Winners and Losers

Baseball games are won or lost based on performance. Last night in Anaheim, Reynaldo Lopez; Aaron Bummer; and Yasmani Grandal combined to lose a game in the ninth inning for the White Sox. Lopez started by walking Mike Trout, who had struck out his three previous at-bats. Lopez then departed for Aaron Bummer, who promptly walked Shohei Ohtani. Wait, there’s more. Trout and Ohtani were credited with a double steal when Bummer bounced a ball that Grandal couldn’t handle. I’d mention here what constitutes a good catcher, but even a casual observer knows Grandal is anything but. He proved it yet again with one out and Mike Moustakas up. Lefty-lefty matchup that Bummer proceeded to throw away with a…wild pitch, of course. With an assist from Grandal, I should note. A good catcher would’ve kept the ball in front of him, assuming he didn’t catch it in the first place (the pitch landed in the righthand batter’s box). Not only did Grandal fail to locate the ball, which had rolled a few feet behind him, he threw it over Bummer’s head when he did find it. And for this Rick Hahn paid $73 million. Grandal was in the game because manager Pedro Grifol used him to pinch hit for Seby Zavala in the eighth inning. The only way that move works is if Grandal hits a homerun; he struck out. Now, let’s say he got on base. Then what? Babe Ruth in his current state probably runs better. With no other catcher on the roster, it’s Grandal or bust. Which is just how the Sox went.