Lip Man 1

Sun Times with the post game wrap: https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/04/19/noah-schultz-munetaka-murakami-white-sox-athletics

I have no idea how accurate this is but I do know that when I've asked a baseball question from AI just to confirm some things that I knew to be true or accurate the answer I got was way off base. My point is that I don't think you can trust AI to a reasonable degree yet about anything.

Wood did put up some numbers that I don't think you'll ever see in baseball again regarding innings pitched and games started. He was a horse that's for sure. This is how I got into my interview with him that I did in 2005: "He is a member of a very select fraternity. It’s a fraternity that goes beyond the usual small fraternity of former Major League baseball players. It’s so small that you can count the members on both hands, if that. That fraternity is composed of former Major League pitchers who excelled both in roles reserved for starting pitchers and relief pitchers. Think about it.....how many pitchers can you name who did well in both roles? A few immediately come to mind....Dennis Eckersley, Jim “Mudcat” Grant, John Smoltz and Hoyt Wilhelm but many fans don’t know that Wilbur Wood was both a league leading relief pitcher and a league leading starting pitcher in his days with the Sox. Wood’s White Sox career spanned from 1967 through 1978 and during it he was a key part of three of the most memorable White Sox teams in club history. * He was a part of the deep bullpen the Sox had in 1967. The “Near Miss” White Sox had the World Series squarely in their sites, until a disastrous final week. * He was the lead starter on the 1972 “Outhouse or Penthouse” White Sox (Author’s Note: That phrase was authored by Sox outfielder Rick Reichardt when talking about the surprising season.) Those Sox battled the Oakland A’s down to the final week for the Western Division championship. If not for the back injury to third baseman Bill Melton, the A’s dynasty of the 70's might never have happened. * He was also a spot starter on the 1977 “South Side Hit Men” Sox club that smashed all existing team hitting records and carried on as the baseball version of the 1985 Chicago Bears."

Not with the atrocious bullpen's the past several years. Hard to win with guys blowing winnable games left and right.

Congratulations to Schultz on his first win. He looked a lot more comfortable out there than in his first start.

Five factoids today: April 19, 1907 - Ed Walsh tied a Major League record in a 1-0 win over St. Louis — but not for his pitching prowess. In this game, it was his fielding, as Walsh had 11 assists and 13 total chances in the field. There is no play-by-play data available for the game so it’s uncertain whether the Browns were bunting a bunch to try to get on against the fourth-year ace or that there were just an inordinate number of comebackers through the box. April 19, 1960 - Orestes “Minnie” Minoso made a triumphant return to the White Sox, blasting two home runs, including the game winner in the ninth inning for a wild 10-9 victory over the A’s on opening day. “Minnie”, re-acquired over the off season from the Indians, also had a grand slam and drove in six RBI’s. More ominous however was the fact that the vaunted American League champion Sox pitching staff gave up nine runs in the first place and the team committed two errors in the field. Those shortcomings would eventually lead to a third-place finish with a record of 87-67. In 1960 Minoso hit .311 with 20 home runs, 105 RBI’s and 17 stolen bases winning a Gold Glove and making the All-Star team in one of his finest individual seasons. April 19, 1961 - In the home opener against Washington, Sox owner Bill Veeck hired a number of shorter people to sell concessions throughout Comiskey Park. Why? Because Veeck received a number of complaints that taller sellers were obstructing the fans view of the game itself! Given that the Sox lost the game 7-2 said fans may not have wanted to see the game much anyway. April 19, 1965 – White Sox manager Al Lopez tied the record when he used five pinch hitters in the seventh inning of what turned out to be a 7-2 win over the Orioles at Comiskey Park. The Sox trailed 2-1 when Lopez began his maneuvering. By the time the inning was over he used Don Buford, Danny Cater, Johnny Romano, Dave Nicholson and Gary Peters as pinch hitters with Romano and Peters both hitting singles and driving in runs. Peters hit would give the Sox the lead for good. Lopez first used five pinch hitters in an inning on May 18, 1957 also against the Orioles in Baltimore. April 19, 1966 – The White Sox beat the Angels 3-1 in the first game ever played in the new Anaheim Stadium aka “The Big A.” Tommy John went seven innings with Eddie Fisher getting the save. The game was played before over 31-thousand fans. Don Buford singled home Tommie Agee in the eighth inning with what proved to be the winning run.

