Chrabascz on a sinking ship, begs to stop the bleeding June 21, 1998
Hartford (AP)- In the midst of a flurry of trades, the Hartford Whalers have
lost seven straight and have plummeted to the basement of the McCoy division of
the Enterprise League, tied with the Montreal Royals. Hartford is currently 4
1/2 back of first-place Edmonton. Despite its offense finally coming alive,
its pitching has faltered. Of his team's performance of late, GM Jeremy
Chrabascz said, "Well, the pitching hasn't come through. Guys have finally
started to put the bat on the ball and keep the ball in the glove but the
pitchers have taken some sort of vacation." Asked to expound, Chrabascz
replied, "No, it's not the starters. Actually, our starters have done a fine
job all season despite having been shuffled around so much. No, it's the
bullpen and I'm at my wit's end. We need Cal (Eldred) back as soon as possible
and Brown to get off the damn DL so Rhodes can come over and boost our pen."
When asked about the malestrom of trades the Whale has been engulfed in
lately, Chrabascz simply said, "Well, we're a hell of a lot younger. Let's see
what that does for us." Sure enough. With the departures of Kevin Brown, Greg
Maddux and Hipolito Pichardo, the Whalers have gotten significantly younger
with the additions of numerous rookies. But it's doubtful that having rookies
on the field and pitching for you will get you into the playoffs.
Nevertheless, the desperate Whalers hung tough today and lost two extra-inning
games to Edmonton-heartbreakers. Of the games, that both went 10 innings,
Chrabascz said, "The pen ***ked up BIG time. Don't worry, they'll be working
their a**es off all week." Struggling All-Star, Ken Griffey Jr, had this to
say of his teams recent woes, "I haven't seen us this low since we threw our
first pitch last season. I can't even find my swing. We're certainly not
setting a good example for all these new kids, that's for sure."
