Middle Buffalo

QUOTE(greasywheels121 @ Jul 10, 2005 -> 08:49 PM) Not with the Sox. Brooks has had his name all over everything good that's happened with the Sox PR the past couple years. The Us vs. Them commercial, Sox pride, the wristbands, etc. You're assuming that everyone using this board lives in Chicago and is exposed to Sox marketing. I only knew who he was from soxtalk.

QUOTE(southsider2k5 @ Jul 9, 2005 -> 06:47 AM) Sox fans are the biggest fairweather fans that I know of, outside of maybe Cleveland. They don't show up unless we win, and then they all come out of the woodwork. The idea of supporting a bad team is crazy to me. I work too hard to piss my money away. I mean, I wouldn't pay to see a bad movie (Gigli, Ishtar). I wouldn't go to the zoo if the animals weren't out. Why in the hell would I go to a game to see a crappy team? As far as bandwagon fans, they're completely necessary to any team being able to spend money. Without them, every team is small market. PS I have no idea how knowing who the director of marketing makes one a true fan. That's just dumb.

I wanted to start a Schilling to the bullpen thread, but see that it's being discussed here. I wouldn't put it past Schilling to be doing this to make a push for the Hall of Fame (ala Eck). He has about 185 wins, and at 37 it's unlikely that he'll win enough to make the Hall. But I'm sure he thinks that those wins plus a few seasons as a dominant closer would make him Hall worthy. Especially when you consider his post-season stats. Damn, I hate Schilling.

I'm pretty sure capri pants went out of style when my mom bought one in every color.

One.

Good publicity. I know it's not the record, but 180+ people is about as many as I can ever remember being on-line. 86 or so not registered. As DJ might say, "Uh oh."

Joe Borchard will be huge in the second half.

QUOTE(Punch and Judy Garland @ Jul 3, 2005 -> 08:36 PM) He is really old so I don't know if the juice comments are completely fair Before the new drug policy, 36 wasn't considered old anymore. All of a sudden it is again. Plus, Boone is another guy that Canseco named in his book. He said Boone gave him a wink when Canseco mentioned that Boone had really bulked up. Boone is a tool.

Thanks for the info. It helps. I personally went to UofI and never regretted the decision. I saved money by going to quarter beers at CO's & mug nites at O'Malley's and such. "Drinkin' beer with my f**ked up friends." Oh, to be 19 again. Good times.

96 Chevy Beretta that leaks s*** all over my garage (every week something new). I just add whatever leaked and keep on going. Runs great, though. 00 Dodge Grand Caravan. Never any problems.

QUOTE(Finkelstein @ Jul 1, 2005 -> 09:08 AM) The cops in my neighborhood will stop by and take the fireworks, no tickets or arrests or anything like that, although they are probably just taking them home to use. We used to buy all of our fireworks from a cop's son. Hmmmm.

Sorry, wasn't sure where to post it. Gamethread, maybe? Thanks for moving it.

A Cub fan friend of mine (disgusting, I know) sent me this. I don't really agree with the idea, but thought the site was kind of funny. http://www.heavethehawk.com/whyheave.html

Maybe someone out there can help out with some info. My wife's sister was accepted to Sarah Lawrence College in NY. Tuition is approx. $50K per year. The FA package (loans, work-study, etc) offered to her leaves her about $25K short. Any ideas where she can go for more help financially? Banks won't lend an 18 year old that kind of money without a co-signer.

I was hoping this was a Jm J Bullock thread. Seriously, Monroe is the newest member of Soxtalk, and he sits in on most of the game threads and, therefore, came to the realization that this White Sox team sucks.

QUOTE(Kalapse @ Jul 1, 2005 -> 10:21 AM) ^^^ IMO Halladay has the leg up seeing how he's better than Buehrle in almost every pitchting category. Careful, Kalapse. Keep your blinders on when talking about the Sox. All-stars at every position. Crede for MVP.

Hopefully, Kenny Rogers helped MB's cause with this week's outbursts.

I've heard the Spike TV possibility too. It makes sense because that's who he's developing his cartoon with. Can someone summarize the KC interview? I only heard the end. I always thought he was funny, and I feel sad for him.

Great story. I hope one of them was wearing my old gym shirt.

QUOTE(Dam8610 @ Jun 29, 2005 -> 11:18 PM) AL Rookie of the Year - Tadahito Iguchi Deserved or undeserved? I really don't like when guys have been playing pro ball in Japan for a few years but are still classified as a rookie when they come to MLB, so I don't think Tadahito deserves the ROY award. Guys playing minor league ball in the US are playing pro ball, too.

At this point, El Duque is the #4 and Contreras is basically the #5. All we need is for Contreras to eat up some innings for the rest of the season. Hernandez needs to get his arm right for the playoffs. If he has a good September, the Sox will give him playoff starts. Otherwise, it's MB, Garcia and Garland. Not bad. It would be nice to have Duque's experience, though.

QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Jun 27, 2005 -> 10:37 AM) Nice turnout, big big crowd there. Finally, a positive attendance post!

