Lip Man 1

I've always found this quote to be very prophetic as it turned out: Jerry Reinsdorf was a “source of intrigue” and in the future could become a “source of controversy.” –From a story by reporter Linda Kay, Chicago Tribune January 30, 1981.

No I did not. I only read the stories at the Sox web site and at MLB.com where they talked about him going to his high school pitching coach who changed his mechanics. This is something Cooper, supposedly the great pitching coach, should have been able to detect and change. It's ludicrous that a professional pitcher had to go back to a high school coach to work on these things.

According to a story at MLB.com and at the Sox web site, he's been given some time off to "get a mental respite." Which is a polite way of saying he sucks and needs to be benched. Better late than never I suppose by the Sox.

JR is an exceptional businessman. You don't luck your way into getting a professional franchise, he earned the opportunity. As an owner, JR appears to be a meddler, is far to loyal, hold grudges and is concerned more about "fiscal responsibility" (and at one time breaking the union) then achieving sustained success on the field. It's unfortunate for the franchise and especially for the fans...he could have done so much more (and made even more money to boot by consistently winning)

Doesn't seem to be bothering them financially though and this year both of those guys are actually producing some positive results. They seem to be willing to take risks, the Sox don't seem willing to do that. So be it. Regarding the game today, the 2019 White Sox MVP is Lucas Giolito's high school pitching coach! Period...end of discussion. He needs to be hired by the Sox and can Cooper. And they finally benched Alonso. Maybe Ricky CAN learn something!

If they keep insisting on playing Alonso they are going to be on the hook for money next year with him remember.

Of course that is assuming the organization is smart enough to sign good players, assuming the organization even wants to spend that money and assuming any good players actually want to sign with the Sox. It takes two to make a deal you realize.

It has been widely reported that Kenny talked Robin into taking the job, he really had no interest originally.

Cubs sign Kimbrel, Cubs sign Cargo, Theo today says if Zobrist wants to come back he'd be welcome, salary isn't an issue. God what I wouldn't give to have an ownership that plays to win and not be "fiscally responsible". And who knows what they'll be able to do when their TV Network money starts pouring in, estimated to be 90 million a season, up 30 million a year from what they are getting now from WLS, WGN and Comcast Sports Chicago.

Now add up the stiffs, retreads, cast-off's, has-been's and never were's he spent millions of dollars wasted on. Look at the list that was published here on this very site. Based on WAR literally only four or five guys performed in a positive manner for the Sox that Hahn got either via trade or free agency. And by the way Hahn did not draft Sale that was Kenny and I don't think he was in charge when Q was plucked from the Yankees either. And let's not anoint Madrigal as anything yet shall we? He may turn out to be another Carson Fulmer right? We'll see. My point being, based simply on the numbers, the failures far outweigh the number of "success stories" by a VERY wide margin. That's not a recipe for success is it sir? Honestly I admire your loyalty to him and respect your point of view but factually he is bad at what he is being paid very well to do. And naturally he isn't suffering any consequences for it from the higher up's.

The 63, 64 and 65 teams AVERAGED 96 wins a year. Think about that one for a minute boys and girls. They were absolutely terrific teams. Smartly managed, fundamentally sound with killer pitching staffs. I'd give just about anything to see the White Sox once again be that good of a team and an organization.

It is a system wide malaise. And it starts at the very top. And Fry has been absolutely brutal this season, just brutal.

It is simply amazing to me the number of guys the Sox have claimed over the past several years from other teams. I wonder how many guys the Sox cut were claimed by someone else just as a comparison. Just frustrating that so many cast off's are claimed who do very little if anything with the Sox. You'd think at least in year three (or is it four) of the rebuild the Sox wouldn't have to be so eager to take other teams (for wont of a better word) garbage.

I'm also pretty sure he's not working in the Sox front office either. Poppy, it's not rocket science. Look at the guys he's acquired or signed during his tenure. How many of them honestly played worth a damn while with the Sox? That's all you need to know about the guy. Again it is not totally his fault but he is the G.M. and has to take a lot of the responsibility.

They had to because of the rules in place at the time for bonus babies. It came down to McClain or Bruce Howard. Both were bonus babies, they had a "pitch off" Howard won the game 2-1 and was promoted to Double A Lynchburg. Another one of those "what if's."

Remember the Sox (quietly... which was very odd) extended his contract last year. JR does not like to pay people not to work. He's now part of "the family" and won't be going anywhere soon for better or for worse.

$$$$$ If you pay enough, they will come. (Meaning free agents)

Don't forget 1983-Fisk,Baines,Kittle, Luzinski. That was some middle of the order, those guys could thump.

I hear what you are saying but it wasn't just a hamstring. He had other injuries as well. But what really caused me to raise an eyebrow was when he publicly told the mainsteam media he was out of shape one year and vowed to do better in that regard. I appreciated his honesty but if you want to get on the bad side of Sox fans, you admit you were out of shape and as a professional athlete there is simply no excuse for that. It's not like 60 years ago when guys had to work in the off season to make some more money.

If they all progress properly, if they stay healthy, if they all show they can play at the Major League level, you could be right. We'll see.

He is very very good at contracts and financial matters. Going to Harvard and Michigan law really doesn't mean squat in the long run. As a BASEBALL guy, knowing players, being able to properly evaluate them, being able to execute trades and signings that at least work out say, half of the time for the White Sox, history shows he is very, very bad. He is NOT a good baseball G.M. Granted the circumstances but even when the Sox were "going for it" he couldn't put together a team that could even win more than they lost at the end of the year. His resume is awful from a baseball performance standpoint. That's not an opinion... this is a results based industry and the results are very plain to see in the won / loss column.

Agreed.

Right now I wouldn't be "boasting" about Alonso if I were the White Sox regardless of how they got him would you?

It seems like even when a situation goes bad for the Cubs, they come out smelling like a rose: "The financial component in all of this is the continued absence of 38-year-old utility man Ben Zobrist, who has remained on MLB's restricted list since May 8 in order to tend to a family situation. The longer Zobrist remains away from the team, the more the uncertainty grows about his return. While a player is on the restricted list, they do not receive pay, either. That means the Cubs might have roughly $9 million of Zobrist's $12.5 million salary to reallocate elsewhere." -- MLB.com This was where and why the Cubs decided to give it a shot to sign him, Luxury Tax be dammed. The Cubs may wind up winning the pennant because of Zobrist's divorce...only the Cubs.

And JR has admitted publicly that agreeing to fire LaRussa was the single worst decision he has ever made as owner. He's also said letting Hawk become the G.M. was a poorly thought out move: "Eddie and I would talk to Hawk and (Don) Drysdale at length, and Hawk more so, to identify problems in the organization, we were still neophytes in this business and we were impressed with the way Hawk pointed out our problems. [GM] wasn't something he really wanted him to do, but we urged him to help us out. The mistake was that when you go to a doctor who diagnoses open-heart surgery, you don't have him do the surgery because he diagnosed the problem, you get a heart surgeon. Just because Hawk was able to diagnose our problems did not mean he could solve them. It was a terrible position to put him in, and a year later, he said he wanted out." – Jerry Reinsdorf to the Chicago Tribune’s Melissa Issacson. May 28, 2004. “I never should have allowed Tony to be fired. I’ve often said that was the biggest mistake I’ve ever made. I knew it was wrong. I knew it was a mistake. And I let it happen anyway.” Jerry Reinsdorf to Rob Rains in his book, "Tony LaRussa: Man on a Mission."