Category: Chicago White Sox (Page 7 of 24)
Sox
Let the Games Begin! The Playoffs are finally underway, while the Cubs have been put out of their misery. It’s hard to believe the late season success of the Cardinals or the fact that it could all for them end in one Wildcard game. My focus is now primarily on the SOX and their 76-year old manager, Tony La Russa. It’s been 16-years since they last won the World Series, but only 10-years for him in the same role with St. Louis. The White Sox lost two out of three to the A’s in last year’s Playoffs while La Russa was still enjoying retirement. Let’s hope for a deeper run in 2021.
I’m starting today in Tampa after four days in Pittsburgh. It’s a Sunday, but I actually wrote this yesterday on the plane, knowing that I would be crunched for time. I will be trading my family for my wife’s over the next three days as we make our way back to Venice. I’m glad the Braves made the Playoffs since we’ve moved into their Spring Training neighborhood. There will be some watch parties at the Stadium near our home, a great way to start a relationship with my new team. Maybe they’ll even have an afternoon game that I can stay awake to watch. Former baseball home favorites have included Chicago, St. Louis, Texas, and Seattle on our moves across the country over the past 25-years. However, the SOX will always be my favorite thanks to Sherm Lollar and the 1959 crew that become my first childhood baseball love.
It took 54-years of my lifetime for the White Sox to win a World Series and 65-years for the Cubs to claim a crown, although they were primarily my dad’s and son’s favorite. My dad originally tried to coax me into being a Detroit Tiger’s fan, that would have been even more frustrating. He did pry my allegiance away from Mickey Mantle like every other kid my age back then, but I chose the White Sox because he insisted that I support someone closer to home. If I hadn’t followed his advice, I could have been an obnoxious Yankees fan.
The Damn Yanks are slipping in the Playoff race, but the SOX are solidly in the field. The Cubs are on the outside looking in, while my dad sadly died before his Chicago team finally won it all in 2016. I’m ready for some Playoff baseball where the SOX will finally face some competition. They’ve been playing most of this injury plagued season with a firm grip on the AL Central. If they can stay healthy, they have a strong chance of winning it all. If they can’t do it, maybe the Braves can, so Let The Games begin.
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. but I had my first Pickle Ball match at the age of 70. I lost of course, but didn’t get hurt. My body could not move laterally and bending over for a low shot was impossible. I can feel some of the strain in my knees this morning, but I’m glad to have given it a try. I’ll practice some before my next match in two weeks. Does practice still make perfect at age 70? During my time on the court, our Fantasy team, the Dolphish, stretched its lead to 134-115 over Aaron Hernandez Taxi Service with one Tight End each yet to play tonight. We have the edge in improving our record to 2-1.
Today is “Matinee Meatless Monday” with Dear Evan Hansen on the big screen and PB&J for lunch. We saw the Broadway performance on our last trip to New York. Not sure when we’ll ever get back? Pittsburgh is our next stop on Wednesday, with little interest now in seeing the Cubs and Pirates play. After their last two games with the Cardinals, I’m embarrassed to be a fan. The Cards were able to stretch their winning streak to 16 with the 4-game sweep of the Cubbies at Wrigley. The last three games of this “season to forget” will be in St. Louis. There was a glimmer of hope early in 2021, including a 2-1 series victory for the Cubs at Busch in May and a 3-0 home field sweep in June. They tied at one each in July after game 3 was postponed. That’s when the tide started to turn in favor of the Red Birds, taking three of the next four after the All-Star break. Then, the Cubs cleaned house. Believe it or not the New Blue still have a chance to win the overall season series, but regardless the Cards will probably still go on to the Wildcard. They currently have a 6-game cushion over the Phillies and Reds with only six left to play. They can’t possibly catch the Brewers for the Division crown even if they stretch their winning streak to 22 and tie Cleveland’s American League mark for consecutive wins! If they then win that 23rd against the Giants or Dodgers, they’ll make the Playoffs and could challenge the 1916 New York Giants for the all-time record of 26!
