White Sox: A Day That Will Live in Infamy?

Excuse the exaggeration, but hey, it’s baseball season right?  And for some of us, baseball is life, and September is one heart attack after the next.  What happened yesterday on the South may represent the single worst day in the recent history of the Chicago White Sox.

They came into the day confident in their two-and-a-half game lead in the Central, holding a three-game advantage in the all-important loss column.  In game one the Sox most consistent starter in the second half, Javy Vazquez, was on the bump looking to extend the lead to a full three games. 

But after the dust had settled the Sox divison lead was down to one game, and their captain Paul Konerko was sidelined with an injury that may or may not be as bad as it looked.  The Sox had lost both ends of the double header and looked bad doing it.  In game one they failed time and time again to execute in the clutch. 

The stubborn Guillen needs to take some of the blame and stop telling his players to do things they can’t do.  Three times in this game he had .300 hitters bunting with runners on.

In the ninth he had Alexei Ramirez, he of the .400 average with runners in scoring position, bunt ahead of the hapless Nick Swisher and hit or miss Juan Uribe.  Just who is he bunting the runners over for—a .220 hitter and a .240 hitter?

He had his best clutch hitter up in a close game and he gave him the bunt sign.  Ozzie  needs to stop forcing small ball on his team and let them swing their bats. 

Losing two games on one day is never good, but the loss of Konerko could spill over into the next couple games.  Even if he is back in time for Friday’s game against the Tigers, the Sox desperately need one of their hottest hitters in the lineup right now.

With Quentin gone, Dye, Thome, Griffey, and Swisher are all slumping.  The only guys actually hitting in the lineup are Konerko, Orlando Cabrera, AJ “couldn’t bunt if his life depended on it” Pierzynski, and the mystifying Juan Uribe.

With Paulie down for the next few days, the Sox might be lucky to get one game from the Blue Jays—a team that is playing like it’s 1993 again. 

The baseball season is a marathon, but September is a sprint.  Each day is huge and a lot can change in a matter of hours, and sometimes minutes.

After the Sox had taken a 2-1 lead in game two last night, things didn’t look so bad.  Rookie Clayton Richard looked steady and on his way to his third win in four starts.  A leadoff walk, a bomb, a few misplays, and a strained knee ligament later, the White Sox looked like a dead team walking.

The pressure has never been greater for Ozzie Guillen to keep his troops in line.  If he can somehow get this team into the postseason despite these injuries it will surely be his finest season yet as a manager.

For that to happen their four proven starters can’t have a misstep the rest of the way, Nick Swisher needs to stop taking called strike threes, and Ken Griffey, Jr. needs to show just a flash of the power he once had. 

Hopefully a few days from now the last 24 hours will look like a bump in the road, because right now they feel like they may have ruined a once promising season.