This has been the case for the last few years with predictable results. Has been's; stiffs; retreads; cast-offs and injury prone guys just hoping to hang around.

It's still incredible to me how the Sox haven't been able to produce a competent outfielder.

So far the bullpen is shaping up to be as awful as the ones in 2024 and 2025. It's going to be very hard to see any real improvement in the won/loss column unless that gets significantly better.

White Sox doing White Sox things. Another blown game by this brutal bullpen. 4th time this year the Sox had a lead in the 7th inning or later and lost. And the season is only three weeks old or so. And not being able to score with the bases loaded, no one out in extra innings was a crusher.

My third factoid in the list for today.

Seven factoids today: April 18, 1907 – The White Sox home opener started off inauspiciously, as the World Championship pennant was raised — and the pole flying it fell over! However, the game went more smoothly, in front of 10,000 fans at South Side Park. Nick Altrock pitched the distance, scattering seven singles in winning a 2-0 shutout over the Browns. The White Sox struck for their two runs in the fourth inning, when George Davis tripled home John “Jiggs” Donahue and Pat “Patsy” Dougherty. April 18, 1972 – Because of the labor impasse and the late start to the season it wasn’t until the middle of the month that the Sox finally opened at home. It turned out to be a night home opener and the 20- thousand plus fans who turned out gave a standing ovation welcome to new Sox slugger Dick Allen. Allen didn’t disappoint, going 2 for 4, with three runs and two RBI’s in the Sox 14-0 win over Texas. Afterwards Dick said, “I think I’m going to like it here.” Teammate Carlos May had six RBI’s on the night. Bill Melton added two. The heart of the Sox lineup drove in 10 runs that evening. White Sox fans were so thrilled to see the “New Look” team that a few hundred fans ran on to the field in the ninth inning briefly delaying the game. No damage was done to the playing surface unlike what would happen during the night of Disco Demolition. April 18, 1991 - The Sox opened the new Comiskey Park by falling flat on their faces and getting wiped out 16-0 to the Tigers. It was a strange game that saw Detroit have a six run third inning and a 10-run fourth inning. Sox pitchers Jack McDowell, Brian Drahman and Ken Patterson gave up the 16 runs on 14 hits along with four walks. The next day Sox players burned the jersey of pitcher Scott Radinsky at second base as a ‘sacrifice’ to the baseball gods for leaving the original park, according to teammate and losing pitcher in the first game, McDowell. April 18, 1994 - Sox leadoff man Tim Raines belted three home runs in a game at Fenway Park. He went 4 for 5 with four RBI’s in the easy 12-1 win over the Red Sox. It was the only time in his Hall of Fame career “Rock” had a three-home run game. April 18, 2000 - The White Sox set the franchise record for the most runs ever scored in the fourth inning of a game when they plated 11 of them in Chicago against the Mariners. They trailed 6-2 before sending 14 batters to the plate. Greg Norton and Mark Johnson homered in the frame. Tanyon Sturtze got the win in relief of Cal Eldred as the Sox won 18-11. April 18, 2007 - Mark Buehrle became only the 15th pitcher in franchise history to toss a no-hitter (16th overall at that time) as he beat the Rangers 6-0. Buehrle struck out eight and only allowed one base runner, giving up a walk to former Sox player Sammy Sosa in the fifth inning whom he then promptly picked off. His was the first no-hitter at home since Joe Horlen’s in 1967. Jermaine Dye had a grand slam and Jim Thome added two solo home runs to help Buehrle’s cause. April 18, 2025 – The disaster that the White Sox franchise had become continued to manifest itself in strange and unusual ways. In Boston the Red Sox pounded the club to a 10-3 defeat, it was the seventh straight road loss to open a season setting a franchise record. The Sox had lost six previous road games at Detroit and Cleveland.

