This is the type of game that we've been cursed to see the 2005 White Sox win, and the 2005 Royals lose. Shutout by Jose Contreras? Check. Lose a game in which your pitching staff allows only one run? Check. Hand the White Sox another one-run victory that had nothing to do with bunting or stealing bases? Check.
My appeciation for Mike Wood grows each day, and in an alternate universe this would have been his 16th start instead of his 6th. There seems to be a perception out there that Wood is a 5-inning pitcher and that somehow a good solution to this "problem" is to convert him to a 1-inning pitcher and go from there. First and foremost, this isn't the 1995 Braves here, and it isn't like the Royals have plenty of obviously superior pitchers laying around. (Yes, I'm looking at you J.P. Howell.)
Regardless, it isn't like Wood's a particularly dominating pitcher either, as evidenced by his game tonight: 6 hits allowed (including 4 for extra-bases), 5 walks and one strikeout. So yea, he lowered his ERA to 3.68, but I'm not entirely sure he's not just a 5.00 ERA guy either.
The larger problem is that when you don't score a single run yourself, it doesn't matter if Mike Wood or Mike Myers (either one) started for you; you're still gonna lose. The Royals managed 6 singles and 5 walks tonight, which could have been adequate had a) the game ended in the 3rd inning or b) someone coulda managed a two-out single. As it happened, neither happened. By the way, while we're all rooting for Emil Brown, to what extent has he actually been an adequate use of 470 plate appearances? On the other hand, he's been Barry Bonds compared to what we've got in the 400 odd PAs of Terrence Long.
And wasn't T-Short supposed to be a platoon/part-time player at the time we (weirdly enough) traded for him? As I've said all year: if this franchise is willing to regularly find a place in the lineup for Joe McEwing, Terrence Long, Mark Teahen, Angel Berroa or Denny Hocking, then Calvin Pickering deserves(d) that same chance.
Here's to the left-side of the infield continuing it's run to 800 outs-made on the season.