The White Sox lost the first game of Tuesday's doubleheader with the Blue Jays 3-1 for one reason only: Manager Ozzie Guillen just can't control his urge to call for sacrifice bunts.
Nevermind that not a single Sox player is capable of getting a bunt down. Guillen called for four sacrifice bunts during the loss. Not a single one was properly executed. All killed potential rallies.
A.J. Pierzynski blew two bunting opportunities, and Alexei Ramirez and Juan Uribe choked away one each.
Ordering Ramirez to bunt in the ninth inning was a particularly bad move. Toronto closer B.J. Ryan was on the ropes, having walked both Paul Konerko and Ken Griffey Jr. to start the inning.
That brought Ramirez, one of the best clutch performers on the Sox, to the plate with two on and nobody out. After two failed bunt attempts, Ramirez swung at a bad pitch and struck out.
Guillen effectively took the bat out of Ramirez's hands. Even if Ramirez had gotten the bunt down, it would have left an RBI situation for two weak hitters: Nick Swisher and Juan Uribe.
Swisher, mired in a dreadful slump, is hitting .226. Uribe, a glove specialist, has been hitting in the .230s for most of the season. Predictably, Swisher struck out looking and Uribe tapped weakly to the pitcher to end the game.
Why not let Ramirez, a .300 hitter who has been money in late-inning situations, take a shot at delivering a game-tying or game-winning hit?
The Sox are last in the league in sacrifice bunts. They are first in home runs. Yet Guillen continues to try to play small ball with a power-hitting team.
It's time for the Sox manager to forget about bunts and play to the strengths of his personnel.
OK, so maybe Jerry Owens can bunt. The Sox now have 24 sacrifice bunts as a team this season. Still last in the league.