Good Luck, Bad Luck, Good Team, Bad Team

Bad teams have bad luck, it’s as simple as that. The White Sox are a bad team who were done in by a bad home-plate umpire. The pity of it is that Sox starter Garrett Crochet was “on,” with stuff as good as Dylan Cease ever showed. Crochet yielded two hits over five innings; unfortunately, one was a two-run home run that shouldn’t have been. That’s where luck comes in. The Sox actually jumped to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first against the visiting Twins. After striking out the first batter in the second, Crochet walked the second, only he didn’t. I mean, the at-bat pitch chart for Manuel Margot on MLB Gameday shows two of the four pitches called balls were clearly in the strike zone. The Twins should send a thank-you note to Jonathan Parra for his strike zone. By this time, Crochet had already retired two of the first four Minnesota batters on strikeouts, so it’s not as if Parra wasn’t expecting the Sox lefty to be around the plate. Carlos Santana followed Margot with a homer, which tied the game at two, where it stayed until the ninth. That’s an inning where things often go bad for bad teams, and it was no exception here. The Sox give up a run in the top of the ninth, put two runners on in the bottom but don’t score in a 3-2 loss. The only way for a team to change its luck is to get good. But how?

You Talkin' To Me?

In fact, the White Sox could and did sweep the Rays, 4-2, behind 8.1 innings from Erick Fedde; three hits apiece from Gavin Sheets and Eloy Jimenez; and two more RBIs from Andrew Benintendi. What’s not to like? Other than new announcer John Schriffen, nothing. Sorry, but I don’t like what Schriffen said after Benintendi hit his walk-off homerun Saturday: “Say it proud, for all the haters, South Side, stand up!” You talkin’ to me, John? One month of calling games doesn’t give you instant cred, my friend. Unless it’s about sucking up to the person who got you the job in the first place.

Beggars Can't Be Choosers

So, after 27 games, the White Sox finally win two games in a row and take their first series, beating the Rays 8-7 in ten innings. Be still, my beating heart. Yea for Andrew Benintendi driving in six runs, including the game-winner on a two-run walk-off homerun. Boo for manager Mickey Mouse, who insisted on starting Martin Maldonado behind the plate again; Mouse must believe in lightning striking twice. Not last night. No three-run homer again by Maldonado like on Friday. But three Rays’ baserunners did steal on him. I certainly didn’t expect to savor win no. five on the season, not after watching Andrew Vaughn butcher a play at first base with two out that set up a two-run double by Randy Arozarena (beat the runner to the bag, Andrew, don’t toss it to a pitcher late coming off the mound to cover first) and two wild pitches in the tenth inning by reliever Deivi Garcia, one of which let in the go-ahead run. You take your wins where you can get them, I guess. The question is, do the Sox take three?

What's the Plan?

White Sox win, White Sox win, a 9-4 beating of the Rays to up their record to 4-24 on the season. Whoopee! Nothing like adding 36-year old Tommy Pham to the roster or playing 37-year old Martin Maldonado enough so that the law of averages finally takes hold and Maldonado doubles his hit total on the season, to four. What’s not to like, outside of everything? Last August, Jerry Reinsdorf said he stayed in-house and hired Chris Getz as his new general manager so as to make for a quick(er) turnaround. Here’s Getz on the team website today: “This wasn't going to be a quick fix by any stretch. We had a lot of areas that need to be improved. It's my job to do that and make good decisions for the health of the organization." No matter what the owner says, apparently.

Tough Luck

Three pitches after Steve Stone described White Sox starter Mike Soroka’s first five innings of work as “brilliant” and full of “soft contact,” the homeruns started. Eduoard Julien went first, followed by Ryan Jeffers on the first pitch he saw. There would be another three Minnesota solo shots spread over the seventh and eighth innings in a 6-3 Sox loss. That’s a 3-22 record for our streaking Chi-Sox, seven losses in a row with a three-game series with the Rays coming up. Ten in a row, anyone? Mickey Mouse has taken to gibbering about how he welcomes the pressure that comes with his job and his regular conversations with Chris Getz and Jerry Reinsdorf. A cynic would be inclined to say those two could be rubbing off on Mouse in all the wrong ways. I, of course, am not a cynic. Mouse stinks all on his own. Reinsdorf wants a new stadium, with the public picking up most of the tab. The Bears want a new stadium, with the public absorbing around half the cost. The Bears unveiled plans at a news conference on Wednesday, then followed that up Thursday by choosing quarterback Caleb Williams with the first pick in the NFL draft. That’s how you win a public relations’ war, even—especially—if it means the taxpayers lose out in the end. Over that same period, the Sox dropped another two games while their manager gibbered and their owner made like the Sphynx.

