Same As It Ever Was

I was paging through the Sun-Times’ sports section yesterday when I came across two stories opposite one another, on the WNBA’s Chicago Sky victory over the Seattle Storm and Michigan’s win over Ohio in the Little League World Series. Which do you think was longer, by a lot? There was one female player, Maddy Freking, who played in the LLWS this year, the first since Mo’ne Davis in 2014. Davis has since switched to college softball. Clare tells me that the ratings for the D-I softball world series continue to outpace those for its baseball counterpart. Any college players hoping to move onto the National Pro Fastpitch League will have to think again; at the first of the month, the league suspended operations effective immediately. Clare can’t figure why those ratings for the college game don’t translate into success for the pro game. Mo’ne Davis made the varsity baseball team at her high school but quit after a year because all she did was sit on the bench.

Getting the Right Read on South Side Tea Leaves

I mean, it could be a whole heck of a lot worse, right? White Sox players could be acting like Javy Baez, Francisco Lindor and Kevin Pillar of the Mets, who are now giving the thumbs-down sign to Mets’ fans for daring to boo their crappy performance since the All-Star break. White Sox Nation is in a slightly better frame of mind, fans and players alike. Cubs’ fans might be feeling differently—ex-farmhands Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez continue to excel against their former team. Cease beat the Norths Siders again yesterday, Jimenez homered against them again, and the Sox come away with a 13-1 win to take two out of three against the visitors from Wrigley over the weekend. But it should have been three out of three. I know, nobody’s perfect, no MLB team has ever run the regular season schedule. I should be happy my team scored thirteen runs while Tim Anderson sat (yet again). And Anderson had company in the person of Yoan Moncada. Him I wouldn’t sit, I’d bench for a few games. And there you have it. Manager Tony La Russa leads a charmed life with the decisions he's made so far this season. Let’s just hope it carries over into October. The most positive takeaway from yesterday is that the Sox hit three of their five homers off of Cubs’ starter Kyle Hendricks, who’s a real pitcher. Luis Robert hit two homers on the day, and he looks to be on his way to becoming a real hitter. I keep wondering about Cease, though. Yes, he struck out eleven in six innings while giving up just one run on four hits, but remember, this is the Triple-A (plus?) Cubs, and Cease probably would’ve been taken out after five innings if not for his teammates’ seven-run outburst in the fifth. All of which is my way of saying you shouldn’t need to throw 108 pitches against a team of that caliber, unless it’s for a complete game. Next up are five games against the Pirates and Royals. I’ll be just as unreasonable as ever. Really, anything less than four wins is unacceptable, at least to this unreasonable fan.

A Fish Called...Tony, or Jerry

Cubs’ rookie infielder Patrick Wisdom celebrated his 30th birthday Friday night by clubbing two homeruns—one of which may have come down by now—at Guaranteed Rate Whatever. Wisdom had so much fun that he added two more last night against White Sox starter Lance Lynn. Thirty-year old left fielder Rafael Ortega—now on his fifth major-league team—had so much fun watching Wisdom that he added a homer of his own, of the grand-slam variety. That’s all you need to know about the Cubs’ 7-0 win over Lynn and the Sox. Oh, and Sox hitter don’t like anything but fastballs, which was a pitch Cubs’ starter Alec Mills wasn’t inclined to throw for the 8-1/3 innings he was on the mound. You’d think hitting coach Frank Menechino would be telling his charges to hit the pitches thrown, not the ones they wanted thrown. You’d also think Lynn would’ve been laser-focused on beating a team with a 56-74 record. Instead, he needed 95 pitches—only 64 of them strikes—to labor through five innings. If Lynn didn’t know to throw strikes, his catcher Seby Zavala should’ve told him. If the rookie Zavala didn’t know what pitches to call, then pitching coach Ethan Katz should’ve told him. If Katz and Zavala weren’t calling pitches, that leaves manager Tony La Russa. A fish rots from the head down, they say. If La Russa isn’t the one responsible for last night’s stink of a game, that leaves the man who hired him. Right, Jerry?

Good News, Bad News

Clare texted Michele last night, “Don’t let Dad watch the game.” At the time, I was reading the paper (old-tech, dead tree and all that) and recording the Cubs-White Sox game at Guaranteed Whatever for later, but I did get around to seeing what had my daughter worried—the Cubs scored six first-inning runs off of starter Dallas Keuchel. Thank God for fast-forward. Because that got me to the third inning, when the Sox eight runs and took a lead they never relinquished. All in all, scoring seventeen runs against the Cubs is a joyous thing, marred only by the fact that the opposition pitching was mostly Triple-A caliber. But if Yasmani Grandal wants to celebrate getting off the IL with two homeruns and eight RBIs, who am I to complain? But complain I must, about Sox pitching, outside of the five perfect innings winning pitcher Reynaldo Lopez threw. Is there any doubt that the starter Lopez relieved, Dallas Keuchel, is done? Factor one-plus inning with five earned runs and you come out with Keuchel being 1-4 with a 7.34 ERA in his last seven games; the lefty now sports a 5.00 ERA on the season. Not good. As I expected, manager Tony La Russa spun in the opposite direction, telling reporters afterwards that, sometimes, “it’s just not your day—it happens to all starting pitchers.” Yes and no on that. Tell me when the last time was Keuchel had a day that did go his way. Ditto reliever Craig Kimbrel, who entered in the ninth inning of a 17-10 game. Add the two homers Kimbrel coughed up, and you get the final score of 17-13. That gives him a White Sox ERA of 7.15 in twelve games. Again, not good. At least the Adam Eaton trade keeps on giving. We still have Lucas Giolito along with Lopez. Dane Dunning’s gone, but we got Lance Lynn for him. Lynn starts tonight. Let’s hope he can keep the North Siders from breaking double figures again, unless we’re talking strikeouts, of course.

