Looking for Clues

In the words of the late, great Robert Palmer, I’m “looking for clues.” And the ones popping up aren’t too encouraging. How could they be for a team that lost for the 101st time last night, 6-3 to the Tigers? A couple of days ago, White Sox GM Chris Getz told reporters, “We are committed to doing what’s right for us long term. And we’ve got to stay the course. Not cave based on pressures or noise outside of the organization and do what’s right for us so we can be successful in the future.” [“White Sox cross disappointing threshold with 100th loss,” story on team website] Say what? Not cave—that can only mean Getz won’t be pursuing big-ticket free agents. No, he’s going to develop the talent to compete, something the organization hasn’t excelled at since Jerry Reinsdorf took over the team in 1981. Beyond that, pure word salad. Ditto interim manager Grady Sizemore, who saw his team blow yet another lead in falling 70 (!!!) games under .500 at 31-71. Sizemore referred to the Tigers as “pesky hitters” who “they put the ball in play. They were giving us tough at-bats the whole series. It was just a tough outing. Shu's [Jared Shuster, who gave up four earned runs in 1.1 innings of work in relief of starter Davis Martin] been great for us. Sometimes, it happens. We haven't had a lot of things go our way, and they put together a good inning." And here I always thought you make your own luck in sports. Two tiny clues to keep me from jumping off the ledge involve Martin and the just-recalled Bryan Ramos. Martin has been a revelation since coming back from Tommy John surgery, notching a 2.96 ERA over 27.1 innings and six games, five of them starts. He says being around Garrett Crochet has helped. Maybe they can text after Crochet gets traded at the winter meetings. As for Ramos, he’s back and he’s an American citizen; I knew there was something up by how he acted at the swearing-in ceremony at the game Clare and I attended back in May. The 22-year old has also been on a tear all month in Triple-A Charlotte, including a two-homer game on Sunday. Now, let’s see if he can bump Lenyn Sosa and Miguel Vargas off of third base.