When the White Sox went up by six runs last night I felt pretty damn good. I figured that the two straight losses to the Indians were an aberration, that the World Champs just needed to break off a bit of rust, and that Ozzie's maddening pitching moves in the finale of that series were just him having a bad day. Then I watched Jon Garland give up a few runs in the fifth, then a few more in that same inning, and by the third out he had given up five. I yelled at the screen, "Get him out of there Ozzie," and one of my viewing partners followed with, "There's no way he'll leave him in there for the fifth." Not only did Ozzie leave him in for the fifth, but he left him in for the sixth too, at which time he gave up his eighth run, and the White Sox lead. Finally, Ozzie took the towel from around his neck and walked to the mound in need of a reliever. At the same time I walked to the toilet, in dire need of some relief.
Having watched The Blizzard of Oz for over two years now, I understand - slightly - what he's trying to do out there on the diamond. Yes, he wants to let his pitchers know he has confidence in them, raise there levels of self-assurance so that he can once again pull four straight complete playoff games out of his black and silver hat. These things I do understand. What I don't understand is how Ozzie could basically give that game to the Royals, one of the worst teams in the league. Let's say he pulls Garland after his horrendous fourth inning, and we go in to the bottom of the fifth with a two run lead (the Sox scored a run in the top of the inning). Politte, Cotts, and Jenks, all of whom had a day off on Thursday and were at no risk of injury or burn out, couldn't have done worse than Garland did the next two innings. Most likely, they would have held that lead and given the White Sox that oh-so-important win in the first game of an away series. But Ozzie waited until Garland handed over that large lead, after the Royals had plated their 8th run, before sending in Thornton (who proceded to give up a few more runs in a 10-7 Royals win). Why did Guillen do this?
On Wednesday, when Brandon McCarthy had had two days rest, Ozzie pulled the toothpick hurler after only an inning, only to watch Boone Logan give up a game tying homerun to Travis Hafner. Now last I checked, Hafner is a powerhouse hitter who hits lefty pitchers just as well as righties, so why take out your best arm in the pen, your long reliever, just to play the lefty-righty matchup with a rookie pitcher. As I sat in the stands watching that white ball clear the green fence in right-center, I thought to myself, "This didn't need to happen." Those words rang the next day, like a song you can't get out of your head, as the Royals pounded Garland well into the six.
"This didn't need to happen." I can only imagine that every Cub fan in the state has been reciting those words since the final out of last year's World Series, and if that is the case, then Ozzie has now brought me down to their level. In four games I've watched Ozzie make mistake after mistake and I can only hope that it is Ozzie's twin brother in the dugout making these calls, not the lightning rod that took this city to the World Series last year. If it is Fozzie (as I assume his twin brother would be named) then please, call your brother and get him back with the team. We need the Ozzie of last year, the fireball that pulled no punches with the media or his players, the AL Manager of the Year, the savior of the south side. Please, Ozzie, come back from whatever your planet you're on right now and win some damn games.
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