Mission Accomplished

Monday night, the White Sox bullpen nearly blew a nine-run lead. Last night, they gave away a 10-4 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. Braves 11 Sox 10. After the game, manager New-Mickey Venable blamed himself. “It’s my job to put these guys in position to succeed and just haven’t been able to do it the last two nights. So that’s on me,” Venable told reporters. “[I have to] Reflect on what we could have done better from my end.” [quote in today’s story on team website] Yeah, reflect as in, why am I saddled with these guys? Consider: Tyler Gilbert, .1 inning, two earned runs on two hits; Elvis Peguero, two earned runs on a hit and two walks; Tyler Alexander, .2 innings, two earned runs on two hits and two walks. Maybe pitching coach Ethan Katz could remind his charges there’s not defending a walk. Or GM Chris Getz might consider calling up some of those promising relievers he seems to be sitting on. I won’t hold my breath. On a positive note, Kyle Teel continued his tear, with a double and homerun to go with four RBIs while Miguel Vargas chipped in with two hits, a walk and three runs scored. Core-wise, Brooks Baldwin; Chase Meidroth; Edgar Quero; and Lenyn Sosa each had a hit and a run, with Sosa also tallying an RBI. The enigma known as Luis Robert Jr. had himself a bases-clearing double good for three RBIs. But what difference does it make if you’re content with a mediocre—or worse—bullpen? A loss is a loss.