Tag / White Sox

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#84 – Floyd Bannister

Floyd-Bannister-02Name: Floyd Bannister

Rank: 84

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1983-1987

Floyd Bannister signed with the White Sox as a free agent on December 13, 1982, much to the chagrin of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who was not used to losing out on free agents that he was interested in.  The signing quickly paid dividends for the White Sox and Bannister, who won a career high 16 games as the White Sox ran away with the AL West crown, earning their first post-season berth since 1959.  Bannister started and lost game 2 of the ALCS, going 6 innings and giving up all 4 runs in the White Sox 4-0 loss to the Orioles.

Bannister, and the White Sox, faltered somewhat in 1984, with his ERA jumping up to 4.83.  1985 was more of the same, with an ERA at 4.87 and finishing with a losing record of 10-14.  Bannister rebounded in 1986, posting a 3.54 ERA in 28 starts despite finishing the year with the same 10-14 record.  Bannister tied his career high with 16 wins in 1987, finishing the year with a 3.58 ERA.  Following the season, with the White Sox in full rebuilding mode, Bannister and Dave Cochrane were traded to the Royals for Greg Hibbard, Melido Perez, John Davis, and Chuck Mount.

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

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FB2: Week 20

FB2_Week20A successful week, with every day topping the 6000 step mark.  Things got off to a good start on Sunday thanks to a trip down to US Cellular Field with Angelina to watch the White Sox embarrass themselves.  Monday got the work week off to a good start, finishing with nearly 9000 steps.  Tuesday and Wednesday managed to eke past my daily step goal, before Thursday obliterated it, thanks to a training class in North in the morning, coffee in the PM, and then a walk to Walgreens for a Father’s Day card after work.  Friday was another successful day at work.  Saturday got off to a tremendous start, with my step goal accomplished by 9 AM, before settling in for a relaxing afternoon and evening.

Total steps: 55,198

Daily average: 7885.4

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#85 – Scott Fletcher

fletcherName: Scott Fletcher

Rank: 85

Position: SS/2B

Years With White Sox: 1983-1985, 1989-1991

Scott Fletcher first joined the White Sox on January 25, 1983 when he was acquired from the crosstown Cubs, along with Randy Martz, Pat Tabler, and Dick Tidrow, in exchange for Warren Brusstar and Steve Trout.  He split time at shortstop with Jerry Dybzinski for the 1983 squad, who ran away and hid with the Western Division title, their first post-season appearance since the 1959 World Series.  Fletcher appeared in 114 games, hitting only .237.  During the ALCS against the Orioles, he went hitless in 7 at bats across 3 games.

Fletcher became the primary shortstop in 1984 and saw his numbers improve.  His average jumped up to .250 while appearing in 149 games.  Despite the improvement, his job became less secure over the offseason, as the White Sox acquired a young shortstop named Ozzie Guillen.  When Guillen was named the starting shortstop for 1985 during spring training, Fletcher reacted poorly.  “Taking nothing away from the way Ozzie can play,” Fletcher said, “he hasn`t been that great to take the job away from me. He hasn`t just put it on fire and clearly won it.”  Despite the reduced playing time, Fletcher once again improved his numbers, with this average rising to .256 in only 301 at bats.

Following the 1985 season, Fletcher, along with Ed Correa and Jose Mota, was traded to the Rangers for Dave Schmidt and Wayne Tolleson.  He returned at the trade deadline in 1989, when he, along with Wilson Alvarez and Sammy Sosa, were acquired from the Rangers for Harold Baines and Fred Manrique.  With his former nemesis Ozzie Guillen entrenched at shortstop, Fletcher became the team’s starting second baseman.  He hit .272 for the White Sox after the trade, despite constant criticism from the fans who were angry at the loss of Baines.

