Lip Man 1

I know I posted the link to the entire column, so everyone can get the benefit of Rick's wisdom. ?

Sox fans are in a hell of a position aren't they? Knowing this bunch of stiffs and clowns aren't going to win, having to hope a disastrous season leads to massive changes...but knowing even under those conditions change isn't likely at all.

Every time Rick opens his smug mouth I dislike him even more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/white-sox/ct-chicago-white-sox-baltimore-orioles-20230415-5taix33nlfcediifdadd2cq2ri-story.html

Quote of the Night: “I don’t want to say we just beat ourselves, but it feels like every game we kind of feel like we beat ourselves,” Mike Clevinger said. It's called fundamentals and not being "baseball-stupid" Mike. The Sox are bad in the first and great in the second.

Part of me still wants (hopes) the Sox can turn it around and at least have a winning season...something, ANYTHING to take some pride in. But part of me also wants them to lose as many games in as humiliating a way as possible to be completely embarrassed. The problem with that though is even if that were to happen it wouldn't change a thing...JR won't sell while he's alive, Kenny still hasn't retired and Hahn won't be fired. A hell of a position for a fan to be in isn't it?

Sox players have been "baseball-stupid" for years. It's part of the issue. Garfein in his last podcast was lamenting how bad their fundamentals are.

The Sox have now had two games where they led in the 7th inning or later and lost. Diekman has been instrumental in both of those games, both lost in the 7th inning. And here's something that's being lost, granted injuries, but the Sox offense has now scored three runs or less in seven of the 14 games played. 50%. And four of the last five games. If memory serves they were around or exactly at 50% in this same category last year. Maybe it wasn't all TLR?

Never happen in a million years. The arrogance of the FO/ownership knows no bounds...they'll probably blame the fan base in some way and then of course, the easy excuse of "injuries." As if other teams don't get guys hurt but still win.

Maybe when Crochet becomes available he'll be let go but another stunning talent acquisition failure by the G.M.

Good point.

Five out after two weeks. At this rate the Sox will be DOA by June 1.

I concede the point, well played. Allow me to divide the statement. I get the sense Burger wants to play, I don't get the same impression about Moncada and provided statements from others close to the organization who feel the same way.

No one said that, talk about making an assumption. LOL............................. Burger has overcome two serious injuries, career enders in some cases given what's happened to guys in the NBA who had it. And he and his wife just had a kid if I remember right. Moncada fouls a ball off his leg, acts like it needs to be amputated and then can't play for three days. Give me a break. Again if I remember right to Sox will owe this stiff 18 million next year. I've been around athletes for over 40 years in the business at both the pro and college level, I think I have a good idea of someone who gives a damn. Moncada does not.

From my State of the Sox story published in November. I spoke with six sources all connected to the organization in some capacity sometimes for decades: “The problem is some of these guys just don’t care, they want to win sure but they already have gotten their money with these contracts before they proved anything. Moncada would strike out and just walk back to the dugout like no big deal, he fouls a ball off and now he can’t play for three days? His contract makes him untradable but he needs to go.” “In 2016 when the rebuild started I thought he (Rick Hahn) did the right thing and he deserved credit for that. I also thought at the time that giving out those long-term deals was good. No one could have foreseen how those contracts impacted those guys and their effort." "Another one was the Triple Play Game against the Twins. (Author’s Note: The Sox ran themselves into an 8-5 triple play on July 4. They wound up losing the game 6-3 in extra innings) Adam Engel faced the music afterwards, he made a mistake and owned up to it. Moncada who also made a mistake was nowhere, he was already gone. Then the next day he was saying that he didn’t know people wanted to talk with him.” “It could happen, maybe there’s a 5% chance this front office could get it right. But first the front office has to admit they made mistakes. The catcher (Yamani Grandal), third baseman (Moncada) and shortstop (Tim Anderson) need to go. They need to get guys with a higher baseball acumen, the lack of urgency, the way they beat themselves this season was embarrassing".

I saw where the Penguins fired both their GM and Team President for missing the playoffs for the first time in I think 18 years earlier today. They had 91 points and a winning record this season. Accountability. Meanwhile Rick Hahn who has literally wasted millions of dollars and had produced only two winning seasons in 10 years still has a job. Only in the world of the White Sox.

Cliff Floyd had the White Sox among his "no-trade" clause teams in his contract. Which was shocking given that he grew up on the South Side and said his favorite player was Harold Baines.

He's been assigned to Charlotte.

Like I say take care of yourself and hope to be alive to see the changes.

Burger is an issue defensively no question. But unlike Moncada I get the sense Burger at least wants to play and to try to provide for his family. To me that's a big deal even though Moncada has far more talent. But what good is it when the guy is supposedly always hurt?

