Lip Man 1

To say nothing of the Phillies and Yankees on the road.

Nice effort today. Now let's see if the Sox can finally get to three games over .500 Friday. With the schedule getting measurably tougher the Sox need as many wins as they can get in the next seven games.

Five factoids today: May 28, 1956 - The Sox purchased pitcher Gerry Staley from the Yankees. Staley would become one of the top relief pitchers in the league by 1959 helping the Sox win the pennant. That season he went 8-5 with a 2.24 ERA and a league leading 15 saves. He came into a bases loaded one out situation in the ninth inning at Cleveland on September 22 with the Sox clinging to a 4-2 lead. He threw one pitch to Vic Power who rapped into a double play and the Sox won the pennant for the first time in 40 years. His teammate Omar “Turk” Lown also had 15 saves. In 1960 Staley would make the All-Star team. May 28, 1973 – It was a night Wilbur Wood did something that rarely happens in baseball. Two days earlier the game between Cleveland and the White Sox was suspended by curfew at Comiskey Park, tied at two after 16 innings. Rain washed out action on May 27 so when the suspended game was resumed the next day, it was Wood’s turn to pitch. He went out and threw five innings before the Sox would win it 6-3 in 21 innings. 30 minutes later Wood went out and started the regularly scheduled game. He would toss a complete game, four-hitter, winning 4-0. Two wins in one evening! His line for the night, 14 innings pitched, one run, six hits, nine strikeouts, two wins. Wilbur was now 13-3 on the season and it wasn’t even June. May 28, 1986 - In a game against the Rangers in Arlington, Texas, Sox pitcher Joe Cowley struck out the first seven men he faced which set an American League record. He fanned Oddibe McDowell, former Sox infielder Scott Fletcher, Pete O’Brien, Pete Incaviglia, Gary Ward, George Wright and Steve Buechele in order. However, Cowley wound up pitching only four plus innings giving up six runs, five earned, and took the loss in a 6-3 defeat. May 28, 1995 - At Tiger Stadium, Detroit jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one inning and 7-1 after two, but the White Sox rallied to win, 14-12. The game set an MLB record with 12 combined home runs, seven by the Tigers and five by the White Sox. Frank Thomas, Ray Durham, Craig Grebeck, and Ron Karkovice (twice) hit home runs for the Sox with Durham, Karkovice and Grebeck going back-to-back-to-back in the fourth inning. For all the home runs, it was a Mike Devereaux ground out in the eighth inning that provided the eventual game-winner, giving the White Sox a 12-11 lead. May 28, 1999 - Sox infielder Greg Norton hit two home runs in a game for the second consecutive game. He was the first Sox player to pull that off since Zeke Bonura did it in 1935. All four of his home runs came in Detroit against the Tigers. The home runs accounted for six RBI’s.

Speaking of Robert: May 27, 2017 – The White Sox scored a coup and surprised the baseball world by announcing the signing of 19-year-old Cuban outfield prospect Luis Robert to a minor league contract. Robert’s deal included a stunning 26 million dollar signing bonus. Robert was on the radar of Major League teams since he was 15 years old because of his speed, power and compact swing. He was considered one of the top amateur players in the world and represented a significant addition as the White Sox were rebuilding a franchise that had grown stale and had limited success on the field and in the stands. He had a tremendous 2019 minor league season and then signed a long-term contract extension with the Sox before making his big-league debut in 2020 where he won a Gold Glove and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting. Injuries slowed his development in both 2021 and 2022 but he had a breakout year in 2023 with 38 home runs, 36 doubles, 80 RBI’s and 20 stolen bases. Unfortunately injuries in the following seasons returned which hampered his production. He was eventually traded to the Mets before the 2026 season began…and promptly suffered a herniated disc in his back which landed him on the injured list yet again.

Nice to get an easy winner.

Hayes may not be around for a very long time if that hamstring is still bothering him to the point he had to be removed from the lineup Tuesday in Charlotte.

If you want to win today you better have tons of pitching, pitching in spades since guys are always getting hurt. You need to explore every possible avenue to acquire it. The Sox have very little of it. Especially starters.

Of course anything is possible but the facts show that as owner of the Suns he and his brother spent a lot of money in an effort to win. It didn't work out but that doesn't negate the fact they tried. And personally I'd welcome Mr. Applegate or anybody else as opposed to JR given what he's done to the franchise and the fan base since 2007.

Ironic that JR actually talked to a media member a month / six weeks ago and said "we need pitching." Ironic because the main reason they don't is because of him and his outdated philosophy.