Another Game, Another Loss

The White Sox dropped to a god-awful 3-21 after losing 6-3 to the Twins last night. Willi Castro, who came into the game batting .169, clubbed a three-run homer off of Garrett Crochet in the bottom of the second to lead the way. Game over, season, too. The ’62 Mets went 7-17 over their first 24 games; I checked. Sox manager Mickey Mouse is always talking about checking things. Somebody should tell him about this, preferably during his exit interview. Preferably yesterday.

Short and Sour

The White Sox lost again last night, 6-5 to the Twins on a walk-off single from Alex Kirilloff, who’d struck out in his previous four at-bats. The bullpen gave up two runs in the eighth and another two in the ninth. By all means place some of the blame on Michael Kopech—did the ball Trevor Larnach hit come down yet?—and Steven Wilson, but let’s not forget catcher Martin Maldonado. Either pitchers aren’t throwing what he’s calling; he’s calling the wrong pitches; or both. I’ll take door number three. The faith that manager Mickey Mouse has in Maldonado is nothing short of mystifying. Maldonado has two hits in 42 at-bats across sixteen games; that comes out to a .048 BA, by the way. Danny Mendick is 4-for-9 in two games since being called up, in case you want to compare apples to spent catchers. The Sox record now stands at 3-20. Go flush and learn, right, Skip?

Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before

The White Sox lost, again, 7-0 to the Twins; nineteenth time in 21 games, the worst start in team history. The Sox got shut out again, eighth time in 21 games, an MLB first since 1901. Players are starting to throw to the wrong base, a lot, leading to questions about accountability. Sox manager Mickey Mouse channeled his inner Jim Boylen before this latest loss to respond, “I truly care about our fans. But I’m not going to throw out there anything that I speak to our players as individuals or as a team. I’m just not going to do it. That’s how I choose to lead. That’s how I choose to run this club.” [story in today’s Sun-Times] But not for long, I’d say. After watching his team roll over, again, Mouse had more wisdom a la Boylen to dispense: “Today we got our ass kicked. You go home and you reflect and tomorrow is a new day. You can only learn from today and then tomorrow you start the day and that’s it. This day is over.” [story on team website today] But we won’t know what exactly has been learned because that’s private, right? Oh, well. Danny Mendick was called up from Triple-A Charlotte and had a nice game, with two hits and a plus-play at third base. And I got to watch my grandson hit off a tee while the game was on. He made better contact than Andrew Vaughn, Andrew Benintendi and most every player on the Sox roster.

Yeah, Right

Another game, another loss, another record. The White Sox dropped their third straight to the Phillies on Sunday, 8-2, to fall to 3-18 on the season, or 12-38 since the start of spring training. No Sox team has ever done worse in the first 21 games of a season. But there’s manager Mickey Mouse talking Mickey Mouse jibber. Things will get better. “All I can do is learn from what’s happening, teach, continue to have an environment in here where guys can perform and feel free to perform as opposed to creating an environment of pressure. [story in today’s Sun-Times]” Yeah, right. Take catcher Martin Maldonado, please. GM Chris Getz signed the 37-year old veteran to a one-year deal at $4.25 million. In return, Maldonado has given the Sox nothing, nada, zippo, or as close as you can get to in three dimensions. Another 0-fer at the bottom of the order leaves Maldonado with an .053 BA. That’s what 2-for-38 comes out to; do the math, which Mouse seems incapable of. Maldonado could never hit; his game was all about defense. Not anymore, at least where base-stealing’s concerned. Yesterday, four Phillies stole. On the season, Maldonado has thrown out one out of fourteen runners. Unless Sox pitchers can throw perfect games (if only they could face Sox hitters), that’s a stat for disaster. Mouse also said, “I’ve been in this game a long time, and I’ve been part of streaks like this. But I’ve been a part of the other side, as well, the 17-3s and 20-5s, and those are really fun. Why can’t we have one of those?”

Here's a Thought

It’s come to this. Last night, Clare and I were at a family function. When it was over, we got into our cars and went our separate ways. That didn’t stop her from calling. She wanted to discuss the big news: The White Sox weren’t going to get no-hit, not Saturday night at least. Though Zach Wheeler of the Phillies kept them hitless for 7.1 innings. Now comes what passes for momentum with the Sox these days—they scored some runs, five in the ninth, to be exact. Not enough to win, not when Mike Soroka puts his team in a five-run hole before he leaves in the fifth (with a 7.50 ERA, by the way). But they actually brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning. Too bad Andrew Benintendi (.167 BA) grounded out with the bases loaded. Mickey and the band go down, 9-5. As we wait for the helpless and inept to take the field today (and direct said helpless and inept from the dugout), here’s a thought: Sell. The. Team. Now.

