South Side Pride: What does it mean to you?

I actually wrote this last year, but this is an article that will never go out of style. This will always apply to my life. And I thought with a lot of people being down on this White Sox team right now and this sort of bleak out look for our 2012 season, I would post this to remind everyone what it means to me to be a South Sider. Also, please feel free to throw in a comment in the comment box underneath this post, sharing what it means to you to be a a Sox fan.


Teams like the Red Sox, Cubs, Yankees and Dodgers are name brand, nationally followed teams.  There are so many Cubs or Yankees “fans” around the globe that the majority of them couldn’t tell you a thing about their “teams.” You might refer to them as “the common fan.” What makes us special, Sox fans, is that we do not consist of just common fans. Sure, there are some Sox fans who don’t exactly follow the team, just like there are some Cub or Yankee fans who DO follow their teams. But the majority of Sox fans know baseball and they know their team.

Amongst most South Side families, the Sox run deep in that family, like hair loss or brown eyes. Our families have lived and died with the Sox, from Charles Comiskey to Bill Veck, to Jerry Reinsdorf. They aren’t just a team that keeps us entertained or gives us a place to go during the summer, they’re part of our family, making nightly visits into our living rooms or places of business through our television or radio, guided there by the smooth, eccentric voice of Hawk Harrelson or the monotone of Ed Farmer.  When they lose, it seems as though, for a brief moment, we will never feel happiness again, and when they win, the sun is a little brighter and the air, a little cleaner. We could recognize one of our players by the way he stands in the field, his batting routine or the style of facial hair he sports. 

When “Don’t stop believin” comes on the radio, we don’t think back to the 80’s… our minds are “swept” away, back to 2005, the greatest year Sox fans have ever known. Instead of Steve Perry and ‘Journey’ we think Aaron Rowand, Scotty Pods, Paulie and the “journey” they took us on.  Everyone knows where they were when Uribe recorded the most important 6-3 putout in White Sox history, bringing the commissioner’s trophy back to 35^thand Shields, thus igniting the powder keg of happiness that was the South Side of Chicago.

When someone says “1959” we think Nellie Fox, Go Go White Sox, and the first Mayor Daley setting off the “air raid” sirens in Chicago in celebration of a White Sox American League pennant. Half the City thought we were being bombed while the other half was dancing in the streets.

 When the power goes out and someone yells “blackout” we think 163 in 08. Drama with the Twins, again. Jim Thome’s monster blast to the fan deck, Ken Griffey Jr.’s peg from center field and John Danks, the untouchable.

“83” isn’t just a number, its Winning Ugly, the blue and red logo, LaRussa was manager, the Sox had the rookie of the year award (Ron Kittle) and the American League Cy Young (LaMarr Hoyt). The Sox were in the playoffs for the first time since the 1959 series.

 “93” was Bo’s blast and good pitching all season, Frank Thomas going yard with his flattop hair cut and Ozzie was still playing short.

1906 was Sox over Cubs in the series, giving us the ultimate bragging rights. The first World Series in Sox history

1917 was the benchmark that took 88 years to overcome

 I don’t even like to wear dress socks because they’re “black socks…. “

Our dedication to this team is unsurpassed; the strongest feelings can be aroused by just mentioning a number or a word.  When the White Sox are successful everything associated with that success and happiness is embedded in our minds and stored there for the rest of our lives. 

((One more example (on top the ones already listed above) If I say “Jose Valentin” to most Sox fans, the first thing that comes to mind is a walk off winner in the cross town classic. A little Hispanic man with a dynamite mustache and his hands over his head in victory as he trots to first base. ))

We are working class, we have roots in the community that were there when Sears was THE department store and the stockyards were the center of industry in Chicago. We might not be able to sell every ticket to every game, but its not because we don’t love our team, its because we have jobs…...  We aren’t Sox fans because thats the “hip” thing to do, we love them because they represent us, they’re humble, scrappy, hard working, prideful, they aren’t flashy, they play with a chip on their shoulder and don’t expect anything from anyone.

When things go wrong they don’t blame anyone but themselves. Sox fans deserve the most respect from the baseball world, because we lost as long as the Red Sox and the Cubs did, but we didn’t go around, bitching at the world about it and making excuses. We kept our mouths shut and played the game.

