caulfield12 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 On 1/24/2025 at 2:15 AM, ron883 said: Jerry is going to hold a special celebration for White Sox scout, Jerry Krause. Accepting the award will be his widow Thelma Krause. Above her head will be a "Boo" audience cue card and Jerry will be providing tomatoes to any fans who want to lob them at her. Expand That's ONE way of deflecting blame. Fans quickly forget that Krause was working as a Sox scout in Brazil/South America near the end of his life... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Supposedly CSN will be televising some of Soxfest tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Scratch Vaughn from the list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 https://soxmachine.com/2025/01/soxfest-returns-trying-to-sell-the-future-to-fans-who-have-been-burned-before/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) On 1/24/2025 at 5:33 PM, Lip Man 1 said: https://soxmachine.com/2025/01/soxfest-returns-trying-to-sell-the-future-to-fans-who-have-been-burned-before/ Expand "Getz said, lauding the effort of selling the White Sox as a happy landing spot for veterans seeking bounce-back years. “Because Will (Venable) demonstrates it, others do in the organization: We’re very honest, honest about where we currently are and where we want to go. We might find something we feel we can improve.” None of this honesty was present last year. Guess that was Grifol's fault now, or Dayton Moore on overselling his positive attributes to the Sox... Edited January 24 by caulfield12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSox2023 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) On 1/24/2025 at 7:47 PM, caulfield12 said: "Getz said, lauding the effort of selling the White Sox as a happy landing spot for veterans seeking bounce-back years. “Because Will (Venable) demonstrates it, others do in the organization: We’re very honest, honest about where we currently are and where we want to go. We might find something we feel we can improve.” None of this honesty was present last year. Guess that was Grifol's fault now,.or Dayton Moore on selling his positive attributes to the Sox... Expand Apparently Getz doesn’t realize this but old, bad veterans seeking bounce-back years usually sign cheaply with crappy teams to get playing time. Edited January 24 by WhiteSox2023 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Anyone else go to SoxFest last night? The format was incredibly different from the past as expected, in some ways good and other ways very bad. I will say anyone considering going tonight, it’s not very kid friendly. There are some meet and greets and you can technically get autographs, but you can’t bring in large pictures, bats, or even baseballs. The night started off with Len Kasper and his band playing music for about an hour. This neither good or bad, just some background music while you walked around and drank some beers. If you had an MVP package, you could meet some players at this time, but otherwise there wasn’t a ton to do. The merch they have there is incredibly limited, although they do have some cool “125 years” of White Sox baseball stuff (I did snag a hoodie). They then kicked off the real experience by bringing out all their young players and prospects. To be honest, I kind of got hyped in that moment because the sheer amount of players on stage was impressive. Just from my reallocation, you had Thorpe, Cannon, Burke, Schultz, Smith, Teel, Quero, C. Montgomery, B. Montgomery, Meidroth, Baldwin, Ramos, Vargas, & Wolkow. I’m sure I’m missing others and it doesn’t change the fact we have a long road ahead of us, but it was much cooler than seeing them try to sell guys like Tauchman & Slater. After that, they had their “2005 World Series” panel. Basically it was Our Chuck alongside Buehrle, Sweety Freddy, Contreras, & Baines. While it wasn’t anything crazy, it was a decent segment and some back & forth. They did reveal that Mark will be getting a statue and then Mark did buy a touch of beers for every adult in attendance (sorry kiddos), which was awesome given the $12 price tag. They then shift to a “State of the White Sox” with Getz & Venable. This was an absolute snooze fest with poor audio (IMO) and endless pre-curated, softball questions. I was ready and waiting for a town hall format so I could hold Chris accountable for certain past mistakes, but Boyer and his staff clearly designed this event to prevent a blood bath from occurring. You may be for or against putting a GM on the spot like this, but at least fan questions generate more interesting discussion than whatever the hell Kasper was feeding them. The event for those who didn’t pay for the ridiculously priced afterparty (I believe $100 for 1 hour) was some comedy thing involving fans and players. A comedian named Kevin Bozeman hosted and they did a variety of games that involved a mix of players and fans. At this point, I had snuck my way into the MVP area in the hopes of finding Chase Meidroth, but instead only found free sliders & fried mushrooms and a meet & greet event with Sean Burke & George Wolkow. The comedy thing seemed ok, but basically made up 25% of the event so I really question the point of it. But again, the event felt more like a party for White Sox fans than a typical SoxFest session. Last tip for anyone going, but they do have some Blue Moon raffle at the front where you have the chance to win some prize (I believe a lame Blue Moon jacket, but I drink a lot of Blue Moon and still wanted). You give them your phone number and they will text you if you won. I made the fortunate but unfortunate decision to make a quick exit as I was in hot pursuit of a breaded steak sandwich from Ricobene’s and missed a text notifying that I had won the raffle. And unfortunately, they only give you 10 minutes to claim, so make sure to check your phone from 8:30 to 9:00. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lip Man 1 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 1:47 PM, Chicago White Sox said: Anyone else go to SoxFest last night? The format was incredibly different from the past as expected, in some ways good and other ways very bad. I will say anyone considering going tonight, it’s not very kid friendly. There are some meet and greets and you can technically get autographs, but you can’t bring in large pictures, bats, or even baseballs. The night started off with Len Kasper and his band playing music for about an hour. This neither good or bad, just some background music while you walked around and drank some beers. If you had an MVP package, you could meet some players at this time, but otherwise there wasn’t a ton to do. The merch they have there is incredibly limited, although they do have some cool “125 years” of White Sox baseball stuff (I did snag a hoodie). They then kicked off the real experience by bringing out all their young players and prospects. To be honest, I kind of got hyped in that moment because the sheer amount of players on stage was impressive. Just from my reallocation, you had Thorpe, Cannon, Burke, Schultz, Smith, Teel, Quero, C. Montgomery, B. Montgomery, Meidroth, Baldwin, Ramos, Vargas, & Wolkow. I’m sure I’m missing others and it doesn’t change the fact we have a long road ahead of us, but it was much cooler than seeing them try to sell guys like Tauchman & Slater. After that, they had their “2005 World Series” panel. Basically it was Our Chuck alongside Buehrle, Sweety Freddy, Contreras, & Baines. While it wasn’t anything crazy, it was a decent segment and some back & forth. They did reveal that Mark will be getting a statue and then Mark did buy a touch of beers for every adult in attendance (sorry kiddos), which was awesome given the $12 price tag. They then shift to a “State of the White Sox” with Getz & Venable. This was an absolute snooze fest with poor audio (IMO) and endless pre-curated, softball questions. I was ready and waiting for a town hall format so I could hold Chris accountable for certain past mistakes, but Boyer and his staff clearly designed this event to prevent a blood bath from occurring. You may be for or against putting a GM on the spot like this, but at least fan questions generate more interesting discussion than whatever the hell Kasper was feeding them. The event for those who didn’t pay for the ridiculously priced afterparty (I believe $100 for 1 hour) was some comedy thing involving fans and players. A comedian named Kevin Bozeman hosted and they did a variety of games that involved a mix of players and fans. At this point, I had snuck my way into the MVP area in the hopes of finding Chase Meidroth, but instead only found free sliders & fried mushrooms and a meet & greet event with Sean Burke & George Wolkow. The comedy thing seemed ok, but basically made up 25% of the event so I really question the point of it. But again, the event felt more like a party for White Sox fans than a typical SoxFest session. Last tip for anyone going, but they do have some Blue Moon raffle at the front where you have the chance to win some prize (I believe a lame Blue Moon jacket, but I drink a lot of Blue Moon and still wanted). You give them your phone number and they will text you if you won. I made the fortunate but unfortunate decision to make a quick exit as I was in hot pursuit of a breaded steak sandwich from Ricobene’s and missed a text notifying that I had won the raffle. And unfortunately, they only give you 10 minutes to claim, so make sure to check your phone from 8:30 to 9:00. Expand Doesn't sound very inviting based on your report. Typical half assed White Sox production. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSox2023 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 1:47 PM, Chicago White Sox said: Anyone else go to SoxFest last night? The format was incredibly different from the past as expected, in some ways good and other ways very bad. I will say anyone considering going tonight, it’s not very kid friendly. There are some meet and greets and you can technically get autographs, but you can’t bring in large pictures, bats, or even baseballs. The night started off with Len Kasper and his band playing music for about an hour. This neither good or bad, just some background music while you walked around and drank some beers. If you had an MVP package, you could meet some players at this time, but otherwise there wasn’t a ton to do. The merch they have there is incredibly limited, although they do have some cool “125 years” of White Sox baseball stuff (I did snag a hoodie). They then kicked off the real experience by bringing out all their young players and prospects. To be honest, I kind of got hyped in that moment because the