Through my research for this class, I actually learned a very interesting story I never knew in all my years as a White Sox fan. Obviously I knew about the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, but I never knew Shoeless Joe Jackson’s story within the scandal until I was aimlessly researching for my 3rd paper of the class.
He originally wanted no part in the famous bribe to throw the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. The gamblers in charge had to ask him multiple times and offer him more money until he finally agreed. Seven other White Sox players were more wholeheartedly involved in the scandal as well. During the World Series, Joe Jackson played amazingly. He hit the Sox only homerun in the series, had multiple hits, runs batted in, and zero errors. It did not look like he was trying to throw the games at all. When he and the other seven players involved were tried for defrauding the public, he pleaded his innocence. Although they were all acquitted due to lack of evidence, the eight players were all banned from Major League Baseball for life.
Apparently Shoeless Joe tried to tell Charles Comiskey, the team’s owner, about the scandal. He even tried to give back the $5,000 he got from the gamblers. Until he died in 1951, he vowed that he played his best in that series and tried to win. Based on his career statistics in Major League Baseball, he should without a doubt be in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but because he was banned for life, he is not eligible to be inducted in the Hall of Fame. This has caused much controversy in the baseball world. Many people believe that Joe Jackson is innocent and that he should be in the Hall of Fame. I plan on exploring the evidence in favor of Jackson’s innocence for my next paper. Because of how well he played in the 1919 World Series and his actions surrounding the scandal, I believe that he truly did not want to throw the games.
I know this blog is about the White Sox, but I can’t have a baseball blog and not discuss how the San Francisco Giants officially won the World Series of 2010. I know what it’s like to wait years upon years for a World Series win (52 years for the Giants, 88 for the White Sox), so I’m happy for the Giants and their fans. I also love the city of San Francisco. It kind of reminds me of a west coast Chicago; it’s clean, pretty, and has fantastic shopping…the bay is a little nicer than Lake Michigan, though. I decided to make a list of the top 10 reasons why the Giants winning the World Series is good for San Francisco:
10. The obvious: Tourism! Giants fans (and their wallets) from across the country will flock to the Bay Area to catch a glimpse of the World Series Trophy.
9. No more torture! Giants fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief after 52 championship-less years.
8. Once people saw AT&T Park on TV during the playoffs, they’re going to want to see it in real life. Hello ticket sales!
7. The boating industry in the Bay Area will boom next season with more fans wanting to catch a homerun ball in McCovey Cove from the World Series Champs!
6. This definitely gives Nor Cal a leg up on the classic San Fran/LA rivalry. Sorry Dodgers and Angels!
5. Giants fans no longer have to deal with the shame of being in the top 5 on the list of longest World Series championship droughts.
4. Ghirardelli Square should see an increase in sales now that the Giants players can be a little lax on their tip-top physiques for the off-season.
3. Brian Wilson can get rid of that hideous dark beard!
2. A baby panda at the San Francisco Zoo will be named after Pablo Sandoval.
1. Maybe Tim Lincecum will finally cut his hair!
As much as I would have loved my Sox to win, we didn’t really have much of a chance this year…bit it wasn’t the Cubs or Twins, so I’m all right with it.
Brown, Bryan. "Baseball's Darkest Day." New York Times Upfront 1 Jan. 2001, 133rd ed., sec. 9: 23-26. ProQuest. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
“Baseball’s darkest day” by Bryan Brown offers a very straightforward summary of the 1919 Chicago Black Sox Scandal. It provides distinctive details that really bring the story to life. For example, it discusses the acquisition of two of the starting pitchers, including Eddie Cicotte who was upset with the owner of the White Sox at the time. The article was published in New York Times Upfront, which is a branch of the New York Times, which is a very credible and respected publication. In regards to my paper, this article provided great insight into the minds of the people involved in the scandal, including quotes from Joe Jackson and the commissioner of baseball, Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
The stats about the Twins’ winning record when leading in the 9th inning are incredible. As much as I hate the Twins (my second least favorite team in MLB after the Chicago Cubs), I can’t help but be impressed. Holding onto a lead was definitely not a strong suit for the White Sox this season. Also, I agree that Mark Kotsay and Mark Teahen were not the best assets for the team. Kenny Williams should have put more effort into the Sox bullpen and less on those “warm feelings” he had towards the players. If the Sox had a stable bullpen that could hold a lead, this 2010 season could have gone in a much more positive direction for us. Hopefully Kenny will look at what the Twins did during the regular season (because we all know we can’t really look to their post-season performance for advice) and use some of that strategy during the off-season.