Meanwhile on the other side of Chicago, the White Sox are comfortably in the Playoffs. The SOX won the final series against the Indians 3 games to 2 to clinch the Division. They are currently three games behind the Astros to determine which team will have home field advantage in the Playoffs. The Astros have three against the Brewers and three versus the A’s, while the “Good Guys” meet the Tigers and Reds to conclude the regular season. After winning last night, a seven-game winning streak could give the Pale Hose a Playoff edge, but I will assume they will continue to rest their stars during this stretch, while the Tigers have little to play for and the Reds may also be out of Wildcard contention by the time they play in Chicago, especially if the Cardinals continue their record streak.
After all this time of not working, nearly 5 years now, Fridays are always still special. I can feel it in my bones, starting back in grade school when the buzzer sounded signifying the beginning of another weekend. Even though every day is now the same in retirement, the energy of freedom is in the air as the workforce takes a break for a few days. For me, it only means longer lines in the stores, more people at the beach, and more traffic. For them, it’s the magic of the weekend and more time with family, friends, and favorite activities. This is why we’re going to the Mote Aquarium today rather than tomorrow, so we can avoid the crowds even though we’ll pay more.
I had lunch with my son and granddaughter at Firehouse Subs yesterday, and when we got back to their house he turned on the White Sox game just in time to watch them clinch a playoff berth over the Indians (soon to be the Guardians). It was a special moment for me, the first time they won the American League Central division in 13-years, and the first time in franchise history that they made the postseason, let alone the World Series, in back-to-back years, dating back to 1969 when the playoffs first started. Manager Tony La Russa was thrilled – the happy face of a Little Leaguer, as he dreamed about the prospect of a fourth World Series championship with three different teams. He first managed the White Sox from 1979-1986, winning only one post season game. He moved to the Oakland A’s to claim his first ring in 1989, sandwiched between two other American League pennants. Two other rings were earned with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006 and 2011 along with a National League crown in 2004. The White Sox hired him back this year at the age of 76 after a 10-year hiatus from the game. As of yesterday, his teams have finished first in their Division 13 times and achieved playoff status 14 times in 35 years at the helm.
Back in 1983, after winning 99 regular season games, a 38-year old La Russa (he’s twice as old now) took the Sox into October but only won one match-up and lost three against the Orioles, who went on to win it all. He had players like Carlton Fisk, Tom Paciorek, Ron Kittle, Harold Baines, Greg Luzinski, Greg Walker, Scott Fletcher, Jerry Hairston, LaMarr Hoyt, Richard Dotson, and Floyd Bannister, to name a few of the stars. They wore the red, white, and blue jerseys when the team was known for “Winning Ugly.” They are not my favorite, however, they’ve brought them back this year in honor of La Russa’s initial playoff success with the team. As a side note, they were first unretired and not so lucky for the 2014 season under Robin Ventura when they finished 4th at 73-89. I’m sure we’ll see them at home this year where they will most likely play the Astros, speaking of ugly uniforms. Let’s Go Sox.
The last few days I’ve taken a step back sixty years, sitting on my floor sorting baseball cards. I had some unopened packs from 1991 and 1992 to open, including The Babe Ruth Collection. There was a time when I would have left them in their wrappers, hoping they would have more value, but why deny myself the joy of opening them and organizing them into teams. In this case, there was no bubblegum involved. It was fun, until I realized that I was just one card short of completing the Babe Ruth set of 165. Card number 134 was missing, but the next day I found it stuck to another card, just before I was ready to order it on E-Bay. All the Cubs and White Sox players are placed in a special binder while all the others are lumped together in separate books. I can’t bear to throw any of them away regardless of duplicates, knowing that my entire childhood collection disappeared due to good housekeeping.
I’m certain that my now valuable Mickey Mantles were part of that loss, but if everyone had held on to their cards they all would be worthless. #7 Mickey was once my favorite player and his Yankees my team, but they were somehow replaced with #10 Sherm Lollar of the White Sox. I now have a massive collection of Sherm stuff that is only valuable to me. Mickey has made many men rich by simply investing in his memorabilia, or being lucky enough that their mom didn’t toss out their card collections. Right now, I’m even bidding for a Cancer Foundation medallion with the likeness of Sherm on one side and teammate Nellie Fox on the other. Hall of Famers like Fox drive up the value and increase bidding, which makes me think that I will probably not be the winner of this trinket. They both died at young ages due to cancer. The cheek-full of tobacco that became the shortstop’s trademark look probably didn’t help. Most ballplayers were smokers in that era, with little to do in the confines of the dugout.
