Nowhere to Hide

Rick Hahn’s idea of how a good general manager operates was on full display last night in Atlanta. It was sad to the point of funny. Michael Kopech, rebuild cornerstone whose innings must be forever managed, started. Kopech walked the first batter; hit the second; walked the third; then grooved a 1-0 fastball to Matt Olson for a grand slam. Two outs and two walks later, Kopech was done for the night in what would turn into a 9-0 humiliation of a whitewash. Kopech threw thirty-eight pitches in .2 innings, fourteen for strikes. Wait, there’s more. Sox “hitters” grounded into four double plays, two by Yasmani Grandal, Hahn’s idea of a great free-agent signing. Scrapheap acquisition Touki Toussaint did pitch 5.1 innings of one-run ball, only to be replaced by another Hahn pickup, Bryan Shaw, who allowed four runs in two-thirds of an inning. Shaw’s 14.54 ERA should mean that he’s safe in the Bizarro Land of Hahn and Jerry Reinsdorf. After the game, manager Mickey Mouse displayed a bit of irritation at a reporter who positioned his tape recorder to close to Mickey’s face. No such irritation over his team’s performance, though. Why, Kopech threw “[s]ome good pitches” Pitching coach Ethan Katz and Curt Hasler will get “back to the drawing board, look at the video and look at all that stuff, talk to him.” In the end, the pitching coaches will figure it out “somehow, someway.” As in a hope and a prayer, right, Mick? [story in today’s online Tribune] Funny thing about the Braves. They consistently finish better than the Sox, which means they draft lower, yet, not only do they pick better players, e.g. Austin Riley and Michael Harris II, they have enough talent left over to trade for youngish players like Olson and catcher Sean Murphy. Does any team out there want the likes of Seby Zavala or Lenyn Sosa? I thought so.