I also loved the fact that you mentioned that the Twins have lost 12 straight playoff games. I love being able to use the line “Well, the Sox and Twins won the same amount of playoff games this season.” I’ve learned that it really makes Twins fans angry, which can be very fun at times.
This post really entertained me. It truly captures how ridiculous it was that people made such a huge fuss over Lillibridge getting Halo at midnight, while at the same time, shows that Lillibridge himself was kind of an idiot for doing it. He played in 64 games for the White Sox in 2010. That’s less than 40% of a season, and a lot of those were pinch hitting appearances with one or two at bats. He’s not the most crucial player the White Sox nation should be focusing on.
At the same time, I do agree with some of the angered fans. Maybe his head should have been more in MLB mode than in video game mode. But I mean, he’s a young kid and a real person. He’s not just a baseball-playing robot. Let him have his fun, as long as it doesn’t negatively affect his game. He’s a finely-tuned professional athlete. I’m sure he knows what his body needs.
One last note, the first thing I thought about when I first read about this Lillibridge story was the first American League Championship Series in 2005 against the Angels. Before I even clicked your link I thought about how they won their American League Division Series and flew into Chicago overnight and beat us while running on barely any sleep. Crazy things happen in crunch time. Who knows? Maybe Lillibridge could have pulled a Geoff Blum in game 3 of the World Series in 2005 and surprised everyone with a game-winning homerun.
Goodbye 2010. It was nice knowing ya. Tonight marked the end of the White Sox playoff race. With our depressing 7-2 loss in Oakland, the Minnesota Twins officially clinched the American League Central Division for the 2nd year in a row. And they didn’t even need a game 163! (For the past two years, the Twins have played in a 1-game playoff to decide who would be the champion of the American League Central Division. In 2008, the White Sox won, and in 2009, the Twins beat the Detroit Tigers.)
It was quite the roller coaster of a season. In early June, we were in 3rd place and 9 ½ games behind the first place Detroit Tigers with the Twins in 2nd. After that, the Sox managed to go 26-8, and by the middle of July, they were leading the ALCD by 1 ½ games with the Tigers in 2nd and Twins in 3rd.
That’s when things took a turn for the worst. Too many times to count, the White Sox gave up runs in the 8th or 9th inning, costing us numerous games we could and should have won. And don’t even get me started on closer Bobby Jenks. He’s the king of the 9th inning slip up. I miss the good old days in the late ‘90s-early 2000s with closer Keith Foulke. (Trading Foulke for Billy Koch in 2002 was one of the biggest mistakes the Sox have made in my lifetime.)
Also, if I had a dollar for every man the Sox left on base, I’d be on the Yankees’ payroll. Offensively, the White Sox just didn’t have their timely hitting like they’ve had in the past. Though nobody can compare to the masterful clutch hitting of Joe Crede in the 2005 playoffs, I expected more from my Southside boys.
There’s a reason they call it “in scoring position” when a runner is on 2nd or 3rd base. It is implying that they have a good chance of scoring a run. The Sox had runners in scoring position and zero or one out countless times, and they could not deliver a run to save their lives.
The Twins have now clinched the division with the sad Sox trailing a dismal 12 games back. The Sox are 10 ½ games out of the wildcard race for all you wishful thinkers out there, but there are only 11 games left in the 2010 season. That would require the White Sox to win all 11 of those games and Tampa Bay to lose them. As optimistic as I usually am, I won’t hold my breath for this one.
Although the season’s not technically over, I’m already looking ahead to 2011. My biggest concern is our bullpen. I used to think we could depend on Matt Thornton, but even he let me down this year. General Manager Kenny Williams needs to use this off-season to find us a decent bullpen, especially a closer. We have so many young arms, I feel like we need some more established and experienced guys in the set up and closer positions.
