Camp is under way! we finally will get to see what this team will soon look like for the season. Sure, it will take a bit, but in the interim, we will soon enough know about what to potentially expect. As the season draws closer, I will be looking for your help and there will even be some bobbleheads and statues involved for the best ideas to help me out.

On Monday I will be posting about a few contests to get us fired up for spring training. Who knows, you could definitely win a Roger Bossard, Mark Buehrle or Nancy Faust bobblehead or even a Frank Thomas Statue.

And on to news of note. Are you one who suffers from peanut allergies? Have friends who suffer from them and because of that, you can’t attend baseball games with them because of all the peanuts? » Continue reading “Happenings at 35th & Shields: Spring Has Sprung”

“Hello! Welcome to [name of big warehouse store]! Would you like to try our [name of product]?”

I work weekends as Free Sample Girl at one of the big warehouse stores, so you can imagine how many times I say that a day. My job is to sell you whatever product is on my cart, and more often than not, I’m pretty good at it. If you have things in your shopping cart already, I can take a quick glance in and see if I can relate the product I’m sampling to what’s in your cart.

The point is, I can sell food products REALLY well. So why am I telling you this?

The AFC and NFC Championship games were on Sunday. So the store was really slow. Not many people wanted to try my red grapefruit.

It gave me time to think, and I thought to myself, “If the White Sox were a product in this store, how would I sell them? Especially this year.”
» Continue reading “Sell Me on Those Sox”

Happy Friday! You are almost back to the weekend, which is a great thing. At least I think it is. There still isn’t a ton happening at 35th & Shields with our favorite team, but there are a few news nuggets you should know about.

 In news of my favorite pitcher of late, Mark Buehrle isn’t welcome in Miami-Dade County. At least one of his dog’s isn’t welcome.

 I know some of you pick your games to attend based upon the promo item. Fear not as the 2012 Promotional Schedule is out now.

 I’m am sure you have heard that Carlos “Big Z” Zambrano has been traded to the Miami Marlins. He will now be coached by former Sox manager Ozzie Guillen. That should be entertaining. South Side Sox says the rivalry with the Cubs now has lot a bit of the spice. » Continue reading “South Side Hits: January 6, 2012 White Sox Links & News”

Happy Friday! The best day of the week. Well, there are other days that are probably better, but Friday means the work week is typically over. And that once the work day is over, most of us are free to relax for the evening as well as enjoy the weekend. Hopefully this week post-Turkey Day has been relatively easy for you. Though if you are having trouble focusing at work, I completely understand. Seems after a long holiday weekend and another coming up soon, it is just too hard to focus on work.

In any event, here are a few stories you might have missed in the past couple of days. Let’s hope that reading these will make the day go by quickly.

 Robin Ventura is giving Big Donkey some space this off season. I hope Big Donkey is getting his mind right for the upcoming season.

 Dave Schoenfield lists three things each AL Central team needs to do for the 2012 season.

 Remember the story about the sweetheart deal the Sox have with the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority? Well, turns out that taxpayers have been footing additional bills for the Cell as well as Soldier Field. The Mayor is not pleased by this development.  » Continue reading “South Side Hits: December 2, 2011 White Sox Links”

Ah the Hot Stove season. When your team is not going to change much from the prior season, it can be really boring. It can also be really boring when your team isn’t in a position to do much to better itself for the next season. Of course, when your favorite team is trying to shed salary, well then the Hot Stove season can be just a pins and needles experience. You’ll sit wondering which players from the team you know will be sent away. Either by a trade, declining of arbitration or just letting them walk away via free agency.

The White Sox are going to be dealing with all of these things. Some players are probably on the trade block. A couple of guys are arbitration-eligible. Whether the team offers them arbitration or lets those players walk. However with John Danks and Carlos Quentin, I seriously doubt the team would just let them go without some sort of arbitration. Of course, the big person would be Mark Buehrle who might just walk away because he is a free agent.

A pins and needles stove it looks to be. Now for the news:

 Minnie Miñoso is on the Hall of Fame ballot for 2012! He will be considered by the Historical Overview Committee.  » Continue reading “South Side Hits: November 4, 2011 White Sox News”

Well, if you have actually followed news of the White Sox lately, you know the big thing going on is the lease the Illinois Sports Facility Authority has with the White Sox. If you have missed the news on that, the Sox have an amazing deal where they are getting a ridiculous amount of money for the ballpark. None of it goes back to the State. In essence, our tax dollars are REALLY supporting the place team plays. The Chairman gets to pocket a ton of money and poor tax payers in Chicago are well . . .

This of course has EVERYONE talking because the ISFA wants to renegotiate the lease. Frankly, I can’t blame them and hearing former governor Jim Thompson discuss the deal that he helped broker, well, it just kind of makes your head spin as well as realizing that some of the people who run government just are [not nice people].

