TBrown54

True. I'll include Juan Uribe on Mt. Rushmore of White Sox SS with Appling and Aparicio. One of Kenny's best ever acquisitions.

Should have drafted Schwarber, not Rodon. OF/DH with home runs. Schwarber has underachieved, true, but he's healthy. Maybe he would have fit in better here than on N.Side and Maddon batting him leadoff or wherever. But Rodon has underachieved more.

That was a great time. HRs in bunches. Lousy pitching, save Foulke, Howry, then Buerhle in '01, but lots of home runs.

Yep. We're doomed.

Still, they must not give up on drafting and player development. Must build a foundation, somehow. Most discouraging is that they won't give up on Kenny.

Thanks for the scouting report. What I noticed most was the statement that "the White Sox also have a plethora of outfield talent in their farm system, so committing to another project like Bishop would indicate Rick Hahn and the rest of his team have something up their sleeves in the second round and beyond." Is this true about plethora of OF talent? Is the Chicago Now blog affiliated with White Sox in any way? They likely have some White Sox sources, but that statement seemed a bit deferential to White Sox FO.

Three things I judge the performance of Executive VP of Baseball Operations in past decade are team's performance (grade F), attendance (F), and casual fan interest (this is more subjective, but I give him an F. There are rarely positive reactions from casual sports fans when subject of White Sox is broached. They include sympathy, puzzlement, howls of laughter, etc.).

Consider the intangibles. An elite pitcher rotting away in baseball Siberia, must be very discouraging. How could it not have affected him? One day, he just snapped and he took a scissors to the team's retro uniforms. Plus, he shredded the wrong ones; should have been the Sunday license plate uniforms (but that's a new topic).

I agree, spending like drunken sailors is what begot them James Shields. Sox front office gives drunken sailors a bad name.

I guess two players: Two relief pitchers/RP-prospects or a relief pitcher and second tier hitting prospect (fourth OF caliber).

Yes, they averaged 74 wins per year between 2012 and 2016. Those teams could not hit. FO has no excuse for such lousy teams, no playoffs, and declining attendance for past decade.

I wouldn't mind them building an offense. They had a star in Sale with Quintana a capable #2 or #3 and Kenny and his crack staff wasted both of them. Sale should have won at least one Cy Young and Quintana was good enough for at least one All-Star team. No run support. It was painful to watch.

I saw a second baseman do it in the World Series. Hornsby brought in Ronald Reagan to strike out Tony Lazzeri.

Ozzie still at it, currently with a weekly appearance WSCR.

4. Addressing media after the game is critical; manager is daily/nightly face of the franchise. Best managers can manage the team and the media. Ozzie was one of the best. Best managers give credibility, and if fan base perceives product is credible, it helps prop up attendance in down years (IMHO).

I remain an optimist in 2019. I thought Lopez exceeded expectations for 2018; any poor starts like last night were exceptions. In 2019, they are more common and he has regressed. At least he does not appear to be hurt (unlike Rodon, who was daily candidate for DL). And there was that 14 strikeout performance earlier in month...

This will be crazy to many, but Sox should have hired Ryne Sandberg when the Cubs passed him over in favor of Mike Quade. Ryno paid his dues in minors, was popular with Sox fans, and one of most popular Cubs in history in visible role with their rival would have been shaken them and their fan base up a bit. He would have only needed to be "placeholder", average manager while the inept front office got their act together and began a rebuild. As for Mauer, I thought he would be a Twin for life, or is he -- like Sandberg was -- interested in managing?

At least Ozzie was good for some publicity, helped keep the Sox relevant, despite current aging stars and no future stars (except Sale). But, yes, if Ozzie was fired years earlier, we might have been spared Adam Dunn and "All In" disasters.

Washington slept there :-)

What I recall most about Ventura Era was 2016. During Sox hot April start, it seemed he was going "all in" with the bullpen every time they had a chance to win; consuming many pitchers in nine inning games. Then April became May, and the inevitable bullpen (and season) collapse, including the infamous Memorial Day Weekend meltdown in KC. Great player, great guy, but he makes the top 5 worst list since after 1970 (the still franchise record 106 loss season).

Don Kessinger? He lasted less than a season, but he was not interim. He was named manager for start of 1979, so he qualifies

I can't remember the last time a White Sox pitcher with such low expectation went on this type of run. Two runs allowed in last 28 IP and ERA down to 2.77.

The first Sox radio announcers I can remember were Elson and Red Rush. Someone posted to YouTube a complete 1967 WMAQ broadcast of Sox/Red Sox from Fenway . Listening to it was like 50 years evaporated. Timeless. Was as good as I remembered.

That would suggest that Kenny personally scouted him.

Someday, LaRoche's kid may have his own story to tell: Drake in Kennyland.