Well, another year, another season, another Twins victory to break my heart. I don’t know how many seasons like this I can take…
Hello White Sox World! Blogging, the Big Hurt, and another Big Bat
I sure picked an eventful day to start my blog about the Chicago White Sox! Not only did the Sox retire the Big Hurt, Frank Thomas’s jersey number 35 today, they also officially now have Manny Ramirez after claiming him off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers…But more on that later.
I am a blogger from Northbrook, Illinois, and I am a life-long White Sox fan. Now, anyone from the Chicago-land area must be asking themselves what a girl from the northern suburbs of Chicago is doing rooting for the southside Sox over the northside Chicago Cubs. Well that’s just the way I was raised, and I’m glad I was because it’s nice to actually win playoff games every once in a while.
My family has had White Sox season tickets since 1992, the second year of the new Comiskey Park, now U.S. Cellular Field. I was almost three years old at the start of the 1992 season, and even then at such a young age, White Sox baseball became a part of me. In my younger years, I referred to the ballpark as “The Screamin’ Place,” and loved it for the excitement and sights and sounds. I had to cover my ears for the fireworks, of course, whenever Frank Thomas or one of the other Sox sluggers hit a homerun. The big booming noises were scary for childhood me.
As I got older I began to really appreciate the game and the intricacies of it. I played softball for many years, so I understood all the force outs and tagging up rules that many girls my age never paid attention to. It wasn’t until I was 12 years old, however, that my love for White Sox baseball really took a serious turn.
Like many devoted Sox fans, my family attended the annual SoxFest convention every winter. The year 2002 was no different, or so we thought. My parents and I were waiting for the opening ceremonies to begin when a couple women with White Sox credentials around their necks started talking to us about or relationship with the team. Based on little 12-year-old me with my pigtails, complete with White Sox hair scrunchies, they understood that we were serious about our team.
The two women chose me to go up on stage and catch a ball from pitcher Mark Buehrle to kick off the SoxFest weekend. I was then invited to throw out the Opening Pitch on Opening Day of the 2002 season! Standing on the mound at U.S. Cellular Field and hurling the ball over pitcher Gary Glover’s head (He’s 6’5”.) was a dream come true. That whole experience changed my life and helped me realize what I wanted to do with the rest of it. My goal was, and still is, to work for the White Sox.
Flash forward almost eight and a half years, and here I am at the University of Southern California, working to get my degree in Public Relations with a focus on Sports Media Studies to make my dream of working for the White Sox come true. That, my online friends, is why I am writing this blog. I want to share my love and knowledge of White Sox baseball, as well as learn some things myself.
I plan to fill the blog with White Sox news updates, trades and transactions, current standings, and other little tidbits of information I see interesting or important for the typical fan to know. I’ll also throw in a little bit of White Sox history. We wouldn’t be the playoff-contending team we are today without the foundation laid out by our history, and I believe it is important to acknowledge that.
For now, I’ll leave you with the fact that the White Sox are only 4.5 games behind the first place Minnesota Twins in the American League Central Division, but the new addition of batting hero Manny Ramirez should help the White Sox in their fight to regain first place.
Fun Fact: Before playing on the Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny played for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston Red Sox. The White Sox next 2 series are in Cleveland and Boston, respectively. Manny should feel comfortable hitting a few homeruns in his old territories, don’t ya think?
Profile:
The White Sox Blog vs. Yours Truly
If I do say so myself, I think I’m pretty awesome, but I am not the only blogger who specializes in White Sox culture. Shocking, I know. Recently, I have come across a blog appropriately called The White Sox Blog. This anonymous blogger is a female fan, like me, with the ambition to track and record all things White Sox with the hopes of being able to blog a World Series championship. (Man, that 2005 win seems like a long time ago!)
This blogger posts almost daily (with one seemingly uncharacteristic recent 10-day hiatus), and mostly provides updates on the day’s game, with some of her own opinions along the way. She uses a very endearing kind of sarcasm and humor that can make even the most painful of games entertaining to read about.
An example of this would be the heart-wrenching game on August 18th in Minnesota, a town the Sox are not known for playing well in. Pretty much, the score went back and forth between each team leading the game. The White Sox nation thought we had it in the bag with Alexei Ramirez’s homerun to tie it up in the 9th and his go-ahead RBI single in the 10th. But oh wait! Then came former White Sox player, current Twin, Jim Thome to knock a walk-off homerun against his former team. (And cue my heart breaking.) The White Sox Blogger decided to show this with pictures.
