WHarris1 Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 On ESPN 1000 Reinsdorf just said that Harold is the new bench coach. Nossek will be advance scouting on TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chisoxfn Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 Nossek should be a good advanced scout and I'll wish Harold the best. He isn't vocal but he's been around the game for a long time. He's a class act. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnB Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 I don't know about you guys, but I'm loving the fact that the sox are starting to build a "face". They're bringing back old-time sox and not just hiring the "most qualified". I like that, this organization is working with it's past players/fan favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 I really think Harold will be a great bench coach. He was really wise in his playing days, and he'll really balance the bench w/ the fiery Ozzie. I'm glad Nossek is also staying with the team in some account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 Harold is the anti-Ozzie personality-wise. This may work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighHeat45 Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 I don't know about you guys, but I'm loving the fact that the sox are starting to build a "face". They're bringing back old-time sox and not just hiring the "most qualified". I like that, this organization is working with it's past players/fan favorites. Ozzie Guillen Art Kusnyer Greg Walker Joey Cora Harold Baines all former sox Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
israel4ever Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 I'd like to see some guys with experience in the mix, too!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 I'd like to see some guys with experience in the mix, too!!! Nossek is still a part of the organization. And Cooper is still here as well. So it's not like we have no one left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted March 20, 2004 Share Posted March 20, 2004 Harold is my all time favorite Sox, and the low key demeanor is fine, but I'd rather it be an old baseball guy with some managerial experience. I'm ante'd up for the ride though, so let's just sit back and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwsox Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Hope Nossek has taught Harold how to steal signs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWSGuy406 Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Hope Nossek has taught Harold how to steal signs Yeah, I hope Nossek has taught Baines the "tricks of the trade". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishmookie Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 herold is gonna do well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Good luck to Harold. I know he's gonna be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoxAce Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Here Is The link for Chisox.com Baines Part Of The Family Again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooftop Shots Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Nossek is still a part of the organization. And Cooper is still here as well. So it's not like we have no one left. I could be wrong, but if it boiled down to a choice of only being able to keep one experienced sox helper on the bench, and it was between Nossek and Cooper as to who I would keep, Cooper would win. Don't get me wrong.....losing Nossek was a huge blow, but I feel Coop has the experience, tact, and knowhow, to be able to get the best out our pitchers. It's hard to lose a good benchcoach, especially when you have a new inexperienced manager, but losing a good pitching coach with a not real strong staff and some unproven starters would probably hurt us more. Where we have Experience is where I feel is the most crucial. (Remember, we could still be stuck with "Nardi----walk slowly to the mound----then watch pitcher give up a homerun---Contreras") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSF Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 From Whitesox.com: Baines part of the family again Former player named bench coach for White Sox By Barry M. Bloom TUCSON, Ariz. -- The White Sox kept it all in the family on Saturday when they named Harold Baines bench coach for first-year manager Ozzie Guillen. Baines, a former White Sox player and one of the top designated hitters of all-time, replaced Joe Nossek, who retired on Friday because of health reasons. "If you're a player you're happy to be on any Major League team," Baines said after Chicago walloped the Texas Rangers, 14-5, at Tucson Electric Park. "I was fortunate enough to be part of an organization that gave me the opportunity to play this game and brought me back two more times. As a player, you respect that a lot. They treated me like more than a player. They treated me like I was part of their family." Baines became Guillen's second former teammate to be added to the big-league staff since Guillen was hired as the team's 37th manager last Nov. 3. Baines joins third base coach Joey Cora, who was hired shortly after Guillen took over as manager. Hitting coach Greg Walker, who also played in Chicago with Guillen, was already a member of the coaching staff. The other coaches have either played for the White Sox or have long-time careers with the club, including pitching coach Don Cooper, who has been in the White Sox's organization for 17 seasons. "I'm not saying anything against any other coaches, but it's nice when you have somebody who wears this uniform, who cares about this uniform, who cares about (owner) Jerry Reinsdorf, who cares about White Sox fans," said Guillen, who played for the White Sox from 1985-97. "I think that's what Jerry wants. They want to bring people back who have a feeling for this organization. We've got a good thing going right now. Hopefully we will win together." Baines had a 22-year career with five Major League teams, all in the American League. He had three stints with the White Sox, beginning his career in Chicago in 1980 and ending it there in 2001. Baines was a special assignment instructor in the White Sox's minor league system, taking on that job in 2003. He filled in briefly last year as the hitting coach when Walker was recovering from surgery to repair a broken arm. This is the first time Baines will be in the dugout keeping the manager updated on player moves and strategy during the games. "I don't think I'm going to have any problems with that," Baines said. "I played the game for 25 years. My job is more important late in the ballgame, during a close ballgame, letting him know who's available on our bench, if our pitcher is getting tired -- things like that. I think all of us will work together. It's a pretty good group. It's not going to just be me and Ozzie communicating, it's going to be all of us communicating together." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I played the game for 25 years. My job is more important late in the ballgame, during a close ballgame, letting him know who's available on our bench, if our pitcher is getting tired -- things like that." -- Harold Baines -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Baines played his first 8 1/2 seasons for the White Sox before being traded to Texas during the 1989 season. He also played a season and a half for the White Sox in 1996-97 and finished his career there in 2000-01. During his stellar playing career, Baines batted .289 with 384 homers and 1,628 RBIs. He was traded to Oakland late in the 1990 season and played for the A's team which won the American League pennant, but was swept by Cincinnati in the World Series. As a designated hitter, he's the all-time leader with 1,689 hits, 235 homers and 978 RBIs, which means that he spent a lot of time on the bench watching games develop. He's the only player to make 1,000 appearances as a DH and also make more than 1,000 appearances at a defensive position (1,061 in the outfield). Guillen said that when Nossek resigned on Friday, Baines was the only candidate for the job he had in mind. "It was a tough decision for Harold, but for me it was not," Guillen said. "His family had him for almost half of the summer, enjoying him being home a lot. He was making easy money with the White Sox the last few years. Now, he's got to earn that money. Joe was a big loss to this organization. When he quit on Friday, I was shocked. I didn't know he was going through such pain. "(General manager) Kenny (Williams) asked me who I was thinking about. I told him we got the guy right here in Bainesie." For his part, Baines said it wasn't really a tough decision. "My relationship with Ozzie was a big part of me taking the job and I owe the White Sox a lot," he said. "I just wanted to be part of the family." Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story is not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 (Remember, we could still be stuck with "Nardi----walk slowly to the mound----then watch pitcher give up a homerun---Contreras") You mean the source of many torn labrums, many whiplash injuries, and the man who was once called "the worst pitching coach" by Lou Piniella? Yeah, I'll take Cooper too. I'm just glad that Nossek is still in the organization atleast. He should help with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBAHO Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Cubune Article, also on Thomas wantin to retire here and Mr. Zero still strugglin. TUCSON, Ariz. -- The White Sox kept it in the family Saturday as they named longtime outfielder/designated hitter Harold Baines their new bench coach, becoming the fifth former Sox player on manager Ozzie Guillen's coaching staff. Baines has served as the Sox's special assignment instructor the past two seasons, working with minor-league teams and also with Sox scouting and player development staffs in 2002. Baines, whose No. 3 was retired by the team in 1989, played 22 seasons—three stints with the White Sox in addition to time with Texas, Oakland, Baltimore and Cleveland. He was named to six All-Star teams. "He was making easy money with the White Sox for the last four years," Guillen joked. "Now he will have to earn that money." Baines replaces Joe Nossek, who stepped down Friday from the job of chief in-game adviser for health reasons. Baines and Guillen played seven seasons together in Chicago and were both with the Orioles in 1998. Baines retired after the 2001 season. "All of us have to work together," Baines said. "We're a pretty good [coaching] group, so it's not going to be like just me and Ozzie communicating. It's going to be all of us communicating together." Baines said the decision to accept the 162-game grind wasn't difficult at all. "I was fortunate enough to play for an organization that gave me the opportunity and brought me back two more times as a player in the organization," Baines said. "They treated me like more than a player. They treated me like part of the family." … There have been times when it seemed otherwise, whether he wanted to be in Chicago or even whether the Sox wanted him. But Saturday morning Frank Thomas left little doubt about his feelings: "My goal is to retire here," the first baseman/DH said. Contract squabbles seem a distant memory. Thomas, who put on a brief home run derby show that brought Texas Rangers players to the dugout railing Saturday to watch a string of blasts of 400 feet and beyond, has hit safely in six straight games (8-for-15). Coming off a 43-homer season that matched his career high, Thomas' thoughts are well past contract concerns. "You can't worry about those things," he said. "I keep going out there and shining, things will work out for themselves. I'm not going to dwell on it. I'm not going to take things out around the team. These guys need me and I need them around." … Shingo Takatsu, struggling of late especially against left-handed batters, pitched two innings Saturday in a minor-league game, allowing two hits and one run on a home run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Frank's always been my favorite player on the South Side.....I know he has had his shares of ups and downs, but Thomas seems to be re-making himself this spring. He really reminds me of the Frank of 10 years ago, personality-wise. I think if Frank continues to put up the numbers he's given us, he has every right to retire in a ChiSox uni. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Lopez Ghost (old) Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 I like everyone else love Harold because he was a great player and never copped an attitude. Personally, in the role of a bench coach, I would have liked to have seen the Sox take someone who has more experience, someone who could act as a mentor to a first year manager. Namely, Jeff Torborg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haarold Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 I'm glad to be back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 No guts at all with this decesion. Also no money. I would have much rather seen a former mgr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 s***, if we are going to finish second, Lets Have Fun I wish we had this staff with last year's team. I like the move. Baines will be a Manager someday. I like the way he played and presented himself. I always thought of him as a winner. Let's give a bunch of guys a first chance and see what developes. 22 More Days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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