While the Cubs and their fans held their annual love-in last weekend, this past weekend the rest of us gathered at the Palmer House Hilton to celebrate and commiserate with fellow White Sox fans. Given the airing of grievances by fans and feats of strength by team management, it could very well have been renamed SoxFestivus.
SoxFest Recap
Is It Going to Be a SucksFest?
A week after their North Side counterparts held their annual convention, the White Sox will hold their SoxFest this upcoming weekend at the Palmer House Hilton. While Cubs fans were concerned about the future of the Cubs ownership and fate of Wrigley Field, at least when it came to the players on the field there was near unanimous optimism.
Williams Strikes Out Again
Chicagoist certainly doesn't envy White Sox GM Kenny Williams and the difficult task he has to rebuild a team that lost 90 games in 2007. On Tuesday, he once again was overmatched by the opposition and missed the ball on potential help for his club. Recent reports suggested that the Sox were close to landing third baseman Miguel Cabrera from the Florida Marlins — a player that Ozzie Guillen referred to as his "fourth son."...
Hot Stove Heats Up For Sox
Following their dismal 72-90 season, White Sox GM Kenny Williams has a lot of work to do to return the team to contention for 2008.
An Extension for Guillen?
Chicagoist checked our calendars and it's not April Fool's Day, so we're not sure why there are media reports that a contract extansion for White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen is in the works. At least those are the rumors that WMVP AM 1000's baseball beat reporter Bruce Levine said recently. When asked, Guillen denied any talks of an extension with either Sox GM Kenny Williams or team owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Williams similarly denied contract talks,...
Signed, Sealed & Delivered
They're Ours! We were pleasantly surprised by signings announced on both sides of town in recent days -- the Cubs and Carlos Zambrano agreed to a five year deal worth $91.5 million on Friday, and on Saturday the White Sox announced a two year, $22 million extension for Jermaine Dye. Zambrano's signing caught us by surprise for a number of reasons -- because of the impending sale of the Cubs, because of the dollars involved...
What'll They Do With Contreras Now?
Baseball's trading deadline came and went quietly yesterday afternoon, with only Rob Mackowiak needing to pack up his locker in the Sox clubhouse.
Baseball Trading Deadline Looms
Baseball's non-waiver trading deadline passes this afternoon, and while both our clubs have been attached to rumored moves, little has happened yet. While the Cubs look to add any missing pieces for a playoff push, the Sox were expected to be big sellers as they remain well below .500 for the season.
Cubs & White Sox First Half Recap
On this -- officially the slowest sports day of the year -- we will take the opportunity to look back at the first half (or so) of the season for the Cubs and Sox. Fans of both teams entered the season with high expectations. Has either team lived up to those expectations? Cubs After spending a ton of money on free agents during the off season, the Cubs sit in second place in the NL...
Sox Sign Buehrle
After weeks of negotiations and a supposed stalemate that looked likely to end his White Sox career, Mark Buerhle and the Sox came to an agreement Sunday on a four-year, $56 million deal that will end all trade speculation about the lefty ace.
Sox Swept Away
The Cubs held the White Sox to just two runs over three games, as they swept this weekend's series and ended up winning five of six overall in the crosstown showdown. Carlos Zambrano out dueled Mark Buehrle in Friday's game, limiting the Sox to one run and three hits as the Cubs won 5-1. The Sox bullpen let any chance for a comeback slip away by letting up three ninth inning runs. On Saturday, the...
White Flag Time For The White Sox?
We really didn't think the White Sox would be out of the playoff hunt so early -- certainly not before the All Star Break. But Chicagoist has finally realized that this team's not going anywhere this year and GM Kenny Williams is likely laundering that white flag just about now so it's ready when needed. