Former White Sox announcer Ken “Hawk” Harrelson would have called this a “can of corn.”
After being down 6-0, the White Sox take the lead on a dropped pop up from Andrew Romine pic.twitter.com/YGw5C2Jd1E
— Justin Groc (@jgroc) August 28, 2021
That’s about as bad a play as you’ll see in the big leagues. What you just witnessed was Cubs shortstop Andrew Romine dropping a freebie popup off the bat of Luis Robert, extending the inning and allowing the White Sox, who had previously trailed 6-0, to grab a 7-6 lead. Though plenty went wrong for the Cubs Friday night—you won’t win many games allowing 17 runs (13 of them earned)—Romine’s nightmare performance (two errors, a strikeout and a caught stealing) was no doubt a contributing factor in their loss to the White Sox, who were led by a herculean eight-RBI performance from All-Star catcher Yasmani Grandal (in his return from the injured list, no less).
Romine’s inexplicable gaffe—par for the course in a month where Chicago has lost an embarrassing 19 of 24 games—predictably set Twitter ablaze with exasperated fans lamenting their team’s plight.
You’ll notice a common sentiment among that frustrated contingent. It seems many are of the belief Chicago—now a month removed from a trade deadline fire sale that saw established stars Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, Javy Baez and Craig Kimbrel change uniforms—is packing it in, tanking for a higher pick in next year’s MLB Draft.
andrew romine is an elite tank player
— mp (@mmstu3) August 28, 2021
andrew romine and adrian sampson pic.twitter.com/9od33fIgza
— jakey misses rizzo (54-69) #Cubbies (@ChicagoJek) August 28, 2021
There’s a palpable tension in the air and one could hardly blame Cubs fans for wanting to rip their hair out amid the team’s worst stretch in years. You’d feel betrayed too if your hometown club, after winning its first World Series in a century, took a hatchet to the roster, blowing up the most successful team in franchise history under the guise of “shedding payroll.” Unfortunately, baseball has become a cyclical sport in that sense with teams frequently pressing the reset button, rebuilding from scratch once their perceived title window has closed.
It won’t get any easier for the Cubs Saturday when the reeling North-Siders step in the box against White Sox ace Lance Lynn (10-3, 2.20 ERA), the prohibitive favorite for American League Cy Young honors.
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