The Bangor Lumberjacks have started the second half of the Northeast League’s regular season in buzz-saw fashion, winning five of their first seven games to get within a half game of first place after Sunday.

What makes Bangor’s run even more impressive is the fact they’ve done it without a guy who’s arguably been their best overall player this season. Center fielder Jake Whitesides was sold to the Chicago White Sox organization last Wednesday and the ‘Jacks have won three of four games since.

“We have a good club and guys are picking up. It goes back to team chemistry, which is something I’ve been impressed with all year,” said Bangor manager Kash Beauchamp. “We’re missing [league-leading home run hitter] Derry [Hammond] right now too, but we keep on plugging away.”

Bangor, which has won eight of its last 10 games, still leads the league in steals with 68. The nearest team is Elmira with 53.

Hammond, who led the NEL with 17 home runs and 41 RBIs through Sunday, has a bruised right hand after getting hit with a pitch by Brockton’s Tony Stutz this weekend.

“It’s swollen and quite sore. He’s lucky he doesn’t have a broken hand,” Beauchamp said. “We’ll probably have to sit him out the next couple days.”

Hammond missed some games earlier in the season with a hamstring injury.

In Whitesides’ absence, Beauchamp has moved International Baseball Academy product and Japanese player Kazuhiro Kohno into center field. The 29-year-old Kohno is hitting .317 with four homers and nine RBIs in 13 games.

“You look at him and I don’t see him as a power hitter, but he gets good jumps on the ball and he takes good angles in the outfield,” Beauchamp said of the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Kohno.

The 23-year-old Whitesides went into the all-star break hitting .307 with six homers, 30 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. He did plenty for his visibility in the all-star game by hitting a three-run homer and a double. The former fifth-round draft pick of the Houston Astros has been assigned to play for Houston’s high Single A team in Kannapolis, N.C. The Intimidators play in the South Atlantic League.

“Jake’s done what he had to do to get out of here being at the top of the league in almost every statistic and sure, I hate to lose him, but my philosophy is to be honest with scouts if a guy can play at the next level,” Beauchamp said.

After Sunday, Whitesides was hitting .375 after two starts with three hits (one a triple) in eight at-bats.

So how did a former fifth rounder and obvious talent like him fall through the cracks?

“I just think he was young and even though there was a lot of talent in there, he was pressed and rushed a bit right out of high school,” Beauchamp said. “That’s what’s so great about independent ball. It’s great for overlooked talent and guys who deserve second chances.”

Whitesides is the latest in a bumper crop of NEL players to be signed by Major League Baseball teams this season. He is the fifth player sold to and the 26th to appear on an affiliated team’s roster this year. He is the second Bangor player sold to an MLB franchise. Lefthander Tim Rall was bought by the Seattle Mariners last year and is now pitching for the Double A San Antonio Missions.

Elvis has entered the park

Monday night was Elvis Night at Winkin Complex in Bangor. All fans dressed as Elvis received a free Bangor Lumberjacks game ticket and were invited to participate in Elvis lookalike, sound-alike and dance moves contests.

Wednesday night’s game will feature the Christmas in July theme in which players will wear special Christmas-theme and colored jerseys, which will be signed and auctioned off to fans. The proceeds will benefit Golden Moments Assistance Dogs, a program that trains seeing-eye dogs for the blind.

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600, or at aneff@bangordailynews.net