Schaumburg Live Work & Play - March/April 2009 - (Page 17) in Calgary, Busch is excited to get to return to the Northern League, where he was an all-star third baseman. He understands the challenge in Schaumburg, where the quality of the play last season didn’t come close to matching the quality of the stadium they play in. After success in its first few seasons, the Flyers organization swung and missed with attempts to draw more interest (fans cast votes for the daily lineup one season, and the team even signed “Leon” from the Budweiser commercials). When the Flyers open this May, the campaign vows to focus on building a winning team with an experienced manager. “They tried to get butts in the seats like any other organization does,” Busch said. “For my part, I’m not doing anything different. I’m coming to put a good product on the field. I’m there to win, baby. That’s my motto.” To do so, Busch expects to pore over the Flyers roster from last season and bring in a few players from Calgary “who know what I’m all about.” After that, he’ll try to glean talent from the independent leagues and wait for MLB teams to make their cuts to pick up some more talent. Getting to know the baseball fans in Chicago should be easy since he has something in common with many of them - his admiration for Cubs manager Lou Piniella. “Sweet Lou is my favorite manager. I love his style. He’s firm, but lets the players play,” Busch says. “He expects you to show up every day and win, just like any manager. “I just like how Sweet Lou’s style is. His look, his demeanor. Some of his quotes, he keeps it light but still has a firm direction on things, and that’s what he expects out of his players. Once in a while he’ll blow up. I won’t blow up like Sweet Lou, but I just love his style of play.” If he can match Piniella’s level of success in Chicago, then Mike Busch will have more challenges ahead. � � � � � � � � � � ��� � � � � � � � � � � � � �� � � � � � ��� �� ��� ��� �� ���������� ��� ����������� ������������ ������������������������ march/april 2009 Page 17 http://masters.robertmorris.edu http://masters.robertmorris.edu
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