Lip Man 1

October 31, 2005 - Happy Halloween! As the White Sox were winning their first championship in 88 years, Sports Illustrated put Scott Podsednik and his winning home run from the second game on the cover. The long caption read, “World Series. In a Match Up of Two Title Hungry Teams, The White Sox Struck First, Dramatically Downing the Astros in Games 1 And 2.” Sports Illustrated then basically ignored the White Sox winning the series by only putting a small circle shot of the team celebrating in the corner of the following week’s cover, breaking a long-standing tradition. The cover that week was Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the magazine previewed a regular season NFL game….not a Super Bowl matchup, not a playoff contest…but a regular season meeting.

October 30, 1959 - He was acquired before the start of the 1958 season and part of the cost was trading the popular “Minnie” Minoso. Pitcher Early Wynn didn’t start out on the right side of things with a lot of Sox fans. Compounding the issue was a mediocre season. In 1959 however Wynn turned back the clock leading the Major Leagues with 22 wins and he had an ERA of 3.17. That won him the Cy Young Award. He got 13 of the 16 votes. This was a time when only one award was given to the best pitcher in baseball as opposed to now when the award is given to a pitcher from each league. Sam Jones of the Giants got two votes with Bob Shaw of the White Sox getting the final one. Wynn also led the league in starts, innings pitched and batters faced. October 30, 1967 - The White Sox announced that nine regular season games in 1968 would be moved from Comiskey Park to County Stadium in Milwaukee. In nine dates in Milwaukee, the White Sox drew 265,552 fans, averaging 29,506. Meanwhile, attendance was just 538,203 in 72 games at Comiskey Park averaging 7,475. In 1969, the second and last year of the experiment, the White Sox drew 196,784 over 11 dates at County Stadium, averaging 17,889. At Comiskey Park in 70 games, the White Sox averaged just 5,611. A franchise hadn’t played ‘home’ games outside of its home park in the American League since 1905. What was suspected at the time of the experiment, and later shown to be true, was that Sox owner Art Allyn was testing the Milwaukee market speaking frequently with Allen “Bud” Selig who was attempting to get another Major League franchise to relocate to Milwaukee which lost the Braves after the 1965 season. Selig thought he was close to getting the White Sox after getting a handshake to move but Art Allyn decided to sell the club in September 1969 to his brother John thwarting Selig’s efforts and John kept the team in Chicago. October 30, 1986 - Larry Himes was hired as the new Sox G. M. replacing Ken “Hawk” Harrelson. Himes drafted and signed Sox future stars like Frank Thomas, Jack McDowell, Robin Ventura, Ray Durham and Alex Fernandez as he rebuilt and guided the franchise through the possibility of moving to Florida. He would be fired in September 1990 after philosophical differences between him and ownership, in particular Jerry Reinsdorf, made working together impossible. At the press conference announcing Himes’ firing Reinsdorf let his feelings be known loud and clear. "Larry Himes took us from point A to point B. He was very successful in getting us to point B. We need to get to point C. It’s our opinion that Larry Himes is not the best person to get us to point C — a world’s championship." October 30, 1990 – White Sox manager Jeff Torborg was named the Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America after guiding the team to a record of 94-68. The Sox shocked the baseball world after being picked to finish no higher than fourth place. Instead, they challenged the eventual A.L. champion Oakland A’s right into September and were the only club in the league to have won the season series from them. Only the A’s and the Pittsburgh Pirates had better records during the season than the White Sox. Torborg got 23 of 28 first place votes for 128 points. The A’s Tony LaRussa, the former Sox skipper, picked up the other four first place votes and finished up with 72 points. Joe Morgan of the Red Sox got the final first place vote finishing third with 28 points. Jeff was the only manager to be named on every ballot. October 30, 2005 – Literally days after the White Sox won their first World Series since 1917, Al Lopez, arguably the greatest manager in team history died at the age of 97. Lopez took over for Marty Marion before the start of the 1957 season and through 1965 led the club to nine straight winning seasons, five of them with 90+ victories and the 1959 American League pennant. He returned to the team in the managers capacity for parts of the 1968 and 1969 years. Lopez was a fundamentalist and as a former All-Star catcher knew the game. He worked through his assistant coaches as a game progressed but wasn’t shy about calling players out if he felt they weren’t giving a best effort or were constantly doing something wrong. Among Sox players who felt his wrath at times were All-Stars Nellie Fox and Jim Landis. But under Lopez the team got results and because he got along well with the media, positive publicity even at times when things weren’t going as well as could be on the field. Lopez, “The Senor” won 840 games with the Sox and had a winning percentage of .564.

