Lip Man 1

April 7, 1970 - The worst White Sox team in history began their forgettable season getting pounded 12-0 at home by the Twins before less than 12-thousand fans. Sox starting pitcher Tommy John only lasted into the fifth inning giving up six runs, five earned. The Sox would go on to lose a franchise record 106 games and before the season ended saw the G.M., field manager and a number of front office people on the baseball side fired by owner John Allyn. April 7, 1971 - Charlie Finley, the A’s owner, got the first regularly scheduled opening day double header in history but was stunned when the Sox under manager Chuck Tanner beat them twice 6-5 and 12-4 at the Oakland Coliseum. Tommy John and Bart Johnson were the winning pitchers. The Sox clubbed five home runs on the day, including a grand slam by Bill Melton. It should have been six homers except that Carlos May somehow missed touching home plate on his blast. A’s catcher Gene Tenace picked up on it and tagged him out when he was sitting in the dugout. It went as a triple in the scorebook and two RBI’s. This was also Harry Caray’s first regular season game as Sox announcer although at the time not a whole lot of folks could hear him. Three straight awful years caused the Sox to lose their radio contract with any mainstream Chicago station. For the next two years Sox games were broadcast on WTAQ (LaGrange) and WEAW (Evanston), two low powered stations along with other smaller stations throughout the area. April 7, 1973 - On opening day in Texas, Mike Andrews became the first White Sox designated hitter. He hit sixth in the lineup for manager Chuck Tanner. He went 1 for 3 in the Sox 3-1 win behind Wilbur Wood. Andrews got off to such a blazing start that Sports Illustrated wound up doing a story on him in his role as DH. He was hitting over .300 through mid-May but then reality set in. He was released by the team in July after refusing to sign a contract offer made by then vice president Stu Holcomb. He’d wind up with the A’s for the remainder of the season including the World Series where A’s owner Charlie Finley tried to say he was injured and get him replaced with another player after his errors led to a loss to the Mets. Commissioner Bowie Kuhn did not fall for the deception. April 7, 1977 - The White Sox introduced American League baseball to Canada as they played the first ever game in Toronto Blue Jays history. The Jays outslugged the Sox in a driving snowstorm to win 9-5. But it was the start of something much bigger; the “South Side Hitmen” were born. Richie Zisk hit the first Sox home run of the season in the first inning. The club would blast 191 more of them that year. April 7, 1984 - The Tigers Jack Morris threw the last no-hitter at the original Comiskey Park when he shut down the Sox 4-0 on the NBC Saturday “Game of the Week.” The Sox had their chances; including loading the bases on walks in the fourth inning with no out, but could never get the key hit as he retired Greg Luzinski on a double play and then got Ron Kittle to strike out. April 7, 1993 - On his first swing of the season, future Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk would blast his final Major League home run. It would come off the Twins Jim Deshaies in the third inning and be the only run scored by the Sox in a 6-1 loss. Fisk would be released by the Sox in June. He’d finish with 376 home runs, 214 in a White Sox uniform at the time both the club and Major League record for a catcher. April 7, 1994 - In the annual “Crosstown Classic” charity game between the Sox and Cubs, Michael Jordan wrote his name into Sox lore. His double in the late innings tied the game and prevented the Sox from losing for the first time in this series. He’d have two hits and drive in two runs in the game which ended in a 4-4 tie at Wrigley Field. The Sox would go 10-0-2 in this affair that lasted from 1985 through 1995. (Two games were played in 1995.)

September 26, 2011 – He was considered the face of the franchise for eight seasons but on this night after a 4-3 win over Toronto, manager Ozzie Guillen announced he was leaving after owner Jerry Reinsdorf agreed to let him out of the final year of his contract. Guillen, who was the 1985 A.L. Rookie of the Year with the White Sox, won the World Series in 2005 and also got the club into the playoffs in 2008. He had five winning seasons in the eight years as manager and was named Manager of the Year for his work in 2005. In that magical season of 2005, “Ozzie Ball” resulted in the Sox getting off to the best start in their history and with a perfect blend of pitching, speed, power and the ability to execute the fundamentals the Sox were in first place from wire to wire. Then they blitzed through the post season putting together an 11-1 record that was the third best post season record in baseball history. Guillen’s passion and enthusiasm for the franchise was unparalleled but at times he was his own worst enemy. Over his final years in Chicago, he became increasingly thin-skinned and defensive when criticism was directed his way and he lashed out at Sox fans on more than one occasion. Among his famous rants against the fans were one where he said that they could ‘‘Turn off their TVs and stop watching the game if they don’t like the [bleep]ing lineup’’ and another in May 2011 where he claimed Sox fans would not remember him, “As soon as you leave the ballpark, they don’t care about you. They don’t. The monuments, the statues…they pee on them when they get drunk.” On the afternoon of the day he left the team Guillen told reporters that he would not want to return to fulfill his 2012 contract unless he got an extension and more money. Ozzie’s relationship with G.M. Kenny Williams also deteriorated over the final few years because the two men appeared to have different viewpoints over how the roster should be constructed and the style to which the Sox should play. The Jim Thome/DH controversy was an example of the different ideas. Guillen’s family didn’t help the situation with social media comments derogatory to Williams. Many felt when Ozzie was hired in November 2003 that he was the right man for the right team at the right time and for a few years he was. Unfortunately, the manager with the longest tenure since Al Lopez let some personal foibles override a good situation and it was best for all that a parting of the ways took place.

