Sox could say farewell to Keuchel’s arm
Left-hander looking like odd man out of playoff rotation
Everyone was talking playoffs on the first day of September in 1983 after the White Sox boosted their American League West lead to 11 ½ games.
“I think we can start gearing up for the playoffs,” first baseman Tom Paciorek said after a thrashing of the Kansas City Royals. “I don’t see us slumping off.”
Well, almost everyone.
Sox manager Tony La Russa didn’t want to think that far ahead. A Tribune report said La Russa was “finding himself at a loss for words these days because his team is winning and he doesn’t want to break the spell by saying the wrong thing.”
La Russa has come full circle 38 years later, managing a Sox team with a doubledigit lead in the AL Central and September on the doorstep. Everyone is talking playoffs, including catcher Yasmani Grandal, who homered twice and drove in eight runs Friday in his return from a minor-league rehab stint.
“Thank God that I’m back and I have a month of games to be able to get my stamina up and be able to feel good by the time the playoffs come,” Grandal said. Naturally, La Russa isn’t going there. Asked on Saturday about lining up his pitching for the postseason, La Russa said the Sox’s goal is to “get better (and) peak in
October, but we’re not there yet.”
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Expecting La Russa to change his tune at age 76 is a fool’s errand, so we’ll have to keep up the illusion that October is still in doubt. And he’s right.
We’ve seen teams blow sizable leads in September time and time again, even teams that have looked as good or better than the 2021 Sox.
Nevertheless, the postseason is the only thing on the minds of most Sox fans, who already are debating the odd man out of the playoff rotation. And judging from the boos that rained down on Dallas Keuchel during his second-inning removal in Friday’s 17-13 win over the Cubs, the debate is over: Dylan Cease is in, Keuchel is out.
Keuchel was surprisingly unavailable after Friday’s game, but he addressed the media Saturday and admitted to his shortcomings, calling his last 10 starts “ugly, to say the least.” He’s 2-5 with a 6.79 ERA in that span, which began with a July 3 loss to the Detroit Tigers.
At this point, it’s hard to see Keuchel making the postseason roster at all, unless it’s as a possible long reliever. He knows September will be his last chance to change that perception.
“I definitely think that’s fair to say,” he said. “I’m open and honest with everything that I say and do. And, shoot, I’ve been probably — not probably — I have been the weakest starter in the rotation for much of the year.
“That just speaks volumes to the advancement of Cease and (Carlos) Rodón being the guy that everybody expected him to be. (Lucas) Giolito and (Lance) Lynn have been themselves, and it’s just me kind of bringing up the rear.
“Of course I think about it. It’s what everybody plays for. Once you get a taste of the postseason, that’s all you want to do from there on out.
“So I’ve definitely thought about it, but letting myself get rolled up into that idea is the least of my worries right now. I’ve just got to make sure that I’m myself come Oct. 3, the last game of the year, and whatever happens, happens.
“But I’ve always been a teamfirst guy, so if it doesn’t work out, I’m going to be as mad as whoever else isn’t on (the roster). But at the same time, if you’re not getting the job done, you don’t expect a spot if you’re not putting up the numbers and doing your job.”
What’s wrong with Keuchel remains a mystery. He said he feels fine physically, and his track record suggests he’ll be back. But until he proves it, who knows?
“I think the most important communications are being held between him and the pitching coaches,” La Russa said. “Maybe it’s a mechanical thing; maybe there’s something in the planning or whatever. All I know is that my job is to observe, so I look at it as just consistency of command and stuff. … I don’t care who you are, if you can’t command your pitches,it’s tough to pitch.”
La Russa’s job is also to give the Sox the best chance to win, and if Keuchel isn’t pulling on the rope, to make the tough call and sit him.
Keuchel is a stand-up guy and a clubhouse leader, so he’ll probably be given the benefit of the doubt come October. But remember, the Cubs gave starter John Lackey a roster spot in the 2017 postseason, sticking him in the bullpen despite a 4.59 ERA. It was Lackey’s last season, and the Cubs brass wanted him to feel part of the team even if he wasn’t comfortable pitching in relief.
Then Lackey served up a walk-off home run to the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Justin Turner in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. The Cubs never recovered. So much for sentimentality. It may be too early for La Russa to talk about Keuchel’s postseason status. Maybe he can dodge the topic for most of the next month.
But barring a turnaround by the veteran left-hander, there really is only one choice to make.
If you’re not getting the job done, don’t expect a spot.