Rollercoaster

This is why I wish spring training counted:  The White Sox looked thoroughly flat in their first televised game of the spring yesterday, a split squad down 5-0 to the Rangers in the bottom of the sixth.  Then they strung together eight singles with two walks to score eight runs.

This is why I’m glad it’s only spring training: Future Sox closer Zack Burdi, who played in the same high school conference as Clare, gave up a three-run homer with two out on a 2-2 pitch in the eighth inning for a 10-8 loss.  With that thin air the Cactus League has, the ball may not have come down yet.

This is why I wish spring training counted:  The other half of the Sox played the Dodgers a few hours later.  Down 3-1 in the top of the ninth, the Sox proceeded to score 14 runs on seven hits, four Dodger errors, three walks and two hit-by-pitches on their way to a 15-5 win.

What counts regardless:  The team is showing more life this March under Rick Renteria than it has since Ozzie Guillen stopped caring, ca. 2010.