Efficiency

Dylan Cease shut down the opposition for six innings last night as the White Sox beat the Royals 7-1. Cease struck out eleven, gave up two walks and a hit. According to Lamond Pope in the Tribune, Cease thought, “That last inning, I felt like I was definitely in control of where the ball was going. It’s hard to beat that.” Indeed, though Cease also admitted, “I still need to be a little bit more efficient.” Don’t be so easy on yourself, Dylan. You need to be considerably more efficient. The righthander needed 103 pitches to get through six innings. At the very least, that’s one inning too little for the number of pitches thrown, which should have been enough to get Cease through seven and into the eighth. Then, manager Tony La Russa would only have to use two relievers instead of the three he went with. Six-inning starters beget nine-man bullpens and three-man benches. The Sox play the Cubs this weekend, so that basically means two pinch hitters, or three if you then switch catchers. The smaller the bench, the fewer opportunities to win a game. But what do I know?