The White Sox Blog is by no means an academic piece of literature. (The “About” section flat out said there would be an “occasional overlooked typo” or “sloppily researched fact.”) It is, however, written by a well-informed fan who seems to know what is going on in the White Sox world, and her opinions seem genuinely knowledgeable. And I’m not just saying that because she agrees with me that the Sox should have kept Scott Podsednik as lead-off man and left-fielder instead of Juan Pierre. (Read why here.)
The blog is a fan’s opinion written out, probably partially for her own entertainment and benefit, but also to inform other fans on how their team is doing. It’s not as straightforward as a curious fan might get from a Major League Baseball affiliated website, but it is a more user friendly means of getting the necessary information (as long as the reader knows the acronyms for baseball statistics). Most of her little details come in the form of humor, which makes the blog more enjoyable to read.
The White Sox Blog is actually somewhat similar to what I am aiming to do. It gives the gist of what’s happening on the field with some personal thoughts as well with some sarcasm and sassy zing thrown in along the way. I however hope to give less of a play-by-play and more opinion and inside the clubhouse and office information. Box scores can be found anywhere. I want to take my readers on more of a personal ride and take them deeper into the White Sox organization than they might get to go with another blog. I may only be 21, but I have 21 years worth of White Sox knowledge and experience that I can’t wait to share with the world.
Voice:
Voice: Not Just for Radio and TV Announcers
All great sports announcers have their own distinct voice. Whether they’re giving the play-by-play or commentary on the television or the radio, they maintain their voice throughout their careers. And I’m not just talking about what their voices sound like. It’s the tone, the language, the word choice and the unique phrases they use that made them famous and distinguishable.
Ken “the Hawk” Harrelson, a long-time White Sox television announcer, could easily say that the bases are loaded. Instead, he uses his own catchy phrase, “the sacks are packed with Sox.” Or whenever there’s a White Sox homerun, you hear his distinct cheer of “You can put it on the boooooard…YES!”
The written voice is no different (…minus the vocal aspect of voice). Writers use their “voice” to convey their character through the written word. There is a blog called South Side Sox that does an excellent job of showing examples of written voice. The blog itself actually has a few writers, and with each one, you can sense a different tone and style of writing.
One specific post starts us off on a catchy and clever note with the title “Sahx Sweep Sawx, Streak to Six,” playing off of the pronunciation of “Sox” with the stereotypical accents in Chicago and Boston, respectively. The play on words and alliteration grab the readers’ attention with gusto. At least it did for me! I assumed going into reading the post that it would be very witty and smart, and I was not let down. Along the same lines of it being smartly written, it was definitely written for the informed White Sox fan. Only an informed fan would know that “Stoney” refers to Steve Stone, one of the White Sox television announcers, and Q is short for Carlos Quentin.
He maintained his catchy voice from title to end, which really helped round out and conclude it. After he explained how the White Sox beat and swept the Red Sox, he said
Superb! That’s a bingo!
Enjoy the day off tomorrow, if you got it.
Detroit coming up in a few hours.
It was a crisp, smart, straight-to-the-point conclusion that let the reader know he was done, but left us ready for more.
Another post in the South Side Sox blog with a strong voice was called “Bizarro World (An August White Sox Review).” The voice of this author was above all things sarcastic, and bitter as well. The best example of this was in the passage that read:
Try this one on for size. The White Sox led the majors AL in runs for the month of August. Like the sound of that? I do. Haven't heard that in awhile. Normally such info would cause even Mayor Daley to run through the streets of Chicago naked…
By using the strikeout technique on the word “majors,” the writer is indirectly mentioning and practically mocking the fact that the White Sox only led the American League in runs in August and not the National League as well. The excessive sarcasm that followed led to the unfortunate explanation of how even though the White Sox led the AL in runs, they still had an under .500 record for the month.
He solidified his bitter sarcasm with a simple “hooray.” Period. By placing a period after this usually joyous celebration of a word, he is removing all excitement from the word, which gives it a mocking tone. He then stated, “We now take an intermission for a rant.....” once again confirming his harsh voice.
