Lip Man 1

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 21, 2016 -> 03:25 PM) Is anyone really excited about the Bears this year? What else are you going to watch to pass the time? White Sox baseball? If so, you my friend must be a masochist. Seven runs in the past four games. Nice. Royals will sweep the s*** out of them tomorrow. Mark

Typical White Sox garbage. How many days until the Bears open training camp? Mark

Ten years ago May 20, 2005. The "Punch A.J." moment. You know it, you love it as the Sox blew out the Cubs 7-0. It was quite the afternoon. We've got the audio AND video for you right here. Announcers: Thom Brennaman and Darrin Jackson. Courtesy: Fox Sports. http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/05/t...story-punch-aj/ Mark

This does not appear to be going to turn out well for the Sox but you play the game and keep your fingers crossed. I'm thinking Kansas City scores seven runs today though, that's what my gut is telling me. We'll see. Mark

Ventura is now 28-48 in his career against the Royals. LET'S GIVE HIM A CONTRACT EXTENSION!!!!!! LOL. Mark

Flav: Thanks for pointing that out. Just proves my point doesn't it? LOL. Mark

2-7 since that Texas Two-Step Night. You have the feeling it's going to be a very long weekend. Back to the same s*** for Q...no run support. You get handled easily by the Danny Gee's of the world there isn't much more to say is there? Mark

Just FYI Sports Illustrated has a story on Chris Sale in this week's edition. It starts on page 32 by Ben Reiter titled "Sale's Force." Mark

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 20, 2016 -> 03:14 PM) I have yet to see Joe Maddon asked about the White Sox, nor have I seen Jake Arrieta asked about Chris Sale. Even if this were going on, it would legitimize this a little bit more in my eyes. Just a few weeks ago the Tribune had a story quoting Maddon talking about the White Sox success and how "cool" it was. Mark

The good news: A. They won B. Sale is incredible The bad news: A. Offense almost shut down by a pitcher with an ERA of about five and a half. B. Had scoring chances (man on third - no out and get...nothing!) and wasted every one of them. Still it's a win for a change. Now let's see if someone OTHER than Sale can win a baseball game this weekend. Q needs to pitch well and getting him some offense would be nice...(especially since Gonzales goes Saturday, that could get ugly..) Q by the way is 1-6 against Kansas City in his career. Mark

Just FYI, according to Comcast Sports Chicago this afternoon Beck who was a possible candidate to start in that DH has been placed on the DL in the minor leagues. They didn't say why. Mark

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 18, 2016 -> 09:39 PM) At any rate, it was difficult for the White Sox to react so late to both the LaRoche and Danks situations catching them off guard. That said, they probably didn't expect to be in the position which they are now in...just hoping to be in the mix. Desmond/Alvarez/Jackson would have dealt with two pressing issues (SS production and LH power). It still would leave us potentially two starters short, as counting on Danks/Erik Johnson was probably the most foolhardy part of the off-season. They kind of lucked out with Latos' first three starts, but that mirage disappeared. Now we have holes at SS, CF (offensively), catcher, LH power, bench speed, bullpen and 2 starting pitchers (assuming Rodon will recover and be an above .500 pitcher the rest of the way). And the jury's still out on Lawrie and Avisail Garcia. Having the "real" Jose Abreu show up would be a huge lift. The Danks situation was pretty obviously going back to last season. Everyone (but the Sox) knew he'd lost it. They had plenty of time to solve or potentially solve his issue. LaRoche I understand your point but not Danks. The only reason he was around as long as he was, was because of his contract. The same reason Dunn was kept around and the same reason LaRoche would still be playing if he hadn't quit regardless of how bad he was. Mark

At least they didn't allow any two out runs. LOL Other than that complete garbage just like we've seen the past three years. Latos has officially returned to Earth. 1-6 since the Texas Tuesday Two-Step. It was fun while it lasted anyway. Mark

QUOTE (captain54 @ May 18, 2016 -> 12:25 PM) This Reinsdorf outfit has had 36 yrs to try to put asses in the seats. Still haven't been able to figure it out Maybe more wacky promotions? They've got Bring your Pooch day/night. Then there's Elvis night. How about combining them and having fans bring their pets, dressed as Elvis, Night? Sound like a winner to me. Or maybe Don Cooper dressed as Elvis for home games, the remainder of the season? Now THAT's funny! Mark

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ May 17, 2016 -> 10:17 PM) Fans still on the fence about this team, 13,481 in attendance. True but according to the box score it was also a "balmy" 52 degrees at game time and I assume it got colder as the game wore on. Weather has at times really stuck it to the White Sox, can't blame fans for not coming out when the weather remains lousy. Mark

