Some Questions

Some questions are in order following the White Sox losing 11-2 to the visiting Rangers last night. We’ll start with pitching. Do Luis Castillo and Jose Urquidy have anything left in the tank as starters? Castillo has a 5.89 ERA in four starts since he came over from the Mariners while Urquidy, who lasted a mere three innings last night, clocks in at 5.62. Meanwhile, David Sandlin and Drew Thorpe languish in Triple-A. Now, let’s switch over to hitting. Sam Antonacci is batting .136 over his last seven games, .204 over his last fifteen and .227 over his last 30. I’m hopeful the 23-year old rookie can snap out of it a la Tristan Peters, who homered in his third straight game. Peters, who couldn’t hit a lick after the All-Star Game, is hitting .317 with four homeruns over his last fifteen games. If only Munetaka Murakami and Colson Montgomery demonstrated the same ability to bounce back. Murakami is batting .107 over his last seven games, .148 over his last fifteen. Montgomery, for what it’s worth, is consistent, hitting .192 over his last seven and .190 over fifteen, and that’s an improvement over .171 over his last 30 games. Will they ever produce on a consistent basis? Or for that matter, will Vibes Venable manage like a manager should? Recapping the box score in postgame comments hardly qualifies. Making decisions and motivating players does.