The White Sox bring families together; they give total strangers common ground to walk on. 50 years from now you might not be able to remember exactly when your old man taught you how to mow the lawn or do your homework, but you’ll remember to the day you die when he took you to the ballpark; when you sat together down the line and the age gap between you ceased to exist, becoming two boys again, cheering on your hero’s in a stadium on 35^th street that became a palace, housing your most precious memories, connecting you to your father, grandfather, great-grandfather who all experienced the same thing decades before you. There is a history there, I take absolute pride in being where I’m from and the working class background and White Sox fandom that has paved the way for me to become who I am. I thank my Father and my uncles, who have allowed, taught, and invited me into this great tradition that exists and has existed amongst us South Siders for over 100 years.

Just remember, no matter how crappy life gets or how worn down you become, the White Sox are always there, bringing a smile and a tear to your eye as they take the field on the most beautiful patch of land these eyes have ever seen, if they miss a game, they make it up to you. They never die, they’re as constant as time itself.  

The Sox Pickup Ex Rays First Baseman

This past september Dan Johnson blasted the biggest homerun of his career down 2 strikes with 2 outs in the 9th inning to tie the Yankees, ultimately setting up a walk-off home run by Even Longoria, punching the ticket to October for the Rays. Unfortunately that was Johnson's first hit since April 27th of that season.

The Chicago White Sox just signed Dan Johnson to a minor league contract and extended an invitation to spring training to the 32 year old veteran. He's bounced around baseball since his debut in 2005 with the Oakland A's, playing on the Rays twice with a stint in Japan in between.  The question is do the White Sox really need any help at first base right now? The answer is no, not at this moment. With Paul Konerko coming off another stellar year anchoring down first and Adam Dunn available to fill in on Paulie's days off, the Sox are pretty set. Not to mention the fact that super utility man Brent Lillibridge can also hold down the fort at first if need be.

But lets think outside the box here, with potentially 3 men on the roster who can play first base on any given day, why would Williams sign a mediocre first basemen like Johnson? Well, there has been a lot of speculation about what Williams is going to do if the Pale Hose start out slow this season. Could guys like Konerko, Dunn, and/or Lillibridge be on the trading block if the Sox start out slow/ have a bad season? With the word "rebuilding" being thrown around this offseason, one can't help but wonder if Williams has that in the back of his mind as sort of an exit strategy should the 2012 campaign prove to be a disaster. At Soxfest when asked about rebuilding this offseason, Williams clarified that it was not a total rebuild, he called it a "hybrid rebuild," explaining that he wanted to keep certain guys and mix in some rebuilding type moves. But as I mentioned earlier, I can't help but wonder if the White Sox have a horrendous year (which I doubt will happen) will the phrase "hybrid rebuild" be given a violent shove into a "total rebuild."

The bottom line is Dan Johnson is a career .236 hitter with 56 home runs and 187 RBIs (since 2005). Hes been on 3 different major league teams now with a stint for the Yokohama Baystars of Japan thrown onto his resume. He's very grateful for the shot the Sox are giving him and is determined to work his way into a spot. Unfortunately for him, he's going to need to undergo some massive improvements and/or see a few injuries in front of him if he's going to get the call from the big club.

But, it is baseball and stranger things have happened, so all we can do is sit back, relax, and strap it down and let it all develop.

Your 2012 Chicago White Sox

Hello again to all my fellow South Siders, it's been a while and we're coming off a particularly disappointing 2011 season. I want to first apologize for discontinuing this blog towards the end of last season and offer an explanation. We all saw how much our White Sox were underachieving last season, especially towards the end, which was extremely frustrating (especially for a diehard like myself). I decided it was probably better to not post at all rather than posting negative articles every day only to expose the sad truth that we were all already aware of.


Now that we've gotten that out of the way, lets talk 2012 White Sox baseball. Everyone seems to be down on this team because we didn't make any huge offseason moves..... but I got news for each and every one of you: we didn't really need to make any huge moves. The team that we have coming back has the potential to be a winning team. Before you go out and give Detroit the division, lets break things down and look at the numbers and the potential associated with this years team.

