Lip Man 1

Very true that moniker belongs to the juggernaut called the NFL.

And we'll also hear him (or his organization stooges) come out and say, "Hey give us two billion dollars, build us a new stadium and everything will turn around...trust us!" 😆

My guess the name would have been something like "Comiskey Park at Wintrust Field" something along those lines.

As crazy as it sounds I was told things along the lines you are suggesting in the story I did on the State of the Sox which came out in November 2022. “Things started to change when Howard Pizer (Author’s Note: Pizer is the Senior Executive Vice-President) was told that he’d no longer be in charge of everyone, that some folks would no longer have to answer to him. That opened the door and some people are trying to get themselves into position to become a team president. Folks aren’t telling JR everything; in some cases they are lying to him.” “Howard Pizer was the only guy who could tell JR ‘no’ and stop something. If people are angling to try to become a vice-president or president that’s just embarrassing.” “I know the friction in the front office just wore Bob Grim down.” (Author’s Note: Grim retired after 30 years with the organization. He was the Senior Director of Business Development and Broadcasting) “Here’s a story about scouting/development. Nick Hostetler was ‘promoted’ to the Special Assistant to the Vice-President/General Manager. He was ‘promoted’ because he was overheard complaining about a scout in Arizona, Ken Williams Junior. Someone got their revenge. I liked Nick, he was independent, he was his own guy.” “People wonder why Dennis Gilbert (Author’s Note: Special Assistant to the Chairman) is around.” “Mike Shirley is the darling of amateur scouts right now. (Author’s Note: Shirley is the Director of Amateur Scouting) He’s the power broker. I heard him saying that he’s been in baseball a long time, I looked up his career and it was only a couple of years maybe a half season of at-bats.” “I think Chris Getz (Author’s Note: Getz is an Assistant General Manager and in charge of Player Development) is getting to much power to soon but I like him, he’s got some interesting ideas.” “There are department heads in the organization who don’t know what they are doing, worse, all they care about is getting ahead themselves, some of them are real snakes.” “Wintrust offered a much better deal than Guaranteed Rate but part of what Wintrust wanted is the name had to be changed back to Comiskey Park and JR didn’t like that at all. He also wasn’t told some of the details in the agreement that may have made a difference had he knew.”

More millions of JR's dollars wasted by GM Chris Getz. 🤡 Would be nice to know what the owner thinks about approximately 22-24 million of his hard earned dollars wasted on stiffs, bums, has been's and retreads.

Unfortunately it is a lot more than just the items you mention.

Which isn't saying much though is it?

July 29, 2000 - With the Sox badly in need of pitching at the trade deadline due to injuries to starters Cal Eldred and James Baldwin, G.M. Ron Schueler (a former pitcher with the team in the 1970’s) went off in another direction acquiring catcher Charles Johnson and DH Harold Baines. It was Baines’ third stint with the Sox and while he and Johnson helped offensively, it did nothing to lighten the load on the pitching staff. That staff, even though they’d go on to win the division, suffered even more arm injuries to starters Jim Parque and Mike Sirotka and relief pitchers Bobby Howry and Kelly Wunsch. The Sox would pay for Schueler’s mistake the following season since the staff was decimated, many coming off surgeries. It should be noted however, in his defense, that some of the pitchers the Sox were rumored to be interested in like Mike Mussina and Curt Schilling, said they would not accept a trade to Chicago for various reasons.

It is now 25 times. 25 times the Sox took a lead going into the 7th inning or later...and lost the game. I wish I had the ability to check if this is some kind of franchise record, but even if it isn't this is absolutely mind boggling.

All four of those guys suffered serious injuries along with a few bullpen guys like Wunsch and Howry. I remember reading that somehow if the Sox got by Seattle Jerry Manuel had no idea who'd he be able to pitch in the next round. Then that off season you had "Shouldergate" with Wells/Sirotka and Kenny Williams having a press conference to defend the Sox medical/training staffs.

😆 He's not moving the team.

Heard from a source tonight who brought up some interesting comments about the upcoming off-season and what Getz may do. If they are right it sounds like a lot more turnover is coming. Here is what they wrote for what it is worth: "He (Getz) can’t go the KC route again. And please, no Brian Anderson in any form. Josh Barfield selected Dominic Fletcher over Jake McCarthy. That hasn’t turned out well. They’ve been paying a few scouts not to travel/work for as long as the last three months. I expect a lot of their pro scouts to “retire.” Given they don't have a lot of pro scouts to start with according to (If I remember right) Jay Cuda, they have got to replace them with qualified people. How much more can they shortchange this crucial area?

