“It’s still early.  We’re not panicking yet. ”

So said two-time manager of the year Stanley Conrad after his team’s latest defeat sent them to 12-13 on the season and 5 games back of the Whitehorse Blue Dogs. Some Portland fans consider the rough start reminiscent to the start the Lions had in 2009, when the team started off 20-29 and 11.5 games back of Colorado on June 1st. That year the Lions ended up winning the division by 9 games, making up 20.5 games in 3 months.

Still, the start has  some fans worried. The team is losing close games it was winning in 2009 and 2010, and the offense is failing in the clutch. Portland fan Stephanie Roberts sees a clear lack of chemistry in this years bunch. “The magic just doesnt seem there anymore. Last year they were coming from behind and pulling out a lot of games late. This year they just dont seem to have the same killer instinct”, Roberts said.

But despite the worry theyre getting from the fan base, Conrad and the Lions’ players dont seem to be too concerned about the rough start.

“Things havent been clicking for us yet”, said Lions outfielder Lee Miles, “but we know what type of team we have. If we find the right mix this team is capable of running away with it again.”

“We’re still confident. Nothing has changed”, said 3B Harrison Swain. “It just hasnt been working out for us. We haven’t been catching the breaks. That could change. Thats baseball.”

It’s hard to find the culprit in the rough start for the Lions. The starting pitching and bullpen has been effective, and the lineup has had significant contributions from all of the starters. Looking at the lineup, despite a 2-19 slump by Leon Medine over the last two weeks, the Lions have had solid and above average contributions from all of their starters as well as good bench play.

If anything has been missing, it has been power out of the big men in the middle of the lineup. The #4 and #5 starters, Swain and 1B Henry Swanson, have a combined 2 HR’s, both coming from Swain. Still, Swanson has hit .349 with an OBP of .425 with 7 doubles and a triple for a slugging percentage of .492, hardly bad numbers from the 5th hole. Swain has posted a fairly respectable .281/.414/.438.

“We’re just not clicking yet”, said RF Felix Moran. “The numbers are there. We’ve been getting hits and pitching well. But it seems when we hit we dont pitch, and when we pitch, we dont hit. We’re not synchronized as a team just yet.”

Manager Stanley Conrad is not hitting the panic button about the teams rough start. “We have so many weapons that can beat you. If we get it going to where we’re clicking together as a team again, we could run off more 20 win months like we had in 2010.  Things are slightly off, but we feel we can get back on the right track.”

Getting “back on the right track” might mean moving Henry Swanson to the bench and starting 1B Alfredo Garcia again. Perhaps Garcia provides better range at 1B and adds balance to the lineup. The addition of Swanson to the lineup might be throwing both the offense and defense off.

“We’re going to get back to the basics. Throwing strikes and catching the ball. Basically, defense”, Conrad said. This could mean Garcia heads back to 1B. With SS Roderick Lawrence back from injury, the Lions have stellar defense at every position but Swanson at 1B.

Many in Portland circles believe the key is getting the top of the lineup going.  Leadoff hitter Pepe Moya has an OBP of .308, and hasnt been on base enough to score many runs. Lawrence is back, but despite getting on base 11 times his first week back, scored only 3 runs. Perhaps moving Carrier to the #2 hole again and inserting Miles in for Moya will get the offense rolling again.

Whatever the problem in Portland is, the team certainly has enough weaponry to make a run for the division. At 5 games back on May 2nd, there certainly is no reason to panic.