Tag / Guaranteed Rate Field

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Fitbit IX – Week 12

Warm weather, another round of jury duty, and a couple of baseball games led to my first week over 30.000 steps in more than a month.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, as I finished with 3000 steps thanks in part to celebrating Michael’s birthday.  Monday saw a healthy improvement, jumping up to 6300 steps thanks to my trip downtown for jury duty.  Tuesday saw a big drop off, as I wasn’t required to report to jury duty and I managed 4400 steps.  Wednesday fell back down again, dropping down to 3000 steps.  A nice increase on Thursday left me 17 steps away from 4300.  A post-work trip to Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday led to the best day of the week, with 6300 steps.  Another White Sox game on Saturday put me just 6 steps shy of 5400.

Total steps: 32,879

Daily average: 4697

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The Finalest of Fours

Following a tournament filled with upsets, more history was made last weekend when the last two number one seeds fell, leaving the Elite Eight without a single number one seed for the first time ever.  My Final Four predictions are all completely toast, so there’s nothing left for me this weekend.  If anything, wrapping up the tournament will be a detriment to my fan experience, since it means Gene Honda will be in Houston Monday rather than at Guaranteed Rate Field for the home opener.

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 10

33 years ago, during my sophomore year of high school, I put together the first of what would eventually become a nearly 20 volume collection of mix tapes, containing my favorite songs that I had gathered either from the radio, a cassette tape, or (eventually) CD.  Today, we revisit those mix tapes for the fourth time and see how, or if, the soundtrack of my youth still resonates in today’s digital world and how much has changed over the past four years.

It was one of, if not the most ubiquitous song of the summer of 1993.  You heard it blaring out of car windows.  Stacey King and Scott Williams chanted the chorus during the Bulls’ championship rally in Grant Park.  It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B chart and #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Whoomp! (There It Is) by Tag Team was everywhere.

While Tag Team never had another hit, this one has been a consistent money maker for the group over the past thirty years.  It has appeared in movies such as Elf, Addams Family Values, and D2: The Mighty Ducks.  It has been a constant at sporting events.  To this day, it plays at Wrigley Field when a Cub hits a home run.  Not that it needed it, but the song got a resurgence in December of 2020 when the members of Tag Team appeared in a Geico add spoofing their song, changing the lyrics to be about ice cream.

I’ve heard the song live twice.  In 2015, Tag Team showed up to 90s Night at the United Center and performed the song at halftime.  They made a similar performance in 2021 before a White Sox game at Guaranteed Rate Field, where they played not just the original, but also the ice cream themed spoof.  Thirty years in, the song shows no signs of slowing down.

Volume 10 covers the spring and summer of 1993, following my freshman year of college, and features the top rap and alternative hits of the summer, along with some pop and the last remnants of hair metal.

Side A

Pearl Jam – Black
iTunes stats: 14 plays, most recently on 11/23/2022

Hitting #3 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Tracks chart despite the band’s refusal to release it as an official single, the song was only listened to three times in the past four years.

Def Leppard – Two Steps Behind
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 7/8/2021

The big hit from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bomb Last Action Hero, originally recorded from The Blaze during a nightly song battle, garnered just four additional listens over these last four years.

UB40 – Can’t Help Falling In Love
iTunes stats: 27 plays, most recently on 7/30/2022

After going unheard for three years, the track, featured on the Sliver soundtrack, picked up 19 plays since 2015.

Aerosmith – Cryin’
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 11/1/2022

The first installment of Alicia Silverstone’s video trilogy, which finished as the 60th biggest single of 1993, picked up five new plays over the past four years.

TLC – Get It Up
iTunes stats: 8 plays, most recently on 6/16/2021

This cover of a hit by The Time created for the Poetic Justice soundtrack doubled its listens over the past four years.

4 Non Blondes – What’s Up?
iTunes stats: 27 plays, most recently on 6/1/2022

The 50th biggest single of 1993 picked up eight listens for the ubiquitous debut from 4 Non Blondes.

whoompTag Team – Whoomp! (There It Is)
iTunes stats: 62 plays, most recently on 12/8/2022

The unofficial theme to the Bulls third straight NBA championship in 1993, Tag Team, who showed up for 90s night at the UC for a game I attended in February of 2015, added 19 new listens over the past four years, thanks to its use by the Cubs when someone hits a home run.

