Pretending

The White Sox pretended they were an above-.500 team in Colorado yesterday all the way to the ninth inning. Then reality intruded. Of course, there were bad signs before that, as you’d expect with a Tony La Russa team, like Leury Garcia getting picked off of third base in the sixth inning, on ball four to Yoan Moncada. If Garcia had a better handle on how the game of baseball is played, that would’ve meant bases loaded with two outs. Instead, it ended the inning. Me, I’m the manager, Garcia is done for the day. But you know La Russa had him back out there, one-two-three. And you know La Russa will probably go to his grave thinking Jose Ruiz can pitch a scoreless inning. News flash—he can’t, which he proved again in the seventh inning, turning a two-run lead into a one-run game. And let’s not forget Lucas “it’s the mechanics” Giolito, who gave up three runs in the first inning before waking up. Three runs in five innings isn’t bad, it’s mediocre. For Giolito these days, it’s Cy Young stuff. Did I mention Jimmy Lambert? He pitched in both games at Coors Field and did pretty good, getting a double play on two pitches Tuesday night and a popup on one pitch to end the eighth yesterday. There were two runners on, by the way. Both times, Lambert could’ve gone out and pitched another inning, and, both times that didn’t happen. Instead, La Russa used Kendall Graveman to try and get the save yesterday. Bad move, sort of like bringing in Ruiz, only worse. Graveman walked the first two batters on nine pitches; got two strikes and a foul ball before walking the third batter; and yielded the game-winning single on the first pitch to the fourth batter. That’s five strikes in seventeen pitches thrown, for you fans keeping track out there. And what does Graveman say after the game? Why, “I need to challenge the strike zone a little better.” Ya think? How ’bout a whole lot better. How ’bout you apologize to the stars and back for your piss-poor effort? Not that La Russa would expect it, no sirree. Off in la-la land where he spends much if not most of his time, La Russa said after the game, “We did a lot of things to stay in that game defensively, offensively. We just couldn't get through the last of the ninth.” [team website today] Get through? Your guys choked, and you mismanaged, yet again. Garcia plays and Lambert sits instead of seeing what he could do in the ninth? That’s bonehead managing, Skipper. Some accountability. This is what happens when a billionaire owner thinks he’s the smartest guy in all of baseball. Not by a longshot.