Lip Man 1

Balta: I respect the views of everyone who has a different opinion on this matter, that is their right. Part of the problems in this nation today are because folks turn a blind eye or ear to opposing views. I try not to do that. I simply disagree with cancel culture and will let it go at that.

Since I don't want this to devolve into a political free for all (there is far to much of this already going on in this country) all I'll say is that I'm Polish and grew up in the Back of the Yards in Chicago. I've heard every Polish joke growing up as a kid, been insulted and even gotten into a few fights. If that makes me "privileged" that's news to me. There's good and bad everywhere, life isn't fair...deal with it... as my dad used to tell me.

Speaking of minor league sales Mike Veeck and Bill Murray just bought controlling interest in the Joliet club. Mike's son Night Train (yes that is his real name) will be in charge of the day to day operations.

The reason JR will not sell while he is alive is because of the capital gains tax hit, which if the team went for around two billion dollars, would be about 200 million dollars according to a tax person that was consulted in a story I did in August 2022. THEN he'd be responsible for the state of Illinois tax hit. JR got his start working for the IRS remember. When it comes to his money he's not stupid. We are stuck with him until nature decides that it is time.

As a broadcaster myself I always found Brennaman to be a tremendous broadcaster. The guy screwed up and said something he shouldn't have. He apologized. Everyone has said or done something that they regret, so should everyone get the rest of their life destroyed because of a mistake? He didn't murder someone, commit treason or pull off a pyramid scheme. Talk about going overboard with a vendetta. The guy was good enough to work national games for Fox in different sports and to be a Major League broadcaster for a few teams. That's a better resume than most of the recent Sox broadcasters including Benetti when he was hired. (and I liked him personally and professionally) In my opinion the Sox could do a hell of a lot worse.

Glad Haber is gone.

Hopefully they can produce unlike many other top prospects the Sox have acquired the last few years.

I'm sure the Sox are. After all there are probably a few more broken down, has been former Royals pitchers out there to be had!

https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/sinclair-rob-manfred-vendetta-bally-sports-bankruptcy.html

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2024/1/4/24025779/blackhawks-bulls-white-sox-tv-deal-nbc-sports-chicago-stadium-jerry-reinsdorf-marquee-sports-network

More retreads, stiffs and has-beens'.

Correct.

Yes. There were reported stories that he was advocating for a Nashville franchise for Tony LaRussa and Dave Stewart. As has been posted and reputable sources have consistently shown MLB is now a 10 billion dollar a year industry (by MLB's own admission by the way) the diverse amount of revenue streams both nationally and internationally show MLB is making money hand over fist. That includes JR. Feel free to continue to worry about conspiracy theories if you wish, that is your choice. Personally I'm not losing any sleep over the possibility. Keep in mind as well, MLB can get FAR MORE money from a potential fee for an expansion team from an individual or group or corporation than they would by moving the Sox. With MLB remember the first rule is "follow the money..." Second rule is, "money talks, BS walks..." And regarding the possible move to Florida, it was on the table, but as JR himself has admitted and so has former Governor Jim Thompson, the threat was more to get the city and state to get off their asses and give him what he (JR) wanted. Supposedly JR had no real intention to move (although I don't know if he has ever publicly admitted the last part).

With all due respect please stop this nonsense. And as far as broadcast revenue, that money is already in the bank regardless of if one fan watches or listens all year from both local and national deals.

That's a great question. Every day with every one of these has been's the Sox are signing shows that JR was lying through his teeth about getting better and competing in 2024. This team isn't going anywhere except straight down the toilet.

Phillips, 29, batted .175/.268/.333 with a whopping 36 strikeouts in 71 plate appearances for the Angels in 2023. He spent most of 2023 at Triple-A Salt Lake. Phillips has a connection to Sox manager Pedro Grifol, having played for the Royals in 2018 and ‘19 while Grifol was a coach in Kansas City. More garbage Royals flotsam and jetsam

That's true assuming of course he can still play at a high level. The defensive stats show though that isn't the case.

Excellent summery. This organization almost from day one had an attitude of, "We're smarter than you..." "How dare you question us?" "WE know what we're doing..." History shows their expertise (LOL) hasn't worked out very well has it?

That's some company the Sox are keeping isn't it? Sigh...

TLR told me one time an idea he had and discussed. I don't think he ever told me why he didn't implement it. He said he was going to go into the season with 12 pitchers ranked 1 - 12. He would use three pitchers for every game in order so for the first game pitchers 1-3 would work, for the second game pitchers 4-6 would appear and so on. The pitchers would not be ranked from "best" to "worst" different factors would play in as in left or right handed, what type pitches they threw, how much experience they had. And the pitchers wouldn't be limited to three innings, just that he'd only use three pitchers. If the game went into extra innings then the next set of pitrchers would come into play. It would have been a novel idea.

I thought Pedro's comment to DVS yesterday about the lineup was nothing short of delusional. When the Sox get off to a brutal start this year, he'll be fired around Memorial Day. They say life imitates art. The Sox seem to be taking a page out of the movie "Major League" (the first one) by signing every broken down, has-been, stiff and retread they can find. One thing this does is clearly show JR was a liar at his press conference last August when he talked about having to get better quickly (he has no intention of doing so) and Getz's comments about competing in the division. Those chances can be grouped into two categories...slim and none.

Assuming ownership stays the same what you say is possible. New ownership? Anything can happen. And JR is about to turn 88 in February.

"Never a dull moment..." https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2023/12/30/23954631/white-sox-season-2023

The quote was in a story today in the Sun-Times.

To a certain extent I think the organization thinks the fan base as a whole is naive. They think making a flurry of moves will show said fan base they are "trying" to win. Also remember JR's press conference comments. he doesn't like to be embarrassed he's said they want to get better quickly. This is basically all a show-and tell exercise for the fan base, nothing more and I suspect the fan base won't be buying it.