southsider2k5

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 04:24 PM) 1) MJ 2) MJ 3) MJ 4) MJ 5) 6 titles vs. 1 6) Numerous playoff appearances versus a roughly 14% chance of even getting to the post-season. 7) Coaches fired for having one of the five all-time best winning percentages when our current regime has one of the most pedestrian records in team history 8) No compelling or exciting personalities...(Rodman vs. everyone in Chicago other than Bo and MJ when they were with the Sox) 9) Marketing, marketing, marketing 10) Complete lack of excitement...product is inferior...fans always will flock to something that's cool/trendy/popular/hip....to be "part of something" bigger, but they certainly don't want to be part of 10-12,000 fans unless they're huge baseball addicts 11) If you asked 1000 casual baseball fans outside of Chicago who was the best player for the Sox over the last 15 years or so, maybe 3-5% could come up with the name Paul Konerko. It is funny that Sox fans will point to only the last 10 seasons to talk about how bad they have had it, but are willing to go back to the 1990's to talk about how good the Bulls have it.

QUOTE (Buehrlesque @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 04:19 PM) This has little to nothing to do with why people don't go to the Cell. The Bulls transcended the sport of basketball for nearly a decade and built an enormous residual season ticket waiting list to show for it. That's a season ticket list for 41 games at a 21,000 stadium, both HALF of what the Sox have to fill. Considering the differences in sport, stadium, location, indoor/outdoor/weather factor, number of games, stadium capacity, team success history, and that residual season ticket waiting list, I really don't think you can draw many comparisons from that to the plight of Sox and the Cell. You can't be telling me that the United Center is a better location and neighborhood then USCF.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 04:10 PM) Playoff appearances since 1990: Bulls = 18 Bears = 7 Neither of the teams has any competition in the city in their respective sports, so your comparison doesn't really hold much weight. For whatever reason, Sox fans are the only ones in Chicago who seem to hold the logic that not showing up makes them better fans. As long as that mentality exists, there is no REAL comparison between Sox fans and anyone else in Chicago, because they are the ones who are different. It isn't neighborhood, or safety, or bars, seat color, the direction the stadium faces, or anything else. I will never get why people take such personal offense to that, when it is White Sox fans who say stuff like that. And to go back full circle to the begining of the recent discussion, when you don't go to games, or take in games, FOR WHATEVER REASON, the media isn't going to cover you as much either, because they know they will make more views, clicks, ratings, attendance, phone calls, etc off of Cubs fans. Pretty much the only thing Sox fans respond to these days is to be offended about something.

QUOTE (shysocks @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 04:08 PM) They had a line of people 10,000 miles long ready to see the team from the Jordan years. Go figure, having a dynasty builds the fanbase. And attendance still took a hit. 1999-00 41 22,124 2000-01 41 21,674 2001-02 41 18,934 2002-03 41 19,617 2003-04 41 19,736 If only the White Sox had only taken a 20% after their title years. Then even when the team was awful, the attendance started going up again. They gained fans after a .366 and .280 winning percentage. The White Sox lost fans after winning a division title. But, let's hear about all of things that make it different for the White Sox again.

