Don't Move On Quite Yet

Lucas Giolito stunk up the joint last night, giving up three homers as opposed to recording all of two strikeouts in just four innings of work as the White Sox fell at home to the Royals, 9-1. Giolito took the blame (“I’m the reason we lost tonight”) and vowed to use his latest performance as “motivation for the next one.” But hasn’t he said that before? In sports, what counts is performance. Owning up is nice, especially when admission leads to progress. But admitting you stink and continuing to stink is not a good way to go. Two years ago, Giolito went 14-9 with a 3.41 ERA. In 2020, he was 4-3 with a 3.48 ERA. So far this year, he’s 8-8 with a 3.98 ERA. Am I the only one seeing a worrisome progression here? I check body language to gauge a player. Giolito seems to be suffering from the same problem afflicting Yoan Moncada; neither player looks all that engaged with the task at hand. It’s almost like they’d rather be somewhere else. I’d rather they very much be in the here and now. Otherwise, there’s no postseason to speak of.