Lip Man 1

Eddie Einhorn was right in 1983 when he stated that the Sox could never get fair coverage as long as the Tribune Company owned the Cubs (I still think they have 5% of the team), the Tribune, WGN-TV, WGN Radio and (at that time) CLTV. It was in their best interest business-wise to promote the Cubs as much as possible.

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 11:22 AM) Joe McConnell was a true pro. RIP. But on to Harry. Can someone explain to me if Sportsvision was the Sox death knell and WGN and Harry were the Cubs pot of gold, how come in 1982 the Sox outdrew the Cubs by over 300k. In 1983 the Sox outdrew the Cubs by 650k, and in 1984 the Sox, despite the Cubs making the playoffs, outdrew the Cubs by 25k? Sportschannel was over by then. This was before big money in TV. Bill Veeck's last season as an owner, the Sox were getting $3k a game for TV. 1984 happened. That's what turned the Cubs into the darlings they have remained. It wasn't Harry. This stuff does happen. The Bulls couldn't draw flies until Michael Jordan. Now they lead the league in attendance when they try to lose. The Hawks probably will have that. The Bears have no problem filling Soldier Field. Maybe someday it will happen for the Sox, but something really unique is going to have to happen. They will probably have to have an incredible run. It can't be ownership, because if it's anti Reinsdorf, why doesn't it carry over to the Bulls, where so many tried to blame him for the break up of their dynasty which resulted in, at least at the time, the worst 3 or 4 year stretch of any team in NBA history. 1. Going to WGN Superstation was monsterous for the Cubs. With them winning something in 1984 it took off after building for a few years. Even here in Idaho I can't tell you the number of Cub fans I've met and when I ask why the answer most often is because of WGN. 2. The Sox meanwhile had a real buzz around them when the new owners took over. They were spending money, they were bringing in good players, they had a real positive vibe. Going to SportsVision basically killed it because very few could see how good the Sox actually were. Great idea but the wrong timing. As Harry Caray said in Bob Logan's book on the 83 season, "If the Sox were on WGN they'd be a byword across the nation." He was right. 3. As you well know attendance isn't really impacted by a great season until the year after. That's how the Sox outdrew the Cubs in 84. It was a carry over from the success in 83, and I'd argue the build up and gradual success they had in 81 and 82. 4. Around 1984 the Wrigley area started to become a haven for young, up-scale individuals with money to spend. They "discovered" Wrigley and the Cubs as a good place to party. That led to the area around Wrigley to start being developed with more places where they could drink, mix and celebrate or commiserate. 5. The Sox also were guilty of not even trying to fight for their own turf basically conceding Chicago to the Cubs. Why they did this I have no idea. It's almost as if ownership was more concerned about pissing people off then protecting their own investment. Basically nothing was done to counter the Cubs PR campaigns until Brooks' brilliant "Us vs. Them" ad campaign which pissed off a certain segment of the media because it exposed some of the myths about the Cubs and their fans. History happened because of some unexpected success by the Cubs in 1984 coupled with the Sox collapse, the Superstation, the Chicago Tribune owning and marketing the Cubs through their outlets, John McDonough (who grew up a Sox fan ironically) and the Sox unwillingness to go after the Cubs and protect their own market. Some of these things were not of their doing and they no control over (much like the Comiskey Park is in a dangerous area myth after the social unrest of the 1960's) but a lot of it, was caused by their own doing.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Apr 10, 2018 -> 09:10 AM) Its funny to see this post in the 21st century, what with pretty much every single game of baseball being on cable, and WGN being dead as a regional sportscasting network. While this might have been right in 1988, in 2018 it is laughable. It turns out Jerry and Eddie were actually just ahead of their time. Hell the Cubs are about to form their own cable network by themselves. Harry left the Sox after the 1981 season even though the Sox offered him more money to stay on than the Cubs did to leave. It is true he did not like the new Sox owners although the relationship actually started off very well. According to Bob Logan's book "Miracle on 35th Street" the Sox claimed to have 50 thousand SportsVision subscribers. In reality they had closer to 20 thousand. I've done a long detailed story on SportsVision and it's history for any interested: http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2016/01/t...ision/#comments

Tour de Force story. Very well done. Excellent read.

In over nine innings of work the Sox haven't scored a run on Snell in his career.