Dan Hayes ‏@CSNHayes 18m18 minutes ago #WhiteSox for 7/8: Eaton 8, Abreu DH, Cabrera 7, Garcia 9, LaRoche 3, Ramirez 6, Beckham 5, Flowers 2, Sanchez 4. Danks 1.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 03:57 PM) Bulls won 6 titles and along with the Lakers and Celtics have the best brand awareness in the league (and history of the greatest player and probably the best global brand in the NBA). The Bulls also have been one of the most successful basketball franchises over the past 10 years (in terms of won / loss, unfortunately they haven't gotten the title but consistent playoffs have been made). They had the dark era after the dynasty but I really don't see how you can compare the two and the Bears were a once great team but it is also the NFL and 16 games and almost everything in the NFL sells out, let alone when you are talking about a major market like Chicago (with no split). So I don't really buy it. Even when the Bulls were a perpetual laughing stock, they were amongst the NBA's attendance leaders.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 03:43 PM) Forget about the Cubs. It's almost like comparing apples to oranges. In the '80s, due primarily to the combination of the ultimate salesman in Harry Caray and the power of WGN, they very successfully marketed the Wrigley Field/Wrigleyville experience. The popularity skyrocketed in the mid 80s and has carried to this very day. People go there primarily to experience the ballpark and neighborhood. The Sox have neither of those two things working for them. If the Cubs had neither, they'd have attendance issues, too, given their poor track record for winning. But they do have those two advantages, and therefore you cannot compare the two teams fairly on the attendance front. As for this "excuse du jour", your argument continues to be upside down on all of this. Do you think Sox attendance is what it is this year because Sox fans wake up every day and make a different excuse for not going out to the ballpark? That's ridiculous. They are not going because Reinsdorf, Williams, and Hahn have given them no compelling reason to do so because the team they've given us is about as dreadful as it could get. Sox fans don't need to make an excuse - the team being awful is enough to keep them away. And with no other draw in the form of an amazing ballpark and/or great neighborhood experience, then the low attendance is no surprise. It isn't just the Cubs. The Bulls and Bears do the exact same thing. We all know what a great fan sight the United Center is, right? All of the great bars to hang out at Solider Field? All of those titles the Bears and Bulls have put up in the 2000's... Their attendance doesn't falter based on the record of the team. The Sox fan base continues to be different.

QUOTE (The Ginger Kid @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 03:24 PM) In Kenny's 15 years, he's responsible for 2 of those appearances. And one more while head of scouting.

QUOTE (chw42 @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 03:20 PM) Yeah I think teams will start making sure players sign the contract ASAP after they verbally agree after this whole debacle. The problem is there is a week or so between the open for FA, and when they can actually sign a deal.

QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 02:11 PM) I noticed today that on ESPN's Park Factors, the Cell was dead last in hitter's park factors in 2015, basically making it the #1 pitcher's park in baseball. Is this a sign of how absolutely putrid this offense is? I'm no expert on this, so am I missing something? Here's a rank of the previous years. (above 1.0 favors hitters, below 1.0 favors pitchers) 2015 - .733 (30th) 2014 - 1.052 (7th) 2013 - .998 (14th) 2012 - 1.268 (2nd) 2011 - .991 (14th) edit: Here's the link http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/parkfactor So they really aren't "park factors". They are team factors.

QUOTE (Thad Bosley @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 01:21 PM) Less on the lame fans' excuses nonsense and more on the dire need for this incompetent management team to substantially improve the product they are trying to sell to the fans. Yet Cubs fans kept going to Wrigley Field in droves long before there was any hope or improvement. The only "nonsense" trotting out whatever the excuse du jour is, while people in the same town do the exact opposite of said excuse.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 12:23 PM) The Sox do themselves no favors when it comes to drawing attendance: 1.) Awful performances on the field year in and year out 2.) Neighborhood isn't really a destination for anything 3.) People from the organization criticize fanbase 25K for a last place team in the central and one of the worst teams in baseball actually seems like a pretty good turnout, so Im not really sure what he is criticizing. The team hasnt scored more than 4 runs in 24 home games, people go to baseball games to see offense, not pitching, that's just the truth of it. It's great to celebrate the new and old guard of the south side, but anyone questioning White Sox fans lack of interest is kidding themselves. What it boils down to is White Sox fans have all the excuses in the world. Cubs fans go to games. Of course the media is going to cover the Cubs. They are the ones who put butts in seats, eyes on televisions, ears on the radio, calls into talk radio, etc. It isn't just 2015 either. It has been like this for decades now. But of course, it gets a reaction out of Sox fans, so the topic comes up over and over again. Quit falling for WSCR's trolling. That is all this really is. The rest is stuff that has been discussed ad naseum.