1990 was the final season for the White Sox at Comiskey Park, and Scott Fletcher again manned second base for the suddenly contending team.  Ironically, Fletcher put up his worst numbers since 1983, the last time the team contended for a division title.  Across the street in the new Comiskey Park, Fletcher again saw diminished playing time as Joey Cora established himself as the everyday second baseman.  Appearing in only 90 games, his lowest total since getting cups of coffee with the Cubs in the early 80s, Fletcher’s average dropped to .206.  Following the season, he became a free agent.

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

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iTunes Top 200: #1 – 10

itunes_image3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact.  So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.

We wrap things up today with the top 10, which includes only 1 new song since we first looked at the top 100 3 years ago.  The remaining 9, all of which are, or were, part of my White Sox victory playlists, have simply moved around in order, including a surprising tie for the top spot.

#10: Harry Caray – Take Me Out To The Ballgame
iTunes stats: 17 plays, most recently on 9/30/2015
Previous ranking: #11

Moving up one spot into the top 10 is this mid-1970s recording of the Hall of Fame broadcaster, along with organist Nancy Faust, leading the Comiskey Park crowd during the 7th inning stretch.

#9: 2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage
iTunes stats: 106 plays, most recently on 5/12/2015
Previous ranking: #9

Radio highlights, courtesy of The Score, of the 2008 White Sox season, culminating in the team’s Division Series loss to the Rays.

#8: Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’
iTunes stats: 115 plays, most recently on 7/19/2015
Previous ranking: #8

The rallying cry for the 2005 White Sox after A. J. Pierzynski and teammates heard it being sung in a bar in Baltimore, it finally dropped off my playlist for the 2015 season.

Sox Win#7: Queen – We Are The Champions
iTunes stats: 120 plays, most recently on 7/19/2015
Previous ranking: #7

Reaching #4 on the Billboard charts in the late 70s, the song made it on to my White Sox playlist following their 2005 World Series championship.

#6: sox05_montage
iTunes stats: 126 plays, most recently on 10/24/2015
Previous ranking: #6

Radio highlights, courtesy of ESPN 1000, of the 2005 White Sox season, culminating in the team’s first World Series title since 1917.

#5: Gordon Beckham Intro
iTunes stats: 139 plays, most recently on 5/18/2015
Previous ranking: #2

The Outfield’s hit Your Love featuring Gene Honda introducing the former White Sox third baseman.

#4: Steam – Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye
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#86 – Omar Vizquel

vizquel

Name: Omar Vizquel

Rank: 86

Position: 3B/2B

Years With White Sox: 2010-2011

Signing as a free agent, Omar Vizquel joined the White Sox prior to the 2010 season.  With his usual #13 taken by manager Ozzie Guillen, Vizquel was allowed to wear jersey #11, retired in 1984 for Luis Aparicio.  He ended up getting the most playing time he had seen since 2007, appearing mostly at third base.  On May 25, he landed in second place for hits all-time by a shortstop, behind Derek Jeter.  One month later, he hit his first home run of the year, becoming the 4th player to homer in four different decades.

Vizquel returned to the White Sox in 2011, but his playing time fell off as he appeared in a career low 58 games.  On April 3, he got the 2800th hit of his career.  Following the season, he left as a free agent.

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

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Oops, I DFA’d It Again

For the second time in as many days, and the third time this season, the White Sox said goodbye to an underachieving veteran, designating Jimmy Rollins for assignment.  The move allowed the team to recall Tim Anderson, the crown jewel of their farm system and expected to be the shortstop of the future.  Rollins, the 37 year old former National League MVP, hit just .221 with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs in 41 games this year.  Anderson, meanwhile, was hitting .304 in Triple A, with 4 home runs and 20 RBIs.

The move follows yesterday’s release of Mat Latos and the dumping of John Danks in early May.

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See You Latos

latosFor the second time this season, the White Sox, in the midst of losing 20 out of their past 26 games, have cut ties with a pitcher that was part of their opening day starting rotation, designating Mat Latos for assignment yesterday.  Latos won his first 4 starts of the season with a sterling 0.74 ERA, but, like the rest of the White Sox, quickly fell apart.  In his last 7 starts, his ERA was 7.25, the same as John Danks when he was set loose earlier this year.

