Lip Man 1

SEVEN factoids today: June 24, 1914 – In a telegram discovered in 2012, White Sox owner Charles Comiskey told scout George Mills that the asking price for pitcher “Babe” Ruth was too high at 16,000 thousand dollars. At the time Ruth was playing for the Baltimore Orioles. Comiskey had sent Mills to scout the best Orioles players on June 9. Mills gave Comiskey a list of six players he thought were the best with Ruth among them. He later revealed that Jack Dunn, the Orioles owner, said Ruth could be had himself for 16,000 thousand dollars cash. In the telegram Comiskey replied “Do not need pitchers bad enough to go that high price.” The White Sox thus joined the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia A’s in turning down chances to get Ruth. Ruth eventually was sold to the Red Sox. Comiskey later would try to get Ruth before the start of the 1920 season offering “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and cash to Boston to no avail as they then sold him to the Yankees. June 24, 1956 - It was probably the biggest White Sox weekend of the 1950's. Two days earlier the Sox started, what was an unheard of, four game sweep of the Yankees winning 5-4 in 12 innings. Saturday the Sox shut out the Bombers 2-0. Then on Sunday before almost 48 thousand, the Sox took a pair, closing to within one game of first place. Larry Doby would hit a pair of three run shots in the twin bill helping to account for the 14-2 and 6-3 wins. He went 5 for 7 with six runs scored in addition to the six RBI’s. Fans by the hundreds poured on to the field during the second game, simply to get the chance to shake players’ hands and run around the outfield. Then Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley came out and said that the Sox would be in the World Series that fall. Of course, they didn’t... but they did finish the season at 85-69 good for third place. June 24, 1969 - In the second game of a double header in Seattle, Sox third baseman Bill Melton slugged three home runs in the 7-6 win. All were solo blasts. The Sox took the first game as well winning 6-4 with relief pitcher Wilbur Wood picking up wins in both games allowing only two hits in almost six innings of work. June 24, 1972 - Behind the inspired play of Dick Allen, Wilbur Wood, Stan Bahnsen, Rich “Goose” Gossage, Terry Forster and Carlos May, the Sox were in the middle of a pennant chase when the bizarre injury curse struck again. Third baseman Bill Melton fell off a ladder damaging his back during the previous off season and had been playing in pain ever since. The defending American League home run champion was put on the disabled list and lost for the rest of the year when it was discovered he had a herniated disk. He only played in 57 games with seven home runs and 30 RBI’s. The reason he was on the ladder? His young son was with him as he was re-nailing some patio roof shingles when the boy started to slide towards the edge as he was on the roof. Melton caught him but fell backwards on to the ground right on his tailbone. The Sox would finish five and a half games behind the Oakland A’s with a record of 87-67. June 24, 1973 - It almost tied the club record. In the second game of a double header at Comiskey Park, Sox catcher Ed Herrmann drove in seven RBI’s in the 11-1 win over the A’s. Herrmann went 3 for 4 with a three-run home run, a two-run double and a two-run single. The club record is eight RBI’s in a game. June 24, 1977 – It was an embarrassing moment for Sox outfielder Ralph Garr and, as it turned out, a costly one for the team. In the third inning of a game in Minnesota, Garr hit what appeared to be a three-run home run... however as he was running the bases he passed catcher Jim Essian who was returning to first base because he thought the ball might be caught. Garr was watching the ball and didn’t see Essian until it was too late. He was called out for passing the runner and awarded a two-run single. The Sox wound up losing the game 7-6. June 24, 2017 – It was Mark Buehrle day at Guaranteed Rate Field as the White Sox honored the left hander by retiring his number #56. Buehrle played 12 seasons with the Sox winning 161 games including a perfect game against Tampa and a no-hitter against Texas. He also won two post season games and saved another. He was a three-time All-Star who won the 2005 contest. Buehrle was a model of consistency with 11 straight years winning in double figures, starting 30 or more games and throwing at least 200 innings with the franchise.

It's not often when you win a game getting only three hits. Very well done!

I know Staley did, not sure about Lown.

"Comiskey Park is not getting ready to fall down, but I would be very surprised if Comiskey Park, as we know it today, will exist in 25 years. We'll either need a new park or a Yankee Stadium-style renovation." –Jerry Reinsdorf to the Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan. August 5, 1985. "We've done what we can, but we can't do it forever. This place is a dinosaur. We can't afford old ballparks. We can't afford cheap bleacher seats. We can't afford double-headers. You need artificial turf so you can get games in. In between the white lines, baseball hasn't changed very much. The big change is outside the lines, and people must understand and this place has no role in the game as it is today. We've done all kinds of things to hang on, but there are no mirrors left."– Eddie Einhorn to the Boston Globe’s Bob Ryan. August 5, 1985.

