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I hate the Cubs, and I hate Joe Ricketss and his spoiled brat son Tom Ricketts. They could win 10 World Series in a row and I won't watch or go to a Cub game. Ricketts ruined the charm of Wrigley Field and the Wrigleyville neighborhood and is turning it into a baseball themed Disneyland. They took half of Sheffield and want to close off streets so they can have a captive audience to profit from. As far as the Sox "blowing it up" that is what the Cub fans want to see happen. It isn't a legit way to build a team any more, because there are too many bad teams vying for the top Draft choices. Therefore, there is no guarantee that a bad team will net a star like kris Bryant in the following year;'s Draft. What Epstein did involved a lot of very fortunate circumstances, some very good judgment ,a virtually unlimited budget, and a whole lot of luck. He is also not operating under a salary cap. I'm pulling for the Indians/.

Regardless of anyone's political ideology, (and about 70% -80% of white guys including myself are Republican) President Obama has done nothing but honor the White Sox since he was elected as Illinois Senator and as our President. Mocking him is pretty cheap and I would say, that makes more of a statement about those who feel they need to do it. With that out of the way, I actually met Chris Getz father at the first game he played in Chicago. He had a couple of family members there as I recall. They scooted down to the clubhouse after the game to congratulate him. It was pretty apparent that Chris had some great parents. He was a star in high school and played some outstanding baseball in College. I think those who criticize this pick are the same people here that criticize anything and everything they can. Meanwhile they have no idea what the vetting process was and why the decision was made to hire Getz. this is a position in a baseball organization, not head of NASA. And Getz has been out of the Sox organization for about 7 years. Maybe watch the Cubz tonight if you are feeling that hostile toward the White Sox. ....or Obama. Sheesh..

QUOTE (SouthSideSale @ Oct 14, 2016 -> 09:28 PM) They really could give a f***. Guess what? So do I. I don't care about the White Sox anymore. Go ahead and suck ass for another year. I won't watch. f*** Jerry Reinsdorf. f*** Joe Ricketts.

It was GREAT watching Conor G blow up Chapman, the Cub thug. That ball was mashed. Good for him ! Many players do not have a highlight like that in their entire career. He was always a humble, quiet player when he was with the Sox. He had a lot of probllems with his feet, I think perhaps plantar fasicatis, which appeared to be bothering him last night. I remember listening to cub fans Bored and Burned fiend when Gillaspie played here as they MOCKED Hawk for claiming that Conor had a "quick bat." LMAO at that now. Did he catch up with that high heat or what? Boom!

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Oct 4, 2016 -> 05:23 PM) Excellent. Beautiful response. This board has bow gianed so much knowledge from your response. You responded to a long post with a two word "HA" so please don't try to take the high road and diss / troll this message board. My post was thoughtful and responsive to the thread.

QUOTE (soxfan2014 @ Oct 4, 2016 -> 11:06 AM) Yeah I don't see both going. I think one goes this offseason (Sale) and the other in the next year/year and a half (Quintana). LOL

1.) Burdi or Nate Jones as Closer. 2.) Robertson traded for anything they can get for him. 3.) Shields traded for anything, nothing or, DFAed. He cannot be on this team next season because of his attitude, declining velocity, and inconsistent performance. 4,) Trade or DFA Avisail Garcia. 5.) Trade Lawrie. Sanchez and Saladino can replace him at second. 6.) Sign Austin Jackson for CF 7.) Charlie Tilson as back-up CF 8.) Narvaez stays as back-up catcher. Starting catcher remains a question mark. 9.) Keep Sale, Q, Rodon, and Gonzo and look for a legit 5th starter. 10.) Don't resign Morneau. That leaves DH as a need but should not be that difficult to fill. Then see what can be done with trades or promotions from the minors. I already miss having the Sox on when I come home. I won't be watching the North siders unless there is an elimination game and someone calls me to watch in the ninth.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Oct 1, 2016 -> 03:09 AM) It's called marketing and controlling your regional territory. Not to mention the team in Peoria for generations. Once upon a time, the Sox at least had a team in South Bend. Another example, the Royals with teams in Omaha and NW Arkansas. Before that, Wichita for AA. It's called building your fanbase. It also helps when there's lots of young and exciting players to follow before they even reach the majors. You complain about the Sox organization from the minor league affiliates on up to the front office and the owners, the stadium, and at times the fans and the players. Is there anything about the White Sox that you can be positive about? Building a fan base? Perhaps you might agree to simply stop trying to discourage fans.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Sep 30, 2016 -> 10:36 AM) What happened was 1984. The cubz bandwagon started filling up when Harry Carey moved from the White Sox to the Cubs in 1981. That was huge. It exposed much of the country to Harry and the Cubs via Super station WGN. How cute those Cubbies were to toothless bumpkins in Iowa and throughout the WGN viewing area, and how comfortable grandparents were with folksy Harry, starting his broadcasts, "Hello everybaddy.." Yea, Cubz picked up a lot of fans, especially in remote cities and towns lacking a MLB franchise. There is not question though that Sox ownership were foolish with that nonsense paid Sportsvision. And that came on the heels of substandard WSNS UHF TV broadcasts of Sox games. Dumb and dumber. The thing that turned the dynamic of Cubs/Sox fandom around in a substantial way was how cubs fans were viewed after their behavior at and following the infamous 2003 Bartman game. Then on the heels of that debacle, the surprise World Series Championship that was waiting for our City in 2005. Shock (2003) and Awe (2005). It would be hilarious if the Cubs choked in the playoffs and something like that happened again.