First things first.... I want to compare this years team with last years White Sox. Lets start in the outfield, seeing as how thats where most of our changes took place this off-season. Carlos Quentin is gone, not a big deal in my opinion, he was a very streaky hitter and an average outfielder. Sure he had the ability to get hot and carry a team for a week or 2, but he was usually more cold than hot. Not to mention his lack of intelligence in the batters box. Carlos will be replaced by Dayan Viciedo (who I am particularly excited about). Heres a kid who has put up monster numbers in the minor leagues the last two years and has posted a .282 batting average in 206 at bats at the major league level. He has something to prove and he knows it, this is one hungry kid who wants to show the south side of Chicago that he belongs in the show. Alex Rios is the only outfielder from the 2011 season who will be starting in the same place come April. All I can say about him is hopefully he starts showing a little pride in his play. He has great potential to be an integral part of this team, historically he has a good season every other year, hopefully that trend continues. We did not offer Juan Pierre his arbitration and he recently signed a minor league deal with the Phillies, so he's gone. Pierre had an interesting year last year, struggling early to get on, play left field and steal bases. He came on a little bit late in the season, posted some respectable numbers.  Juan Pierre is in no way irreplaceable, Alejandro De Aza is someone who I am excited to watch this season and who will be replacing pierre in left and at the top of the lineup. De Aza is another young guy looking to prove himself, he came up last year and showed that he wants to play, he was a spark plug at the top of the lineup who played his rear end off every day he touched the field.  To sum it up, the outfield is loaded with talent and potential, its all going to come down to which Alex Rios shows up and how the two young guys adjust to playing everyday at the major league level.

The infield is the exact same as last season. Starting at the hot corner with Brent Morel. His glove has always been there, his offensive production has pretty much always struggled. Hopefully his bat will be able to contribute more consistently now that he has another year under his belt. Over to Ramirez at short stop. A solid fielder, needs to work on his positioning before the pitch (based on the situation/location of the pitch). If he can learn how to put himself in a better position before the play begins to develop he could become one of the best fielding short stops in the game. As frustrating as it is to watch his plate approach, he still produces at a consistent level with the bat. Beckham at second had the highest fielding percentage in the game last year at second base. His bat will come around this season, he has been working hard this offseason and has gotten back to his basics. Hes been talking about how last season he got away from his fundamentals and the things that made him successful. He will be ready this season. Konerko at first, need I say more? The man is a force, great first basemen, one of the best pure fastball hitters in baseball, with the ability to adjust to any off speed pitch and dump it into right. Hes a leader in the club house and has a very high baseball IQ.


As far as the DH role. Look for Adam Dunn to have a normal season this year. Hes been working out this off season, hitting, and mentally preparing himself. He was kind of screwed from the get go last year and I'm expecting a huge year out of him. Hes going to prove a lot of people wrong and a lot of you are going to owe him an apology come september.

The pitching staff will play a vital role in our success this season. We lost Buehrle this offseason, which opened up a spot in the rotation for a young Chris Sale, who's stuff is absolutely filthy. Peavy is healthy for now and at soxfest this weekend Kenny Williams said he expects 200+ innings out of Jake this year (we'll see how that plays out). Danks is still with us despite the rumors this season claiming that Kenny was looking to dish him. Look for Danks to lead the team in wins, he is easily our best pitcher. Gavin Floyd has not gone anywhere and will stay in a White Sox uniform this year, he has great potential, hopefully he's worked on spotting his breaking ball more consistently, giving him more flexibility in setting up his other pitches. And finally Phillip Humber anchors the rotation this year, he proved himself last year, coming out of nowhere to arguably be our best pitcher. Hopefully he can follow up that performance this year. The bullpen lost Santos (not a big deal in my opinion, the guy had good stuff, wasn't exactly a lights out closer, not the smartest pitcher, control issues). Addison Reed was a nice pickup and is a name that comes up when talking about a potential closer. From what I gathered at Soxfest and through certain articles I've been reading, The closer role is going to be between Thornton and Reed. We'll see how that plays out, Williams needs to pickup at least one more guy to solidify our bullpen. But in terms of our pitching staff overall, its strong, the potential is through the roof.

