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This is such a terrible & ignorant comment.

Selling the team is only hope

This is my 63rd season as a fan and Sox historian. I must confess and I never thought this would be possible, I used to live and die with every game, being in TV normally I didn't have to get to the office in the morning so I wouldn't go to bed until I knew the final score of every West Coast game...but this organization has so completely destroyed everything that I'm very close to saying the hell with them. If the owner doesn't care about anything but being "fiscally responsible" then why should I? Even now I'm basically just checking in every so often, reading the box scores, reading the wrap up's, another two weeks and I probably will be down to just looking for the final score.

Sosa is 23 with about 80 games above AA

this team might be more unlikable that previous versions, which is a solid trick

I’ve reached the point of wanting this to crash and burn so bad they are forced to make change. I don’t know how much genuine pleasure there has been watching this team since the Yermin debacle. Perhaps even since the TLR hire. I reached this point with the Bulls too during the Butler/Wade/Rondo shitshow. I was much more live and die emotionally with every win or loss in my younger days, but I’m much more compartmentalised for my own health and sanity these days. I have no control over what the assholes in charge do, but I can control the amount of energy I expend. I enjoy the wins, detach after the losses, and try to not let fandom ruin the other pleasures of life. I will always have an allegiance to the Sox and the Bulls, even if the disdain and hatred outshine any love left at any particular moment. Knowing that the current manifestation of the org will never win a damned thing helps me stay more even keel with them win or lose. I still love baseball and enjoy watching good teams play, even if it isn’t the local squad.

I wish you guys weren’t all so negative. Most sox fans I talk to are upbeat and positive about the team. Seems all the negative ones flock to a message board. Imagine that.

This is so dark. This is blackhawks early 2000s dark. The only thing that will make things better (moving on) isn’t gonna happen. We need to basically start lobbying for some sort of cromnibus addition that states the after tax death rate for passing on properties in industries with antitrust exemptions is 90%

GRIFOL SHOWING WHY NO ONE ELSE WANTED HIM

The Rays are everything the Sox are not & can never be until there's a new regime in charge

This is stupid. We are in 2023. Come on grandpa

I’m excited about the upcoming Bears season and hopefully the seasons that follow. Aside from that, there isn’t much in this city to get excited about, and that’s the problem. The last 5-6 years have been dreadful in this city. Our teams suck. All of them. We’ve forgotten what’s it’s like to have a real shot to win something. Once we have that, the feelings will come back.

I've been a sports fan nearly all of my life. I was born in Indiana, but after my mother divorced and remarried, we moved to Evanston where I started school. I think the first team I rooted for was the Cubs. But I gave them up after the 1969 collapse to the Mets and became a White Sox fan in 1970. My first baseball game was at Wrigley, but I went to many more Sox games. So for 53 years I have been a Sox fan. 2005 was a magical year for the Sox, and totally unexpected. I wrote, and have posted the link on Sox Talk, a 17-page tribute to that 2005 Sox team. There's no question that was an exciting year. I don't live in the Chicago area anymore, but I sought out Sox fans to watch the World Series together and had a blast. In around 1966, I started rooting for the Dallas Cowboys, so I've been a Cowboys fan even longer. And, unlike the Sox, they had tremendous success under Tom Landry. But that lasted only until 1995 and since then, they haven't even made an NFC Championship game. Now almost 30 years of falling short. I was also once a big NBA fan. First of the Bulls of the era with Chet Love, before MJ. Then, after moving to Seattle, of the Supersonics, who won a title in the late 1970s. I never got too much into hockey, though I recall listening to the Blackhawks on the radio. But I never really had a team. At some point, I started to break my infatuation with sports teams. First to go was the NBA, which I stopped liking because the NBA finalists could be easily picked before the season even began. The Supersonics were no more, and I never picked up another team. I liked the MJ Bulls, but didn't live in Chicago, so I never got too close. My mother, on the other hand, was a bit of a fanatic. I don't remember the year, but it was when Gary Payton and Karl Malone joined the Lakers. That was it for me. The Dallas Cowboys were next, but the 58 year hold they have had on me isn't easy to break. Still, I haven't paid any attention to them since they lost again in the playoffs. Will I pick it up again in the fall? I hope not. I want to keep my resolve and let them go. Now it's the Chicago White Sox. Last year really broke my connection with the team. And this year? Well, it's the same old same old. What I find is that it's mostly pain and stress to follow a team that isn't doing well. All you tend to see is the disappointment, mistakes, and failures. And who needs that in their lives? There's really no pleasure in rooting for a particular team any more for me. And if you can free yourself from that, then it's fine to watch sports for what it is. Take the concern about the outcome out of the equation and you can see the agony and ecstasy as just part of what makes us human beings. So I just thought I would pen this to see if other people are feeling this way. And also to strengthen my resolve to be done rooting for any particular teams any more. I'm too old to want to carry around the stress that comes up from rooting. The highs no longer come anywhere close to making it worthwhile to stress about the outcome. I believe I'll be happier this way. Anyone else? *************** P.S. The other topic I thought about writing was whether the Sox need to start over again. But that would just be filled with a lot of angst. Instead, I'd rather just let go.