QUOTE(Milkman delivers @ Jun 27, 2005 -> 08:09 AM) This thread is pointless because 75% of the Meltdown Thread was people berating anyone being slightly negative. The Meltdown Thread itself was mainly optimisitic. At best it's 50/50. Most of the posts in the first few pages are by people who've posted a few thousand times. Kind of funny that some of these vets are the same guys that went on and on a week and a half ago about "newbies" starting dumb threads. Nothing's dumber than saying that a team that is 26 games over .500 is in the midst of a meltdown.

I just copied this from the first page and agree. One of the best things I've ever read on this site. PS I volunteer to take the housewives from Naperville out for a night on the town. one at a time, ladies. QUOTE(JimH @ Jun 4, 2005 -> 01:05 PM) OK, I have read the whole thread. Actually I think it's one of the better threads recently. Commentary on the thread 1. Attendance is a legit topic to discuss. There is a direct correlation to revenue vs. what the White Sox spend on payroll. They run the team as a zero sum operation and have increased payroll steadily. Steff knows all the numbers by heart. 2. I disagree with bashing the guy who started the thread. Yes, the topic is somewhat worn out but so is Timo bashing, Crede bashing, Ozzie bashing, etc. Since everything is fair game on this site, so is discussion of attendance. 3. For the "you don't go to games so you have no right to b**** about attendance" crowd: B.S. He brought it up for discussion vs. b****ing about it. Everybody has their reasons for going or not going to games. We are all fans. Anything about the franchise is fair game to discuss. Maybe this guy goes to Sox road games in California. Part of the gate always goes to the visiting team anyway. It's a very small portion but that is the case. 4. b****ing about attendance (if he is indeed b****ing) is no different than b****ing about anything. He presented the argument very well, to say he isn't entitled or qualified to b**** about attendance is ludicrous. The same goes for all of you who b**** about Timo ad nauseum, what makes you qualified to b**** about that? Because you are a fan, and it's a relevant topic to the Chicago White Sox. Stop the elitism crap. I have probably been to more Chicago White Sox games in my lifetime than almost everyone here, save for Steff and quickman and possibly a few others. When I didn't live here I went to their road games (Anaheim and Milwaukee) and traveled in whenever I could. Attendance and lack thereof has been an issue since I can remember and that dates to the mid 1960's. How to Increase Attendance 1. First of all it will not be an overnite thing. Attendance is on the upswing as Mike stated in his post. IMO the casual fan is beginning to notice (rediscover?) the White Sox. People like to do the "in" thing. The Sox are becoming more "in" but this never changes overnite. It took the Cubs 20 years to become the "in" thing (from early/mid 60's to the mid 1980's). The PR people need to keep pressing forward and doing the promotions they do. Over time it will make a difference. 2. Continue redeveloping the neighborhood. I grew up there. There's a mistaken impression about Bridgeport, people hang onto old stories and draw conclusions. Talk to some housewives in Naperville, they think Bridgeport is a slum. Then take them to a few establishments in Bridgeport and watch them go "wow ... this is not that bad, this is kinda nice". Word of mouth is very powerful. They are cleaning up Halsted St. big time, that will help. 3. The White Sox and local establishments should aggressively joint venture. The Sox should promote the neighborhood spots, and vice versa. Example: on the back of every ticket they have a Dunkin Donuts promo. Why not rotate it with a promo for the neighborhood places? "Take your ticket stub to Ricobene's within one week of this game date, get $3 off a pizza." Get the fans out into the neighborhood and they will see it's safe and a nice area to hang out. The establishments in Bridgeport need to press this with the White Sox and the White Sox need to be more open to this idea. Embrace the neighborhood. 4. Continue the focus on marketing to kids. Have even more kids promotions. Fundamentals is a good start, community outreach is a good start. Promote the players at kids events, there are millions of kids activities in Chicago. The White Sox should partner with those organizations more than they do. 5. Do special promos for the upper deck and stop treating it like a red haired step child. Give upper deck people a coupon for concessions, more special meal deals, etc. Market the upper deck to community newspapers. I can't remember the last time I saw a Sox promo piece in my local newspaper. 6. Market the Club Level to the swankier audience. It's a marvelous place to sit, they need to promote it to the higher end audience. Chicago Magazine is a good place to start. 7. Continue the crackdown on idiots at the ballpark in terms of fighting, abusive behavior, etc. Make it known that idiots have to pay consequences, put out a press release when some assclown goes to jail for starting a fight at the ballpark. Reinforce that the Chicago White Sox support a friendly, safe environment. Have fun at the ballpark, kick back a few beers and enjoy yourself but don't get out of line. If you do, you are not welcome here. This supports families going to games. And it makes moms feel safer, a very important factor because we know that moms and wives have significant say so in terms of the entertainment $$. 8. Have more raffle drawings, i.e. Lucky Seat winners. Give away stuff from places in the neighborhood. Not at all hard to do. Show your ticket stub at Guest Relations and win a gift certificate if your name is called. Or, have a Lucky Row contest. They do this in Tucson and the whole row wins a pizza. Makes the game more fun and it's good PR for the franchise and the establishment. There are a lot more ideas but that's a start. Another thing they should do is "personalize" the players more. Boyer is trying to do this. Many of these guys are really nice and their personalities would resonate with White Sox fans. Let the fans get to know the players a bit more. Lots of ways to do this.

QUOTE(jerseysox @ Jun 23, 2005 -> 10:12 PM) i got blown by some drunk girl in the men's room We have a winner!