Lip Man 1

Nice story by Dan. Here's a little more historical info on Ozzie and his "situation": He was considered “the face of the franchise” for eight seasons but on this night (September 26, 2011) after a 4-3 win over Toronto, manager Ozzie Guillen announced he was leaving after owner Jerry Reinsdorf agreed to let him out of the final year of his contract. Guillen, who was the 1985 A.L. Rookie of the Year with the White Sox, won the World Series in 2005 and also got the club into the playoffs in 2008. He had five winning seasons in the eight years as manager and was named Manager of the Year for his work in 2005. In that magical season of 2005, “Ozzie-ball” resulted in the Sox getting off to the best start in their history and with a perfect blend of pitching, speed, power and the ability to execute the fundamentals the Sox were in first place from wire to wire. Then they blitzed through the post season putting together an 11-1 record that was the third best post season record in baseball history. Guillen’s passion and enthusiasm for the franchise was unparalleled but at times he was his own worst enemy. Over his final years in Chicago he became increasingly thin-skinned and defensive when criticism was directed his way and he lashed out at Sox fans on more than one occasion. Among his famous rants against the fans were one where he said that they could ‘‘turn off their TVs and stop watching the game if they don’t like the [bleep]ing lineup’’ and another in May 2011 where he claimed Sox fans would not remember him “as soon as you leave the ballpark they don’t care about you. They don’t. The monuments, the statues…they pee on them when they get drunk.” On the afternoon of the day he left the team Guillen told reporters that he would not want to return to fulfill his 2012 contract unless he got an extension and more money. Ozzie’s relationship with G.M. Kenny Williams also deteriorated over the final few years because the two men appeared to have different viewpoints over how the roster should be constructed and the style to which the Sox should play. Guillen’s family didn’t help the situation with social media comments derogatory to Williams. Many felt when Ozzie was hired in November 2003 that he was the right man for the right team at the right time and for a few years he was. Unfortunately the manager with the longest tenure since Al Lopez let some personal foibles override a good situation and it was best for all that a parting of the ways took place. Mark

I wouldn't be surprised if two / thirds of the crowd this weekend for the Cubs series are made up of Cub fans. And I wouldn't blame Sox fans for staying away given the franchises performance certainly since September 2012. Something else I've noticed which should be troubling to the organization. On the on-line version of the Tribune the past two mornings, not one word, one story is about the Sox on the page that first comes up on the screen. As bad as the Sox are you'd think the "badness" would get some mention. It isn't. The Sox are becoming totally irrelevant in their own city. Not blaming the papers in one sense (although from a journalistic standpoint it shouldn't matter what the team's record is). My guess is that the majority of the season ticket holders who signed up this year after the off season spending spree on veterans in their 30's won't be back. Mark

QUOTE (Saufley @ Aug 9, 2015 -> 04:28 PM) Let's be real and let's be honest now. Really, how does Ventura not deserve to be let go? This is big business and this team is losing the fan base. How can the management and the ownership not be aware of this? I'm totally dumbfounded!!! You have to take into account that with the enormous sums of money flowing into MLB I seriously doubt any team is losing money now. And that's not even taking into account "revenue sharing." Unfortunately under those circumstances "winning" and "losing" may not be impacting the bottom line like in decades past. Unless an owner has the mentality of George Steinbrenner where the only thing that mattered was winning, it simply may no longer be an issue. Save for as I said, personal pride...maybe. Mark

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Aug 9, 2015 -> 03:36 PM) Too have Hahn sit there with a straight face and say, he did not want to mess with the teams chemistry was it for me. This team was not even .500 WTF! To be fair and from a devil's advocate standpoint the team was playing very well heading into the break and Hahn may also have been saying what he did because no other team wanted what he was offering. (If that's true that speaks volumes about how MLB views the Sox "talent". Personally I think there's some truth to the last part of my statement. Honestly who wants a lot of the s*** we put out there day after day? Mark

QUOTE (Soxfest @ Aug 9, 2015 -> 03:36 PM) Too have Hahn sit there with a straight face and say, he did not want to mess with the teams chemistry was it for me. This team was not even .500 WTF! To be fair and from a devil's advocate standpoint the team was playing very well heading into the break and Hahn may also have been saying what he did because no other team wanted what he was offering. (If that's true that speaks volumes about how MLB views the Sox "talent". Personally I think there's some truth to the last part of my statement. Honestly who wants a lot of the s*** we put out there day after day? Mark

