Lip Man 1

Daniel: I can certainly see both sides especially from an economic / business / attendance stand point. Think the Sox would be having the issues they are having in attendance and media coverage if they made the playoffs in say 2000, 2003 (which they blew), 2005, 2006 (which they blew), 2008, 2010 (which they blew) and 2012 (which they blew) even if they didn't win the title in 2005? It's a very complicated question depending on your perspective I guess. Mark

QUOTE (Quinarvy @ Aug 25, 2015 -> 12:09 AM) Granted, they've shared that market with a media juggernaut, in no small part due to Sports Vision. Kansas City needs more than one division title to dominate. The rest don't have championships to show for the domination. Daniel: That brings up the age old argument which I don't have an answer for. Would you rather win one title or have the chance to win one (no guarantees) by consistently making the playoffs, like say the Twins in the 00's? Guess it depends on your point of view. Mark

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 09:56 PM) Interesting somebody said Santo. Didn't he say he just hated his one season on the Southside? Was miserable? Kessinger was a big bust, too, as a Southside player/manager. I don't know if he hated being a Sox though. He probably did as well. Santo hated his time with the Sox is true. He hated being moved to second base, hated being benched by Chuck Tanner, just a real ass. Carlos May told me this story about Santo when I interviewed him. “The other time was when we got Ron Santo. He was our DH that year. We were in Chicago and it was cold and wet. Dick was hitting 3rd, Bill (Melton) 4th, and Santo 5th. Ron was back in the clubhouse, I don’t know if he was getting loose or doing something but Dick made an out and went back to the dugout. As Dick was sitting down, Ron came out of the tunnel and asked him what the pitcher was throwing. Dick exploded and basically said if he wanted to know what the pitcher was throwing he should have his ass on the bench watching with the rest of us.” Mark

QUOTE (Dizzy Sox @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 08:22 PM) Navarro in a landslide--he combined a terrible attitude, horrific performance, and the opportunity cost of signing him over Clemens. Tough to beat all that, though Royce Clayton does deserve a (dis)honorable mention. Actually signing Navarro didn't cost the Sox Clemens. Clemens' agents the Hendricks Brothers contacted Ron Scheuler after they singed Albert Belle but he wasn't interested. His comment at the time was (direct quote) "Roger Clemens is over the hill". Of course he wasn't but we also have pretty strong evidence that he wasn't because of steroids. My point though was Scheuler wasn't interested in the first place. Navarro actually took the place of Kevin Tapani who had a good year for the Sox in 1996 but he suffered a finger injury and Ron actually had the gall to claim that Tapani was faking the injury. The Cubs signed him...and he missed the first half of the 97 season as I recall because of that so-called fake injury. Mark

QUOTE (LDF @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 09:05 PM) i am going to play devil's advocate. shouldn't the world series give the owners a free ride??? considering how many yrs it was since the other world series win. In my opinion no. It's not a lifetime pass. They should be doing much better. Cleveland, Minnesota, Detroit all took turns dominating the division. Kansas City appears to be doing so now. None of those cities has the advantages the Sox do in population, radio / TV deals, advertising and sponsorship possibilities. Yet the Sox can't even figure out how to make the playoffs in consecutive seasons. Let's put it this way, JR and EE have owned a major market team for 35 seasons. They've made the postseason five times and the overall post season record is 15-16, with 11 of those wins coming in 2005. That's simply not acceptable to me. Mark

QUOTE (flavum @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 09:17 PM) How about a walk-off homer? Only the Cubs do that it seems... Mark

QUOTE (greg775 @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 05:04 PM) Clayton, Rios and Swisher would be right up there. Dunn and LaRoche are right there as well for me. Of course Navarro like many said. Ron Blomberg was a big bust. Being a bust as a player though is different from being hated. And I was told a story about Swisher from one of the beat writers. In the second half of 2008 after the Sox got Griffey, he tried to help Swisher who was in a bad slump by offering some hitting tips. Swisher literally blew him off I was told and just ignored him. Mark

QUOTE (Saufley @ Aug 24, 2015 -> 03:43 PM) That is why a pro like a John McDonough is needed to NOW to run this organization!! But, we all know that will never happen. And McDonough folks grew up a Sox fan in case you don't know. Mark