Fiddling, II

I wonder who has a firmer grip on reality, Vladimir Putin or Jerry Reinsdorf? I want to say Putin, if only because he punishes any and all signs of dissent, which means deep down he fears what he’s doing isn’t working. Then again, you think Reinsdorf wouldn’t “disappear” his critics, myself included, if he could get away with it? I also wonder how Reinsdorf spent last night. Did he watch his Bulls lay an egg in Miami, or his White Sox put up goose eggs in Philadelphia? Each game was ugly in its own special way. The Bulls went into their play-in game against the Heat knowing Miami would be without forward Jimmy Butler, their heart and soul (and someone the Bulls packaged in a deal for Zach LaVine, by the way). No matter. Just about everybody in a Chicago uniform sleep-walked their way to a 112-91 blowout. The Heat led by as many as 29 points in the fourth quarter. This dog won’t hunt, as the saying goes; ditto this Bulls’ roster. Nobody should be untouchable. Alas, the same holds for the coaching staff. Billy Donovan may have tried to motivate his players, but, in the end, he failed. If the team deserves an overhaul, the same may hold for the head-coach position. Of course, Reinsdorf could’ve tuned into the Sox at Philadelphia, where they were shut out for the seventh time in nineteen games this season and fell to 3-16. Kudos to Reinsdorf, GM Chris Getz and manager Mickey Mouse on making possible the worst nineteen-game start in franchise history. Garrett Crochet gave up two three-run homers to Alec Bohm. Wait, I thought Getz signed Martin Maldonado for his veteran presence behind the plate. Three of the pitches Maldonado called went out of the park (Whit Merrifield doing the honors for number three). Maldonado also saw his batting average dip to .057 (2-for-35), but, hey, his OBP jumped to .108 with his second walk of the season. Mouse, finally, must be feeling the heat, because he’s starting to make general criticisms of his team (calling out players by name being something beyond his capabilities). “We have to execute the game plan,” he told reporters after the game [quote in story on team website today]. Mouse went on to say Phillies starter Spencer Turnbull “did a good job of pitching. But every day in this league, there is somebody out there that is pretty good.” Except if you’re the Sox.

Fiddling

The White Sox absolutely stink right now, to the point where Jayson Stark in The Athletic thinks they have a good shot at losing more games than the 40-120 ’62 Mets. As for the Bulls, they need to win a game on the road tonight against the Heat in order to qualify as an eight-seed in the NBA playoffs, which means their one game shy of mediocre. And what is the owner of the Sox and Bulls doing about any of this? According to a story in today’s Sun-Times, Jerry Reinsdorf is getting reading to launch a regional sports network featuring both his teams along with the Blackhawks. Not one of those teams is playing .500, folks. Maybe Reinsdorf is planning to ask for public funding to get his project off the ground. Nothing would surprise me.

An Ant-sized Step or Two

White Sox rookie righthander Jonathan Cannon—great name, that—threw five innings of one-run ball against the Royals yesterday in the first game of a doubleheader. Oh, the Sox lost (Michael Kopech, two-run homerun in the eighth), but still, pretty nice for a major-league debut. Nick Nastrini threw five innings of two-run ball in big-league debut Monday night. A fan could get excited, if not for manager Mickey Mouse. Mouse isn’t committing to another start for Cannon, in which case, why bring him up in the first place? Is there a groundswell of support for Chris Flexen and Michael Soroka I don’t know about? Cannon, Nastrini, Garrett Crochet, oh my. You’ve got three-fifths of a starting staff there. Throw in Erick Fedde and the soon-to-be promoted Mike Clevinger, and the Sox could have a serviceable rotation. That is, if Mouse can get his head out of the cheese. Nice to see Gavin Sheets drive in what proved to be the winning run in game two with a solo shot. Things are so bad for the hitting-deficient, 3-15 South Siders that Sheets was back in right field. I thought Chris Getz said his team was going to be more athletic this season. Whatever. Just give Sheets the at-bats. And Paul DeJong, five hits on the afternoon. Who knew? Everyone should put a hundred points on their batting average like that. I’m serious. If Martin Maldonado did that, he’d be hitting .161. Oh my.