We have AJ and Flowers available to handle the pitching staff again this year, look for them to split time, possibly as much as 60/40 with AJ being the 60 (obviously). Flowers certainly made a splash last season, taking full advantage of the opportunities presented to him. AJ will be AJ, leading in the clubhouse and hopefully putting up similar offensive numbers this season.

Don't worry about the fact that Detroit picked up Fielder this offseason, they've had injury problems these past few years and are already having injury issues this year. Just because they look like theyre the best on paper, doesn't mean they still don't have to show up and play all 162 games.

What I've been telling everyone this off season is this: The 2011 White Sox did not play anywhere near their potential and they still contended for 85% of the season. If Adam Dunn, Gordon Beckham, and Alex Rios come to the plate with a pulse this season, this team could easily contend for and win the AL Central. Not to mention that more and more guys are coming out and saying that they really didn't like playing under Ozzie last season. We have new blood in the clubhouse and young, eager guys on the field. The potential of this club is unreal. Lets also remember that most people have written this team off already, the last time we had expectations this low, we won the world series. Maybe flying under the radar this year is exactly what we need. Keep your minds open to the possibility of success. Don't write this team off just yet. Lets see what these kids can do along side our veterans. We're in a weak division with a talented team, anything can happen.

Look for my 2012 Soxfest recap coming in a few days. As always, feel free to comment, vote in my poll, email me questions or comments. Please feel free to help pass the word along and share this blog on facebook, twitter, ect. Thanks and go Sox.

Crosstown Classic and Other Concerns

Alright folks, the Sox and cubs are tied at 1 game a piece right now. Last night after a vicious rain delay the Sox came out and were able to post a 1 run lead and hold on for the win. Tonight is the rubber match of the series and the most important part about it has nothing to do with the fact that its against the Cubs. The Sox are still lingering a few games under .500. It is disappointing because they are a better team than what their record shows.

The problem is this team plays to their competition. They are 5 games over .500 when facing teams who are above the .500 mark. But are an astonishing 8 games under .500 when playing teams who are under the .500 mark. That is a huge problem people. Those are the teams you have to beat if you expect to win a division. Now the Sox are still only 4.5 games back, which is a minor miracle considering how inconsistently they have played this season. The offense has been sluggish at best lately and really just looks dead, most of the guys in the lineup do not have productive at bats. I would like to give a hearty tip of the cap to Paul Konerko who has homered in his last 5 straight games and is hitting right around .330. The man is on fire, the reason his average has been so stellar lately (last year and this year) is because he has figured out how to turn good pitchers pitches into base hits. He dumps the ball into right field when he needs to and he drives pitches that are on the inner portion of the plate. What I mean to say is, he has figured out how to hit in all situations. Even when hes down in the count, he fights off good pitches and turns them into gold. Paulie, this buds for you, you are a legitimate contender for AL MVP as of right now. Anyone who wants to argue that, look at his numbers.

From what I can see, this offense needs to make some changes if we expect to make a pennant push. We need an offensive spark plug, because really its basically been the Paul Konerko show, featuring AJ Pierzynski lately.  The rest of the lineup just goes up there and looks like they don't wanna be there to be quite honest. They'll scatter a few hits here and there, but they just don't look hungry, they never get clutch hits and when its going like that, it spreads to everyone else in the lineup, a lineup with low confidence is not going to produce. So here is what I suggest (just in case Kenny or Ozzie are reading this lol)

1) Problem:  Juan Pierre does not deserve to be starting for this team, especially in the lead-off spot, since he never gets on base. Since a lead-off man has one job (getting on base) and Pierre doesn't do it, there is no reason to keep running him out there. Not to mention he is a liability in left field.

Solution: Brent Lillibridge has earned the chance to start. He has made countless great plays in the field and has been that spark plug when he has had the chance to hit in the lineup. Its no coincidence that we usually win when he gets his hacks. I don't know how he would fare as an every day lead off-man because he hasn't ever had that opportunity in his career, but I think its worth a shot, what are we going to lose? Someone who cannot get on base or run down a ball in left field? Come on now, Brent is fast, he hits, he busts his butt every time he's given a chance,  he is spectacular in the field and he has something to prove. Give him the nod Oz.

