The big, magic word for the White Sox this year is supposed to be “momentum.”
Momentum works both ways, folks.
To demonstrate without using video of a Russian dissident making the poor decision to stand by a an upper-story window, let us select this afternoon’s Cactus League finale.
The Sacramento or wherever they’re playing this year A’s tried as hard as they could to hand the game to the White Sox early. Starting pitcher Luis Morales walked the bases loaded in the first and then hung a sinker that
Lenyn Sosa hammered for a three-run double. Reliever JJ Goss then gave up four runs in the fourth on a slew of hits, the key being a two-run double by Chase Meidroth.
Voila! White Sox up, 7-0! What could possibly go wrong, especially given the A’s pulled all their starters after two innings so they’d have plenty of time to pack for the flight home, inserting minor-leaguers?
Plenty, it turned out.
Anthony Kay, who had been having a good spring, didn’t exactly coast through the first three innings. But still, he had given up no runs until the small matters of a sac fly and then a grand slam by the mighty Drew Swift made it 7-5 after four. On one of those spring leave-the-game-but-come-back things, Kay then walked the first two batters in the fifth, both of whom scored when Morris Austin came in and couldn’t get much of anyone out. Morris then added two more runs on his own tab.
Make it 9-7, A’s, after five.
Sosa, who presumably would like to get some regular playing time when the games count, knocked in another run with a double in the sixth to make it 9-8. Grant Taylor, who has had a rough spring, gave up a run in the bottom of the eighth that turned out to be crucial, because a Darren Baker RBI single in the ninth could then only cut the A’s lead to 10-9.
If this game set momentum into the season for the White Sox, then look forward to lots of pure slop. Sox pitchers walked seven and hit three batters while giving up 12 hits. The batters were handed their own seven walks and went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position, but still left 12 on base.
Ah, well, the good news is that as awful as this game was, it doesn’t matter, just gives the White Sox a 15-16-1 spring record no one will remember even a few weeks from now. The bad news is, games that matter begin in Milwaukee Thursday afternoon, and nothing is pointing the momentum arrow upward.
Oh, yeah … normally we’d include some videos from the game. Turns out nobody shot any. Good decision.
