Chicago White Sox 2024
Grifol gone!
Let's think back to just before Grifol was hired.
Sox fans were told by Sox Management that a really careful and thorough process was being done to find 'the right guy to lead the White Sox'. And that Grifol was that guy. I guess we all see how that worked out.
The problem for the Sox now is -- what quality manager is going to want to walk into the middle of this organizational mess that the Sox have. That is probably going to scare away a number of guys right off the bat.
The Sox have bigger problems that go beyond just the manager right now. But getting someone who is competent and who can help install a winning culture is needed if this franchise is to begin turning things around.
The next time the Sox tell us what a careful job they did to pick the new manager... let’s hope that it works out better than this last time did.
And... the Sox waited until they broke the long losing streak before sending Grifol packing. That's what he gets for winning a game?
What sports team, especially a pro team isn’t going to say they did a thorough process? I’d be curious who you think is going to be scared off. There are a limited number of major league managers spots. There will be plenty of quality candidates in the running. Now, do the Sox pick the right guy? Who knows.
And Sox absolutely did the right thing in waiting until streak was over to make a move. You don’t bring in an interim manager with a 20 game losing streak going on. Should have fired him a lot earlier, but once you’ve got a double digit streak going on and the record is bad already you just wait. Do you really think winning 1 game earned him anything? C’mon.
And Sox absolutely did the right thing in waiting until streak was over to make a move. You don’t bring in an interim manager with a 20 game losing streak going on. Should have fired him a lot earlier, but once you’ve got a double digit streak going on and the record is bad already you just wait. Do you really think winning 1 game earned him anything? C’mon.
Chuck Nuggets
Dip your nuggets in my staff source sauce.
Reinsdorf. La Russa.
Oooooooof.
Oooooooof.
Certain Managers/Coaches simply will not work for certain franchise owners.
For example... in the NFL there are many coaches who simply will not work for Jerry Jones. He always wants to keep too much control over everything and he wants only yes-men around. And there are other NFL franchises with owners with bad reputations that good coaches don’t want any part of.
In the NHL... for decades many coaches and players stayed away from the Blackhawks because of the Wirtz elders who ran the club on the cheap and who were not at all fan-friendly. They alienated both players and fans and the word was out about what kind of place it was.
The White Sox had an owner for a very long time who was notoriously cheap whom players eventually could not stand. They grew to resent Charles Comiskey for his chronic underpaying and disrespect which were big factors leading right to the Black Sox scandal.
And as far as both the NBA and White Sox are concerned... one does not have to look too far to find one (same) place where good players and managers/coaches have avoided for a long time because... one main reason. Good free-agents have avoided the Bulls over the years because the word was out.
In every sport there are good/hot coaches on the rise or already established who want to be somewhere they can succeed and without too much interference from anyone in the ‘Office’. And they will gravitate to franchises that allow that – and stay away from other places that don’t allow that.
Most of us have worked for bosses that weren’t too bad – and others that we could barely stand.
The Sox are just in a bad place overall right now – and not just on the field. They don’t know what their future is or even if it’s going to be in Chicago. Plans for a new park have not made any progress on the financing or in gaining Public and State support. And when the ball club has become a National Laughingstock on the National sports media shows for epic losing — this does not generate any momentum to get things working in the right direction. Or attract good people.
Many of us Sox fans remain Sox fans because of our own personal ‘Memories’ of better days. Not what the club has been since 2006 but because of when the Sox were good – or at least way more fun — at other times in Sox history.
I think all Sox fans who are still fans should be congratulated. No one can say we are just fair-weather fans. We have remained fans of this franchise when they have done so little lately to reward our loyalty.
And for those Sox fans who have drifted away... who can really blame them right now? Baseball is supposed to be fun for us – not work.
At least Sox players are still getting paid (and paid pretty well compared to other jobs) -- so there's that going for them.
First, you didn’t give a list of those who would be scared off, just a bit of Chicago sports ancient history. And what the hell do the White Sox of 1919 — or the Wirtz elders for that matter — have to do with this. Same for Jerry Jones.
Might there be a one or maybe even a few who won’t be interested in the job? Sure, maybe, but there will be plenty of qualified candidates interested in the job even for the salary White Sox will pay. Grifol is rumored to have been paid $1M a year — much more than Comiskey or Wirtz ever paid a manager/head coach by the way. There aren’t many baseball coaches making more than $250,000. Last few years I believe managerial openings have been about four per year. Yeah, no qualified candidates will be interested in a 300% raise and one of only 30 head jobs in baseball. What was I thinking? Especially because if you fail, you’ll just go back to being a coach again. I’d be shocked if Grifol isn’t a major league coach in 2026 and likely in 2025.