Three straight one run losses. The only consistent thing about this team this year is their inconsistency and inability to stand prosperity. Two examples: Win six straight...then lose seven of the next eight. Win seven straight...then lost eight of the next 10 (and counting...) When you have as poor an overall approach to hitting as the Sox have, plus poor base running judgment and at best mediocre defense you simply can't go on extended runs no matter how many "veterans" you bring in. Fundamentals fans decide close games. Always has, always will and the Sox are bad at those aspects of the game. Mark

Who wears short shorts? The White Sox do. This Date in Sox History for August 8th has a five minute video from a fan at one of the games in 1976. I'm sure some of the players are still trying to forget about it! http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2015/08/347/ Mark

Sox couldn't beat the Royals with regularity when they were good and Kansas City was trash. No reason to think they can beat them now that K.C. is good. Mark

Just my opinion. I think Ramirez is gone after the season and unless Micah can stay healthy and get over his hamstring issues, his futue with the Sox is dubious at best. Can't play Tyler at third base. Third base is a power / RBI position. You've got to have a masher at that position who plays decent defense. Now who that can be for the Sox I have no idea. I can see Tyler as the all around utility guy next year since Gordon and Bonafacio will be gone. Sanchez is settling in nicely at second leave him there. Mark

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Aug 8, 2015 -> 09:55 AM) They played nice a couple weeks back and as a result did not sell. They mentally checked out in April and never really appeared ready to go. This organization became relevant with a one week run. In Chicago now they are about on par with the golf tourney or NASCAR race as at as relevance. Unfortunately I have to agree with that last statement 1000%. Mark

One more for the road. Sox have played 107 games. They have scored three runs or less now in 57 of them. That's 53% of their games this year...that's not good. Mark

Last four hitters in the starting line up tonight all hitting under .250. Basically that's almost half of your starting lineup in "automatic out" status. Simply can't win that way very often anyway. As Kenny would say, "it is what it is..." LOL. Mark

Offense has scored three runs or less in four of their last eight games. Tonight marked the 15th time the Sox held an opponent to three runs or less...and lost. Mark

QUOTE (Harry Chappas @ Aug 7, 2015 -> 09:52 PM) The white sox are becoming a very stale organization. Dombrowski and black would make sense but KW is here for as long as he wants. Have said that for a long time. Mark

Folks: Remember...Robin has another year on his contract. JR does not like to pay people not to manage...and he personally like Ventura a lot. Just sayin' Mark

QUOTE (oldsox @ Aug 7, 2015 -> 08:57 PM) Particularly at start of the season. A little bit better now, not enough. There's no urgency to the Sox in spring training, didn't have under Ozzie and that continues under Robin. Ozzie publicly said spring training was a "joke." Sox were brutal the last 10 days of spring training this year capped off by Charlotte scoring double figures on Danks. Flat and lifeless on opening day...flat and lifeless for the home opener. How can any player be that way on those two days is beyond me. That's DIRECTLY on Ventura and his staff. Mark

Some very rare audio (from the original television video in my library) is the bill o' fair for August 7th in my This Date in Sox History. The two clips highlight the Sox ending Nolan Ryan's quest for a no-hitter from 1974. In fact in a span of a few minutes Ryan lost the no-hitter, the shutout AND the game. Hope you enjoy it. http://www.chicagonow.com/soxnet/2015/08/t...te-sox-history/ If memory serves the next audio clips will come on August 11th but feel free to check daily for historic events in franchise history. Mark

Glad you folks like the stories. Always appreciated and thanks to Daniel for his help. Have some stuff "in the can" already which will be released when Daniel sees fit including: My detailed interview / conversation with the late Billy Pierce from 2002. Billy talked about how he actually got into baseball, his memories about playing for the Sox and Giants and the people and events he met or was involved in for the seasons he was in 'the show.' And we've also submitted a look at "SportsVision - The Legacy" (remember that?) what it was and its impact on the Sox franchise. Also included are remembrances from Mike Leiderman, one of the anchors of SportsVision. Mark

QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Aug 6, 2015 -> 12:11 PM) 5 games over vs. 19 or 20 games under in fewer appearances. I think it's significant. I am as sick of seeing Flowers strike out as anyone, but there is something to the staff throwing to him. Dick: My point is that regardless of it you are talking about five over or 20 under neither will get you into post season play. Flowers is consistently one of the worst defensive catchers in baseball (and I understand defensive statistics are still a work in progress). My own personal opinion is that I could care less what a catcher hits as long as he can actually catch the ball, throw out a decent number of base runners, frame pitches and call a good game. At best...at best Flowers does two of these things. Catching is a deep, deep hole for the Sox with no one in the minor leagues at this point even close to upgrading the position. This has got to be a priority this off season. Just my opinion. Mark