Terra Incognita

Michele and I were sitting on the couch last night watching “Jeopardy!” when the conversation turned to Caitlin Clark. “I’d go see her play,” I said a little before Final Jeopardy. “But we’d have to get tickets like now,” to which my wife immediately leaped into action. Bad news travelled lightning fast: “I can’t find anything under $200 a ticket.” In all likelihood, scalpers have been buying up tickets for all the road games Clark will be playing with the Indiana Fever, and they likely started before she was drafted even. Your market economy at work. Of course, Clark isn’t going to see any of that money, which leads us to her rookie WNBA salary, in the neighborhood of $76,500. Contrast that to the NBA rookie minimum of $1.19 million. Again, your market economy at work. This disparity sucks if you’re a WNBA player, but it isn’t proof of some sort of conspiracy. The NBA has been around since 1946, the WNBA since 1996. The men “got game” because they’ve been around longer and play a longer season, 82 regular-season games to 40 for the women. Closing the pay gap will require more games and a better TV contract. Right now, the WNBA pulls in $60 million annually, as compared to roughly $2.6 billion for the NBA. Both deals expire shortly. So, things could actually get worse before they get better. Or not. Much of it depends on Clark. I won’t be paying to watch her play, but we will tune in.

Do the Limbo

How low can the White Sox go? After last night’s 2-0 loss to the Royals, they’re 2-14, with six shutout losses. The 1907 Brooklyn Superbas are the only other team in MLB history to equal that level of shutout ineptitude. The good new is, Chris Getz has no choice but to embrace a shock rebuild. The roster he’s put together is so bad, looks so incapable of winning even 50 games, that he’s being forced to make changes. Last night, it was rookie Nick Nastrini getting his first-ever start. Tonight, that honor goes to Jonathan Canon. Wait, there’s more, or soon will be. Did I mention Martin Maldonado went 0-for-2, giving him two singles in 31 at-bats this season? He gone soon, and Max Stassi, another Getz offseason catching acquisition, won’t be replacing him, not after being placed on the 60-day IL. Hello, Carlos Perez and Edgar Quero. And, hello, Colson Montgomery. Paul DeJong was supposed to be holding down shortstop until you were ready, only DeJong is hitting barely a scooch better than Maldonado, at 6-for-34, or .176, if you prefer. Fifteen strikeouts in 34 at-bats is the kind of stat that’ll get Montgomery here all the faster. And, hello, somebody in right field. Maybe you, Tommy Pham, after you play a few games in Charlotte, maybe not. Pham is a ten-year veteran, hardnosed to the point of being abrasive. Putting him in the same dugout with Eloy Jimenez and Mickey Mouse is asking for trouble. Give that mix a couple of weeks before it explodes. Then who plays right? Zach DeLoach? Wilfred Veras? Whomever.

Apocalypse Now

After losing 11-4 to the Reds Sunday afternoon, the White Sox record stands at 2-13, a franchise-worst for fifteen games into the season. What a (deserved) perfect storm. Jerry Reinsdorf wanted Mickey Mouse in the dugout and Chris Getz in the front office. Dare I ask, how’s that working out? Mouse follows up 101 losses last year with this stinker of a start, and all he can do mouth platitudes about one game at a time, having conversations, being there before…Make it stop. Oh, wait, the losing will do just that. Even a mouse can turn into a scapegoat. And Getz might want to keep his resume updated. No, check that. Reinsdorf is loathe to fire anyone who exhibits loyalty (Mouse will go because you can’t get a publicly funded stadium for a team playing .133 ball), so it might make more sense for Getz to resign before things get much worse. In the offseason, Rick Hahn’s replacement talked about speed and defense. I’m guessing he didn’t mean the Reds stealing six bases like they did yesterday or his team having another three-error game in the field. And let’s not forget Getz’s acquisition of Michael Soroka, unless you’d rather do precisely that. I mean, 6.98 ERA in 19.1 innings and all. During yesterday’s postgame show (don’t watch the game, watch the postgame), Ozzie Guillen said he can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel. I can. Mouse is gone, it’s just a matter of when, and the bargain-basement busts will start to disappear one by one to be replaced by prospects, though probably not Jake Eder, at least until he improves on that 7.27 ERA. Youth is coming, sooner than Chris Getz might want and not soon enough for the rest of us.

Bad to Worst

Why get four hits and lose when you can do it on two, the way the White Sox did Saturday, a 5-0 whitewash courtesy of the Reds? That puts the Sox record at 2-12, matching their worst fourteen-game start ever. The first time was 1968. Lucky me to have witnessed both. That’s five shutouts in twelve losses, in case you’re counting. Garrett Crochet took the loss in what should’ve been a 2-0 game, except he got squeezed, which leads us to this question: What good is catcher Martin Maldonado, if he can’t get those calls for his pitcher? It’s not like he’s there for his offense, which so far translate into 2-for-29 at the plate. Any RBIs? Surely, you jest. Yesterday or the day before (you lose count with all the losing), manager Mickey Mouse said something about flushing games like this. Yeah, I know what—and who—I’d like to flush.

