More of the Same, and Not

Another game, another one-run loss courtesy of the bullpen. Yet more proof that, outside of Korey Lee and Luis Robert Jr., The White Sox have no position players of consequence or trade value. Take Paul DeJong, please. Pitching, though, is a different story, one any fan from the 1960s is familiar with. Last night, rookie Jonathan Cannon made his fourth, and best, start of the season, throwing seven innings of one-run ball. Without Robert clubbing a pinch-hit homerun in the ninth, Cannon would’ve lost, 1-0, but the hitting heroics got the 23-year old righty off the hook while delaying the inevitable by an inning. Mariners 2-1 in ten. Cannon, Garrett Crochet and Drew Thorpe could be the foundation of a top-notch rotation. Throw in number-two prospect 20-year old lefty Noah Schultz, all 6’9” of him, and there might be cause for hope, in an Eddie Stanky sort of way. Right now, that sounds awful good to me.

Slipping into Darkness

God, this is hard. The Chicago sports media hates White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, for good reason, I might add. But the abysmal play of his team allows the media to go full out in pushing extreme scenarios—Mickey Mouse stays as manager all year, Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. get traded or should get traded at the deadline. And now we have rookie starting pitcher Drew Thorpe. Who had himself a solid debut, going five innings, yielding two runs (one earned). The 23-year old righty gave up three hits and two walks while striking out four. I read somewhere that Thorpe has a violent windup that doesn’t produce an upper-90s’ fastball. What I saw was someone who could locate the ball in the strike zone and looked awfully confident out there. Thorpe left with a 3-2 lead; it should’ve been 3-1, not that it mattered. Nope, the Sox bullpen gave up three runs in the seventh for a 4-3 loss and 17-51 record on the season. John Brebbia got the loss. Why is he even pitching? Brebbia has appeared in 27 games. His 24 innings pitched translates into an 0-4 record and 6.38 ERA. He’s appeared in six games in June, last night being the only time this month he’s given up a run. All those scoreless appearances and he still has an ERA well over six. Again, why is he pitching? And why is Mouse managing? I know he’s not really managing, but, still, it’s a title of some importance. Here’s what he told reporters after the game: “It was a good ballgame, but this is probably game No. 25 where we’ve had the lead [and lost]. We’ve got to close these games out. We’ve got to find ways to do it.” [quote in story today on team website] A real manager would’ve done that long ago. And I try not to despair.

Participation Trophies

Last night in Seattle, the White Sox bullpen needed six outs to preserve a 4-1 gem by Erick Fedde. Instead, Michael Kopech and Jordan Leasure gave up a combined seven runs, capped by a grand-slam walk-off from Cal Raleigh off of Leasure. This is why the Sox record stands at an MLB-worst 17-50. At this point in their season, the ’62 Mets were 19-48. And what does manager Mickey Mouse say after the game about Kopech and Leasure? “Those two guys have battled for us all year. They’ve taken the ball in tough situations. Those guys are always pitching leverage, and that’s the job when you’re pitching on the back end.” [quote in story today on team website] I must’ve been watching a different game. This just in—MLB announces the Cy Young Award will be based on participation rather than performance. I mean, that’s how Mouse would have it, yes?

Dumb and Dumber

Dumb: White Sox play-by-play announcer John Schriffen not knowing the social-media campaign by fans to elect catcher Martin Maldonado to the All-Star team is a joke. Dumber: Manager Mickey Mouse continuing to play Maldonado. Yesterday, in the sixth inning of a tied game with the Red Sox, Boston walked Lenyn Sosa (!!) to get to Maldonado, who flied out. Then, in the bottom of the eighth with an insurance run on third base (after Sosa doubled and stole!!!), Mouse again let Maldonado bat, resulting in a strikeout and a missed opportunity that turned into a 6-4 loss in ten innings. After the game, Mouse mounted a vigorous defense of Maldonado, whose value apparently can’t be measured by a .071 BA (7-for-99 and 1-for-46 over his last fifteen games). The Red Sox stole three bases on Maldonado, by the way, which gives him a six percent caught-stealing rate (2-for-31). Go, defense. Maybe someone should tell Shcriffen and/or Mouse about Upside Down Day, when they turn the standings upside down to determine the postseason. Sox in first place!

I Say Hello...

Either out of nihilism or sadism, Chicago sportswriters keep talking about who the White Sox are likely to trade, Garrett Crochet and/or Luis Robert Jr. And I can see one or both of them going. But the dark horse candidate in my book is Gavin Sheets, hero of yesterday 6-1 win over the Red Sox. Sheets went 3-for-4 with a grand slam. On the season, the lefthanded-hitting first baseman/right fielder/DH is batting .246 with seven homeruns and 27 RBIs, but there’s more to him than that, a .348 on-base percentage in particular. Sheets has 28 walks in 191 at-bats vs. 38 strikeouts. Maybe you can teach patience at the plate and knowledge of the strike zone, maybe not. But it looks like the son of Larry Sheets has both. The short porch in right at Yankee Stadium suggests one possible destination. Even if the Yankees were to overpay for him, Sheets should stick around. He’s lefthanded, camera-friendly and dedicated to the point of making his tight-end body into an adequate outfielder; he also kept his cool during spring training, when people kept saying he’d be sent down because he still had an option left. Personally, I’d keep Sheets, Crochet and Robert while building a team around them. But what do I know?

Ending(s)

All bad things must come to an end, including fourteen-game losing streaks. White Sox 7 Red Sox 2. Garrett Crochet was pretty much unhittable over six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks against ten strikeouts. Extension, please. Clare texted while we were watching Jeopardy! to pass along that Mark Buehrle was in the broadcast booth, so I would know when to slow down TIVO and unmute the sound when he came on. As my daughter said later, sad. Buehrle said he was happy away from baseball and didn’t much follow it, instead busying himself with handyman jobs. He also let it be known that he went to the front office after the Marlins made him an offer following the 2011 season and offered to re-sign for less. Thanks but no thanks, Jerry Reinsdorf and Kenny Williams said in effect. Put aside, if you can, the pairing of Buehrle and a young Chris Sale in the same rotation and consider what the Sox did. At age 32, Buehrle pitched four more seasons, going 53-41. In 2016, his last season, he went 15-8 for the Blue Jays with four complete games, a shutout and 198.2 innings pitched. He was 36. The Sox thought they could do better with lefty John Danks, six years Buehrle’s junior. Over the next five seasons, Danks went 25-48, with ERAs between 4.71 and 7.25. Dumb bet, that. Buehrle was in the perfect situation in Chicago, close enough to his home in Missouri (interestingly, he didn’t sign with the Cardinals or Royals when he had the chance) and comfortable to the point of winning 161 games on the South Side. That includes a no-hitter and a perfect game. But the White Sox were in the midst of transitions, from Ozzie Guillen to Robin Ventura, Buehrle to Danks. Stupid is as stupid does.

Fourteen and Counting

After watching his team lose for their fourteenth straight game (by a fitting score of 14-2 to the visiting Red Sox), White Sox manager Mickey Mouse told reporters, “You know, we battled” against Boston starter Tanner Houck, who had a no-hitter through five. We must’ve been watching different games. How does scoring two runs on four hits and a walk constitute battling in any sense of the term? How does giving up fourteen runs—all earned—on 24 hits constitute battling in any sense of the term? Mouse has to be kidding, some combination of himself, reporters and fans. The Sox are 1-17 in their last eighteen games. That’s a direct reflection on Mouse, who is a direct reflection on owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Things are so bad as to be exciting.