Apr 14, 2011
First pitch: Ozzie Guillen disgusted by White Sox bullpen
09:37 AM
No one would dare blame him if he doesn't come back.
Guillen fled Chicago in disgust Wednesday after watching his bullpen blow up once again, losing 7-4, in 10 innings to the Oakland Athletics.
"I don't have a closer,'' Guillen said, knocking his chair over backward as he bolted his postgame news conference.
The season is only 12 games old, and the White Sox bullpen has already blown six saves.
The Sox bullpen is yielding a 6.14 ERA and .310 batting average, the worst in baseball. They've given up seven homers and 12 ninth-inning runs, the worst in baseball.
It was so bad Wednesday that Guillen had to bring in all three of his closer candidates in the ninth inning to protect a three-run lead. They all blew it. Matt Thornton managed to blow his fourth save of the season and took the loss.
Guillen may have gotten into a war of words with Bobby Jenks during the spring, but he could sure use the big fella now in the ninth inning. Who knows, if the Boston Red Sox keep playing like this, maybe they'll ship Jenks back to the White Sox to retain what's left of Guillen's sanity?
The White Sox are spending a franchise-record $127 million on their payroll, and watching their season disintegrate because of their ninth-inning comedy act. They are 7-5 this season, but if not for their closer woes, could be 11-1 and running away with the AL Central. They have led in all 12 of their games.
It's enough to make a grown man cry, let alone lose his temper.
"You are just scratching your head and second-guessing yourself what you are doing wrong,'' Guillen said at his press conference, "bringing people to the mound with a three-run lead for a third time and we can't hold the lead. That's not a good sign.
"When you have a bad bullpen, that's what happens. I wish I knew who I can bring in the ninth. I mean, now we'll try everyone in one inning. No more excuses.''
When asked to identify the specific problems by his bullpen, Guillen snapped: "What the hell am I going to see? I see the same [bleep] you guys see.''
Thornton has become Public Enemy No. 1 in Chicago for his performance. He used to be a premier setup man, giving up just 41 hits and striking out 81 in 60 2/3 innings last season, when he was an All-Star. He hasn't had an ERA higher than 2.74 the last three years.
The White Sox believed he was ready to handle the closer's role. Uh-uh. Back to the drawing board.
"Oh, man, there's nothing to even describe it right now," Thornton told news reporters. ""Frustration is pretty high. It's the most frustrated I've been in a long time. I can't remember a run of games like this where I haven't gotten the job done that many times in a row."
In a span of three games, the White Sox have somehow managed to blow brilliant starting performance in which Mark Buehrle and John Danks have pitched a combined 16 innings and given up seven hits and one run, only to wind up with losses.
"Obviously these are games we should win and we feel like we're going to win,'' Danks told news reporters. "With that said, we know we're going to win these games over the course of the season. We're going to win these games. It sucks now, but we're going to win these games.
"We have way too many good arms down there to not do it.''
See photos of: Ozzie Guillen
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