Four factoids today: June 23, 1919 – White Sox center fielder Oscar “Happy” Felsch tied a record originally set in 1904 when he recorded 12 chances in a nine-inning game. He had 11 putouts and one assist in the 3-2 loss to Cleveland at Comiskey Park. That record has never been matched. June 23, 1956 – It was first of the two great fights on the field between Yankee and White Sox players; almost one year later, June 13, 1957, the second one took place. In this one Bob Grim (the late uncle to former Sox Director of Business Development and Broadcasting Bob Grim) threw one high and tight to Sox outfielder Dave Philley in the home half of the sixth inning. The ball glanced off Philley’s shoulder and bounced into his batting helmet knocking it off. Philley charged the mound as the benches and bullpens emptied. Both players swung at each other, as the rest of the teams held each other back. Order was restored after about 20 minutes. Philley was tossed from the game. Grim was allowed to stay in, but perhaps shaken; he was tagged for two runs...driven in by Sherm Lollar and Luis Aparicio, the only runs on the day in the Sox 2-0 win. June 23, 1958 - The Sox purchased the contract of pitcher Omar “Turk” Lown from the Reds. Lown and teammate Gerry Staley, also acquired via the purchase route in 1956, gave the Sox one of the top bullpens in baseball during the late 1950's, early 1960's. They were especially effective during the 1959 championship season. That year Lown would go 9-2 with a 2.89 ERA and 15 saves. Staley also had 15 saves that year and those two led the league in that category. Lown’s best pitch was a blazing fastball that was among the best in baseball. The first time he faced both Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams he threw nothing but fastballs and struck them both out on three pitches. June 23, 1963 - Sox catcher J.C. Martin set an American League record by being involved in three double plays in a 2-0 loss at Cleveland. Martin had two strike out/throw out double plays and was also in the middle of a third base to catcher to first base one. His record would later be tied by another Sox catcher, Ed Hermann. And in both cases the Sox would lose the game!

Sox Machine with a deep dive into this situation: Will Venable's late-game bullpen decisions were already c...A few minutes after getting Seranthony Domínguez off the hook by making the White Sox walk-off winners on Monday night, Sam Antonacci tried to do it again. “We signed up to play a team sport and that’

This is also the 11th time this year the Sox trailed in the 7th inning or later and won the game.

Am really happy they were able to come back but man oh man Dominguez simply can not be used in closing situations. That's five blown saves now, just awful. Big win though and gives them a little momentum.

They are 5-13 in their last 18 road games.

Story on the MLB.com site talking about the Tigers resurgence and how they may not be dealing Skubal now. They had this notation included in the story: "the White Sox, one of the best early-season stories, are at 7.88 from their June starters, which would be one of the worst months of the last five years.

SIX factoids today: June 22, 1913 – Behind “Big” Ed Walsh’s complete game shutout, the Sox beat the St. Louis Browns 2-0 in the second game of a double header at Comiskey Park. It was the team’s 1,000th victory. Outfielder John “Shano” Collins drove in both runs for the Sox that afternoon as they got a split on the day. June 22, 1938 - Sox outfielder Hank Steinbacher became the second player in franchise history to rap out six hits in a game. Steinbacher went 6 for 6 with two RBI’s and three runs scored in the Sox 16-3 win over the Senators at Comiskey Park. He had five singles and a double raising his average to .337, he finished the season at .331 June 22, 1958 - Ed Walsh Day was celebrated at Comiskey Park. The Sox honored their Hall of Fame pitcher who recorded 195 wins with a ceremony with the proceeds going to help pay his medical bills. Urban “Red” Faber and Ted Lyons were among those who attended. Less than a year later, the man who won 40 games in 1908 was dead of cancer. June 22, 1983 - Noted team prankster, pitcher Jerry Koosman, somehow ‘discovered’ Gaylord Perry’s false teeth on the mound at Comiskey Park during a game against the Mariners. He offered to return them but Perry declined. The Sox won the game 6-3. June 22, 1993 - On "Carlton Fisk Night", Fisk set the Major League record for games caught at 2,226. He broke the old record held by Bob Boone. Teammates surrounded Fisk on the field for pre-game ceremonies and presented him with a motorcycle that they chipped in and bought for him. Each player donated 500 dollars. The cycle was driven to home plate by “Bo” Jackson. The Sox would beat the Rangers 3-2 on a game winning single in the ninth inning by Lance Johnson with Donn Pall getting the win in relief. Fisk went 0-2 in the game. June 22, 2010 – Now this you don’t see every day. The Sox were hosting the Braves in a game they’d win 9-6. With two outs in the fourth inning, and the Sox ahead 6-3, Alex Ríos hit a hard ground ball that bounced up into third baseman Brooks Conrad’s chest. The ball somehow went inside his jersey where it remained. Conrad felt the ball hit his chest but then couldn’t find it. It went as an infield single. Paul Konerko then singled, and Carlos Quentin homered to make the jersey mishap cost the Braves.