2) Problem: The DH, Adam Dunn is having the worst season of his life. He is basically a waste of an at-bat folks. He is hitting .178 (which I don't wanna dwell too much on his average since that is not what we picked him up for) But he only has 7 homers, which is the reason we picked him up. The problem here is, he is making so much money, they won't bench him.

Solution: I would say bench him and bring up Dyan Viciedo from the minors, he's hitting .330 down there and has tremendous power, he isn't a great fielder which is why DH would be perfect for him. But that won't happen because they are paying Dunn so much money, I hate to say it folks, but we're gonna be stuck with Dunn in the DH because of the big bucks we're giving him. We better just pray he figures it out, because I'll tell you this, it is all mental at this point, he is pressing so hard right now, he just needs to relax and go up there swinging.

3) Problem: Offensive production has been down and basically Rios hasn't done anything and Morel hasn't done much and Mark Teahan is just a waste of space on this roster. I do like Morel at 3rd though as he has a great glove, not to mention his bat is coming around.

Solution: I really want to see Dayan Viciedo get a shot in this lineup. I mean think about it, a young guy who is hungry and has something to prove. You bring him up and plug him in for someone like Rios or Teahan, he is going to spark this offense.

Overall Solution: Here is exactly what I would do. Move Quentin to left, replace Pierre with Lillibridge and put Lillibridge in Center and then plug in Viciedo in right. Either that or put him in at third and sit Morel, either way your sacrificing a little defense for a potential offensive explosion. But I think plugging in guys like Lillibridge and Dayan would spark this offense and that is what we need right now people. Unfortunately, money controls everything and they aren't going to bench Rios and probably not Pierre because of the big contracts they have. Which is sad, that we are going to sacrifice winning for money.

Anyway, hopefully we can start a winning streak as we are playing a few bad teams these next few series. We'll just have to weather the storm and hope these guys (who are going to keep getting the starting nod) will start turning things around and start playing to their potentials.

Game is at 7:10 tonight, Jake Peavy returns to the starting rotation, lets hope he looks as good as he did in his rehab start and lets hope this offense wakes up. I've said it all year and I'll say it again, this team has too much talent to have the record they have. The Cubs are just a bad team this year as they are 13 games under .500, this is a team we should beat.

By the way, I went to the first game of the crosstown classic the other day, what a joke. I'm not just talking about the way the Sox played. I'm talking about the type of "fan" that invaded the Cell. I've never seen so many plaid shorts, dress shirts, man earrings, and drunks at a game than I saw on Monday night. Talk about binge drinking, Cub fans left and right stumbling around, trying to walk the stairs to their seats, starting fights, bragging about their 13 games under .500 team. It really was pathetic to watch. If I can make time for it, I will be posting that video, explaining Cub fans and the differences between us and them, since if I typed everything I wanted to say, it would be wayyyy to long.

Go Sox.

Sox Finish Road Trip on High Note

Again, I apologize for not posting in a couple games. I have been really really busy, not to mention the Sox didn't give me much to post about at the beginning of this past road trip, but I digress. Ok, I'm going to make this post quick so we can move on to previewing the crosstown classic (amongst other Sox/cub things).

Alrighty then, The Sox just took 2 of 3 from the Diamondbacks in AZ, as Danks picked up an impressive win on Saturday. What made it even more impressive, was that Johnny took a line shot off the side of his head in the early goings of that game, only to stay in and pitch 7 strong innings giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. I mean the man laughed on the field after taking a laser to the side of the head. He didn't ask for a doctor, he asked for the ball and that is what makes John Danks the competitor that he is. He's a bulldog as Hawk would say. Johnny, this buds for you. Anyway the offense would come alive in that game on Saturday late. As the Sox broke a 2-2 tie with a Konerko solo job in the 6th (picking up his 2nd RBI of the day and 2nd home run in as many days) making it a 3-2 Sox lead. But the finishing blow came in the 8th, with 2 on and 1 out Alex Rios, your neighborhood insurance agent, blasted a 3 run homer to give the Sox a 4 run cushion. They would hold on to win that one 6-2.

