What Might Have Been

Last night, the White Sox faced Chris Sale, traded away seven years ago for Michael Kopech and Yoan Moncada and two minor leaguers. Kopech is done for the season after having surgery on his knee Friday to remove a cyst; Moncada collected a single (and a strikeout) in two at-bats against the player he was traded for; and the Sad Sox lost to the Red Sox, 3-2. Sale scattered three singles over five shutout innings, striking out seven and walking one. The White Sox don’t spend money on pitchers. They let Mark Buehrle walk, and they would’ve done the same with Sale if the rebuild hadn’t forced their hand. I can only imagine what those two could’ve accomplished in the same rotation, Mr. Hard-Slider and Mr. Quick Pace. That would’ve been fun to watch. Instead, we get Tim Anderson flailing away. In the top of the fifth last night, Anderson grounded out against Sale with two outs and a runner on third. In the bottom of the fifth, he double-clutched on a ball generously ruled a base hit. Of course, that turned into a run. Anderson went 0-for-4 on the night with two strikeouts. But, hey, he has manager Mickey Mouse in his corner. Mouse told reporters, “I know Tim makes that play nine out of ten times.” [story in today's Sun-Times] Which comes out to a .900 fielding average. That, my friends, is one of the reasons this team will lose 100 games at some point next week.