Tag / White Sox

by jim

iTunes Top 100 Artists: #1-10

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My latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 2 iPhones, and an iPad later, that computer is still my main repository of music, with iTunes updating its stats every time I listen to something.

Having already gone through cassette tapes and CDs, and digital music, it’s time to roll everything up with the Top 100 artists that I’ve listened to as of 8/21/2013, according to iTunes. Today we finally get to the top 10 and the end of this journey.

#1: The Beatles

iTunes stats: 665 plays

The boys from Liverpool used 95 different songs to make up this total.  The most impressive thing is that the total should be higher, as all of the counts got reset back to zero when the remastered albums came out in 2009 and I deleted all of the old versions and ripped the remastered versions.

#2: Garbage

iTunes stats: 614 plays

I have seen this band live 4 times over the past 11 years, and look forward to doing so again in the future.  There are 112 songs, many of which are live versions, that made up the total.

#3: Foo Fighters

iTunes stats: 425 plays

Only 39 songs put the Foo Fighters in third place with nobody on their tail.  I saw the Foo Fighters with Weezer back in 2005 and would love to do so again.

#4: The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer

iTunes stats: 307 plays

Back in 2001, during the sixth season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the show produced a musical episode as Buffy and the Scooby Gang battled the musical demon Sweet.  The following year, the soundtrack was released, and those 21 songs make up this total.  One of the standouts was Amber Benson, who autographed my copy of the CD at a Wizard World appearance back in 2004.

#5: Tegan and Sara

iTunes stats: 274 plays

An even 50 songs combined to make up this total for the Canadian sisters.  I saw them live back in 2005, less than a week after the Foo Fighters/Weezer show and the same day the White Sox won the ALDS against the Red Sox.  It was a busy week.

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by admin

#269 – Matt Ginter

1628-156FrName: Matt Ginter

Rank: 269

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2000-2003

Matt Ginter was selected by the White Sox in the first round of the 1999 draft and made his major league debut the following September, throwing a scoreless inning and picking up the victory in the White Sox 9-8 win against the Angels.  The rest of his September call-up did not go as well, as he finished with a 13.50 ERA in 7 games.

Ginter split the next 3 seasons between Triple A Charlotte and Chicago, always performing much better in the minor leagues than in the majors.  In 2003, he put up a “nice” bookend to his White Sox career, matching the 13.50 ERA he put up in his rookie season of 2000.

As spring training of 2004 was winding down, Ginter was shipped to the Mets in exchange for Timo Perez.

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

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#270 – Jim Kern

jim-kernName: Jim Kern

Rank: 270

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1982-1983

Jim Kern joined the White Sox in a August 1982 trade with the Reds in exchange for Wade Rowdon and Leo Garcia.  He did not pitch particularly well for the South Siders down the stretch, putting up a 5.14 ERA in 13 games.

He was expected back in the bullpen in 1983, but he blew out his elbow after appearing in the second game of the season, leaving him out for the year.  The following spring, he was released towards the end of spring training, ending his brief time with the White Sox.  Kern, however, was not willing to leave quietly.

After begging then General Manager Roland Hemond to send him to Triple A prior to his release, Kern accussed the team of “destroying my arm and then shucking me off like last year’s shotgun shells.”  Hemond claimed it was a business decision, as the team saved nearly $300,000 by releasing Kern.

Kern’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by jim

iTunes Top 100 Artists: #11-20

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My latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 2 iPhones, and an iPad later, that computer is still my main repository of music, with iTunes updating its stats every time I listen to something.

Having already gone through cassette tapes and CDs, and digital music, it’s time to roll everything up with the Top 100 artists that I’ve listened to as of 8/21/2013, according to iTunes. Today we look at the the the next batch, numbers 11-20, which includes a nice mix of musical genres and comedy.

#11: Garfunkel and Oates

iTunes stats: 156 plays

31 songs have put the two funny girls on the list in less than a year.  They will likely be higher the next time I do this, as I’ve listened to them a lot since their concert 2 1/2 weeks ago.

#12: David Cross

iTunes stats: 153 plays

39 tracks from 3 albums puts the funny man on the list.

#13: Poison

iTunes stats: 144 plays

The quintessential glam metal band used 28 songs to get to this total.

#14: Eminem

iTunes stats: 136 plays

Only 16 tunes from the white rapper gets him to this mark.

#15: Def Leppard

iTunes stats: 133 plays

35 songs for the troubled band from Sheffield give them such a high total.

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by admin

Ballpark Tour: Comiskey Park II/US Cellular Field

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Stadium Name: Comiskey Park II/US Cellular Field

Location: Chicago

Home Team: White Sox, Marlins

Years in Service: 1991 – Present

Visits: 361

On the evening of June 30, 1988, with time literally stopped, the Illinois legislature passed a bill that provided the financing for a new stadium for the White Sox, stopping them from moving to St. Petersburg, Florida.  2 and a half years later, on April 18, 1991, Comiskey Park II opened, the first new major facility built in Chicago since the erection of the Chicago Stadium in 1929.  Sadly, the White Sox were destroyed by the Tigers 16-0 in the opening of their new park.