Italian GOD of walks

A competent owner is required to hire a competent President and GM.

Because the entire rebuild came down to the players he acquired in the sell-off trades and Robert. The draft strategy heading into and during the rebuild was atrocious and has bared little fruit. Without a recurring pipeline of talent and with an unwillingness to play at the top of the free agent market, Rick hasn’t been able to augment the core he acquired. And even the primary core of prospects he was able to trade at the start of the rebuild has disappointed. The minor league development system remains weak, the pro scouting still sucks, and we continue to have one of the leanest / most pathetic analytics staffs in all of baseball. Even the pre-arb extensions well that Rick built his early brand on has completely dried up. Rick Hahn brings nothing to the table but a whole lot of lawyer speak and empty results. No other baseball org would still employ this clown, but alas here we are watching our competitive window come crashing down before our eyes. It’s truly sad to witness the mess that Jerry has made and see no actions whatsoever to right the ship. May the baseball gods take mercy on our poor souls.

Abreu would never have held onto MVP... over another 100 games.

Well Moncada and Anderson will be back. You cant replace all of them but its hard to have Andrus, Sosa, Burger/Sheets, and Colas all in the lineup at the same time. Having one or two is something you can live with but not all of them.

Hire a legit outside the organization talent evaluator who can tear this organization from top to bottom, and weed out all the junk that zero salvation. Players, coaches, scouts, front office. Everyone goes.

this team is the easiest ever to hate

You need to be diagnosed if you don't regret the Kimbrel-Madrigal deal Was stupid at the time and remains stupid Outside of selling off talent and locking up internal talent for cheap, I have nothing good to say about Hahn Rooting for this team is so so so hard

I think its because for a lot of the other guys we typically see what caused their injury, where with Yoan it feels like a lot of the time it's just a random soft tissue injury that pops up out of nowhere.

I'm fine with a lot of the new rule changes, but I'll never like the zombie runner at 2nd base in extras

.500??!!?

Kind of like if the needle was stationary and you flicked it, and it moved back and forth in rapid succession and ended up in the exact same spot it started. It moved like that

I think it was a case of the Royals having new people running their baseball ops department and wanting to get some outside voices instead of hiring within. I don’t read too much into them passing him over. I’m not sold on Grifol, but I’m not writing him off either.

His last good year was 2018. Typical Sox.