Also, I’m curious because you talk about the loyalty of Sox fans and seem to count yourself in that group, how many games have you been to this year? Or since this year has been historically bad, how many games on average the previous 2 or 3 years?
On a side note, I like the elevation of Grady Sizemore to the top spot. Not much experience and I have no idea how he’ll do, but he was a heck of a player and would have been even better but for injuries.
In a stupor
I'm happy to answer.
I have been a Sox fan through good times and bad. I have attended many games when the Sox were in contention and when they were hopelessly out of it in many a year. How many times I go in a given year is not a measure of my loyalty to the franchise – nor that of my extended Sox family. (I have a family elder that somehow got tickets to a 1959 Sox World Series game). I grew up hearing tales of Luis Aparicio and Nellie Fox and all the base-stealing and clutch hitting and great pitching that the Sox had for many years. I remember the first Sox game on the South Side I ever got to see live as a kid. It was like seeing a whole new world after just watching baseball home on TV or listening on the radio.
And since baseball is not the center of my life (as there are more important matters)... the interest I do have is just a sideline to things that of more importance. Like the future of the City in general and how it has declined over time. And how this impacts real people and real families. The South Side neighborhoods have lost so much of what they used to be and so many people are hurting with all the jobs and incomes lost.
I talk about history because a person cannot fully grasp what’s going on with the Sox today without historical context. If that's not your thing I understand. I was pointing out that in every sport there are places that players and coaches really want to be – and who are way more fan-friendly... and other places that just treat the franchise as a cash-cow and little else.
The fact that you and others still post about the Sox on this site is all anyone needs to see about your fan loyalty. If you didn’t care about the Sox you and others would not post or read about them.
If the Sox never won another game I could live with that personally. They have given me some good thrills and good times over the years. I wish there had been a lot more of that – but at least we got some.
And if the Sox ever did leave the City I wouldn’t like that – but I know the reasons why such a thing could happen.
Chicago really could be one-team North Side baseball town one day. The South Side lost it’s NFL team years ago... and the baseball team is now a question mark.
Growing areas like Nashville, Austin, Salt Lake City, North Carolina and others are gonna come calling with big bucks when the time is right.
Ummmm, yes I guess you were happy to give an answer — just not to the two questions contained in the the portion you quoted. The questions weren’t meant as “I gotcha” traps, I’m just curious because you don’t just call yourself a Sox fan but wear the “loyal” fan pin so proudly.
I’m not sure I’d call myself a loyal Sox fan — not sure what that is exactly. But, yes, I’m a Sox fan. More accurately really is I’m a Chicago sports fan. I’m a Cubs fan by birth (how else would I know who Twig Twilliger is) and if Cubs and Sox play each other, I root for the Cubs. But as someone who devoured baseball and baseball history from age 8 to about 15, it seemed silly not to root for Sox too — another team in my “home town” (lived in South burbs growing up and then Chicago proper after college until moved out of state). And I’d guess I know more Sox history than the average Sox fan. I’ve definitely been to more Cubs games in my life than Sox games, but probably averaged about 2 Sox games a year from age 10 to 30. And I’ve done the Chicago doubleheader — Cubs game in afternoon and Sox game at night — once. Both teams won by the way.
If the White Sox are looking for a manager, I hear Lou Brown might be available. Though they'll have to wait for him to call them back because he's got a guy on the other line about some whitewalls.
Illinicpa14
- Chicago
This made my day - thank you
So long as at least one person gets the reference I'm making, I've done my job.
It’s amazing how much better your offense is when 3 players you expected to at least be solid (Benintendi, Vaughn and Sheets) have 8 hits going into 8th inning. A home run from rookie Baldwin too and looking like a win over the Yanks. Nice to see Grady get his first win.
Just saw since joining LAD, Kopech has appeared in 6 games — 0 ER, 1 walk, 10 Ks.
