Some final thoughts on Team USA's loss in WBC

Some questionable lineup and managerial decisions. Underperformance by some highly decorated players.

That's the story for Team USA, which had to settle for silver in the World Baseball Classic after losing 3-2 to Venezuela in Tuesday's championship game in Miami.

The U.S. bats were kept quiet until the bottom of the eighth, when Bryce Harper delivered a two-out, two-run, 432-foot home run to center field to tie the score at 2.

It could have been an iconic home run in baseball history, but it will mostly be forgotten because Venezuela answered quickly with a run in the top of the ninth and made that lead stick.

Reliever Garrett Whitlock walked Luis Arraez to start the ninth, and Eugenio Suarez followed with an RBI double that provided the Venezuelans the winning run.

Honestly, it was silly to not throw strikes to Arraez, a contact hitter without much power. If you throw Arraez a strike, the worst thing that will likely happen is he will hit it for a single. You can't just give him a base. You have to make it earn it.

Suarez is a completely different type of hitter -- big power, but a lot of swing-and-miss. If you lay one in to him, he can hurt you, and he most definitely hurt Whitlock and Team USA.

Why did they pitch Arraez like a slugger and then challenge Suarez in the middle of the plate? No idea.

A better question: Why was Whitlock out there anyway? Mason Miller is Team USA's best reliever, but apparently he was only available for a "save situation." 

That's weird. Can you pitch an inning or can you not? What difference does it make whether it's a save situation? 

When asked after the game why Miller wasn't used, Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said he wanted to "honor the Padres" by only using Miller if there was an opportunity for a save.

The San Diego Padres, of course, are Miller's MLB team. But what's the priority here? "Honoring the Padres" or winning a game for your country?

That's why this tournament, as much as I enjoy it, still doesn't carry a lot of weight with people. 

DeRosa's taking a lot of heat for the U.S. loss and rightfully so. Gunnar Henderson had been the hottest American hitter in the tournament. He did not start in the championship game, so Alex Bregman, who is ice-cold, could go 0 for 3. Cal Raleigh, who hit 60 home runs last season, didn't leave the bench in this final game.

In fairness, Raleigh was hitless in the tournament, and he wasn't the only big name who was quiet for the U.S. Aaron Judge was 0 for 4 with three strikeouts in the title game. Even with his big homer, Harper hit only .214 for the tournament. Will Smith, who was catching instead of Raleigh, was hitless Tuesday night. Bregman batted .143 in the WBC.

Not great. A lot of blame to go around, for both the manager and the players. 

Kyle Teel out 4 to 6 weeks with Grade 2 hamstring strain

White Sox catcher Kyle Teel is expected to miss four to six weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain, general manager Chris Getz announced on Wednesday.

Teel, who was playing for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, was injured Tuesday running from first base to second after doubling in Italy's 8-6 win over the United States.

Earlier in Tuesday's game, Teel homered to give his team the lead. Italy was a surprise winner in Pool B of the WBC, as it completed a 4-0 run through pool play with a 9-1 win over Mexico on Wednesday night.

With two weeks to go until the regular season begins, it is certain that Teel will begin the season on the injured list. The best-case scenario involves a return around mid-April, which would likely require a rehab assignment in Triple-A Charlotte. 

Most likely, Teel will not play for the Sox until late April or early May.

Fortunately, the Sox have depth at catcher. There's been an offseason debate over who will be the team's long-term answer at the position, Teel or Edgar Quero?

With Teel out, Quero will get the chance to catch the overwhelming majority of the games this first month. Despite plenty of trade speculation, the Sox also have Korey Lee on their roster. The pitchers like throwing to Lee, who is a respectable defensive player. You wouldn't want Lee to be your starting catcher because he doesn't hit enough, but he's fine as a backup who plays once or twice a week.

Injuries are inevitable in sports, and despite all the crying from Sox fans on social media, Teel's pulled hamstring does not change the trajectory of the season. It shouldn't be a long-term injury, and the Sox have other players who are capable of filling in.  

The White Sox in 1-run games ... not good

I haven't written much about spring training games because I put no stock in the results or the statistics.

The White Sox are 7-6 through their first 13 Cactus League games, which is fine. It's better than being 3-10 like we've seen in previous years.

But one thing I've noticed, the Sox are 0-5 in one-run games this spring. The latest such loss happened Tuesday, 4-3 to the San Diego Padres.

Of course, it's minor league players in there at the end of games, but my eyebrows are raised a little bit because the Sox have been almost comically terrible in one-run games the past two years.

In 2024, they went 13-29 in such games. Last season, they were 15-36. That makes them 28-65 over the past two seasons in games decided by one run. 

I can almost hear Chuck Garfien's voice in my head right now: "There's no way they're going to lose that many one-run games again this season! If they had won even two of those one-run losses they have this spring, they'd be 9-4 right now!"

Just something to keep an eye on once the games start to matter. Winners find a way. So do losers.