I have been critical in the past about Garfien being to close to the organization and JR. But in the last few years he hasn't been afraid to call out the incompetence and the dysfunction. And I have to give him credit for that.

October 29, 1956 - Al Lopez replaced Marty Marion as field manager. Marion who did a fine job in replacing Paul Richards had missed an important board meeting to be with his family at an event. It was all the excuse the Sox needed to let him go despite third place finishes and winning records in 1955 and 1956. “The Senor” though would prove to be a most able replacement. Lopez had nine straight winning seasons with the club and copped the 1959 American League pennant. Many say he was the finest manager in team history. He holds the franchise record for the highest winning percentage for any manager who lasted at least five full seasons at .562 Lopez eventually won 840 games over nine full seasons and two partial ones with the Sox. October 29, 2020 – In a move that stunned the baseball world and angered many White Sox fans, Hall of Famer Tony LaRussa was announced as the new manager signing a multi-year contract. LaRussa began his career with the Sox from 1979 to 1986 posting four winning seasons and taking the 1983 Western Division championship. But he hadn’t managed since retiring at the end of the 2011 season with the Cardinals and his age was a concern to many given the global pandemic. LaRussa though was at the forefront of the analytical revolution in baseball, was the first manager to set up a bullpen to bridge things to a ‘closer,’ and won World Series titles in Oakland and St. Louis. Since 2011 he worked in the front offices for Arizona, Boston and the Angels. With the White Sox feeling they had moved into serious contention for championships with a young, talented team, LaRussa appeared to be, in their minds, the man to take them to the next level. At 76 he became the third oldest person to manage a Major League team behind “Connie” Mack and Jack McKeon. And under his guidance the Sox despite crippling injuries won 93 games and the Central Division title in the 2021 season before losing to the Astros in the A.L.D.S. The 2022 season though was another story as he was heavily criticized for some bizarre managerial decisions, unusual line up combinations and his awkward rambling press conferences. It culminated with him having to leave the club before the game on August 30 due to health concerns and retiring for good.

As has been stated when the "face of the franchise" seems to get into numerous confrontations with umpires. gets suspended multiple times, flips off fans, is almost always injured, has off field issues that appear to impact his on field performance...yea...that's a problem.

October 28, 2005 – It was one of the largest turnouts for a championship celebration in Chicago sports history as nearly two million people lined the parade route, according to the Chicago Police Department, in the downtown area/South Side to honor the World Series champions. White Sox players and management addressed the crowd and Paul Konerko presented the last out/game ball to owner Jerry Reinsdorf.

Being a White Sox fan proud of a competent, functional, winning organization?

https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/white-sox-prospect-jake-eder-shows-growth-in-arizona-fall-league?t=arizona-fall-league-coverage

According to Merkin: https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/white-sox-offseason-questions-2023

October 26, 1931 - Sox founder and owner Charles Comiskey died in his home in Eagle River, Wisconsin. He left his entire estate to his son J. Louis Comiskey including the White Sox. His estate was valued at over one and a half million dollars at the time. He died in his sleep. He was 72 years old and had been suffering from heart and kidney ailments that had kept him confined to his home for weeks. He was the last surviving owner from the formation of the American League who was still active in the game. (The Indians former owner Charles Somers was still alive but had been out of baseball for years.) October 26, 1994 - Even though his quest for the Triple Crown was cut short by the labor impasse shutting down baseball six weeks early, Frank Thomas still did enough to garner his second straight M.V.P. award from the Baseball Writers Association of America. Thomas outdistanced future Sox outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. and future teammate, Albert Belle and finished with 24 first place votes out of a possible 28. He ended up with 372 points to Griffey’s 233 and Belle’s 225. Thomas, in 113 games, hit .353 with 38 home runs, 101 RBI’s, 106 runs and 109 walks. With the award, Thomas became the first back-to-back A.L. winner since the Yankees' Roger Maris in 1960 and 1961. October 26, 2005 - On this night the Sox became World Series champions for the first time since 1917. Freddy Garcia and three relief pitchers shut out the Astros on five hits 1-0 sweeping the best of seven series four games to none. The Sox shut out Houston for the final 15 innings in series play. Outfielder Jermaine Dye drove in the game’s only run and was named the M.V.P. of the series. The South Side of Chicago exploded in an orgy of delight as fans celebrated all over the area.

