Lip Man 1

Was stunned when I saw this, this morning. What do you say, life is precious and can be gone in an instant. I first met Chet when I was in high school at the Cougars games, he was the PA announcer. I just went down and said hello and said I wanted to get into broadcasting (I'd see him on WFLD-TV doing the news cut in's) He invited me and a high school friend to the studios where he gave us a tour. We even saw Svengoolies coffin! Which was a big deal back then! He became a friend and mentor over the years. He was a little arrogant, but he had a flair and was very good for a long time in the business. One of the first sports radio guys in Chicago and he took a much different approach to things in that area. Here is the link to my interview with him for anyone interested: http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/rwas/index.php?category=11&id=3585

This and that random thoughts: Anderson gives with a two run home run and also gives with another error leading eventually to two runs. Three more errors on the day and Nate Jones doing Nate Jones things are what lost the game. My personal opinion on bat flips, Gatorade buckets, goofy dances out at second base are as follows: "Act like you've been there before" - Walter Payton (quoting his high school coach)

Regarding Palka, good bye and good riddance.

Story said he tested negative for a concussion.

CBS Sportsline looks at the Sox start and how some of the young pieces are doing: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/thanks-to-moncada-and-anderson-the-white-sox-are-flashing-reasons-for-excitement-despite-sub-500-start/

Starting in 2007, nine of the last 12 years have been bad ones. Patience does have a limit.

And a good one given his grasp of the fundamentals which are stressed in Japan. But Omar is next in line to manage the Sox when they let Ricky go.

Sox got the Yankees at a good time as beat up as they are and they took advantage...kudos to them. We'll see what they do against the Royals (weather permitting of course...)

The only way the Sox win the division is if the other teams forfeit.

Yolmer's best trait is being a clown with a Gatorade bucket.

All I know is the guy seems to win a lot of games, flaws and all. Would love for him to be GM of the Sox. Also respected his comments last week where he took ownership of the slow start by the Cubs saying it's not the owners or the Luxury Tax but himself that was at fault. He didn't make excuses.

As I've said JR does want to win... it's in his nature... but he wants to win HIS WAY. And by and large that is very different from the way other major league teams operate and history shows his way has not been that successful from a on-the-field standpoint. Now from a business standpoint he's been brilliant at it,as shown by the new stadium, the sweetheart lease agreement and others factors over the years.

No one will be fired, that's the way the White Sox role.

I've joked that the Baseball Gods are going to continue to shit on the Sox until a new owner arrives. At least that is some type of explanation for the garbage we've seen in 10 of the last 13 years (counting this one...)

The more the White Sox attempt to play pro baseball the more it makes Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn look even more incompetent. Now its on to New York where the baggy pants buffoons can embarrass themselves further.

And how much of that time period you are mentioning will be wiped out by a labor impasse? Just asking...

So much for the excuse of not being able to afford things.

They seem to be producing better than the stiffs and has been's in the Sox bullpen now correct? Little pieces, good bench players provide depth and elevate the overall talent on a roster regardless of position. Those guys aren't world beaters but the fact that they are producing some positive results for their teams to me does have some meaning. Hell Seimian (sorry about the spelling) is now a three WAR player. What has bums like Keppinger, LaRoche, Dunn and their ilk done for the Sox? As time goes by more and more it is showing that Hahn is out of his league and in over his head. He's a contract guy, a bean counter pretending to be a G.M.

All three basically don't have a measurable track record yet. They could be superstars, they could be average, they could be bad...who knows. But the overall point is this this organization seems to be completely screwed up from top to bottom and even if all three of the players you mentioned hit it big, become All-Stars say, the Sox are going to need a hell of a lot more to attain in Rick's words, "sustained success..." Personally (and I had hoped the rebuild would start showing some measurable improvement this year with a big leap in 2020) I don't think Hahn can pull it off. If this franchise is still badly floundering in 2021 will JR have the balls to pull the trigger and can him and Kenny? Guess that's the million dollar question isn't it? His track record of free agent signings is horrific and his ability to judge talent is questionable at best. Three pitchers he let go in Montas, Wendelkin and Junior Guerra all seem to be doing pretty well to cite just a small example.

Garbage on the field, garbage in the dugout managerial wise, garbage in the front office and garbage ownership. Pretty much sums up the state of the franchise right now. Sox have played 10 games this year, they have allowed eight runs or more in five of those games. Rick Hahn was saying all winter how the staff (specifically the bullpen) was going to be much improved from last year. He may want to rethink those comments. Regarding the starting rotation, the less said the better. His history of signings and free agent acquisitions has been a disaster, yet somehow he's still employed. As his partner in crime Kenny Williams would say, "it is what it is..."

The Cubs, Red Sox and Astros don't have JR as owner with his financial practices.

As I wrote, "if he stays healthy and is reasonably productive." But the bottom line is that at some point I'd suspect the Sox will be dealing him and to try to get the most that you can he has to be dealt with two years or a year and a half left on his deal. It's not like the Sox will be doing anything before 2021 at the earliest in my opinion so trading him sooner rather than later is probably the wisest course.

Sooner or later (probably sooner) the Sox are going to have to come to the realization that with Scott Boras as his agent, the odds are very small of him signing an extension with the Sox. he's going to free agency ESPECIALLY if he stays healthy and is reasonably productive. Given those factors the Sox are going to have to trade him and trade him when his value is at the highest. That's not one year from free agency but probably two years out. Unless new ownership is in place the chances of them signing him after he becomes a free agent are very small in my opinion as an aside. You get the most you can for him via trade because you'll get nothing for him as soon as he hits the market.

Umpires shouldn't be biased but subconsciously they may be thinking, "it's the White Sox, they are terrible, Who really cares?"

Seriously doubt Rodon's agent would agree to any extensions especially if he were to stay healthy.