In any event, here is the latest in Sox news not involving the lease of US Cellular Field. » Continue reading “South Side Hits: October 28 2011 White Sox News”

One game away. That is what the Texas Rangers are away from winning their first World Series. Will they do it tonight, that is anyone’s guess. As for stuff going on in baseball, that other team took center stage yesterday with the announcement of Theo Epstein officially joining that organization. As much as I would like for something, anything to be going on, I’m going to enjoy the lack of news. It will make keeping up when the Hot Stove season begins in earnest easier. At least  I hope it will.

There is however a *little* bit of stuff happening. Such as the sweetheart deal the Sox get from the Illinois Sports Facility Authority (“ISFA”). Per the lease:

the White Sox owner to pay $1.5 million annually in rent while keeping all proceeds from ticket sales, parking, concessions and his growing merchandise operations.

* * *

Plans to re-evaluate the contract come as the White Sox owner prepares to open a retail location across from the South Side ballpark on state-owned property.

The store, which will sell sports apparel and paraphernalia, represents another revenue stream for Mr. Reinsdorf at the stadium he persuaded the state to build back in 1990. (He had threatened to move the team to Tampa, Fla.) Along with being permitted to retain all the income from the shop, the club owner gets to keep money from the Bacardi at the Park restaurant, which opened next door last spring. » Continue reading “Happenings At 35th & Shields: October 26, 2011 White Sox News”

This weekend, Louisville Slugger has been at US Cellular Field with a display of bats. Whether you are a lover of all things baseball or not, this is something to see. In addition to having some game used bats (which I will get to), the also had bats used by many of the White Sox and Twins players, both past and present. The display was really cool to see.

As personal as a glove is to a player, the bat probably is more so. How many ounces should the bat be? How many inches should it be? Should it be fully or half lacquered? Is the right bat for a guy already being used or is it something he needs to come up with himself? These are all questions that guys probably ask themselves when selecting bats to use for the season.

In getting to handle game-used bats by AJ Pierzynski, Paul Konerko, Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew, it was cool to see how each one was subtly different. The most striking bats to see were those of Joe “Shoeless” Jackson and Eddie Collins. Both played for the White Sox during the Black Sox scandal and the teammates used very different bats. » Continue reading “Bats, Bats And More Bats”

So, the weekend was not so good. The weather was bad, although Sunday did have that big orangy-yellow globe in the sky. And the White Sox continued to stink things up on the field getting swept by the Angels. No fun. No fun at all. But, it is a new week, so before you get started, here are some stories you may have missed reading.

AJ Pierzynski has quite the streak of catching going. With Dandruff Boy on the disabled list, makes you appreciate what he does (even if he isn’t swinging the hottest of bats).

Mike discusses Adam Dunn’s likelihood of hitting a single when he is at bat. And in his own words, Adam tells you he stinks right now. Gotta love a guy who says he stinks at the plate

Curious why Omar Vizquel started Sunday’s finale against the Angels over Mark Teahen? Doug Padilla has the answer.

That whole attendance thing? Turns out it’s not just an issue on the South Side as other ballparks are having problems with attendance this season.

With the imminent return of Jake Peavy, don’t expect to see a 6-man rotation any time soon.

Melissa tells you why she’s happy the White Sox are leaving town and a positive in this past weekend’s sweep at the hands of the Angels.

In the final installment of a 3-part series discussing the 20th anniversary of the Cell (which is today), George Castle discusses the renovations made since New Comiskey / US Cellular Field opened.

Think the White Sox are the only team with bullpen issues? Think again.

And finally to perhaps warm the cockles of your soul (because you should really dislike the Twins above any other team the White Sox face on a regular basis), Dan Wade writing for Beer Leaguer explains how the Twins may have had a worse week than your beloved White Sox.

They will get them today? The White Sox lost last night’s game, but that doesn’t mean they won’t get back into the winning groove. To start your saturday off on a good note, here are some links to stories you should read.

Ozzie’s assessment of the White Sox bullpen compared to others in the league.

Edwin Jackson and Juan Pierre talk about wearing #42 in honor of Jackie Robinson.

The Chairman talks about Jackie and was honored by the Jackie Robinson Foundation on Friday.

MLB has a special site dedicated to Jackie Robinson with videos of different players, coaches and others saying what Robinson’s legacy has meant to them.

Future Sox previews the Charlotte, Birmingham , Winston-Salem, and Kannapolis minor league teams and their upcoming season.

JJ had a chance to catch up with former White Sox 3B Joe Crede. See what Joe has been up to lately as you know you want to know what ever happened to a fan favorite.

While this story has more to do with the Cubs, it is an interesting read about the Cubs potentially throwing the 1918 World Series and the tattle tale was none other than White Sox Eddie Cicotte.

ESPN’s Doug Padilla looks at Sergio Santos’ stats and current pitching success in the ever discussed who should be the closer for the White Sox.

George Castle has a list of  top ten moments at the Cell, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.