Should have happened years ago.

More flotsam and jetsam. That's part of the White Sox Way!

It's not.

It has been that way since the 1970's.

Especially since they had an off day Tuesday.

“The issue with Rick is he’s got all these guys around him like Jeremy Haber (Author’s Note: Haber is the Assistant General Manager), friends from Michigan or someplace and they aren’t baseball guys. They didn’t play the game and have no real idea of what it takes. D.J. (Author’s Note: Sox broadcaster Darrin Jackson) and others have said the same thing.” “I thought Hahn was prepared to do well, his last few years as assistant G.M. he was out on the road, watching guys, scouting, trusting what he saw. Then when he became G.M. he started getting guys like J.B. Schuck.” “Rick won’t leave in part because his wife doesn’t want to leave the area unless it is for a job in California where she’s from.” "I'll use a political term to describe Rick, he’s a ‘filibusterer.’ When Theo Epstein was running the Cubs everything he said meant something, if you went back to reread what he said you could read between the lines and figure out what he was saying. With Rick you heard what he said but then when you went back and reread his comments you realized he said less than you thought he did when he first spoke.” “In 2016 when the rebuild started I thought he did the right thing and he deserved credit for that. I also thought at the time that giving out those long-term deals was good. No one could have foreseen how those contracts impacted those guys and their effort. But it was clear when Tony LaRussa was hired that Rick really is powerless. I just don’t have a lot of faith that he can get this done. And words matter, when he talked about “Multiple championships” and “Call me after the parade”…if you are going to be arrogant like that you need to deliver and he hasn’t.”

A mainstream media person e-mailed me yesterday as said that as soon as Eloy comes off the IL, Moncada will go on it...LOL.

Very true but that will only happen under new ownership. I've never understood that JR, as hard-headed and pragmatic a business person as you'll find, is so adverse to firing people or holding them accountable for performance. Just very strange.

Eloy spoke to the media today before the embarrassing slaughter and said he isn't going to talk about injuries anymore this year but that he "feels good." It appears the only time he "feels good" is when he's not playing.

Well...at least they didn't get swept. But this is just flat out embarrassing. I hope Rick, Kenny and JR are enjoying this. Jose Ruiz should have been cut years ago,

April 6, 1993 - The Western Divisional Championship season began with a night game in Minnesota and a big 10-5 win over the Twins. Tim Raines would knock in three runs on the night with a three-run home run. He’d also score two runs. The Sox would wind up winning the division by eight games and compiling 94 victories. Jack McDowell picked up the first of his 22 wins on the year going six innings.

No it is his left leg according to the story in the Sun-Times.

One week in and guys already need rest? OK then...

Not necessarily. The Sox are already eating Garcia's salary...would they do it again? I think he makes around four million.

Nice bounce back save for Kelly of course. Like my dad used to say, "The White Sox can't stand prosperity."

DVS of the Sun-Times with the story and his injury history: https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2023/4/5/23671185/white-sox-place-eloy-jimenez-on-10-day-injured-list

"Mild" depends on your definition though doesn't it. They are saying two/three weeks. I'm guessing if it is three weeks he'll have to go to Charlotte for a few games to get back into playing shape. The guy's injury history is a long one, some of it appears to be bad luck, some of it is "baseball-stupidity" (all the injuries crashing into walls) but the fact is he hasn't played in roughly (if I remember a recent story) 40% of potential games. That's not piling on, those are the facts. Jesse Rogers pissed Rick Hahn off last year when he asked if Eloy was injury prone but he wasn't asking the question to be an ass, just look at the record. Eloy loses 30 pounds which was great and he STILL gets hurt doing a simple thing like running the bases. With him (and some others on this team) it is constant. Just another reason why many Sox fans are angry, frustrated and have decided to scale back interest.

It would be an option but knowing this organization and their arrogance and the fact that they have little credibility with the fan base, I don't see how they could sell it. I'm guessing they would do the opposite, if they felt they had any chance of saving the season, they would sell out the minor league system, double-down and hope for the best. Again though hope is not a strategy.

