waltwilliams

Yeah, but have you ever been to Dodger Stadium? There is literally nothing except parking lots around Chavez Ravine, and the downtown LA area that is close to Dodger Stadium is pretty sketchy. Yet they lead both leagues in attendance year after year. Or Yankee Stadium -- the South Bronx is better now than it was 30 years (like a South Side stadium we all know and love), but would you want to hang out there after a game? Nope. Yet they are the top AL draw year after year. Citi Field in Queens, same thing. Yet the second team in NYC still consistently draws over 2.5 million. Sox Park may have its issues (the terrible initial suburban design of the park before the 2003 remodeling, of course, being the main problem). But it's still the best stadium for transit in the city by far, what with two L lines and a Metra station near it, and an expressway literally adjacent to it.

The real problem is that the team has been horrible for the past 15 years. At their current location, the Sox were the first team in the city to draw 2 million (in 1983 and 1984). And during the years of promise during and after the World Series championship from 2005 to 2011, they were averaging 2.5 million, which is reasonable for a team in the smallest of the two-team towns (not counting the Bay Area). People will continue to make their way to South Armour Square as long as the team is good. This is true of most teams, especially in the AL Central. If the team sucks, fans won't go -- if the team is good, especially for a number of years, then the fans will go.

Pilsen and Chinatown are just as close to current Sox Park as they are to the 78. That said, it's actually kind of touching that you are so enthusiastic about this botched proposal from JR. I'd be more excited too, if if weren't exclusively publicly financed. We've all been through this before with JR -- it's a shame he takes us for granted and considers us to be complete tools.

The fact that 90s rappers wore Sox gear has nothing to do with whether or not tourists will go to see a Sox game.

That explains it -- you're old (like me). So you look at the Sox as they were in the Go-Go era. Well, it's not that way anymore. The Sox will never be co-equals to the Cubs -- that ship sailed 30 years ago. Wrigley Field is one of the premier destinations in sports -- it's a fact and we can't change that. And new baseball-only stadiums don't necessarily move the needle anymore. PNC Park in Pittsburgh is lauded as one of the most beautiful facilities in baseball, located right next to the river, with beautiful views of the skyline. And they've drawn worse than the Sox for almost the entire time the Pirates have played there, because the team consistently sucks. The Sox can draw well anywhere that they play (the current Sox Park or somewhere new), but the team has to win. It was that way 70 years ago, and it's that way today. I honestly don't care where the Sox play -- I'm fine with Armour Square (the actual neighborhood that the Sox play in now). Or I'm fine with the 78. I don't agree with an entirely publicly funded facility -- it's wasteful and counter-productive. And, if the Bears are indeed partially paying for their stadium, than that's makes more financial sense than some bells-and-whistles baseball-only park for a sport with a fan base that continues to get older.

I'm guessing you're not from Chicago.

The Bears have always maintained that they want their new stadium to be privately financed -- McCaskey is quoted saying this during a public forum in Arlington Heights a few years ago: https://blockclubchicago.org/2022/09/09/bears-plan-for-5-billion-stadium-campus-doesnt-include-retractable-roof-and-would-need-public-funding-team-says/. The public money they want is for infrastructure -- similar to how SoFi Stadium was built in LA. If that's still the case, then a privately funded domed stadium for the Bears (and other events) is a much easier sell than an entirely publicly funded stadium for the second MLB team in town, which has no real name recognition outside of Chicago and won't move the tourism needle at all, unlike Wrigley Field. True, the Bears only play eight games a year. But there's also the potential for other big events like Super Bowl, Final Four and concerts (where they would successfully compete with Reinsdorf's United Center, especially for bigger acts). Also, a domed stadium could conceivably be used for spillover convention-related events. In this current financial climate, no new stadiums really make sense for Chicago. But a domed stadium for the Bears and other events makes much more sense than an unnecessary baseball-only facility for a mediocre organization in a sport with an aging fan base.

On the contrary, it's the perfect place for TA, especially with the Angels hiring Ron Washington as manager. Nightengale says they'd move him to second base if they sign him.

You are such a lame idiot. Can't stand your posts

I'm guessing you don't live in Chicago. If they move to Orland/Tinley, they'll draw less than the A's. They'll be cutting off all their non-Southwest suburban fans, since you can only get down there basically by expressway (I-57/I-80). Imagine trying to make it down there for a weekday night game -- it would be a major chore. They'd be better off moving out of town completely than moving down to the Southwest suburbs.

So no one's calling this guy on his obvious racist post, joke or not? Honestly, the best thing about being a White Sox fan over these past 50-plus years is hanging at both old and new Sox Park with the great crowds -- the most diverse in the city. But the worst thing --other than the incompetent management for much of the time (outside of KW's 2000-2012 stint) -- is the core group of racist fans like this guy. And believe me, as someone who went to school near Sox Park, there's a lot of core racist Sox fans out there. They're the ones who make me rethink my allegiance to this team.

