GARY | You can't use the word "dynasty" in the Northern League, says RailCats third baseman Tanner Townsend.

Yet, after three years and three consecutive appearances in the Northern League Championship Series with two wins, what else is it?

"I think you can only use dynasty in a major league sport," Townsend said.

"You just have to perform," outfielder Steve Haake said. "You have to go out there every night and do the best that you can and come through when the team needs you."

The St. Paul Saints won the first Northern League Championship in 1993, then two more in 1995 and '96.

Only once since then has a team won back-to-back titles in the league -- the New Jersey Jackals in 2001-02. The 'Cats have come the next closest after the title win in 2005, coming two games shy in 2006, then a second title in 2007.

But manager Greg Tagert is sure that there are a few extra elements necessary before this team ranks among the Northern League greats the likes of St. Paul and Fargo-Moorhead.

"We've had three successful years on the field, let's see if we can string together a few more," Tagert said. "We set the bar very high, the expectations. That was the by-product of that 2005 team."

After the first year when the Gary team was a good story, bouncing back from the worst record in league history in 2004 to win the 2005 title, success has meant that those in the Northern League just following a good story are waiting for the RailCats to lose.

"We don't have those people rooting for us anymore," Tagert said. "At first it was, 'Oh, the RailCats are a nice story.'"

The RailCats have earned respect from league foes and even some other independent leagues' onlookers. However, it's not enough.

"We want to be mentioned in that same breath as St. Paul, Fargo, Winnipeg -- who have set the bar so high that that's the vision of independent baseball," Tagert said.

But this season, like last, the 'Cats expect to see the best teams aiming to overthrow them. A bad thing every night, a good thing in the postseason.

"This year is probably going to be the best we've seen," Townsend said. "It's better. That's the thing about last year. That was the case, every team wanted to come out and win every game and that's tough when you're playing 95 games. It's hard to be that motivated every game, but when the other team is that motivated against you, that helps you and that helped us in the long run."

This year, much like 2006 -- and almost any year in minor league baseball -- there is a higher turnover in the clubhouse. The RailCats lost core players from the first title series and stuttered, starting the season 3-11 and having to win a one-game tiebreaker to make the playoffs.

They lost to Fargo-Moorhead in the NLCS that year, coming in the next season with the same target that success produces.

"As I learned in 2006, the only measure of success is winning the whole thing," Tagert said. "Forgetting that every other club is trying to do the same thing and they're there to knock you off."

This season, with several veterans and all but two pitchers gone, the turnover is repeating itself. But the team returns the bulk of its infield, including Townsend and Jay Pecci, who were on both title teams, and Eric McNamee, who has been in Gary since 2006.

"I think the difference in '05 and '06 was that we had a big change-over of guys," said Haake, who is in his fourth year with the club. "It was a good mix of veteran guys and younger guys (in '05) and then it was the younger guys' turn to lead and it just was maybe a different role or scenario for us. We battled like we always did, but we weren't maybe on top of our game like we were the last year."

To continue the string of success that some might label a dynasty, the RailCats expect to harness the leadership of the remaining crew into this season, becoming the first team since the Jackals (now in the Can-Am League) to win that second straight title.

"The expectation is to come in here and win," Haake said. "We have new guys who know that and that's what they feel. They know their job is to come in here and win.

"As long as that expectation to perform is there, we'll be OK."