It just amazes me how low JR is prepared to take this franchise just so he won't have to admit he has the wrong leadership. Almost all of the teams top prospects are hurt. Not a good sign. They have been average at best for over a season and a half. They haven't been able to fill obvious weaknesses, and spring even more leaks. Show Rick the door. Tell KW the retirement he's been talking sou ds like a good idea, and hire a new baseball guy. Give him the power to hire a GM. Give the new GM the power to hire another manager if necessary. Someone needs to get it through JRs skull that if he doesn't care, except for the balance of his bank account, the people who are keeping his bank account healthy won't want to do that anymore. 2 home playoff games in 15 years. Unacceptable. What we were promised has not even within the same area code been fulfilled. Management has failed. If Rick performed in the classrooms at Michigan, Harvard and NU like he has as a Sox GM, he'd probably be working at 7-11 right now. Clean house. Today.

It doesn’t help that there isn’t a single likable person on this team outside of maybe Burger. I agree with the author. I’ve moved on. I moved on when they started this rebuild without first cleaning house. I knew back then what would happen. I’m amazed they got one division win out of it. Life is too short when your entertainment is no longer entertaining.

Another example of spending money on flotsam and jetsam but when it comes to bringing in a real difference maker, a top of the line player...the Sox balk at doing that. And I know Piscotty is probably not getting a lot but my point is Hahn has wasted millions upon millions of dollars on stiffs, has been's, injury prone players and never was's but refuses to bring in top talent with Machado and Harper being two examples. Can't go there! LOL. Instead we keep trying to find lightening in a bottle and hope. Hope is not a winning strategy.

Pedro hire is a complete disaster

I’ve been a Sox fan since 1952 and because of 42 years under the pathetic ownership of Reinsdorf I’m very close to giving up on the team that has been part of my DNA all these years. So many great memories but a lot more heartache, at 77 years old, I’ve had just a few too many heartaches. My only hope is that JR sells very soon, like maybe tomorrow. Living in Florida now for 30 years my ties to Chicago are gone so why follow teams from a city that I don’t care for anymore, I still have some love for the Blackhawks but not much, I haven't cared about the Bears and Bulls for decades. I’ve become quite a fan of the Rays and Lightning, these are 2 great franchises especially the Lightning who have the best owner in pro sports, in fact the Lightning was voted the best franchise in pro sports a couple a years ago. The Rays probably have the smartest people in the front office in MLB, what they have done since 2008 with a small payroll is remarkable. So far in 2023 because of the Rays great start this year the vibe in the Sunshine State is the most I’ve ever seen for them, I can tell by the attendance, normally last nights game with Sox would have drawn about 10,000 but 18,000 showed up, their last home stand they drew quite well, not great but for the Rays pretty good. If the Rays keep playing like they have and the Sox continue playing like crap, don’t be surprised if they outdraw the Sox this year. So back to the Sox, last night was a perfect example of how bad this team is. They had a chance especially with Robert at the plate a couple times to put the game out of reach. You knew somehow, someway the bullpen would blow the game. One thing I’ve noticed is guys like Robert, Vaughn and Eloy is that with their open stances is that they continue to have trouble with balls on the outside corner and have trouble hitting the ball to the opposite field, 4 of our guys last night who have square stances got hits to the opposite field, those being Benintendi, Grandal, Burger and Sosa, why aren’t our guys making adjustments, opposing pitchers keep throwing breaking pitches on the outside corner to Robert and Eloy and all they do is strike out or hit weak grounders, Eloy got a pitch that he could handle and hit it in the seats but the way things are going he won’t get many too many more pitches to hit, just a steady diet of breaking balls low and away. Where and what is the hitting coach doing about this or are especially Robert and Eloy too stubborn to make adjustments. Second base and right field continue to be a problem though it’s too early to say Colas and Sosa aren’t the answer. Another thing, IMHO the hiring of TLR was one of the most detrimental events in the history of the franchise, it affected the whole organization from many in the front office to the players and to the fans and threw the rebuild into shambles. The players knew that TLR was past his prime and out of it and just stopped performing to their capabilities after the 2021 All Star game, in one way it doesn’t say much about them as players but we really don’t know what went on behind the scenes. Another thing is some of our guys are plain flawed, some with constant injuries, some are meant to be a DH with no business playing in the field and some that are just not smart ballplayers and 1 or 2 just don’t give a damn.

