Tag / White Sox

by admin

#279 – David Wells

David Wells #33, Josh Paul #27

Name: David Wells

Rank: 279

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 2001

After the White Sox surprised everyone to win the AL Central title in 2000, new general manager Kenny Williams thought the team was an ace pitcher away from winning the World Series.  To that end, he struck a deal with the Blue Jays to acquire David Wells, along with Matt DeWitt, for Mike Williams, Kevin Beirne, Brian Simmons, and Mike Sirotka.  Wells’ White Sox career began under a cloud of controversy when Sirotka was determined to be injured and ultimately never pitched for the Blue Jays, or anyone else, again.  The Blue Jays asked for the trade to be overturned, but Commissioner Bud Selig ruled for the White Sox.

Things did not work out so well for the White Sox either.  The team, and Wells, struggled and were unable to repeat their performance from the year before.  Wells went 5-7 with a 4.47 ERA in 16 starts before being shut down with back problems.

After the season, Wells became a free agent, ending his brief White Sox career.

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

Continue reading →

by admin

2013 Final Standings

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersA miserable baseball season in the city of Chicago came to an end last weekend, with the White Sox and the Cubs combining for the most losses in the history of the teams sharing the city.  I saw less than half of the teams in the league this year, and attended on 29 games, the fewest I’ve seen since I started getting Cub season tickets back in 2002.  On the bright side, the White Sox and Cubs will both draft in the top 5 next June, which will hopefully help them both get back to the top of their respective Central divisions sooner rather than later.

That said, here’s our final look at the records in games I attended this past season.

 
TeamCity TeamName Won Loss Winning Pctg
Cleveland Indians 4 0 1
Tampa Bay Rays 2 0 1
Chicago Cubs 2 0 1
Minnesota Twins 4 1 0.8
Kansas City Royals 3 1 0.75
Los Angeles Angels 1 1 0.5
Chicago White Sox 11 16 0.407407407407407
Continue reading →
by admin

Goodbye, iPhone 4S – Music Edition

A little more than a week ago, I upgraded my phone from the iPhone 4S to the newly released iPhone 5S.  The biggest difference, aside from a slightly bigger screen, is the jump from 3G (or 4G, if you believe AT&T’s hype) to LTE.  I had the 4S for a little under 2 years, and in that time, we traveled the world together (well, at least going back to the UK) and have listened to a lot of podcasts and music. Here is every song (all 2079 of them) I’ve listened to on the phone, with some (ok, very little) bonus commentary.  Godspeed.

 

Let’s Go-Go-Go White Sox Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers 33
He’s a Pirate Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 32
Take Me Out To The Ballgame Harry Caray 31
Thunderstruck AC/DC The Razors Edge 31
Gordon Beckham Intro 29
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 29
Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey Journey’s Greatest Hits 27
sox05_montage 27
We Are The Champions Queen Queen: Greatest Hits I & II 27
Your Love The Outfield Play Deep 27
2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage Chris Tannehill WSCR 670 The Score 25
Take Me Out To The Ballgame Nancy Faust 25
Harvester Of Sorrow Metallica …And Justice For All 20

You would hope that these numbers would have been higher, but this past season’s miserable performance by the White Sox has put the songs on their playlist out of mind more often than not.

Cannonball The Breeders The First 1000 Years- Rock 19
Man Or Muppet Jason Segel The Muppets 15
It’s Time For Our Song Miss Piggy The Muppets 14
Get Out There And Help Those Guys Jason Segel The Muppets 13
Main Title LOST Soundtrack LOST Soundtrack 13
Are You A Man Or A Muppet? Amy Adams The Muppets 12
How Charming, A Finale Uncle Deadly The Muppets 12
I’m On A Boat (ft. T-Pain) The Lonely Island Incredibad 12
Down At The Ole Barbershop Kermit The Muppets 11
Me and Drugs David Cross Bigger and Blackerer 11
The Antichrist Howard Stern Private Parts: The Album 11
Continue reading →
by admin

#280 – Jaime Quirk

1989 Fleer #290 Jamie Quirk

Name: Jamie Quirk

Rank: 280

Position: 3B

Year With White Sox: 1984

Jamie Quirk joined the White Sox organization as a free agent on May 23, 1984.  The veteran, who had last played in the minor leagues in 1978, spent the majority of the season in Triple A playing for the Denver Zephyrs.  He did manage to get in to 3 games for the big league club, garnering 2 at bats, before being sold to the Indians on September 24.

