Expectations for the Aeros have been running high the past few years.

That’s what happens when the Indians’ Double-A team reaches the Eastern League Championship Series four times in five years, claiming a pair of titles in 2003 and 2005.

Problem is, fan expectations no longer include getting to the title game. These days, it seems, the team’s fans won’t settle for anything less than a title.

Despite a handful of team accomplishments and individual player accolades this season, the Aeros came up short for the second consecutive year, losing to the Trenton Thunder (New York Yankees) three games to one in the Championship Series best-of-five matchup that concluded Sept. 15.

In 2006, the Aeros pushed the series to the limit in a deciding Game 5 in Portland, Maine, against the eventual champion Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox).

While many fans felt the Aeros should have won it all in 2006, they weren’t as upset after this season’s loss in the finals.

‘‘Last year, I kind of felt like the Indians robbed us of a title when they wouldn’t let (ace Adam) Miller pitch,’’ said long-time season-ticket holder Gary Rosen. ‘‘This year, you could tell Trenton was the better team, and we did good to get as far as we did.’’

This year’s championship series pitted the league’s best pitching staff, Trenton’s, against the league’s top hitting team, the Aeros. When it came down to it, however, the Thunder not only pitched well, but also saw its offense contribute, especially in their 10-5 deciding game at Canal Park.

‘‘We could talk about being a better offensive team all we want,’’ Aeros second-year manager Tim Bogar said, ‘‘but they were a very good team and got hits when they needed to.’’

Meanwhile, the Aeros got solid pitching when they needed it only with Jeremy Soweers on the hill.

This, despite the fact they had some added help in getting the right-handed Miller and left-hander Sowers from Triple-A Buffalo in time for the playoffs ` controversial moves that appeared to go against EL rules prohibiting players from higher levels joining teams in the postseason.

While Miller’s addition had little impact (0-0 7.50 ERA in two appearances, including one start), Sowers (2-0, 0.68 ERA) was dominant in his two starts.

‘‘I feel like I’m pitching the best I have all year,’’ Sowers said Sept. 14 after helping hand the Aeros their lone win against Trenton. ‘‘I’m ready to go up there and try to have an impact.’’

Which brings us to another ususual aspect of the season: Instead of most players looking to work their way to Buffalo, such as right fielder Brian Barton did successfully, many went to Cleveland after using Akron as a springboard.

Not long after starting the season in Akron, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, right-handed reliever Jensen Lewis and left-handed starter Aaron Laffey were suiting up for the Indians and helping the Tribe win a division title Sunday.

‘‘That’s what’s really gratifying - to see guys like that whose careers really took off here,’’ Bogar said.

And they weren’t the only ones to post career-type years.

First baseman Jordan Brown put his name firmly on the Indians’ prospect list by being the most consistent hitter. He batted a league-best .333 with 161 hits and won EL Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors. More impressively, Brown did it on a bum right knee that will require offseason arthroscopic surgery.

Following with the tough-it-out theme, after a horrendous first half that had his batting average hovering around the .200 mark, center fielder Trevor Crowe put his swing together in the later part of the season, finishing with a respectable .259 average that included 26 doubles, 50 RBI, 62 walks and a team-high 28 stolen bases.

Although the Aeros didn’t get the kind of help they usually do from an infusion of Class-A Kinston players, help for next season should be on the way.

The K-Tribe had four pitchers finish with more than 10 wins, saw third baseman Wes Hodges bat a healthy .288, featured the dazzling play of shortstop Josh Rodriguez and was bolstered by the continuing emergence of first baseman/designated hitter Matt Whitney.

With that kind of help, the Aeros might just push their championship series run to five appearances in six seasons come next year - with that elusive third title to boot.

It took the first half of the season, but Aeros center fielder Trevor Crowe has finally found his stroke.

After piecing together a 13-game hitting streak while on the road with the Aeros, Crowe came home to Canal Park Saturday night and increased his streak to 14 games, showing off his new form with a pair of home runs in the Aeros Losing effort against Erie.

Getting the real Crowe back after such a slow start is crucial to the Aeros success in the second half, not to mention a potential playoff run. After spending the last month batting in the bottom half of the order, the Indians No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft is back in the leadoff spot where he belongs.

Aeros hitting coach Lee May Jr. spent 10 minutes talking about Crowe in depth before Saturday’s game, explaining that when a young player goes through a prolonged slump like Crowe’s, climbing out of the hole it causes is a lot longer process than most people realize.