Two Out of Three for a Split Ain't Bad, I Guess

Carlos Rodon returned from the IL to pitch five effective innings and pick up the win in Toronto yesterday, the White Sox topping the Blue Jays, 10-7. Meanwhile, Sox hitters shook off the effects of Robbie Ray and his slider to pound Blue Jays’ pitching for four homeruns. Good starting pitching and timely offense—what else could you ask for? Maybe something out of the bullpen. The Sox did in fact get good relief from the seventh through the ninth innings, with Ryan Tepera, Garrett Crochet and Craig Kimbrel each throwing a scoreless inning, Kimbrel picking up the save along the way. Only there seems to be something wrong with Michael Kopech, as evidenced by the five runs he gave up in the sixth inning. Out of the eight batters he faced, Kopech yielded four hits and a hit-by-pitch, every one of them scoring. By my count, three of the four hits were on changeups or breaking balls in the mid- to upper-80s. And here I thought he was a fastball pitcher. If there’s any silver lining here, it comes from my very own TMZ source, who also happens to be my daughter. She reports that Kopech’s wife (or ex-wife or estranged wife, no one seems to know for sure) was at the game, along with their child. So, it may just have been a case of nerves. I can only hope the postseason feels different then, because that was one brutal sixth inning.

Clueless

Last night, there were four generations assembled in the living room of Clare’s apartment: my mother-in-law; her daughter and granddaughter; and her great-grandson (she now has three, by the way). Any one of them would’ve had more of a clue than the White Sox exhibited in their third game against the Blue Jays. Sox hitters were altogether clueless facing a pitch that looked entirely new and baffling to them, something called a slider. Toronto starter Robbie Ray kept throwing one, and Sox hitters kept swinging, to the tune of sixteen strikeouts, as opposed to the six hits and a walk they managed on the evening. From there, it’s not much of a leap to a 3-1 loss. Yes, Yoan Moncada had an RBI from the two-spot, but he may have been the most clueless Sox player of them all, with three strikeouts and an error that led to the second of two eighth-inning runs. Of course, manager Tony La Russa also continued in his clue-free fog. La Russa thought he could depend on Aaron Bummer with the score tied at one and the heart of the Jays’ order due up. Somehow, Bummer managed to strike out Marcus Semien and Vladimir Guerrero, after which the flood in the form of three straight singles; two of the hits came with two strikes. The horse clearly out of the barn, La Russa then summoned Jose Ruiz out of the bullpen to ensure the barn door stayed open. The error by Moncada wasn’t Ruiz’s fault, but the four-pitch, bases-loaded walk was. If the White Sox insist on carrying a boatload of pitchers, why does La Russa insist on inserting the wrong ones at the wrong time and then waiting too long to correct his mistake(s)? You may as well ask my 2-1/2 week-old grandson for an answer. I bet it would make more sense than anything the White Sox manager had to say.

Now, How Hard Was That?

Gosh, a new lineup with Luis Robert and Yoan Moncada at the top of the order; Leury Garcia playing second base in place of Cesar Hernandez; and the White Sox beat the Blue Jays last night 5-2. Maybe Tony La Russa was channeling me for a change and didn’t even know it. He should be so lucky. As for the performance by Sox starter Dylan Cease, that was talent or luck, you be the judge. I’ve gone blue in the face talking about how Cease needs to mix in his breaking pitches to get more out of his somewhat straight fastball, and what do I read but that he threw at least seventeen effective breaking pitches and changeups? Alleluia. All Cease needed was 95 pitches to get through seven innings. Wow. In his last two starts, Cease threw 102 pitches in six innings and 103 in five, respectively. SO, this may be a New Testament-worthy miracle. I mean, four hits, a run and walk to go with seven strikeouts. Either the right hander is finally figuring things our, or a proverbial dog was having his day. We’ll see with the next start. If I’m worried less about Cease, I’m now concerned more about Michael Kopech, who keeps giving up hits. Kopech has a 1.35 WHIP and 4.96 ERA over his last fifteen appearances. To worry is to be a White Sox fan. Tim Anderson sits yet again (though Danny Mendick got another two hits and an RBI in his place), Kopech keeps leaving hittable pitches over the plate. It’s amazing any Sox fan lives to see old age. I’m a grandfather now, and I want to see my grandson play the game his mother did. That means it’s time to connect with my inner Bobby Ferrin. I won’t worry, I’ll be happy, depending on what Lucas Giolito does tonight, of course.