Both of these voices work well with the topic of baseball. The witty and clever writing keeps the fans intrigued and entertained, while the sarcastic tone can often reflect the feelings of the fans when the team isn’t playing so great. A sweet and happy voice when writing about a team playing under .500 in a month would probably not sit well with angry fans. A slightly bitter attitude, however, would mirror and validate the fans’ outlook.
Let’s hope we don’t need any more angry posts this season…
3 weeks. 21 days. 19 games. That is all that is left of the 2010 baseball season. People always tend to bug me this time of year. Football season is starting and people stop caring so much about baseball. Too often I’ve tried to bring up current baseball news in conversation and I’ve gotten responses in every different form of “Who cares about baseball anymore? It’s football season!”
Well you know what, we’re in a playoff race and this is not the time for fans to lose focus! (Yes, I am aware that the Sox are 6 games back from the Minnesota Twins, but I still think we have a shot at this.) This is precisely the time that the Sox need our support the most.
In the past 10 games, the Sox gave gone 6-4. Normally, an over .500 record would make me smile, but when the Twins went 8-2 in the last 10 games, I unfortunately have to put my happiness on hold.
We can’t catch up to these guys! It’s beyond frustrating! Either both teams win or lose and we don’t gain any ground, or they win and we lose and they pick up another game on us. We managed to pick up one game on them on Friday, putting us at 5 games back, but then, of course, the next day we lost and they won.
I really thought adding Manny Ramirez to the White Sox lineup would catapult us into close competition with the Twins, but his performance has been less than stellar. Let me drop some Manny Stats on ya: In 11 games with the White Sox, Manny has 10 hits (all singles) in 34 at bats, giving him an average of .294. He has crossed home plate twice. He has zero, I repeat: zero RBIs or homeruns. Come on, you’re Manny freaking Ramirez! I expected more from you.
The White Sox organization, however, is not worried. Granted, he has been injured this season, and he’s still returning to form, so I guess a little sympathy is ok. White Sox beat writer Scott Merkin believes Manny is giving the Sox what he has named the “Ramirez Effect,” noting that even his presence alone is helping the team.
The Sox GM Kenny Williams took note of Manny’s lack of extra-base hits and justified it by saying,
He's taking the team approach to try to get on base any way he can. I don't know if you've noticed, but he doesn't exactly get the greatest pitches in the world, and he's been just missing some of the ones he has gotten to drive.
If there was ever a time for Manny to remember how to hit homeruns, this would be it. As I said, we are a mere 6 games back from the Twins, and we’re facing them in a three-game series this week at home. A sweep of the Twins would honestly throw me into such a giddy fit of giggles, it would take a bulldozer to the head to wipe the smile from my face. We would be 3 games back with 16 more chances to send those Twins down to the bottom of the 10,000 lakes their state is known for.
The defining series starts Tuesday night at 7:10 Central time. Both probable pitchers, John Danks for the Sox and Francisco Liriano for the Twins, have 13 wins this season. Let’s hope Danks get his 14th.
All great sports announcers have their own distinct voice. Whether they’re giving the play-by-play or commentary on the television or the radio, they maintain their voice throughout their careers. And I’m not just talking about what their voices sound like. It’s the tone, the language, the word choice and the unique phrases they use that made them famous and distinguishable.
Ken “the Hawk” Harrelson, a long-time White Sox television announcer, could easily say that the bases are loaded. Instead, he uses his own catchy phrase, “the sacks are packed with Sox.” Or whenever there’s a White Sox homerun, you hear his distinct cheer of “You can put it on the boooooard…YES!”
The written voice is no different (…minus the vocal aspect of voice). Writers use their “voice” to convey their character through the written word. There is a blog called South Side Sox that does an excellent job of showing examples of written voice. The blog itself actually has a few writers, and with each one, you can sense a different tone and style of writing.
One specific post starts us off on a catchy and clever note with the title “Sahx Sweep Sawx, Streak to Six,” playing off of the pronunciation of “Sox” with the stereotypical accents in Chicago and Boston, respectively. The play on words and alliteration grab the readers’ attention with gusto. At least it did for me! I assumed going into reading the post that it would be very witty and smart, and I was not let down. Along the same lines of it being smartly written, it was definitely written for the informed White Sox fan. Only an informed fan would know that “Stoney” refers to Steve Stone, one of the White Sox television announcers, and Q is short for Carlos Quentin.