Sun Times with the game recap and halfway down the story are some interesting comments from the pitchers regarding Venable's use of an "opener". https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/04/17/white-sox-seranthony-dominguez-anthony-kay-athletics

Arguably the best game they played all season.

Kyyle you misunderstand my comment. I was replying to the poster who wrote out everything AI said about the deal, that this couldn't happen and that couldn't happen. My point was if JR passes Ishbia doesn't have to wait until 2029 under the terms of the deal because it is clear JR's family does not want to keep them. So he'll take over at that time.

AI forgot one thing, if JR passes away before 2029 all bets are off.

But remember Getz was hired because JR didn't want to "waste" a season. 😆

Five factoids today: April 17, 1906 - The World Championship season began in Detroit with the Sox beating the Tigers 5-3. Frank “Yip” Owen, who’d win 22 games that year, picked up the victory. Frank Hemphill, who played all three outfield positions in the game, drove in two runs for the Sox. Just three days short of six months later, the Sox would close out the Cubs winning the only all-Chicago World Series four games to two. April 17, 1951 - The “Golden Age” of White Sox baseball was born as on opening day the Sox destroyed the St. Louis Browns 17-3. Sox outfielders Al Zarilla and Gus Zernial both knocked in three RBI’s. New manager Paul Richards emphasized pitching, defense and speed and for the next 17 seasons under two more managers the Sox would do it well enough to have 17 consecutive winning seasons, the fourth longest streak in MLB history. April 17, 1956 - In front of newly elected Mayor Richard J. Daley, rookie Luis Aparicio collected his first Major League hit. It came off the Indians Bob Lemon and helped set up the winning run in the seventh inning in the Sox 2-1 opening day victory. Aparicio would be named Rookie of the Year and after an 18-year career would be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984. Lemon would become the Sox manager in 1977. April 17, 1980 - Future Sox star and future Hall of Famer, Harold Baines collected his first Major League hit. It came off Yankee pitcher Jim Kaat, the former White Sox starter, in New York. Baines would have an outstanding career with 2,866 hits. His number #3 was first retired by the team in 1989 when he was traded to Texas. He'd rejoin the Sox twice more afterwards before retiring for good. April 17, 1990 - On a cold miserable night in Chicago, Ron Kittle would connect for a roof top home run off Boston’s Rob Murphy. It was Kittle’s seventh roof top shot, the most by any player in the history of the original Comiskey Park. It was also the last roof top home run in the park’s history. The Sox would win the game 2-1. Kittle’s blast came in the sixth inning, tying the game at one all.

I was thinking about this today, and this goes back to the Hahn era how often, seemingly constantly every player the Sox acquire, joins the club and falls flat on their face. It's really uncanny. Part of this, I think, is because of very poor talent evaluators at the major and minor league levels and part of it, I honestly think, is because these guys come to the franchise, see how incompetewnt and dysfunctional it is and it just plays with their heads and screws up their performance. I mean losing is ingrained in this franchise and it has got to impact players, especially those who come from a solid winning organization.

I can't comment on the tax implications but I strongly suspect the reason he refuses to turn over control is because he is still making money (which eventually will go to his heirs) and perhaps more importantly because his ego and arrogance simply will not allow it.

JR's partners had the option to sell to Ishbia. I don't think anyone knows for sure how many took that offer up and did so.

Sun Times with the post-game autopsy: https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/04/16/white-sox-head-west-with-that-familiar-losing-feeling-rays

Like it or not I don't think they'll be as quick to pull that trigger yet.

Under his contract JR has the sole power to run the day to day operations of the club, period. The minority owner(s) have very little to zero say in things including the sale of the club. The only way JR could be removed is if he does something illegal or puts the team in a perilous financial situation. Since the minority owners haven't taken that last step, given the Sox reported financial difficulties, I can only conclude they are still satisfied with his leadership and you can perhaps assume the reports of their financies aren't as bad as first thought. Accountants have a way of manipulating things.

The numbers don't lie: 3rd time this year the Sox took a lead into the 7th inning or later and lost the game. 6th straight home loss. Sox have now scored three runs or less in an amazing 13 of the 19 games played. They could very definitely lose 100+ games again this season. Nothing really changes until JR is gone.