Due Diligence

A good baseball organization does its due diligence on the people it wants to hire or acquire. From that perspective, the White Sox look to be less than good, though the hiring of Tony La Russa as manager can’t be blamed on GM Rick Hahn; that was the product of owner interference. But Cesar Hernandez and Craig Kimbrel are a different story altogether. Hernandez led off again because Tim Anderson sat again. (In a town ruled by that mediocrity known as the Chicago Bears, the media can’t be bothered to look into what if anything is wrong with Anderson, who has yet to address his aches and pains in any public way I’ve come across. But tune in to see who the Bears are auditioning for their offensive line.) Hernandez went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts. He’s hitting .133 over his last seven games (.227 on the season), and still La Russa insists on batting him in the leadoff spot. What Hahn saw in Hernandez as an upgrade over Yolmer Sanchez or a Danny Mendick-Leury Garcia platoon is beyond me. That no one has been able to get La Russa to put someone else at the top of the lineup speaks volumes to his status as best bud of owner Jerry Reinsdorf. I keep thinking of the energy that Yolmer could bring to the dugout, an energy totally lacking with Anderson (mysteriously) sitting and Hernandez forever playing. Right now, Garcia is on concussion protocol (and Yolmer is playing at Triple-A Gwinnet for the Braves, in case you’re wondering). If Leury doesn’t start playing second base when he comes back, you may as well rest Anderson for the rest of the season, for all the good it will do the Sox. As to Kimbrel, I haven’t a clue what his problem is, other than that he absolutely stinks pitching in the eighth inning. Last night, he came into the bottom of the eighth in Toronto, the score tied at one. A hit along with a groundout and two wild pitches gave the Jays what proved to be the winning run. “Wild” doesn’t do justice to the pitch that scored the run. Not only did Kimbrel throw it, he then hesitated covering home as catcher Seby Zavala retrieved the ball, that just so happened to bounce his way. Pinch runner Breyvic Valera was safe on a close play. Kimbrel supposedly doesn’t care what inning he pitches, but you could shorten that to he just doesn’t care. He’s 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in ten games since joining the Sox. What’s up? It’s hard to say because Kimbrel isn’t in the habit of addressing the media after a game. Lance Lynn, on the other hand, never hides from reporters, good game or bad. Last night, Lynn—who gave up one run in seven innings of work—said he threw a “stupid” pitch on 3-0 to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the bottom of the sixth; Guerrero hit it for a game-tying single. Lynn also said he told La Russa the pitch was his fault. A pitcher who takes responsibility vs. a pitcher who goes mum vs. a manager who thinks games in late August don’t really count. Your Chicago White Sox.

Then Learn, Already

The White Sox, led by manager Tony La Russa (think fish rots from the head down here), stunk up the joint at Tropicana Field yesterday, falling to the Rays, 9-0. In a way, the score was closer than it looks. Talking to reporters afterwards, La Russa said it was the kind of game where “you think about what they did right and what we didn’t, and that’s how you learn and you get better.” In which case, Teacher, instruct thyself. Start by realizing Eloy Jimenez can’t play the field in this dome and may not be much better in Toronto. Eloy couldn’t track the ball and cost starter Reynaldo Lopez a run in the first inning on a “bloop” double that shouldn’t have been. He was just as bad on a few other balls hit his way. It's also time for the HOF manager to realize that Jose Ruiz is not a go-to guy in tough situations. (Maybe longtime La Russa pitching coach Dave Duncan was the one calling the shots all those years in Oakland and St. Louis) Ruiz showed why—yet again, I might add—in the sixth inning, the bases loaded and two out in what was then a 3-0 game. It’s never a good idea to give up a bases-clearing double on an 0-2 pitch, but La Russa’s pick out of the pen did just that. La Russa also might want to rethink his fascination with Cesar Hernandez at the top of the order when Tim Anderson isn’t playing (more on that shortly). Hernandez went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and a double play. Never have I seen someone traded to a pennant-contender who so looks like he doesn’t want to be there. Danny Mendick got two hits subbing for Anderson and deserves the start at second base tonight in Toronto. As ever, I won’t hold my breath. Tim Anderson pretty much beat the Rays all by himself Friday night, so what does La Russa do? He has him sit the next two games because his legs are sore and, “We don’t want to push him. If it was October, he’d be in there.” At this rate, if it were October, the Sox would already be eliminated. The Rays are the best team in the AL. The idea is to beat them and secure homefield advantage in the playoffs. Anderson’s playing time should’ve been monitored going into this series, not midway through. What I find suspicious is La Russa is the one doing the talking. There’s not a peep from Anderson on being tired or hurting. Hell freezes over before Tony La Russa speaks for me. Or shows he’s capable of managing in 2021.

Toxic Twins

Tony La Russa can’t manage, Dallas Keuchel can’t pitch. It’s as simple as that. Keuchel gave up nine hits and two walks over five innings yesterday, good—or bad—for six runs in an 8-4 loss to the Rays. Afterwards, he and La Russa talked about how a lot of those hits were of the seeing-eye variety. Granted, the ball Wander Franco hit did bounce off of third base. Even if the two runners already on were there courtesy of just-missed groundballs, there’s the inconvenient fact that Brandon Lowe, the next batter, smoked the first pitch he saw from Keuchel for a two-run double. Somehow, La Russa’s patchwork lineup pulled to within 6-4 going into the bottom of the ninth. You might think it was time to bring in one of the better pitchers out the bullpen, but La Russa opted to send Mike Wright Jr. out for a second inning. Result, another two Tampa runs. And we’re carrying fourteen pitchers why, exactly? Fingers crossed that the A-team goes out today. Even then, with La Russa calling the shots, you never know.