“We are committed to doing what’s right for us long term. And we’ve got to stay the course. Not cave based on pressures or noise outside of the organization and do what’s right for us so we can be successful in the future.”-- Chris Getz. 🤡

It is interesting that the Cubs who have had long periods of ineptness themselves have been able to hire good, solid acclaimed baseball managers like Lou Piniella, "Dusty" Baker, Joe Maddon and Craig Counsell. The White Sox???????????????????????????? The last time I heard of any 'name' 'accomplished' manager having any interest and the Sox being interested in him was Cito Gaston. But this shouldn't really be a surprise. JR years ago went on record as saying he didn't think managers (or head coaches) mean that much to a team. So he isn't willing to pay the going rate for successful people.

From Steve Greenberg's post game story in the Sun-Times: "The Sox are the equivalent of a winless NFL team. So bad, so inept, so embarrassing, the 2024 season will be etched into baseball lore forevermore. The 2003 Tigers fell to 34-100 on Aug. 30. The 1962 Mets, a first-year expansion team, fell to 34-100 on Aug. 29 en route to a record 120 losses. The Sox will break their own loss record (106 in 1970) before tangling with the Big 1-2-0. What a pathetic scene that will be as it plays out. With a winning percentage of .237, the Sox are in range of going lower than the 1916 Philadelphia A’s, who went 36-117 for a percentage of .235 — the worst of the modern era. Yes, that’s really a measuring stick now. It’s amateur hour at Guaranteed Rate Field. As pitcher Jonathan Cannon spoke in hushed tones with the media after the game, All-Star lefty Garrett Crochet slumped in a chair two stalls over, staring bullets into his phone screen and shaking his head in clear disgust. It said a mouthful, indeed."

Option #4 Outlive current ownership and hope for better days

It's ludicrous to think Manfred and the league is going to "step in" and do something. What do you expect them to do? Force JR out? He'll have MLB in court faster than you can sneeze. As long as the Sox are making money and they are, MLB could care less. So like I've told others, keep yourself in shape, eat right, see your doctor and hope to outlive current ownership.

I'm guessing Nashville (Sports Illustrated estimated it will be around two billion dollars). Chicago is a split market remember, the Cubs are still here and will also demand financial compensation for an expansion team "invading" their territory.

None of this is happening, not yesterday, not today and not tomorrow. The Sox make money...that's the bottom line for MLB. And yet again. MLB can get a LOT more money from an expansion fee, than moving the Sox to a smaller market population wise and media size. I think we can put this delusion to bed don't you?

That was at Awful Announcing which runs that poll every year. The previous season Benetti/Stone finished 6th if I remember right.

I saw that over the weekend. The Cubs TV booth did not get a lot of love either.

I do, it's called new ownership.

It's impossible to say what could have happened had Hawk not fired Dombrowski and LaRussa had remained manager for 20 years. Simply no way to possibly tell. But I did ask TLR about it: ML: You’ll go into the Hall of Fame this August as one of the all-time winningest managers. Have you ever wondered what may have happened if you stayed with the Sox? I know Sox fans wonder how many championships you might have won had you stayed for 20 years or so. TLR: “Yes, I do, but more for entertainment, I don’t take a lot of time to look back in a serious manner. I just think you have to move on from the past, learn from it and go forward. I will occasionally tease Jerry (Reinsdorf) about it, though. I honestly think had I stayed with the White Sox for 30 years that the team would have won multiple world championships. I think that because we were so united. Everyone from the owners to the front office to the coaching staff was on the same page. Our minor league system was developing and we had good people in all areas.”

I think he spoke to the media on the last home stand.

Schiffren absolutely has been put in just about the worst situation possible for a broadcaster and I know about things like he's going through. First year on the job, replacing a very VERY popular broadcaster, with a resume that doesn't show much if any baseball experience and having to broadcast arguably the worst team ever in the modern era. Not easy. But he also has been his own worst enemy taking everything into account. His 'feud' with the media, giving the wrong score, saying a ball was hit to left field when it was hit to right, not knowing the rules and certainly not knowing much of White Sox history. I'll be watching to see if there is real improvement next season, what he's learned and how he applies it. Time will tell.