The MLBPA is the strongest union in the world tempered and hardened by decades of not bowing to owners BS. In your scenario I suspect they literally would go out and form their own league, plenty of mid sized cities would be glad to have them as opposed to giving in. Or guys would go off and play in the other leagues around the world. And instead of the union breaking you may want to consider the owners falling apart first, after all history shows they have done this every...single...time.

Story in the Athletic today that was really intertesting. Crux of it was the owners really don't want a salary cap because of the league supposedly being at a competitive disadvantage where only some clubs can win but because the overall value of their franchises hasn't increased at the level that franchises have in the NBA and NFL which do have a cap. Why am I not surprised at this from the owners?

Actually this is a four game series so really not a rubber match

From Sox Machine's game recap: "Kind of a weird play there, where there's a bunch of chaos and the ball didn't bounce our way," Will Venable said of the play that ended the 10th, before affirming he kept the bunt on with Nishida even after two strikes. "Once you get to two strikes against a guy who's really tough against lefties, that at-bat where we're set up to bunt, go ahead and commit through two strikes there. With that being the skill set that [Nishida] does very well, that was the calculus to go ahead and try to get [pinch runner Luisangel Acuña to third], knowing that you've got some guys behind him."

Two factoids today: May 27, 1994 - Wilson Alvarez was masterful in extending his winning streak to a then club-record tying 15 games. The Venezuelan left-hander fired a six-hit shutout at the Baltimore Orioles in the White Sox 3-0 win at Comiskey Park. The win was the last in Alvarez’s streak which began on August 24, 1993. Darrin Jackson doubled in a run in the first, Tim Raines sacrifice fly brought home a run in the seventh and Frank Thomas homered in the eighth. Alverez’s streak would end on June 7 at Comiskey Park when he was bombed by the Blue Jays in a 9-5 loss only going three innings giving up six runs. May 27, 2017 – The White Sox scored a coup and surprised the baseball world by announcing the signing of 19-year-old Cuban outfield prospect Luis Robert to a minor league contract. Robert’s deal included a stunning 26 million dollar signing bonus. Robert was on the radar of Major League teams since he was 15 years old because of his speed, power and compact swing. He was considered one of the top amateur players in the world and represented a significant addition as the White Sox were rebuilding a franchise that had grown stale and had limited success on the field and in the stands. He had a tremendous 2019 minor league season and then signed a long-term contract extension with the Sox before making his big-league debut in 2020 where he won a Gold Glove and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting. Injuries slowed his development in both 2021 and 2022 but he had a breakout year in 2023 with 38 home runs, 36 doubles, 80 RBI’s and 20 stolen bases. Unfortunately injuries in the following seasons returned which hampered his production. He was eventually traded to the Mets before the 2026 season began…and promptly suffered a herniated disc in his back which landed him on the injured list yet again.

Wasn't sure where to put this, decided here was the best place because it included Schultz going to the IL. From Sox Machine: "Speaking of pain, the White Sox announced that last year's first-round pick Billy Carlson will need four-to-six weeks to heal a non-displaced (that's better than displaced) fracture in the tip of his left thumb, suffered while scoring in a game with Low-A Kannapolis on Saturday." And... Hays was scratched from Charlotte's game on Tuesday because of continuing soreness in his hamstring/leg.

Yes, especially when it concerned Ramirez.

Yep...obviously time hasn't solved this for him. Too bad, Sox had high hopes that eventually he could become a key piece. He may have to change some things with his delivery which is always dicey.

