Not Cruel But Bad

Another game, another loss, nine out of the last ten. The White Sox are putting on clinic for anyone interested in futility. Yesterday afternoon, they fell to the Royals, 5-2, in ten innings. Manager Tony LaRussa thought it would be a good idea to pitch Aaron Bummer for two innings; it wasn’t. LaRussa should’ve been happy to get a scoreless inning out of Bummer, one that featured a hit-by-pitch and double play in the ninth inning. But, No, out went the lefty for the tenth inning, with that pesky ghost runner already on second base. The lefthander Bummer walking lefthanded-hitting Andrew Benintendi didn’t come as a shock, at least to me, or the switch-hitting Carlos Santana; Bummer has a WHIP of 2.22 on the season. He also has incredible stuff, as seen by the thirteen strikeouts in 7.2 innings. Did I mention his WHIP? With the bases loaded and two out in the tenth, Bummer threw a pitch that got by catcher Reese McGuire; in McGuire’s defense, he was set up for a pitch more down and away than up, which was where Bummer put it. Bummer then yielded an opposite-field single to lefthanded-hitting Kyle Isbel, who had to be happy to get his first two RBIs of the season. LaRussa told reporters after the game, “It is cruel, I think. You have bases loaded, two outs, lefty against lefty, and you think, ‘Wow, we get this out, and we can score a run and win.’ All of a sudden, there’s three on the board. [today’s Trib]” Wow, what a load of crap. I mean, where’s the agency here? How did the bases get loaded, Tony? Did the base troll come and do it? Runs scored because the pitcher and catcher failed to do their jobs. The tenth inning was made possible because you decided to send Bummer out there for another inning. By my count, the Sox are carrying fifteen (!) pitchers, and you went with Bummer (did I mention his WHIP?) in the tenth, even though that meant he’d be going out there with a runner on second base already. Wow, bad gamble. As ever, LaRussa feels the need to protect a player. He talked about Bummer pressing and needing to breathe but nothing on his WHIP. Because it’s still April, I won’t say how this looks like a perfect storm building—no accountability, no fire from the guy in charge, no sense of urgency. But I will start saying so come Sunday, when the calendar turns to May. This is how bad the Sox are right now. They dropped three in a row to the Guardians, who have gone on to lose seven in a row, the last four to the Angels. Guess who comes calling to the mall today? Mike Trout and company.