Roosting Time

Oh, those chickens are coming home to roost. The White Sox went belly up at home last night to the Reds, 11-1, before a crowd of 11,337 in what passes for nice weather in Chicago in April. General manager Chris Getz told reporters before the game that he understood fans’ frustration but went on to say the team is on the right path. To where and what, I don’t know. Off the early returns and a 2-11 start, making bargain-basement finds in the pitching department is not one of Getz’s strengths. Take starter Chris Flexen, please. Flexen staggered through 2.2 innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) before manager Mickey Mouse pulled him. At least Mouse didn’t call on Bryan Shaw. He gone, and whatever will Sox announcer John Schriffen do? Schriffen said on a recent broadcast every team needs a player like Shaw. Well, now another team can have him and that 9.00 ERA of his. The Sox collected four hits last night. At this rate, the number of hits will equal or surpass the number of fans in the stands by sometime during the next homestand.

A Diference of Opinion

Clare and I had a spirited—you might even say heated—discussion Monday night concerning Caitlin Clark. It started when I used gender to say just how good I think Clark is. To which my daughter answered, “She doesn’t have to play with boys.” Point taken. But, with all due respect, there remains a certain “separate but equal” aspect to women’s sports, especially the pro ones. Women’s basketball, golf and tennis professionals generates less income than its male counterparts. Absent a revolution both political and athletic, that’s not going to change anytime soon. The gulf between the two, though, can be made to shrink. The more women do just what men do on the court and the course, the harder it will be to justify pay differentials, or inequities, if you prefer. Same equipment, same rules, cue Ethel Merman telling Howard Keel, “I can do anything you can do better.” The thing about Clark is she’s been singing that song for a while. Her three’s are three’s anyway you measure them, and her passes are to die for. She could neve play a second in the WNBA and still conduct master classes for NBA point guards: “If you guys want to be really good, be like me, a girl.” Maybe that’s what I should’ve said on Monday.

Wasted

Gavin Sheets had himself a career night in Cleveland, with two doubles and a homerun good for five RBIs. Of course, the White Sox blew a five-run lead and lost 7-6 in ten innings. The honeymoon is over for new GM Chris Getz, if he ever had one and if he ever deserved one. When he took the job last August, Getz signaled he would drink the White Sox Kool-Aid, which holds that pitching is a necessary evil that you don’t want to pay for when you can avoid it, and don’t want to when you can’t. I wonder how many times Getz caught himself burping last night. His ”big” acquisition of Erick Fedde--$15 million over two years—doesn’t look so great, or didn’t last night. The 31-year old righthander has a 0-0 record and 4.30 ERA in three starts totaling 14.2 innings. Fedde was lights-out pitching in Korea last year. Whatever could be the difference? Out in San Diego, ex-Sox starter Dylan Cease had the Cubs eating out of his hands in a Padres’ 10-2 win. Cease gave up two runs over six innings, Fedde five over five, all the runs scoring on three homers. None of the runs against Cease were earned, four of the runs against Fedde were. Since I’m mentioning ex-Sox players, Jake Burger hit a three-run homer to power the Marlins to a 5-2 win over the Yankees. Burger has fifteen RBIs on the season, the Sox have scored 29 runs so far this season. Isn’t that interesting? Back to Getz. His decision to bring back Bryan Shaw hasn’t out worked too well, either. Shaw took a one-run lead into the bottom of the tenth. Five batters later, the Guardians had themselves a walk-off win while Shaw was stuck with the loss to complement his 9.00 ERA. Darkest before the dawn? I can only hope.

The Good and the Bad

Clare called after last night’s White Sox game to ask for the winning Lotto numbers. “I mean, you called Yoan Moncada’s injury.” Yes, I did. Moncada went down with a left abductor strain in the second inning of a Sox 7-5 win over the Guardians; the injury is expected to keep Moncada sidelined for three to six months. Given this is his walk year, that could be it for Yoan Moncada on the South Side. The foundation of Rick Hahn’s rebuild appears to be pulling apart, literally. Given that Moncada, Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert Jr. have been injured so often and for so long, someone needs to ask if team trainers failed to identify problems, especially training and warming up, early on in their respective careers. Well, it’s too late now for at least one the trio. Michael Kopech, however is a different story. Kopech came in the bottom of the eighth and recorded a six-out save on 24 pitches, eighteen for strikes. Fifteen pitches were 100 mph-plus; seven at 99.1 to 99.8; one at 98.9; and one at 90.4. Four of the Cleveland hitters struck out. Dare I hope this is the real Michael Kopech? We’ll find out as soon as the Sox can take a lead into the ninth inning again.

