How Bad Teams Lose

It starts with a manager who is either crazy or dumb because he keeps doing the same thing while expecting different results. In this case, it’s White Sox manager New-Mickey Venable calling on Jordan Leausre to protect a one-run lead going into the ninth of yesterday‘s game against the Rangers. Leasure did as I thought he would, which was to snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory. First, he hit Josh Jung, on an 0-2 pitch, no less. Then, third baseman Miguel Vargas paid a price for choosing not to play on the line for pull-hitter Jake Burger, who promptly hit a hard grounder past Vargas for a double. Wait, there’s more, but don’t forget we could be talking about two out and nobody on right now. Instead, with one out and runners in scoring position, infield in, Kyle Higashioka hit a shot to Vargas, who couldn’t field the ball cleanly to get the runner at the plate. So, Vargas did the next best thing and threw to first base, where Lenyn Sosa was a good two-three feet off the bag when he caught the ball. Usually, a first baseman wants to have a foot on the bag in order to record the out. Wait, there’s more. Venable decided to keep Leasure in the game to face Adolis Garcia. How did that go? Garcia doubled in two runs for the lead. Wait, there’s more. Edgar Quero left off the bottom of the ninth with a double and scored on a one-out double by Michael A. Taylor. Sox down a run, 5-4. Guess who got picked off of second base? Final score, 5-4. Leasure is 0-4 on the season with three blown saves. At Triple-A Charlotte, the Sox have Wikelman Gonzalez, who’s 5-0 with a 1.42 ERA in seven appearances, all in relief. Gonzalez came over in the Garrett Crochet deal. You’d think the Sox would want to see what they have in him. Oh, and James Karinchak 3-1 with a 3.13 ERA in nineteen relief appearances. Karinchak used to embarrass the Sox when he pitched for Cleveland. Apparently, no one wants to see if he can do the same for the South Side. Double-A Birmingham has three relievers worth a look: Peyton Pallette, eight saves and a 3.43 ERA; Zach Franklin, 1.96 ERA in fourteen games; and Andrew Dalquist, 1.16 ERA in fifteen games. The Barons also have starters Noah Schultz and Grant Taylor, their #1 and #7 prospects, respectively. They can’t pitch out of the pen? Now, it’s on to New York for three games against the Mets. I hear Juan Soto is slumping; facing the Sox should help. He might consider hitting the ball to Vargas or Sosa. They’re both playing different positions today. We wouldn’t want them getting used to playing just one position adequately, now would we?