More accustomed to hitting in the middle of the lineup, Frank Thomas was up first on Sunday. Before the White Sox' 2-1 loss to the New York Yankees, the team honored the former superstar slugger by retiring his number. In a ceremony that included his family, countless former teammates and coaches, the Big Hurt had his photo and number 35 added to the left field wall honoring the team's greats. more ›

• Congrats, Illinois! Your state budget deficit is the largest in the nation! Suck on that, California.
• You may soon be able to get a Bloody Mary at O'Hare and Midway at any time of the day to soothe you for your outgoing flight as the city is mulling 24-hour liquor sales at both airports.
• An examiner finds there were some shenanigans going on with the Tribune Company's 2007 buyout.

One of our favorite baseball players, former White Sox slugger Frank Thomas, is expected to officially announce his retirement from baseball later today at a press conference in Chicago. The "Big Hurt" broke into the majors with the White Sox in 1990 and played in Chicago through the 2005 season. For much of his time in Chicago, he was among the most feared hitters in the game. His 1994 slugging percentage of .729 was the highest in the American League since Ted Williams, and perhaps he could have led the Sox to a World Series title in 1994 had the strike not wiped out the end of the season. While injured for much of the '05 season, he did win a World Series ring with the team in his final year with the club. Thomas played for a season and a half each in Oakland and Toronto after departing the Sox, but did not play in 2009. more ›

Former White Sox first baseman and designated hitter Frank Thomas abruptly parted ways with the Toronto Blue Jays this week by "mutual agreement." more ›

The Chicagoist offices were abuzz on Tuesday with word of pre-sale ticket acquisitions for a reunion tour 20 years in the making, taking place at a Chicago ballpark. more ›

Chicagoist admits that the game wasn't even over yet when we began searching StubHub and trolling Craigslist, hoping to find Super Bowl tickets that wouldn't require selling a kidney or moving back in with Mom & Dad -- especially since Mom replaced the shrine to MJ, Walter Payton and Frank Thomas with a proper guest room. At $3000+, sadly it looks like Chicagoist will be watching the game in front of the TV, just like the rest of you. more ›

It's always hard to watch the playoffs when your team is out, but watching one of your erstwhile stars win games for a new team makes it sting a little bit more. Now, any time the Twins lose is a good thing, but White Sox fans had to feel a little twinge of regret yesterday when a rejuvenated Frank Thomas hit two home runs in Oakland's 3-2 win over Minnesota, including the eventual game-winner in the ninth. more ›

Remember back in the off-season, when the White Sox traded a gritty outfielder with a decent bat for a guy who, before injuries, had been one of the most feared sluggers in baseball? And then the White Sox cast away one of their own who, before injuries, had also been one of the great hitters in the game? The White Sox head into Oakland for a 3-game set with the A's this weekend, and both... more ›

What Happened to the Murals? more ›

Major League Baseball's latest fan interaction gimmick is having fans vote for their favorite Hometown Hero, voting for the one player who best personifies each franshise over the course of its history. Either teams or a panel of baseball experts selected the 5 finalists, based on the "criteria of leadership, character, and on-field performance." The full list of teams' nominees can be seen here. more ›

Chicagoist still cannot get used to the sight of Frank Thomas in anything other than White Sox pinstripes. We remember having to track his home run count in day-old USA Today's while at overnight camp. We remember his hitting a home run in the first game we drove ourself to, and we remember being happy for him last year when he finally won a ring -- even if he wasn't able to contribute much. We... more ›

Thome did it again! In today's 13-9 White Sox victory over the Detroit Tigers, newly acquired DH Jim Thome homered for the 4th game in a row. more ›

What a difference a year makes! Last year, as we embarked on a new baseball season, we discussed the eternal optimism of Chicago baseball fans in light of decades of futility. But in 2005 something most unexpected and most wonderful happened. Chicago won a World Series! And it wasn't even the Chicago team that many thought had a shot at the title. While the Cubs entered the season picked by many to reach the postseason,... more ›

In an interview that ran in Sunday's Southtown, Frank continued to criticize the organization. He contended that he'd have re-signed with the Sox for $1 million and felt the team owed him that opportunity for all he'd accomplished over the course of 16 years. Considering they just paid him a $3.5 million buyout, why not offer to play for the league minimum if he wanted to stay with the Sox? While Chicagoist was sad to see him go, the reality of the situation is that the Sox are trying to repeat as World Champs and Jim Thome is a much more dependable option at DH. We'd have liked to see Big Frank remain with the team to finish his career, but they just didn't have the roster spot to accomodate him while trying to maintain a Championship-caliber team. He seemed to be in absolute denial of the fact that, at 37 and with his history of injuries in recent years, his playing days are coming to a close. He also blasted the lack of communication between him and management during the off season. Yet it sounds, by his own admission, like they did call him, and he simply refused to return their calls. more ›

