In the offseason, Brian Drahman and the entire coaching staff was fired. To replace Drahman, former Houston Astros manager Hal Lanier was named as the Skyhawks' skipper. Lanier brought along Nick Belmonte to serve as director of player personnel. "You had to convince players things were going to be different (to get them signed)," said Belmonte, who has been teaming with Lanier for well over a decade. "Even though there weren’t superstars, they had tough outs (batting) 1-9. I think that's what has carried them through."