Lip Man 1

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ May 25, 2016 -> 10:19 AM) I want a guy to come in with a philosophy that makes sense in the modern era I want a guy to come in who has had previous managerial experience at the big league level and has won...not somebody learning on the job, a complete unknown or someone who literally had to be talked into taking the job. Even if such a guy isn't out there right now, that doesn't mean they won't be AND you can always try to negotiate with a team to get a manager even if he's under contract. Players have been traded for good managers in the past, one example is when Pittsburgh traded catcher Manny Sanguillen to Oakland for Chuck Tanner. Mark

QUOTE (Deadpool @ May 24, 2016 -> 10:10 PM) The Sox have been unable to draft a position player for a decade. They have tried, but they have failed. I'm convinced it is a scouting problem. They can draft pitchers, but that's really it. There's some truth to what you say but it's also a fact that the Sox have had multiple guys in charge of the scouting and drafting areas over the past years...and nothing changes does it? Again just another indication to me the problems start higher up in the chain of command. And I've also been told by multiple good sources that JR himself has personally 'suggested' to people who the Sox should draft. Puts the scouting people in a tough spot...would you go against what the guy who signs your pay checks recommends? Mark

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ May 24, 2016 -> 09:34 PM) I don't think the team has quitvat all. I think some fans on this site have quit. This is a long season.I have seen positives snack think we will get it going again. Hahn also kbiwsvthwrevus some autocross do on his end to find some pieces Excuse me...what? I can't even understand what you tried to type. Mark

QUOTE (SpankyEaton @ May 24, 2016 -> 09:25 PM) What happened to the days when they could get players like Dye, Konerko, Ordonez, Lee and Thomas who could jack one? I hope they draft a hitter this year and scout better for position players. I'm tired of all of the failures, lots of other teams get it right, why can't the Sox? Maybe to answer your question its because the people on the baseball side of the operation simply aren't very good at what they are supposed to be doing. The results on the field speak for themselves don't they? Three losing seasons in a row and six out of nine. No playoffs since 2008 only Seattle, Miami and San Diego have gone longer. A lot of those folks would have been fired long time ago in other organizations but not with the White Sox. Remember it's loyalty first, second and third over accountability. Mark

QUOTE (fathom @ May 24, 2016 -> 09:21 PM) By no means did they quit after it. More just lost some of the confidence they had late in games. Albers for sure has lost his swagger. You may be correct. If you are that says a lot about them mentally doesn't it? And that indicates a much bigger issue to me. Mark

Six guys in the starting lineup tonight now hitting .250 or less and Lawrie is at .251. You thought it couldn't happen again offensively from last year? Better think again. Hitters come to Chicago and die. There's an organizational issue in play here, its systemic...all these players the Sox have acquired since 2006 can't all be this bad when they put that uniform on. The players are partly responsible. Those that evaluate them, trade for them, sign them as free agent's are the bigger problem in my opinion. Mark

Another game another desultory offensive performance. You knew sooner or later Sale was going to lose but to Cleveland which is now a game and a half back...that makes it worse. 4-10 since the Texas Two-Step Night where they blew a five run lead in the 8th inning. Mark

QUOTE (greg775 @ May 23, 2016 -> 10:42 PM) On paper, not a bad deal. Give the two Reds a chance to get the Sox into the playoffs. I'd either do that or just let Johnson keep starting games until he finally has a good outing. He can't be this bad, can he? Oh yes he can. Not sure if this is right but by my count in ten starts by someone other than Sale,Q,Latos or Rodon that pitcher still has yet to win a game. (Danks, Johnson, Gonzalas) Also 18 runs scored in the last seven games with seven of them coming in a single game! Mark

Even funnier was a few weeks ago the Sun-Times columnists were clamoring that Ventura be given a contract extension RIGHT f***ING NOW! LOL. Mark

