Miracle reflect on season that never quite got on track

After reaching the playoffs last year, the Fort Myers Miracle just could not put it together this season

The Fort Myers Miracle never quite seemed to get it right in 2004.

On the nights when the pitching was good, the hitting was not. On the nights when the hitting was good, the pitching was not.

There were stretches of solid play sandwiched between weeks of head-scratching slumps.

It added up to a somewhat dismal 61-74 record, the team's worst mark since 1999 and a far cry from the team's stellar 2003 campaign that saw the Miracle win the Florida State League's Western Division title in the first half of the year behind the bat of Joe Mauer and the pitching of J.D. Durbin.

The Miracle never came close to anything resembling pennant fever in 2004, instead spending most of the year hovering just below .500.

The season started with a 10-0 shutout loss to Sarasota, an ominous omen that only became all too real over the next five months.

The Miracle were blanked a club-record 13 times and scored one run on 18 other occasions, putting their young pitching staff under tremendous pressure.

Like the hitting, the pitching was a mixed bag and whenever one of the pitchers got hot, they quickly found themselves shipped to Class AA New Britain or in the case of Scott Baker, Class AAA Rochester.

The pitching became so spotty for the Miracle that manager Jose Marzan moved closer Justin Olson into the starting rotation and moved Manny Tejada to the bullpen for a time.

Such is life in the minors, where player development can sometimes take precedence over winning.

And on that front, maybe things weren't so bad for the Miracle this season. When the Minnesota Twins director of minor league operations Jim Rantz goes through the Miracle report, he'll find some things he likes.

— First baseman/ designated hitter Danny Matienzo is still searching for the power he displayed while playing at the University of Miami, but he finished the season with a team-high .305 batting average, second in the Florida State League.

— Outfielder Doug Deeds set a club-record with 12 triples, including six in the season's first month. He led the team in runs (71) and slugging percentage (.447), not bad for a player recovering from a painful and mysterious soft-tissue injury in his right hand in 2003.

— Infielder Alex Romero put together a blistering second half that saw his average climb from .230 to .292 by season's end. Romero led the Miracle in homers (6), a dubious feat on a club that finished last in the league in home runs and runs scored.

— Outfielder Trent Oeltjen was near the top of the league in stolen bases (25) despite not playing over the season's last six weeks because he was helping his native Australia capture a silver medal in the Summer Olympics.

— Catcher Jose Morales survived his second year behind the plate just fine. A converted middle infielder, Morales hit .287 and was named to the FSL All-Star team.

— Reliever Levale Speigner joined the team near the midway point and put together a solid 4-3 record with a 1.75 ERA.

— Reliever Pat Neshek took over the closing duties from Olson in July and collected 10 saves in 16 appearances.

Still, there are some tough decisions Rantz will have to make this winter.

— What to do with shortstop Kaulana Kuhaulua? "Koolie" played well early in the season and earned a promotion to New Britain. He struggled up north, however, and when he returned to the Miracle in July he swung himself into a funk that he never recovered from.

— What to make of pitcher Jeff Randazzo? The talented Randazzo could baffle hitters at times, but pitched poorly early in the season. Though he managed to get his ERA under 5.00 by the time the season ended (4.93), Randazzo went 5-12.

— Is Olson a closer or a starter? He was a workhorse for the Miracle, appearing in 45 games, second most by any pitcher in the league but did well enough in six starts to maybe move from the bullpen to the rotation at his next professional stop.

After leading the league in attendance last year, the Miracle were fourth in the 12-team league in attendance this season. A particularly wet summer — with two hurricanes thrown in — didn't help.

Still, 1,576 fans per game isn't bad for a team that didn't score a ton of runs and lacked the drawing power of Mauer.

Next season, most of the faces will be different.

Hopefully for the Miracle, the results will be too.

MIRACLE LEADERS

Average: Danny Matienzo, .305
Hits: Danny Matienzo, 139
RBIs: Danny Matienzo, 65
Doubles: Doug Deeds, 28
Triples: Doug Deeds, 12
Home runs: Alex Romero, 6
Runs: Doug Deeds, 71
Stolen bases: Trent Oeltjen, 25

PITCHING

Wins: Justin Olson, 7
ERA: Manny Tejada, 3.52
Saves: Pat Neshek, 10
Strikeouts: Matt Yeatman, 88
Appearances: Justin Olson, 45
Innings: Jeff Randazzo, 133.1