2005 team’s weekend continues
After preceding the unveiling of Mark Buehrle’s statue with a Buehrle-esque two-hour, six-minute game, the White Sox and Cleveland followed the unveiling with pure slop, as the Guardians tried hard as they could to give away the game (11 walks! 11!) and the Sox refused all the gifts until the 11th inning, when the Cleveland pitcher apparently forgot that to get someone out you need the ball.
Which will it be today, as two of the worst offenses in the major leagues try to outdo each other in incompetence? Only The Shadow knows (The Shadow being what shows up between the mound and home in afternoon games.)
Hoping not to repeat the seven walks Sox pitchers sent the other way last night will be Sean Burke, who has a 4.40 ERA and 5.12 FIP but had three strong starts before being ripped up by Toronto last time out. Cleveland will counter with righty Tyler Bibee, who has an almost identical 4.35 ERA but has been heading the other way, giving up nine runs to the Astros and Cubs in his last two starts. Lefties tend to hit Bibee hard, and the Sox lineup sports five of them:
Burke faces a Guardian lineup that didn’t hit him all that well back in April, but to which he gifted four walks in three innings, leading to three runs.
First pitch is scheduled for 3:10pm Central, with the forecast a cloudy and muggy 84 degrees with moderate wind out to left. Usual broadcast suspects.