Madness, and a Smart Mouth

Mark my words, White Sox starters are playing with fire with their pitch counts. Last night, Lance Lynn needed 31pitches to get through a scoreless first innings and 73 pitches for a scoreless three innings. For the game, Lynn gave up one run through four innings on 88 pitches. According to MLB stats, the most efficient White Sox starter on a pitch-per-inning basis is Dallas Keuchel, who ranks 33rd out of a qualifying 49 MLB pitchers. Next comes Lucas Giolito at 39th and Lynn at 43rd. Guess who brings up the rear at number 49? That’s right, good old Dylan Cease, who throws on average 17.97 pitches a game. (Carlos Rodon, on the IL, would be tied with Lynn). The more pitches Sox starters use to get through an inning, the sooner they’ll tire out and the sooner relievers will have to come in. Last night, four relievers went five innings, yielding one run in a 3-2 Sox win. Thank you Luis Robert for not trying to hit homeruns every at-bat. Your three singles drove in two. Now, back to Lynn, who got tossed in the bottom of the fourth inning by third base umpire Nick Lentz. Lynn, who wanted to get some unspecified treatment from the trainer, didn’t wait for Lentz to check him out for foreign substances. Instead, the right-hander with an attitude left his cap and glove on the dugout railing and tossed his belt onto the field. Lentz reciprocated by tossing Lynn. After the game, Lynn told reporters he was “dealing with something” and couldn’t wait for Lentz to get to him. So, he tossed the belt “and obviously I hurt his feelings.” Great line, but still too many pitches.