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#266 – Sean Lowe

Sean_LoweName: Sean Lowe

Rank: 266

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1999-2001

Sean Lowe joined the White Sox organization in February of 1999 when he was acquired from the Cardinals in exchange for a minor league pitcher.

Lowe spent the entire 1999 season with the White Sox, putting up a 4-1 record and posting a 3.67 ERA.  In 2000, while the White Sox were winning their first AL Central title, Lowe struggled, with his ERA ballooning nearly 2 runs to 5.48.  He bounced back in 2001, starting 11 games, saving 3, and lowering his ERA back to 3.61.

Lowe’s time on the South Side came to an end on December 13, 2001 when he, along with Kip Wells and Josh Fogg, was shipped to the Pirates in exchange for Todd Ritchie.

Lowe’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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#267 – Pat Borders

Pat BordersName: Pat Borders

Rank: 267

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 1996

Longtime Blue Jay catcher Pat Borders joined the White Sox in a trade with the Angels for pitcher Robert Ellis on July 27, 1996.  The White Sox were in the market for a backup catcher after Chad Kreuter suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in a home plate collision earlier that month.

Borders appeared in 31 games for the White Sox, hitting .277 in 94 at bats.  Following the season, Borders was allowed to leave as a free agent.

Borders’ numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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Delaying The End Of An Era

r301593300The White Sox announced yesterday that Paul Konerko, the last remaining member of the 2005 World Series champions, will return to the south side for one final season in 2014.  The slugger, who struggled through an injury plagued 2013 as the White Sox fell to last place in the AL Central, will take on a reduced role with Adam Dunn still on the roster and newly signed Cuban import Jose Abreu expected to take over the reigns at first base for the foreseeable future.

The White Sox, under the leadership of Jerry Reinsdorf, have not always been so accommodating of their aging stars.  Carlton Fisk, Frank Thomas, and Ozzie Guillen are just a few who left town angry after being set loose by the team.  Very few players get to leave the game on their own terms, but it seems that Paul Konerko may get just that chance.

Reaction to the signing has been mixed, to say the least.  A large contingent of fans have been happy to see one of the best players in White Sox history return for one last go around.  A smaller group disdains the fact that sentimentality seems to be taking the place of a sound baseball decision, even though the team is not expected to compete next season.  Breaking camp next spring with Konerko, Abreu, and Dunn will hamstring the roster somewhat, but thankfully rosters do not have to be set on December 5th.

Hopefully a healthy Konerko can bounce back and become a productive member of the White Sox next season.  The longtime captain, and his fans, deserve to see his career come to a satisfying conclusion.

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GlobalFit III: Week 21

Y3Week21Thanksgiving week was mostly a bust.  Monday and Tuesday were mostly spent with Danny and Michael, who had the whole week off from school.  Monday we went to Enchanted Castle, where our dreams of indoor miniature golf were dashed by recent renovations that removed the indoor miniature golf.  Tuesday was spent at the Museum of Science & Industry, as we previously discussed.  Wednesday’s big trip was to the grocery store in preparation of Thanksgiving.  The day itself was spent at home watching a 3 Stooges marathon.  Friday and Saturday seem pretty similar, though there was still very little activity.

Total steps: 24,468

Weekly average: 3495.4

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GlobalFit III: Week 20

Y3Week20Another topsy turvey week, with 4 days above 5000 but the other 3 well below.  Things started off slowly on Sunday, where the big movement of the day was going down in the basement to avoid the impending tornadoes.  The good days during the work week were helped out due to trips to North Plaza for Starbucks, in an effort to move up to Gold level on the Starbucks app.

Total steps: 33,568

Weekly average: 4795.4

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Concert Flashback: Bon Jovi

93bonjovi-1Back in early March of 1993, I came home from college for the weekend to take my sister and one of her friends up to Rosemont to see Bon Jovi at the Horizon.  The opening act was the Jeff Healey Band, most notable for their blind lead singer and guitarist and a favorite of one of my high school teachers.

I will be honest and say that I don’t remember much about the show itself.  Looking at setlists on the Internet, the boys from New Jersey seemed to put on a pretty good show that night, performing 20 different songs over the course of the night, 6 of which were from their new album, Keep The Faith.

My main memory of this show was roaming around the Horizon once the concert was over, trying to find where we had parked.  After more than 20 years, I guess that is better than nothing.  As things would turn out, this would be my last trip to the Rosemont Horizon for any reason until the early 2000s.

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#268 – Aaron Miles

xnldXs9TName: Aaron Miles

Rank: 268

Position: 2B

Year With White Sox: 2003

Aaron Miles was selected by the White Sox from the Astros in the minor league portion of the 2000 Rule V draft.  He made his major league debut for the White Sox on September 11, 2003, going 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter in the Sox loss to the Twins.  He appeared in 7 additional games for the White Sox that September, finishing with a .333 batting average.

That December, he was moved to the Rockies in exchange for Juan Uribe.

Miles’ numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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2014 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

mlb_hofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2014.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 8th, with induction taking place next July.  After nobody was elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may start to cause a bit of a problem.  The current BBWAA rules limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10, and there may be more than 10 deserving candidates.  As they start to pile up, and even more deserving candidates become eligible, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.

Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Now it’s time to move on to the newcomers.

Moises Alou

The 6-time All Star had a very good career, but not one worthy of the Hall of Fame.  He might get enough support to stick on the ballot for a few years, but not much beyond that.

Armando Benitez

I can’t imagine Benitez getting any votes, let alone enough to make a second go around on the ballot.

Sean Casey

The long-time Red had a fine career a will likely pick up one or two votes, but I expect this to be his only appearance on the ballot.

Ray Durham

Another one and done situation for the 2-time All Star.

Eric Gagne

Gagne seemed destined for the Hall after he won the 2003 Cy Young award in the midst of his record setting 84 consecutive saves.  Arm troubles and inclusion in the Mitchell Report derailed his career, and will likely doom any HOF chances he had.

Tom Glavine

There is no question that Glavine, on the strength of his 305 career wins, will make the Hall.  It is just a matter of when, as some voters may want for him to have to wait a year before gaining entry.  If he were to make it this year, it would likely be a pretty special summer for Braves fans.  On a personal level, Glavine is the only pitcher I’ve seen get his 300th win in person, after Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux faltered when I saw them at 299.

Luis Gonzalez

Over 2500 hits and 350 home runs would seem to make Gonzalez a pretty decent candidate for enshrinement.  The hint of PED use, though never proven, will likely hold him back.

Jacque Jones

No.

Todd Jones

NO.

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