Quirk’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were: Continue reading →

by admin

#281 – Ken Hill

Ken Hill White Sox2Name: Ken Hill

Rank: 281

Position: P

Year With White Sox: 2000

The White Sox had a 9 game lead in the AL Central on August 18 when the signed Ken Hill to step in as their fifth starter for the stretch run.  11 days and 2 appearances later, he was released.  “If I can’t perform and do the things I know I can do, I’m not helping,” said Hill at the time.

Hill’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →

by admin

GlobalFit III: Week 10

Y3Week10Another disappointing week, with only 3 days over the 5000 step mark.  Thursday used a trip over to North for a smoothie to just eke by 5000 steps.  Friday used an extra-long wait for a pizza to put in some extra steps along the parking lot of said pizza place.  Saturday had a trip down the ramp after another exciting White Sox loss.  Beyond that, more of the same with work followed by lying in bed and watching TV.

Total steps: 31,344

Weekly average: 4,477.7

by admin

#282 – Bob Melvin

melvin12Name: Bob Melvin

Rank: 282

Position: C

Year With White Sox: 1994

Veteran catcher Bob Melvin joined the White Sox via trade from the Angels for Jeff Schwarz on July 22, 1994.  He managed to appear in 11 games in the 21 days before the strike wiped out the remainder of the season and ended Melvin’s career.

Melvin’s next career, as a major league manager, had him crossing paths once again with his former team as his first opponent while helming the A’s was the White Sox.

Melvin’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →

by admin

Looking To Next Year Too

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersWith the 2013 season limping to the finish line, it became time to look forward to next year on Tuesday when the Cubs released their 2014 schedule. The north siders begin the 2014 campaign on the road against the Pirates on March 31.  Their home schedule kicks off against the Phillies that weekend.

Inter-league matchups against the AL East include home dates against the Yankees, Rays, and Orioles. The Cubs will travel to Boston, Toronto, and will also make their first ever trip to new Yankess Stadium to face the Yankees. The team will also split a 4 game series against the White Sox, similar to this season, with the first 2 games at Wrigley Field and the last 2 at US Cellular Field.

Should the team find themselves in contention, they finish the year with games mostly against their Central division foes, with only 7 September games coming outside the division.

by jim

Looking To Next Year

MLB: Cincinnati Reds at Los Angeles DodgersWith the 2013 season limping to the finish line, it became time to look forward to next year on Tuesday when the White Sox released their 2014 schedule.  The south siders begin the 2014 campaign at home against the Twins on March 31.

Inter-league matchups against the NL West include home dates against the Diamondbacks, Giants, and Padres.  The White Sox will travel to Los Angeles for yet another tilt with their opponent from the 1959 World Series and will also make their first ever trip to Colorado to face the Rockies.  The team will also split a 4 game series against the Cubs, similar to this season, with the first 2 games at Wrigley Field and the last 2 at US Cellular Field.

Should the team find themselves in contention, they finish the year with games mostly against their Central division foes, with only 7 September games coming outside the division.

by admin

Ballpark Tour: Comerica Park

Comerica

Stadium Name: Comerica Park

Location: Detroit

Home Team: Tigers

Years in Service: 2000 – Present

Visits: 2

After 87 seasons at Tiger Stadium, the Tigers opened their new stadium in 2000 on a snowy afternoon against the Mariners.  In contrast to Tiger Stadium, which had been considered one of the most hitter-friendly parks in baseball, Comerica Park is considered to be extremely friendly to pitchers.  After years of irrelevance, the new stadium was one step leading the Tigers back to contention, which they achieved in 2006, making the World Series and being in the hunt every year since.

The White Sox were 3.5 games behind the Twins for the AL Central lead heading into a Labor Day holiday series against the Tigers in 2010.  After they split the first 2 games of the series, I decided to head up to Detroit to take in the final two games, my first trip to Comerica Park.  I had booked a room at the Caesars hotel and casino in Windsor, so I drove up to Canada and checked in prior to the night’s game back in Detroit.  I booked a round trip on a bus back to the US which dropped me off near the park, where I took in the Tigers 5-1 victory.  The next afternoon, I drove back to Detroit and stopped for the afternoon’s series finale, which the Tigers once again won.

The stadium itself was a vast improvement over Tiger Stadium.  For the first game, I sat in the upper deck behind home plate and had a good view of the entire field.  For the second game, I was right behind the White Sox dugout, which, while a bit pricey, did provide another nice view.  The only disappointment, besides the play of the south siders, was the food.  Since the Tigers owner also owns Little Caesars pizza, that is the food that is available.  I remember making it through a few bites before leaving the pizza underneath my seat for whoever wanted it.