My thoughts on the double header: Glad the team got a split. Zach Duke...not good. Eric Johnson...four A player at best, not good. His ship has sailed, he gets ZERO more chances in my book. Try some other stiff. Sox offense against a pitcher who came in with an ERA OF ALMOST EIGHT...brutal, absolutely impotent. Flat out bad. Hope Sale can keep winning tomorrow. Mark

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 23, 2016 -> 08:36 AM) http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/pitching/_/so...qualified/false A lot of very familiar names on this list of the worst pitchers so far. From the Coop can fix 'em category. Man, Sonny Gray's really not doing Billy Beane any favors so far this year. I think Gray was put on the DL yesterday or today. Mark

For those that follow the minor leagues why did the Sox let this Orlando kid go. Looks like at worst he'd be a solid bench player and a good defender. Was he that good in the minors? Or just another Sox minor league stiff that suddenly became good as soon as he got out of the organization. Mark

QUOTE (SonofaRoache @ May 22, 2016 -> 04:21 PM) We made the playoffs something like 4 times in 34 years. I'm sure that plays a part in our crappy attendance and ratings. The 2007 team as bad as they were drew 30+ a night because the team was coming off a good run. They need to start having playoff seasons and the fans will come. Correct. And it's five times since 1981 (when JR and EE bought the team) 1983, 1993, 2000, 2005 and 2008. But right now the only teams with a longer post season drought than the Sox are Seattle, Miami and San Diego. That's some company eh? Mark

QUOTE (The Mighty Mite @ May 22, 2016 -> 11:49 AM) They tried like hell to build the new stadium in Addison on land owned by JR off of 355 just south of 290, Addison and Phillip Pate didn't want them and the issue was voted down. If I recall correctly the motion lost by one single, solitary vote after the public had its say. Mark

Depends on your point of view. I think it's a very lively discussion... a hell of a lot better than discussing someone's WAR on Tuesday's against left handed pitchers with a last name comprised of seven letters or less don't you think? Mark

Nice to see a win from someone other than Sale for a change. At least they didn't get swept. Offense is still in the toilet five straight game three runs or less and for the season it's 21 times in 44 games (48%) Not good. Badly need at least a split tomorrow. It would be nice if Latos can keep them in it since Johnson is very, very iffy. It's a win at least. Mark

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 22, 2016 -> 03:39 AM) The White Sox are in a terrible position to get a multi-billion dollar t.v. deal at the moment. Obviously, it's three years in the future, but the White Sox are going to be lucky to get something in the same vicinity as the ROOT Sports deal for the Mariners in Seattle. Nobody knows how long the bubble will last with these deals, for one thing. There's lots of concern about the economy going into a period of flat/lower growth, higher interest rates, less corporate profits, credit/loans much harder to come by. Houston had all kinds of problems. Or look at LA, where they overbid by so much and tried to pass the costs onto consumers and none of the service providers were willing to go for it, with so many non-sports fans already cutting the cord (the last time a month or so ago there were attempted re-negotiations they rejected a 30-35% discount from the prior asking price). Point #2 is the Cubs are getting 80% of the attention and that means the lion's share of the marketing/advertising dollars in Chicago. Unless something changes dramatically in that dynamic (the Cubs' current young core) it doesn't make any sense to project a huge tv contract for the White Sox. Where's the profit going to come by paying the White Sox $120 million per season when they haven't made the playoffs (potentially) in over a decade at/by that time? We are well aware how bad the tv and radio ratings have been the last couple of years, in the bottom 3 of the major leagues, if not #30. This assumption that the new tv rights deal is going to "save" the White Sox somehow is pretty ludicrous unless they dramatically change the way they evaluate and procure talent. Agreed. And when the Cubs announce their own TV station / network that's going to suck up a lot of the advertising dollars. Sully had a column today in the Tribune which has been running a number of stories on the 25 years of U.S. Cellular Field and he had an interesting line in it: "One longtime Sox employee told me Saturday they would have been better off if they had built the ballpark in the suburbs." That's the first time that I know of somebody with the Sox has made a comment like that. Of course they had no choice as Mayor Washington said the ONLY location that he would support (as well as his cronies on the Sports Stadium Authority Board) would be across the street from the original Comiskey Park.) Mark