Yesterday, on Fathers Day, the Sox received another excellent pitching performance from Phil Humber. He went 7.2 innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. The bats stumbled out of the gate but came alive late (again) plating 2 runs in the 7th and a 5 spot in the 8th. The Sox won that one 8-2 to take the series and pull (yet again) to within 3 games of .500. Konerko homered for his 3rd straight game and Rios homered for the second day in a row as well.

The Sox need to take this momentum and have a tremendous home stand this week. We play the Scrubs..... Chumps.... Chubs... sorry CUBS starting today (Monday) in the "Crosstown-Classic" Or as it will be known in about 2 weeks, the "Crosstown-Beat Down." Then we get the Nationals at home starting Friday. So we really really need to take care of business against 2 lesser National League teams.

Just would like to take this last opportunity to say thank you to my Dad. A hard working man who taught me everything I know about the White Sox. Always set a great example for me growing up on how to be a man and act like an adult, work hard for what I have, love the Sox and hate the Cubs. Thanks Dad! Happy Fathers Day (again).

Look for a post very soon previewing the crosstown classic (there might even be a video in there where I de-bunk Cub fans top 3 crosstown arguments as well as separate the two fan bases by demographic). Go Sox.

Twins Continue to Make Life Hell For Us

We are 0 for 4 against the Twins this season.
The Twins have 8 starters on the DL and we still lost both games to them
Thank God for the rain out or we would have dropped 3 games
In 36 innings against the Twins this season, we've scored 3 runs...........
I literally cannot watch this team sometimes, they are so frustrating
We hit into 6 double plays in 2 games against the Twins. Should have been 7 double plays, but the Twins committed an error.
The mediocracy of this team right now is really overwhelming.
They have so much talent in the lineup and are underachieving so much, I almost can't stand it.
Our only chance is if inter league play bails us out..... yet again.

We're in Arizona tomorrow. First pitch is at 8:40pm on Comcast Sportsnet.

Rain, Rain Go Away So the Sox Can Win Today

Alright Sox fans, I'm just sitting here, waiting out the rain delay, flipping around stations (because God knows as soon as WCIU put "Meet the Browns" on as their rain delay programming, I turned the station). Anyways, I just wanted to take this time to preview this upcoming series in Minnesota.

We come into this 3 game set with an overall record of 33 and 35, 4 games out of first place, we're 6 and 4 in our last 10 games. The Twins come in with an overall record of 26 and 39, 9.5 games out of first, however, they've been playing good baseball lately sporting an 8 and 2 record in their last 10 games. This is going to be a big series for our White Sox. We have battled back over this past month to bring it within 2 games of .500. The Twins are a team you can never count out and have been charging as of late. We need to cool this team off and come away with at least a series win. 

My keys to this series:

1. Get it Dunn

What I mean by this is, Adam Dunn needs to have a break out series. He has slowly begun to hit and when he starts to hit, our lineup becomes 10X more dangerous as he not only provides offensive production but protection for the hitters around him. He is a big key to our offensive success. 

2. Clutch Hitting (By the way, they just cancelled the game for tonight) 

Our offense is still leaving way to many men on base, the only way we are going to play to our potential is by knocking in runs when we have them out on the base paths. Obviously, we can't drive in every runner we put on base, but leaving 15 men on base in a game is unforgivable. If we are going to cool off the Twins, we need to start cashing the checks that are runners in scoring position.

3. Twin Throwings

Now that we're only playing 2 games in this series because of the cancelation today, we need our pitching staff to come out in both of our games and shut it down. We cannot have a let up, and that goes for our bullpen too. Santos especially needs to come out and absolutely shut it down (for his confidence and for the teams momentum)

This is a big one for our Sox folks. Lets hope they can come out and shut down a weak Twins team. Reason I say they're weak is because of the massive amount of injuries and big name players they have on the DL right now. They have been playing better than the team that they actually are. Its also a big one for us because after this series we go into Arizona to play a hot Diamondbacks team which kicks off inter league play for us, which is traditionally where the Sox make up a ton of ground. 

By the way, I also just started a new poll, located on the right side of this page, let me know who you think has been the biggest surprise of the 2011 season so far. Also, like the perspective on facebook!

So lets come back tomorrow and get that first win in Minnesota, the game starts at 7:10 and thats going to be over on WCIU. Big series. Lets get it done Sox.