None of this really matters. Every other franchise that tanks and rebuilds knows you can't trade for all the pieces necessary to win a WS. At some point you have to fill in a couple of spots with big time free agents to complete the team. JR will never allow a Harper/Machado/Soto level contract so the "rebuild" is DOA before it ever starts. We're screwed.

With today's technology geography doesn't matter anymore.

Sorry Lip, I was fucking around with ChatGPT. The AI isn't on our level. Fire his ass.

In retrospect, it probably would have been best to get stuck; now they're tied to an average outfielder for 5 seasons.

I wake up sad, then remember this thread and feel joy.

I'll always be a fan and love going to games in person, but I've grown quite disconnected from the viewing angle since the early going of last year. The TLR stuff, injuries, and general vibes from the team/org really sucked the life out of me in that regard and there are other ways I'd rather spend my time. I still follow and watch the minors extremely closely since I'm a nerd in that regard so that's how I get my baseball fix. While the quality of play is obviously lesser, watching guys progress and develop has become a point of enjoyment. Having two young kids helps keep me occupied most nights but has definitely shifted my priorities and perspective surrounding fandom. I guess I finally came to the conclusion that this organization, as currently constructed, is riddled with incompetence, which is seemingly ok with the man in charge, and I'd just rather not spend a lot of time worrying and complaining about stuff beyond my control (outside of a periodic venting session). I love the team and always will, but my unhappiness with ownership/leadership is starting to outpace the love.

Your starter giving up 4 in the first, 5 in 5 innings also needs to be blamed. Edit: for some reason, if you were a "top prospect", was seen as someone with top "potential", was seen as someone with "great up-side and talent" you are shielded from criticism by some people.

No problem there. You gained a broader perspective on life as well as on sports with age and maturity. I laugh when I see fans at football games with painted faces slamming their hands against padded walls to beckon their team to get a first down, or the more religious fans and players praying for divine intervention in a games outcome. Games mean a lot more to younger people who also tend to consider players as heroes rather than as mere human beings. Winning is more fun than losing, but knowing how to deal with losing is part of sports and other ventures in life. It is looking bad for our boys this season so let's just try to enjoy the games and avoid the hand wringing, faux disappointment, and finger pointing. Sox just aren't that good this season. Accept that and enjoy watching anyway.

This game could have turned the season around for the Sox. But the team kind of expects to lose and becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. It is a shame.

I'm still not giving up. GO SOX!

@VAfan- I think much of your sentiment is just a natural progression of life. You get older, time is more precious / valuable. Players are your kids ages, than your grandchildren's ages. I'm giving it one more try to be all in with the White Sox after Jerry and Hahn are gone. Would also get back in if baseball returned to Montreal. Gave up the other sports years ago. Still enjoy watching family kids play sports, hopefully future generations of girls will not be subject to what they are going through now.

At least they'll end the suspense quickly unlike last year when you kept thinking "they're close to turning the corner..."

Normally I'd be hoping this disaster of a team leads to massive changes in the front office but you and I know that even if they are say 25-45 around June 10 nothing will happen. Until the owner is removed from the scene and the entire baseball side of the front office is fired nothing will really take place, and even if Hahn would somehow be promoted... another inbred member of the organization would be put in charge and yet again...nothing would change. It's just an awful position that this incompetent, dysfunctional and inept ownership/organization has put the fans in. Just makes you sick.

Sounds like Oglivie from The Bad News Bears: “And we did hit 17 foul balls!”

Also 2020 was a fake year and the Sox were in the “playoffs” because of two extra playoff spots for that particular year. Silly to take pride in that.

It's more likely than I ever thought possible.

Lololol so glad I took the Rays at +245 in the 7th inning, knew that was easy money