Side B

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Yet Another Mix Tape Monday – Volume 5

33 years ago, during my sophomore year of high school, I put together the first of what would eventually become a nearly 20 volume collection of mix tapes, containing my favorite songs that I had gathered either from the radio, a cassette tape, or (eventually) CD. Today, we revisit those mix tapes for the fourth time and see how, or if, the soundtrack of my youth still resonates in today’s digital world and how much has changed over the past four years.

I got my first CD player, and my first CD, for Christmas in 1991.  My sister and I were going to Florida to celebrate Christmas with the grandparents, so we celebrated at home early.  In order to enjoy my new gift while I was gone, I added two songs from that CD, Poison’s Swallow This Live, to this collection.

My CD collection grew slowly, being a poor high school student.  When I left for college that next August, I had added five CDs to the collection: Def Leppard’s Adrenalize, the so-called Black Album from Metallica, Use Your Illusion II by Guns N’ Roses, Boyz II Men’s Motownphilly, and C.M.B. from Color Me Badd.  In college, things started to grow more quickly and, once I got out of college and had some real disposable income, things went a little crazy.  I have CDs where not only is there not a song on there that I like, but there isn’t even a song that I know.

That slowed down a bit as technology advanced, replacing physical media with digital downloads and, eventually, streaming.  I can count on one hand the number of CDs I’ve bought in the last eight years.  The question now is what do I do with 30+ years’ worth of CDs that are never used?  Everything is ripped to my computer and the only CD player I have now is that computer.  Plus, I could use the space that a cabinet full of untouched CDs is taking up in the office.  Something to consider as I remake my workspace now that I am a full-time remote worker.

Volume 5 takes us from the end of my junior year of high school, through the summer, and all the way to spring of my senior year, from mid 1991 through early 1992, and once again features a healthy dose of hair metal and pop.

Side A

Firehouse – Don’t Treat Me Bad
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 11/12/2021

Peaking at #19 on the Billboard charts, the first hit from Firehouse picked up nine new listens over the past four years.

Color Me Badd – I Wanna Sex You Up
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 12/12/2021

Featured on the soundtrack for New Jack City, the first single from the R&B boy band, which I had on cassingle, added five new spins since 2019.

Boyz II Men – Motownphilly
iTunes stats: 26 plays, most recently on 8/20/2021

The debut release from the Philadelphia crooners, which hit #3 on the Billboard charts, had a healthy seven play increase since last we checked.

Mötley Crüe – Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
iTunes stats: 43 plays, most recently on 9/27/2022

The fourth single off of Dr. Feelgood, originally recorded off 103.5 The Blaze, gets a nice thirteen listen increase thanks to its use at Guaranteed Rate Field after strikeouts from White Sox pitchers.

Slaughter – Fly To The Angels
iTunes stats: 19 plays, most recently on 11/4/2021

Six new plays for the second single from the band’s debut album, which peaked at #19 on the Billboard charts.

Boyz II Men – It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye
iTunes stats: 62 plays, most recently on 12/31/2021

Originally written for the 70s film Cooley High, the cover, originally recorded off the radio from Hot 94.7, saw a fourteen-spin increase over the past four years when you count both the radio and album versions.

Salt-N-Pepa – Let’s Talk About Sex
iTunes stats: 25 plays, most recently on 7/22/2022

The tune, nominated for the 1992 Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Grammy, increased its play total by eight since 2019.

Side B

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Travelling The 50 States – Illinois

Over my 47 years, I’ve done my fair share of travelling across these United States.  I thought it would be an interesting experiment go look back at those trips to each of the 31 states I have visited (62% isn’t bad, is it?) and see if, and when, I may be returning.  Working in alphabetical order, we continue today with the 21st state to be added to the Union: Illinois.

