Never fear, faithful fans

THEY'D lost eight of their last 10 games, 11 of their last 15 and a lead in the Northern League standings that they had owned almost exclusively since Opening Day.

There were, in other words, a lot of things wrong with the Winnipeg Gold­eyes heading into their game with the Joliet Jackhammers at Canwest Park Monday night.

But the good news, with the North­ern League playoffs looming next week, is that there are also a lot of things right with this ball club, even if it hasn't been readily apparent for the past little while.

Let's begin with the pitching. While it is true that the team's bullpen has struggled lately, it is also a fact that the club continues to lead the league with a 4.39 team ERA. What's more, three of the Goldeyes starters -- Bear Bay, Ace Walker and Andrew Cruse -- are among the Top 10 pitchers in the league and a fourth starter -- Bill Pulsipher -- would be if he'd been pitching all season.

This is very good news for Fish fans, be­cause come next month, when two five­game series will decide the Northern League title, teams with three reliable starters -- never mind four -- are teams who win championships.

"Right now our mettle is being tested," Fish manager Rick Forney offered Monday night, "and it's being tested for a reason.

"We're going to find out how badly some of these guys want it."

Similarly, while it's true the Gold­eyes bats have slumbered at times lately, it is also a fact that the Fish hit­ters continue to mash the ball like no other team before them and are pres­ently on pace to set a Northern League record for home runs in a season.

Monday night at Canwest Park was a good example of that kind of potency. The Fish slumbered their way through the first three innings and were trail­ing the Jackhammers 1-0 when third baseman Vince Harrison strolled to the plate and promptly ripped a grand slam into the river beyond the fence in left-centre field. Game over, thanks for coming out.

"It's the calm before the storm," Walker said of his team's approach right now. "I think we have the matur­ity on this team to turn it on when we need it on."

Individually, it's been a similar good news-bad news story for the Gold­eyes. Take Fish closer Matt Davis, for instance, who continues to lead the league in saves with 13, but with his seventh loss in Schaumburg on Sunday, now also holds the Goldeyes team record for losses in a season by a reliever.

Juan Diaz? Leads the league in home runs with 27, but is also 10th in the league in strikeouts with 71.

Cruse? Ninth in the league with a 4.67 ERA, but sixth in the league in walks with 41.

Then there's this piece of mixed blessing: While it's true the Goldeyes were still just three games out of first place despite their recent skid and al­ready have a playoff spot locked up, it is also true that this team hasn't been completely right for a very long time. Consider: Since July 1, the Goldeyes have a 21-27 record, not exactly the stuff of champions.

The interesting thing about July 1 is it is the day after June 30, which in this case also happens to be the day that Goldeyes shortstop Wes Long broke his ankle.

Long was leading the league offen­sively and defensively and was well on his way to an MVP title when he went down. While his replacement Adam Frost has performed admir­ably -- he's making a bid for rookie of the year honours and is second in the league in stolen bases with 28 -- the Fish have never truly recovered from the loss of their defensive leader and the league's best lead-off man.

"Losing Wes," says Forney, "was like getting stabbed twice. It was like we got knifed in the back and chest at the same time."

Long was hobbling around the Fish clubhouse Monday evening. He's do­ing some rehab and might be available to do some pinch-hitting come playoff time.

He has faith that the team that he helped dominate the league in the early going will make some noise yet come season's end.

"This is still," Long says, "a very good team."

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

'I think we have the maturity on this team to turn it on when we need it on'

-- Goldeyes pitcher Ace Walker