The White Sox will come home with a losing record from their road trip after dropping tonight’s game by a final of 4-3 to the Toronto Blue Jays. As today’s headline suggests, I really don’t care today. That is because the Boston Marathon was run today and in case you hadn’t heard, there were some explosions near the finish about four hours into the race.

If you’ve read this blog over the past few years, you probably know that I am a runner. Hearing the news of this happening really upset me today, especially knowing so many people who had friends and significant others who were running. One of my very good friends was running Boston today and fortunately, she and her husband are both ok. My friend finished her race before the explosions.

In any event, when horrible things happen I usually find sports to be an escape, but today, not so much. Probably because I have dreams of qualifying for Boston in the next couple of years and running that race. And probably because it has me thinking about how races in the future are going to be different in terms of gear check for runners and what people can and cannot bring to races and how they transport that stuff. » Continue reading “Today, I Don’t Care About White Sox Baseball”

April Fool’s Day is tomorrow. While some may find that of significance, for baseball fans, April Fool’s Day means baseball is officially back. The Chicago White Sox will open the march to the 2013 World Series at home against the PITA Kansas City Royals. And I’m looking forward to this and am finally ready for baseball to start.

A day that should be a national holiday

Yes, there have been spring games, but due to work and my running “problem” I have not really had much of a chance to pay attention to the games. There really haven’t been any position battles to worry about or see who is going to emerge for a coveted roster spot. Sure, there has been some interest in who will be the back up infielder and back up outfielder but overall, we already know who is on the team. And of course, there has been interest in how John Danks has progressed as well as Matt Thornton and Jesse Crain who are battling stuff this spring.

In any event, I finally had a chance to watch a game last Sunday. That game was against my fail face PITAs and while the games mean less and less with spring being almost over, that game was just what was needed to get back into baseball mode again. Why? None other than hearing the Reverend Ken “the Hawk” Harrelson and his typical drivel. I got to hear a few nuggets of information that just said baseball is back. Some of the things I learned during the broadcast: » Continue reading “I’m Ready For White Sox Baseball”

Baseball is back! Well, at least real live games are going on now that spring training has begun. The Chicago White Sox are at it and getting ready to make a run at the AL Central crown. While it is too early to actually think about whether they can do it given the changes that the Sox as well as Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians have made, it has inspired me to get thinking about baseball for real.

In fact, since spring is a time for fans to dream freely that our team is the best, thought this might be a good time to imagine we were actually players for our favorite teams. Not to mention, figuring out what our walkup music would be. I think a majority of people who are fans of baseball at one point in time have played the game. Maybe as a kid or now as a pickup game for work. In any event, we might have even decided that if we could play this game for real, we already know what our walkup music would be. In that spirit, I give you some positions White Sox fans would play as well as some tunes to perhaps add to your musical library:

Jen, a contributor here would play catcher (I KNOW you’re shocked she’d be a backstop) and she would use 867-5309 for walk up music. Because as she says, why not. » Continue reading “Put Me In Coach!”

SoxFest begins tomorrow night and I saw the schedule of events. Missing is a marketing panel which has really turned into a Sox fan festivus. During that session, fans got the opportunity to air grievances with the occasional suggestion for making things better as an experience at the ballpark. One of the questions that was asked last year by a fan got me thinking about rooting for the team versus rooting for the players.

The fan asked Brooks Boyer why he should root for  Alex Rios when Alex couldn’t even be bothered to show up for SoxFest. If you recall, Rios had an absolutely horrible 2011 and fans were rightly upset with his play. Brooks had the perfect response to the fan: you should root for Rios because he wears the White Sox uniform! And that exchange leads me to thinking about what exactly as fans are we rooting for?

A lot of times when we become fans of a team, it might be due to a particular player. Jen, who writes on this site is an example of someone who became a Sox fan because she was following a player. A friend’s brother became a fan because he liked the team colors and I became a fan because I just started watching the team and enjoyed their play compared to other teams I saw. All of us are White Sox fans rooting for that team. Hopefully, the players on the team follow, but sometimes it gets really hard to do. » Continue reading “The Name On The Jersey”

Success! That is what the Sox have been experiencing of late. A winning homestand last the boys were home. A great road sweep and now it is back home.