QUOTE (ChrisLikesBaseball @ Aug 6, 2015 -> 11:41 AM) This blows my mind. https://t.co/BMiRsOORGy I guess he's good if being five games over .500 is someone's definition of good. Catching is one area the Sox badly need to upgrade. Mark

Balta's post is very, very, VERY good. I agree with him on many of the points he brought up. I think they went off the rails because Kenny simply couldn't wait. Many of these signing over the winter appeared to have his fingerprints all over them. (veterans in their 30's). Hahn appeared to want to be more patient but apparently he was over ruled as Kenny himself said anything Hahn and his staff want to do they have to run it by him first. The other factor I think was that even with maybe the best stadium deal in MLB (as outlined by the tribune) last year, attendance was dropping dangerously low. The franchise had lost fans from the previous year for eight consecutive seasons. They had lost 56% of the attendance since the end of the 2006 season. The decision was made in part to do something to bring back the season ticket holders. Obviously it hasn't worked on the field. Patience is a virtue, Kenny with his "football mentality," and his "go for broke" approach just doesn't have the capacity to wait three or four or five years so it's always "rebuild and contend" or "retool and contend" and that usually does not work. At least history shows it hasn't worked for this franchise for almost a decade. "It's time" for drastic changes at all levels in the front office. New blood, new ideas are desperately needed. Mark

QUOTE (BigFinn @ Aug 5, 2015 -> 09:26 PM) The worst part of the "White flag" trade was how the White Sox front office betrayed Robin Ventura. If I remember correctly, Robin had a horrific knee injury on a play at the plate during spring training. Robin was busting his ass in rehab while the Sox were fighting with Cleveland all summer. Just as Robin was ready to rejoin the club, Alvarez, Hernandez, and Darwin got traded to the Giants. The Sox brass has been working to rebuild that sense of loyalty throughout the organization, but the "White flag" trade was a true low point in the history of this franchise. Robin broke and dislocated his ankle when his spikes got caught in the mud sliding near home plate against the Red Sox. His foot literally was pointing 180 degrees opposite of the way it should. The injury was so gruesome that a woman in the first row of seats fainted. Yes the "White Flag Trade" was an unmitigated disaster for the Sox. Locally even mild mannered columnists like Bob Verdi were savage in their responses. Nationally ESPN's Baseball Tonight devoted almost their entire show that night to the trade. Joe Morgan was extremely caustic berating the organization. Dave "Soup" Campbell the same although not quite as bad. The "Sox Surrender" was the lead story that week in Sports Illustrated. The story quoted Alvarez and Hernandez as saying when manager Terry Bevington (a first rate buffoon) told them they were traded he was "laughing." The move did incredible damage to the organization on and off the field. Sox attendance dropped like a stone the next few seasons and even in 2000 when the team won 95 games, attendance wasn't that great. Fans simply did not trust Reinsdorf anymore. And remember this took place after the collusion issues in the mid 80's which former commissioner Fay Vincent accused JR of being a ringleader and of course the labor issue of 1994 which cost the Sox a potential trip to the playoffs and or World Series. Mark

QUOTE (Balta1701 @ Aug 5, 2015 -> 04:56 PM) The team's lease on the ballpark runs through 2029. Between the deal with the TV network and the sweetheart deals that the ownership group got for the ballpark, including the revenue from parking, they're going to be in Chicago at least until that point. That's so far in the future it's impossible to predict how things will evolve in terms of financing options for new buildings, growth in other parts of the country, etc. 5 years ago no one would have predicted the kind of insane TV money deals that are commonplace now, just to show how rapidly the economics are changing. Agree the Sox aren't going anywhere even with eventual new ownership. Mark

QUOTE (Jerksticks @ Aug 5, 2015 -> 04:32 PM) Man, why do you do it? I think we all deserve the explanation. All love brother I assure you, but we deserve to know. Nobody else does it. Why do you have to? Jerk: I'm afraid you've lost me completely with this one. Mark

QUOTE (CaliSoxFanViaSWside @ Aug 5, 2015 -> 04:04 PM) One half of the roster is always conspiring against the other half. You're not a team to be taken seriously unless offense defense and pitching all do well together a lot of the time. Well said. Mark