Former GM Ken Williams patiently waits to ask new GM Rick Hahn a question

SoxFest was fun this year. Although last week I was lamenting that there wasn’t a Festivus session, it turned out to be a perfectly good thing. There were plenty of great stories, good looks on the players (despite what some may think, Matt Thornton’s beard really is spectacular!) as well as learning that there is a ton of personality with this group and they enjoy each other.

In past year’s, I have done posts where you can read my timeline from twitter over the days. However, this year I just didn’t have time to do that. You can always go back and look at it and I may get around to compiling it to archive soon before it is no longer available. The best news of me tweeting this year was that I managed to stay out of Twitter Jail. This was surprising to me considering all the good tidbits the players and coaches had to share. » Continue reading “Lessons Learned At SoxFest 2013″

This afternoon, some White Sox bloggers got to speak with Brooks Boyer. As we’ve all become aware, the White Sox are honoring the 1983 “Winning Ugly” team this season by wearing the 1983 uniforms on Sundays like they did last year for the 1972 team. Like last year, there will be Retro Racers on Sundays. This year’s 1983 racers will be Harold Baines, Ron Kittle and Carlton Fisk. Many of this year’s giveaways will be centered around the 1983 team, including the Harold Baines and Ron Kittle bobbleheads.

Boyer said that with the vast history of the White Sox and the use of some cool and some not-so-cool uniforms of the paste, the Sox are using the throwback jerseys as a way to not only honor great teams of the past but also to teach younger generations about the history of the team. The Sox would like to continue wearing throwback jerseys, and Boyer said they don’t need a milestone to celebrate to wear a jersey

Boyer was asked some specifics about the uniforms the players will be wearing on Sundays. They will be wearing the 1983 caps and helmets, and the uniforms will feature the All-Star Game patch. The players won’t be required to wear red shoes to go along with the 1983 uniforms. Most players wore red shoes with the pinstripes last season, so it’s possible that many players will wear red shoes this season. Boyer said they could wear ballet shoes for all he cares, as long as they go out and play well.

» Continue reading “Chatting with Brooks Boyer”

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”

As I’m sure you’re all fully aware, SoxFest is this weekend. Fans from all over will flock downtown to meet some of their favorite players and hear some of them in panels. Before SoxFest starts, the White Sox wanted to give season ticket holders a chance to talk to Tom Paciorek and Robin Ventura during a conference call this afternoon.

As with every other season ticket holder chat, Gene Honda moderated the call, and we started with Wimpy. He’ll be a big part of SoxFest this weekend, as it will partly be a celebrationg of the 1983 “Winning Ugly” team. Wimpy is excited to be there this weekend with a great group of guys and a great coaching staff. He mentioned that while most fans remember the players, some people may have forgotten the personnel of the 1983 team. » Continue reading “Conference Call with Tom Paciorek and Robin Ventura”

Hello Sox Fans!!!! Sorry that I have been away from talking to you. Unfortunately, my “real” job got in the way of me keeping up as meticulously as I should with White Sox news of late. However, hopefully you’ve been kept abreast of what has been happening with the team.

So far this off season, we’ve seen some decent re-signings as well as having to say goodbye to old favorites we all love for one reason or another. And now that it is late January, we might be starting to get itchy for baseball. The World Baseball Classic will soon be starting up, which will slightly fill the role of the game until Opening Day. Speaking of WBC, congratulatiosn to Jesse Crain (Team Canada), Alex Rios, Hector Santiago, Andy Gonzalez (Team Puerto Rico) and Andre Rienzo (Team Brazil) on their participation. But of course, the big news is that SoxFest is next weekend. Are you going to be there? If not, no worries as I will be there again to live tweet what is happening. Be sure to follow me on Twitter for all the happenings at SoxFest. » Continue reading “Spring Is On The Way”

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”

This afternoon, the White Sox held a conference call for season ticket holders with new bench coach Mark Parent and senior VP of sales and marketing, Brooks Boyer. Cheryl is a season ticket holder, but since she was unable to attend, I had the honor of listening in.

Before I get into the actual conference call and the questions asked by season ticket holders, let me say that I think if every franchise is not already doing this, they should. A lot of media members can’t or won’t ask the questions that fans have. As a journalism major, I have learned that I can’t ask questions of athletes that come from my heart. I would never be able to get and/or keep a job that way. So as a fan, it’s a great way to get your questions heard and a great way to get them answered.

And if you have a site like this one where at least one writer is a season ticket holder, all non-season ticket holders get a chance to hear from the coaches and front office too.

Now to the actual call.

» Continue reading “White Sox Season Ticket Holders Speak with Mark Parent and Brooks Boyer”

Bud Selig presenting award to Jerry Reinsdorf at Sox Fest

Hey one and all. Sox Fest began last night. It was fun times. In all honestly, I was kind of wondering what to expect given the changes the team has gone through this off season. Not to mention, it is hard to figure out just what exactly this season is going to be. In case you missed it, I am live-tweeting from the seminars. Below, you can read my tweets from last night. I apologize for the spelling errors, but that can happen when you are trying to quickly type. If you have any questions about stuff, feel free to leave them in the comments. I will be back today live-tweeting and will have a recap of Saturday for you as well.

If you want to follow along during the day, just check out my twitter feed. I apologize in advance if I don’t respond to your tweets right away. Coverage can be spotty so I might not see it for a bit. Don’t forget, if you are around tonight, come hang out with me at Miller’s Pub around 7:30. And if you are at Sox Fest, come say hi

And now for the tweets from the Opening Ceremonies:  » Continue reading “SoxFest 2012: What You Might Have Missed On Opening Night”

Howdy! We are that much closer to the weekend. Hopefully, you have survived the week so far and today as well as tomorrow will go quickly for you. Can you believe it is almost February? Of course that means we are almost ready for Spring Training. I’ll be honest, it can’t get here fast enough. I’m just about ready for baseball to come back. Sure, football, hockey and baseball have kept me occupied, but it would be nice to see some baseball soon.

Are you going to SoxFest this weekend? Unable to attend but still want to spend some time with fellow Sox fans to get ready for the season? Well, then come join me at Miller’s Pub (located at 134 S Wabash which is around the corner and down the street from the Palmer House Hilton) around 7:30 pm Saturday night. We can drink, commiserate and talk about the upcoming season and meet some other cool fans. Let’s face it, White Sox fans for the most part *are* pretty cool people. » Continue reading “South Side Hits: January 26, 2012 White Sox News”

Wouldn't it be awesome to see this sort of thing all season?

Hello lovelies! Hope you had a great weekend. If you are in the Chicago area, hopefully the weather over the weekend (beginning last Thursday) didn’t stress you out. And if you are in other parts of the country dealing with rain and snow, sorry. I hope it wasn’t too much of a hassle for you and didn’t ruin your weekend.

We are now just a few days away from SoxFest 2012! It should be a good time this weekend. If you will be there, be sure to come find me as I will be there both Saturday and Sunday. If you can’t attend, check out my twitter both days as I plan to live-tweet the happenings. » Continue reading “South Side Hits: January 23, 2012 White Sox Links”