Lip Man 1

Danny Wright held the dubious record that Flexen tied. And yes Sox 5th starters were brutal in 2003 and it cost them a playoff spot. Wright, Stewart, Porzio and Cotts started 27 games went a combined 4-11 with an ERA of over six. That was the year when Kenny Rogers was available and the Sox had interest but according to Kenny Williams, he wanted a million dollars and that was "too much..." LOL. Rogers won 13 games himself that season as the Twins won the division by four games.

Well given the number of full time scouts in the organization you can understand why I guess.

The White Sox have now lost 19 consecutive games that Flexen has started. 19

It's actually three post seasons wins, one each in 2008, 2020 and 2021, still shameful.

Very true an idea like I wrote that was brilliant but was ahead of its time and doomed to fail because of outside forces. And of course his comment at the press conference about running a "first class operation" was ill advised with Bill Veeck sitting right there.

Wakefield started game #3 of the ALDS in Boston. I suspect that's what the poster meant, "Red" Sox.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2024/08/21/white-sox-keep-losing-reduced-2025-tickets-to-hell-on-sale-now-jerry-reinsdorf-steve-stone-pedro-grifol

Ironically this also happened on August 22nd and could have drastically changed White Sox history: August 22, 1980 - Sox owner Bill Veeck agreed to sell the team to Edward DeBartolo Sr., a multi-millionaire who invented the modern-day shopping mall in Ohio. DeBartolo though was voted down by the other league owners due to speculation about his possible association with mobsters and his acknowledged horse racing interests. The way was then opened for Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn to purchase the team. Einhorn was part of a group originally trying to buy the San Diego Padres and Reinsdorf was part of a group attempting to own the New York Mets. DeBartolo meanwhile eventually bought the San Francisco 49’ers, let his son run the franchise and promptly won multiple Super Bowls.

Here you go: July 18, 1984 - A dud of a deal because of the long-term implications. The Sox traded Chicago native, relief pitcher Kevin Hickey and prospect Doug Drabek (the player to be named later) to the Yankees for Roy Smalley. Smalley did nothing on the South Side...eventually Drabek would wind up as the ace of the great Pirate teams of the early 1990's winning the Cy Young Award. He finally pitched for the Sox in 1997 going 12-11 but his ERA was 5.74

Jerry Reinsdorf was a “source of intrigue” and in the future could become a “source of controversy.” –From a story by reporter Linda Kay, Chicago Tribune January 30, 1981.

Nope, Dayn Perry is the national baseball reporter for CBS Sports. And I got an e-mail from a long time front office employee who said the story brought out some points that even they did not know about, they didn't elaborate.

From DVS's post game story in the Sun-Times: A bullpen owning a 6.15 ERA with a 2-15 record over the last 41 games shined Wednesday in relief of Garrett Crochet. 🤡

The Sox won...yeah! That's all I've got and that's all they deserve.

A through, scathing look at JR's history with the White Sox and his multitude of mistakes: https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/jerry-reinsdorf-keeps-failing-the-white-sox-forty-years-of-ownership-and-almost-nothing-to-show-for-it/

I know we've become numb to this impotent offense but honestly I can't ever recall even in the year of the pitcher (1968) the Sox having this horrific of an offense for a season. These guys are just plain brutal. 13 runs in the last seven games.

When you think about it rationally who else is ultimately to "blame" but the owner? ESPECIALLY an owner who throughout his tenure has personally stepped in when decisions are made and who has to be consulted before any major moves and who has just recently over ruled the front office he hired. Seriously some of these people who are very intelligent must think Sox fans are idiots.

There are dozens of theories out there as to why pitchers are breaking down like they are. You touch on some of them. Another being discussed is that kids are specializing at an early age (i.e. just play baseball, just play tennis et al) and they are not developing an overall muscular structure, wearing things out to soon. Trainers are suggesting let kids play all sports, different sports to gain overall strength and lateral motion and quickness.

The funny thing is how in the interview Stone talks about how difficult things are in the organization but somehow, someway JR isn't responsible for any of it. 😆 Right.

The odds are you are exactly correct.

It would help if ownership cared enough to invest in proper scouting and development in my opinion:

From Merkin's newsletter. Why do I have the feeling after six months of trying to rehab he'll undergo TJS like so many other Sox pitchers who tried this routine without success: Thorpe began a throwing program this past Thursday, as he told MLB.com on Sunday in Houston. The rookie starter has been on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to Aug. 1, with a right flexor strain. “Feeling pretty good. Hard to tell -- 60 feet and pretty light. So far, so good,” Thorpe said. “Less of the discomfort. Like I said, hard to tell this early. We are in the right direction.” The goal for Thorpe, 23, who is 3-3 with a 5.48 ERA in nine White Sox starts, is achieving full health before worrying about pitching again in ’24. “Just kind of seeing how I feel, and then we’ll kind of build a plan,” Thorpe said. “Just trying to get back to 100 percent for sure.”

Sully on the Sox including comments on the broadcast: “He’s giving a very rosy assessment of things. It’s almost like an infomercial to him. He’d be good as maybe a talk show host in Dubuque, Good Morning Dubuque, or something. But he just doesn’t seem to have it as far as being a play-by-play guy in the major leagues. Maybe it’s difficult for him to cover a bad team. He’s never done this before. “But there’s one thing about White Sox fans: they watched Harry Caray and Jimmy Piersall in their prime when they were among the most critical announcers in the game. They expect, or they want, their announcers to be honest with them, and I don’t think they feel like they’re getting that this year.” https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/paul-sullivan-interview-chicago-tribune-white-sox.html

https://awfulannouncing.com/mlb/paul-sullivan-interview-chicago-tribune-white-sox.html

Greg: That last comment in italics is insulting. You know the answer as well as I do and I've been saying it for years as well as many others. You want to know why this franchise is total s%*#? Two words: Jerry Reinsdorf Period. Full stop. End of story. Is that clear enough for you? That isn't double talk is it? Seems clear as a bell to me.

And remember Getz said he was trying to build a team around defense at least for this season. Didn't work out very well did it?