It Didn't Help

White Sox starter Dallas Keuchel wanted a second rosin bag to deal with the wet conditions on the mound last night in Kansas City. It didn’t help. What Keuchel needed was a sponge or towel, something suitable to toss and thereby admit defeat. The man is done, finished, kaput. Keuchel threw three innings plus one batter—a hit, naturally—in the fourth. He gave up six runs (five earned) on seven hits and two walks vs. a single solitary strikeout. When he got ahead in the count, he couldn’t finish the job. When he didn’t get ahead in the count, the baserunner arrived that much sooner. Sox fall to Royals, 7-2. The only reason to give Keuchel with his 5.22 ERA another start is because Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito are on the 10-Day IL, Lynn for his knee and Giolito for his hamstring. Given the likely results, though, wouldn’t it be better to make like the Rays and just go with an opener followed by line of relievers? It couldn’t hurt, and it couldn’t result in anything worse than what Keuchel does.