No Kidding

Things must really be bad for White Sox manager Tony La Russa to admit, “We’ve been treading water for a while.” Ya think? As ever, La Russa wouldn’t single out players for the latest loss, 5-3 to the Tigers in Detroit. Luis Robert had his bat sawed off going after an inside pitch from Michael Fulmer with two and two out in the eighth, but mum’s the word from the skipper. Same for when Leury Garcia struck out on a full count with two runners on to end the game. La Russa did, however, feel the need to give a shout-out to his hitting coaches. He said Frank Menechino and his assistant Howie Clark “don’t settle [for failure], and our guys don’t settle for it, either.” Only they do, given the fact the Sox have played .500 ball since the All-Star break. If I’m Menechino or Clark, I’d be updating my resume. My guess is La Russa has a couple of fall guys in mind if the Sox bow out early in the postseason. Me, I’d start with yesterday’s starter, Dallas Keuchel, who told reporters “we aren’t catching breaks or putting ourselves in a lot of positions to be able to get wins.” And whose fault is that, Dallas? Keuchel gave up two runs on eleven hits and a walk in five innings; that he left with the score tied was a break in itself. That La Russa thought he could pitch Jace Fry two innings was just dumb. But it is nice La Russa is admitting the obvious. Now, maybe he can do something about it, short of stepping down, posthaste. That would be asking for too much.