JETHAWKS ANALYSIS: LATE LETDOWN CLOUDS OTHERWISE SUNNY FIRST HALF.

Byline: Gideon rubin Staff Writer

LANCASTER - It would be unfair to remember the JetHawks entirely as the team that stumbled when it counted most, blowing a one-game lead going into the final weekend of the first half of the California League regular season.

Legitimate criticism of the JetHawks' performance, especially at the end, should be qualified by the fact they overachieved their way into title contention, and did it while playing a grueling schedule: 35 games in 34 days, including eight games in the final seven days of the half.

But in the end, there was a letdown.

Perhaps it was a lack of energy, and perhaps it was because the JetHawks just weren't good enough to close the deal. After winning six consecutive games, seven of eight and nine of 11 going into the final weekend, they barely resembled a shadow of their earlier-season selves in the Bakersfield series, playing some of their worst baseball particularly in the first two games.

A runner gets picked off in the ninth inning with the team trailing by three in one game. A foul popup lands between three players in the next. Their pitching was poor, and their situational hitting was worse.

There certainly is no shame in being a second-place team, especially not in finishing one game behind a Rancho Cucamonga team loaded with touted prospects in a resurgent Angels farm system.

But that the JetHawks squandered an opportunity is a fact that would be easier to live with had they played the final weekend in a way more worthy of the effort that characterized their solid play for most of the half.

It's true the JetHawks couldn't control what Rancho Cucamonga did over the weekend. But had Lancaster won two of three home games in the Bakersfield series, it would have secured no worse than a tie for the first-half title and forced a one-game playoff next month.

Manager Bill Plummer, who took over a beleaguered team last May, engineered a remarkable turnaround, but his old-school approach alienated many and polarized an already contentious clubhouse.

This season, players are pulling for each other under manager Mike Aldrete, who's fostered a more cohesive environment.

The JetHawks are feeding off the positive attitude he's instilled. And Aldrete, who's managing a full-season team for the first time in his career and still makes some rookie-manager mistakes, seems to feed off his players.

``What I'm most proud of (this half) is the number of guys that far exceeded the (JetHawks parent Arizona Diamondbacks) organization's expectations, and the number of guys who put themselves on the prospect radar screen,'' Aldrete said.

``Too many good things happened in this first half to get too down and out about coming in second place by one game,'' Aldrete said.

``More importantly, there's a half a season left for each and every one these players to get better.''

Gideon Rubin [phone]

gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com