Lip Man 1

The Sox have used a franchise record 59 players this season, including 31 pitchers, a turnover that has seen the entire Opening Day bullpen not on the current active roster.

Well remember he "saved" the organization a year and speeded up the rebuilding process. 😆

Don't stop now boys! Another double-digit losing streak coming right up!

Sox have scored one run in 26 games so far this season. And for those mentioning "luck" and "cursed" I'm reminded of this salient quote: "Luck is the residue of design..."-Branch Rickey

It would help if he could string a few years together where he's not trying to hit with only one good arm or be able to run without serious injury.

That's probably true. To expect JR to change his attitude towards his front office at this stage in his life is highly unlikely.

And before anyone brings this up when the Sox lose this game. Flexen did not start the game so he is still tied with Danny Wright for the record of 19 straight starts without his team winning.

When you have arrogant, incompetent, dysfunctional and inept people in power making decisions from ownership on down the line why should you be surprised?

That would be a start at improving things. We'll see if it actually comes to pass.

The Sox had multiple chances to usurp the Cubs since the early 80's and every single time they shot themselves in the foot with head scratching, crazy decisions. Although to be fair there were some factors that were outside of their control, for example Tribune Company which owned WGN-TV and radio buying the Cubs.

But it is basically now played every night of the week, holidays like Christmas included. Back when I was a kid it was blasphemous to even think about playing on Christmas Day.

It's well known that JR is in the room on draft day and "offers" his opinions. As a source told me: “With :30 seconds left in their selection time on draft day JR would say things like “You know this college right-handed pitcher has the lowest injury risk.”

Can't spend a dollar if you only have .50 cents! 😆

Very true that moniker belongs to the juggernaut called the NFL.

And we'll also hear him (or his organization stooges) come out and say, "Hey give us two billion dollars, build us a new stadium and everything will turn around...trust us!" 😆

My guess the name would have been something like "Comiskey Park at Wintrust Field" something along those lines.

As crazy as it sounds I was told things along the lines you are suggesting in the story I did on the State of the Sox which came out in November 2022. “Things started to change when Howard Pizer (Author’s Note: Pizer is the Senior Executive Vice-President) was told that he’d no longer be in charge of everyone, that some folks would no longer have to answer to him. That opened the door and some people are trying to get themselves into position to become a team president. Folks aren’t telling JR everything; in some cases they are lying to him.” “Howard Pizer was the only guy who could tell JR ‘no’ and stop something. If people are angling to try to become a vice-president or president that’s just embarrassing.” “I know the friction in the front office just wore Bob Grim down.” (Author’s Note: Grim retired after 30 years with the organization. He was the Senior Director of Business Development and Broadcasting) “Here’s a story about scouting/development. Nick Hostetler was ‘promoted’ to the Special Assistant to the Vice-President/General Manager. He was ‘promoted’ because he was overheard complaining about a scout in Arizona, Ken Williams Junior. Someone got their revenge. I liked Nick, he was independent, he was his own guy.” “People wonder why Dennis Gilbert (Author’s Note: Special Assistant to the Chairman) is around.” “Mike Shirley is the darling of amateur scouts right now. (Author’s Note: Shirley is the Director of Amateur Scouting) He’s the power broker. I heard him saying that he’s been in baseball a long time, I looked up his career and it was only a couple of years maybe a half season of at-bats.” “I think Chris Getz (Author’s Note: Getz is an Assistant General Manager and in charge of Player Development) is getting to much power to soon but I like him, he’s got some interesting ideas.” “There are department heads in the organization who don’t know what they are doing, worse, all they care about is getting ahead themselves, some of them are real snakes.” “Wintrust offered a much better deal than Guaranteed Rate but part of what Wintrust wanted is the name had to be changed back to Comiskey Park and JR didn’t like that at all. He also wasn’t told some of the details in the agreement that may have made a difference had he knew.”

More millions of JR's dollars wasted by GM Chris Getz. 🤡 Would be nice to know what the owner thinks about approximately 22-24 million of his hard earned dollars wasted on stiffs, bums, has been's and retreads.

Unfortunately it is a lot more than just the items you mention.

Which isn't saying much though is it?

July 29, 2000 - With the Sox badly in need of pitching at the trade deadline due to injuries to starters Cal Eldred and James Baldwin, G.M. Ron Schueler (a former pitcher with the team in the 1970’s) went off in another direction acquiring catcher Charles Johnson and DH Harold Baines. It was Baines’ third stint with the Sox and while he and Johnson helped offensively, it did nothing to lighten the load on the pitching staff. That staff, even though they’d go on to win the division, suffered even more arm injuries to starters Jim Parque and Mike Sirotka and relief pitchers Bobby Howry and Kelly Wunsch. The Sox would pay for Schueler’s mistake the following season since the staff was decimated, many coming off surgeries. It should be noted however, in his defense, that some of the pitchers the Sox were rumored to be interested in like Mike Mussina and Curt Schilling, said they would not accept a trade to Chicago for various reasons.

It is now 25 times. 25 times the Sox took a lead going into the 7th inning or later...and lost the game. I wish I had the ability to check if this is some kind of franchise record, but even if it isn't this is absolutely mind boggling.

All four of those guys suffered serious injuries along with a few bullpen guys like Wunsch and Howry. I remember reading that somehow if the Sox got by Seattle Jerry Manuel had no idea who'd he be able to pitch in the next round. Then that off season you had "Shouldergate" with Wells/Sirotka and Kenny Williams having a press conference to defend the Sox medical/training staffs.

😆 He's not moving the team.

Heard from a source tonight who brought up some interesting comments about the upcoming off-season and what Getz may do. If they are right it sounds like a lot more turnover is coming. Here is what they wrote for what it is worth: "He (Getz) can’t go the KC route again. And please, no Brian Anderson in any form. Josh Barfield selected Dominic Fletcher over Jake McCarthy. That hasn’t turned out well. They’ve been paying a few scouts not to travel/work for as long as the last three months. I expect a lot of their pro scouts to “retire.” Given they don't have a lot of pro scouts to start with according to (If I remember right) Jay Cuda, they have got to replace them with qualified people. How much more can they shortchange this crucial area?