ThirdGen

We had one TV in the house that could get UHF, and it was the best and newest (color and everything!). If someone else was using it, no Sox for me.

The other thing people conveniently forget in their desire to bash Reinsdorf is that it wasn't a choice between pay TV and free TV at the time. It was a choice between pay TV and virtually no TV. The Sox weren't on shitty TV 44 because they wanted to be as far down the UHF dial as they could be, they were there because no one else wanted to broadcast Sox games. When 44 went scrambled Pay TV movies, the Sox were screwed. Veeck talked about it constantly his last year of ownership, and even signed a deal to move many Sox games to cable during the Debartolo courtship. The Blackhawks were in the same boat for their road games and made the same move. And of course the Tribune buying the Cubs for programming during the first year of the new Sox ownership sealed their relationship. The real mistake was dumping channel 9 for 32 in the late sixties and ceding 9 to the Cubs full time.

We don't know what health problem he was diagnosed with in February, nor did we know about the heart issue. But it seems abundantly clear he should have resigned in February when diagnosed. He stated that the health issue didn't affect him this year but it obviously did. And JR should have taken care of it when it became obvious. He was a totally different person this year than last.

This is no big deal. 1B coaches don't do anything anyway.

A lot of interesting information, none is particularly shocking given what we have seen on the field. I am confused by the Wintrust/Guaranteed Rate field comment. I have heard from multiple people that Wintrust actually outbid GR for the rights, but some shenanigans by Sox employees misled the decision makers into GR's direction. But if Wintrust really wanted to restore the name Comiskey Park in some fashion why would JR object? That's what he originally named the park when it was built. Not like GR was proposing Reinsdorf Field as their name.

No reason to even interview anyone if just hiring based on a checklist. While Hahn should learn to say nothing prior to the hiring process it would be pretty disappointing if the interview process didn't outweigh the checklist.

Throw me into the pro-Frank crowd. Had many opportunities over the years to interact with my family and never failed to be friendly and willing to give a few minutes to my kids. Having seen how some people approach athletes with demands it is no surprise that some have negative responses. Perhaps that happened with Frank. I never saw it.

You recall correctly. He was a damn good 1B. Thomas was not.

Why did Lance Johnson think Thomas would get pitched around more in the three hole with Ventura, Bell and Bo hitting behind him than hitting five with the likes of Pasqua, Sax and Karkovice behind him? And why did Johnson think having a guy OPS 1.033 in the three hole would cost the Sox a chance at a World Series? And was Lamont really stupid enough the even consider moving Frank to a spot where he would see no good pitches to give Bell and Ventura better pitches? And did Pearlman consider how ridiculous Johnson's quote was when he chose to publish it?

From my personal experience the fans who are the first to loudly proclaim a boycott are usually the ones that rarely buy tickets anyway. However this year, many season ticket holders I know are saying screw it, especially after the price increase. Far more than I can ever remember, even after the White Flag trade. This year is different.

If the Cubs are worried about being able to sell tickets in the current environment, a problem they rarely have, the Sox should be terrified. Raising ticket prices when everyone is getting squeezed economically from every direction, both personal costs and business costs is pure lunacy. Especially after pissing off a large chunk of the fanbase with an unlikeable team and unwillingness to make necessary changes last year. Completely tone deaf decision making and evidence they don't give a s%*# about season ticket holders.

The baseball world isn't that big, I would guess that they know 95% of what a potential manager is about and can bring to the organization without an interview. If they aren't interviewing Maddon, Guillen etc it is because they already know 100% of what that manager is and aren't interested. It works the other way around also, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the top bench coach choices would interview for the experience and then drop out of consideration based on Sox disfunction reputation. Particularly if they think other organizations are interested, including their own in a year or two.

The Cubs have announced a 5.1% decrease in season ticket prices. The same Cubs who outdrew the Sox by 600,000 in a down year.

Harrelson also s%*# on Leyland a bit before he left. Harrelson's first winter as GM he was publicly talking about not bringing TLR back, and mentioned he had candidates in mind. Leyland was not one of them, as none were with the org. Leyland was a TLR supporter, not a Hawk supporter and saw the writing on the wall. Of course he would have taken the Pitts job anyway I'm sure, but he wasn't happy about the direction the Sox were about to take with Hawk either.

I've heard the same thing about Wintrust. Definite shenanigans in that process.

Doubt this info really from an insider, a couple of things (particularly Ohtani) appear to be Sox fan fiction. Lots of believable stuff, but nothing in that category that anyone couldnt guess at and probably be correct.

Careful, Leyland is still around and also felt slighted when he left the Sox the first time!

Cairo and Katz were the only two that weren't carry overs. Cairo was definitely TLR's doing, Katz probably not. Reinsdorf's loyalty > LaRussa's influence. That's my point, we need a manager that isn't beholden to or afraid of JR and will fire coaches into the sun if they are not performing. Not sure if that exists, but Bochy could be our best chance.

I know someone who parked their car on the street not too far from the United Center and declined such an offer. Turned out to be a mistake.

By all accounts TLR didn't listen to coaches, data analysts, etc. So they could have surrounded him with chimps and circus clowns and gotten the same result. From what I've heard about Bochy that is not the case with him, and he is more likely to surround himself with trusted people who provide him useful information that he would actually use in a game situation. I do not trust Hahn and Williams to do the same it they hire the coaching staff, or most likely retain the current staff, cuz loyalty.

That's exactly why I want Bochy as opposed to a first time manager. I want a manager who will tell Hahn Williams and JR to f off unless he gets most of what he wants or needs, as opposed to someone who is just happy to be here.

I would have bet my house against it. Fortunately my house isn't that expensive.

I would consider Robin Ventura to be on the same level of the Sox pyramid of greatness as Jose, he would be on this list as well if he wasn't playing with Frank (39.1 fWAR with 90's Sox). Lots of players on that list not deserving of number retirement, only on the list as they played during periods of Sox mediocrity of which there have been many decades. Surprised Konerko was that low, in retrospect his number retirement was probably more emotional than stat based. But he did win a World Series and was a leader of that team, so lots of non-fWAR bonus points on that.

I love Jose, but I don't think 9 seasons with his numbers qualifies for the ultimate White Sox honor. Take a look at Baseball Reference for the list of comparable players both based on his career and his age and there is not one that any team would consider retiring a number for. Much like Baines was at the time, the uniform number retirement would be more based on emotion than achievement. Again, Jose is awesome and I appreciate his career here.