Making matters even more galling for Sox fans about Wells and Swisher was the fact that as soon as they left the team they started putting up good numbers again. Remember the time Clayton showed up dressed for a game in tennis shoes? Wouldn't put on his spikes??? LOL. Jerry Manuel blew a gasket over that one. Mark

I remember the banner in the outfield, "Washington slept here..." Navarro was pretty disliked and let's not forget Adam Dunn after he publicly told the media that he rarely worked out in the off season (this after having perhaps the worst season statistically in MLB in almost 100 years.) A.J. was loved by Sox fans for his spirit and the fact that he was a damn fine catcher. Article is obviously written by someone who knows very little about the Sox. Mark

It would take a book to really delve into his background and legacy. A very complex individual to be sure. I thought these quotes from my White Sox library would be of some interest: “Eddie and I never discussed how to talk to reporters. We’ve just been ourselves. I always though Jack Kennedy was the kind of person I looked up to in that regard. He always gave the media a fair shake and understood you guys have a job to do. Without responsible people willing to divulge some accurate information, it’s hard to do it right. It was a much better approach then Nixon, who figured the media was his enemy. Doing it Kennedy’s way just makes a lot more sense to me. After all, nobody can buy the kind of advertising Chicago teams get. What other line of work finds newspapers assigning people to follow you around and write about how the business is doing every day? At Balcor, we have to hire a public relations firm to get our names in the paper. When baseball teams get that for free, it makes sense to cooperate.” – Jerry Reinsdorf to Bob Logan. From the book ‘Miracle On 35th Street.’ Pg. 154. Published 1983. “The idea that I must talk to the media in order to know what is going on with our fans or the public is ludicrous. I communicate with fans on an almost daily basis and often hear comments from people on the street and in the ballpark. We have committed a lot of resources to market research each year, whether it is telephone or internet polling, mall intercepts, focus groups or in-park surveys. We believe these surveys are the most impartial way to hear from our fans. I don't think a media interview gives me the same type of insight into what our fans think and feel. Believe me, our fans tell us. They care and they are passionate. I like that about sports. The fact is that I do speak publicly when there is an issue of importance to our fans and to the franchises. I owe that to our fans. But again, I don't really think people want to hear from me or go to the game to see me. I hope not.” – Jerry Reinsdorf quoted on the “official” White Sox web site, www.whitesox.com, August 16, 2004. As with any other individual he's done some remarkable things, some things that make you scratch your head and I'm sure he's done some things he wishes he could do over. (aka as he's publicly admitted regarding the firing of Tony LaRussa and the hiring of Hawk Harrelson as G.M. Mark

43 years ago (my God!) in an afternoon game at Comiskey Park Dick Allen did something no Sox player had ever done before. We've got the audio as part of This Date In Sox History for August 23rd. Yours truly was sitting close to Harry Caray when it happened by the way. http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2015/08/t...ulie-hits-2000/ That was some summer I can tell you that! Mark

Starting with the game Friday, the Sox have 13 games against teams with losing records, Mariners twice, Red Sox, Twins. For them to have any hope, any chance at all for even a winning season I said they'd have to go at worst 10-3 in this stretch. They've just used up one of those losses. Mark

QUOTE (Jose Abreu @ Aug 23, 2015 -> 10:42 AM) Melky has been fine. We knew what we were getting from him defensively, and his bat has picked up now. LF isn't the problem, nor is C. With respect I disagree. Catching is almost a black hole. Add in the poor defense from both Flowers and Soto and you have a real issue in my opinion. Soto would make a good back up playing once or twice a week but no more than that. Flowers is simply a lost cause. Mark

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 22, 2015 -> 10:35 AM) Are you saying Sanchez offense is putrid ? For May and June that was true but not for July and August. I'm leaning towards the latter stats as being closer to his true self than the "adjusting to the league" numbers of May and June. He's been hitting .303 since July 1. .319 post All Star game (.845 OPS) I'll guestimate that he's somewhere around a .275, 30 doubles , 5-8 HR .725 OPS next year. No I'm talking about the offense overall being putrid. As other have posted anything you get offensively out of Sanchez is a bonus. He's in the starting lineup because of his defense which is also a real need for the team but you can't go with more than one of those type players unless you somehow get three or more more quality hitters for the lineup who can fill the black holes at DH, catcher, 3rd base for example. Those are historically power / RBI positions. Mark

