All they wanted was .500

AUBURN, N.Y. -- Falcon Park rumbled amid the clattering of Thundersticks.
Rapped together by hundreds of baseball-hungry fans, the hard balloons created quite a stir in this small minor league baseball city Tuesday night.
Yet, there was a more powerful force emanating from upstate New York -- the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
Once an afterthought during this New York-Penn League season, the Scrappers are quickly becoming a favorite to win the championship.
How did that ever happen?
Earlier this season, none of it seemed possible -- not for a team that was five games under .500 on Aug. 7 and seeking an identity.
"My goal was to get to .500, and anything over that would be a plus," Scrappers manager Mike Sarbaugh said.
The Scrappers (42-34) did that and more.
They won 11 of their final 14 regular season games to clinch the wild-card position and now carry a five-game winning streak into the championship series Friday at Eastwood Field against Brooklyn or Tri-City.
Reyes makeshuge impact
Argenis Reyes sat at a table behind the Falcon Park grandstands, eating French fries with Teo Encarnacion.
Reyes had just finished another game in which he made a huge impact on its outcome.
"When he's on the bases, it just seems like things happen," Sarbaugh said. "He makes things happen, and he keeps pressure on the opposition. Anytime he's on the bases, I feel confident."
But it's not just Reyes' quickness on the basepaths that benefits the Scrappers; it's his ability to reach base with a keen eye against opposing pitchers.
"Once he hits the field, he has a plan, and he sticks with that plan," said Scrappers first baseman Fernando Pacheco, Reyes' housemate. "He concentrates."
By looking at Reyes and his small frame (5-foot-10, 160 pounds), you wouldn't think he has the ability to turn a game's momentum. But that's exactly what he can do.
"I don't think it really matters," Pacheco said of Reyes' size. "When you can hit, you can hit. He knows baseball, and does what he can do for the team."
A native of the Dominican Republic, the 21-year-old Reyes spent last season at Rookie League Burlington, where he batted .276 with 14 stolen bases in 39 games.
As Reyes continues to adjust to an American way of life, his baseball skills continue to improve. In 73 regular season games in 2004, he batted .312, broke the Scrappers' single-season hits record and had 27 stolen bases.
"This year, with him not being around as many Latin players, it's brought out some of his personality," Sarbaugh said. "It's helped him from a team standpoint."
Even though Reyes doesn't speak much English, he appears pleasant, with his constant smiles and outgoing personality.
And he's not too bad on the baseball field, either.
"You have to prepare yourself and work hard every day," Reyes said through an interpreter.
Strong ties bond manager
Another reason for the Scrappers' recent success is the strong relationship between Sarbaugh and his players.
"Since he's so young [37], he relates to us and he knows what we're going through because he's been there before," Pacheco said.
Not since Ted Kubiak in the 1999 and 2000 seasons has a manager directed the Scrappers into the playoffs and to the league championship series.
You can now add Sarbaugh, a Pennsylvania native, to that short list.
The 2000 season remains one of the most dramatic in Scrappers history.
In Game 2 of the championship series against Staten Island, the Scrappers' Henry Pichardo hit a walk-off home run in the 11th inning to force a third game.
But the Scrappers couldn't hold off the Yankees -- just as they couldn't hold off the Hudson Valley Renegades in the title series in 1999.
Now, all of a sudden, another group of players is attempting to add to the six-year franchise's playoff history and secure Mahoning Valley's first championship.
And you know what the beauty of it is? No one really saw it coming.
XBrian Richesson is a sports writer for The Vindicator. Write to him at richesson@vindy.com.