Just wondering which media member will be the first to ask Rick if Eloy is "injury prone." (Remember last season?) ?

April 5, 1960 - Shortly before the season opened, the Sox ended their decimation of the young players on their roster, by shipping future All-Star and power hitting catcher Earl Battey along with future power hitting All-Star first baseman Don Mincher to the Senators for power hitting first baseman Roy Sievers. Sievers gave the Sox some good years, averaging 27 home runs, 92 RBI’s and a .295 batting average in two seasons. He had a 21-game hitting streak in 1960 and made the All-Star team in 1961. But Battey, who cried when he was told he was traded, may have won the Sox the pennant in 1964, 1967 or both just by himself (to say nothing of other players shipped out that off season like Johnny Romano, Norm Cash and Johnny Callison.) Battey would go on to make four All-Star appearances and win three Gold Gloves at catcher along with helping the Twins get to the World Series in 1965. Mincher would become a two-time All-Star and help the Twins get to the World Series in 1965 and the A’s in 1972. April 5, 1974 - The Sox opened the season at home under freezing conditions versus the Angels and Nolan Ryan. The Sox started Wilbur Wood which caused broadcaster Harry Caray to comment that the game was “The tortoise against the hare.” This time the hare won as Ryan and the Angels got an easy 8-2 victory. The game did have its moments however. The streaking craze had hit college campuses and, on this day, a few young ladies in the upper deck decided to partially streak while a young man jumped the outfield fence and ran naked through left field before being hoisted back into the stands by his friends. Sox manager Chuck Tanner had one of the best lines anywhere when asked what he thought about the outfield streaker. “I wasn’t impressed by him.” (nudge, nudge, wink, wink...say no more!) April 5, 1977 - Literally a few hours before the team was to head north to open the season, owner Bill Veeck traded shortstop Russell “Bucky” Dent to the Yankees. Salary was the reasoning behind it and Veeck’s comment that “I’d trade Dent even up for any other starting shortstop in the American League” didn’t help matters. In return the Sox got outfielder Oscar Gamble, pitcher Bob Polinsky, minor league pitcher LaMarr Hoyt and $200,000 dollars. Gamble would be a big part of the 1977 hitting orgy, belting 31 home runs, while Hoyt would have some good seasons with the Sox culminating with the 1983 Cy Young Award when he won 24 games. Between 1980 and 1983 Hoyt won 61 games and saved 10 others. April 5, 2004 - New Manager Ozzie Guillen figured he had his debut game all wrapped up as the Sox took a 7-3 lead into the ninth inning at Kansas City. 20 minutes later the Royals scored six runs to take the game 9-7. The amazing rally set the modern record for the most runs scored in the ninth inning to win a game on opening day. Damaso Marte faced three batters, gave up three hits, two of them home runs to Mendy Lopez and Carlos Beltran, and allowed five runs to score in getting the loss. By the way that was Lopez’s only home run that season. April 5, 2010 – It was opening day and for Mark Buehrle, it was his eighth opening day start setting the franchise record and breaking the tie he had with Billy Pierce. Buehrle was brilliant in the 6-0 win over the Indians, but what everyone was talking about after the game was the play he made on a hard-hit ball off the bat of Lou Marson in the fifth inning. Both ESPN and the MLB Network called it the play of the year. Marson’s shot ricocheted off Buehrle’s leg and was hit so hard it was headed towards foul ground on the first base side of the field. Buehrle sprinted off the mound, fielded the ball with his glove and flipped it between his legs to Paul Konerko who made a barehanded catch nipping Marson by a step. It was simply an incredible play as it beat Marson to the bag by a step and a half.

It is the left hamstring, not the one that had surgery last season. I guess we shouldn't be surprised anymore. Like a poster wrote the same issues that have plagued this team last year are appearing again...injuries, a bad bullpen, little depth and an inability to score runs. if you believe in karma the baseball gods seem to be saying again, that until this team is sold they are going to dump on it. I was told a story from a source that part of the reason Hahn reacted and said the things he did when it was brought up to him about Eloy being injury-prone was because the Cubs basically keep bringing it up around baseball and it makes Hahn look bad. I don't know if the Cubs knew something about his body type of if they are just trying to take advantage of the situation. Like I said we shouldn't be surprised anymore but it is damn frustrating.

We don't get these type of snowfalls very often anymore, not worth the expense and I don't have a garage to store it in.

It's ironic that here in Southeast Idaho we are having one of the heaviest snowfalls in history for this area right now on the same day as back in 1982 Chicago got hammered with a blizzard. Just spent two hours shoveling.