Chattanooga Lookouts middle infielder Darnell Sweeney ended the first half of Southern League play with a .308 batting average, six home runs and 28 RBIs, but the team struggled to find wins in the first half.DERBY TIMEThe Southern League's home-run derby will be held tonight at Engel Stadium, beginning at 7. All tickets are general admission and are $5.
Chattanooga has reached the Southern League's halfway mark with a 26-44 record, losing more first-half games than any other Lookouts team since AT&T Field became their home.
Needless to say, that was not a goal in early April.
"It's been a rough go-around, and the numbers show it," middle infielder Darnell Sweeney said. "We haven't played good defense, and we haven't played good baseball. Timely hitting hasn't been there, and we've been making some errors. We've just got to find a way to play better all-around baseball."
The Lookouts closed the half with nine losses in their last 11 games, which included a five-game sweep at Huntsville. Their first-half record was the worst since a 25-45 mark in 1998, which was their next-to-last season at Engel Stadium.
Chattanooga has won just one of its last nine series.
"We've made too many mistakes as a group," manager Razor Shines said. "We've made mistakes because of our youth, and we're going to continue to make mistakes. I don't know anyone who plays this game who doesn't make mistakes, and that includes those on the major-league level. As far as the mistakes that we've made, all we can do is just continue to work on them and try to iron them out."
The Lookouts are ninth in the 10-member Southern League with a .245 batting average and rank last in pitching with a team ERA of 4.57.
Leading Chattanooga's effort at the plate have been Sweeney and outfielder Scott Schebler. Sweeney is hitting .308 with six home runs and 28 RBIs, while Schebler is hitting .260 with 12 homers, 36 RBIs and 125 total bases.
Sweeney and Schebler are first-year Lookouts who will be competing in Tuesday night's all-star game at AT&T Field.
"I think I could have been a lot better in my base-stealing," Sweeney said. "It's a different league where the catchers are better and the pitchers are quicker to the plate, so I need to get smarter from a base-stealing standpoint.
"I can't just go on my athletic ability and speed, which is what I did in the California League. Now I've got to pick my pitchers."
Tyson Brummett and Chris Reed are the starting pitchers representing Chattanooga in the all-star game, with Brummett in his first year with the Dodgers after finishing last season in the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies. The 29-year-old Brummett had an 0.39 ERA through his first four starts with the Lookouts, which led the minors.
Brummett finished the half with a 4-5 record and 2.63 ERA.
"I'm pretty pleased, though my past couple of games haven't been as good as the seven or eight before that," Brummett said. "Baseball is an up and down game, and you have to take the good with the bad and continue to work hard. Leading in ERA was cool, but you want to be progressing and moving forward. My numbers are good, but that was a temporary thing. I want to build off that and keep it for a whole year.
"Then you've really got something to show for it."
Reed leads the Southern League with 83 strikeouts.
"I'm pleased with the way these kids work," Shines said. "They get after it. I know you guys just see it when they go out on the field, but these guys get here at 12:30 in the afternoon, and they are working until 11:30 at night."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.