The Sublime and the Ridiculous

White Sox leadoff man and shortstop Tim Anderson went 3-for-6 last night against the Rays at Tropicana Field, hitting a game-tying homerun in the top of the ninth before driving in what proved to be the winning run in the eleventh. Afterwards, manager Tony La Russa said there’s nobody “better than he is when you look at the whole game.” (team website) In that case, why is Anderson sitting today? The same could be asked of centerfielder Luis Robert, who contributed two hits and an RBI to go with what Anderson did. I’m not reading anything about injuries to either player, so what gives? For that matter, why in God’s name did La Russa walk Nelson Cruz with two out in the eighth, which not only loaded the bases but moved two Tampa runners into scoring position? To get the lefty-lefty matchup with Sox reliever Aaron Bummer vs. Austin Meadows? Too bad Meadows singled in two runs on the first pitch he saw. Truly, if the Sox do anything in the postseason, it will be in spite of La Russa, not because of him. Unless, of course, today’s leadoff hitter Cesar Hernandez actually does something in Anderson’s place. I’m not holding my breath.

A Prophet Among You

Well, that didn’t take long, now did it? No sooner do I point out Dylan Cease’s proclivity to throw pitch after pitch after pitch, he needs 102 to get through six innings in yesterday’s matinee finale of a four-game series with the A’s. That comes out to seventeen pitches an inning for you math savants out there. But wait, there’s more. (And a shoutout here to the late Ron Popeil.) Specifically, the two two-out walks Cease issued in the fourth inning. Walk number one loaded the bases; walk number two forced in a run. Of course, if Cease had fielded a slow roller earlier in the inning, he would’ve been back in the dugout instead of falling victim to his walk-fancy. While I’m at it, let me question the decision-making of both manager Tony La Russa and reliever Michael Kopech. La Russa, so worried about October he risks forgetting about August, rested Tim Anderson, which caused a hole at the top of the batting order. La Russa’s solution? Put Cesar Hernandez at leadoff. Hernandez responded by going 0-for-5, with a double play thrown in free of charge. You wonder, was that a gut decision or one based on metrics of some sort? Ditto with Kopech throwing an 84-mph breaking ball to Matt Olson in the seventh inning with two out. Gosh, something slow and low to a left-handed batter. Who knew he’d crush it for the game-deciding, two-run homer? Maybe most of the baseball world, except Kopech or whoever called the pitch. When you’re a flamethrower, stick to the heat, unless you can throw your changeup down in the 70s. Oh, and outside to the lefties.

Madness, and a Smart Mouth

Mark my words, White Sox starters are playing with fire with their pitch counts. Last night, Lance Lynn needed 31pitches to get through a scoreless first innings and 73 pitches for a scoreless three innings. For the game, Lynn gave up one run through four innings on 88 pitches. According to MLB stats, the most efficient White Sox starter on a pitch-per-inning basis is Dallas Keuchel, who ranks 33rd out of a qualifying 49 MLB pitchers. Next comes Lucas Giolito at 39th and Lynn at 43rd. Guess who brings up the rear at number 49? That’s right, good old Dylan Cease, who throws on average 17.97 pitches a game. (Carlos Rodon, on the IL, would be tied with Lynn). The more pitches Sox starters use to get through an inning, the sooner they’ll tire out and the sooner relievers will have to come in. Last night, four relievers went five innings, yielding one run in a 3-2 Sox win. Thank you Luis Robert for not trying to hit homeruns every at-bat. Your three singles drove in two. Now, back to Lynn, who got tossed in the bottom of the fourth inning by third base umpire Nick Lentz. Lynn, who wanted to get some unspecified treatment from the trainer, didn’t wait for Lentz to check him out for foreign substances. Instead, the right-hander with an attitude left his cap and glove on the dugout railing and tossed his belt onto the field. Lentz reciprocated by tossing Lynn. After the game, Lynn told reporters he was “dealing with something” and couldn’t wait for Lentz to get to him. So, he tossed the belt “and obviously I hurt his feelings.” Great line, but still too many pitches.

Safe

Michele took the week off to help the new mother and child, so I came over for dinner last night, and everyone watched the White Sox game afterwards. I heartily recommend my wife’s stuffed shells. For close to two hours, Leo Joseph slept in the cruck of my left arm. He didn’t see Jake Lamb hit a three-run homer in the second or Jose Abreu match Lamb in the fourth. That’s OK, there’ll be time enough to cheer our heroes. Leo Joseph also rested throughout Chris Bassitt’s ordeal, which started when Brian Goodwin hit him in the right cheek with a line drive moving at 100.1 mph. Bassitt crumpled to the ground and had to be carted off the field. After that, the homeruns and Reynaldo Lopez’s unexpected return to form felt anticlimactic, as did the 9-0 win over Oakland. Bassitt will need surgery for the fracture in his cheek, but his vision appears to be unaffected; I guess that’s the best you could hope for. That, and for such a thing never to happen to the creature nestled alongside you.

Better, But...

