Author Archive
Sox-Tribe Postponed
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Sox, Axelrod Take On Tribe
Monday, April 22, 2013
Dunn Snaps Out of Slump With Long Homer
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Today’s News
Retro Sunday
The White Sox wore their 1983 vintage uniforms, as they will every Sunday home game this season, to celebrate the ’83 A.L. West champs. Today, Mike “Spanky” Squires and Jerry “Dibber” Dybzinski, members of that team, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to ’83 teammate Harold Baines. Here are Dibber (left) and Spanky during the pre-game ceremony.
Spanky, who played 10 years in a Sox uniform, was a slick fielding first baseman who won a Gold Glove in 1981. Despite the fact he threw lefthanded he filled in as a catcher and third baseman as well. In 1980 he was the first left-handed catcher to play in the majors since Dale Long did it with the Cubs in 1958. In 1983, he became the first lefty-throwing third baseman in about a half-century. As the longest tenured player in the Sox organization at the time, Squires also received the honor of raising the ’83 A.L. West pennant above Comiskey Park.
Dibber was a member of the White Sox in 1983 and 1984 in a six-year major league career that also saw him play for the Indians and Pirates. In ’83 he started 127 games at shortstop for the Sox.
Harold Talks ’83
Baines, who in 1983 hit 20 homers, drove in 99 and batted .280 for the Sox in his fourth major league season, talks about that magical year:
Remembering Jackie
Today also was Jackie Robinson Day at U.S. Cellular Field, with the Sox acknowledging members of the club’s ACE (Amateur City Elite) youth baseball program who are heading off to play college baseball on scholarship next fall. Twelve members of this year’s team earned Division I college scholarships, while more than 40 kids have gotten athletic aid in collegiate baseball (and, more importantly, earn degrees) since the program began in 2007. Eight ACE alumni have been drafted by professional teams.
The Sox took the field along with young members of the Sox youth program who were wearing No. 42 in honor of Robinson.
A Year Ago Today
Last April 21, the Sox’s Philip Humber (now with the Astros) pitched the 21st perfect game in major league history with a 4-0 masterpiece against the Mariners in Seattle. It was the third perfecto in White Sox history, following Charlie Robertson (1922) and Mark Buehrle (2009), and the 18th no-hitter in Sox annals.
Quote of the Day
John Danks, still recovering from shoulder surgery, returned to Chicago this weekend from extended spring training. He talked about his status:
“I feel good. I was ready to get out of Arizona…I don’t want to be back until I know I can help the team. I don’t feel like I’m really far off. Hopefully sooner than later, I’ll be ready to be back….Hopefully everything will come back. I’ll have the same arm strength and I’ll be ready to pitch. I’ve missed being around the guys.”
Play of the Day
Adam Dunn broke out of his slump with a solo homer over the 400-foot sign in the seventh inning of today’s 5-3 loss to the Twins. It was his third of the season and 409th of his career.
Tomorrow’s Schedule
White Sox vs. Indians at U.S.Cellular Field (7:10 p.m., CT, WCIU). Starters: Dylan Axelrod (0-1) for the Sox, Justin Masterson (3-1) for the Tribe.
Did You Know…
…that on this date in 1900 the White Sox (officially known then as the White Stockings) played their very first game in a small wooden ballpark located at 39th and Princeton? While the Sox lost that day, 5-4, to Milwaukee, they beat the Brewers the next day for their first victory and went on to win the ’00 pennant. The championship is usually ignored by historians because the American League was subject to the governance of the National League and didn’t have its independence as a major league until the following season. For the record, the Sox finished first in 1901 as well.
Photo/Video of the Day
Enjoy Dunn’s blast: atmlb.com/17FJ2YE
Another Close One…Peavy is Outstanding
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Today’s News
The Game
Final: Twins 2, Sox 1 (10 innings)
Highlights: Jake Peavy pitched seven strong innings, giving up only a lone run and six hits while striking out nine…Alejandro De Aza hit a solo home run in the first inning…Paul Konerko had a pair of base hits.
