Lip Man 1

Mayor Johnson throws down the gauntlet putting legislators on notice: https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears-stadium/2026/05/05/mayor-brandon-johnson-bears-stadium-legislation-arlington-heights-kam-buckner

Two factoids today: May 5, 1962 - Sox minority owners, headed up by William Bartholomay (who would later lead the group buying the Braves and moving them to Atlanta), sold their 46 per cent shares of the team to majority owner Art Allyn. It was the first time since 1939 the team was owned by a single individual. Allyn, a Chicago native, along with his brother John, bought majority interest in the Sox from Bill Veeck in June 1961. May 5, 1968 - Sox pitcher Gary Peters became the last pitcher to hit a grand slam for the franchise as he connected in the fourth inning of a 5-1 win over the Yankees at Comiskey Park. It was the first game of a double header. In addition, he threw a complete game with nine strikeouts allowing only six hits in the win. Peters would hit 15 home runs as a member of the Sox. The only other Sox pitchers to hit a grand slam were Monty Stratton and Tommy Byrne. Byrne’s grand slam was as a pinch hitter to beat the Yankees in New York off relief pitcher Ewell “the Whip” Blackwell on May 16, 1953.

Since the mid 80's JR's philosophy has been to be "fiscally responsible" (his words.) He simply will not take any major risks. That simply is not his way. And his stance on MLB player salaries is well known.

They don't even have home grown competent guys in the first four outfield spots. Antonacci is a wild card right now, an infielder trying to learn the position.

To me the biggest shock of the season so far has to be how well Davis is pitching.

From my interview with Ken: ML: You also got the opportunity to be the technical advisor on the baseball movie, “Eight Men Out,” directed by John Sayles. How did you get that chance? KB: “I was managing in Appleton, Wisconsin for the Royals. The Twins farm club was being managed by a friend of mine Don Leppert. We had a good season but they had an outstanding June draft and those guys were assigned to that team and they caught us for the league title at the end. They won something like 13 in a row. Anyway Leppert calls me after it’s over and asks me what I’m doing in the off season. I told him just going back home. He asked if I’d like to help on a movie. He was in charge of the Twins instructional league and couldn’t help on this picture. So he gave me the number of the person to call, I did and got to be technical advisor on “Eight Men Out.” It took about two months and I had a great time.” ML: Some of the actors involved in that movie, especially Charlie Sheen, had been around the game all their life and had played it competitively. I’d imagine you could tell fairly quickly who could play and who couldn’t. Was their anybody else besides Sheen who impressed you that way? (Author’s Note: Sheen, while attending Yale University, was the last cut from the baseball team his freshmen year. He was a pitcher and later used that experience playing Ricky Vaughn in the movie “Major League.”) KB: “D.B. Sweeney knew what he was doing. He had a good idea of how to play the game. John Cusack was pretty athletic it’s just that era-wise he wasn’t quite right. He was trying to do a lot of things that just didn’t happen on a ballfield in the 20's. He did make some athletic stops at third base in the movie, he’d just dive fully extended and make the catch. I was hitting those balls to him off camera with a fungo bat and I was hitting them good.” “I enjoyed working with John Sayles. He was a good director. He’d give me the scenes that we needed to shoot and we’d work on them. I remember one where Sheen had to make a catch and hit the unpadded portion of the park we were shooting in. (Author’s Note: The game scenes were filmed in Indianapolis where the White Sox had their top farm team for many years. Berry himself played there in 1963 and 1964.) I showed Charlie how to make the catch and then spin into the wall so that he really wasn’t hitting it that hard. So we did the shot and Charlie unfortunately forgot about spinning and just slammed right into it. He also tore up his leg pretty good when he caught it on a piece that was sticking out from the door. One other thing about Charlie stands out. I was throwing the ball and he had to dive and make the catch. On one play he did it fully extended directly over his head. Just remarkable. It was something like Willie Mays did in the World Series.” ML: You also got the chance for a small on-camera speaking part in the film. What’s the story behind that? (Author’s Note: Towards the end of the movie, as “Shoeless” Joe Jackson is playing under an assumed name in a minor league game, a fan heckles him over his lack of intelligence. After Jackson belts a triple, while standing on third base he gives it right back to the fan. That fan was Berry!) KB: “I was actually supposed to play the part of the thug that threatens to kill “Lefty” Williams’ wife if he doesn’t throw the last game. So I practiced the role and had it down right when the girl in charge of casting said that she wanted to make a change. She said that hearing my voice every day during filming made her think the part of the heckler was the right one.” “So I started working on that and felt I had it O.K. One day Sayles comes up to me and says “are you ready?” He also said that because it was late in the day and the sun was going down it had to be done in one take. You talk about pressure! So we got into position, I had called up a friend of mine Dick Kenworthy, who lived in the area and asked him “you want to be in a movie?” he was sitting right next to me in the scene. (Author’s Note: Kenworthy played for the Sox in 1962 and from 1964 through the 1968 seasons. His best year was 1967 as he had four doubles, a triple and four home runs in 97 at bats.) So we did it and I was so proud that I was actually able to do it in one take.”