There is an organization founded by Marv Samuel, a pitcher for the St. Louis Browns in the late 40s and perhaps a Lollar teammate, known as Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities. It is “a 501(c)(3) nonprofit using sports to give back by helping fund cancer research and patient care programs at Chicago-area hospitals, and supporting services to empower kids with cancer.” Billy Pierce, White Sox pitcher and teammate of Fox and Lollar, led the organization after the death of Samuel in 1993 from Leukemia. “Chicago Baseball Cancer Charities has since its founding in 1971 donated more than $11 million to fund cancer patient care, education and research programs at Chicago’s Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Children’s Memorial Hospital.” I’m assuming that the medallion was part of the fundraising elements of this organization.
I just ran across a Billy Pierce baseball card last night. He lived to be 88 and was on two World Series runners-up teams, the 1959 White Sox and 1962 San Francisco Giants. It’s amazing what you learn about the good that players do during and after their time in baseball, although Lollar died at age 53 and Fox even younger at 47, so they did not get the opportunity to give as much back. Every card and piece of memorabilia has a story. Collecting is more than just child’s play – it’s part of our history that I enjoy!
The White Sox struggled in the month of August, but still managed to maintain a 10-game Division lead over the Indians. The only real bright spot was claiming five out of six games in this year’s City Series with the Cubs. The highlight of the month was the Field of Dreams victory over the Yankees, who then went on to win the next two in Chicago that started a 13-game winning streak. I then watched the Sox lose badly to the Rays in Tampa that also launched their hot streak of six straight. In my opinion, August has been a bit of a bobble for the Sox.
The Giants are currently the winningest team in baseball with 84 victories, with the Rays close behind at 82. They both seem to be on track for a World Series match-up. However, the second place Dodgers also have 82-victories, as they attempt to claim back-to-back Championships. Milwaukee stands at 79-wins while Houston has reached 77. The Yankees and Boston are a game apart behind the Rays in the AL East. Atlanta sits atop the NL East despite only 70 victories. As always, the race comes down to September. Can the South Siders finish strong?
White Sox pitching has been a disappointment this past month while the offense is feast or famine. Lance Lynn suffered the only loss against the Cubs, giving up seven runs, while Alec Mills shut down the Sox sluggers, who erupted for 17 and 13 runs in the other two Guaranteed Rate Field wins. The Pale Hose are a disconcerting 32-32 on the road and 44-24 at home. However, they are not exactly being challenged in the weak AL Central, so Playoff ball may be the incentive they need. They do have a 5-game road series with the Indians that could possibly derail their comfortable ride into October, especially if the A’s take the series in Oakland and the Red Sox and Angels get hot in Chicago. I’m concerned about a September Sox bobble.
I drove to Tampa with my son to watch the White Sox play the Rays yesterday afternoon. Along the way, I reunited with a fellow Sox fan, who last went to a game with me at then named Verizon Wireless Stadium fourteen years ago. We hadn’t seen each other since. The Cubs beat the Sox that May day in 2007 11-6 and proceeded to be blown out by the Rays 9-0 in yesterday’s encore. I’m suddenly not sure if we’ve ever seen them win together, but we’ll probably keep trying now that we only live an hour apart.
In 1962-1965 the White Sox were the home town Florida favorites, known as the Sarasota Sox, long before the Rays and Marlins became the Sunshine teams to support. White Sox Spring Training has moved to the West Coast and the Cactus League, so it’s mostly old timers like me that are White Sox fans in this area. My love of the White Sox began in 1959 with a catcher named Sherm Lollar. I was 8 years old when the Sox played the Dodgers in the televised World Series and #10 became my favorite jersey number. I wore it yesterday in honor of Sherm, even though it has belonged to a worthy Yoan Moncada for the last five years, as well as Pete Appleton in 1940 and Red Wilson 1952 before Sherm joined the team. Lollar has worn it the longest, eleven years, from 1953-1963. Since that time, it’s changed hands many times, including J.C. Martin (2), Tommy Davis, Chuck Brinkman (2), Jay Johnstone (2), Sam Ewine, Ron Santo, Jack Brohamer (2), Ron Blomberg, Joe Gates, Steve Lyons, Fred Manrique (2), Shawn Jeter, Mike LaValliere (3), Dave Steib, Darren Lewis (2), Chris Snopek, Mark Johnson (2), Royce Clayton (2), Shingo Takatsu (2), Bob Makowiak (2), Alexei Ramirez (8), and Austin Jackson. I proudly display in my personal collection, Sherm Lollar’s 1955 game worn jersey #10.
