The pregame conversation with the manager touched on many things that, for one reason or another, haven`t been quite right for the White Sox this season.
There were the usual suspects. Steve Sax. Ozzie Guillen. Tim Raines. Gene Lamont himself.
Inevitably, Bobby Thigpen. Inevitably.
After Thigpen blew a save opportunity Monday night, Tim Hulett`s RBI single broke a tie in the 12th inning and lifted the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-2 victory over the White Sox in front of 40,833 appropriately disgruntled folks in Comiskey Park.
The loss, charged to Roberto Hernandez (3-2), was the fourth straight for the Sox. Pat Clements (1-0) was the winner.
It shouldn`t have gone into overtime at all.
The game belonged to Charlie Hough. It would have been his 200th victory. He left after eight innings with a four-hit shutout. He had thrown only 96 pitches. In his previous start, it was 148.
But to begin the ninth, to face left-handed Brady Anderson, Lamont went to Scott Radinsky. Anderson, sensational all year, had two of the four hits off Hough.
Like so many of Lamont`s moves this season, it made some sense. Like so many, particularly in these situations, it turned to sewage.
Anderson spun a multihopper at Craig Grebeck. Grebeck bobbled it momentarily, recovered, then threw high to Frank Thomas at first. Thomas said his toe had the bag, but Jim Evans, the umpire at first, said no. Grebeck had an error, and the Orioles had a baserunner.
The replay supported Thomas. And Lamont, who argued.
After the argument, the manager switched to Thigpen.
”A lot of people want Radinsky to be the closer,” Lamont had said earlier. ”I still feel that Thigpen`s the guy to close things for us.
”He`s had some down times, and he`s had some streaks when he`s had it going pretty good, too. If he`s the guy that you`re going to bring in, you have to show definite confidence in him.”
Thigpen rewarded that confidence Monday night by hitting Mike Devereaux on an 0-2 pitch, then giving up RBI singles to Glenn Davis and Randy Milligan. Thigpen now has blown seven saves in 26 chances. Four of the seven were Hough starts.
The Sox offense continued to score grudgingly. On this night, with Hough at his best, it should have been enough to win in regulation.
In the third inning, they bunched singles by Lance Johnson, Ron Karkovice and Grebeck against Baltimore starter Storm Davis for a 1-0 lead. The joy was diminished when Grebeck`s hit was followed by Raines` popped bunt, Sax`s weak comebacker and-after Frank Thomas walked to fill the bases-George Bell`s feeble ground out.
It was further diminished with the realization that Davis, making only his second start of the year, hadn`t pitched at all since going on the DL with a groin pull July 5.
But a lead is a lead, and in the sixth, it grew. This time, Robin Ventura drew a one-out walk from Alan Mills, raced to third when Shawn Abner dumped a single into right-center and scored on Johnson`s dink hit to left.
Through his final seven innings, Hough faced one over the minimum.
Over his last 13 starts, his ERA is 2.51. He`s 4-4 with five no-decisions in those 13 starts.
Whatever, whoever, has put the Sox where they are today, it hasn`t been Charlie Hough.
What has it been?
”I don`t know how I could make it any simpler,” said Lamont. ”We haven`t played as good as we should. Maybe I haven`t managed as good as we should. Maybe we haven`t focused pitches as good as we should.”
The Sox 11th was a sample of some of the despair.
With things still tied at 2, Johnson led it with a single off Clements, and Karkovice forced him. Grebeck singled to right, too hard to get Karkovice past second. Raines hit a medium flyball to right that was deep enough to sent Karkovice to third.
And Sax hit a comebacker-another soft comebacker, not a smash-to end it.