I see your point but also understand the fact that we are three years into another rebuild and the Sox still don't have a quality outfielder on the roster to save their souls from the minor league ranks. That's not a good sign.

That's possible, assuming the Sox themselves don't get gutted by injuries since they have very little depth.

That's my point. There aren't any. The fact the Sox only option is this refuse is an indictment in itself. They can't even develop competent outfielders on their own and have to rely on dumpster diving three years into yet another rebuild isn't good.

As well they should given the mistakes and missed opportunities. Remember the adage, 'those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.'

Well who the hell else would be available who is decent and would actually want to play for this franchise? It's has been's, retreads, cast off's and injury prone guys (and you'll like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Five factoids today: May 4, 1941 - With the White Sox trailing the A’s in the seventh inning, 17-6, outfielder Taft “Taffy” Wright’s RBI single started a historic stretch of 13 straight games with a run batted in. Wright’s numbers during his franchise-record streak were actually fairly mundane. He hit only one home run over that time, so in only one game was he assured an RBI. Overall, Wright hit .269, compiling 22 total RBIs. The right fielder would finish the season with a career-best 97 RBI’s along with a .322 batting average. His RBI mark remains tied for fifth all-time in the majors. May 4, 1980 - During an 11-1 loss to the Brewers at Comiskey Park, Mike Squires became the first left-handed catcher to appear in a game since Dale Long in 1958. The move came in the ninth inning and saw Squires behind the plate for four hitters. He’d catch again on May 7 in a 12-5 loss to the Royals, again in the ninth inning and again he’d be behind the plate for four hitters. In the modern era only Long, Squires and Benny Distefano were left-handed throwers who caught in a big-league game. May 4, 1992 - For Sox starter Alex Fernandez it was his best performance on a pitching mound. Fernandez one-hit Milwaukee, winning 7-0 at Comiskey Park. Alex struck out seven allowing only a one out double to Dante Bichette in the second inning. Another Brewer reached base on a walk and a third on an error. Five times with the Sox he posted a season with 10 or more wins before leaving via free agency to the Marlins where he helped that team win a World Series. May 4, 2011 - The Sox lost to the Twins 3-2 at U.S. Cellular Field. It was their 17th loss in 22 games… more alarming however was this. According to the MLB Network, in the previous 20 games the Sox team batting average was .202. That was the worst stretch of hitting over a 20-game period for the franchise since the pitching mound was lowered to create more offense before the start of the 1969 season. Since then, the putrid hitting of the 2023-25 White Sox teams — bottoming out with a .192 stretch to start the 2024 season — have left the 2011 team’s hitting slump in the dust. May 4, 2021 – In one of the best all-around individual performances by a pitcher in White Sox history Dylan Cease had himself a night in Cincinnati against the Reds in a 9-0 win. Cease went six innings allowing one hit with 11 strikeouts. But as impressive was his 3 for 3 performance at the plate! Cease had two singles and a double. It was the first time he batted in a game since his senior year in high school. He became the first Sox pitcher with three hits in a game since Tom Bradley did it at home against the Orioles on May 14, 1972 in a 4-1 win. Bradley had three singles and an RBI in that game.

