The Three E's

I’ve been so busy complaining about Jake Diekman that I’d totally forgotten about Kendall Graveman. Where would the White Sox be without him? Graveman entered a 1-1 game in the eighth and promptly went to work. Four singles and a wild pitch later, and you have a 4-1 Tigers’ lead, which would turn into the final score. Consider the hit-by-pitch as a non-run-scoring bonus. A big free-agent signing by Rick Hahn in the offseason, Graveman is sporting a 1.43 WHIP on the season. Throw in six save in twelve opportunities, and you could be forgiven for thinking Hahn made (another) bonehead move. Only how do you explain Graveman having a 1.77 ERA in 2021 and ten saves (in fifteen opportunities)? Was that a one-season fluke, or was there something rotten in the Denmark known as the 2022 White Sox? Judging by what acting manager Miguel Cairo said after yesterday’s loss, the sixth straight and all of them at home, it definitely looks to be more of the latter than the former. Cairo told reporters, “Today was the worst one. Today was, that’s not acceptable. That’s not baseball. That’s not what the Chicago White Sox are about. It was terrible.” In case anyone was wondering, Cairo meant, “Execution. Effort. Everything.” Cairo’s wrong about one thing, what the White Sox are about. Under Jerry Reinsdorf, this has been an organization based more on who you know than what you know. Hence, the second coming of Tony La Russa. Sadly, La Russa forgot to implement the three E’s Cairo referenced after yet another loss in a dismal season.