Sliding Back into…

Nothing cures delusions of progress like a 13-3 humiliation, which was what happened to the White Sox yesterday at Wrigley Field. Outside of Miguel Vargas going 4-for-4 with two homeruns, there was precious little evidence of a major league team at work. And maybe starter Shane Smith, who gave up six runs in five innings and still saw his ERA go down to 2.05. In other words, somebody caused five unearned runs to score. That would be you, catcher Matt Thaiss. In the bottom of the second, Thaiss had two chances to record outs at the plate; the first time he missed the tag, the second time he dropped the throw. Hold onto the ball and five runs don’t score. Not to harp, but if Edgar Quero is the or one of the catchers of the future, Thaiss really shouldn’t be spending all that much time behind the plate, especially with a .213 BA. But what do I know? Me, I’m looking to build a bullpen and checking on any talent in the minors. Chris Getz, he’s looking for warm bodies. Four pitchers followed Smith, and not one of them was developed by the Sox. In fact two, Miguel Castro and Yoendrys Gomez, were acquired last week in separate transactions. Castro and Gomez allowed a combined five runs to score. Chase Meidroth managed two hits, and Quero got one from the DH spot. On a day that saw three homeruns, Tim Elko sat so Thaiss could catch. New-Mickey Mouse is as New-Mickey Mouse does.