Three factoids today... May 3, 1954 – Down through the decades the White Sox have been known for outstanding pitching and in a series in Philadelphia that was shown to be valid again. With a two-hitter in a 14-3 trouncing, Sandy Consuegra extended South Side stinginess to four consecutive games that began with Virgil “Fire” Trucks tossing a one-hitter on May 1 winning 3-0 in Boston and continuing with Bob Johnson spinning a two-hitter against the Athletics in the first game of a twin bill on May 2 as the Sox won 4-0. The Sox lost the second game 2-1 allowing seven hits. Then in the blowout win Consuegra fired another gem. All three A’s runs were unearned by the way because of a pair of errors. So in the four games the Sox allowed a total of five runs on 12 hits. May 3, 1968 - It’s a dubious record, one that first baseman Tommy McCraw wishes never happened. In the third inning of a game at Comiskey Park, McCraw made three errors against the Yankees. Two of them came when he couldn’t field ground balls and the third was on a throwing error. New York scored all of their runs in that frame in beating the Sox 3-2. All the runs were unearned of course with Joe Horlen taking the hard-luck loss. May 3, 2005 - With a comeback win over Kansas City, 5-4, the White Sox established a Major League record by holding a lead in their first 26 games of the season. That broke the old mark set by the Brooklyn Dodgers. After trailing all game, the White Sox took the lead on a Carl Everett double to right-center, scoring Scott Podsednik and Tadahito Iguchi with the eventual deciding tallies. The win improved Chicago to an MLB best 19-7 record. The White Sox would extend this record to 37 games before playing a contest in which they failed to hold a lead. That happened on May 15 when they never led in a 6-2 loss to the Orioles at U.S. Cellular Field.

Winning is fun, fun is winning.

I thought it was that he doesn't have to pay as much for upkeep AND the state has to 'purchase' tickets to bring the number for the year up to minimum numbers before they would get a bigger cut. It's an incredible deal for JR and I can't believe the person who negotiated it for the state wasn't fired.

Way, WAY to early to even begin thinking about anything along these lines.