The number 10 should have probably been retired by the White Sox, along with Nellie Fox #2, Harold Baines #3, Luke Appling #4, Minnie Minoso #9, Luis Aparicio #11, Paul Konerko #14, Ted Lyons #16, Billy Pierce #19, Frank Thomas #35, Mark Buehrle #56, and Carlton Fisk #72. The White Sox once had a team Hall of Fame but put it in mothballs in favor of an expanded gift shop. He is a member of the Chicago White Sox All-Century Team. At this point, he’s probably too far down the Cooperstown list to ever be included, despite his stellar 18-year .992 fielding percentage. However, I continue to collect his memorabilia, the latest being a vintage 1959 Rawlings baseball bearing his likeness that is still in the box.
In an article written by Brett Kiser twelve years ago, he mentioned that the great Ted Williams claimed the Pale Hose never would have made it to the 1959 World Series without Lollar. Kiser also pointed to his three Gold Glove Awards and the fact that he was named to seven All-Star squads (playing in nine games). Despite the loss to the Dodgers in 1959, he earned two World Series rings as a player with the Yankees 1947 and as a bullpen coach for the Baltimore Orioles 1966. I have made my case for his Hall of Fame induction. (See Post #5)
I honor Sherm Lollar today on what would have been his 97th birthday. He died in 1977 at the age of 53. Although I never met the man, I somehow feel compelled to collect articles, press photos, cards, merchandise, and gear related to his career. He lives on in my office, along with his Hall of Fame teammates that certainly believed that he belonged beside them in the Hall, as the field general in their 1959 title quest. I was disappointed with the effort of yesterday’s White Sox in Tampa and noted that the 2005 World Series patch on my #10 jersey was now 16-years old. As a lifelong Sox fan, it’s been too long of a wait again for that elusive title.
Elements of our overhead lighting will be installed this afternoon, including kitchen counter canisters and the dining room chandelier that we brought with us from Portland. It actually turned out to be our 20th wedding anniversary gift, as part of the move to Florida. Yesterday, we made good use of our new location with a trip to the beach about 20 minutes away. Tally had to stay home this time with the temperatures still in the nineties. The heat is a constant drain on my energy, but the Gulf breezes are revitalizing. As I sit in the sun, it’s as if my cells are recharging.
Tonight is the stadium concert, Majesty of Rock, taking us back to our 70s musical roots. They will perform the songs of Styx and Journey while we sing along. Hopefully, it won’t storm like it has most evenings this week. It’s part of the countdown to my 70th birthday in just six days, culminating with a night in Tampa with Santana and Earth, Wind, Fire. Thankfully, the funeral for my ex-step-mother-in-law has been cancelled. One of the family members has tested positive for Covid, so I’m glad that my son doesn’t have to make the long drive back to Indiana. He’ll be able to join me now for the Fantasy Football draft that he got me involved in doing. At least, it’s a visit to Buffalo Wild Wings, a place I used to call home. I will once again enjoy their wings and a beer.
Tomorrow morning, my son and I will make the drive to Tampa for the White Sox vs. Rays game. I’m also reuniting with a friend from my WMEE radio days back in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. We haven’t been to a Sox game together since May of 2007, fourteen years ago. We also were joint season ticket holders for IU football for many years, but that ended over 20 years ago. He moved to Tampa several years ago when the opportunity presented itself to do his radio production work from home. It will be good to see him again, reminiscing about radio, softball, and sports, while spending the day with my son. The Countdown to 70 continues…..
