Trenton- Manager Darren Lloyd took a long drag before flicking his cigarette across the room..."I don't know how much we have left in the tank-We've won 93 games each of the past two seasons but can't seem to play well come the play-offs." Clubhouse comedian Terry Barkett interrupted Lloyd's interview with his own conjecture. " What we's be needin' is some balls", alluding to the manner in which the Patriots folded once the national spotlight shown on the Trenton ballclub.The Patriots have averaged 95 wins per season since their inception- but have come up small during the post-season.
Louie Hiro , the club's senior spokesman, added his own opinion, " We not getting younger, we getting older"..."We tired of roosing and now we need some better ruck"
They may need more than better luck. Their minor leagues being barren, the cash-strapped franchise will find a difficult time improving upon what they already have. Their rotation is solid, and is led by Robb Yarnall who may be the best pitcher in the entire Jersey League- if he can go deeper into ball games.
Robb Yarnall has the arm of a young Roger Clemens, but unfortunately its attached to the body of an old Jamie Moyer- he can go about 5 innings before fatigue sets in. This puts pressure on the Patriot bullpen- and those are not players that can deal with pressure. Banana Munoz enters his third season with Trenton. "At first I loved this place- and I could pitch forever. But now after two years of eating nothing but pizza and whatever other fattening Italian food they got down there in Chambersberg, I can go about one inning per game"
So there you have it- The Trenton Patriots are a diverse bunch- but a diverse bunch with similar traits- they smoke, eat poorly and are generally in no shape to play a full nine innings of competitive ball. With no help on the horizon it will be up to the 25 man roster to stay healthy and push each other- or they will all soon be looking for a job in another town.
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