What's gotten into the Tides?

NORFOLK

Like any player who has endured the rigors of a baseball season, Tides manager Gary Allenson cherishes the few rest days he gets. They are few and far between, spread so thin amidst 144 games packed into the International League's condensed schedule that each is viewed as a mini vacation.

So, it's not surprising that he is looking forward to the All-Star break, which starts today and lasts through Wednesday. For once, he will have a chance to relax with his family - and not think about lineup cards, pitch counts and steal signs.

Still, Allenson has a few misgivings about the timing of the respite. His team is playing its best baseball, showing signs that it is coming together. Even after a 10-3 loss to Pawtucket on Sunday, when an eight-run fifth inning finished off Norfolk, the Tides (41-57) have won 10 of their past 13 games.

"It's bittersweet," Allenson said. "They're obviously playing with a lot of confidence right now. You hope they don't forget about it during the three days off."

Not too long ago, Norfolk was mired in a season-long slump. The team's starting pitching was awful, clutch hitting was absent and losing streaks were recurrent.

On June 30, Norfolk was 23 games below .500 and ready to flip the calendar page after another month in which it lost more games than it won.

"When we were struggling, you look up and you're down 5-1 and you have to battle back," Allenson said. "I don't know what the statistics are. But when you're losing 5-0 after two innings, what's your record? Probably not very good."

But recently, Norfolk has avoided the slow starts that made victories so hard to come by. The starting pitchers have been more efficient, throwing more innings and allowing fewer runs.

Before Sunday, they were 6-1 with a 2.97 ERA in July. During the three previous months, they had won just 15 of their 54 decisions and were collectively surrendering more than five runs per game.

"Nothing was clicking," pitcher Hayden Penn said. "But it's baseball. Any day, it can change. You can get hot."

On the day before the Fourth of July, Norfolk began to simmer. The team left Harbor Park after a loss to Richmond and hit the road for six games. It came back home with no defeats added to its record.

"This is the way we're supposed to be playing," outfielder Tike Redman said. "It's contagious."

In the clubhouse, the players have been noticeably more buoyant, laughing with each other and playing cards with smiles on their faces. The thumping beats that come from the stereo - missing when the team loses - are echoing off the walls more frequently.

The camaraderie that is so difficult to achieve in the fluid ranks of the minor leagues is starting to build - as evidenced by the Tides' superstitious wardrobe decision in the first three games of its series against Pawtucket.

In hopes of maintaining the good luck they experienced during their eight-game winning streak that began in Richmond and continued in Durham, the Tides sported their black, road jerseys at home for the first time this season.

"We've started to play good team baseball that is real hard to come by in Triple-A," outfielder Chris Roberson said. "We should come back a lot stronger in the second half. We know what we've got - and we've got a strong team."

For now, that's enough to mollify Allenson.

"We're playing better right now," he said. "And hopefully it will continue to carry over."

Rainer Sabin, (757) 446-2367, rainer.sabin@pilotonline.com