Baseball can be the most patient of professional sports, when it wants. Ex-White Sox reliever David Robertson hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2019, but the Rays see enough to sign the 36-year old to a contract. Ex-Cub Jake Arrieta looks like he hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2019, which is what a 5-11 record and 6.88 ERA will do t perceptions. And still the Padres see enough, or think they do or are so desperate for pitching, that they signed Arrieta to a minor-league deal. Arrieta is expected to be promoted in time to face the Rockies on Wednesday, in Denver. Good luck with that. And then we have soon-to-be 28-year old rookie catcher Seby Zavala of the White Sox. After a bitter cup of coffee with the Sox in 2019 (nine strikeouts in twelve at-bats), Zavala has surged ahead of Zack Collins to take over as the number-one catcher in the absence of Yasmani Grandal. With what he’s done offensively (.230 BA, four homeruns and thirteen RBIs in just 61 at-bats), Zavala will probably assume the number-two role once Grandal returns from his injury-rehab assignment. Last night, Zavala went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored in a 5-2 Sox win over the A’s. Best of all, he laid down a perfect safety squeeze in the sixth inning to score Luis Robert from third. Like I’ve said, it’s the small things that add up. This is not to ignore Zavala’s defensive issues; last night also saw his seventh passed ball in a mere 24 games. That’s not good, sort of like Dallas Keuchel going all of five innings. Like I’ve said, short starts lead to tired relievers. That’s not a good thing, although the nine strikeouts racked up by Michael Kopech, Craig Kimbrel and Liam Hendriks were fun to watch, especially when Kimbrel struck out two batters with runners at second and third in the eighth inning. Postgame, Hendriks said something about his slider somehow tipping off his fastball. Maybe. Reynaldo Lopez gets the start tonight in place of the injured Carlos Rodon. That will require a reserve of fastballs and sliders if the Sox want to take the second game of four in this series.

Grrh!

If White Sox starter Dylan Cease is barely adequate, what does that make Lucas Giolito, who threw 101 pitches in four innings in a 5-3 loss to the Yankees yesterday? You decide. While you’re at it, decide on your favorite move by manager Tony La Russ. They’re so many to choose from, but I’ll stick to two, starting with Matt Foster to pitch the ninth in a two-run game. Oops, Foster made it a four-run game giving up a homerun to Luke Voit. Sorry, but at some point that 5.67 ERA does tell the whole story. As for Cesar Hernandez, again, someone please tell me why we couldn’t hold onto Yolmer Sanchez. Oh, right, Yolmer would cost too much in arbitration. Well, in the case of Hernandez, hitting .236 with three RBIs since coming over from Cleveland, you get what you pay for, or considerably less. It looks more and more that the better way to go would’ve been a combination of Danny Mendick and Leury Garcia. But, no, GM Rick Hahn couldn’t help himself, and no one seems to be able to reach Hernandez. Yesterday would qualify as a player’s worst nightmare, 0-for-4 at the plate and three errors in the field, which is exactly what Hernandez did. Wait, there’s more. Our number-two batter also hit into two double plays, including one to end the game when he represented the winning run. Now, riddle me this: what was La Russa thinking as Hernandez stepped to the plate to face Wandy Peralta? Me, I’m looking at what the batter’s done on the day. Hmm, three groundballs and a walk. And let’s not forget those three errors, one of which let in a run. Guy’s probably anxious. I’d either be giving him the take sign—hey, they’re paying me the imaginary big bucks to make the tough decisions—or I’m sending Tim Anderson from first on every pitch. Instead, we get Grandpa—it takes one to know one—refusing to call out any of his players (oh, like catcher Seby Zavala with his sixth passed ball already, not to be confused with the day’s two wild pitches) while he talks about it not being his team’s best game, “but it’s as hard as we’ve played” all season. (team website) What a crock. And for this they fired Rick Renteria?

Houston, We Have a Problem

Quick, what’s worse than White Sox reliever Craig Kimbrel giving up another eighth-inning homerun. Why, Liam Hendriks giving up another late-inning game changer over the fence, that’s what. Kimbrel served the ball up on a tee to Aaron Judge, who said “thank you very much” while hitting it out to give the Yankees a one-run lead. Then, after Jose Abreu tied the score in the bottom of the ninth with two-out, full-count jack, Hendriks did his fifth-column work in the tenth. As in wild pitch, run-scoring single and two-run bomb—I cannot overemphasize the bomb-ness of the shot—to Joey Gallo. A Sox rally in the bottom of the tenth ended with Tim Anderson trying to do too much with the bases loaded. Oh, for the two-run single in a 7-5 game. While I’m at it, how about a nickname for Sox starter Dylan Cease, something along the lines of (Barely) Adequate Cease? The right-hander put his team in a quick 2-0 hole after a half inning and gave New York the lead back in the third after his teammates had tied it the inning before. On the night, Cease needed 103 pitches to muddle through five innings. That’s simply unacceptable. There’s something wrong with Kimbrel, Hendriks and Cease. I’m not picking on pitching coach Ethan Katz, not really. I mean, it’s not as if he’s calling pitches from the dugout; at least, I hope he isn’t. I am curious, though, how a coach goes about addressing a problem that could derail any serious postseason run by the Sox. Starters who can’t go six lead to reliever who can’t keep the ball in the park. Fix it, Ethan, please, and fast.

Whose Field of Dreams?