In another move, the White Sox signed former Twins star Justin Morneau, who is recovering from off-season elbow surgery.  Morneau is expected to be ready to play in July.

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iTunes Top 200: #11 – 20

itunes_image3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs in my iTunes library. Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact. So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.

We near the end today, as we breach the top 20, which is nearly identical to when we first looked at the top 100 3 years ago.  9 of the 10 songs are the same, with the only difference being one that dropped out of the top 10.  My White Sox victory playlists and school pride make up the majority of this entry.

#20: The Lonely Island – Lazy Sunday (ft. Chris Parnell)
iTunes stats: 42 plays, most recently on 6/18/2014
Previous ranking: #17

The original SNL digital short put the Lonely Island on the pop culture map and defined the phrase “viral video”.

#19: The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – The Mustard
iTunes stats: 45 plays, most recently on 6/7/2015
Previous ranking: #19

A short ditty from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer about the joys of dry cleaning.

#17: Purdue “All-American” Marching Band – Hail Purdue
iTunes stats: 49 plays, most recently on 12/18/2015
Previous ranking: #20

A more recent version of the Purdue fight song, including the now standard refrain of “Boiler Up!”

#17: Purdue “All-American” Marching Band – Hail, Purdue!
iTunes stats: 49 plays, most recently on 11/7/2015
Previous ranking: #18

An older version of the Purdue fight song, used during my time at the school.

#15: Metallica – Harvester Of Sorrow
iTunes stats: 53 plays, most recently on 7/4/2015
Previous ranking: #15

Released as the first single from the band’s fourth studio album, it was used as the at-bat music for former White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko for the majority of his career.

#15: The Lonely Island – Natalie’s Rap (ft. Natalie Portman & Chris Parnell)
iTunes stats: 53 plays, most recently on 1/22/2015
Previous ranking: #14

The second digital short from The Lonely Island featured Natalie Portman playing against type as a lewd gangsta.

#14: Nancy Faust – Take Me Out To The Ballgame
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#87 – Carl Everett

everett-wsName: Carl Everett

Rank: 87

Position: DH/CF

Years With White Sox: 2003, 2004-2005

Carl Everett was acquired by the White Sox on July 1, 2003 from the Rangers for Frank Francisco, Josh Rupe, and Anthony Webster.  Two weeks later, he appeared in the All Star Game at his new home stadium, going 0-1 as one of 3 White Sox representatives.  Everett continued his all star ways in the second half, hitting .301 with 10 home runs after the trade, but the White Sox faded down the stretch and finished the year in second place.

After signing with the Expos as a free agent for the 2004 season, Everett was reacquired by the White Sox on July 18, two weeks after Frank Thomas went down with a broken left foot, for Gary Majewski and Jon Rauch.  In more limited playing time, Everett hit .266 with only 5 home runs and the White Sox again finished in second place.

With Thomas still recovering from his foot injury, Everett went into 2005 as the primary designated hitter.  He appeared in 135 games, hitting .251 with 23 home runs and 87 RBI.  Everett added 12 hits during the post-season as the White Sox won their first World Series title since 1917.  Following the season, Everett again left as a free agent.

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

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FB2: Week 17

FB2_Week17The week got off to a slow start on Sunday despite a trip down to US Cellular Field to watch the White Sox eke out a victory against the Royals.  Monday saw a bit of a recovery, but was a standard work day.  Tuesday was the star of the week, thanks to an after-work trip down to see the White Sox lose to the Indians that finished with nearly 13,000 steps.  Wednesday and Thursday were back to the normal work day activities, with Thursday getting a small boost thanks to Danny’s graduation..  Friday fell a bit below my goal thanks to an early exit from work for the long weekend.  Saturday saw a nice bounce back thanks to a long walk around the neighborhood.

Total steps: 51,522

Daily average: 7360.3