With ten runs allowed (eight earned) in just a single inning of work, Chicago White Sox pitcher Dallas Keuchel was the most criticized member of the team after Wednesday’s debacle that included two losses against the Cleveland Guardians.
However, shortstop Tim Anderson wasn’t too far behind: he committed three errors during the first game of the doubleheader, so he didn’t precisely help Keuchel or the Pale Hose.
Speaking to the press, Anderson took his part of the blame.
“Tim Anderson on yesterday’s 3-error game: ‘You’ve got to understand that you have been sitting around for two days and you have to up the level of focus more. I can understand that I wasn’t on point yesterday. But now it’s a new day and now I get another opportunity’,” Chicago Sun-Times Daryl Van Schouwen tweeted.
Tim Anderson on yesterday's 3-error game: 'You’ve got to understand that you have been sitting around for two days and you have to up the level of focus more. I can understand that I wasn’t on point yesterday. But now it’s a new day and now I get another opportunity.'
— Daryl Van Schouwen (@CST_soxvan) April 21, 2022
Anderson Thinks He Lost Focus
Anderson is implying that not playing for a couple of days affected his focus, which can certainly happen: MLB players are not robots, they are human.
The White Sox – Guardians series didn’t start until Wednesday, with a doubleheader: Monday and Tuesday’s games weren’t played due to the weather.
That means Anderson’s last game before Wednesday’s doubleheader came on April 17, which was Sunday.
Additionally, just because Anderson had a terrible day with three errors, he should be not considered a bad fielder.
This year, he is in the 67th percentile in Statcast’s Outs Above Average, and was in the 82nd percentile last year.
He just had a bad day, as the whole team did.
