NOTEBOOK: SECOND-HALF TITLE WITHIN REACH SURGE COMES DESPITE THE LOSS OF KEY PLAYERS.Byline: Gideon Rubin Special to the Daily News LANCASTER - The JetHawks' position in the California League's Southern Division standings has changed drastically in the last week. But the team's stated goal hasn't. That's according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. manager Bill Plummer William Francis Plummer (born March 21, 1947 in Oakland, CA) was a catcher for the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and the Seattle Mariners. While never a regular player (he was Johnny Bench's backup catcher during the Big Red Machine years), he did play solid defense. , who insists that although the JetHawks' recent surge in the standings has them in contention for a second-half title, he remains committed to the initial goal he set out for the team after its dreadful 0-9 start to the second half, which is getting back to .500 by mid- to late August and finishing strong. Even that goal seemed far-fetched as recently as a week ago, when the JetHawks fell into the cellar after being swept at home by then-last place Inland Empire In·land Empire A region of the northwest United States between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, comprising eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana. Farming, lumbering, and mining are important to the area. in a four-game series that dropped Lancaster to seven games under .500. But the JetHawks are now in a pennant race. Thursday's 8-2 victory over Lake Elsinore, the JetHawks' fourth consecutive win, closed Lancaster (23-25 second half, 60-58 overall) to within two games of first-place High Desert (25-22, 61-66), which lost to Inland Empire 10-3. Lancaster remained seven games ahead in the wild-card race over Rancho Cucamonga Rancho Cucamonga (răn`chō k  'kəmäng`gə), city (1990 pop. 101,409), San Bernardino co., S Calif. (23-23, 51-64), which defeated Stockton 9-2 Thursday.
The JetHawks' surge is especially impressive, considering the team is playing some of its best ball after being depleted de·plete tr.v. de·plet·ed, de·plet·ing, de·pletes To decrease the fullness of; use up or empty out. [Latin d by July promotions to all-star catcher Miguel Montero Miguel Angel Montero (born July 9, 1983 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a baseball player for the Arizona Diamondbacks franchise. He made his Major League debut on September 6, 2006 against the Florida Marlins. , slugging first baseman Chris Carter Chris Carter may refer to:
Drew was selected for the 2006 All-Star Futures Game. He is the younger brother of Red Sox outfielder J.D. , who combined for 55 homers and 206 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in . ``It'd be a nice story to write, but right now I just want us to play well and finish strong,'' Plummer said. ``We still haven't reached our goal of getting to .500.'' Winning the second-half title outright, however, would get the JetHawks into the playoffs without them having to rely on help from other teams. A scenario that could keep the JetHawks out of the playoffs involves Rancho Cucamonga overtaking High Desert for second-half title. The pride factor is an added bonus. ``That'd be awesome,'' JetHawks outfielder Jeff Cook
--Competitive edge: Whatever JetHawks pitcher Matt Chico lacked in stuff, he more than made up for with his competitiveness in Thursday's game. Control problems contributed to his high pitch-count - he threw 103 pitches in five innings - but Chico (6-2) pitched well enough to hand the game over to the bullpen with a 3-2 lead in the sixth, after allowing two runs on a season-high five walks and five hits in five innings. He struck out eight batters. Thursday's outing snapped a streak of seven consecutive quality starts. ``He competed,'' Plummer said. ``He didn't have his best stuff, but what he did was he kept us in the game.'' --Also: JetHawks reliever Micah Owings pitched two innings of shutout ball in Thursday's game, lowering his ERA to 1.64. ... Santa Clarita-based Hitting Home Baseball Academy and the JetHawks will host their second annual Winter Baseball Camp on Dec. 3-4 at Clear Channel Stadium. Oakland A's pitcher Barry Zito (Pierce College/USC) and Dodgers catcher Mike Rose will be among the instructors. For more information, contact the academy at 661-299-BASE. Gideon Rubin, (818)713-3607 gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com |
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