Turning Our Attention Elsewhere

Like I said (and wish I couldn’t), White Sox rookie Andrew Vaughn looks lost facing right-handed pitching. Yesterday, in the ninth inning of a game that went south almost from the start, Vaughn stepped to the plate with two out and the bases loaded. A grand slam wouldn’t have given the Sox the lead, just a more palatable short-end score of 8-6, Astros. Vaughn popped out to the catcher on a 2-1 pitch from righthander Ralph Garza Jr., who lowered his ERA to 5.40 on the season. In other news, the Atlanta Hawks are making life miserable for their Eastern Conference opponents in the NBA playoffs. First, the Hawks dispatched New York in five. Yesterday, they took care of the 76ers, winning game seven against top-seeded Philly 103-96, on the road, no less. This is the third time in four years the 76ers have bowed out in the second round. What matters to me here as a Sox fan is that Philadelphia was such a rebuild of note. The fan base had no choice but to buy into a strategy that saw the team win 19; 18;10; and 28 games from 2014-2017. Tanking got Philadelphia Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons (and Jahlil Okafor, who I bet isn’t exactly the most popular ex-76er around). Only the foundation players can’t seem to get it done. How long before the fan base rebels? Comparing a team in the NBA to one in MLB may be an exercise in apples and oranges, or not. I do know that White Sox fans had to endure straight seven straight losing seasons before the team turned it around last year, only to go belly up in the first round of the playoffs. If they do the same this year, you might hear Sox fans doing a spot-on imitation of the Philadelphia boo bird. A nasty creature that. Just ask the Easter Bunny. One more thing. Hawks’ guard Trae Young is nothing short of electric. Young is averaging over 29 points and ten assists a game in the playoffs. At least the Bulls can say Young was gone by the time they drafted Wendell Carter Jr. in 2018. The Bulls being the Bulls, though, do you think they would’ve gone after Young even if he were available?