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.