that is, but a name. That's where the Joliet Slammers hope fans will step up to the plate. The latest addition to the Joliet minor league baseball team, who will tag along with team mascot Spikes, is -- what else? -- a hound dog puppy. An homage, no doubt, to Elvis Presley's song You Ain't Nothin' But a Hound Dog and the fact that the King starred in the movie Jailhouse Rock. So, presumably, he needs a name that conjures up prison guards, striped inmate uniforms and life behind bars. Submit your name suggestions online at jolietslammers.com/namethedog by 5 p.m. May 3. The person who provides the winning entry will receive four tickets to the Slammers Bark in the Park game on May…

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Joliet Slammers Looking for a Few Good Homes to House Their Players

Anyone who provides a comfortable place for a team member to stay during the season is rewarded with tickets to every home game and other perks.

Here's a question for you: Do you have a spare bedroom or finished basement that's not being used? Here's another: Would you love to have free tickets to every Joliet Slammers home game this summer, discounts on Slammers gear and VIP treatment at special Slammers events? Hand, meet glove -- have we got a deal for you. The Frontier League team needs "host" families willing to house one or more players on Slammers 2013 team and, in exchange, the aforementioned perks will be yours. The only obligation, said Kelli Drechsel, Slammers assistant general manager for promotions, is you provide a comfortable place for a player to spend the night and his hours away from the ballpark. Families don't have to cook meals, do laundry or provide …

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The Sports Report

Kremer: New Slammers Score with Breyman, Community Outreach

Watch: General manager Chris Franklin introduces Mike Breyman as the new manager of the Slammers during a news conference at ATI Physical Therapy in Bolingbrook.

Mike Breyman was fumbling with the buttons on his Joliet Slammers jersey, preparing to pose for a photograph during a news conference Tuesday at ATI Physical Theraphy’s headquarters in Bolingbrook. An awkward moment quickly turned into a bit of light-hearted humor when an onlooker alerted him that one of his buttons was misaligned. No wonder the new manager’s jersey wasn’t fitting him properly. No worries, either. “That’s what we call a ‘Breyman-ism’—I may make words up, just so you know,” he said. Breyman, 31, was introduced as the new Slammers manager during a get-acquainted shindig that served notice the news Slammers ownership team headed by CEO Josh Schaub already is on the ball on several fronts. No doubt, Schaub picked the location …

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Hitting Coach New Slammers Field Manager

Mike Breyman was the Frontier League's coach of the year in 2011 and worked with new Slammers GM when both were with the River City Rascals.

Mike Breyman, hitting coach for the Gateway Grizzlies and the Frontier League's 2011 coach of the year, has been tapped to be the Joliet Slammers new field manager. Breyman worked with the Slammers newly appointed general manager Chris Franklin in 2010 and '11 when Franklin was manager of the River City Rascals, Breyman was hitting coach and the team won the 2010 Frontier League Championship. “This is a great day for our organization,” Franklin said in a release announcing Breyman's hiring. “Mike Breyman is a great leader and an even better person. We have enjoyed success together in the past and I look forward to working with Mike once again.” Prior to his tenure with the Rascals, Breyman, 31, was the Grizzlies’ bench coach in 2009 and …

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The Sports Report

Kremer: Fate of Slammers Hangs on Quality of Experience

Watch: CEO Josh Schaub, GM Chris Franklin, Frontier League commissioner Bill Lee and Joliet city manager Tom Thanas talk Slammers baseball and downtown revitalization in a Patch video.

Whether the new Joliet Slammers ownership team is more successful than the old remains to be seen. What I learned during Tuesday’s media day shindig in the Hall of Fame Room at Silver Cross Field is CEO Josh Schaub is going to step up to the plate ready to swing at almost any pitch. Schaub promised to hire a new manager that he hopes one day will become the face of the Slammers’ baseball team, if not the entire organization. An announcement on the hire could come before Christmas. He also promised to make Silver Cross Field an entertainment destination site and that means you can expect to see a variety of different shows on the field, the list ranging from concerts to weddings. Yes, very soon you will be able to tie the knot at home plate…

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Slammers Holding Holiday Open House Saturday

The event will feature free Milano baked goods, raffles, pictures with "Santa" Spikes and a present for each child.

If you've been looking for a chance to check out Joliet's Silver Cross Field when it isn't filled with people, vendors and baseball players, Saturday's the day. The Joliet Slammers are holding a Holiday Open House from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the stadium's "Hal of Fame" room. It's the first team event since the Slammer were sold to new owners this fall. At the open house, fans can meet with team administrators -- including new General Manager Chris Franklin -- and rub elbows with mascot "Santa Spikes," who will present each child with a gift. Pastries from Milano Bakery will be served, raffles of Slammers prizes will be held throughout and all merchandise will be 20 percent off. Holiday packs, season tickets and mini plans will also be sold…

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Joliet Native Chosen as Slammers GM

Chris Franklin has been involved in professional minor league baseball for seven years, including four as GM of the River City Rascals in Missouri.