Gamethread: White Sox at A’s

A 21st straight loss looms, as another rookie takes the bump

So, here’s the thing that makes bringing up a starting pitcher direct from Double-A Birmingham not so silly: Triple-A Charlotte makes mincemeat out of seasons.

Whether Drew Thorpe is seriously hurt, or whether his demure fastball will not fool MLB hitters who get a second or third look at him, what’s undeniable is that he mutilated Double-A batters and then came up to the White Sox and had something like five of six starts that were simply miraculous. Zero games pitched at Charlotte.

Ky Bush, from the jump, was the second-best pitcher in Birmingham (Mason Adams has his case, but if we go by prospect pedigree and southpawing, Bush has the edge). Unlike Thorpe, Bush got some extra seasoning at Charlotte.

Uh-oh.

A 2.12 ERA and 1.029 WHIP in 13 starts with the Barons has turned to a (small sample size) a 6.16 ERA and 1.526 WHIP in four games (two starts, because for some goddam reason the White Sox chose to piggyback their top minors starter after an injured abuser with no future on the South Side or in baseball) with the Knights. The good news is that one of Bush’s starts was really good (five innings, one earned); the bad is that the more recent one, on July 30, was a mauling of five earned over 5 2⁄3 innings.

Anyway, Bush makes his major league debut tonight.

Four moves explain the musical chairs, including the return of a guy I guarantee you did not think was still with the White Sox, much less somewhere in the majors, Dominic Leone.

I am posting a ton of stuff for our staff over at FFSN today so I might not make it back here to update lineups, please don’t be cross.

It’s 8:40 p.m. CT game on the usual broadcast outlets. Tune in to see if the late night makes Ozzie even more apt to speak inside truths about the organizational hiring processes.