QUOTE (flavum @ Apr 9, 2018 -> 09:38 AM) Originally 1:20 Friday and Saturday look bad in Minnesota. Rain Friday, cold Saturday. Luckily, they’ll have opportunities to make them up. Maybe the Sox should have thought of that with the Tigers series. Agreed. This is nuts to try to play in this for 2,000 fans who actually show up. It probably costs the Sox money to play in this garbage instead of postponing.

Sox lost this game because of fundamentals yet again. An infielder "trying" to play the outfield (first inning "hit") and a passed ball. Little things add up.

Absolutely terrific Sox announcer (as well as the Bears). He was 79. Knew him pretty well, spoke with him often. Here's my interview with him from a few years back: http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/rwas/in...=11&id=3734

They need to cut this stiff.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Apr 6, 2018 -> 11:20 AM) Especially if you look at the risk on a deal like that...give me another outfielder, veteran #2-3 starter to help lead the youngsters (and insure against injury risk) and put the rest into creating an elite pen. Catcher would be the other main concern, depending on Collins/Zavala’s development. Following that plan also allows you to devote another starting prospect to the bullpen foundation. If we keep Avi, we probably don’t need to sign a FA. Let’s see how Jimenez, Robert, Delmonico, Engel, Leury and Cordell do this year first. Delmonico and L. Garcia are not outfielders, they are liabilities right now at that position. They are infielders or in Delmonico's case, a DH.

QUOTE (SonofaRoache @ Apr 5, 2018 -> 06:39 PM) Playoff games are played in late October when the sun is out at 10PM, he'll be fine. I don't know if you were joking but in late October the sun isn't out at 10PM.

And that is how you snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Even though the Sox aren't going anywhere this year it is still very frustrating to watch supposed major league pitchers not be able to get guys out especially with a lead of multiple runs. Second blown game this week by the bullpen and I'm sure they'll be many, many more of them.

Just doesn't make sense to have the fans freeze and potentially have players get hurt in weather more suited for football or outdoor hockey. Insane.

The bigger Sox announcing issue is Ed Farmer as a play by play man. As someone who does it for a living all I can say is he isn't. He's a tremendous color analyst...but a play by play guy? Not even close. That's a far bigger issue than Jason who I think is fine and will get better with time.

QUOTE (Jack Parkman @ Apr 4, 2018 -> 07:58 AM) Becomes unfair. I think they seriously need to make retractable roofs mandatory. Never happen. There's a better chance of reducing the regular season back to 154 games (or less) or bringing back double headers or readjusting the schedule like the did in the late 80's / early 90's so that teams in moderate or warmer weather climates are basically at home the first week / 10 days.

QUOTE (Sox-35th @ Apr 4, 2018 -> 07:47 AM) The MLB is so stupid for starting baseball so early. Agree.

It's games like tonight that should pump the breaks on some who were talking about "contending" or maybe sneaking into the second wild card spot. That's not happening with this pitching staff especially the bullpen bums.

Very well done story.

Lopez looked strong. Offense didn't do much but that was expected...they never saw Garcia before. We've seen that a lot in the past. Meanwhile the bullpen blew the first of what figures to be many, many games as they had a 2-1 lead in the 7th and gave it up, wind up losing 4-2. Don't care for Farquhar at all. Ross needs to be called up, had a great spring and could be a nice trade chip come July.

Good move, no sense risking getting a pitcher hurt in miserable weather trying to throw breaking balls et al

Pitching was shaky, James Shields is done but the offense looked terrific. I said last year that I thought Matt Davidson may be a keeper and could help when this team is good again in 2020. Great start by him obviously. Let's hope this season turns out better than the last one where the Sox scored in double figures on opening day! April 1, 2011 – The White Sox started the season with a torrent of runs in blistering the Indians 15-10. It was the second highest total of runs scored on opening day in franchise history. The Sox led 14-0 after the first five innings. Carlos Quentin drove in five runs and newcomer Adam Dunn knocked in four.

To all Sox fans HAPPY OPENING DAY! Enjoy the game and the season and let's hope better days are ahead!

Awful Announcing has the story: http://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/ozzie-guill...in-chicago.html

Why Pinto? "Why not?" (Burp)

Wish the team continued improvement across the board in 2018 as the franchise points towards 2020.