State: Illinois
Joined the Union: 1818
Visits: 16,000+

How do you track how often you’ve been in the state you’ve lived in your entire life, save for your time away at college?  My first “visit” came nearly 48 years ago on the day I was born at Mercy Hospital on the south side of Chicago.

I’ve managed to do 18 of the Bicentennial Bucket List: 200 Things To Do In Illinois, published by the Chicago Tribune in 2018 to celebrate the best the state has to offer in history, food, architecture, culture, sports, nature, drink, and oddities.  Among the places I visited were Water Tower, Morton Arboretum, Route 66, United Center, Skydeck at Willis Tower, the former Arlington International Racecourse, Rialto Square Theatre, Lake Michigan, The Second City, Chicago Sports Museum, and the Superman statue in downstate Metropolis.

I’ve seen baseball games at Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park, and Guaranteed Rate Field.  I’ve seen football games at Soldier Field, Memorial Stadium, Ryan Field, and Wrigley Field.  I’ve seen basketball games at the United Center, Welsh-Ryan Arena, State Farm Center, and Allstate Arena.  I’ve seen hockey games at the United Center.  I’ve seen both the White Sox and the Cubs win the World Series.  I’ve seen the Bears win a Super Bowl.  I’ve seen the Bulls win 6 NBA Championships.  I’ve even seen the Blackhawks win a Stanley Cup or two.

I’ve seen concerts at Wrigley Field, City Winery, Ravinia, the Riviera Theatre, Abbey Pub, Metro, the Chicago Theatre, United Center, Charter One Pavilion, Allstate Arena, The Vic Theatre, House of Blues, World Music Theatre, Soldier Field, and Mabel’s,

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FB8 – Week 37

Another disappointing week where I’m still stuck below 30,000 steps.  Things got off to an ok start on Sunday, where I finished 12 steps away from 4200.  Monday turned into the best day of the week, ending with 4700 steps.  Tuesday fell off a bit, needing an additional 15 steps to get to 4000.  The final day of the baseball regular season on Wednesday led to one last visit to Guaranteed Rate Field and nearly 4200 steps.  Things fell off on Thursday, as I managed only 3500 steps.  Friday improved somewhat, jumping back over 4000 steps.  Saturday was even better, going up to 4400 thanks in part to a trip to the barber.

Total steps: 26.298

Daily average: 3756.9

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What Went Wrong

After winning a Wild Card slot in 2020 and running away with the Central Division title in 2021, the White Sox looked like an easy lock to make a third straight post-season appearance this October.  Unfortunately, something (or somethings) went wrong along the way and after a long season where nothing ever seemed to click, the team was officially eliminated on Sunday after dropping six straight against the Guardians and the Tigers.  So where did things fall apart?  Let’s take a deeper look.

Injuries

After injuries rocked the White Sox in 2021, they revamped their strength and conditioning staff, hoping a new program would help stem the tide.  Unfortunately, the lockout prevented the new staff from working with the players, leaving them to their own devices.  GM Rick Hahn said in June that, between the lockout and the shortened spring training, the new program “got stymied a little bit this offseason” and that it would “be difficult in-season to perhaps change the results over the next few weeks and months in terms of health.”  Boy, was he not kidding.

Things started at the end of spring training, when lefty reliever Garrett Crochet went down for the year with an elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery.  Two days later, starter Lance Lynn left his final spring tune-up with a bum knee, putting him on the shelf until the middle of June.  Finally, before the White Sox arrived in Detroit for their season opener, Yoan Moncada suffered an oblique strain that knocked him out for a month and may have sunk his entire season.  Relief pitcher Joe Kelly, signed during the offseason, also started the season on the IL rehabbing an injury from the year before and wasn’t activated until May.

Outfielder AJ Pollock left the second game of the year with a hamstring injury, missing over three weeks.  The same day, Lucas Giolito was placed on the IL with an abdominal strain, keeping him out for nearly two weeks.  The day he was activated, Eloy Jimenez was placed on the IL with a strained hamstring suffered that day against the Twins.  It would be two and a half months before he returned.  This was all before the calendar turned to May!

