The Bad, the Bad and the Ugly

Per my prediction, the Braves didn’t play down to the level of the competition yesterday, rolling to a 9-0 win against Mickey and the boys. Good thing they called the game after eight innings, or who knows what the final score might have been. There’s no there here with this team. Luis Robert Jr. hits two homeruns on Saturday, then immediately goes into an 0-for-9 slide, with seven strikeouts. Apparently, until Sunday, Robert had gone through life without once ever encountering a breaking ball. Tip to Luis—you can’t make good contact swinging off your front foot, with only one hand on the bat. Did I mention something about waiting for Godot in relation to Eloy Jimenez? If not, I am, while adding Andrew Vaughn to the list. As for Paul DeJong, whatever he had looks to be long gone, judging by his three strikeouts yesterday, two of them coming on six pitches. Gavin Sheets, paging Gavin Sheets. I’d talk about Sox pitching, if only they had some. When every starter in your rotation is a new guy, you’re in trouble. When you bring back Mike Clevinger, somebody the 29 other teams have taken a pass on, you’re in trouble. When you think Rick Hahn is doing a good job as GM and Tony La Russa is a great (re-)hire, you’re not so much in trouble as getting what you so richly deserve. Your 2024 Chicago White Sox, 0-4 or 9-24. Same difference.