Unfortunately for the White Sox, the new Comiskey Park was also the last stadium to be built prior to the wave of retro ballparks that started with the opening of Camden Yards the following year.  Because of this, there have been numerous renovations to the park, starting in 2001 with the addition of nearly 2000 seats and the relocation of the bullpens.  More extensive renovations began in 2003 in preparation for that season’s All Star Game and using the money generated from selling the naming rights to US Cellular, and conrinued through 2007, when the replacement of the blue seats with green seats was completed.

In 2004, the reigning World Series champion Florida Marlins called the stadium home for a series against the Montreal Expos thanks to Hurricane Ivan, the first time the defending World Series champions had played a home game in Chicago since 1918.  One year later, the stadium hosted its first World Series game, the first to be played in Chicago since 1959, as the White Sox went on to sweep the Houston Astros and win their first World Series since 1918.

I attended my first game at the new Comiskey Park on April 20, 1991, the second game in the stadium’s history.  Since then, I’ve been to 360 other games at the stadium, the majority coming from 2005 on, when I became a season ticket holder.  I went to both games of the 2000 ALDS, which the White Sox lost to the Mariners, both games of the 2005 ALDS, which the White Sox won against the Red Sox, both games of the 2005 ALCS, which the White Sox split against the Angels, and game 2 of the 2005 World Series.  I attended game 163 of the 2008 season to break the tie between the White Sox and the Twins. and then the two ALDS games against the Rays, the first time I saw the White Sox actually end a post-season series, either in victory or defeat.

Notable regular season games I’ve seen at US Cellular Field include the September 13, 2004 game between the Marlins and the Expos, the April 16, 2005 game where Mark Buehrle defeated the Mariners in 1 hour and 39 minutes, the April 2, 2006 season opener against the Indians when the World Series championship banner was raised, the April 4, 2006 game where the players received their World Series rings, and the September 16, 2007 game where Jim Thome hit his 500th career home run against the Angels.

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#271 – Jerry Don Gleaton

Jerry-Don-Gleaton-White-SoxName: Jerry Don Gleaton

Rank: 271

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1984-1985

With the White Sox struggling to repeat as AL West champions, they made a move to shore up the bullpen, sending Salome Barojas to the Mariners in exchange for Jerry Don Gleaton and Gene Nelson.  Gleaton put up good numbers in Triple A for the White Sox and was eventually called up to the big leagues, appearing in 11 games.

Gleaton again split the 1985 season between Triple A and the White Sox, with more success in Triple A.  He made it in to 31 games for the White Sox, but put up a 5.76 ERA.

Gleaton spent all of 1986 in Triple A before leaving the White Sox organization as a free agent.

Gleaton’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were: Continue reading →

by jim

iTunes Top 100 Artists: #21-30

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My latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 2 iPhones, and an iPad later, that computer is still my main repository of music, with iTunes updating its stats every time I listen to something.

Having already gone through cassette tapes and CDs, and digital music, it’s time to roll everything up with the Top 100 artists that I’ve listened to as of 8/21/2013, according to iTunes. Today we look at the the the next batch, numbers 21-30, which includes a nice mix of musical genres and comedy.

#21: Bon Jovi

iTunes stats: 113 plays

25 tunes make up the total for the boys from New Jersey who I’ve seen in concert twice.

#22: Queen

iTunes stats: 112 plays

O,nly 3 songs from Queen make up the list, with the majority coming from the one celebrating the 2005 World Series Championship.

#23: Dr. Dre

iTunes stats: 111 plays

The father of west coast rap used 9 tunes to place this high on the list.

#24: Steam

iTunes stats: 110 plays

Only 1 song made up the entire total for Steam, thanks to its inclusion on my White Sox playlist.

#25: Alanis Morissette

iTunes stats: 109 plays

The Canadian songstress, who I saw in 1996 at the New World Music Theater, sets a new high with 33 songs making up her total.

#26: George Carlin

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by admin

#272 – Olmedo Saenz

olmedo_saenz_autographName: Olmedo Saenz

Rank: 272

Position: 3B

Year With White Sox: 1994

Olmedo Saenz joined the White Sox organization as an amateur free agent on May 11, 1990.  He worked his way up through the system, eventually making his major league debut on May 28, 1994 against the Orioles, going 1-3 and getting his first major league hit against Ben McDonald.  He managed to make his way in to 4 additional games before being returned to the minor leagues, where he would stay until he left as a free agent in October of 1998.

Saenz’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

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by jim

iTunes Top 100 Artists: #31-40

itunes_image

My latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 2 iPhones, and an iPad later, that computer is still my main repository of music, with iTunes updating its stats every time I listen to something.

Having already gone through cassette tapes and CDs, and digital music, it’s time to roll everything up with the Top 100 artists that I’ve listened to as of 8/21/2013, according to iTunes. Today we look at the the the next batch, numbers 31-40, which includes a nice mix of musical genres.

#31: R.E.M. 95

iTunes stats: 95 plays

The boys from Athens, GA tie Avril Lavigne with 23 songs to make up their total.

#31: The Monkees

iTunes stats: 95 plays

The made for TV band used 17 songs to make up their total.

#33: Guns N’ Roses

iTunes stats: 91 plays

Axl Rose and friends use 19 different songs to make their way on to the list.

#34: Purdue “All-American” Marching Band

iTunes stats: 86 plays

3 songs, including 2 versions of the fight song, puts the Purdue Marching Band on the list.

#35: Stone Temple Pilots

iTunes stats: 83 plays

17 songs make up the total for the California-based alternative rockers.

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