Happy Wednesday. Just hours away until PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT! It always seems like it takes FOREVER for the Sox to report to camp. Part of it is that the team is a lot of veterans. Though, they aren’t the very last to report for camp. On the bright side, we won’t have to wait as long to get to see real games. That will be on March 5th at 2pm for the first game. Woohoo!!! Until things start to get interesting, here are some interesting stories to hopefully keep you satisfied with Sox news.

  You remember LHP Neal Cotts? He was recently at SoxFest. And now he is trying to get back into baseball by signing a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers.

  Doug Padilla continues previewing the Sox with the infield and outfield. » Continue reading “South Side Hits: February 22, 2012 White Sox News of Note”

That is a sentiment shared by many fans of the Athletics.

Last Thursday as the team arrived in Chicago to face the White Sox to start a four-game series, Billy Beane fired then-manger Bob Geren. Bob Melvin – who last managed the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009 – was named as interim manager

After infield drills, A's players sign autographs

The news of Geren’s firing wasn’t too surprising for those who follow the A’s and since I was going to be at these games, I decided to seek out some A’s fans and see what they thought about what had happened with Geren and what was happening with the team in general.

Friday night, I found four fans who were from Oakland to see the team play and to also enjoy 70′s night.

What I learned from the fans was mostly unsurprising, though one fan did drop something VERY interesting in the conversation.

» Continue reading “What Say Athletics Fans? It’s About Time”

I’m a bad fan. I am a bad White Sox fan. I am a bad Jake Peavy Fan. Today news broke that Jake was suffering from rotator cuff tendinitis and that the discomfort he is now feeling dates back all the way to his start against the Angels on 3/4/2011 (his FIRST since his horrific injury). Peavy on this latest news says:

“You know, what I’m experiencing has kind of been a culmination of start after start after start,” Peavy said. “It’s kind of been coming since that first time. It’s been getting a little more uncomfortable as I keep going.

“We want to not let it mount into some bigger issue than it is. But at the same time, I’m thinking it’s just part of getting back into the routine. I threw for an awfully long time without any setbacks.

“Once you start going close to game speed like I have, things can pop up,” Peavy said. “You’re asking your body to do exactly what you’re going to do in the regular season. It obviously has caused a little bit of discomfort. It’s a small step back, and we’ll re-evaluate the situation in the next couple of days to see where we go from there.”

When news of this potential setback in Jake’s progress toward making the opening day roster broke on twitter, » Continue reading “So About That Setback . . .”

Thursday, an article came out about Scott Boras taking issue with some statements that Jerry Reinsdorf made with regard to signing Joe Crede to a long-term deal. The statements that have Boras in a tizzy:

Asked about how he determines when to commit to a young player, as the White Sox did this offseason in extending Ramirez for at least four years, Reinsdorf was honest in saying, “First, Kenny and [assistant GM] Rick [Hahn] have to say they want to commit to a guy. It’s different for each player [as to] when is the right time. And you can be wrong. You can obviously make a mistake.”

Then, he cited a onetime fan favorite.

“Sometimes, the agent makes a mistake. We were ready to commit to Joe Crede, and Scott Boras didn’t [want to] talk about it. Look what that’s cost Crede.” » Continue reading “Dodging A Bullet”

News is still a bit slow, however with only a few more days left until pitchers and catchers report, that should change.

John Danks was on White Sox Weekly February 5th discussing what he has been doing this in the off season. He also was discussing how people will make fun of him for showing up to camp being in mid-season shape. That is rather funny, but at the same time, you want the guys showing up to spring training, ready to go and only working on perfecting stuff as opposed to getting into shape. In more important matters, Danks feels the White Sox could be one of the teams to beat in the race.

Gordon Beckham talked about his plans to focus on playing on the field and making his money there as opposed to off the field. Therefore don’t expect him to be out and about promoting himself or things. » Continue reading “Happenings at 35th & Shields”

KC Royals hanging out in the visitors bullpen pre-game

On January 18, 2011, Gil Meche of the Kansas City Royals retired. At the time, he was in the last year of a $55 million contract and for a lot of his contract, he was injured and therefore spending most of his time on the disabled list instead of helping his team to win games. Unlike football, contracts in baseball for the most part are guaranteed money. For the 2011 season, Gil was to earn slightly over $12M, this was whether he was able to play or on the disabled list. In something that never happens however, when he retired, Meche told the Kansas City Royals to keep that money. He had every right to retire and collect his money, but instead he said “I didn’t want to go try it again for another season and be the guy making $12 million and doing absolutely nothing to help this team,” he said. Part of the reason for retiring is that he has been dealing with a shoulder injury and back problems the last couple of seasons and it would require surgery to fix. Even if he were to get the surgery, he still might end up spending time on the disabled list. » Continue reading “Living with Myself”