Lori had absolutely nothing to do with the Bears moving. The McCaskeys have been motivated to move on from their sweetheart deal at Soldier Field for years, especially after seeing the money they could make with their own privately financed (with public infrastructure money) deal, a la SoFi Stadium in SoCal. The real culprit behind the Bears current stadium issue is Rich Daley (along with the McCaskeys), who refused to look at other alternative sites for a retractable roof stadium in the city, and instead chose to gut a National Landmark in Soldier Field and place a hideous new outdoor stadium on the footprint of the old stadium. And when the original 70,000-seat facility looked incredibly horrific during early construction, Daley made the decision to lop off 10,000 seats, making Soldier Filed the smallest NFL stadium in the league. Combine this awful mistake with his decision to sell BOTH the parking meters and the Chicago Skyway to private investors; kicking the pension issue with police, firefighters and teachers down the road; and the CHA Plan for Transformation in 2000, which knocked down dozens of public housing high-rises, without a good plan to find replacement housing for residents (a decision which contributed heavily to crime in the coming years). I know this isn't a popular stance, but for all the crap that Lori took (some of it deserved), Rich Daley did much more long-term damage to the city during his 22-year (!) reign.

Absolutely right ... the renovations done in 2003-2004 really helped make new Sox Park seem less generic. It's now an attractive facility, especially inside -- well-maintained, great sightlines, etc. This is by far the most accessible stadium in the city -- located in a central location in the region, near three (!) public transportation lines and two major expressways (Dan Ryan and LSD). It's got the best tailgating scene in the city. And then there's the fact that it's the same location as the old park -- so in essence the Sox have played at the same location for 113 years. There's a definite appeal to that. There's nowhere else in the city/region that would work as well as their present stadium/location. That said, it's definitely time for another major renovation -- they really need to overhaul the outfield/bleacher section (would love to see them get rid of the Tinkertoy ad space in the outfield). There's also room for development around the stadium. Before he died, Jim Thompson talked about how he wanted to build a hotel on the property, perhaps in the area where the old ballpark was. But that idea was nixed by JR, who also nixed Thompson's request to share profits for the "Bacardi in the Park" restaurant that the state/taxpayers built for the team back in 2011: https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160825/bridgeport/sweetheart-deal-on-ballpark-naming-rights-nothing-new-for-white-sox/

I love how the Hamburg Athletic Club contingent of Sox fans fall all over themselves to roast TA, regardless of what he does.

Totally agree with Betts here. And how did he "deserve to be knocked out"? Ramirez challenged him with a finger in his face after a routine tag. Tim got in three punches - two to the back of his head and one to Ramirez's torso, before Ramirez threw a wild punch while falling back which struck Tim.

Spot on with this ... I'd also add that the White Sox are more than capable of drawing sizable fan interest in their present location, as long as they win fairly consistently. Not sure of the TV numbers, but they averaged over 2.5 million fans between 2005 and 2011 with the core group from the World Series team. That's even with three subpar teams from that period (2007, 2009 and 2011).

True, although the one drawback about the Marlins is that they're in arguably the most competitive division in MLB. And the Marlins can't compete financially with the Braves, Phillies and Mets.

FWIW, Kim Ng is a big admirer of JR -- she credits him for his loyalty to his employees and praises him for creating a "family atmosphere" among Sox staffers in this MLB article from earlier this year: https://www.mlb.com/news/marlins-gm-kim-ng-returns-to-where-her-career-began I'd hope that she's on Jerry's radar for a President/GM promotion with the Sox; she's only GM with the Marlins.

MLB shortstop errors for 2023. TA tied for 9th: 1 Kiké Hernández Bos 14 2 J.P. Crawford Sea 11 3 Javier Báez Det 10 4t Bo Bichette Tor 8 4t Amed Rosario Cle 8 6t Jorge Mateo Bal 7 6t Anthony Volpe NYY 7 6t Bobby Witt Jr. KC 7 9t Tim Anderson CWS 6 9t Wander Franco TB 6 9t Jeremy Peña Hou 6 9t Corey Seager Tex 6 13t Elvis Andrus CWS 4 13t Josh Smith Tex 4 15t Nick Allen Oak 3 15t Carlos Correa Min 3 15t Zach Neto LAA 3 18t Oswaldo Cabrera NYY 2 18t Ezequiel Duran Tex 2 18t Luis Rengifo LAA 2 18t Pablo Reyes Bos 1

How do you know what he's "feeling". Do you and your fraud "sources" have some telepathic way of getting inside his head.

It figures that the author of the ultimate old school White Sox "meatball" fan post like this would spell the word "Damn" incorrectly.

No, it refers to Walt "No-Neck" Williams, my favorite White Sox player from the 60s. Only 5-feet-6, but he had a motor that had to be seen to be believed. He always hustled ... Loved watching him play back in the day: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/williwa02.shtml

"Smile and show those teeth" "Stop being 'uppity'" "Be one of the 'good ones'" That's what this sounds like ...

2022 White Sox record with (starting AL All-Star shortstop) Tim Anderson in the lineup: 42-37 2022 White Sox record without TA in the lineup: 39-44 He's a truly exciting player when healthy. And last year was an anomaly for him: he averaged over 500 at bats each year from 2017 to 2021 (with the exception of the shortened Covid year). That "he can't stay healthy" trope is beyond lazy.

KW was the director of that "wonderful farm system" under Schueler from 1995 to 1997, and he was the director of player personnel from '97 to 2000. So Kenny should get a lot of credit for the minor league system during Schueler's reign. And while he would continually tap into that minor league system for trades during his time as GM, he never traded anyone of the magnitude of Tatis, Jr. Kip Wells (in the Todd Ritchie deal in 2002) and Chris Young (in the Javy Vasquez trade in 2006) were the biggest names he gave up -- both had fairly long but mediocre careers. There's no doubt KW was one of the best GMs the Sox ever had.