The Sox have not been smart or lucky with many of their Draft selections and trades. It has been frustrating, especially seeing how the Cubs basically stole Rizzo, got Addison Russel for Samardzija, got Arrieta and Strop for Feldman and Clevenger, and were lucky to get super star Bryant who happened to be was there for them to pick as a result of tanking the prior season. Meanwhile the Sox have had some dog trades and acquisitions like Addison Reed for Matt Davidson and the signng of laRoach, and Shields. In addition, Robertson has not been a shut down Closer, Frazier has hit home runs but has hit for a low average, and there have been a lot of key injuries to Ajax, Lawrie, Petricka and a few others. I am not happy but I am not going to jump in the lake over this.It is what it is. I will still enjoy my beer at the games next season and will go the final game on Sunday to say good bye to the team and to Ventura. I would guess that he will not return and that Hahn will install Renteria as Manager effective on Monday. There is about a 50/50 chance that Ventura comes back but I do not think that would be a good idea .

The criticism of JR and of the White Sox is unwarranted. There is no proven correlation between spending on free agents and a team's success. There have been bad moves like Shields and LaRoach, but there have been some good transactions like Abreu, Eaton, Quintana and Sale. JR has spent enormous money on the White Sox and on the Bulls. MJ had the largest player Contract in history. There is a LOT of luck involved in Sports from Drafting players, trades and in the way the ball bounces in games. I am sick and tired of the hand wringing and the finger pointing. Mistakes have been made but baseball is just a game, so there s nothing earth shattering about that. As a Sox fan, just try to look forward to some changes and additions to the team for next season. 29 other teams will be trying to do the same thing. I remember about this time in 2003 when Sox fans were all down and depressed. Things turned around quickly and that can happen again.

Any of the suggestion would be an improvement over Ventura. I want to see Renteria and third base coach Joe the jumping windmill fired or not re-signed to along with Ventura.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 25, 2016 -> 12:13 AM) Just think, you and I could have done just as well as Avila at the plate during that game. Five Ks is pretty bad. I see Anderson is down to .277. It'd be nice if he could finish at or above .280. I'd hate to see him pull a 1-for-30 to end a nice season and hit about .260 or .250. What difference would that make? Anderson is our starting shortstop next season regardless of what he does in his last 20 or 30 at-bats.

QUOTE (sin city sox fan @ Sep 23, 2016 -> 09:33 PM) I would like to have Ozzie back. I think that would make some sense but I sense that KW would not want him back and that Hahn would feel challenged by Ozzie, AJ or any strong personality in the Manager's position. Since putting fans in the seats generates income which helps the team, why not pick Ozzie, AJ or someone who could light a fire under this team?

One solution to the upper deck would be to remove most of it, lowering the height of the stadium on the North and South elevations... after adding outfield grandstands to replace that seating with more fan friendly seats that have access to the lower concourses. Anything can be done construction -wise, but step one is to make the team more competitive next season.

This is a moot point and you conveniently ignore the positive aspects of the design, stressing the worst aspects of it. You try to make a direct correlation between the design of the upper deck and attendance, but there is no evidence to support that conclusion. You are looking to blame the owner for something that took place 20 years ago which is in and of itself strange, because this owner brought us a World Series Championship and has spent a lot of money on players to field competitive teams. Is there anything that you like about Sox Park? There is a lot there to like if you look for it. As I said, I love going to games there with friends. We always have a good time even when we lose. We don't sit in our seats all game and b1tch about what Reinsdorf agreed to 20 years ago . We enjoy the moment and look forward to positive changes in the future.