By the way FOUR MORE runs scored with two outs. That's 25 total in the last six games. Mark

Not the best way to start an important home stand is it? Bullpen loses another game...team allows another unearned run (which turned out to be important). Third one run loss in the past eight days. You knew it was going to be tough enough without Frazier in the lineup. That didn't help matters. 1-5 now since the give away game in Texas. This is not the same team since then....maybe one game can make that big of a difference. I've seen it happen before to the Sox. Mark

Now another item out of my library. In fact it’s the oldest recording that I have of the White Sox. It’s May 16, 1953. The place is Yankee Stadium and Tommy Byrne, a pitcher, is coming up to bat as a pinch hitter in a game situation. What happened is the only time something like this has happened in the history of the White Sox franchise. Announcer: Bob Elson. Courtesy: WCFL Radio. http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/05/t...s-a-grand-slam/ Mark

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ May 17, 2016 -> 07:10 AM) Here's something new. I hadn't seen anything like this done before, so it's a bit of an experiment. We invited a writer from each of three other White Sox blogs, to join us (Future Sox) in answering a few questions about the minor leagues and prospects around the White Sox. Just to get some different perspectives. Here is the roundtable discussion. It was really fun to see the different styles and approaches from these other writers. I picked those three because they are, to me, the other three high quality blogs in our space (along with FS). Do people here already read those blogs regularly? Who do you like to read? Very interesting read. Mark

QUOTE (South Sider @ May 16, 2016 -> 09:10 PM) Time to get some home cooking going and get this thing back on track. The Houston series is definitely important, but when KC comes to town I hope our guys are ready to take it to the defending champs and show them that we mean business with this division. Aside from the Twins, we haven't had enough of a test vs. teams in our division. While the current leads we own are nice, whether or not we win this division will still come down to how we play vs. KC, Cleveland and Detroit. It's very important to keep KC down and take at least 2 games. We don't need to be giving that team any momentum at all. Since the Sox intend on pitching Sale against the Astros (why I don't know they could bump him back a day and pitch Q) the match up's don't look great against Kansas City which had a rain out tonight and will probably change their rotational plans. Mark

QUOTE (SI1020 @ May 15, 2016 -> 11:36 AM) f course it didn't but to say that Harry didn't help keep interest in the team a lot higher than it would have been is simply not accurate. In particular the team of Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall kept a lot of us fans interested enough to watch and listen on a regular basis. The Sox had winning seasons in 72 and 77 and for the most part were a dreadful team in the other years Harry was in the booth. Harry was an institution, a lightning rod, some didn't like him but tuned in anyway to see what outrageous thing he might say. More than anything Harry was a salesman. He could sell a baseball game or a brand of beer. His style of broadcasting would never fly today in our milquetoast PC world. He also had his faults which included a sometimes cruel streak, just like Hawk. Still, before he was corporately neutralized by the Cubs and then succumbed to health issues, he was one of the best baseball broadcasters in the history of the game, bar none. He did contribute to increased interest and attendance and the Sox did lose the battle with the Cubs after the Tribune company bought the lovable north siders. I tilt somewhat but not totally to Thad Bosley's point of view on this matter. I remember that era very well. Historically much of what you say is completely accurate. Mark

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ May 16, 2016 -> 09:00 AM) Question of the Day: Are the 2016 White Sox for real, and will they be playing in the playoffs this year? We'll know a lot more by the middle of next week or in about 10 days won't we? Mark

QUOTE (Tony @ May 12, 2016 -> 04:59 PM) I actually think this year may be the worst, considering the Sox are in 1st place and leading the AL in wins. The over-reacting to every pitch is getting obscene. And before you post "That's just how it is every year", don't. It doesn't make it right. I think Baltimore now has the best record in the A.L. Mark

Thought for the Day / Stats of the Day: Thought for the Day: Chase Headley is the new Ryan Raburn. A mediocre player who makes a career of killing the White Sox and ONLY the White Sox. Stats of the Day: We are roughly six weeks into the season and the Sox “5th starter” has yet to record one single, solitary victory. Not…one… On this six game road trip White Sox pitchers allowed 21 TWO OUT RBI’S!!! (That’s ridiculous…) The Sox need to get home and get their collective heads back together. This has not been the same team since they gave away that game Tuesday night in Texas. There obviously has been a hangover from that one and they need to stop it quick. As far as Zach Duke...more and more the deal the Sox gave him is looking like a big mistake. Mark

Yankees have scored four runs with two out today. Don Cooper needs to get off his fat ass and have a talk with his pitchers. This has been going on the entire road trip. Mark