Whalers cling to top spot again, despite major losses June 13, 1998
Hartford (AP)- The Hartford Whalers regained the top spot in the McCoy
Division earlier this week from the Edmonton Oil Kings and with today's 1-0
victory over Laurel are clinging to a .5 game edge.
The Whalers edged out Scott Erickson and Laurel in an inter-divisional pitching
duel with new Whaler, Ken Hill. Both pitchers allowed only 5 hits in 8 innings
but it was Rafael Palmiero's RBI double that proved to be the difference as he
drove in LF Socks Byrne (who had stolen second) for the only run of the game.
Hill (4-7) cruised to his first shutout appearance of the season, striking out
8 along the way. Hipolito Pichardo pitched a flawless ninth inning for his
9th save. Pichardo's 9 saves are second in the EL behind fellow Whaler and
rookie, Will Cunnane, who leads the EL with 10 saves. Hill has won 2 of his 3
starts for the Whalers with a no decision in between. Meanwhile, Scott
Erickson was also superb, surely has been raising his trade stock with
every start that he makes.
Nobody knows the injuries we've seen...
Since the beginning of the year, the following STARTING pitchers have seen
significant time on Hartford's DL: Greg Maddux, Kevin Brown, Tony Saunders, Bob
Ardell, Cal Eldred and Tim Wakefield. Additionally, both 3B Matt Williams and
C Mike Stanley have seen time as well. The Whalers were forced to re-acquire
Aaron Sele, promote people who weren't ready and let go Randy Velarde in order
to obtain Ken Hill. Despite the flurry of injuries, Hartford remains on top of
its division and in playoff contention as its offense has started to show signs
of life, especially Matt Williams and Gary Sheffield. Meanwhile, Maddux is out
for the season and with another club, Eldred is out for 6 weeks and Brown just
went down yesterday with a torn tricep.
Of the injuries and his team's struggles, Manager Jeremy Chrabascz only
shrugged and said, "Now I know what Brooklyn felt like last year, eh?
Hopefully our offense can pick up the slack."
Trade rumors
Rumors have swelled all season long in Connecticut as the defending champions
have struggled. Currently, Hartford appears to be looking for a solid middle
reliever, preferrably a lefty.