Five factoids today: May 26, 1959 – Sox owner Bill Veeck was always good for a crazy stunt but this one topped the cake. Before a game against the Indians, little people dressed up as Martians ‘landed’ at Comiskey Park (via helicopter) and ‘captured’ Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio. One of the midgets was Eddie Gaedel. Terms were discussed for releasing the two Sox players when the Martian leader, (Gaedel) said "Don’t bother taking me to your leader (Veeck), I’ve already met him." Gaedel, of course, came up to bat for Veeck’s St. Louis Browns in 1951. May 26, 1968 - In an effort to jump start a stagnant offense, Sox manager Eddie Stanky batted pitcher Gary Peters in the #6 slot in a game in New York. Peters who had 19 career home runs, was listed in the order ahead of Luis Aparicio, Duane Josephson and Tim Cullen. The move didn’t help though as the Sox lost 5-1 to Mel Stottlemyre. Peters went 0 for 2 in the contest as the Sox only managed four hits. May 26, 1976 - Recently acquired pitcher Ken Brett nearly threw a perfect game and then a no-hitter, only to lose it on a controversial ruling by the official scorer. In a night game in Anaheim, Brett had a perfect game for almost eight complete innings before walking Leroy Stanton. Then with two out in the ninth inning of a scoreless game, Jerry Remy hit a ground ball that Sox third baseman George Orta badly misplayed, with the ball going under his glove. Official scorer Don Merry of the Long Beach Independent Telegram called it a hit. Other writers disagreed with the ruling, the Sox players were incensed and radio broadcaster Harry Caray went crazy on the air but the decision stood. Former Sox player Bill Melton would get a clean single with one gone in the 10th inning ending the controversy. The Sox would finally win it 1-0 in 11 innings on a single by Russell “Bucky” Dent. It was their 10th straight victory. May 26, 1996 - For the first time in franchise history the Sox hit four home runs in an inning. It happened in a 12-1 rout over the Brewers at Comiskey Park. In the eighth inning Frank Thomas, Harold Baines, Robin Ventura and Chad Kreuter all found the seats. Thomas, Baines and Ventura went back-to-back to back. The first three home runs were hit off Mike Potts, Kreuter went deep off former Sox pitcher Ramon Garcia. May 26, 2025 – Needing starting pitching, the White Sox picked up Adrian Houser who was released by the Mets earlier in the month. On this day Houser etched his name in the Sox record book by becoming only the fourth hurler in team history to allow no runs and pitch at least six innings in his first two starts with the club. He joined Frank Baumann (1960), Jack Lamabe (1966) and Johnny Cueto (2022) to do this. His teammates weren’t giving him a lot of help either, in the two starts they scored a total of two runs and he was fortunate to come out of it with a win at least.

Meanwhile regarding the Bears: https://chicago.suntimes.com/bears-stadium/2026/05/26/bears-stadium-megaproject-bill-cook-county-treasurer-analysis

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2026/05/25/i-dont-feel-like-im-a-major-leaguer-rikuu-nishida-humble-despite-successful-debut

A solid win to cap a nice holiday weekend. It wasn't easy but then again it usually isn't with these guys.

Offered without comment, from my November 2022 story on the State of the Sox where I spoke with a half dozen sources connected to the organization in various ways: On the constant injuries “Alan Thomas (Author’s Note: Thomas was the Director of Strength and Conditioning) was let go because his son was draft eligible and he was told the Sox no longer wanted to draft sons of members of the organization. Turns out his kid is playing center field for the Diamondbacks. I’m not saying he’d be playing center field for us but he’s good enough to be in the Major Leagues. I don’t know the new guy they brought in, but guys are getting hurt left and right.” (Author’s Note: I had heard Thomas disagreed with the results of the Sox injury study conducted last winter which was never released to the media or public. I was told he felt the Sox issues were only caused by the COVID restrictions. “The Sox play checkers where others teams play chess” when it comes to injury prevention, conditioning, nutrition, sleep schedules is a phrase I had heard mentioned.) “The White Sox playing shorthanded started in 2007 when Jermaine Dye got hurt and Kenny Williams refused to call up Brian Anderson or Ryan Sweeney. Maybe they were cheap, maybe they wanted to protect Herm’s record of keeping guys off the DL.” (Author’s Note: Herm Schneider was the Sox longtime head trainer and for years the Sox were among the league leaders in keeping players healthy.) “Jake Peavy made the comment one time, ‘They have no reservations about playing shorthanded.” “You know about Mike Reinold right? (Author’s Note: Reinold is the White Sox Senior Medical Advisor) He was fired by the Red Sox because he was injecting players with Toradol.” (Author’s Note: Bleacher Report had a story on this situation published in February 2013. Here is the link to that story: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1530943-ex-red-sox-trainer-mike-reinold-injected-players-with-controversial-substance) “Given the inordinate amount of soft-tissue injuries they have had you’d think that they would do a complete change in the training, conditioning and nutritional areas.” I'll let others again reiterate their comments about guys being rushed back, Robert playing with basically one arm et al.

