Lincoln is sending a message to the rest of the league: beware of the Saltdogs.

"We let teams know that we're here and we're going to come at you," said Pichi Balet, "and we're gonna come hard."

The 'dogs are a team to be reckoned with, winning 10 of their final 13 games after getting off to the worst start in club history.

"I think we let Wichita and Saint Paul know that we are not pushovers," Balet said, "and I think the momentum is going to carry us into the second half."

The Saltdogs had the best finish in the league, and say it took losing to teach them how to win.

"We had a meeting not too long ago," Balet said, "and Marty said we couldn't flip the switch. We've got to start doing it now and I think this last streak, we let teams know that we're a different group of guys."

"We had a little talk with the manager and he gave us a lot of confidence, he told us to go out and have fun," said Jonathon Figueroa. "I think we forgot about that at the beginning of the season."

Playing at Haymarket Park helped key Lincoln's strong finish as the team won eight of its final nine games at home, but the 'Dogs say it's on the road where they started to come together.

"I think going on the road, going down south, when you've got to be with the team for so many days together like that," said Balet, "sometimes it makes it just kind of spark."

The Saltdogs hope they can carry that spark throughout the rest of the summer.

"We need this second half," said First Baseman Phil Hawke. "It's straight-forward as it is, so we're going to come out ready to go from game one all the way through the rest of the season."