Things never let up.  Andrew Vaughn missed time in May after getting hit in the hand by a pitch.  Aaron Bummer suffered a right knee strain that kept him out for two weeks.  Lucas Giolito and Luis Robert both missed time in May thanks to bouts with COVID.  Joe Kelly went back on the IL with a hamstring strain.  Tim Anderson missed three weeks with a groin strain, the same injury that kept Vince Velasquez for two weeks.

Aaron Bummer suffered another injury in mid-June which kept him out until September.  Yasmani Grandal was felled with lower back spasms for six weeks.  A right forearm strain put Liam Hendriks on the shelf for nearly three weeks.  A strained hamstring took down Yoan Moncada for nearly three weeks.  Adam Engel fell victim to the same injury for two weeks.  On July 6th, Jake Burger went down with a bruised hand following a hit by pitch, Vince Velasquez was felled by a blister on his right index finger, and Danny Mendick was lost for the year with a torn ACL.  We just now are getting to the All-Star break.  Shall I keep going?

Luis Robert was shut down with blurred vision.  A lower back strain put Reynaldo Lopez on the shelf.  A torn finger ligament knocked out Tim Anderson for the remainder of the year on August 9th.  Another lower back strain took down Leury Garcia.  A bum knee sent Michael Kopech to the IL, while another hamstring strain stopped Yoan Moncada for the third time this year.  Kopech was felled again with a shoulder strain on September 7th.  Finally, after suffering with a wrist injury for nearly a month and a half, Luis Robert was shut down and placed on the IL on Saturday with the 2022 title all but wrapped up for the Guardians.

Aside from the sheer number of injuries, this meant that the White Sox were very rarely at anything approaching full strength.  Some piece of the puzzle was always missing, and usually two or three pieces.  The bullpen injuries led to some early overwork for guys like Kendall Graveman, which impacted his performance in the second half.  Because of this, the White Sox never seemed to gel or to be able to string wins together to pull ahead.

Lack of Power

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FB8 – Week 35

After the disappointment of last week, a late surge helped put me back above 30,000 steps for the week.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, where I finished with 3800 steps.  Monday fell off quite a bit, dropping to 2800 steps.  Tuesday saw a very slight increase as I ended the day 4 steps away from 2900.  Wednesday was the week’s low point, finishing with only 2200 steps.  Things started to improve on Thursday, where an after-work trip to the local grocery store helped push me over 5600 steps.  A trip to Guaranteed Rate Field on Friday left me with 5200 steps.  My best day of the week came on Saturday thanks to a trip down to West Lafayette for Homecoming, which left me with 9400 steps.

Total steps: 32.078

Daily average: 4582.6

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FB8 – Week 30

A couple of bad days sabotaged the entire week and pushed me back under 30,000 steps.  Things got off to a slow start on Sunday, as I finished with 3500 steps after returning home from Indianapolis.  Monday saw a nice increase, jumping up to 4500 steps.  A trip to Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday left me a scant 8 steps shy of 4900.  Another game on Wednesday saw another increase, jumping up over 6000 steps.  Things cratered on Thursday as I barely managed to complete 2100 steps.  Friday saw a nice bounce back, finishing 14 steps away from 4500.  Another down day on Saturday left me 27 steps short of 2600.

Total steps: 28,112

Daily average: 4016

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Elvis Has Entered The Building

Elvis Night is coming early to Guaranteed Rate Field this year.  With Tim Anderson, Danny Mendick, and Leury Garcia all on the IL, the White Sox are signing free agent shortstop Elvis Andrus.  Andrus, who was released by the A’s on Wednesday, cleared waivers and is expected to join the team on Friday in Cleveland.

Andrus, who turns 34 on the. 26th, which just so happens to be Elvis Night on the South Side, is hitting .237 with 8 home runs and 30 RBIs this season.  The two-time All Star, who spent the first 12 seasons of his career with the Rangers before being traded to Oakland in February 2021, is a career .270 hitter with 87 homers and 703 RBIs in 1,904 career games.  Prior to his release, Andrus was playing out the final season of an eight-year, $120 million contract, but the White Sox will only owe him the prorated league minimum for the remainder of the season.