I consider myself fortunate to have such a child as my daughter, who took to baseball even faster than I did. She was hitting wiffle-ball line drives before the age of four. She was already cheering for Frank Thomas by then. The Big Hurt had no bigger fan than the Little Hurt. We took her to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville, Iowa, twice during grade school, the summers after second and sixth grade, if memory serves. The second time, Clare was lining baseballs to the alleys, and, yes, they rolled out to where those spectral White/Black Sox stepped out of. The picture I have of her in her stance in front of the corn remains one of my favorites. By the time Michele and I stopped at the field in the fall of 2013, the property had already been sold to a group of investors. The field that viewers saw Thursday night wasn’t the site used for the movie; it just felt like it. And that was enough for Clare to say, “I’m probably the only person under thirty to care about this.” Out of the mouths of babes… Indeed, I wonder how many of the players from either the Yankees or the White Sox felt the connection to Dyersville my daughter did. And, really, why would they? Many if not most of them had played at similar facilities in the minor leagues; this one was just closer to the crops. And hardly any of them admitted to ever having seen the movie, let alone read the book “Shoeless Joe” that it was based on. Affection for the book, the movie, the site comes mostly from adults seeking one more game of catch with a now-gone parent; the rest comes from rare birds like Clare. For me, there was no magic to Thursday night beyond Tim Anderson providing walk-off heroics, that and watching the game with my daughter and grandson. Try as I might, I couldn’t detect any ghosts caught on-screen. According to a story in Thursday’s Tribune, the idea for a major-league game originated with the lead investor as a way to rekindle interest in the project; the idea of a travel-sports complex in the corn didn’t catch on quite as much as she had hoped. I doubt if many fourteen-year olds care about W.P. Kinsella or Kevin Costner or Shoeless Joe Jackson after a full day of playing—or not playing—under the summer Iowa sun. Maybe some of their parent and coaches, but apparently not enough to make for the financial bonanza investors envisioned back when the 193 acres sold for $3.4 million. Plans now call for a waterfall and pizza restaurant at the site. Who goes to Iowa for the pizza or the falls? It’s the ghosts that make Field of Dreams special, along with memories of pitching to a precocious twelve-year old.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

A walk-off, two-run homerun into the Iowa corn in the bottom of the ninth by Tim Anderson certainly qualifies as a good thing, extra good given how it came against the Yankees in last night’s 9-8 Field of Dreams’ contest. If the Yankees think they have a closer in Zach Britton, ha-ha, the joke’s on them. If the White Sox think they have a closer in Liam Hendriks, oh my, time to worry. This is now Hendriks’ sixth blown save on the season, and ten homers in 49.2 innings of work isn’t any better than Jose Ruiz. Michele asked me before the game why the Sox were playing the Yankees. I answered, “Because a lot of people won’t care if the White Sox are playing in corn. They will if the Yankees are.” Fox loved those two homers in the top of the ninth by Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton that wiped away a three-run Sox lead and put the visitors ahead (for a few minutes). It was like the cameras were stuck on the Yankees’ dugout, the better to send the message, The Bombers are invincible. No, they’re not, guys, but thanks for trying to ram that notion down my throat. A more heartfelt thanks to Sox catcher Seby Zavala for working an 0-2 at-bat into a walk directly ahead of Anderson’s game winner. Truly, it’s the little things that matter. Joe Buck—where to start? He misidentified Sox starter Dylan Cease as “Albert Abreu.” He looked silly in a bow tie. And if he were picked to announce the Second Coming, Christ would stay put.

Did I Say Ghosts?

Yeah, there were ghosts floating around Target Field the last two games, of the Go-Go White Sox from the 1950s and ’60s, only they didn’t take over anyone in a Sox uniform. It was the Twins showing how to win a one-run game, 1-0 this time, on a homerun by Jorge Polanco. Somehow, I doubt Al Lopez would have the same faith in reliever Jose Ruiz that Tony La Russa does. With yesterday’s homer, Ruiz has given up seven long balls in just 45.1 innings of work. So, now onto the cornfields of northeastern Iowa where MLB has concocted an event to pull at the heartstrings if not the wallet, and vice versa. I intend to watch this game with my daughter and grandson. Those are the people who count. One I’ve played catch with, the other I will.

No, No, No

Dallas Keuchel was quoted on the White Sox website saying after last night’s 4-3 loss to the Twins, “I feel like if I didn’t have bad luck right now, I wouldn’t have any luck at all.” Yeah, right. Actually, no, Dallas, you made your own luck, starting with the two runs you gave up in the first inning after walking the bases loaded. Where’s the luck in that? Then, with two out in the sixth, you walked Miguel Sano to bring up Willians Astudillo, the poor man’s Yogi Berra. Astudillo went to one knee to nail an inside pitch from Keuchel for a two-run line drive of a homerun. Where’s the luck in that? But maybe Keuchel did have a bit of bad luck. With two outs, he could’ve been lifted for Michael Kopech. Astudillo probably would’ve swung himself out of his shoes chasing Kopech’s fastballs. Manager Tony La Russa thought otherwise. Bad luck, that.

Good Exorcise

Well, if there were any ghosts haunting Target Field last night, they were more along the lines of Jerry Kindall than Harmon Killebrew, as the White Sox crushed the Twins 11-1. For any fan or specter so inclined, the results suggest a slightly altered Broadway tune along the lines of, How do you solve a problem like Eloy? For the second straight game (and the first time in franchise history), Eloy Jimenez mashed two homeruns and collected five RBIs. The man’s hitting is a gift, pure and simple. Eloy is better than Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson or Yoan Moncada (and most likely Andrew Vaughn, he may also be better than those three). He’s equally dangerous, if in different ways, with a bat or a glove. Hence, the problem, but an intriguing one to have. My string of seeing players step up their performance after being called out continues. Anderson led off his second straight game with a homer while Moncada was engaged enough at the plate to manage two hits, including a homer. Best of all, Lucas Giolito looked like he actually wanted to pitch. Giolito went eight innings, and might’ve gone the route had he not grooved a pitch to Miguel Sano. But he was stingy enough with two hits and no walks on 103 pitches. So, I’ve got no cause to complain anywhere, except for the Sox sending down Gavin Sheets to make room for Luis Robert. Jake Lamb over Sheets, really?