Five factoids today: May 2, 1901 - The White Sox were part of the first forfeit in American League history. After the Tigers took the lead with five runs in the top of the ninth, rain began. White Sox players began stalling, hoping to have the game wash out and be called as of the top of the eighth, with the White Sox getting the win. Umpire Tom Connolly caught on to the scheme and forfeited the game to Detroit, as soggy Sox fans stormed the field in protest. Connolly had to be given a police escort to get out of the ballpark. The final score was 7-5 Tigers. May 2, 1983 - It isn’t often that one of the all-time greats in a different sport comes to town to help present an award to a member of the White Sox but such was the case on this night as Wayne Gretzky, “The Great One” came to Comiskey Park to help honor Ron Kittle by handing him the 1982 Minor League Player of the Year Award. That season, Kittle, playing in Edmonton, smashed 50 home runs and drove in 144 RBI’s. He led all minor league players in home runs, RBI’s and slugging percentage. Kittle became friends with Gretzky who was the superstar center for the Oilers and used to throw batting practice to him when he’d come out to the Edmonton ballpark to work out with the team. May 2, 1984 - It was the finest regular season performance by LaMarr Hoyt as he one-hit the Yankees winning 3-0 at Comiskey Park. The reigning Cy Young Award winner lost his no-hitter on a single by Don Mattingly with one out in the seventh inning. Mattingly’s hit was a bloop that got caught in the wind and fell in between shortstop Jerry Dybzinski and left fielder Ron Kittle. Hoyt only threw 101 pitches on the night and faced the minimum 27 batters. May 2, 2021 – Seasons can change in a heartbeat and on this day the high expectations for the White Sox took a stunning turn for the worse. Five tool outfielder Luis Robert, the Gold Glove outfielder and runner up in the 2020 Rookie of the Year voting completely tore his right hip flexor when beating out a ground ball in the first inning in a 5-0 loss to the Indians. The White Sox were already without the services of Robert’s teammate Eloy Jimenez, one of the top young sluggers in the game, because of an injury that happened late in spring training. Robert wasn’t even able to try to resume baseball activities for a period of a few months. His loss left a gaping hole both offensively and defensively in the White Sox lineup but remarkably after a grueling rehab he returned to the team on August 9 in Minnesota and helped contribute to the club winning the Central Division with a total of 93 victories. His injury-luck though continued into the 2022 season when he missed time with vertigo, blurred vision and worst of all, a sprained left wrist that never properly healed and was so bad at times he was swinging a bat one-handed. And then in 2024 he would hurt that same hip again running to first base. Injuries would just hamper his career and limit his potential. He was traded to the Mets before the 2026 season and promptly suffered a herniated disc with them. May 2, 2022 – Dylan Cease became the second White Sox pitcher ever with a start of at least seven innings, with 11 or more strikeouts and just one hit allowed, with no runs or walks. The Angels Taylor Ward got the only hit off Cease, a double in the fourth inning. He went seven innings in the Sox 3-0 win at home. Gary Peters was the first White Sox hurler to accomplish this feat, on July 15, 1963 in a 4-0 win over the Orioles at Comiskey Park.

I'll start to believe at the trade deadline if they are within striking distance and JR allows Getz to get upgraded talent and not trade players away for prospects and 'magic beans...'

Detailed story in the Tribune today breaking down the bears proposals and bringing up to date what is being offered or was offered with other stadiums in the area. "Another lesson in taxpayer costs has come from the home of the Chicago White Sox baseball team, Rate Field. After the team threatened to move out of state, that stadium cost about $137 million to build when it opened in 1991. But after people were alarmed by the height of the upper deck, it cost another $118 million in renovations in the 2000s — all of it paid by taxpayers. The public still owes another $45 million for the ball field — even as the White Sox are looking to build a new stadium again on a better site, closer to downtown." https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/02/ghosts-of-stadiums-past-haunt-chicago-bears-quest-for-a-new-stadium-deal/

Nice game tonight, except for Bido.

What you say is true the Sox need to keep stockpiling they also, in my opinion, need to fortify what they have by aggressively looking at all avenues to get pitching. But as long as JR is in control that won't happen because he refuses to pay the going rate for top pitchers who do hit the market. He simply will not take that risk. It is what it is. Hopefully it changes with Ishbia.

After the labor impasse of 93/94 players were given service time for the missed days. That's how they wound up losing Alex Fernandez: December 9, 1996 - Pitcher Alex Fernandez signed a free agent deal with Florida. It was the culmination of misunderstandings and pettiness. Sox ownership felt Fernandez was going to remain contractually bound to them for another season but that belief was torpedoed when the players union and the owners agreed to give players service time during the time missed in 1994 because of the labor impasse. Fernandez became a free agent and the Sox hastily made a late offer which was rebuffed. He won 79 games in four full and three partial seasons with the club. Without him to anchor the rotation the Sox were forced to try to fill the void. The choice to do so, Jamie Navarro was a complete disaster.