sheer amount of players on stage was impressive. Just from my reallocation, you had Thorpe, Cannon, Burke, Schultz, Smith, Teel, Quero, C. Montgomery, B. Montgomery, Meidroth, Baldwin, Ramos, Vargas, & Wolkow. I’m sure I’m missing others and it doesn’t change the fact we have a long road ahead of us, but it was much cooler than seeing them try to sell guys like Tauchman & Slater. After that, they had their “2005 World Series” panel. Basically it was Our Chuck alongside Buehrle, Sweety Freddy, Contreras, & Baines. While it wasn’t anything crazy, it was a decent segment and some back & forth. They did reveal that Mark will be getting a statue and then Mark did buy a touch of beers for every adult in attendance (sorry kiddos), which was awesome given the $12 price tag. They then shift to a “State of the White Sox” with Getz & Venable. This was an absolute snooze fest with poor audio (IMO) and endless pre-curated, softball questions. I was ready and waiting for a town hall format so I could hold Chris accountable for certain past mistakes, but Boyer and his staff clearly designed this event to prevent a blood bath from occurring. You may be for or against putting a GM on the spot like this, but at least fan questions generate more interesting discussion than whatever the hell Kasper was feeding them. The event for those who didn’t pay for the ridiculously priced afterparty (I believe $100 for 1 hour) was some comedy thing involving fans and players. A comedian named Kevin Bozeman hosted and they did a variety of games that involved a mix of players and fans. At this point, I had snuck my way into the MVP area in the hopes of finding Chase Meidroth, but instead only found free sliders & fried mushrooms and a meet & greet event with Sean Burke & George Wolkow. The comedy thing seemed ok, but basically made up 25% of the event so I really question the point of it. But again, the event felt more like a party for White Sox fans than a typical SoxFest session. Last tip for anyone going, but they do have some Blue Moon raffle at the front where you have the chance to win some prize (I believe a lame Blue Moon jacket, but I drink a lot of Blue Moon and still wanted). You give them your phone number and they will text you if you won. I made the fortunate but unfortunate decision to make a quick exit as I was in hot pursuit of a breaded steak sandwich from Ricobene’s and missed a text notifying that I had won the raffle. And unfortunately, they only give you 10 minutes to claim, so make sure to check your phone from 8:30 to 9:00. Expand @Chicago White Sox, did there happen to be an attendee that kept raging about a possible new stadium at The 78? 🤔 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 5:53 PM, WhiteSox2023 said: @Chicago White Sox, did there happen to be an attendee that kept raging about a possible new stadium at The 78? 🤔 Expand They actually hyped the history of being in Bridgeport, which I found odd given their eagerness to leave the area. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 4:42 PM, Lip Man 1 said: Doesn't sound very inviting based on your report. Typical half assed White Sox production. Expand The production values were fine, just wasn’t the same as old school SoxFest if you’re into autographs and town hall style Q&A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Anyone want a pair of tickets for tonight? Free of charge as long as you plan on using them and not selling them (which is probably difficult 😁). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 TBH, I wouldn't have green lighted a town hall format if I was the Sox either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 6:46 PM, Heads22 said: TBH, I wouldn't have green lighted a town hall format if I was the Sox either. Expand I totally get that…just didn’t vibe as a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 6:02 PM, Chicago White Sox said: Anyone want a pair of tickets for tonight? Free of charge as long as you plan on using them and not selling them (which is probably difficult 😁). Expand Any takes for these? If so, shoot me a DM with your email address and I will send them to you. Would hate for them to go to waste given the money is already sunk for me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sambuca Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 6:52 PM, Chicago White Sox said: Any takes for these? If so, shoot me a DM with your email address and I will send them to you. Would hate for them to go to waste given the money is already sunk for me. Expand I already paid for two tickets for tonight, unfortunately. I do have a question though. If I am bringing my 7 year old son, and I did not pay the ridiculous price for an MVP ticket, is there any way for him to meet a player/get an autograph? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 8:09 PM, Sambuca said: I already paid for two tickets for tonight, unfortunately. I do have a question though. If I am bringing my 7 year old son, and I did not pay the ridiculous price for an MVP ticket, is there any way for him to meet a player/get an autograph? Expand Yes, I believe there should be two meet & greet sessions for non MVP packages. Just make sure you bring something small for them to sign because they were confiscating baseballs and bigger stuff at the entrance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sambuca Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 8:17 PM, Chicago White Sox said: Yes, I believe there should be two meet & greet sessions for non MVP packages. Just make sure you bring something small for them to sign because they were confiscating baseballs and bigger stuff at the entrance. Expand Not even baseballs?? What the hell. What other options are there? I couldn’t find baseball cards for the majority of players. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 8:42 PM, Sambuca said: Not even baseballs?? What the hell. What other options are there? I couldn’t find baseball cards for the majority of players. Expand Yeah, it was a bit odd. You can certainly try to bring some balls in, but I’m pretty sure they were taking them at security. Not sure what people were getting signed, but I do know autographs were happening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sambuca Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 9:16 PM, Chicago White Sox said: Yeah, it was a bit odd. You can certainly try to bring some balls in, but I’m pretty sure they were taking them at security. Not sure what people were getting signed, but I do know autographs were happening. Expand Appreciate the info! About to leave in a bit and stressing out over entertaining the 7 year old/avoiding major disappointment, but he was the one insisting to go. Wish me luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 9:41 PM, Sambuca said: Appreciate the info! About to leave in a bit and stressing out over entertaining the 7 year old/avoiding major disappointment, but he was the one insisting to go. Wish me luck. Expand You should be good. Good luck and have fun man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/25/2025 at 9:16 PM, Chicago White Sox said: Yeah, it was a bit odd. You can certainly try to bring some balls in, but I’m pretty sure they were taking them at security. Not sure what people were getting signed, but I do know autographs were happening. Expand At the very least they should have made small posters or minor league cards or at least 8x10's or whatever available at reasonable prices...no baseball signings is so odd. Bats and gloves and other things, sure whatever. In this day and age of instant printing, seems not entirely un reasonable to have out something together for kids at least. They are your future fans after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxfest Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 I did see the shuttle buses are actual school buses 🚌 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milkman delivers Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 On 1/25/2025 at 6:52 PM, Chicago White Sox said: Any takes for these? If so, shoot me a DM with your email address and I will send them to you. Would hate for them to go to waste given the money is already sunk for me. Expand I’m not interested in the tickets, but I’m interested to know if you were able to give them away for nothing. Please update. I find it hilarious that seemingly nobody on a team’s fan site would take them. On 1/25/2025 at 11:08 PM, caulfield12 said: At the very least they should have made small posters or minor league cards or at least 8x10's or whatever available at reasonable prices...no baseball signings is so odd. Bats and gloves and other things, sure whatever. In this day and age of instant printing, seems not entirely un reasonable to have out something together for kids at least. They are your future fans after all. Expand Not if you’re doing your job as a parent. On 1/25/2025 at 11:12 PM, Soxfest said: I did see the shuttle buses are actual school buses 🚌 Expand Haha, hilarious. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBooneLoganEra Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Some notes from tonight: Whoever said not kid friendly got it right. I brought my 7 yr old who enjoyed it anyway but having the kids location separate was not smart. Theres not really much for them to do and i felt like i observed other disappointed parents. This format works better for a smaller event and it was fine but nowhere near what it had been in years past. The "state of the Sox" seminar was very uncomfortable. Chris didn't have the balls to get up there so he loses points. The group gave a lot of cliche statements about playing hard, improving fundamentals blah blah blah. A lot of antsy people wanted to ask questions but instead shriffen and stone asked "fan" questions from pre selected cards. Here's where I give Scriffen a lot of credit. He saw this wasn't working and went to the audience for questions. There was no mic so he repeated them. Some okay, nothing super pressing, but props to him for getting a few legit questions. Jerry made an appearance from the balcony to watch. As soon as a handful of fans caught that and started chanting to "sell the team" he bolted. And the seminar was cut at about 30 minutes as they stated they ran out of time which was crap too. The meet and greets were the only thing that I thought worked. My son was pumped to get his first autographs and we legit walked right in and out with some of our younger players. This format will not work if this franchise ever draws legit interest again. Nice restoration though. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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