The Sox have done an incredible job overcoming issues so far this season. We'll see if they can keep doing that. Over a 162 game season those things have a way of catching up to you. It's hard to win especially with the pitching situation they are in. This will be another big two-weeks with seven games versus Cleveland.

Hopefully he can provide some much needed juice right now with having to play Cleveland seven times in the next 10 days or so.

Kyle Teel returns to White Sox, whose catchers could use...After a pair of sprains teamed up to put him on the shelf for the first 76 games of the season, Kyle Teel is back, and just when the White Sox could use him the most. The White Sox activated Teel from

https://www.mlb.com/whitesox/news/jj-wetherholt-colson-montgomery-excelling-on-defense

There are very few teams right now who can say honestly they are out of it. Detroit may not move him but you never know. But because so many teams may still be in it around the deadline it could be very, very, VERY difficult for the Sox to get pitching help even if they want to. Right now the only teams I'd say are out of it are the Red Sox, Royals, Angels (Moreno says they aren't selling), Giants and Rockies. That's not a lot.

Another issue has been the play of Gonzales at first base trying to learn the position at the MLB level instead of in the minor leagues. Today in the 10th inning instead of stepping on first, recording an out and throwing home, he just throws home even though the runner wasn't breaking for the plate. Sox probably lose the game anyway but this didn't help. And remember twice in games he went after balls instead of covering the base so when they were fielded no one was home to take the throw. Little things add up and he's being put in a bad position by the organization. Every game is important when you have a division where the winner may have only 83 victories (a la the 73 Mets).

Injury updates from the Sun-Times (no word at all on Teel who sat Sunday): Left-hander Noah Schultz (knee) threw 2 ⅔ scoreless innings for Triple-A Charlotte on his rehab stint, allowing two hits and one walk and striking out four. He threw 57 pitches, 38 for strikes. Schultz might need one more outing before returning to the Sox. • Outfielder Everson Pereira still has some symptoms from the concussion he suffered crashing into the wall Wednesday in New York, including sensitivity to light — he was wearing shades inside the clubhouse — and is not doing baseball activities • Venable said that Munetaka Murakami, who’s recovering from a strained right hamstring, has increased the intensity of his running — he said Murakami is up to 80% — and hitting. There’s still no timeline for his return.

Jeff Agrest covered the game for the Sun-Times, he just got back with me and said he asked Venable about playing Acuna at short instead of Montgomery (he moved him there in the 10th inning). According to Jeff, Venable told him he feels Acuna and Montgomery are about the same defensively. Make of that what you will.

Hell the Twins are now only 2 1/2 back of the Sox, looks like they won't be 'selling off' either. What a division! Every team in it has a minus run differential, amazing.

Over a long season you've got to do goofy, crazy stuff to keep the energy going and keep the pressure reduced so I don't have an issue with what's he's doing. If another team doesn't like it, to friggin bad. Although the best way to shut them up is to win the damn game.

Well it's not just him specifically as the Sox bullpen has been horrific the last several years. Just far to much dead weight, trash and guys hanging on for dear life in the bullpen. It's a combination of bad managing and awful talent acquisition.

Acuna's hitting all of .213...that's some hitting eh?

They definitely need to get some mojo back, maybe if Teel is activated that will help. Coming off the Braves and Dodgers series I expected some letdown but they looked pretty awful this road trip.

Hicks and especially Domingeuz are showing themselves to not be much good. McDougal may not pitch at all the rest of the year, we'll see how he responds with his injury and ditto for Smith who even before he got hurt was walking hitters left and right. As Sox Machine pointed out in depth last week in a detailed article the Sox have basically ZERO pitching depth in the minor leagues because they can't keep anybody healthy.