Unfortunately it is what it is. I'm guessing DoUEverShift's initial comment is going to prove to be accurate.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/01/minnie-minoso-chicago-white-sox-anniversary/

NINE factoids today... May 1, 1909 - In a game at South Side Park, the White Sox buried the Tigers 19-9 banging out 16 hits. Detroit made 10 errors in the game. Their starting pitcher, Joe Yeager, allowed 12 runs but only five were earned in three innings of work. There was one other notable incident in the game, the Sox Herm McFarland hit the first grand slam in American League history when he connected off Yeager in the second inning. May 1, 1924 - In a game at Cleveland, Sox outfielder Bill Barrett banged out four hits and stole home twice in a 13-7 win. Barrett went 4 for 5 with three runs scored and two RBI’s for the afternoon. His steals of home came in the first and ninth innings. May 1, 1936 - The Sox purchased the contract of Fred “Dixie” Walker from the Yankees. Alas this was a big one who eventually got away as the Sox traded him in a deal with the Tigers after only one season. In 1937, with the Sox, Walker drove in 95 RBI’s while hitting .302. Walker would achieve stardom in Brooklyn winning a batting title and playing in four All-Star games. May 1, 1951 - Recently acquired Orestes “Minnie” Minoso made his White Sox debut. The “Cuban Comet” became the first black player in team history. In his first at bat as a member of the Sox he hit a home run into the center field bull pen at Comiskey Park off Vic Raschi. The drive went an estimated 425 feet and drove in a pair of runs. Later in the same game, won by the Yankees 8-3, Mickey Mantle would hit the first of his 536 home runs. May 1, 1954 - Sox pitcher Virgil “Fire” Trucks tossed a one-hitter in beating the Red Sox 3-0 at Fenway Park. The only hit he allowed came in the sixth inning, a single by future White Sox player Billy Goodman. He struck out eight Boston batters in the game. It was the first of his pair of one-hitters for the 1954 season. He’d end the year going 19-12 with a 2.79 ERA making the All-Star team and saving the win for the American League. May 1, 1959 - Early Wynn had one of the greatest days ever by a pitcher when he did it all in the 1-0 Sox win over Boston. Wynn tossed a one-hit complete game striking out 14. In addition, he slammed a home run in the last of the eighth inning to account for the game’s only run. His drive bounced off the glove of Boston’s Bill Renna into the first row of seats at Comiskey Park. The only hit he allowed came to Pete Runnels in the first inning. It was a single to center field just to the left of shortstop Luis Aparicio. Ironically seconds before the hit Wynn moved Aparicio over a few steps to his right and he wasn’t able to reach the ball. Wynn’s control wasn’t the best as he walked seven batters but he was always able to get out of trouble. May 1, 1960 - Al Smith connected on a Jim Bunning pitch and set off owner Bill Veeck’s new exploding scoreboard for the first time. The blast came in the third inning with Jim Landis on base. The Sox would win the game 6-3, and then swept the Tigers taking game two by the score of 5-2. The scoreboard was 130 feet wide and cost 300,000 thousand dollars. There was a firing platform in back that went into action when a White Sox player hit a home run. There were noises of varying tones and intensities. Among the noises were the sounds of horses running, thunder and the collision of locomotives. The eight small ladders atop the scoreboard flashed into electrical patterns. Strobe lights were atop the two higher ladders. Bombs and fireworks also were exploded from the firing platform. May 1, 1973 - Dick Allen hit a lot of long home runs in his time with the White Sox but this may have been his longest. On a cool, damp night at Comiskey Park, Allen deposited a pitch from the Orioles Mike Cuellar on to the roof in left center field. The pitch was unusual as it approached home plate and many speculated that what Allen hit was a ‘Cuban Forkball’ (i.e. spitball) that failed to break downwards. Allen would hit two home runs on the night in the Sox 6-5 win. For many years afterwards the Sox hung a sign on the roof in left center field indicating where his ball passed over. Former teammate and Sox broadcaster Steve Stone told the story how on that night, Allen told him if Cuellar threw him an off-speed pitch he was going to hit it out for a home run. May 1, 1991 - The Sox lost one of the longest games in their history 10-9 to the Brewers in Milwaukee. The Sox blew leads of 5-0 and 9-6 in this one. The game went 19 innings and ran 6:05. The game went so long that WGN-TV sports director Dan Roan, who was covering the game, had to do his evening sportscast from a parking lot at a bar just inside the state line on Route 41. He couldn’t get back to the studio in downtown Chicago in time!