Jim Thome was a very, very good player for the White Sox. The issues that came because Kenny traded for him were not his fault and he should not be blamed for one damn thing that happened afterwards. The problem with the Thome trade was that it changed the dynamic of the White Sox. In 2005 the White Sox were among the top five teams in the league in the following categories: Home Runs Stolen Bases Sacrifice Flys Sacrifice Bunts Infield Hits They had a balanced offense that could beat you with a three run bomb, a bloop into short center or a bunt. It wasn't just "home run or nothing." Thome's acquisition made them basically a station to station offense as other have pointed out often it took three (sometimes) four hits to score a run because they simply didn't have speed with Thome, Konerko, Dye et al in the middle of the line up. Plus you lost a good center fielder in Aaron Roward in the process. The Sox thought they had his replacement in Brian Anderson. History shows they didn't. The large part of that goes to Anderson himself who enjoyed the night life and didn't take his job seriously. I was told by Gonzo Gonzales of the time in Cleveland when the Sox were getting ready to play the Indians. They had a tape going in the locker room of the pitcher for the players to watch. Gonzo said there were two players who were off watching cartoons. One of them was Anderson. Again Thome did nothing wrong, a gentleman, a credit to the game and in the near future a Hall of Famer. But it was his acquisition that caused a major shift in the Sox fortunes and ultimately a few years later led to an open break between Ozzie and Kenny over his services and the DH position. Mark

Keep this in mind about the future. Jerry Reinsdorf has publicly said more than once that he will recommend that his family sell the White Sox when he dies and told Bob Sirott on Chicago Tonight in May 2004 that he believes his family has no interest in owning the White Sox after he's dead. Plus I've been told by a very good source who was a part of the organization that Jerry's wife has been urging him for years to sell the team and get out but he's refused. That says something I think about how the family feels about all this. Mark

QUOTE (Swingandalongonetoleft @ May 21, 2016 -> 08:42 PM) The series in Texas (more specifically, the 8th inning of the 13-11 loss) was as profound a face-plant as I could imagine. If you're an offense that puts up 11 runs going into the bottom of the 8th (up 11-6), only to watch your bullpen fail as utterly as they did- 7 runs and a blown lead and you get 3 measly outs for any sort of rebuttal it after that half inning comes to a merciful end, it's no surprise that things haven't felt right since. The White Sox bullpen ambushed the White Sox that night. One game can completely turn a season around one way or the other...I've seen it happen before especially if it impacts the players mentally. Mark

QUOTE (elrockinMT @ May 21, 2016 -> 07:29 PM) Greg. Deep breath and then seek help. The season us young and we are still kn first place The question is will they still be there after next weekend? Mark

QUOTE (aryzner @ May 21, 2016 -> 03:26 PM) I don't give a s*** about the NFL. I want to see good baseball. Then you'll probably want to watch some other team them because odds are you aren't going to see it on the South Side (although I still have hope then can win 82 games and have a "winning season" to crow abaout.) Mark

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 21, 2016 -> 03:25 PM) Is anyone really excited about the Bears this year? What else are you going to watch to pass the time? White Sox baseball? If so, you my friend must be a masochist. Seven runs in the past four games. Nice. Royals will sweep the s*** out of them tomorrow. Mark

Typical White Sox garbage. How many days until the Bears open training camp? Mark

Ten years ago May 20, 2005. The "Punch A.J." moment. You know it, you love it as the Sox blew out the Cubs 7-0. It was quite the afternoon. We've got the audio AND video for you right here. Announcers: Thom Brennaman and Darrin Jackson. Courtesy: Fox Sports. http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/05/t...story-punch-aj/ Mark