White Sox: The Agony Continued Monday Night
Jun 23, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; The Orioles defeated the White Sox 6-4. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
Yes, this is yet another angst-filled piece about the state of the White Sox. No, if you want to feel better about things, this is not the piece for you. I know, I know, “accentuate the positive” and all that, but being realistic seems to me the best approach to matters, and I am a “it does not matter if it is half-empty or half-full, it just matters what is in the stuff that is in the glass” kind of guy. And bitter, never forget the bitterness.
Despite more heroics from the above-pictured Jose Abreu, the White Sox lost their fifth straight game to start their road trip. While the end result resembled what came before, the way the White Sox reached their bitter end in Baltimore on Monday was different than the four-game misery they experienced in Minneapolis. Monday saw the Sox bullpen implode again, but this time with closer Ronald Belisario igniting in spectacular fashion, surrendering a walk-off three-run home run to Chris Davis.
Given Belisario’s extreme groundball tendencies, that counts as an impressive feat for both participants in that final plate appearance, though far be it from me to try to convince fans of the South Siders they should look at it as an interesting phenomenon defying normal expectations rather than an incredibly irritating reminder that it is probably absolutely time for the White Sox to enter the trade market as sellers.
Lest we simply chalk this loss up to Belisario being the wrong man to close games for the Sox, Robin Ventura’s response to questions about Belisario’s continued viability as the closer for this team tells us all we need to know about his (lack of) confidence in the rest of the bullpen.
What now for the Sox? As indicated in a previous paragraph–and previous post–they need to sell. Who should be on the block? Well, Southside Showdown editor Stephen Forsha addressed that question earlier today, and he did it better than I can, with grace and solid prose, so you should give the link a click and read what he had to say about Adam Dunn, Alexei Ramirez, Gordon Beckham, Conor Gillaspie, and Chris Sale (though Mr. Forsha does not advocate trading Sale but rather building the rotation around him).
And that is about all I can say this afternoon without resorting to extreme sarcasm. I wish that were not the case, but almost any response I have regarding the White Sox right now comes with sarcasm firmly attached, probably as a defense mechanism aimed at preserving my identity’s integrity.
Yes, I should probably seek professional help for that, but I get the feeling if everyone with feelings of this sort did so we would collectively drive the price of therapy far enough upwards that those with a real need for such professional help–those who have suffered profound and life-threatening traumas–would not be able to afford their treatment, and I don’t want to be responsible for that. Not just yet, but the rest of the summer still remains.
It turns out that misery indeed loves company, so reading this piece made me feel a little better, though not so much about the ballclub but more about my own state of mind.
One last thing. As much as I like the Twin Cities, I think Chicago to Minneapolis air connections need severing given the unpleasantness that characterizes the Sox’s time spent playing the Twins, who, while 86-124 against all non-White Sox opponents since the start of 2013, are somehow 16-10 against the Sox as per Twins blogger, podcaster and all-around fascinatingly detached raconteur Aaron Gleeman.