It's all about making money and JR claims you can't do that in baseball (LOL) which is why he wants his family to keep the Bulls and sell the Sox.

"The scout added that Eder might be better-suited as a middle-inning reliever unless he curbs his wildness soon." https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2023/10/25/23931316/sox-gm-chris-getz-says-pitching-prospect-jake-eder-is-close-to-the-majors

Haven't heard about this, could you link to a story or something? That makes some sense, JR would want no possible complications when he's gone and the family sells.

Not qualified...even by White Sox (low) standards

I was at Idaho State football practice this morning and my friend who is one of the athletic trainers told me he just saw an ad the Sox placed looking for an athletic trainer for the minor league system. I don't remember if they said it was to be in charge of that department or not, just that they'd be based in Phoenix (Glendale) and would travel to the different minor league affiliates. Don't know if Getz is firing more people or they are expanding the department or what. What I do know is the Sox have had a number of people come through the door the last several years as far as trainers and strength and conditioning people. Very little continuity...maybe that's part of the reason they can't go two weeks without a player getting a serious injury.

Let's test your theory. Forbes says the Sox are worth 1.75 billion, let's assume a sale would go for a round figure of two billion. Deliberately trying to devalue the franchise means JR might "only" get 1.6 billion. You don't think JR wants every dime he can get in your scenario? There is a big difference between two billion and 1.6 billion. If money doesn't matter why hasn't he sold the team already? Because as I wrote in a story in August 2022, the tax hit from capital gains would be roughly 200 million dollars and that's not even counting the Illinois state tax hit. To answer your question it is because JR is soon to be 88, his franchise continues to make loads of money despite poor results on the field and mediocre attendance due to the almost unlimited revenue streams both domestically and internationally and simply because he honestly feels HE knows best. Full stop. He tells people what to do and if they want to keep working in the organization and drawing a handsome salary they go along with things. It is simply unbelievable to think he is deliberately wrecking the franchise, He's not that insane. He genuinely thinks he is doing things the right way and that the fans, the media, certain agents simply do not matter in the least. And he isn't going to change now as he gets older. He's had this attitude of arrogance for decades, it is simply getting worse as he ages. So again, with respect...please stop.

So JR is trying to destroy the value of his franchise to justify a move? OK then... Please stop. And remember while JR holds absolute power it does state in his contract that he can be removed if he does something illegal, seems to be losing his faculties or is doing something that can be considered malfeasance. Deliberately doing something to harm the sale value of the team would certainly justify removal by the minority owners. You don't see them doing that do you? And there are NO GUARANTEES MLB would approve a move or approve the Sox moving to that city. From a business standpoint that's a tremendous risk to take...no?

