Broncos look for offense to awaken

By DENNIS SILVA II
LAREDO MORNING TIMES

Broncos slugger Edgard Clemente sees things a bit differently than his team’s management.

Manager Dan Shwam notes RBI situational hitting as his main concern. General Manager Jose Melendez cites wins in one-run games.

And despite a record in which they are four games under .500 at 31-35 and 3-7 in their last 10 games, the Broncos’ main issue is comfort, or lack thereof, according to Clemente.

“We need to stay comfortable,” he said. “This is a fun game and guys haven’t been comfortable. Even if you lose, you can’t stay down for long. Every day is a new chance to prove yourself.

“I think we’ve got the best team in the league. We haven’t put together our full talent so I’m sure we’ll be okay.”

The Broncos are coming off a seven-game homestand in which they lost five of the contests.

They traveled to Amarillo at midnight on Wednesday for a three-game series against a Dillas team that has given them fits this season.

Amarillo has won eight of 12 games against Laredo this year.

“Once our offense breaks out, we’ll be okay,” Melendez said. “But we have to win those 1-0, 2-1 games in the meantime, and I’m hoping the bats come alive this weekend.

“It’s unfortunate we have everyone going cold at the same time.”

BRONCOS EXPERIENCE POWER OUTAGE

The Broncos still lead United League Baseball in home runs, and were second in the league in offense as late as two weeks ago.

However, things have drastically changed.

Over the last 10 games, they’re hitting .257 and averaging four runs.

For the season, they’re hitting .278 with runners in scoring in position and .260 with runners in scoring position with two outs.

“We leave guys on base all the time,” Shwam said. “We’ve got to find RBI guys, guys who have a purpose of bringing guys in. It’s the thing that’s killed us all year long, getting the clutch hits in one-run or two-run games.

“I’ll keep juggling lineups until I find something that works. I think we’re too right-handed and I think we’re too slow. If we can correct those problems, we’ll be okay. It’s tough at this time of year.”

Clemente’s perspective on the offense comes back to comfort.

“We’ve been trying to do too much with guys on bases,” he said. “With us losing so much lately, guys are trying too hard to get that run in. We’re swinging at bad pitches and it starts adding up.”

Just as pitching was the Achilles’ heel in the first half of the season, hitting has assumed that role in the second half.

While Bronco hitters are struggling, the pitchers are finding consistent success, having surrendered 37 earned runs over the last 10 games.

“I absolutely love the pitching,” Shwam said. “The starting pitching has been very good. We just can’t score enough runs, or we go to the bullpen and they mess up a good thing.

“Our starting pitching has given us a chance.”

CHANGES ON HAND

“We’re at the point where something has to give,” Shwam said. “I’ve talked to every player on this team for a significant amount of time, trying to figure out their perspective on things.

“It’s not about me and what I think. There has to come a time when they, as a group, determine, ‘Enough is enough.’ I’m not sure they’re there yet.”

With that in mind, the Broncos were at work remaking their roster on Wednesday afternoon

They signed infielder Matt Imwalle and outfielder Sean Gamble, traded infielder Matt Lawman to Harlingen to complete the earlier trade that brought them Luany Sanchez, and inactivated relief pitcher Rhett Barber.

Imwalle, a switch-hitter, and Gamble provide the left-handed bats that the Broncos have lacked.

“We’re making a strong go at this,” Melendez said. “Matt brings power and can hit well. Sean brings an element of speed that we’ve lacked, and he’s pretty much a carbon copy of (outfielder) Dwayne White.

“If these moves don’t work, we’ll scrap and go back to the drawing board. Something’s got to work sooner or later.”

And while the pressure of fifth-place Edinburg creeping within one game of Laredo for the fourth and final playoff spot may have an effect, Clemente refuses to buy into it.

“I don’t really care,” he said. “It doesn’t affect me, and I don’t think the guys are worrying about it. We know what we can do. It’s better we go through a slump now than the last 10 games or so of the season. I think our confidence is getting better and that’s what we need.

“We shouldn’t be thinking about Edinburg all the time. Every single game is important for us. So, no matter what Edinburg is doing, we’ve got to worry about ourselves and quit worrying about other people.”