Story By Josh Feldman

The Long Beach Armada and manager Garry Templeton has elevated bullpen coach Sean Buller to pitching coach for the remainder of the 2009 season. Buller, the only player/coach on the Armada roster, takes over for Jerry Spradlin who has been relieved of his duties.

Buller, 33, is in his third year with the Armada. The Long Beach native joined the organization in 2007 after six years away from professional baseball with what originally was diagnosed as a career-ending shoulder injury. He served as a player/coach in 2008 as the Armada’s bullpen coach and began the 2009 season in the same role. Buller will still have his pitching duties on top of now overseeing the entire pitching staff.

“Sean will make our pitchers more accountable for what they do before games,” said Templeton. “He’s outspoken, and I can see him getting in a pitcher’s face and make them buckle down when they need to on the mound.”

Buller began his professional career in 1998 with the Detroit Tigers. Despite going undrafted, the big left-hander worked his way up to the AAA Toledo Mudhens and became one of the top pitching prospects in the Tigers organization in 2001 until suffering a shoulder injury. After an attempted comeback failed in 2003, doctors told Buller he would never be able to pitch again. Despite the diagnosis, Buller continued to rehab and developed a new sidearm delivery from the mound that did not aggravate his past injury. This season, Buller has returned to pitching from a higher arm slot.

“The only difference for me is basically the pitching staff is going to be more accountable,” Buller said. “The pitching staff is going to take pride in their work, and that’s what will ultimately lead to winning the second half and eventually a GBL championship.”

Buller has not only been a leader for the Armada on the field this season – so far he has three saves with 15 strikeouts and four walks in 14.0 innings pitched with an ERA of 2.57 out of the bullpen – he also represents the organization in the community during the off-season at local little league opening days, spelling bees, elementary school carnivals and festivals and much more. The Long Beach native is proud to be representing the only professional team in his hometown.

“Obviously being in Long Beach, this is a big thing for me,” Buller said. “Ultimately it’s about doing the job I know I can do and that Garry knows I can do and maximizing the talent on our roster from this point forward.”

This is not the first time Templeton has made a mid-season change. Armada starter Ben Fox served as Templeton’s pitching coach in 2007 with the Orange County Flyers after Templeton fired pitching coach Mike Smith mid-season.