Five factoids today: May 25, 1924 - In a game at Washington which the Sox won 10-9, future Hall of Famer Ray “Cracker” Schalk caught his 1,500th career game. At the time of his retirement in 1929, Schalk had the third-most games caught all-time and second-most games caught in A.L. history. May 25, 1952 - Sox pitchers Joe Dobson and Marv Grissom both fired complete game shutouts in beating the Tigers in a double header at Comiskey Park. The Sox won the games by the scores of 3-0 and 1-0. For the afternoon Detroit only had eight total hits. Grissom would later become the White Sox pitching coach under manager Eddie Stanky. May 25, 1957 - Sox pitcher Dick Donovan hurled a one-hitter at Cleveland striking out four. Donovan allowed only a second inning double to right field from former Sox infielder Eddie Robinson in winning 4-0. He beat future teammate Early Wynn. May 25, 1973 – It was the beginning of the end for what was expected to be a stellar season. In the second inning of a game with the Indians, Sox outfielder Ken Henderson tore up his knee in a collision at home plate trying to slide through future Sox pitching coach Dave Duncan. The Sox at the time were 10 games over .500 at 24-14 with a two and a half game lead in the division. This injury started a run that saw the Sox use the injured list 38 times in 1973. Making matters worse, is that for some reason, the Sox refused to allow Henderson to have it operated on until September, meaning he was lost for the season, not that it would have made much difference considering all the other injuries that happened. The Sox would end 1973 with a record of 77-85. Remarkably he came back to play all 162 games in 1974 though and blasted 20 home runs with 95 RBI’s. May 25, 2009 – In a 17-3 blowout over the Angels, shortstop Alexei Ramirez recorded four hits in the first four innings of the game! He became the first Sox player to do that since catcher Sherm Lollar back on June 26, 1960 against Boston. Ramirez went 4 for 7, with three runs scored and three RBI’s in the night game in Anaheim.

This didn't really "fit" anywhere but I thought it was interesting and may be a possible outcome when Ishbia takes control: Awful AnnouncingSuns owner Mat Ishbia defends keeping local broadcasts ov...Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia defended keeping local game broadcasts on free, over-the-air television rather than cable.Perhaps the Ishbia's aren't as 'bad' as some seem to think they are?

From the feature I did on the history of SportsVision: One Man Remembers Mike Leiderman came to Chicago in the late 70’s working at WMAQ-TV doing sports then went on to host “PM Magazine”. But his heart was still in sports and when the opportunity came to go to SportsVision as the main anchor (Duane Dow, formerly of WLS-TV sports, worked weekends) he jumped at it. “I was talking with a station in Cleveland about hosting a morning show along the lines of what Phil Donahue was doing when SportsVision became an option,” he told me. “Merle Harmon, who did the Milwaukee Brewers for years, was the first anchor but he left and they wanted a replacement. They were paying real money and offered me a good deal so I signed up with them. I was contracted to work 200 days a year for them so that left me opportunities to do play by play and other things. My family and I loved Chicago and we wanted to stay here. It also gave me an opportunity to keep doing what I loved, which was sports. Even though it was new we just didn’t think about not making it. Everyone who worked there realized it was going to be a slow growth process.” But ownership apparently did not and on December 31, 1983 the plug was pulled on it. It was a group decision to sell back the rights among the owners of SportsVision which included Einhorn, Reinsdorf, Chicago Sting owner Lee Stern and Bill and Arthur Wirtz of the Blackhawks. Leiderman was asked when employees began to suspect something wasn’t right and issues were developing. “It was about the time we starting seeing ads in newspapers for decoder boxes!” he said laughingly. “Instead of paying for the converter box and the hook- up fees people were just buying those boxes for like 10 dollars and watching at home. It was problematic for us.” The fact that people were buying those boxes did provide perhaps the most memorable line in the entire SportsVision experience. It came on December 31, 1983 during the final show. Leiderman was hosting with Sox co-owner Eddie Einhorn as his guest. Mike looked into the camera and said, “Those who are watching us in the piracy of their homes…” as Einhorn started to laugh. “To this day when I see Eddie he’ll bring up that line”, Mike told me. Leiderman also was the last person to be on a TV set with Sox announcer Jimmy Piersall who was fired after his on-air comments after the Sox lost opening night in Texas back on April 4, 1983, by the score of 5-3. “Greg Walker started at first that night. He was a rookie then. Texas’ infield was as hard as concrete and he made a few errors and didn’t handle a few other balls that were generously scored as hits. Jimmy and I were back in the studio and we went live between innings. I was setting Jimmy up for his analysis and he was just merciless with his comments. He was ripping Walker, Jerry Reinsdorf, and the Sox organization. I actually went back to the control room and asked ‘what should I do? Should I challenge him? What?’ They said ‘just let him go.’ He was fired the next day.” Asked if he had any regrets Leiderman said, “No, I don’t regret it. We were the first station in the country devoted totally to our teams, we weren’t at the mercy of anything else, we were different, unique and you look around today and you realize all the regional sports channels started with us. I enjoyed it, worked with great people and it enabled me to stay in Chicago. I’m thankful for that.” How to sum up the experiment known as SportsVision? Well you could do a lot worse than to say, ‘a brilliant idea that simply was ahead of its time.’