“There’s no magic pill to take,” May Jr. said.

Instead, a player’s entire swing is dissected and torn down, then slowly built back up.

It’s a process that begins with the batter focusing on “going the other way” - a tool May Jr. called the “universal aspirin for hitting slumps.”

You know when May Jr. knew for sure Crowe was out of the slump? He pointed to Friday night’s game in Bowie when Crowe turned on a high-90’s fastball from the Baysox closer to tie the game in the ninth inning.

“That was Major League right there,” May Jr. said. “That’s when I knew for sure he was out (of the slump).”

Just about the time Crowe officially declared himself slump free, Aeros third baseman Pat Osborn was traded to the Houston Astros for the infamous Player to be Named Later or cash considerations, which in most minor league instances means a small amount of money.

On one hand, it’s sad to see Osborn go, just like it was when popular catcher Javi Herrera was traded last month to the Washington Nationals. Both player were two of the best players people-wise you’ll ever meet in the game, and really personified the character of the Aeros over the last three years.

However, both players were in prolonged slumps with their careers headed the wrong way and probably needed a fresh start somewhere else. Fortunately for Aeros fans, Herrera is playing with the nationals Double-A team in Harrisburg, which happens to visit Canal Park next home stand. However, if Osborn stays at the Double-A level with the Astros, he’s headed to Round Rock in the Texas League.

Perhaps most important, Osborn’s departure leaves room for Kinston third baseman Wes Hodges (batting .317 in 58 games) to make his much-anticipated move up to Akron after the All-Star break.

The Aeros are 8-2 over their last 10 games, having taking over the best record in the league with a 49-31 mark entering Sunday’s game at Erie.

With the win streak, they’ve stretched their first-place lead in the Southern Division to 3.5 games over the SeaWolves.

Last week, closer Randy Newsom led the league with four saves to make him 11-for-11 in save situations. Hey, even Trevor Crowe had a four-hit game Wednesday in a win at Binghamton.

Then there’s newcomer Chris Gimenez, a catcher/infielder who was called up from Class-A Kinston Friday and homerd in his first game with the Aeros and is hitting. 333 in two games so far.

Before the Aeros left town last Tuesday, manager Tim Bogar talked about how important this long road stretch would be - playing 13 games (two make ups from the beginning of the year against Binghamton) in 11 days. So far, the team has responded in a way that has to have Bogar thinking playoffs will likely be in the team’s future this season.

True story:

I was at the bank this afternoon and ran into Aeros hitting coach Lee May Jr. He was obviously tired, having just gotten off the team bus a few hours earlier after a long bus ride back to Akron from Portland, Maine. Thank goodness they had Monday off.

He asked if I’d heard about the Aeros near-brawl at Hadlock Field on Saturday. I had, but I let him give me some more detail anyway. His version was worth a few laughs.

Here’s the account of the story from the Portland PR guy who writes the game recaps. It’s pretty accurate, but remember he’s working for Portland, so it’s likely to be a bit slanted as one would expect:

SEA DOGS RALLY FALLS JUST SHORT, LOSE 9-6 TO AKRON
Benches empty in the seventh inning causing a 10-minute delay

(Portland, ME) – Akron rallied from a 4-1 deficit, scoring eight unanswered runs and held on to beat the Portland Sea Dogs, 9-6 in front of a sellout crowd of 7,368 fans on Saturday night at Hadlock Field.

Akron tied the game at four in the fifth inning on Ryan Goleski’s 3-run triple off Portland starter Tommy Hottovy. In the seventh inning off Lincoln Holdzkom (3-1), Trevor Crowe singled home the go ahead run and David Wallace followed with a grand slam. Holdzkom, who suffered his first loss in the Red Sox Organization, threw the next pitch behind Rodney Choy Foo - leading to his ejection.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Portland scored the game’s final two runs on Bryan Pritz’s RBI triple and Jeff Natale’s sacrifice fly. Jay Johnson followed Natale and watches a Stevens’s fastball sail over his left shoulder, leading to the ejection of Stevens and Akron Manager Tim Bogar.

As Bogar was leaving the field, he shouted into Portland’s dugout, causing both benches to clear and delaying the game 10 minutes. There were was no brawl on the field but Portland Hitting Coach Russ Morman was ejected for leaving the dugout and yelling at Bogar.

