Lip Man 1

Hawkins used to come out of a coffin on stage at his concerts reprising Dracula.

Today could swing the standings in a significant way. Cleveland plays a double header with Detroit while the Sox have the Twins. Looking at the pitching match ups for this weekend gave me pause. Matthews has pitched very well his last three starts. Also don't like the Saturday one either. This weekend isn't going to be easy especially given the issues on offense the last six games. Fingers crossed they can figure things out. Next nine games against mediocre teams are going to be important with that series in Cleveland just around the bend.

Six factoids today: September 4, 1937 – Sox outfielder Mike Kreevich tied the Major League record by hitting four doubles in a 9-1 win over the Tigers at Tiger Stadium. He went 4 for 6, with three runs scored and an RBI. Three of his four doubles came off Detroit starting pitcher Tommy Bridges. September 4, 1960 - A viral infection knocked Nellie Fox out of the line-up for the first time since August of 1955 in the first game of a double header at home against Detroit. Fox was replaced by Billy Goodman. Nellie played in 798 consecutive games, still the White Sox record, and 1,072 out of 1,073. September 4, 1961 – It was a strange start to a good Sox career for pitcher Joe Horlen. Horlen entered the game in Minnesota wearing a blank jersey. That’s right…no name, no number, on the back! As Horlen was warming up, Twins manager and former Sox outfielder Sam Mele came out to talk to the umpire basically wondering who that kid was on the mound! Only one other time in Major League history has this ever happened as the Reds Eric Davis suffered the same fate on May 19, 1984. Joe allowed two hits in four innings of work and got the win in the 9-5 decision. An unusual Major League debut! September 4, 1970 – It was one of the key dates in franchise history as Roland Hemond was hired as player personnel director to rebuild the franchise. The club would lose a team record 106 games in 1970. The very next year they would improve by 23 games from 56 to 79 wins and by 1972 would be a legitimate title contender. Hemond would eventually become G.M. and stay with the team initially through 1985. Also coming along as new field manager was Chuck Tanner who’d be named Manager of the Year in 1972. Both men came to Chicago from the Angels organization where they had worked together for a number of years. September 4, 1995 - Robin Ventura hit a pair of grand slams in a 14-3 win over Texas. He was the eighth player in history at the time to hit a pair in one game. His eight RBI’s tied the franchise record. His home runs came in the fourth and fifth inning and he also had a double in the contest giving him 10 total bases for the night. September 4, 2016 – In a wild slugfest in Minnesota, won by the Sox 13-11, first baseman Jose Abreu drove in seven RBI’s. Jose had a pair of three run home runs in the game along with an RBI single. The home runs came in the first and seventh innings. The seven RBI’s are one off the franchise record for a single game.

I'll be curious how history eventually judges the "worst" trade: Shields for Tatis or Castillo for Boston

Almost a certainty given JR's philosophy on pitchers contracts.

“He's here to help us and ultimately his job is not to go out there and throw six scoreless innings,” Venable said. “He needs to give us a chance to win. And there's been a couple in which we haven't been able to get there. We have confidence in him. We're going to continue to support him. We're going to continue to work.”

Maybe given how the minor leagues produced under his watch he never should have gotten the job in the first place. But it's JR so..........

That certainly is playing a major factor.

Venable today said the team "still has confidence" in him and told him that when they talked after the game today. 😁

And it must have been justified given the chaos in the locker room. the controversies regarding challenging calls, the Sale/Eaton comments, the entire LaRoche and his kid embarrassment. And by the end of his tenure it was clear he didn't even want to be there.

We better hope Philadelphia and Tampa put the wood to Houston or that #2 seed may vanish pretty quickly.

Fegan's postgame story: Chicago Sun-TimesWhite Sox remain confident in Luis Castillo and Munetaka...Castillo has a 7.52 ERA in a White Sox uniform, Murakami has a 38.4% strikeout rate since Aug. 1, but both remain critical to the team's success

Or JR laid down certain requirements.

Getz normally meets the media the first game of a homestand. Can't wait to hear/read what he has to say now! 😄

Sox ballpark shooting to go to trial in January: https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/09/03/white-sox-bleachers-shooting-trial/

*Castillo got just five swinging strikes on 78 pitches, and only 12 called strikes. Few pitches made it home.

Never underestimate the stupidity of this organization. NEVER!

WELL DONE!

It is kinda strange unless the Sox simply don't think he can do the job.

As well you should be. They simply can't score runs and the pitching is running on fumes.

Yes, the infamous Jerry Dybzynski play.

True...assuming they actually win said division.

Some times no matter what you do a team has your number. Houston simply owns the Sox, end of story. They've done it for years even when the Sox had a good team (remember October 2021?) Bottom line is this, the next three series are winnable. Minnesota, Pittsburgh and St. Louis are mediocre. The Sox should go 6-3 against them. (Doesn't mean they will of course if this team is out of gas but they should) Do that and you'll go into Cleveland still in the divisional lead and have a little cushion. Houston I think has to play Philadelphia and Tampa Bay so they should lose a game or two themselves. The Sox have lost four of five after a four game win streak, they need to get their heads out of their asses and play well otherwise they are going to choke this away again like the franchise did in 2003 and 2012. It's totally up to them. Castillo absolutely blows, even Getz has to see this. And what broke the game open again today? ANOTHER clutch hit with men on base with two out in the inning.

I'd like to think Castillo is headed for the DFA pile myself. 😄