He maintained his catchy voice from title to end, which really helped round out and conclude it. After he explained how the White Sox beat and swept the Red Sox, he said
Superb! That’s a bingo!
Enjoy the day off tomorrow, if you got it.
Detroit coming up in a few hours.
It was a crisp, smart, straight-to-the-point conclusion that let the reader know he was done, but left us ready for more.
Another post in the South Side Sox blog with a strong voice was called “Bizarro World (An August White Sox Review).” The voice of this author was above all things sarcastic, and bitter as well. The best example of this was in the passage that read:
Try this one on for size. The White Sox led the majors AL in runs for the month of August. Like the sound of that? I do. Haven't heard that in awhile. Normally such info would cause even Mayor Daley to run through the streets of Chicago naked…
By using the strikeout technique on the word “majors,” the writer is indirectly mentioning and practically mocking the fact that the White Sox only led the American League in runs in August and not the National League as well. The excessive sarcasm that followed led to the unfortunate explanation of how even though the White Sox led the AL in runs, they still had an under .500 record for the month.
He solidified his bitter sarcasm with a simple “hooray.” Period. By placing a period after this usually joyous celebration of a word, he is removing all excitement from the word, which gives it a mocking tone. He then stated, “We now take an intermission for a rant.....” once again confirming his harsh voice.
Both of these voices work well with the topic of baseball. The witty and clever writing keeps the fans intrigued and entertained, while the sarcastic tone can often reflect the feelings of the fans when the team isn’t playing so great. A sweet and happy voice when writing about a team playing under .500 in a month would probably not sit well with angry fans. A slightly bitter attitude, however, would mirror and validate the fans’ outlook.
Let’s hope we don’t need any more angry posts this season…
If I do say so myself, I think I’m pretty awesome, but I am not the only blogger who specializes in White Sox culture. Shocking, I know. Recently, I have come across a blog appropriately called The White Sox Blog. This anonymous blogger is a female fan, like me, with the ambition to track and record all things White Sox with the hopes of being able to blog a World Series championship. (Man, that 2005 win seems like a long time ago!)
This blogger posts almost daily (with one seemingly uncharacteristic recent 10-day hiatus), and mostly provides updates on the day’s game, with some of her own opinions along the way. She uses a very endearing kind of sarcasm and humor that can make even the most painful of games entertaining to read about.
An example of this would be the heart-wrenching game on August 18th in Minnesota, a town the Sox are not known for playing well in. Pretty much, the score went back and forth between each team leading the game. The White Sox nation thought we had it in the bag with Alexei Ramirez’s homerun to tie it up in the 9th and his go-ahead RBI single in the 10th. But oh wait! Then came former White Sox player, current Twin, Jim Thome to knock a walk-off homerun against his former team. (And cue my heart breaking.) The White Sox Blogger decided to show this with pictures.
The White Sox Blog is by no means an academic piece of literature. (The “About” section flat out said there would be an “occasional overlooked typo” or “sloppily researched fact.”) It is, however, written by a well-informed fan who seems to know what is going on in the White Sox world, and her opinions seem genuinely knowledgeable. And I’m not just saying that because she agrees with me that the Sox should have kept Scott Podsednik as lead-off man and left-fielder instead of Juan Pierre. (Read why here.)
The blog is a fan’s opinion written out, probably partially for her own entertainment and benefit, but also to inform other fans on how their team is doing. It’s not as straightforward as a curious fan might get from a Major League Baseball affiliated website, but it is a more user friendly means of getting the necessary information (as long as the reader knows the acronyms for baseball statistics). Most of her little details come in the form of humor, which makes the blog more enjoyable to read.
The White Sox Blog is actually somewhat similar to what I am aiming to do. It gives the gist of what’s happening on the field with some personal thoughts as well with some sarcasm and sassy zing thrown in along the way. I however hope to give less of a play-by-play and more opinion and inside the clubhouse and office information. Box scores can be found anywhere. I want to take my readers on more of a personal ride and take them deeper into the White Sox organization than they might get to go with another blog. I may only be 21, but I have 21 years worth of White Sox knowledge and experience that I can’t wait to share with the world.
