On the One Hand...

Yesterday, I killed time before the White Sox home opener by leafing through my 2022 Lindy’s and Athlon’s. One magazine has the Sox in the World Series, the other doesn’t. I can see their point. Focus on center fielder Luis Robert, and it’s get your tickets early. Robert saved two runs on a catch in the third inning; put the Sox ahead in the sixth with his first homerun of the season; and set up what proved to be the winning run in the eighth by walking on a full count before stealing two bases and scoring on a groundout. A-plus, Mr. Robert. Ah, but the pitching. Emergency starter Vince Velasquez needed 62 pitches to get through four innings, which was actually a good deal better than Aaron “strap on your seat belts” Bummer, who threw twenty pitches to record two outs—while giving up his customary two walks—in the seventh. At this rate, Bummer will have a dead arm by the middle of May, if not sooner. And let’s not forget the head-scratching performance turned in by closer Liam Hendriks—one inning, a run on three hits, and three strikeouts. For anyone out there counting, it took Hendriks 25 pitches to record his first save of the season. One game at a time, right? Only a 3-2 contest shouldn’t take 3:22 to play. An opening-day crowd may not mind, or a fan base expecting to contend for a championship, but this is baseball at a snail’s pace. My grandson has a world to explore with only so much time to do it in. You can’t expect him to sit through eight pitching changes and a bunch of mound visits.