2064.19 June 10th

[Krathan]

June 10th. That's the date to circle on the calendar. If the recent trend of winning baseball continues for the Charlotte Flyers continues, and this becomes something other than a lost season, June 10th will be the date that will be most often cited as when things turned around for this ballclub.

"Yeah, I mean, we were at a pretty low point after that game. We had just been crushed by the Shredders after losing a series in Boise."

That was Ron Madden, a Charlotte reliever, when asked about the team's mindset following their game on June 10th, a game in which the Flyers lost 8-3 to an Austin team that currently has the worst run differential in the Johnson League.

"We were all kind of sitting around with our heads down, like totally defeated, when Bandit slammed the doors and told us to listen up."

Bandit is the nickname of one of the team's most respected leaders, Jacquot Natta.

Bandit said that he wouldn't share everything that was said in the meeting, but he was willing to talk about some of it.

"I started by telling everybody to stop feeling sorry for themselves. They all looked so depressed. I mean, we get to play a game every day, and we get paid a lot of money to play it. Why should we be sitting there with our heads down?"

"Then I pointed out a few things that I think helped everybody understand our situation. Like, we haven't been playing the best baseball, but it's not like the front office is just sitting on their hands. They've been working their tails off to find the right mix of guys to get this thing turned around."

Domingo Chavez, another of the club's leaders, elaborated on that comment.

"The general manager sent us a message when he traded Bob away."

Bob is Bob Anderson, a historically excellent BBA pitcher who was not performing well with the Flyers.

"That trade, and the release of a guy like Jose Vargas the same day...that showed us that the front office believes we should be winning. Just because somebody used to be good, or somebody has a big name or a big contract...that doesn't mean they're guaranteed a spot, or playing time, or whatever."

Chavez paused after saying that.

"I hadn't thought about it that way, but when Bandit said that...it made a lot of sense."

Natta shared a few other highlights from the meeting.

"I told the young guys, like Francisco and Roberto, that they were here because the front office and the coaches believed in them. They had a chance to prove they belong here."

Francisco Rios and Roberto Villalobos are two players who began the year in AAA, but were brought up as the team was shifting things around as the struggles continued into May.

Rios, currently hitting .283 with 4 home runs and 21 RBI, and Villalobos, hitting .323, were prospects who spent time with the club during Spring Training. The front office decided to bring up Rios when they released Vargas. Villalobos was brought up to replace the injured Tony Villa. Both have played well, and the team will need to find ways to make sure they still get playing time as Villa is set to return from the injured list very soon.

The Flyers are 12-6 since June 10th. Their run differential has improved from -44 to -21 during that stretch. They have gone from being 6 games out of the final wildcard spot, to just 3. They now have a better record than 6 of the 8 teams in the Frontier Division. They recently played 8 games against the top 2 teams in the Frontier, and won 5 of them. The pitching staff has gone from being the worst in the league to the middle of the pack. The offense has still been somewhat inconsistent, but it has shown overall improvement as well.

The development of players like Felipe Cummings, Rios, Villalobos, along with some veterans like Buwono Mainaky have been a big part of the team's recent surge.

Will it continue? Will other players start to find their groove again as well? (Jose Bedreddin just had his best week of the season.) It's hard to know for sure.

However, if the Flyers turn their season around, remember the meeting that happened in Austin on June 10th.