They Hit

Talk about a perfect Friday night. Michele and I stood, oh, no more than 35 feet from a stage holding members of Los Lobos, if not the greatest rock-and-roll band still standing, then on the short list. Bertha, don’t you come around here anymore. And then to come home to find the White Sox were in the process of demolishing the A’s, 14-1, with Sean Burke pitching seven innings of one-run (and zero-walk) ball while Tristan Peters hit for the cycle for the seventh time in franchise history (and I’ve been around for all of them except for Ray Schalk’s in 1922). Not only that, Sox announcer John Schriffen actually sounded both exciting and professional calling Peters’ eighth-inning triple that completed the cycle. Mercy. Not to break the mood, but the Sox couldn’t touch opener Jacob Lopez, a lefthanded sporting a 7.04 ERA. Good thing the A’s decided to bring in righthander—and ex-Sox—pitcher Aaron Civale; that was good for four runs over the next 2.1 innings. Here’s the thing, though. The A’s are starting lefty Gage Jump, and he doesn’t stink. So, we’ll see, Bertha, we’ll see.

Not T-Ball

The Bad Sox finished a three-game sweep of the Good Sox with a 2-1 win yesterday afternoon. This time, the White Sox had pitching but next to no hitting, as in seven singles. A lefthanded starter, eek! After the game manager Vibes Venable made comments fit for a t-ball coach handing out participation trophies at the end of the season. “We just got beat,” Venable informed reporters of the obvious. “We tried to make a bunch of adjustments. These guys were working really hard pregame to solve for some of these dynamic [!!] fastballs these lefties had and we weren’t able to solve for it. I don’t want to label this one a slump, but [it was] a series where we weren’t able to produce offensively, which is something we are used to doing.” [story in today’s Tribune] Where to start? Oh, I know: “working really hard pregame to solve for some of these dynamic fastballs” the Red Sox were throwing. First, pregame doesn’t count for anything, or at least it didn’t this series. Professional ballplayers are supposed to work really hard. That’s why they’re professional ballplayers. Second, those “dynamic” pitches thrown by Boston starter Patrick Sandoval were part of his first start since June 21, 2024, when a left-elbow injury sidelined him for two-plus tears. Funny how Randal Grichuk and Miguel Vargas looked like they were facing Randy Johnson in his prime. It’s simple—if the Sox don’t hit lefties, they can’t win. And the A’s are scheduled to start Jacob Lopez, a lefty with a 7.04 ERA. Let me repeat. If the Sox don’t hit…

More of the Same

If anything, last night Davis Martin was worse than Noah Schultz. Martin failed to match Schultz’s five-inning start, instead struggling through four innings while giving up five runs on hit after hit, six to be exact, along with two walks. Bad Sox 5 Good Sox 0. By the way, that score means White Sox hitters fared even worse than they did in the previous fame, when they at least scored a run while collecting four hits and two walks. Last night, it was just four random singles and a walk. Boston has sent two lefties to the mound, and the White Sox have been clueless how to respond. Guess what? Another lefty goes today.

Not Ready for Prime Time

White Sox rookie lefthander Noah Schultz barely got out of the first inning last night against the visiting Red Sox, stranding the bases loaded after throwing about a million pitches. Schultz wasn’t as lucky in the second inning, giving up two homeruns to players I’ve never heard of; unlike ESPN, I don’t fixate on the AL East. The runs still counted, though. Bad Sox 8 Good Sox 1. Schultz toiled through five innings, yielding four runs on seven hits and three walks while needing 92 pitches to underwhelm. The final score would’ve been 4-1, but manager Vibes Venable went to the Brandon Eisert well once too often. Did I mention Good Sox hitters managed all of four singles on the night, three by Sam Antonacci? The Bad Sox are throwing another lefthander tonight against a Good Sox lineup that tilts lefty for the first time in I don’t know how long. Alright, it’s time for you righties to deliver. Yes, Randal Grichuk, Junior Perez and Luisangel Acuna, I’m talking about you.

He Got That Right

Today, Michele and I were out of the house pretty early to hit the lakefront. If you haven’t walked it, you have no idea what you’re missing. Think the color blue, sky and water, with a cool breeze. At one point, a couple passed us walking in the opposite direction. “It’s iconic,” the man said in a distinct British accent, the first syllable more “oi” than “i.” Either way, he was right. The number of Sox caps and Cubs’ caps encountered were pretty much even with just one or two sad Bears’ caps begging for attention. A number of years ago, billionaire Ken Griffin paid to separate wheel from foot traffic wherever possible along the path. This kept encounters with bikes, pedal- and e-powered alike, to a minimum. Ditto those lunatics on their motorized wheels. Why is it that roller skaters are attracted to me like magnets? Our reward for walking eight miles is lunch at the Clocktower Café, which serves as the nineteenth hole for the public Sydney R. Marovitz Golf Course. We ate on the terrace, where netting protects patrons from any errant golf balls. I recommend the hamburger or brat. And say Hello to Charlie, one of nicest dog hosts I’ve ever met. She’ll make sure you go home without any ketchup or juice on your fingers.

Devo, Houdini

To quote the best group that ever came out of Akron, Ohio, how long can this go on? How often can Erick Fedde get away with his Houdini act? Yesterday in soggy Cleveland, Fedde did Fedde—putting runners on, minimizing the damage—over 5.1 innings to earn the win as the “bulk” pitcher in a 7-6 contest. The veteran righthander was charged with three runs, two earned, and might’ve given up just one run if Colson Montgomery hadn’t misplayed a sure double-play grounder. But eight hits and a walk. How long can this go on? Accentuate the positive, I guess. Kyle Teel homered in the first (then misplayed a foul pop that helped fuel a three-run Guardians’ response in the bottom half of the frame). Montgomery hit a two-run homer while Tristan Peters added a solo shot. The wind cheated Sam Antonacci and Braden Montgomery out of homers good for four runs. Oh, well. Rumor has it Munetaka Murakami could be back by the weekend. I’m less concerned in who the Sox will send down to make room for Murakami than who they should bring up. As in a pitcher, a starter, someone like David Sandlin. Or David Sandlin, even.

Say What?

It’s good to know that my telepathic powers remain strong, even when my subject is playing in a city over 300 miles away. How else to explain Colson Montgomery’s performance in last night’s 3-1 White Sox win over the Guardians? Montgomery hit a run-scoring, opposite-field double in the first and followed that with a solo-shot homerun in the eighth off reliever Tim Herrin (homerun number eight in lefty-on-lefty matchups). Things only got weird in the postgame. That’s when Montgomery noted, “Today, I felt pretty comfortable at the plate. I was more committed to my plan than most days. I feel I’ve been pretty inconsistent with my approach and things like that. Today I just felt pretty committed to my plan.” [today’s online Trib story] Say what? You know you’re not following your planned approach to hitting? Gosh, I made sure my daughter followed hers throughout high school and college. Either pay one of your parents to do the same, Colson, or have a Sox coach remind you. Every game, between innings if necessary. Before I leave and try to figure out how to find today’s game on Peacock, a shoutout to starter Sean Burke (six innings, one run, no walks and eleven strikeouts in six innings) along with relievers Brandon Eisert (two perfect innings) and Grant Taylor (the save with no more drama than facing the tying run after a two-out walk). Now, repeat for the split and a one-game lead in the AL Central.