Unless there is an upgrade Sanchez is the second baseman and that's fine, his defense helps the team but that's assuming you can find three or four real hitters to help the putrid offense. Anderson will be given the shot maybe next year, certainly in two years to become the regular shortstop. All I can say is he better be good. Saladino is a plus defender. He's perfect for the utility role, late inning defense. Nothing wrong with that. That's an important part of the team. Unless or until Johnson can stay healthy he's not even in the discussion. Mark

QUOTE (maggsmaggs @ Aug 22, 2015 -> 08:42 AM) I agree that the Sox will need to make a move for a legit hitter, but right now, we have six weeks or so left in the season and our young players need to play every day. Saladino needs to play 3B everyday. Sanchez needs to play SS/2B every day. Micah Johnson needs to be promoted and play 2B/DH almost every day. Trayce Thompson needs to play one of the outfield positions or DH nearly every day. These are our four youngsters who could contribute next year in starting roles. If you don't let them play the next six weeks, you entertain the off season with more questions because you don't know how they will handle starting. Give them these six weeks, and you just answering the questions. I am fairly certain both Saladino and Thompson will be bench players, but you'll only know for sure if you let them play. Haven't heard if Johnson is off the DL yet. With consecutive seasons where he's had leg issues, to me, his "star" is falling. Can't count on a guy who can't stay healthy can you? Mark

This Date in Sox History is up for Friday, August 21st and we've got another audio cut. It's Harry Caray's call of Stan Bahnsen's near no-hitter in Cleveland. Courtesy: WMAQ Radio Enjoy! http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2015/08/t...es-a-no-hitter/ Mark

QUOTE (captain54 @ Aug 21, 2015 -> 11:02 AM) Someone had a stat somewhere.. ( Maybe it was Lip) the Sox have lost 15 games this year where the the pitching staff has given up three runs or less over 9 inn… If this is accurate.. with any kind of even average offense and the Sox grabbing 7 of those games.. .they are @.500 and realistically in the hunt for WC 2… I think it's more or less a no brainer… no big news flash, Rick.. the FA approach to plug holes coupled with no young productive position players on the horizon has plunged this franchise into the dark ages… interesting to see if the Chicago Wolves top the White Sox in ST numbers in 2016... It's 17 games where they allowed an opponent three runs or less and lost. Mark

Anything is possible. It depends on what is offered, the Sox needs and how the minor league players progress. When you are (yet again) a below .500 team, you rule nothing out. Mark

Rick Hahn tonight also issued a statement saying how everyone was "disappointed" with the way the season had gone but that any changes to the front office, coaching staff or players would be announced after the year was over. Mark

Have been calling around, sending e-mails to people I know just to try to get a sense of what these folks think may happen. They are wired in so they have a little better understanding of things. Most feel that Robin is back regardless...that JR simply will not fire him. Most think Kenny may in fact leave and that (surprisingly) some folks in the organization will be happy to see him depart. And most think that Hahn can handle the job on his own without having to answer to someone other than JR. We'll see what happens. Mark

Can't see the Sox being willing to invest that much money on a single player. That's simply not how they work. Mark

Jerksticks: Those teams also had major holes. Here's one example. Kenny thought that he'd be fine with 40% of the starting rotation in 2009 being filled by a beat up, injury prone Jose' Contreras and a pre steroid Bartolo Colon. In fact in an ironic twist, the day after Buehrle's perfect game with the Sox in first place by a game if I remember correctly, those two started a crucial DH in Detroit. The results were predictable. It was all downhill from there. No you can't fault the front office for 100% of the issues that have prevented this team from reaching the post season since 2008, that would be unfair. Just as it is also unfair to basically say they were blameless. Injuries are part of the game, the Sox have had their share including 2010 when almost all of the bullpen was on the DL at various times in August and they blew game after game and a playoff spot. But here's the thing....the Cardinals have been blown apart by injuries to key guys over the past five years. They keep making the playoffs. The Yankees had a few seasons where they were gutted by injuries...yet somehow they still won 88-90 games. How do those teams do it? That's something the Sox front office needs to be asking themselves as well as the fans. Just my opinion. Mark

Someone mentioned the Tigers and being in contract hell but they failed to mention The Tigers also: Won the division or made the playoffs four years in a row Went to the World Series twice Have an owner with more money than God. What does he care about the size and length of those deals? He'll just go out and spend more to replace those guys. From Detroit's standpoint based on the results I have to think they feel it was completely worth it. Mark