What ’Cha Gonna’ Do?

Dr. Frankenstein created a monster. Chris Getz looks to have settled for a mere monstrosity. The new White Sox GM talked a lot about change this past offseason while trying not to say he was in rebuild mold. Instead, fans heard about the upcoming roster’s improved athleticism and defense. Oops. That defense must’ve been scared off by the eclipse in Cleveland yesterday afternoon. How often does a team register back-to-back three-error games? Well, the 2024 White Sox did on their way to a 4-0 loss at the hands of the first-place Guardians, and who was picking them for the top sport? Did I mention it was a shutout loss, the fourth in ten games, an organization first? Or that the team is now 1-9, one game better than in 1968, when they started the season 0-10? Or that the team batting average stands at .190, that after collecting all of four hits against five Cleveland pitchers? Only the Twins have a worse average in all of baseball, and that should change after they play the Sox the week after next. Speaking of change, what ’cha gonna do, Chris Getz? In case you hadn’t noticed, Andrew Vaughn, yesterday’s cleanup hitter, is batting .171. I saw Vaughn taking pitches in the strike zone as if he were hypnotized. Vaughn looks lost; so does most every hitter on the team. Leaders lead, Mickey Mouse talks. Sad that Getz can’t tell the difference.

Decisions, Decisions

Decisions have consequences, which White Sox manager Mickey Mouse discovered Sunday afternoon against the Royals. One bad decision led to another as the Sox lost 5-3 in a four-game sweep by the Royals. Mouse decided to take out starter Garrett Crochet after five innings of work with the Sox ahead, 3-2; Crochet had thrown 77 pitches. Steven Wilson came in for an uneventful sixth inning, and then, yikes. For reasons best known to himself, Mouse turned to reliever Deivi Garcia to pitch the seventh. Garcia entered the game with a 15.00 ERA and left with a 18.90 ERA. Nothing like walking the first batter, especially if you’re going to give up a homerun to the next batter. Wait, there’s more. First, manager Mouse elected to stay with Garcia, who gave up a one-out single before departing. Next, Mouse brought in Dominic Leone, who actually kept the ball in the park for a change. Too bad he couldn’t take a throw from second baseman Lenyn Sosa while trying to cover first base. In came an insurance run, as if any insurance was needed against the 27th best hitting team in baseball. Let’s do a quick review here on the 1-8 White Sox (not that anyone is saying they’re 10-28 going back to spring training). The defense was supposed to be better, only there were three errors yesterday. The catching was supposed to be better, but Martin Maldonado is 0-for-4 in throwing out attempted base stealers, not to be confused with his 2-for-18 at the plate. And base runners were going to be more aggressive, though the two stolen bases in six attempts would indicate otherwise. When he fired Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn (who hired Chris Getz in the first place, by the way), Jerry Reinsdorf admitted even he found it hard to watch the team. That was last year. What about now?

Mousetrap

Poor, poor pitiful Mickey Mouse. He can suck up with the best of them, only it won’t save his job. Going into the season, the White Sox manager made sure to praise every front-office hire made by new GM Chris Getz, while at the same time letting the world how great Getz is. It’s a time-honored strategy in the Sox organization, where owner Jerry Reinsodrf has always demanded loyalty, skill optional. Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn knew how to play the game, as did Hawk Harrelson, Don Cooper and Daryl Boston. So, Mouse can’t be blamed for copying what’s worked for so many other non-entities on the South Side. Only Mouse is a premier non-entity, as evidenced by a 1-7 record after last night’s 3-0 loss to the Royals. Mouse and company had a terrible spring at 9-20, but those games didn’t count. Maybe so, but they sure warned fans what to expect come Opening Day. For a team that’s last in the majors with a .177 BA and .248 OBP, the Sox have still found a way to be tied for fourth in hitting into double plays; they’ve got ten, eight of them coming in KC. That’s eight in three games, folks. It’s not all Getz’s fault, but enough to make him uncomfortable. No, he didn’t put together the crappy farm system or sign Andrew Benintendi. Kevin Pillar, Paul DeJong and Robbie Grossman, though, are a different story, along with Martin Maldonado, Dominic Fletcher… On top of that, the boss wants a new publicly funded stadium. A team with a .125 winning percentage isn’t exactly going to excite fans, or legislators. The Sox have to, at a minimum, look to be making an effort. Did I mention the .177 BA? Which brings us back to Mouse. Hahn, not Getz, hired him, which makes him a lame mouse, so to speak. He’ll talk about things turning around when Eloy Jimenez and Luis Robert Jr. get back, as if wishing will make it so. The fact is, those two are injury-prone; if I’m not mistaken, I saw a graphic on the postgame show listing sixteen trips Robert has taken to the IL since he came up in 2020. Holy Mickey Mantle (if only). And Yoan Moncada is just a sneeze away from joining him. The more the Sox lose, the quicker the fan base will be turned off, the harder it will be for Reinsdorf to get his new stadium. Oh, he can threaten to move alright, but that would be both ugly and hard. Nashville has its own ownership group looking for an expansion team. As ever in the South, outsiders aren’t exactly welcome. And how many owners want to trade the third-largest TV market for the 26th? This isn’t 1988, or 1994. Reinsdorf is probably more isolated in baseball circles than at any other time since he bought the team in 1981. Put it all together, and Mouse is a marked mouse. The only question is when, not if, he goes. I can definitely see early June. Bye-bye.