I am not and was not a fan of many of the design features in the new Comiskey, but many substantial changes have been made since the early 1990's. An entirely different color on everything including replacement of every seat in the ball park, just for starters. There are a lot of amenities in the park that Cub fans don't know about - the bullpen sports bar, the bar and grille by Gate 5, the stadium club, the wide concourses around the park and in the outfield, the XFinity areas, and of course all of the private parking around the park so people do not have to ride a trolley with sweaty cub fans to get to and from there. There are possibilities to reconfigure and even remove sections of the upper deck, IF that is warranted. Another point to consider,, The demographics within the city limits of Chicago include mostly minorities, so having aNY seats that are "cheap" is probably not that bad of an idea. Same goes for young people that want to go to a game with their friends. Tne Sox just need to improve the amenities for those with seats in the upper Tank, and more importantly field a winning team.

The job is Konerko's if he wants it and lets Jerry know. It has been a long sleep walk this year and that is not what fans want to see next season. That is why I would go bold and hire AJ or Ozzie to wake these blokes up. AJ is underrated for his baseball IQ and his personality has been misconstrued by opponents who dislike his competitiveness. Ozzie has calmed down considerably and IMO would be welcomed back by most Sox fans. Konerko might be another Ventura, a nice guy and former Sox star that cannot manage his way out of a paper bag.

Once again, I would like to see a new RF Grandstand. After that goes up remove the seats section in the upper deck on the third base side, opening a partial view to downtown. Just out of curiosity, what is the seating capacity of the outfield bleachers in Wrigley compared to the outfield seats at Sox Park? How many seats in the upper deck at Wrigley have obstructed views? I think a lot of them do.

I don't like the steep angle but you can't compare upper decks that have obstructed views with Sox park. There are several things that can be done to make upper decks seats more attractive. I would like to see the last several rows eliminated and the angles cut down. The worst ones could be replaced by building upper deck grandstands in RF with updated features and amenities that are currently lacking in the "cheap seats." The first level of the park is one of the best in baseball, no question about that. in fact, it is so noce thst it often looks like far fewer people are in the park than there are in attaendance because people are down in the RF bullpen area , the XFinity areas, standing in the outfield concourse drinking and eating, or just walking around the park. You don't have to be tied down to your seat for the entire game. I don't think cub fans get that because they can't leave their seat and walk around that easily during a game and when they have to in order to go to the restroom, it is a major hassle. I like our park, even when the team is not that great and even when they lose, I always have a good time with friends.

QUOTE (InTheDriversSeat @ Sep 16, 2016 -> 05:51 PM) Who cares if a skyline is in the background? I don't. Just because other teams do that, doesn't mean we have to. Makes NO difference to me. I'm perfectly happy with the stadium we have now, and I could care less if I can see any skyline or not. I'm more interested with the game on the field, and the amenities inside the stadium. And to anyone who thinks the seats in the upper deck are too high, there's an easy solution: Buy a ticket in the lower deck. Problem solved. EXACTLY. I love the outfield concourse at Sox Park and also walking all the way around the park and being able to take sneak peaks at the game. The park looks beautiful since they made several changes. I also like driving to the park and tailgating before games. Can't do that at Wricketts Field.

KC doesn't need Moustakis anymore. Maybe they would trade him to the Sox for their old buddy Shields plus Lawrie. Then we could trade Frazier and have Moose at third. Just one of those wild trade ideas scenarios that we tossed around while watching the game last night.

The fact is, other than your core players of Eaton, Abreu, Anderson.. the entire lineup pretty much needs to be addressed… Not necessarily. Saladino has made great improvement between what he hit in 2015 and what he has hit this season. I want hm back as our starting second basemen. That leaves Lawrie or Frazier at third with the other one being a trade chip. Not a bad position to be in. Omar Narvaez, just 24 years old, is hitting close to .300 and is playing decent defense. Pencil him in as the starting catcher next season. So the Sox line-up needs a couple of guys, but that doesn't justify a tear down. Get a CF and LF and a DH. That should not be that difficult considering the Sox already have some internal options and possible free agents to choose from. The area that has killed the Sox this season and last season has been our bullpen. We lose too many games in the 7th-9th innings.

I was glad my dad was able to see the White Sox win a Pennant in '59 and a World Series in '05.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Sep 3, 2016 -> 11:20 PM) Amen. It's just totally a fireable offense. I never understood why the Sox signed Shields after he already failed miserably in San Diego and infuriated their Owner. Extremely poor talent evaluation and a stunning lack of due diligence by those who recommended this signing to Jerry Reinsdorf. Shi=ields was acting the same way after suffering losses when he was with the Padres and eventually they had enough. Jerry Reinsdorf was made into patsy by Hahn and possibily Ken Williams. The Sox only realistic option with Shields at this point is to DFA him. H has nothing left in his arm and his attitude is terrible. He just wants to retire and take home the money, just like Danks did. I hope there isn't some vein attempt at face saving where they keep running him out there hoping against hope he will regain velocity and bite on his off speed pitches. I have a similar sentiment about Avi Garcia. How many time does he need to strike out before the Sox understand that he is never going to be the high OBP contact hitter that they are supposedly looking for.