Lip Man 1

Sox have been shut out twice in a row against last place teams and have been shut out four times in the last 10 games. Fool's errand to "go for it." They have little to no chance yet again. Mark

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Jul 14, 2016 -> 09:58 PM) Standing pat is just a gutless move. Pick a direction and roll with it. We're wasting the careers of our core. This team is f***ed at the deadline because Hahn can't fill in the pieces around this core and has to trade assets each offseason just to make this team halfway competitive; this leaves us without the necessary assets to go get pieces we need at the deadline the past couple seasons. Exactly. Mark

Jose has hurt the team but keep in mind he's still on pace for around 22 home runs and over 100 RBI's. That's not bad. Personally I'll take it. Garcia isn't even producing minor league numbers that are worth a damn and he's still killing the team on the bases and at times in the field. He's a bigger problem than Jose' in my opinion. Mark

Can't believe he's still in the organization. Mark

Two items can be found for July 12 we've got both audio AND video. The first item that has video is a recap of the events from July 12, 1979 - the infamous "Disco Demolition" night at Comiskey Park. It's courtesy of ESPN. Also tied to that item are comments from my interviews with Sox pitcher Donn Pall who was there and Mike Veeck, Bill's son was staged the promotion. The other item from the same link further down the page, is audio from the Home Run hitting contest from July 11-12, 1994 connected with the All Star Game from Pittsburgh. Frank Thomas hit some of the longest shots ever seen reaching the upper, upper deck at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Stadium. Again it's from ESPN with Chris Berman and Joe Morgan announcing: http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/07/t...sco-demolition/ Mark

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 11, 2016 -> 05:35 PM) Wow, never heard about that potential deal. Why is that we always seem to get the best of the Yankees in trades, but very few other teams? Straight from Jeff's mouth: ML: Before we talk about that miraculous 1990 season you were telling me about a trade that Larry Himes said no to before the season began. Had it gone through you wonder what might have happened to the White Sox and the Yankees who offered the deal? What was the trade? JT: “The Yankees wanted to send us Bernie Williams and Hal Morris for Eric King and Steve Lyons. Now think about what would have happened to our team. Morris was a line drive hitter and a good glove man at first, we had Robin at third. Williams and Lance Johnson would have covered a lot of ground in the outfield and Frank would have been the DH. Think we would have won a few games?” Mark

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 11, 2016 -> 04:49 PM) You also have to consider that the Rangers were one of the first teams to enjoy the boom in exploding regional network broadcast deals. Not bad, considering they went from near-bankruptcy due to Hicks' shenanigans around the globe. The Cardinals are a "decent example" because of their limited local market/tv deal, but they've had the best fan/attendance of any team in baseball over the last 20-30 years out of all the "mid/small" market teams. "Best fans in baseball," etc. Cardinals' Way/Cardinals' Nation. Of course, they earned that by being a consistently winning franchise over many generations of players. Right up there with the Yankees on the NL side. Just FYI, the Cardinals signed a deal last year as I recall with Fox Sports Midwest for 15 years at a billion dollars. Not Dodger-like but pretty damn good. Mark

QUOTE (chisoxt @ Jul 11, 2016 -> 03:59 PM) Great Post. We forget how 1990-1994 happened didn't we?. Lip: Wasn't Himes axed because Jerry was up set for him not mortgaging the farms system to improve the 1990 club late in the year? That was part of it. He was pissed off that Larry wouldn't trade any kids for players like Mike Scott who was mentioned as potentially going to the Sox and after the A's claimed both Baines and McGee at the waiver deadline when the Sox could have blocked the move by claiming them, he called jeff Torborg in his hotel room and asked "what's going on?" (Jeff told me that himself. Add in the trade that Himes nixed before the 1990 season opened (Yankess wanted to send Hal Morris and Bernie Williams to the Sox for Steve Lyons and Eric King) and his refusal to let Frank Thomas open the season with the big club plus the personality differences between the two men and a breakup was bound to happen, which it did in mid September. Mark

QUOTE (Jake @ Jul 11, 2016 -> 12:18 PM) The main thing about what the Sox are doing—IMO—is little to foul up the long term. I continue to strongly doubt the benefits of a full-on, let's be the worst team style of rebuild, especially for a franchise like the Sox that would seriously lose revenue without at least a little bit of hope. The payroll is in good shape looking forward, you have some nice core pieces and your veterans aren't particularly expensive. Tim Anderson, Carson Fulmer, and Zack Collins are all guys to get excited about. We've been conservatively building the team and I don't see anything wrong with that. I think if there was a big, bold move to make that would really take the team a big step ahead, they'd make it. But I sure haven't seen it available. Heyward? Upton? Alex Gordon? Cespedes seemed to be the worst fit in the offseason but is the only one hitting in the actual season. In the end, it turned out a CF would have been the best fit in the first place. We brought on Frazier and Lawrie at very little expense and nobody is stopping us from flipping them at the deadline a year from now if things aren't looking up. To me, this is the kind of approach we had when we won the WS. The 2005 team was filled with question marks and the direction of the franchise was unclear. But we kept those core guys around and tried to bring on extra talent without mortgaging the franchise. It worked out. Maybe that was just a fluke and it shouldn't be a model for the future, I can't say. Jake: Just my opinion but 2005 was a fluke. Also just my opinion, if the Sox went into a full rebuild mode and lost revenue I don't honestly think that would make much of an impact. I assume you are talking about attendance. With the revenue streams MLB now has, paid attendance isn't that big of a deal. It certainly has a place and it's very nice to have but I don't think it's 'make or break' anymore...not like back say in the 1940's before TV hit it big. Mark

