Miracle need plenty of help to win West

If there's one thing Kevin Boles, a virtual baseball lifer, has learned over almost three decades in the game, it's the importance of a short-term memory.

So the first-year Fort Myers Miracle manager is harboring no more bitterness toward the night of April 24 — when his team blew a three-run, ninth-inning lead and lost on a walk-off grand slam in Dunedin — than he is any of his club's other 30 losses over the first half of 2006.

Good thing, too.

What five nights ago loomed as the spring's biggest defeat is fast becoming an afterthought, this after back-to-back losses at Sarasota dropped Fort Myers — which was tied for first with Dunedin with five games to go — into third entering tonight's opener of a three-game first half finale with Lakeland at Hammond Stadium.

In order to clinch their first Florida State League West Division title since AL batting leader Joe Mauer was on the 2003 first-half team, Fort Myers (36-31) has to sweep the second-place Tigers (36-30) — winners in seven of nine meetings this season — and hope Dunedin (38-29) drops three straight to fourth-place Tampa (31-34).

The Blue Jays own the tiebreaker against the Miracle after taking three of five meetings, including that late-April heartbreaker, this spring. Dunedin is 4-5 against the Yankees this season, including a three-game Tampa sweep June 8-10 at Knology Park, where the two teams play today and Tuesday before heading to Legends Field in Tampa for the first half finale on Wednesday night.

Despite dropping 10 of their first 15 games this month, including the pair to the Reds that put them more than a game back for the first time all spring, Boles said he's been encouraged by a team that's continued to work hard and has learned from its mistakes.

"Our guys had three close games in (being swept June 8-10 at) Lakeland, and our guys just haven't got the timely hits and quality pitching we've been looking for lately," he said. "They've still competed hard. Now we're just trying to take care of what we can do and we'll have to wait to see how everything shakes out."

If things are to shake out favorably, the Miracle will have to figure out a pesky Tigers club that has won the last five games between the teams and seven of their last 10 overall to creep into the postseason picture.

Fort Myers led in all three losses at Joker Marchant Stadium two weeks ago, losing the last on an errant pickoff attempt in the 10th inning after coaxing three runs out of Lakeland starter Jair Jurrjens, who's 5-0 and fifth in the FSL with a 2.08 ERA.

"We just keep the same approach," Boles said. "We're very consistent with what we do as far as the mental aspect of the game. Things have been going pretty well for us this first half, so you don't change things now. If we play quality baseball, we like our chances on a nightly basis."

Boles has also got to like his team's chances when ace righthander Kevin Slowey's on the mound, as he's currently scheduled to be on Wednesday in the final game of the first half. The 22-year-old started for the West in the FSL All-Star Game in Lakeland on Saturday, striking out the side on nine pitches in the first inning of a 7-4 win over the East.

Of course, Slowey's appearance will have no bearing on the pennant if lefties Justin Jones (1-1, 2.96 ERA) and Brian Duensing (0-2, 3.21) don't stifle the hot Lakeland bats tonight and Tuesday, respectively.

"Obviously we know what's going on, and the general thinking is that we've worked too hard to fold up at the end and trip at the finish," said Slowey, who leads all of minor league baseball with a 1.10 ERA and whose days in high Class-A are very likely numbered. "We know what we have to do, and we know these three will probably make or break this half. We're talented enough to do it without worrying about it, now we just want to let that talent and the hard work pay off and get this done."

Added Boles: "Winning and development really do go hand-in-hand. We're trying to get guys to the big leagues to help us win a World Series one day, so when we're in this position, if we happen to make the playoffs, it's good for their development and their careers. It's just been fun to watch these guys compete."