Waiting for Godot, and Others

In his first start of the spring, Michael Kopech needed 45 pitches to get through two innings of work. It’s been all downhill since. In his second start, Kopech threw 32 pitches over 2.2 innings, including two hits, three walks and three runs (two earned). Yesterday, it was 2.1 innings, four hits, two walks, four earned runs. Oh, and two of the hits left the park. That gives our projected #3 or 4 starter a 7.71 ERA on the spring with a 1.71 WHIP. All the numbers are clearly trending the wrong way. Either Kopech is a special talent the White Sox so far have failed to develop, in which case they need a new pitching coach, or he’s a player who’s never going to pan out. What worries me even more is he’s starting to do the “I’m all good” thing the way that Dallas Keuchel and other pitchers with diminishing skills resort to when the bad outings start to pile up. A team can wait for only so long. Even the White Sox.