Proof's in the Pudding

One day after his White Sox lose 4-3 on a walk-off squeeze bunt, manager Pedro Grifol held a team meeting behind closed doors. And how did his charges respond? By losing to the Astros at home, 5-1. Good thing they had that meeting; otherwise, 28-year old rookie J.P. France might’ve pitched a perfect game instead of just picking up his first major-league win in his second major-league start. Accentuate the positive, I always say. But it is challenging with these White Sox, who managed to collect all of three hits on the night. Yoan Moncada returned after missing more than a month with back issues, and it’s like he was never gone; check out his 0-for-4 on the evening. And Tim Anderson? Nothing like going 0-for-4 at the top of the order. And Gavin Sheets? How can someone so big generate so little power? The commissioner must’ve issued a directive that fines the Sox $100,000 for every stolen base. How else to explain—other than players’ inability to get on base—why the running game has come to a complete stop? Nice to see the Astros pick up three steals, though. And Seby Zavala may be ready to prove Casey Stengel’s wrong about the need for having a catcher behind the plate. With a .161 BA, Zavala’s not hitting, and he’s doing next to nothing behind the plate. What’s a few passed balls thrown into the mix? “Fear the Walking Dead,” one of my guilty pleasures, starts its last season tomorrow night. Maybe Grifol and the boys want to take over as the new zombie show in town. Right now, they’ve got it down part.