This may come as somewhat of a shock, but the White Sox lost again Friday night. I know, who could’ve seen it coming that the team that has looked like a dumpster fire since late August would once again do everything possible to lose a game.
I don’t even know how to feel, but I do know I feel numb. Just another game where the White Sox gave false hope, had plenty of opportunities to grab the win, and instead tripped over their own feet and got caught with their pants around their ankles.
It’s usually a great sign to get a homer on the first pitch of the game, which Chase Meidroth did later than usual thanks to a 70-minute “rain delay” to start the game. That was followed by a Randal Grichuk double, six total bases on three pitches that got fans hopeful that the team wouldn’t completely choke. Unfortunately, the starting burst was followed by a weak ground out and two awful at-bats that ended in strikeouts.
Say I’m a pessimist or “not a real fan,” I don’t care; anybody that’s been following this team lately with a pulse knew what kind of game we were in store for. It was at that time I started checking the score of the Cleveland Guardians, game knowing what was bound to happen. Like a fool who believed in the White Sox, I also believed that maybe the Guardians wouldn’t pull a win out of their hat late.
As we kept our eyes on the Cleveland score, the White Sox immediately gave back a run in the first. They never like holding a lead for long, and what are the White Sox if not predictable?
Then they gave up a run in the second. Then they gave up another run in the third. Then they gave up another run in the fourth. Anthony “Kiss of Death” Kay strikes again, ladies and gentlemen.
Sure they were down 3-2 in the fifth, but they had the bases loaded! Surely they have to come through in the clutch at some point right?!
Wrong again.
Tristan Peters pinch-hit for Brenton Doyle and looked so bad Will Venable might as well have had himself suit up and take a few pitches. Seriously, this team is hitting less than .200 this month. Even crazier, the White Sox have one sacrifice fly in their last 50 opportunities, back on August 22 against the New York Mets.
It was right at that time that Sox fans everywhere probably scoreboard-watched to see that the Guardians mounted a late comeback to escape with another victory. I would go over the rest of the White Sox game but it just followed the same script it has for the last few weeks, so why bother? The White Sox had some inconsequential hits, immediately failed when anyone got into scoring position, and the opposing team coasted to a win. Congrats, I just described each loss since the All-Star break, ho-hum.
It’s so predictable that I legitimately typed up the first half of the previous paragraph, saw they had the bases loaded with one out and didn’t bat an eye returning to this writeup knowing they’d find a way to blow it. Would it shock you to hear that the White Sox immediately struck out on an awful pitch and then flew out to score zero runs in another prime opportunity?
I don’t even know if mad is the term to describe the feelings towards the White Sox right now. It’s more of a disbelief than anything else. For the last two weeks or so, the same exact scenario has played out every day. It’s like a baseball version of “Groundhog Day,” except there’s no happy ending.
The one positive from this game was that the White Sox didn’t give too much false hope. The bullpen *cough cough* Trevor Richards *cough* melted down faster than Bobby Knight in the 1980s.
The White Sox still hold a lead in the division and are in a playoff spot right now, but just one glance at our game thread tells you that confidence is as low as possible for a team in first place, being chase by another mediocrity. Hopefully the White Sox can still find a way to sneak into the playoffs, one way or another. At this point, however, I don’t know who they’re going to be able to beat to get in there. At least we have the weekend?
MVP
Chase Meidroth: 2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, BB, K
Runners-Up
Randal Grichuk: 2-for-4, 2B, K
Jake Rogers: 0-for-0, 2 BB, willing to shave his walrus stache in order to get the White Sox out of their hirsute slump
Kyle Teel: 2-for-2
Cold Cat
Trevor Richards: 2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 2 K
Runners-Up
Colson Montgomery: 0-for-4, BB, 3 K
Braden Montgomery: 0-for-4
Anthony Kay: 4 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, BB, 2 K, LOSS (9-9)
Miguel Vargas: 1-for-5, SB, crazy hustle on a missed foul pop which at least indicated some heart
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