Bandit Post, Vol 2.1, 1998

[aaronweiner]

It was a mixed week for the Birmingham Bandits, but a successful month. While the Bandits missed an opportunity to maintain their four game lead over Des Moines, the team will go into June with their second consecutive winning month and a new attitude.

"We think we're winners, and that's what matters most to us," said catcher Pat Larkin. "We think we're in this thing to take home the prize."

While we've seen this routine before - Birmingham gets out to a big lead, things start to go wrong, they lose control of the team and they finish in second or third place - this year somehow feels different. Perhaps it's because they've been doing this without Sammy Bodeen, or that they felt confident dealing him away. Perhaps its because they've finally started a youth movement - Birmingham's farm now ranks a solid ninth and has a number of solid prospects.

Whatever the case, it's clear that the Bandits are a different sort of ballclub right now.

"We feel like more of a team," said Roy Nicoletti, who has been outstanding this season and reportedly recently petitioned Bandits' management for an extension. "We feel like everyone's pulling their weight."

Birmingham still needs to move forward. The Sammy Bodeen trade didn't bring the powerhitting solution that they thought it would, and the Bandits are still far too dependent on Medric Wood and Jack Dark to produce runs. They're almost certainly going to need to still add talent if they're going to maintain their lead, especially with Des Moines constantly dealing.

"We're still exploring some options," said GM Aaron Weiner. "There's no reason to believe that we're going to be still and steady from here on out."

Birmingham fans are certainly hoping that the team's position in the standings, however, is still and steady.