By Roger Wallenstein

The White Sox needed something to jump start what heretofore had been a sputtering beginning of the season. Was last Thursday night’s brawl or fracas or what Bob Elson used to call a “donnybrook” the catalyst they were seeking?
General manager Rick Hahn saw possibilities:
“From a team unity standpoint, there are some positives to take away from it. There are real negative repercussions of this [such as suspensions handed down to top-of-the-rotation starters Jeff Samardzija and Chris Sale and a broken finger suffered by reliever Matt Albers], but hopefully from the standpoint of in that clubhouse and the guys knowing that they will fight for each other, there is at least some positive to take away.”
Despite the fact that the Sox grabbed two victories over Kansas City on Sunday – winning 3-2 in the suspended game from Friday night prior to a 5-3 triumph in the regularly-schedule game – history says that White Sox teams that fight together don’t always win together.

Read More

Posted on April 27, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

“Wouldn’t it be convenient,” I thought while sitting on the “El” last Tuesday evening, “to be a Cubs fan.”
An admittedly scary notion, but after watching the Sox in Cleveland for an inning – including the ugly shot Melky Cabrera lined off the jaw of Indian pitcher Carlos Carrasco – in just five short “El” stops from my house, I arrived at the construction site still known as Wrigley Field.
My friend Pat had invited me. I knew the seats would be good. I couldn’t let him go alone. I didn’t want to be ungrateful. And I was born in Cincinnati, the evening’s opponent. You make rationalizations when you do stupid stuff.

Read More

Posted on April 20, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

Finding anything positive about a miserable 10-1 Opening Day drubbing in Kansas City was a challenge. However, I was fortunate to be driving cross-country last Monday listening to the Royals’ broadcast on Sirius as the White Sox dropped the first of their four-game swoon to inaugurate the season.
This was the 47th Opener for Kansas City, a franchise born from major league expansion in 1969. Kansas City had been without a team for two seasons after Charlie Finley moved the Athletics west to Oakland. Denny Matthews was in the radio booth when those first Royals were introduced, and he’s been there ever since.
My familiarity with Matthews was limited, but after listening to him and his sidekick Steve Physioc for three hours, my admiration for his account of a lopsided game grew with each inning.

Read More

Posted on April 13, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

The cycle begins anew this afternoon in Kansas City. Before it’s completed, not only will we see leaves on the trees, but they will be tinted with orange, yellow and brown. For those of us who pay attention, we’ll either be bursting with post-season anticipation or wondering how long it will take Rick Hahn to axe Robin Ventura. Or somewhere in between if the team improves but fails to challenge baseball’s elite.
The journey begins with 99 and 89 losses the past two seasons along with declining attendance for the past eight. Prognosticators like Sports Illustrated predict that our athletes will improve another 10 games and lose just 79, finishing third behind the Indians and Tigers. Does that mean the number will dwindle to 69 in 2016?

Read More

Posted on April 6, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

We were barely out of the parking lot, and she was on her cell talking to a friend back in Chicago.
“We lost to the Cubs,” my wife lamented. “I can’t stand losing to the Cubs.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I explained after she got off the phone. “These games are meaningless. They don’t count.”
This was of little consolation on a day when Camelback Ranch – I don’t get it; I thought ranches were for horses and cowboys – was filled to capacity by the announced crowd of 13,101, of whom probably two-thirds were decked out in Cubbie blue. With two outs in the ninth and a three run-lead, the victory-starved, giddy Cub fans were on their feet chanting, “Let’s Go Cubs.” It could have been an October pennant-clincher. Did I mention that the game was meaningless?

Read More

Posted on March 24, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

“Beisbol been berry berry good to me,” was the creation of Saturday Night Live, but for Minnie Miñoso, it was only partially correct.
Miñoso, who died in the early morning hours Sunday, grew up outside Havana, and he very well might have followed his daddy into the sugar cane fields had it not been for baseball. His talent and drive lifted him off the island nation in order to play baseball in the major leagues. For that, Minnie always was grateful. He knew from whence he came.
Yet, like many other pioneer black players – Miñoso was the ninth when he broke in with Cleveland on April 19, 1949 – he suffered the indignities like those who came before and after him. While his White Sox teammates shared a hotel during spring training in Tampa, Minnie sought housing with families in the black community. After coming to the White Sox as a rookie in 1951, he lived in homes on the South Side rather than with teammates at Hyde Park’s Del Prado Hotel because he wasn’t welcome.

Read More

Posted on March 2, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

At long last. Relief.
Why be concerned whether D-Rose can lead the defense-less Bulls deep into the playoffs or whether the Blackhawks can turn it on when it counts? Finally we have an alternative to hearing about the status of Brandon Marshall and quarterback whatshisname. No longer do we have to wonder, “What in the world?” about the coverage of a future NFL millionaire who runs a measly 40 yards faster than other potential millionaires or bench presses more weight more times than other sculpted Adonises.
The mundane now fades into the background because pitchers and catchers have reported. The biting chill of minus-zero temps and carving out a curbside parking space have been assuaged since Chris Sale is throwing off a mound, and David Robertson – a genuine, true-blue closer – is in the building. Melky Cabrera can spray hits from both sides of the plate, and no one is overly concerned whether new utility man Gordon Beckham regains his rookie form. Single game tickets go on sale Friday.

Read More

Posted on February 24, 2015

By Roger Wallenstein

Let’s try this for openers: The White Sox’ newly acquired David Robertson, a first-time closer due to the presence of the great Mariano Rivera, shut down the opposition 39 times in 44 save opportunities for the Yankees last year – a success rate of 88.6 percent.
At the risk of dredging up unpleasant memories, White Sox relievers last season were successful 63 percent of the time when it came to nailing down leads in the ninth inning. That’s not very good.
Now consider for a moment if the Sox had converted 88 percent of those opportunities. Had that been the case, the Sox would have finished 87-75 instead of a disappointing 73-89. All of which creates a beacon of optimism for the South Side in 2015.

Read More

Posted on December 11, 2014

By Roger Wallenstein

The curtain came down,
The Cell now is dark.
Rack up another 89 losses.
You think the Sox missed their mark?
Attendance keeps dipping
For the seventh straight year.
Fewer fans, less revenue,
No free agents I fear.

Read More

Posted on September 29, 2014

By Roger Wallenstein

The hiring of managers can be lumped together with closers, set-up men, five- and six-man rotations, and defensive shifts when it comes to ways in which the game of baseball has changed the past few decades. Robin Ventura is a prime example.
Ventura is just one of a number of skippers – St. Louis’s Mike Matheny, Colorado’s Walt Weis, Detroit’s Brad Ausmus, Cincinnati’s Bryan Price are in the club – who had zero managerial experience prior to being hired to lead their respective teams.
Robin never was so much as a minor league coach before following Ozzie Guillen for the 2012 season. Same with Ausmus, who had been considered for managerial jobs with the Red Sox, Marlins and Astros before being hired to succeed Jim Leyland. Ausmus at least had the auspicious, sought-after position of managing the Israeli national team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Read More

Posted on September 22, 2014