This time, let’s hope that the typical that has happened to the Sox doesn’t happen tonight against the Mariners with a letdown. Here is what you might want to know for the upcoming series against the Mariners:

2012 Record: White Sox 29-22, 1st in AL Central. Mariners 23-30, 3rd in AL West

2012 Series Record: 3-0

2011 Series Record: 7-2

All-Time Series Record: 215-183 (The Sox are 120-79 at home against the Mariners)

The following pitchers are expected to start over the three games:

Jake Peavy: 6-1, 3.07 ERA, 64K v. Felix Hernandez: 4-4, 3.17 ERA, 75K

Gavin Floyd: 4-5, 5.02 ERA, 54K v. Hector Noesi: 2-6, 5.01 ERA, 34K

Chris Sale: 6-2, 2.34 ERA, 61K v. Kevin Millwood: 3-4, 3.56 ERA, 42K

Friday’s game is at 7:10 pm, Saturday’s game is at 3:10 pm and Sunday’s game is at 1:10 pm. All times CDT.  » Continue reading “Seeking a New Outcome. Series Preview: White Sox v Mariners”

Happy Monday folks. Spring training is winding down. In fact, today could qualify as the last day of it for the Sox. Tomorrow and Wednesday the Sox are in Houston for a two-game exhibition set. Then they head back west across the state of Texas to see the defending AL Champion Rangers.

In the meantime, we have a few days left of meaningless baseball. A few more days left of the players getting their bad out of their systems. And a few more days to sip or not sip the Kool-Aid in hopes that when we see winning play, it is for real.

If you haven’t already, make a Prediction on when the King will hit 400 this season. » Continue reading “The Last Monday Of No Real White Sox Baseball”

Oh hey, the White Sox will FINALLY have a spring game this year. That game begins at 2:05 pm CST. Chad Billingsley is slated to start for the Dodgers and Philip Humber is slated to start for the guys in black.

If you are in the Chicago area, you can listen to it on 670 the Score or stream it online if you aren’t in the area. Hopefully, I will have signal in my cave building I am working in so I can listen to the game while working this afternoon.

As promised last week, I have another contest to give away something. This time, it is a replica Frank Thomas statue. Hopefully it will pretty easy for everyone to participate if being creative in stats isn’t your thing.

By the way, there is still PLENTY of time to get me an idea for a new stat to track this season. You can get details on that here. Remember, you can win a Roger Bossard bobble head. Who doesn’t want the Sodfather added to your collection of White Sox memorabilia? » Continue reading “Predictions”

That is what I am experiencing right now. All other MLB teams have had games. Actual spring games. None of that inter squad stuff. I still have to wait one. More. Day. It is going to seem like forever until Monday at 2:05 pm when the Sox will play their first game. Hopefully I will be able to listen to the game. Life will seem right again since baseball will be back.

Maybe you too are missing baseball a ton as well. If so, hopefully the following will keep you occupied for a bit. There are of course, other spring games going on, but nothing really fills the void like getting to see your own team play.

 Video games are such a wonderful thing. They help the time pass and for two catchers, it can help them get to know one another.

 Play fantasy baseball? Then you are probably very interested in the White Sox health report put together on Sports Illustrated.

 Centerfield and lead off are De Aza’s to lose.  » Continue reading “Jealousy”

(l-r) Pablo Ozuna, Cliff Politte, Darrin Jackson, Chris Widger, Neal Cotts, Joe Crede

SoxFest concluded yesterday. It turned out to be a pretty full day. Lots more questions that were similar to what was asked previously. There was also some possible annoyance from some of the panelists about some questions that were constantly getting asked in the same session. Oh, and of course, more digs at a couple of players who are deemed as the ultimate bums.

Like Saturday, I did end up in twitter jail for a time. Fortunately, they let me out after an hour. Just like before, if you have any questions, please ask in the comments. I know the typing may have gotten screwy, especially with auto-correct. Also, be sure you checked out some of the various other publications out there. There were some really good news nuggets and stories people got. Definitely worth your time. Later, I will try to get you links to some of those great stories.

Happy Monday and here are the tweets from the last day of SoxFest 2012:  » Continue reading “Final Day At SoxFest 2012. Now What?”

Hope you have been enjoying the holiday season and getting what you desire for Hanukkah and Christmas. And if not, you’ve been able to give to others things they desire.

In case you missed it, you can see manager Robin Ventura in his acting debut in A Christmas Carol to make a girl’s dream come true.

Finally, you can see the holiday card from the White Sox here.

Be sure to enjoy family and friends and indulge as much as is reasonable.  Happy Holidays kids! We will be back soon to discuss and lament baseball.