Keystone Kops 2.0

Oh, are these White Sox bad. Take Paul DeJong, please. On Sunday, DeJong went 0-for-6 against the Rockies, including two strikeouts and two double plays (hitting into, not turning). Last night in Cleveland, DeJong got thrown out at the plate in the second inning and then hit Josh Naylor in the back with a throw as Naylor advanced from second to third on a groundball in the sixth inning when Cleveland went on to score three runs. Error, DeJong, who has eleven on the season, one less than this career high back in 2018. And let’s not forget “closer” Michael Kopech or centerfielder Luis Robert Jr., who combined to lose the game 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth. Kopech was Kopech, giving up a leadoff single, followed by a groundout that advanced the runner followed by a wild pitch. Kopech caught his spike delivering a pitch that went very much astray. Runner on third, one out. Enter Robert, who up until that moment was having a very good night going, at 2-for-4 with a homerun and four RBIs. The Guardians’ Bo Naylor lofted a flyball to Roberts, who decided not to make a throw. End of ballgame. Why did our “star” centerfielder eat the ball? Because “I didn’t have a chance.” [quote from story on team website today] Did that line of thinking upset manager Mickey Mouse? Of course not: “He’s playing in because there’s one out. He’s going back. Even if he runs back and comes in, there’s no play there. If we’re going to dissect that, we’re making something out of nothing. You’re not going to throw that guy out from there.” Mouse also defended DeJong, if not quite as strongly, saying “I thought he made the right decision going there” to third base. The devil’s in the details, I guess. Making something out of nothing—there’s Mouse’s managerial epitaph in five words, and this organization’s.