Unacceptable

White Sox manager Vibes Venable called a bullpen game Sunday to give Sean Burke an extra day of rest. And how did Burke respond last night against the visiting Pirates? The first seven (!) batters did this in the top of the first: double; walk; double; double; double; single; single. And, just like that, it was 5-0. Wait, there’s more. Here’s Burke in the second inning: single; double; strikeout; walk; hook. In all, the righthander went 1.1 innings while getting smacked around for seven runs on eight hits—half of them doubles—and two walks. How do you say, unacceptable? Make sure you include Munetaka Murakami along the way. The now-in-freefall first baseman went 0-for-4 with, you guessed it, four strikeouts. Colson Montgomery’s 0-for-4 looked stellar in comparison, with just one strikeout and an RBI. And this is how the Sox expect to make the postseason? Good luck, given how the starters have been and way too much of the lineup. Andrew Benintendi had two doubles, and Kyle Teel added two hits, including his second homerun in as many games. But they can’t do it alone. Maybe if the manager stopped holding everyone’s hand and actually challenged his players things would come around. It certainly couldn’t hurt to try.