Getting Better

This is how I knew my daughter was sick over the weekend—Jake Burger went on a tear, and not did Clare call to talk about it. Damn’ virus. And this is how I knew she was feeling better last night—she called during the sixth inning of the White Sox 4-0 win over the Dodgers, all four runs coming then. And, yes, Burger was part of it again, with an RBI double against David Price, who must be the most expensive middle reliever in baseball history. We also talked about Yoan Moncada, whose 1-for-3 night pushed his average up to .143. “How long until this affects the team? It doesn’t even look like he’s trying, but he keeps on playing.” I suggested she remember travel ball, where certain players were protected by coaches who also happened to be their fathers. No need to call Ancestry.com, but it’s something like that with Moncada and Tony La Russa, with general manager Rick Hahn lurking in the background to make sure La Russa keeps putting Moncada’s name down on the lineup card. It's fascinating to watch Michael Kopech pitch as he copes with his personal demons, those being focus and walks. I’ve never seen a pitcher both so dominant over stretches and so prone to losing it all at once. There were a few times last night against LA where I thought it was going to happen again, with Kopech going to three balls on six batters. All that resulted in one walk. The sole Dodgers’ hit against Kopech in six innings came on an 0-2 count. Six innings of shutout ball lowered the righty’s ERA to 1.94 on the season, not that he cares to know. James Fegan of The Athletic tweeted that Kopech was upset with himself “for losing focus for the single and the walk he allowed” on the night. Don’t let the good be the enemy of the perfect, my friend.