Torn rips club's performance
June 10, 1997
WASHINGTON D.C.— Upon returning home after two straight losses on the road, Washington Bobwhites manager Rip Torn told the local media that the team needs to "put up or shut up."
"We're sitting here at .500, ten games back, and the clock is ticking," said Torn. "We've got Greenville and Baltimore coming in to our park. We need to play like we're at home, we need the fans to act like we're at home, and we need to play the way we played last year, the way we're perfectly capable of playing."
The Bobwhites have a 32-32 record, sitting fourth in the four-team Atlantic division of the Johnson League. Greenville, 42-22, boasts the best record in baseball and will surely be a challenge for Washington. Baltimore, 39-24, has the second best record in the JL, which should make the next six games difficult ones for the Bobwhites. Washington is 17-17 at home this season.
Throwing in the series opener with the Moonshiners will be Bobwhites ace Shane Christen (6-1, 3.93 ERA).
"Shane has been solid, but we just haven't done a good enough job supporting him or performing on the other four days when someone is putching," said Torn. "We need to hit the ball, we need to catch the ball, we need to throw the ball. It's pretty simple. It's really pretty simple."