Viciedo to DL
Before today’s game, the Sox placed Dayan Viciedo on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique. OF Blake Tekotte has been recalled from Class AAA Charlotte to replace Dayan on the 25-man roster.
Sweet Caroline
Our Sox honored the city of Boston and the Red Sox during today’s seventh-inning stretch with a Chicago-style rendition of “Sweet Caroline.” Take a look:
http://www.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=26445075&c_id=cws
Too Cold for Baseball
Last night was the sixth time in U.S. Cellular Field history that a game was called due to cold weather. Interestingly, the last three times–including last night–the opponent was the Twins.
April 26, 1996 (Seattle)
April 8, 1997 (Toronto)
April 17, 2000 (Seattle)
April 6, 2007 (Minnesota)
April 10, 2008 (Minnesota)
April 19, 2012 (Minnesota)
A makeup date and time will be announced at a later date. Fans should keep any game tickets and parking coupons for last night’s postponed game until a makeup date is determined.
#FoleyNight
Last night, the Chicago Blackhawks celebrated “Pat Foley Night” honoring the Emmy Award-winning play-by-play legend for his 30 years as a broadcaster for the team. Fellow broadcasters, Hawk and Stoney, sent Foley a congratulatory video which you can watch here: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=26401571
Quote of the Day
Pitching coach Don Cooper to Scott Merkin of mlb.com about missing the recent 10-game road trip due to a bout of diverticulitis:
“It makes me realize how many nice friends I (have) that were calling, texting, e-mailing.
It makes me realize how much I miss being the coach, and I’ve come to the conclusion I want to be a Major League pitching coach as long as I’m physically able to do it…”
Play(s) of the Day
Peavy’s terrific outing and De Aza’s homer.
Tomorrow’s Schedule
White Sox vs. Twins at U.S. Cellular Field (1:10 p.m., CT, WGN). Starters: Gavin Floyd (0-3) for the Sox, Scott Diamond (0-1) for Minnesota.
Did You Know…
…that new Sox outfielder Blake Tekotte was a member of the 2008 University of Miami team that played in the College World Series?
Photo of the Day
Jake continues to excel.
Flowers, Quintana Put Sox in Great Position to Win Series
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Today’s News
Tonight’s Game
White Sox vs. Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, Toronto (6:07 p.m., CT, CSN) in the final game of the four-game series north of the border and the 10-game road trip. Starters: Chris Sale (1-1) for the Sox, R.A. Dickey (1-2) for the Jays.
Sox Starting Lineup: Wise, CF; Keppinger, 2B; Rios, RF; Konerko, DH; Dunn, 1B; Viciedo, LF; Ramirez, SS; Gillaspie, 3B; Flowers, C.
The White Sox will be looking for their third straight win against the Blue Jays and their eighth victory of the year. A “w” will put us back at the .500 mark after the long road trip that started with three losses in D.C.
Sox Notes of Note
Alex Rios, who homered last night, ranks among the American League leaders in home runs (T3rd, 5), slugging percentage (4th, .684), OPS (6th, 1.097), batting average (8th, .351) and stolen bases (T8th, 3). He has hit safely in 20 of his last 21 games dating back to last season and is a career .291 hitter with nine doubles, seven home runs and 16 RBI in 25 games vs Toronto, his former team…Dayan Viciedo is 6-12 with three doubles and two RBI in this series…The Sox bullpen leads the A.L. with a 1.77 ERA and a .181 opponents average.
Surprise
So I let Robin Ventura down. Disappointed the skipper.
All last season, I chided Ventura about the bare walls of his office. No shelves. No photos. It didn’t look like the office of a major league manager, I told him.
So apparently, at some point, I was directed to solve this problem over the winter. Robin swears it. Mark Parent swears it (and when he says something to you, you REALLY pay attention).
Arriving in U.S. Cellular Field for the workout before Opening Day, I took some abuse.