Breather Over

The White Sox beat up on the Iowa Cubs last night at Wrigley Field. Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez and Andrew Vaughn all homered in a five-run first innings as the Sox won 9-3 to sweep the weekend series against a bunch pretend major leaguers. Dylan Cease struck out ten wannabes in five innings. That said, Cease also gave up three runs to the likes of Greg Deichmann (who he?) and Frank Schwindel (who he two?). But if they’re going to count the game, you may as well take the win, right? Now, it’s on to Minnesota. Even though the Twins have four fewer victories than the 52-61 North Siders, they’ll present a tougher challenge. Target Field is full of ghosts—Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, Joe Mauer…I’m pretty sure those guys and other ex-Twins enter the bodies of current players to wreak havoc on the visitors from Chicago. Stay tuned.

A Tale of Two Teams and a Grandson

My grandson Leo Joseph entered the world (at nine pounds, twelve ounces and 21-1/4 inches long, which already has his parents arguing football or baseball) early enough yesterday to witness—if the TV was on in his mom’s hospital room—the White Sox beat up on the Cubs, 4-0, at Wrigley Field. It was a good thing the mercury reached 85 very muggy degrees; otherwise, Carlos Rodon might’ve pitched longer than five innings with a chance to set the MLB strikeout record. As it was, Rodon fanned eleven Cubs, while four Sox relievers notched another six, for a total of seventeen on the day. God, did the North Siders look pathetic. Once upon a time, that futility would’ve filled me with joy, but things change, or we do over time. It wasn’t like Rodon was facing the Yankees, which he will for the Field of Dreams game come Thursday. The only hitter in the Cubs’ lineup who could be considered a true major-league ballplayer was catcher Willson Contreras, and he struck out four times. That’s called frustration, and the Cubs would be smart to trade Contreras because he’s going to get a lot more frustrated next year and the year after and…. I’m not gloating here because what goes around comes around, or already did. These Cubs could be the White Sox of 2017 or 2018. The North Siders are undergoing their second rebuild in the last ten years. That’s a joke, and a bad one played on fans. I don’t care about the drunkards or pickup artists who occupy the bleachers, but there are serious Cubs’ fans who deserve better. You think Tom Ricketts is going to lower ticket prices to better reflect the Triple-A talent he’s trotting out on the field? Don’t hold your breath. But the team is proceeding with plans to open a sports’ book next door to the ballpark, ostensibly to better serve the fans. Fleece them is more like it.

A Big Day Around Here

This is the kind of child I have, one who’s texting me that the White Sox activated Jake Lamb off the IL, this while her water was breaking at the hospital. The way the Sox played at Wrigley Field yesterday, Craig Kimbrel may have caused more screams than the delivery of my grandson. The Sox had a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning (with an assist from yours truly, I might add. Just like Andrew Vaughn started hitting after I called him out, Adam Engel went 3-for-5 with a walk, a run scored and two stolen bases, just hours after I noted his uncharacteristic performance of the night before. Your welcome.). In comes Kimbrel to give up a two-out, three-run jack to Andrew Romine. Why do pitchers insist on throwing low pitches to left-hand batters? I don’t know, I don’t care. But I do care about Tim Anderson, who seems to be in a Yoan Moncada-like funk. Anderson is .200 over his last fifteen games, and that includes yesterday’s 1-for-6. Leadoff men are a lot like catchers—you can’t win without them. Anderson is chasing pitches he usually doesn’t and hitting balls without much if any power. I’ve seen homerun swings produce line drives that end up medium deep in the outfield at best. Time to give your sparkplug a few days off, Tony. Yes? I know a mother and newborn who would like to see some energy at the top of the Sox batting order as they spend their first day together.

Bad Day at the Office

With two out and two on in the top of the first last night at Guaranteed Rate Whatever, Emmanuel Rivera hit a line drive straight at White Sox centerfielder Adam Engel, who lost it in the lights. The ball went for a two-run double in what proved to be a 3-2 Royals’ win. In the home half of the fourth inning, Engel batted with the bases loaded against rookie lefthander Daniel Lynch. Engel hit a ball long but foul before striking out on a full count. Three innings later, in the top of the seventh, Kansas City’s Edward Olivares hit a ball to right center that Engel leaped for and corralled in his glove but could not hold onto. Homerun. I’m not picking on Engel here or starter Dallas Keuchel, who pitched a nice game for a change. What I am getting at is how flat the Sox look now. A fish rots from the head down, they saw, and a baseball team, too. You hire a 76-year old to manage your team, and he brings a 76-year old’s energy to the dugout. The Sox are 9-11 since the All-Star break. Maybe that and having Tony La Russa in the dugout are a coincidence, but I doubt it.

Don't Move On Quite Yet

Lucas Giolito stunk up the joint last night, giving up three homers as opposed to recording all of two strikeouts in just four innings of work as the White Sox fell at home to the Royals, 9-1. Giolito took the blame (“I’m the reason we lost tonight”) and vowed to use his latest performance as “motivation for the next one.” But hasn’t he said that before? In sports, what counts is performance. Owning up is nice, especially when admission leads to progress. But admitting you stink and continuing to stink is not a good way to go. Two years ago, Giolito went 14-9 with a 3.41 ERA. In 2020, he was 4-3 with a 3.48 ERA. So far this year, he’s 8-8 with a 3.98 ERA. Am I the only one seeing a worrisome progression here? I check body language to gauge a player. Giolito seems to be suffering from the same problem afflicting Yoan Moncada; neither player looks all that engaged with the task at hand. It’s almost like they’d rather be somewhere else. I’d rather they very much be in the here and now. Otherwise, there’s no postseason to speak of.