Solak has been assigned to Charlotte. Didn't know much about him but Jim Margalus of Sox Machine did a deep dive into today's moves. Don't expect miracles from Solak is basically what he writes. Guy is defensively challenged and outside of a small stretch with Texas can't hit: https://soxmachine.com/2023/04/white-sox-reinstate-eloy-jimenez-from-il-shelve-yoan-moncada/

You are right, no guarantees with new ownership that anything will change. But we know how things have deteriorated under the ownership since 2007. I'll take my chances.

As long as ownership remains the same, the front office will remain the same which translates to more incompetence in 2025.

Sox have had this "philosophy" from back in the Jermaine Dye days.

He'll milk it and be out a month. Sox may be able to trade him if they pay a large part of his salary next year but that's still going to be difficult to do. I didn't care for the WBC when it was first announced and I care even less for it now. Grifol has already publicly stated he thinks Moncada's back issues were caused by the halfway round the world flights from Arizona to Taiwan, from Taiwan to Miami and then from Miami back to Arizona. But hey it's more important to play for a country in a meaningless made for TV tournament than playing for the team that's paying you millions of dollars. And once again the Sox play shorthanded for a week, "hoping" his back got better. Nothing changes.

April 14, 1910 - Sox pitcher Frank Smith fired the franchises only opening day one-hitter as he beat the St. Louis Browns in Chicago 3-0 in front of almost 24-thousand fans. Smith would later go on to pitch for the Red Sox and Reds. The only hit he allowed the Browns came off the bat of outfielder Ray Demmitt who’d later play for the White Sox in 1914 and 1915. April 14, 1917 - Sox pitching star Eddie Cicotte no-hit the St. Louis Browns, easily winning 11-0. The game was at St. Louis and is the earliest no-hitter ever thrown by a Sox pitcher in a season. Only one member of the Browns came close to a hit but Jim Austin’s ground ball was ruled an error in the eighth inning when it went right through first baseman Arnold “Chick” Gandil who was in position to make a play but the ball bounced past him. April 14, 1942 - Because of the intervention of President Franklin Roosevelt, Major League Baseball continued during the World War. The Sox would lose to St. Louis 3-0, this opening day in front of less than 10-thousand fans. According to the reports at the time it was a very quiet, somber crowd. Marines and sailors marched in carrying the American flag from center field. Pearl Harbor was still etched in everyone’s memories. April 14, 1953 - Cleveland’s Bob Lemon, who’d go on to manage the Sox in 1977 and some of 1978, almost duplicated Bob Feller’s opening day no-hitter, holding the Sox to one-hit in winning 6-0. Feller’s gem is the only opening day no-hitter in MLB history. He did it in 1940. “Minnie” Minoso got the only White Sox hit and that came in the first inning, a single to left field. April 14, 1955 - The White Sox and Sandy Consuegra defeated the Kansas City Athletics 7-1 in the Comiskey Park home opener. The game was the first ever between the Sox and the Athletics since the A’s move from Philadelphia to Kansas City. Sandy went the distance allowing only three hits. Right fielder Bob Nieman drove in three runs on the day, a pair coming on his sixth inning home run. April 14, 1964 - The bittersweet 1964 season began with the Sox dropping a 5-3 decision to the Orioles in Chicago. Hoyt Wilhelm gave up two runs and three hits to lose the game. The 1964 White Sox would win 98 games...only to finish one game behind the Yankees for the pennant. April 14, 1981 - In the home opener for the season and for new owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn, 51,560 fans poured into Comiskey Park to see the new faces and new attitude. The Sox put on a show, blowing apart Milwaukee 9-3. The big blow was Carlton Fisk’s grand slam in the fourth inning into the seats in left center field, off former Sox hurler Pete Vuckovich. Another Sox newcomer, Greg Luzinski would have two hits and drive in two runs himself that afternoon. April 14, 2017 – The White Sox started an all-Garcia outfield at Minnesota, marking the first time in Major League history a team's three starting outfielders all had the same last name. All three collected hits, including Willy Garcia, who doubled in his first big league at-bat in the second. He played left field with Leury Garcia in center and Avisail Garcia in right. Leury had a hit and Avisail had a pair in the game. The Alou brothers all played in the outfield for San Francisco in 1963 a few times but all three never actually started the game. The Sox would win the contest 2-1. April 14, 2021 – He’s always had the talent, he just could never stay healthy but on this night, Carlos Rodon put it all together and threw the 20th no-hitter in White Sox history as he beat the Indians 8-0 at Guaranteed Rate Field. He got all the support he needed as the Sox put six runs on the board in the first inning. Rodon almost went one step further and achieved the pitcher’s ultimate game as he retired the first 25 hitters in a row and was working on a perfect game before an 1-2 slider got away from him and he hit Roberto Perez in the left foot. He then retired the final two hitters to finish off the no-hitter. Carlos threw 114 pitches, striking out seven in the win. He’d become a free agent and sign with the Giants for 2021 before becoming a free agent again and sign a monster contract to pitch for the Yankees.