“Apparently, this whole thing is just temporary,” I was told.
“If you had signed that contract extension, there would be things hanging on the walls,” I answered back (in jest).
And so on this first road trip of the season, my staff and I contacted several sources for photos and images to decorate the manager’s office in time to surprise him when he arrives at the park tomorrow midday.
We called all around. One call went to Sports Illustrated, where RV appeared on a September 1998 cover along with three other Mets in “The Best Infield Ever.” Could we get a copy of the cover to frame?
Sure, they answered, we’ll get it right to you ASAP.
True to their word, a package arrived yesterday from Salt Lake City. Inside was the cover, only it was the wrong cover …
Somewhere in Bucharest, a young girl must have been really puzzled and disappointed to receive a shipment with a Mets cover in it!
SI enjoyed a laugh as much as we did and promised to send the correct cover overnight.
It was worth a chuckle, though.
I was tempted to put the Nadia cover on Robin’s wall, right next to the framed Oklahoma Sooners football jersey …
Here’s the “real” Robin cover:
Celebrating 1983
Mike Squires and Jerry Dybzinski, both members of the ’83 “Winning Ugly” White Sox who won the A.L. West, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Sunday’s game vs. Minnesota. The Sox, of course, will don 1983 replica uniforms as they will for every Sunday home game this season.
All You Need to Know About Your Favorite Team
A new White Sox browser theme design is now available for Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari. This easy download gives you direct access to Sox scores, breaking news and information plus exclusive offerings. http://atmlb.com/13hIZBD
Quote of the Day
The late Chicago TV critic Roger Ebert once said, “No good film is too long. No bad movie is short enough.” It seems that if you replaced “film” and “movie” with “baseball game” the line still works pretty well.
Play of the Day
Tyler Flowers’ three-run homer in the second inning last night off of J.A. Happ in the Sox’s 7-0 whitewash of the Jays. Take a look: http://atmlb.com/11xM40r
Tomorrow’s Schedule
White Sox vs. Twins at U.S. Cellular Field (7:10 p.m., CT, CSN+). Starters: Jake Peavy (2-1) for the Sox, Vance Worley (0-2) for Minnesota.
Did You Know…
…that last night’s win over the Jays was the first shutout by White Sox pitching in Toronto since June 1, 2007?
Photo/Video of the Day
Jose Quintana was outstanding last night, pitching 6 2/3 shutout innings while giving up only five hits and striking out seven for his first win of the season. Here’s Jose in action: atmlb.com/11yG1Zt
White Sox Shooting for Second Straight Win
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Sox Aim to Even Series…and Thinking of Boston
Boston
As I sat and watched the terrible footage from Boston yesterday – probably just like every other American – one thought kept returning to my mind.
It was October 2005, and the White Sox had just swept the defending World Champion Boston Red Sox in three games. The moment was amazing for us and our fans as we celebrated at Fenway Park. I will never forget the number of Red Sox fans, staff and workers at the park, who came up to us and repeatedly said:
“Good luck! “ or “Beat the Yankees!” (many people assumed New York would beat the Angels) and “Enjoy the ride!”
To a person, Red Sox fans were so gracious, and while disappointed that their team lost, wished the White Sox nothing but the best. Pure class.
And I remembered that yesterday as I watched the scenes from Boylston Street (I love to eat at the Atlantic Fish Company for lunch whenever we are in town). So here’s best wishes to a great city with strong citizens and fanatic sports fans. You remain in our thoughts and our prayers. And U.S. Cellular Field, along with all MLB parks, followed President Obama’s request to lower our flag to half mast.
It’s Floyd vs. Buehrle in Toronto on Jackie Robinson Day
Here is the No. 42 jersey Adam Dunn is wearing tonight to honor Jackie Robinson.
In Peavy and Paulie We Trust
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Peavy Looks to Turn the Tide in Tomorrow’s Series Finale
Saturday, April 13, 2013
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Scott Reifert
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