No More Mr. Nice Guy

White Sox manager Tony La Russa has some advice for his players, assuming they can exert themselves enough to listen. “What you do is you get angry,” La Russa told reporters after his team dropped its third straight game in Toronto, 8-3, to the Blue Jays. “You don’t get frustrated, you don’t get discouraged. You don’t pout.” You get angry enough to do something about it, according to our HOF manager quoted in today’s Sun-Times. According to FanGraphs, catcher Yasmani Grandal is the worst offensive player in baseball, as evidenced by his taking a called third strike with the baes loaded to end the first inning. Grandal is batting .160 and is signed through next season. General manager Rick Hahn says Sox hitters will live up to the stats on the back of their baseball cards by season’s end. Grandal may need an updated card before then. The Sox cut the lead to one run in the eighth inning, when La Russa brought in Reynaldo Lopez. Here’s what Lopez did: double; walk; double; hit-by-pitch. Two runs had scored by the time La Russa pulled Lopez for Aaron Bummer. That was good for another two runs, all charged to Lopez. Anybody angry? Maybe Andrew Vaughn, back to batting seventh. Or Danny Mendick, benched despite four hits in his last two games? Nothing like pairing Leury Garcia at short with Josh Harrison, who went 0-for-3, to get his BA down to .167. Something’s got to give here, especially with the next six games against the Rays and Dodgers. The Sox could be nine games under .500 by this time next week. Then what? I see the Phillies fired Joe Girardi today. Fire the manager. Now, there’s a thought. But knowing Jerry Reinsdorf, the Sox will keep La Russa and do a “white flag” trade instead. Oh, well.