Is It Me?

Is it me, or does White Sox manager New-Mickey Venable basically look clueless in the dugout? Put another way, what good is a bullpen if Venable doesn’t know how to use it? A team like the Guardians—a minimum of three switch-hitters and three lefthanded hitters in the lineup all four games—can pose a problem for any righthanded-leaning staff. The Sox presently have no lefty starters (the sooner Noah Schultz and Hagen Smith get here the better) and three lefty relievers. Maybe pitching coach Ethan Katz could introduce them to their manager. Friday’s game went ten innings; lefty relievers threw 1.1 innings. On Saturday, Venable replaced starter Sean Burke with righthanded Jordan Leasure, and you know what that meant, yes? Leasure coughed up a game-tying homerun to lefthanded-hitting Kyle Manzardo. Wait, there’s more. Yesterday, the Sox carried a 3-0 lead going into the sixth inning with Aaron Civale pitching. With the bases loaded and one out, Civale didn’t think to cover first base on a double play that would’ve gotten him out of the inning. I’d be tempted to lift him just for that bonehead play. But, No, Venable let Civale pitch to Manzardo, righty-lefty, and the lefty hit a three-run homer in a game Cleveland won in ten innings. Things will go better in the second half. Right? Sure.