Friday, July 12, 1996

Prairie Dogs unlikely to relax after great first half

By LANCE FLEMING
Staff Writer

The numbers the Abilene Prairie Dogs posted en route to winning the first-half championship in the Texas-Louisiana League are nothing short of phenomenal:

* A league-record 35 wins in a half;
* a 19-4 mark on the road;
* a combined 21 victories from their starting rotation.

But after dominating the league like no other team has done in the circuit's three-year existence, the Dogs must forget about all those things and move on to the second half of the season. That second half begins tonight when Abilene opens a seven-game homestand against Tyler, a team the Dogs have beaten 10 straight times this season.

In fact, the only thing Abilene will carry with it into the second half is a 12-game winning streak.
But don't expect the Dogs - with a playoff berth already in hand - to coast through the second half.
Especially since if they win the second half, they earn a first-round playoff bye and an automatic spot in the league championship series.

"This isn't a league where you coast, because everybody's trying to move up to the next level," Abilene catcher Jack Johnson said. "There are two ways to do that, and that's to win as a team and have a good year individually. The way we played in the first half, it would be very uncharacteristic of the guys on this team to let down. Our attitude has been to go out and play hard every day, and that's what it will continue to be in the second half."

Almost everything went right for the Dogs in the first half. After the first four games, that is.
Abilene dropped its first four games of the year before going on the road to Rio Grande Valley. The Dogs then turned their season around on May 24 when Johnson hit two home runs - the last one a two-run shot in the ninth - to turn a potential defeat into a 9-8 victory.

The Prairie Dogs reached the .500 mark a few days later and they haven't looked back since.
They finished the first half by winning 35 of their last 46 games overall. Included in that is a 10-game winning streak on the road. Abilene went 7-3 on its longest road trip of the season (June 10-20) and 10-4 on its longest homestand (May 27-June 9).

After the 0-4 start the Dogs are 16-7 at home, a good record but one that pales in comparison to the incredible 19-4 road mark.

"We've got 23 guys that have played four or five years, and that means we've all been on countless bus trips," Jackson said. "We all know how to deal with things on the road."

As it has at both home and on the road, the pitching staff has been the foundation of this team.

Unlike last year's pieced-together bunch, this staff was put together with the idea that it would lead the club to the league championship. And so far the nine guys on the staff haven't given any indication that they can't do just that.

Starter/pitching coach David Haas has been the league's best pitcher in the first half, compiling an 8-3 mark with a league-best 1.92 ERA. He's struck out 61 hitters and walked just 16. Opening Day starter Kerry Knox has rounded into form with a 6-2 mark, and Sam Arminio has a 5-2 record. Jared Baker has been up and down with a 2-5 mark, but has pitched well of late.

And the Dogs will probably insert Lance Schuermann into the starting rotation in a couple of weeks. He is 4-0 with a 3.31 ERA.

The starters have an ERA of 3.67.

The bullpen has been just as strong with Brian Dunne, Troy Hirsch, Scott Jones, Schuermann and Ken Winkle combining for the club's other 14 wins. Those five guys have a combined ERA of 3.02.

"We were all disappointed in the first four games because we knew the talent we had on the mound," Johnson said. "These guys know they can pitch, and they're all smart guys and that's why they're so successful.

"They don't just go out there and throw," he said. "They have a plan with each hitter and each team, and that's a credit to David. They come out each day and try to get better, and they're ready for the second half."

The pitching carried the club towards the tail end of the first half when the offense went into a little
slump.

But the attack has been, if nothing else, efficient.

The Prairie Dogs can beat a team by getting 13 hits in their last three at-bats (as they did in a miraculous come-from-behind win over Alexandria in mid-June), or with just three (as they did in their July 4, 11-inning win over Tyler).

Rod Brewer has led the club at the plate from the start, and his 45 RBI and 11 home runs are second and third, respectively, in the league. He's also in the league's top 10 in hitting at .333.

Paul Coleman is hitting .303 with seven home runs and 35 - both second on the team - and Manny Gagliano is at .320 and playing a steady third base. Former Cooper standout Scott Malone is hitting .321, and has been seeing steady playing time recently in left field.

"All good teams go through little slumps at the plate, and ours was at the end of the first half," said Johnson, who is hitting .260 with four homers and 25 RBI. "We got a little tired and frustrated, but we kept finding ways to win and that was the crazy thing. When we go out and win when we don't have our best stuff, it gives us more confidence."

Another area where the Prairie Dogs are much-improved over last year is defensively, particularly up the middle. Johnson has thrown out almost half the runners who have tried to steal on him, and second baseman Eric Gonzalez, shortstop Scott Bethea and centerfielder Darryl Monroe have combined to make just 28 errors between them.

And one other element has played a vital role in the Prairie Dogs' season: veteran leadership. Last year's club didn't have it, and this year's club has an abundance of it, starting with Barry Jones, Brewer and Haas.

"Those guys have something that most of us don't have, and that's the experience they've had in dealing with winning and losing," Johnson said. "They help us by some of the things they do, whether it be criticism or accolades. They've all proven they can do it on the field as well."

It all adds up to what was, without a doubt, the best team in the league. But that was in the first half.
"It's going to be an interesting second half because the league is very competitive," Johnson said.
"But if this team stays together, and nobody gets signed by an organization, without a doubt this is the team to beat. That's pretty obvious, and I'm not saying anything that's a secret to anybody. We got on a roll, and people are aware of what our capabilities are. But we've got to be ready because everybody's going to be coming after us."