Dodgers spend a lot of money, but what is often overlooked is how well they use their farm system to acquire players for the major league club and to replenish their minor league system. Busch is blocked, just send him to Cubs for two minor leaguers who are doing well. Trade Vargas and couple of minor leaguers for Kopech and Edmann. Got Glasnow for 2 youngsters and cash. Got Scherzer and Trea Turner couple years ago for 4 minor leaguers. Certainly nice to have the money to take on contracts, but really can’t think of many trades over the last few years when they gave up too much and players they traded away really excelled. That’s why I’m of the opinion that Dodgers’ prospects are often overrated.
Dodgers spend a lot of money, but what is often overlooked is how well they use their farm system to acquire players for the major league club and to replenish their minor league system. Busch is blocked, just send him to Cubs for two minor leaguers who are doing well. Trade Vargas and couple of minor leaguers for Kopech and Edmann. Got Glasnow for 2 youngsters and cash. Got Scherzer and Trea Turner couple years ago for 4 minor leaguers. Certainly nice to have the money to take on contracts, but really can’t think of many trades over the last few years when they gave up too much and players they traded away really excelled. That’s why I’m of the opinion that Dodgers’ prospects are often overrated.
Or maybe the GMs of the Dodger’s “targets” are overrated.
Well the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Dodgers should get credit for knowing their farm system and knowing what players to trade. And they’ve had plenty of good prospects. They had Seager and Bellinger as back to back ROYs. In 1990s think they had 5 in a row and 4 in a row in late 1970s/early 1980s. Those successes are what I think has led to a fair amount of their prospects being subsequently overrated.
Update Time, Sox Fans – White Sox History Watch
The 1932 Season for the White Sox is so far the worst single season for the franchise.
Finishing 49-102 for a winning (?) percentage of .325.
Here’s how the 2024 White Sox compare to that dreadful 1932 team...
After 120 Games
1932 – 38 wins, 82 losses
2024 – 29 wins, 91 losses
So the current White Sox at this point in the Season are NINE GAMES WORSE than the worst Sox team of all time.
For Sweeter Memories...
1959 – 72 wins, 48 losses
2005 – 74 wins, 46 losses
Anybody got a Time Machine?
The 1932 Season for the White Sox is so far the worst single season for the franchise.
Finishing 49-102 for a winning (?) percentage of .325.
Here’s how the 2024 White Sox compare to that dreadful 1932 team...
After 120 Games
1932 – 38 wins, 82 losses
2024 – 29 wins, 91 losses
So the current White Sox at this point in the Season are NINE GAMES WORSE than the worst Sox team of all time.
For Sweeter Memories...
1959 – 72 wins, 48 losses
2005 – 74 wins, 46 losses
Anybody got a Time Machine?
An MLB team that wins 91 games is doing pretty well. That is, unless it takes two seasons to win those 91.
Since the beginning of the 2023 Season, the White Sox have won 91 games and lost 197 to this point in the 2024 Season. A winning percentage of .316... which means the Sox have not even won at the level of one win for every three games.
Baseball is all about Pennant Races and getting into the playoffs. There’s nothing like baseball in September when every game is important and every pitch can be critical.
Instead, the White Sox will once again be counting the days until they can clean out their lockers and go home to lick their wounds. Sox fans again are denied the chance to watch great and meaningful baseball in September.
Since the beginning of the 2023 Season, the White Sox have won 91 games and lost 197 to this point in the 2024 Season. A winning percentage of .316... which means the Sox have not even won at the level of one win for every three games.
Baseball is all about Pennant Races and getting into the playoffs. There’s nothing like baseball in September when every game is important and every pitch can be critical.
Instead, the White Sox will once again be counting the days until they can clean out their lockers and go home to lick their wounds. Sox fans again are denied the chance to watch great and meaningful baseball in September.
The story was that years ago he tried to buy into the Mets but that didn't work out. One must wonder how the Sox franchise would be doing today if he had got his way and bought into New York instead of saddling Sox fans with forty years of mediocre or worse.
It's nice when you can make lots of money whether your operation is successful or not. That MAKES it fun.
Question for Sox Nation out there...
It’s a given that most all of us here on the Sox site are White Sox fans and Fighting Illini fans.
Just curious...
With the fast approach of the College Football and NFL Seasons...
Are there other College programs you also root for? And while there are likely many Bears fans here... any other NFL programs you favor?
It’s a given that most all of us here on the Sox site are White Sox fans and Fighting Illini fans.
Just curious...
With the fast approach of the College Football and NFL Seasons...
Are there other College programs you also root for? And while there are likely many Bears fans here... any other NFL programs you favor?