The Sea Dogs had one final chance in the ninth inning, loading the bases against Randy Newsom but Johnson and Andrew Pinckney were retired to end the game. Newsom, a former Red Sox farmhand, picked up his fifth save of the year.

Some thoughts:

* I like to see Bogar get fired up every once in a while. But of course it happened on the road again, and home fans didn’t get to enjoy it.

* Perhaps a new budding rivalry with someone other than Altoona is a good thing. Remember, these two teams played each other in the playoffs the last two years with Akron winning its second championship in 2005 and Portland grabbing its first title last year.

* Good to see Crowe, Goleski and Wallace hitting. For Crowe and Goleski - it’s about time. A slam by Wallace is a nice surprise.

* With Jensen Lewis promoted to Triple-A Buffalo last week, it’d good to see Newsom doing well in the closer’s role.

Jake Westbrook made a rehab start at Akron Friday night and looked like he needed more rehab time. He said he felt fine, which is good news regarding his left abdominal strain. But in his two rehab starts with Triple-A Buffalo and Akron, he’s gotten hit hard. Friday he allowed four runs on five hits and three walks in just 2 1/3 innings. I wrote for Saturday’s story that results don’t usually matter as much as how a guy feels, but in this case, maybe it should mean something.

Before Westbrook’s start, there was a flurry of activity in the Aeros lockeroom.

Michael Aubrey was lounging around the clubhouse during the game, which means he will be activated as early as Saturday. While many Aeros fans welcome his bat (he hit .400 with five home runs in 13 games with Class-A Kinston) it’s tough to see first baseman Jordan Brown have move to accomodate Aubrey. Plus, it’ll be interesting to see what roster move the team makes for Aubrey. If Brown has to move, he’ll move to an already crowded outfield. The Tribe’s deep thinkers will have to decide - do they put another guy on the phantom DL? Do they dare send struggling Trevor Crowe down to Kinston to find his stroke and create room? Do they really want to bench veteran Jon Van Every, who has as hot of a bat as Brown right now?

It’ll definitely be a tough call. I’d send Crowe down if were up to me, but I don’t think the Indians would do that.

An hour or so before Aubrey arrived, Infielder Rodney Choy Foo was activated from the DL and Shuan Larkin returned to his coaching duties at first base.

Then about 45 minutes before game time, back up catcher Javier Herrera found out he had been traded to tha Washington Nationals. He was as stunned as his teammates. At the time he didn’t know for sure where he was headed, but a good guess is Double-A Harrisburg. The Senators just happen to play in Akron again on July 16-18 - giving anyone who wishes they had a chance to say good bye and good luck to one of the truly classisest guys to have worn an Akron uniform an opportunity.

The Aeros returned to Canal Park Monday night and were greeted by a standing-room only crowd that really energized the place.

They also came home with a new look - with struggling outfielder Trevor Crowe batting seventh in the lineup instead of in his usual spot as leadoff. It’s a move that had to be made (and probably should have been made two weeks ago).

Crowe entered Monday night’s game with the rival Altoona Curve batting a mere .178 in 38 games with 26 strikeouts to 20 walks. He’ll show signs of breaking out of his prolonged slump here and there, but has struggled to string together enough good games to shake the funk.

Batting him lower in the lineup has got to help. Plus, as Monday’s game showed, moving Crowe down allows second baseman Argenis Reyes to show what he can do in terms of getting on base, stealing second and making the things happen that Crowe just can’t do right now.

I don’t anticipate Crowe being buried in the order very long. Once he relaxes, takes more pitches and feels less pressure on him, his natural ability will eventually shine through. But until that happens, moving him down in the order is the right thing to do.

I am really starting to like the evolving Aeros bullpen. Instead of being chuck full of starters-turned-relievers, it has taken on a better shape with more defined roles that fit the individual players better.

The addition of side-arming right-hander Randy Newsom from high Class-A Kinston has already shown to be a plus in the few days he’s been with the team - as he pitched well again in tonight’s 13-6 win over visiting Bowie. In 11 games with the K-Tribe, the Cincinnati native was 0-1 with a 1.50 ERA in 11 appearances.

Lefty Rich Rundles, who looks like a sidearmer but who really throws from three quarters, has also been a plus since arriving from extended spring training 10 days ago. In four appearances, he already has a save and a win to go along with a tidy 2.08 ERA. Additionally, he has not allowed a hit in his last three outings.