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jul 11, 2016 -> 11:23 AM) I think every Sox fan needs to read this article for some perspective right now. Barring a complete tear after the break, I hope the FO realizes they can't waste the primes of another wave of young talent. Time is now to pick a direction and go 100% in that direction. http://southside.locals.baseballprospectus..._medium=twitter A lot of fans have been telling the Sox to do this, i.e. pick a lane for years. The Sox though have different ideas. "Contend while rebuild" and clap trap like that. I personally don't care what they do rip it up or go for it but if your are going to do either of them you need competent people making the decisions, signing the free agents and making the trades. Many (most?) Sox fans have lost faith that Kenny Hahn are capable of pulling it off. Plus unless the Sox are willing to significantly raise the payroll they aren't going to get the top shelf free agents when they hit the market. The organization is between the rock and a hard place with no real or easy way out. Mark

Well deserved for Chris. Lip

A little out of sequence chronologically and I apologize... July 7, 1982. It was the coming out party for Sox outfielder Harold Baines. In a game in Chicago against the Tigers, Baines blasted three home runs in the Sox 7-0 win. One of his blasts was a grand slam. He’d drive in six of the Sox seven runs. Later that week at Toronto in a 16-7 win, he’d hammer two more home runs including a second grand slam and knock in five more RBI’s. No wonder he was named A.L. Player of the Week! Announcers are Early Wynn, Joe McConnell, Ken "Hawk" Harrelson and Don Drysdale. Courtesy: WFLD-TV. (Same page as the audio for Iguchi's 19 inning win) http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/07/t...te-sox-history/ Mark

It still is the longest game ever played at U.S. Cellular Field. It's July 9, 2006 and the white hot White Sox are taking on Boston. Tadahito Iguchi’s single in the last of the 19th inning gave the White Sox a dramatic 6-5 win in this one. Jermaine Dye’s two out, ninth inning home run tied the game at three. Both teams scored two runs in the 11th and the score stayed that way until the 19th. The game took 6:19 minutes. It also appeared to take something out of the World Champions...the White Sox weren’t the same the rest of the season. Announcers are Ken "Hawk" Harrelson and Darrin Jackson. Courtesy: Comcast Sports Chicago. http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/07/t...te-sox-history/ Mark

Odds are long this team could make the playoffs. Don't trade anything more. Foolish endeavor. Mark

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Jul 10, 2016 -> 03:27 PM) The Sox aren't trading Quintana in the middle of a playoff race A playoff race they have very little chance of winning in my opinion. Mark

This weekend is precisely why I think it would be foolish for the front office to "go for it" and trade more potential future assets (off the major league roster or the minor leagues)on the slim chance they can somehow grab the second wild card spot. You lose two of three AT HOME to the worst team in baseball. The only consistent thing about the White Sox is their frustratingly inconsistency. Still shaking my head over this weekend. Now add in the fact they are unable to beat Cleveland, Kansas City or Detroit on a regular basis and you see "going for it" is a fool's errand. Mark

Personally I hope the Sox do not trade any more potential future assets for a longshot chance of making the playoffs. The manager still makes far to many questionable decisions (latest example using Beck in a two run game Friday night), the lineup still has a lot of holes and the pitching is thing along with a thin bench and very little help in the minors. Anything is possible but as I said the odds are very long. I wouldn't do it but the Sox probably will knowing the Sox. Mark

And the injuries keep piling up. Big ones and small ones. Mark

Hopefully they can win the series tomorrow then the front office can reassess things. Mark

Nice to see that kind of pitching out of one of the backend guys in the rotation. Mark

Nice to see that kind of pitching out of one of the backend guys in the rotation. Mark

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 6, 2016 -> 08:43 AM) How many teams have 3 or more catchers in their organization? Not specifically referring to the catching position as well you know given the players that I listed. Still numerous holes in this lineup at multiple spots and the minor leagues continue to provide little to no help. Mark

Chase Headley...the new Ryan Raburn. Rodon has really taken a step back this year. Mark

Another injury the Sox can't take because of the lack of talent in the minor league system and on the bench. We're not talking about All-Star selections here getting hurt (Avila, Jackson, Davidson, Putnum, Petricka, Webb) and the Sox are having a hard time replacing them. Mark

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Jul 4, 2016 -> 04:14 PM) I have always noticed a lot of the people that rip him use a lot of information he provides. Yeah, he is too into the umpires, yeah his defense of Avi's defense is homer ism at its best, but he knows a heck of a lot about the game. Listening to him talk about hitting, where to stand in the box is fascinating. Players used to move around in the box, not anymore. Like with Frazier, saying he should move his back foot 6 inches farther from the plate so he won't pull off the ball was so simple and made so much sense. Great! Make him the new hitting coach and get him out of the booth! Mark