October 25, 1955 - Sox co-G.M.’s Chuck Comiskey and John Rigney made their first trade; shortstop “Chico” Carrasquel and center fielder Jim Busby went to Cleveland for slugging centerfielder Larry Doby, the left-handed power hitter the Sox had been lacking the previous three years. The deal also made room in the starting lineup for a rookie shortstop from Venezuela named Luis Aparicio. Doby’s best year was 1956 when he drove in 102 RBI’s with 24 home runs. He was traded to the Orioles after the 1957 season but returned to the Sox, who bought him from the Tigers, in May 1959. That year he appeared in 21 games and hit .241 October 25, 1983 - Thanks to the most wins in the Major Leagues and a second half run among the best ever, pitcher LaMarr Hoyt won the Cy Young Award. Hoyt was 9-8 at the All-Star break then exploded to go 15-2 in the back half ending the year with a record of 24-10 and an ERA of 3.66. In addition, Hoyt pitched almost 261 innings with only 31 walks. He then threw a brilliant complete game 2-1 win over the Orioles in the A.L.C.S. in Baltimore in the first game. Hoyt became the second Sox pitcher to ever win the award following Early Wynn in 1959. He easily outdistanced the Royals Dan Quisenberry 116-81 in voting points. Hoyt won 52 games between 1981 and 1983. October 25, 1993 - Sox manager Gene Lamont, who guided the team to its first postseason appearance in 10 years, was named American League Manager of the Year by the Baseball Writers Association of America. Lamont would beat out the Yankees “Buck” Showalter for the honor. Lamont got 72 total points to Showalter’s 63. Lamont picked up eight first place votes to seven for Showalter. October 25, 2005 - Game #3 of the World Series set the record at that time for the longest game by time duration in history. The 14-inning game went 5:41 minutes in Houston and ended when another Sox role player, Geoff Blum, belted a home run giving the club the lead at 6-5. It would end 7-5 with game #2 starter Mark Buehrle picking up the save because the Sox were almost out of pitchers. The Sox rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the game against the Astros Roy Oswalt to come back for the win. That record would be broken in 2018 when Boston and the Dodgers played 18 innings lasting 7:20 minutes.

Phillies have had a hell of a run though the past two years...would love to see the Sox do something like that. Anyway maybe in about 10 days, we'll know what moves Getz is going to start making.

October 24, 2000 - Ken Williams was named the new G.M. replacing the retiring Ron Schueler. Williams, a former Sox player, would bring passion and heart to the position. He also wasn’t afraid to take risks, no matter how many times they failed. He eventually would create a World Series champion in 2005, his signature moment in the organization. He then moved upstairs as one of the team’s executive vice-presidents after the 2012 campaign before being fired due to the disaster of 2023 in late August of that same year. October 24, 2005 - The White Sox winning the pennant drew a small cover mention in Sports Illustrated. In the upper left corner was a photo of Paul Konerko swinging his bat with the caption, “At Last! The White Sox Are in the World Series.”

https://soxmachine.com/2023/10/rangers-benefit-from-shots-white-sox-didnt-take/

October 23, 2005 - Game #2 of the World Series ended in an unexpected and dramatic fashion as outfielder Scott Podsednik blasted a walk off home run after the Astros scored two runs in the ninth inning to tie the game. The shot, off Houston’s Brad Lidge, ended the game in a 7-6 White Sox win at U.S. Cellular Field. They now had a two-game lead in the best of seven series. Earlier, with the Sox losing 4-2, Paul Konerko drilled the first pitch he saw for a grand slam in the seventh inning, turning the game and perhaps the series around. October 23, 2012 – After one of the worst seasons in a century of Major League baseball, Adam Dunn, the White Sox primary DH, was named the American League winner of the Comeback Player of the Year award by The Sporting News. Dunn bounced back to hit 41 home runs and drive in 96 RBI’s for the Sox who contended for the divisional crown until the final week of the season. The previous year he only hit 11 home runs with 42 RBI’s and had a batting average of .159.

It would be interesting to know exactly how much say Brooks has in this area. Obviously he has some but if JR says "We're not doing it..." Well...there you go. Bottom line the organization as a whole simply does not want to engage with a frustrated, angry fan base at this time. Can't say I blame them but it is gutless on their part.

The so called "face of the franchise" is perfect...if you want your "face" to flip off fans, get suspended for confrontations with umpires, get dropped because of an on-field fight and has a bunch of off the field exposes. Oh and has on-field performance has collapsed badly too. I agree with you, that's no leader.

October 22, 2005 - 46 years after their last World Series, the White Sox finally got back to another one. Game #1 against Houston was played with the Sox winning 5-3 at U.S. Cellular Field. Jermaine Dye and Joe Crede hit home runs. Jose Contreras pitched seven innings and the bullpen tandem of Neal Cotts and Bobby Jenks saved the game. Those two got out of a first and third no out situation in the eighth inning to keep the Sox in the lead. They struck out Morgan Ensberg, Mike Lamb and Jeff Bagwell.