Boo-hoo

When it rains, it pours, and the White Sox might want to get in touch with Noah, if he hasn’t already floated away. The Sox alternated losing big in Kansas City (10-1, Thursday night) with losing close last night, 2-1. They also lost Luis Robert Jr. to a hip flexor. Before the game, Eloy Jimenez went on the IL with an abductor strain, so I figure he’ll have company today or tomorrow with Robert joining him. The blame here falls on ex-GM Rick Hahn. It was obvious early-on that Jimenez was injury-prone; this will be something along the lines of his sixth visit on the IL. What kind of conditioning program did Hahn come up with to combat the problem? If there was none, the Sox should’ve moved to trade Eloy ASAP. Ditto Robert. It’s worth noting Hahn also wasted a first-round draft pick on now-Cub Nick Madrigal, who could keep a condo on the Il for all the times he’s been on it between both Chicago teams. As for Yoan Moncada, another injury-prone piece of the Hahn rebuild, I’m wondering if he’s changed his conditioning routine in order to stay healthy and generate nice stats in this, his walk year. Speaking of general managers, Chris Getz hasn’t exactly cloaked himself in glory. Consider that Paul DeJong has struck out ten times in 14 at-bats, and Dominic Fletcher, the purported answer to the problem that is right field, is batting a less-than robust .125, although that is 125 points higher than Martin Maldonado, who’s started the season 0-for-13. Andrew Benintendi and his .107 BA, though, is another Hahn mistake. Speaking of mistakes, take manager Mickey Mouse, please. How long until Getz pulls the plug on one of the worst hires in recent team history? Before or after they call up Danny Mendick, who’s now pitched twice for Charlotte? One last question: When both teams are 1-6, which one qualifies as Triple-A?

Behold

Behold the rebuilt and rebuilding White Sox, able to stay close late into a game and then fall apart, taking a 2-1 score with nobody on and one out and proceeding to give up eight runs in a 10-1 debacle on the road in Kansas City. The Sox are supposed to be smarter this year, but you’d never know it from right fielder Dominic Fletcher throwing to the wrong base—I won’t mention Fletcher’s started the season 1-for-15—and shortstop Braden Shewmake letting a groundball go through his legs. Giving up eight runs says you’re bad, and five of them being unearned says you’re not too sharp in the field. I should note here that Fletcher wasn’t charged with an error anymore than first baseman Andrew Vaughn was when he dropped a catchable foul popup. Manager Mickey Mouse says he’s OK with physical errors but not the mental ones. In which case, how can he be OK with himself? For example, last night marked the fourth time Mouse’s used reliever Deivi Garcia in six games this season. Garcia now has given up seven runs (five earned) in his last two appearances, totaling one inning of work. I don’t see what Mouse sees. Ditto Dominic Leone, who followed Garcia to pour more gas on the fire. In four games so far this season, Leone has given up six runs (three earned) in just 2.1 innings of work. And guess who’s given up three, count ’em, three gopher balls? Yup, Leone. Mouse said in his postgame squeak that they’d clean things up, to which commentator Ozzie Guillen noted bad baseball doesn’t resemble a dirty floor that you can mop clean. Love that Ozzie. Meanwhile, down on the farm, Triple-A Charlotte has gotten off to a 1-5 start. Last night, they lost to Norfolk 9-8, which was a whole lot better than the night before, when they fell to the Tides by a score of 26-11. Heston Kjerstad, whom the parent Orioles weren’t willing to part with in any trade for Dylan Cease, had ten RBIs. So it goes for an organization rotting from the head down.