Anonymous @YourAnonNews Wonder if tomorrow is going to be bad for Wall Street.... we can only hope. 8:45 PM - 7 Jul 2015

QUOTE (Lillian @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 10:53 AM) While he isn't blocking anyone now, he would be blocking whomever the Sox target as his replacement, for next season. If they can dump that salary, they may be able to find a legitimate left handed clean up hitter, which this lineup sorely needs. If a team already has a "replacement" they don't need LaRoche.

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 11:38 AM) As far as I could tell, last night' attendance of 17,028 was the lowest attendance of any June or July home game for the White Sox in at least the last 5 years and probably since 2005 (I got lazy after getting to 2011). ESPN writer Nick Freidell attempted a twitter callout of white sox fans after only 24k showed up for Sale/Buehrle on Monday asking: I'm sure you can guess how that went. He is right. It is also why teams like the Cubs get way more coverage in general. It is common sense.

NYSE completely shutdown at 11:32 EDT.

QUOTE (Buehrle>Wood @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 09:44 AM) Well all darwin awards are given posthumously. Not true. The true standard is that the incident leaves the person unable to reproduce. They don't necessarily have to die.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 07:34 AM) The problem is that there are 10 guys on the team who shouldn't be playing against lefties, but only four of them can be on the bench at any given time. This exactly.

Today marks the 83rd anniversary of the all-time low in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. On this date in 1932 the DJIA closed at 41.22.

QUOTE (oldsox @ Jul 8, 2015 -> 08:16 AM) And, this has bee a good year for Leury Garcia. I would move him right now for Bonifacio. Yeah, we are officially into back up quarterback syndrome if people are really pining for Leury Garcia to come back.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jul 7, 2015 -> 10:20 PM) Well they didn't KNOW Sanchez would be completely inept offensively. He has been a decent contact hitter in the minors. Sanchez has played just about 2x the amount of innings that Micah had this season, yet Sanchez has played 4x worse so far. Micah at a -0.3 WAR, Sanchez at a -1.1 WAR. Sanchez's defense is not setting off his horrendous offense. Micah's offense was nearly setting off his horrendous defense. You could argue Micah was on pace for -0.6 WAR given the same playing time that Sanchez has had, but that's still nearly twice as "good" as Sanchez. For the love of god, dump/trade Sanchez and let Micah AT THE VERY LEAST bring some excitement to the fans. A few of us pointed out how bad he was last year, and that it usually takes him a full season to adjust to a level.

QUOTE (BigFinn @ Jul 7, 2015 -> 08:15 PM) That's a good value for Samardzija. CBS Sports baseball guru Jon Heyman has suggested Jeff Hoffman or Max Pentecost (#3 and #4, respectively, on the MLB.com Blue Jays top prospect list) as the centerpiece for a Chicago-Toronto trade. Hoffman has 9 starts at high-A Dunedin this season since coming off Tommy John surgery. Here's his stat line. Pentecost had his shoulder cleaned out last fall by Dr. James Andrews (his second shoulder surgery). He hasn't played since. His bat showed promise in his first season of pro ball: the stat line for Pentecost. A catcher with two shoulder surgeries? Ugh. I hadn't read that one. Count me out.

QUOTE (Chilihead90 @ Jul 7, 2015 -> 07:45 PM) I boo'd every damn pop up and groundball. I would have preferred Sammy got a HR and the Cubbies lost, but oh well.

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 7, 2015 -> 04:31 PM) I assume you mean a righty? Yes, that.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 7, 2015 -> 04:30 PM) I wonder if Buehrle decides to play next year and if he does (clearly he's still good), whether the Sox would be an option. I miss Mark. And yes, I'm sentimental when it comes to Mark. Miss watching him pitch for the Sox. In all seriousness, if you let Samardjiza sign somewhere else, they will need at least one more starter. I'd prefer a lefty, but if Mark comes at the right price and on the short term, hell yes.