Lip Man 1

He's been looking for it for the last several days. A really slow start.

April 4, 1982 - One of the most highly anticipated opening days in franchise history got snowed out. The Sox were set to host Boston and the organization was expecting a crowd of around 50,000 much like they got for opening day 1981. That got torpedoed when a blizzard hammered the entire Midwest cancelling games for days. 10 inches of snow were recorded at Comiskey Park! The season didn’t begin until April 11 as the Sox took a double-header from the Yankees in New York. April 4, 1983 - The same night North Carolina State upset Houston in the men’s NCAA basketball championship; the Sox opened their Western Division Championship season dropping a 5-3 game at Texas. The Sox scored three times in the top of the first but were handcuffed after that. Errors by rookies Scott Fletcher and Greg Walker were costly to pitcher LaMarr Hoyt. The Sox would drop all three games to the Rangers but rebounded to win 99 games and take the division by a record 20 games. White Sox broadcaster and analyst Jimmy Piersall would be fired by the club the next day for his acerbic studio comments concerning the team’s performance opening night. April 4, 1988 - It was a moment in the sun for Kenny Williams. On opening day, Williams belted a two run fifth inning home run off the Angels Mike Witt to help the Sox to an 8-5 win. Williams would drive in three RBI’s on the afternoon. His other hit that afternoon was a double. April 4, 1994 - The bittersweet shortened season started in Canada with a rematch of the 1993 A.L.C.S. It was Toronto winning this opening day 7-3 beating Jack McDowell, the reigning Cy Young Award winner, just as they did twice in the post season the year before. But by August 11 the Sox were rolling on all cylinders. That’s when the season came to a staggering end because of the labor impasse between the MLBPA and the owners. At the time of the shutdown, the Sox were leading the division and had the fourth best record in baseball at 67-46. April 4, 2005 - The World Championship season got off to a great start as a packed house saw Mark Buehrle and Shingo Takatsu shut out Cleveland 1-0 in a game that took less than two hours! That season the Sox would roar out of the gate at 26-9, the best 35 game start in franchise history. The only run came in the seventh inning when Paul Konerko scored on Aaron Rowand’s hard shot ground ball that was misplayed by the Indians Jhonny Peralta. Over 38 thousand fans were on hand for the game. The Indians only got two hits on the day and Sox pitchers only faced 28 batters, one over the minimum.

Don't know the guy but the sense I get is that he just wanted a release for how bad this organization has screwed up the rebuild and angered the fan base. And that fact that enough money was raised to do this in the first place shows he was correct in that assumption. Full disclosure: I donated a few dollars myself and I'd do it again.

The money raised also allowed the person behind the billboards to donate 1,200 to charity. 600 (if I recall) to a Chicago food bank and 600 to the charity set up in Liam's name for cancer research. Nothing wrong with that.

I don't think you are being serious given how disastrous last year went with many of the issues caused by TLR himself.

Given the hot start by the Twins and the Sox already 2 1/2 back and we haven't even played a week, that series next week in Minnesota is looking at little more important in my mind. Like Grifol said (and he's right) you can't win a pennant in April but you can sure lose one in it.

I stand corrected thank you.

I don't think fans are panicking. But... The aftertaste of last season is still strong as is the fact the rebuild hasn't gone as promised. The White Sox themselves did a lot of talking about getting to the World Series, multiple championships and Rick Hahn's famous comment "Talk to me after the parade." None of that has happened. A good start will help take some of that aftertaste away but the Sox have a very difficult April schedule and did little in the off-season to inspire confidence so if fans are apprehensive I can't blame them given the situation.

I think it was closer to 37 thousand according to the box score.

You are correct. real change won't come until new ownership arrives and the front office is cleaned out like John Allyn did in September 1970.

The seven home runs the Giants hit today are one short of the record against the Sox. The Yankees hit eight on July 31, 2007 at Yankee Stadium. Jose Contreras gave up three, Charlie Haeger two and Gavin Floyd three. Only two other Sox pitchers have ever allowed five home runs in a game, Eddie Lopat in 1947 and Reynaldo Lopez in 2018.

Why Ruiz wasn't cut a few years ago is beyond me. Hope Hahn likes what he saw today.

Well already they've scored three runs or less in four of the five games. If memory serves at the end of last year they scored three runs or less in exactly half of their games. Tough to win that way, puts a lot of stress on the pitching staff.