Quite a few formerly high profile Chicago sports figures have sudeenly found themselves in new locations, or rumors abound that they might soon land elsewhere. Wednesday saw Frank Thomas offically sign with the Oakland A's, agreeing to a 1-year, $500,000 deal that could earn him up to $2.6 million with performance bonuses. Chicagoist hopes to see Thomas put up some productive numbers for the A's, athough it'll be wierd to see him in gold and... more ›

Chicagoist still remembers hearing of a hot prospect getting called up to the White Sox in 1990 and rememebrs being in the right field stands at the old Comiskey Park about 20 feet away from a ball that was THIS CLOSE to going out for his first major league homer. He'd end up hitting 7 during that late-season call-upon his way to 448 in a Sox uniform. So it's really hard to believe that following a 16 year run on with the White Sox, Frank Thomas is gone. The team cut ties with the future Hall of Famer on Wednesday by not offering him salary arbitration, making him a free agent. Thomas had spent his entire career on the South Side -- one of the rare players who had remained with their original team for more than 10 years. more ›

The biggest off-season question on all White Sox fans' minds was whether Paul Konerko would return or not. With his MVP performance through the playoffs, Konerko expected to receive a number of huge contract offers. While there were a couple offers from other teams, Paulie chose to stay with the White Sox, signing a 5-year, $60 million deal. Initially wanting to sign Konerko to a 4 year deal, Sox GM Kenny Williams matched the contract length other teams offered. Konerko said right after the World Series that all things being equal, he'd choose the Sox over another team -- which is exactly what he did. more ›

White Sox GM Kenny Williams pulled off a blockbuster trade Wednesday afternoon, sending center fielder Aaron Rowand to the Philadelphia Phillies in return for first baseman Jim Thome. more ›

So, what's a World Series worth? Both Crain's Chicago Business and Forbes have tried to place a value on the White Sox post-World Championship. Crain's pegs their current valuation at $327 million, while Forbes lists the team at $300 million. Just last April, Forbes valued them at $262 million, but states the anticipated increases in TV rights, higher sponsorship fees and better ticket sales as reasons for the increased value. more ›

The Houston Astros beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-1 last night behind the strong pitching of NLCS MVP Roy Oswalt to capture the NL Pennant, the first trip to the World Series in the franchise's 40+ year history. That means it's a White Sox-Astros World Series -- too bad there's no Houstonist to place a wager with! UPDATE: Looks like Austinist is pulling for the 'Stros. Maybe we will have to make a little wager with them! more ›

Well, it looks like the White Sox have lost Frank Thomas for the rest of the season due to a fracture in the same foot he injured last season. more ›

Chicagoist remembers when, back in march, Jimmy Greenfield didn't include Frank Thomas on his Top 10 Players in Chicago list. At the time, Chicagoist questioned this exclusion. more ›

With the White Sox offense lagging recently, the team got a surprise boost when Frank Thomas was activated on Monday from the DL. more ›

With yesterday's 6-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, the White Sox saw their streak of games in which they held a lead to start a season end at 37 games. Chicagoist wasn't even aware such stats were kept, but evidently they are and the Sox's streak broke the Major League record that previously had been 27 games. However, the streak fell 11 short of the all-time record of 48 games with a lead set by the '98 Yankees. more ›

Like the tulips beginning to poke from the dirt and construction cones sprouting along the roads, the annual optimism of opening day symbolize the coming of spring in Chicago. The Cubs and White Sox both open their seasons today, fans hoping the substantial changes each team made during the off-season will pay off with a World Series title come October. Will they? Chicagoist will give a quick summary of the changes, some points of interest... more ›

You know baseball season is close at hand when Red Eye decides to start the annual Chicago baseball debates with Jimmy Greenfield's Top 10 baseball players list. more ›

Congress called six former and current baseball players to testify in a hearing about steroids in baseball. The issue has received a lot of press recently in light of the BALCO scandal and Jose Canseco's tell-all book. The two have brought to light the possibility that much of the increased offense in baseball over the past decade was fueled by chemicals means, affecting the integrity of the game. In addition to former slugger Jose Canseco,... more ›

White Sox GM Kenny Williams closed a deal yesterday just as Major League Baseball's annual Winter Meetings were wrapping up, sending Carlos Lee to the Milwaukee Brewers in return for Scott Podsednik and Luis Vizcaino. more ›

The White Sox attended their own funeral Monday night as they played host to the Minnesota Twins. With the Twins' 8-2 victory at U.S. Cellular Field, they clinched the AL Central title, eliminating the Sox from playoff contention. more ›

While maybe it's not home, you can go back if you're Carl Everett. The White Sox acquired Everett again on Sunday. Picked up during last season as well, he played in 73 game for the White Sox hitting .301 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs. more ›