James Shields booed off field following disastrous White Sox debut
The Chicago White Sox were hoping Wednesday night would be a fresh start for newly acquired pitcher James Shields, and the beginning of a turnaround in the midst of their rough four-week stretch.
Instead, both player and team must be wondering where their respective seasons go from here after Shields was booed off the field and the White Sox lost again, this time 11-4 to the Nationals.
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Indeed, Shields’ debut on the south side of Chicago was a miserable disaster, and that’s putting it mildly. The 34-year-old right-hander required an astonishing 79 pitches just to get through two innings, and was mercifully pulled one batter into the third. Along the way, he allowed seven runs on eight hits, which included three home runs, while walking two and striking out two.
He even threw a wild pitch, because literally everything that could go wrong did go wrong.
As for the boos, those actually started in the first inning, immediately following the two-run home run he allowed to Ryan Zimmerman. They reached a crescendo though once manager Robin Ventura threw in the towel.
Shields will never get another chance to make a first impression on White Sox fans, and based on Wednesday’s worst-case scenario he’ll have an uphill climb to gain even a tiny bit of their confidence. That essentially puts him in the same position he was upon leaving San Diego, where he allowed 10 runs in 2 2/3 innings in his final start against Seattle.
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Honestly, there may have been some boos in there too for Ventura, because it’s inexplicable that Shields was allowed to be pummeled to that degree. The White Sox skipper did his veteran no favors, and that really began with the moment he filled out the lineup card.
Shields probably needed more than a familiar face behind the plate to save his outing on Wednesday, but having Navarro back there couldn’t have hurt either. That’s something Ventura almost has to consider moving forward.
With all of that said though, it’s not time to panic yet. Shields may be down right now, but he’s shown the ability to bounce back during his career. In fact, his durability and resilience is what always makes him so attractive to teams looking for that extra starter to get them over the top. Those are the reasons general manager Rick Hahn wanted him on the White Sox, and those are the reasons he’s logged at least 200 innings in every season dating back to 2007.
The White Sox need that turnaround to come quick though. They’ve now lost 19 of 25 games dating back to May 9, and they are fading quickly in the AL Central. If they’re going to stop the bleeding, it has to begin with their starting pitching.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