Efficiency

Dylan Cease shut down the opposition for six innings last night as the White Sox beat the Royals 7-1. Cease struck out eleven, gave up two walks and a hit. According to Lamond Pope in the Tribune, Cease thought, “That last inning, I felt like I was definitely in control of where the ball was going. It’s hard to beat that.” Indeed, though Cease also admitted, “I still need to be a little bit more efficient.” Don’t be so easy on yourself, Dylan. You need to be considerably more efficient. The righthander needed 103 pitches to get through six innings. At the very least, that’s one inning too little for the number of pitches thrown, which should have been enough to get Cease through seven and into the eighth. Then, manager Tony La Russa would only have to use two relievers instead of the three he went with. Six-inning starters beget nine-man bullpens and three-man benches. The Sox play the Cubs this weekend, so that basically means two pinch hitters, or three if you then switch catchers. The smaller the bench, the fewer opportunities to win a game. But what do I know?

Minefield

To talk about the travails of Simone Biles at the Olympics is to enter a minefield of race and gender. I’ll step into it with my daughter as a guide. “I didn’t care about pressure,” is how she puts it, and that’s true, Clare never shied away from it. However, as I pointed out in our phone conversation today, there were times when she gave up during an at-bat; the pitcher was better, both physically and mentally. Surrender didn’t happen often, and it never went beyond high school or travel. No, every strikeout and popup in college was the result of the second coming of the Bambino trying to launch yet another ball over the fence. My point here, and one Clare agrees with, is that athletics involves a competition of the mind as much as the body and the most successful athletes are the ones who commands both. Think Michael Jordan here. The will to win poured out of him like sweat. Some athletes are lucky not to have to worry about the mental side of their game, but I’d argue those folks are in the tiniest minority. Most athletes face something—doubt, anxiety, the yips, whatever—that can affect performance. The athletes who find a way to cope are the ones who are going to win. My job with Clare was to have her deal with her failures. This wasn’t fun or easy, but necessary if she wanted to excel. Early on, I had her read about Ted Williams because I wanted my child to have Williams’ mindset every time she steeped into the batter’s box. No one was better than her because she was Ted F******Williams. At some point, Biles’ support system failed to remind her of the same and allowed that “something” to get hold of her. I should note here that Clare would go one step further and say that, if Biles in fact was suffering from her version of the yips, this is not the same as being so wracked by depression or doubt that she couldn’t get out of bed. Put another way, you could argue that the yips are on one side of the mental-challenges’ spectrum, troublesome yet addressable. So noted. One aspect of this story that’s gone unnoted—and what a surprise (not) that—is the role NBC played in generating the pressure Biles may have felt going into the Games. Over the last nine months or so, Lester Holt and the nightly news made sure to tell us of Biles’ latest fantastic performance at a meet; you have to build an audience, I guess. Too bad nobody bothered to consider the effect of that strategy might have on the athlete in question. So, now we have sympathy for someone who wasn’t at the top of her game, and that’s a good thing. There but for the grace of God—along with a profound lack of talent—go I. But there will still be winners and losers as long as there are games. Only now we have a better understanding of what it takes to win.

Unsung

White Sox rookie starter Jimmy Lambert was called up from Charlotte to start yesterday afternoon’s game against Cleveland and did what was asked of him by going three innings and limiting the damage to a run. Sox right fielder Brian Goodwin did likewise—OK, more—with his walk-off homerun in the bottom of the ninth. But the real unsung hero on a beautiful Sunday the first day of August was erstwhile starter and prospect Reynaldo Lopez. Talk about reintroducing yourself to the powers that be. Lopez followed Lambert and went three innings on just one hit and four strikeouts. He came back from a 3-0 count to strike out Franmil Reyes—think Goliath or just about any mythical creature of extraordinary size and power—swinging with a runner on third and two out in the top of the sixth. Not what you would expect of someone who was 1-6 with a 7.62 ERA in Triple-A this season. The team website quoted Lopez after the game: “If I’m feeling good, I know what I can do. That’s why I always said, ‘If God gives me health, I’m going to work hard to perform as I know I can do it.’” And he did. This is a player whose grandfather in the Dominican Republic traded the family cow to get his young grandson the baseball equipment he needed. Lopez joins a bullpen that includes Liam Hendriks of Australia and Michael Kopech, the pride of Longview, Texas. You could call them a diverse group. It's only fourteen innings, but Lopez is sporting a 1.29 ERA since rejoining the team two weeks ago. To get where he is from where he’s been is no small accomplishment. You can only hope he can stay there.

The Best of Times, and the Worst

I try not to be Dougie Downer all the time, and who could be depressed by what White Sox rookie catcher Seby Zavala did last night, with three homeruns (his first ones, ever), including a grand slam? I mean, cool. Sox starter Dallas Keuchel? More like, blah. Zavala helped give Keuchel a 6-1 lead in the fourth inning in a game that Cleveland came back to win, 12-11. Yes, Michael Kopech stunk, for the first time all season, giving up five runs in an inning of work. But if Keuchel pitches the way he’s paid to, Kopech likely doesn’t put in an appearance or get used in a high-pressure situation. Instead, Keuchel gave up five runs, including three homers, in 5.1 innings of “work.” Keuchel’s 4.51 ERA and 1.35 WHIP strike me as a cause for concern. Maybe that’s just the downer in me. Again, we’ll see.