With the way this Aeros lineup can hit (they produced 13 runs on 17 hits tonight), they ought to feel like they can be any game now that they have a bullpen that can hold an opponent at bay like the Aeros bullpen has done the last couple of games.

On anothe note, two consecutive days off appears to boasted the confidence of struggling Aeros outfielder Trevor Crowe. In Tuesday’s win, he made a spectacular diving catch in center field, hit a lead-off home run in his first at bat and went 3-for-5 on the night. While it’s only one game, it could be the beginning of him turning around his dismal start.

If the last two days are any indication, Trevor Crowe is getting back to his old self.

That is not only good news for the Aeros, but for the Indians as well. Their No. 1 pick (14th overall) in the 2005 draft has had the Indians brass so worried, they dispatched a handful of instructors to Akron to talk/work/coach/cajole Crowe from the funk that had him hitting .154 through the team’s first 14 games of the season.

I said a few days into the season something was wrong with Crowe, and a handful of bloggers on this site suggested I was jumping to conclusions. Turns out I wasn’t the only one concerned with Crowe’s lack of hitting, stolen bases and all-around energy.

Instructors have been working with Crowe on subjects ranging from his hitting (he’s being overaggressive at the plate and not taking his usual laid-back approach that produces walks - which is crucial for a leadoff hitter), to his fielding, his base running and yes, even his mental state.

In fact, it is the later that many feel is the crux of Crowe’s problems so far this season. For more on this, please read my story on Crowe in Sunday’s Beacon Journal.

Basically, Crowe’s been so wrapped up in looking to get to Cleveland, he’s forgotten he needs to get a passing grade at Double-A and Triple-A first. Then once he started slow, he began pressing and that took him out of his comfort zone and only compounded the issue.

The good news is that deep down, Crowe’s a good kid. He’s taken the constructive criticism and made changes that have shown at the plate and on the base paths in the last two games. He’s not the type to brood and get down, but instead dig deep and work harder.

As one Indians official suggested Saturday, Crowe’s going to face adversity some time in his career, he might as well get it out of the way now.

The Aeros are off to a 2-1 start after completing their first series this season - a three-game homestand against the rival Altoona Curve. I like what I’ve seen out of the young team so far, but there is one little thing worrying me.

Although I’ve only got three games in which to disect, I’m a little concerned about outfield prospect Trevor Crowe.

Of course, as I write those words, I’m hearing a voice from the past whispering a phrase I heard a lot my first year as a baseball writer in Columbus covering the New York Yankee’s Triple-A team. Whenever I would suggest concern about a player or aspect of the team, one of my favorite former managers - the Columbus Clippers’ Trey Hillman - would calmly say, “Stephanie, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Be patient.”

Anyone who knows me understands the word patience has only recently been added to my vocabulary courtesy of learning on the go as I raise my 6-year-old son.

None the less, and against my better judgement, I’m going to say it again - I’m concerned about Crowe. In the three games against Altoona, he was 1-for-13. Worse, Crowe walked just twice. He struck out five times. And all this as the Aeros leadoff man.

Perhaps Crowe’s just going through a slow start. Maybe the cold weather has thrown him off a bit. He could be battling the flu for all I know. Still, he just hasn’t looked like himself at the plate.

Understand, when Crowe’s going right, he’s a pesky line-drive hitter with a little pop who has a knack for getting on base. Once on, he’ll make the opposing pitcher’s life miserable. The kind of energy he brings to the game instantly rubs off on his teammates.

That’s the way Crowe played when he first joined the Aeros mid-way through last season from high Class-A Kinston where he was leading the K-Tribe in runs, hits and on-base percentage. And that’s the way he played in the Eastern League playoffs, hitting .349 as he helped Akron push the Portland SeaDogs to a deciding Game 5 in the Championship Series last year.

That is not the way Crowe has played through the first three games of the season.

Aeros second-year manager Tim Bogar has noticed it too, and admitted he pulled Crowe aside for a quick chat Tuesday. Granted, not because Bogar was worried about the Indians No. 3 prospect (according to Baseball America), but because he wanted to remind the Tribe’s first-round pick (14th overall) in the 2005 draft to simply stay within himself.

“Trevor’s the kind of kid who expects so much out of himself,” Bogar said.”When he struggles like this, he’s just trying a little bit too hard. We just got to get him to relax and have a little fun. He’s too good of a hitter to be doing what he’s doing right now.”

When the team returns from Bowie Monday, perhaps I’ll remind Crowe that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.