She Got Game

If everything goes according to plan, my second grandchild, and first granddaughter, will arrive early in Caitlin Clark’s WNBA rookie season. The longer Clark plays, the more of an impression she’ll make on little Sasha (part of the Rumpelstiltskin guessing game at our house). The Clark phenomenon of the past two college seasons has been…phenomenal. I basically don’t watch women’s basketball, but her I’ll watch. The “Pistol” Pete Maravich comparisons strike me as spot-on, other than Clark’s socks don’t bag around the ankle. I know that girls don’t have to play with boys, or women athletes compete against their male counterparts. But I’d like to see Clark in a co-ed pickup game. Two regrets, starting with the fact she won’t be playing for the Sky; Chicago could use a new, big sports’ figure. Second, if only Clark had early on decided to hit a ball instead of shoot one. Consider the possibilities. With softball, we’d get to see if talent plus personality could revive the pro ranks, though I doubt it. Part of what makes it fun to watch Clark play is reading her face. Stick that face in a batting helmet with a cage attached, and you can’t do that. Now, let’s say the softball star Clark hit over .500 for her college career with a ridiculous number of RBIs and homeruns, and there’s no pro league. Then what? Baseball has tryouts for a reason. A guy can dream, can’t he?

Glimmers

When your daughter calls to say, “We wouldn’t have played softball in this kind of weather,” you know it’s bad, that Chicago mix of wet and cold that comes in March and April. And still the White Sox played a game last night against the Braves. Not only that, they won, 3-2, behind seven innings of one-run ball by Garrett Crochet. The offense, such as it was, consisted of two bloop-RBI singles from Gavin Sheets and Andrew Vaughn plus a pinch-hit homerun by Paul DeJong. Wow, talk about burning ears for that bunch. Crochet was even better than in his first start, also a one-run effort; that extra inning can make all the difference. I don’t want to get my hopes up too much, but the lefthander threw only 93 pitches, giving up three hits and a walk to go with eight strikeouts. Daddy like. This being the White Sox and Michael Kopech being Michael Kopech, the ninth inning was anything but smooth. Kopech gave up a homer, a single and a walk before getting around to recording his first career save. Oh, and he needed 39 pitches to go 1.2 innings. Still, he did it. I take my glimmers of hope where I can find them.

The Bad, the Bad and the Ugly

Per my prediction, the Braves didn’t play down to the level of the competition yesterday, rolling to a 9-0 win against Mickey and the boys. Good thing they called the game after eight innings, or who knows what the final score might have been. There’s no there here with this team. Luis Robert Jr. hits two homeruns on Saturday, then immediately goes into an 0-for-9 slide, with seven strikeouts. Apparently, until Sunday, Robert had gone through life without once ever encountering a breaking ball. Tip to Luis—you can’t make good contact swinging off your front foot, with only one hand on the bat. Did I mention something about waiting for Godot in relation to Eloy Jimenez? If not, I am, while adding Andrew Vaughn to the list. As for Paul DeJong, whatever he had looks to be long gone, judging by his three strikeouts yesterday, two of them coming on six pitches. Gavin Sheets, paging Gavin Sheets. I’d talk about Sox pitching, if only they had some. When every starter in your rotation is a new guy, you’re in trouble. When you bring back Mike Clevinger, somebody the 29 other teams have taken a pass on, you’re in trouble. When you think Rick Hahn is doing a good job as GM and Tony La Russa is a great (re-)hire, you’re not so much in trouble as getting what you so richly deserve. Your 2024 Chicago White Sox, 0-4 or 9-24. Same difference.

Three Down, 98-Plus to Go

Another game, another loss for Mickey Mouse and Company. On Easter Sunday, it was 3-2, the third straight one-run loss to the Tigers, but who’s counting? I guess I am. Including spring training, the Sox record now stands at 9-23, or 0-3 for the games that count. In his postgame squeak-conference with reporters, Mouse called the losses “heartbreakers.” As ever, not really. Detroit simply played down to the opposition. Atlanta comes to town next, and they’re too disciplined to let up against a bad team, which any team managed by the likes of Mickey Mouse is by definition. Did I mention Eloy Jimenez got his first injury of the season out of the way? Yup, running out one of the interminable groundballs he hits, this one in the bottom of the sixth. Left abductor, tests to follow. No need to bother. Can’t field, can’t stay healthy, shouldn’t be playing even for a team this bad.