Broncos remain resilient despite adversity

By DENNIS SILVA II
LAREDO MORNING TIMES

In spite of an injury list that reads longer than Paris Hilton’s laundry list, the Broncos have managed to somehow, someway stay in the thick of the United League Baseball postseason race.

Following Thursday’s 8-5 loss to San Angelo at Veterans Field, the Broncos sit at 18-17 overall, 1 1/2 games back of the Colts for second place with 11 games remaining in the first half of the season.

The top two teams after the first half of the season qualify for the postseason and earn home-field advantage.

But as the Broncos enter the crucial stretch of the first half, their injury list contains the following standouts: Arnoldo Ponce (starter), Edgard Clemente (starter), Ben Tinius (starter), Ben Day and Mark Lewis (starter).

Even with such significant talent missing, manager Dan Shwam said the injuries have had little effect on the team’s demeanor.

“The morale is okay, we’re just tired,” he said on Thursday afternoon. “That’s why we’ve been taking unofficial official batting practices the last few days, even though guys came anyway. It’s just a matter of guys pacing themselves and getting the energy up.

“Thirty-six straight games is a lot without rest, especially when a lot of guys aren’t healthy. So it’s a matter of finding ways to keep guys fresh.”

The Broncos last had a day of rest on May 26. Their next day of rest will be July 2.

“It’s rough,” Shwam said. “But we just have to find ways to get guys rest and for them to stay fresh. It is what it is.”

Everyone in Broncos’ management is eager to see what the team is capable of when at full strength.

Thirty-two players – 16 pitchers and 16 position players – have worn the Broncos’ colors this season.

Eleven pitchers have made at least one start.

“This team has the potential to be very good,” Shwam said. “But we’ve never seen it. We don’t know how good we truly are because we have not had a healthy team and it’s been a challenge for us. But on paper, we’re better than anybody.
“We’ve just had a lot of unfortunate things happen but we’ve managed to stay in the thick of things.”

Heading into tonight’s contests against Amarillo, there are 10 games remaining. At least 25 wins would be needed to earn one of the two playoff spots.

Still, Shwam said he is relatively pleased with how his club has performed despite the adversity.

“If you told me that we’d be two games over .500 with all the injuries we’ve had and all the comings and goings and circumstances, I’d take that any day of the week,” he said. “Since day one, we’ve been banged up. We have not had five consecutive starts from our starters all year.

“It’s hard to win that way, but we’ve found a way.”