By Roger Wallenstein

In less than two weeks the White Sox will celebrate the 2005 World Series champion ballclub. Former players like Joe Crede, Aaron Rowand, Geoff Blum, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko along with Ozzie Guillen – back in Kenny Williams’ good graces – will return to The Cell to bask in past glory and enjoy the adoration of the Sox faithful.
Too bad that the schedule-makers didn’t get lucky. What a treat it would have been to have the Atlanta Braves provide the opposition instead of the Kansas City Royals.

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Posted on July 6, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

“Learn Spanish,” wrote the celebrated chef/author/TV personality Anthony Bourdain in his best-selling autobiography Kitchen Confidential.
Bourdain was spewing his advice to anyone contemplating a culinary career as a chef.
“I can’t stress this enough. Much of the workforce in the industry is Spanish-speaking. If you can’t communicate, develop relationships, understand instructions and pass them along, then you are at a tremendous disadvantage.”
Creating a culinary experience and managing a major league ballclub might be worlds apart, but Bourdain’s words may just be pertinent to the challenges facing White Sox manager Robin Ventura and his brethren.

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Posted on June 29, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

Crash: Learn your clichés. Study them. Know them. They’re your friends. Write this down. “We gotta play ’em one day at a time.”
Nuke: Boring.
Crash: Of course. That’s the point.
This has been a season of clichés so far for the White Sox. Chances are manager Robin Ventura and most of his players don’t have the Bull Durham scene playing in their heads, but they have been well-schooled nevertheless.
“It’s still early” was the mantra back in April, when the promise of a contending team was questioned due to a sluggish beginning when the team lost 11 of its first 20 games.
Back on May 3, pitcher John Danks proclaimed, “There’s a lot of season left, but definitely [we] don’t want to dig ourselves too deep of a hole. We’ve got to pick it up.”

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Posted on June 22, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

It was just a pop foul that eluded catcher Tyler Flowers in front of the visitors’ dugout last Tuesday evening. A tough play because the ball was spinning away from him while first baseman Jose Abreu was playing too deep to offer any chance of making the play.
What was a tad surprising – the play came with no one on in a scoreless game – is that many in the crowd of 18,439 chimed in with a chorus of boos once the ball bounded away from Flowers. Poor Tyler. He had made an honest effort on a ball few catchers would have corralled, yet all he got was the disapproval from fans who have expected so much more from this team thus far.
Were they booing Flowers, a .205 hitter, personally? Or was this simply frustration over a perceived defensive flub that characterizes most Sox games? Probably some of both.

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Posted on June 15, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

Mediocrity. Five lifeless syllables leaving a residue of emptiness. Ten emotionless letters that connote neither high nor low, good nor bad, elation nor sadness.
A mediocre movie review of two stars elicits no buzz, but, hey, if the theater is close by on a nondescript Monday night, maybe you’ll check it out. Two-and-a-half stars on a Yelp restaurant critique won’t create a half-hour wait. And telling your spouse that his or her spaghetti sauce is “just OK” might land you in the guest bedroom for the night.
Mediocrity is not something to be admired. We don’t strive to be mediocre. We want to be skillful, successful and confident about a job well done. Mediocrity is better than failure, but it’s close.

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Posted on June 7, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

Now that Memorial Day has passed and summer theoretically is here, it’s time for a road trip.
Our White Sox jumped the gun a bit, departing a week ago on the four-city, 11-game jaunt that more than a few pessimists predicted would seal the team’s sorry fate before returning home this Friday. Seeing as the South Siders had dropped 12 of 19 road contests prior to this trip, those sentiments weren’t so far-fetched.

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Posted on June 1, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

Anyone expecting gut-retching emotion, a breaking voice, a few tears, or an event dripping with nostalgia was sorely disappointed Saturday as the White Sox retired Paul Konerko’s No. 14 at The Cell.
Instead what we got was a dapper 39-year-old striding confidently from centerfield to home plate amid the cheers of a full house for pre-game ceremonies. Paulie was not only extolled for all the offensive categories where he ranks near the top in team history, but also his leadership role both on and off the field, his commitment to the city of Chicago, and his persona as a hard-worker, loyal teammate, solid family man and student of the game. He played 16 seasons on the South Side despite twice being a free agent when he could have gone elsewhere for more money.

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Posted on May 24, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

If you’re planning on going to The Cell this week to see the resurgent White Sox tangle with the Indians and Twins, plan on sticking around for awhile. Work, school and appointments the next day will have to wait. Don’t leave early.
Scoring late and often, the South Siders sent that message to the Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland A’s – along with heretofore frustrated fans – last week as the Sox won five of six on the road to square their record at 17. Two weeks ago, after losing four in a row to the Twins, the team’s stock was about as low as Chicago’s bond rating. But four straight series victories and nine wins in the last 12 games have signaled that just maybe this team still could live up to the preseason hype.

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Posted on May 18, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

Two rousing endings to Chicago sports occurred on Mother’s Day about six miles and 40 minutes apart. One was heartbreaking although not so difficult to believe, while the other was totally unexpected and out-of-character.
Of course, the former – the one witnessed by a full house at the United Center and millions watching on TV – featured the finest, strongest, nastiest basketball player alive dashing the hopes of Bulls fans everywhere. The other – pretty much operating under the radar aside from the announced 20,123 at The Cell and the few of us flipping back and forth between the Sox and Bulls – still has us shaking our heads in disbelief.

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Posted on May 11, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

If the White Sox thought the corner would be turned in Minneapolis over the weekend, they were sorely mistaken. In a four-game sweep, they were outscored 31-8, outhit 50-36, and out homered 5-0. The Sox did, however, “win” one category. Thanks to four errors on Sunday, they had six in the series to three for the Twins.
No team in baseball has scored fewer runs than the team’s 70. The Sox have hit just 12 home runs – none since April 22nd – which also puts them dead last. So it makes sense that our fellows also are 30th in total bases and 27th in slugging percentage.
They do get some hits – obviously mostly singles – but primarily at the wrong time. With runners in scoring position during the disaster in Minnesota, the Sox were a miserable 6-for-32. They’ve grounded into 22 double plays so far this season, or one per game, as they’ve lost 14 of the first 22. That’s not horrible, but their DPs have come at inopportune times.

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Posted on May 4, 2015