He’s at a loss to explain why the Hamilton Thunderbirds have only managed three wins so far this season.

“I’m extremely disappointed that we are where we are,” said the team’s general manager and infield coach, who vowed in May the team would not repeat their last-place finish from 2009 in the Intercounty Baseball League.

Nearing the halfway point of the season the T-Birds are in the basement of the nine-team loop.

“The whole coaching staff is at a loss as to why we’re not winning games,” Wood said. “One game they won’t hit, the next game they’ll make errors in the field, the next game the pitchers won’t pitch. There are so many things we can’t put our finger on any one thing.”

Wood said he does feel some of the players may be trying too hard and need to relax and show some confidence in themselves.

That’s a view shared by veteran catcher Matt Fortuna, who noted the Thunderbirds have lost four games by a single run.

“We’re not playing bad baseball,” Fortuna said. “It’s an inability to hit right now.”

Fortuna said the T-Birds have been hitting the ball at opposition fielders and have been stranding too many runners on base. He noted the team played a lot of games against some of the best teams in the league over the first half of the season and that things should improve and they will start winning.

“It will even out,” Fortuna said. “It has to.”

Wood said roster changes will made if the wins don’t start coming soon.

Despite having only three wins, a few successive victories would shift the T-Birds from the basement to the middle of the pack in the IBL.

Wood said they have only been able to set their four man starting pitching rotation in the past week or so due to injury, school or other commitments.

Jordell Farquharson, Matt Martinow, Ryan Van Spronsen and David Hucsko are the designated starters.

Mike Fortuna and Nino Fasulo have been shifted to reliever duties with Fortuna acting as the go-to-guy in the eighth inning and Fasulo the closer.

Wood said Chris Piano has had an “outstanding” season so far both at the plate and patrolling the infield.

Piano has recently been moved up from the middle of the line-up to lead-off hitter.

At Bernie Arbour Stadium last Sunday, the Guelph Royals came back from a 2-0 first inning deficit to edge the T-Birds 3-2.

One day earlier the Thunderbirds picked up their third win of the season with a rain-shortened seven inning 7-5 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The T-Birds are in Mississauga tonight (Thursday).

They host London tomorrow night at 7:30 and host Barrie on Sunday at 2 p. m.