Bad...just bad. Maybe it wouldn't matter as much if it was in mid-June but it was the home opener in front of 37 thousand. Of all the times to really suck. More and more I'm thinking the injuries and sitting out the COVID season have caused Kopech to regress badly. He was lit up in the spring and now today. Grifol said afterwards maybe he was tipping pitches, they are going to watch the video. Let's hope that's the case because if it isn't...that's real trouble. I ask again for the second time in five days, why is Ruiz on this team. He's brutal. I'd rather see someone fresh off the farm instead of him. He's had plenty of chances and all he does is suck. Won't be easy Wednesday either, Logan Webb for San Francisco. The Sox had issues winning at home last year, let's hope this isn't the start of continuing into another season.

April 3, 1991 – The White Sox signed former two-sport All-Star Vincent “Bo” Jackson to an incentive-loaded contract, with a $700,000 base salary. Division rival Kansas City had released Jackson two weeks earlier, citing a hip injury suffered playing in the NFL with the Raiders that was likely to end his career in both sports. Jackson would have hip replacement surgery and not make a real impact until 1993, when he hit 16 home runs, but the move was a masterful stroke from a public relations standpoint. “Bo” was the first pro athlete to have the type of surgery he did and come back to play at the highest level. April 3, 2000 - The unexpected Central Divisional Championship season didn’t start off promising. The Sox were buried in Texas 10-4. They’d lose the next day as well 12-8. In the two games the Sox would allow 23 hits and commit five errors. But by the end of the month the Sox set the Major League record for the most runs ever scored in April and ‘‘The Kids Can Play,’’ were on their way to a league leading 95 wins and a post season appearance. April 3, 2021 - After going 5 for 5 in his first game of the year (April 2), Yermín Mercedes started his day against the Angels by going 3 for 3, including his first career homer. His eight straight hits to start a season set a modern record (dating back to at least 1900), besting Chris Stynes’ 7-7 start in 1997. Finally, in the eighth inning of the April 3 game, Mercedes was retired, snapping his incredible start.

Hope it is a good day for the fans and for the Sox.

Thank you, I'm on Mountain time. It's 1:10 for me.

Very happy with a split in Houston, depleted or not they still have a ton of talent. Absolutely incredible how many two out RBI's they produced in this series. Colas is impressing me more and more everyday. Kid will eventually have to make adjustments as teams get a book on him but right now he looks like he belongs and knows what he's doing. Starting pitching has been solid, kept them in games. The bullpen? Well....maybe when Crochet and Hendriks return it will get better. By the way the Sox game Monday starts now at 1:10 Chicago time to try to beat the rain. Moved up an hour.

There's no one way to evaluate and judge players, the key is having competent scouting and player development individuals as well as a good system in place to give them the best chance possible to make the Major Leagues and help the team. The Sox simply don't have these which badly hurt their chances. I remember reading a story by Mark Gonzales when he was writing at the Tribune and Gonzo had as part of it the fact that the Sox between 2009 and 2012 for example spent the least amount of money in all of baseball on the minor leagues. JR has publicly said (when he was still talking to the press) that he never believed in paying for "potential" which is partly why the Sox never exploited the loopholes in the old drafting/signing system unlike other teams.

April 2, 1900 - The White Sox played their first ever game. It would be an exhibition win over the University of Illinois baseball team. The final score was 10-9. That season the American League wasn’t considered a part of Major League Baseball. That would happen the following year. However the Sox would take the pennant on September 12 when they beat the Cleveland Blues 12-4 and 9-1. April 2, 2021 – Now this is how you make a debut! Sox catcher/DH Yermin Mercedes had over two thousand minor league at-bats before finally making the team’s opening day roster. On this night in Anaheim, he had a sensational debut going 5 for 5, with four RBI’s in the 12-8 win. Mercedes had four singles and a double in the game. The last time a rookie had five hits in their first game in the big leagues was in 1933 when Cecil Travis of the Senators did it. Mercedes would go on to have 12 hits in his first four games setting the modern Major League record and be named the American League Player of the Week.

A split in Houston would be more than OK for me.

Agreed, the question is can Clevinger get it done?

It was the same situation last year as well though and they weren't exactly world beaters. But I understand your point.

And it is the most expensive bullpen in baseball! ?

Can you really blame them given the history? We're not talking Yankees, Cardinals, Dodgers, Braves et al are we? You make some valid points. But the shortcoming are also becoming apparent, a bullpen that appears shaky and won't be getting help until May at the earliest, more "baseball stupid" baserunning and a lack of any clutch hitting with men on base. Time will tell which side turns out to be more accurate. I honestly hope you are right...we'll see.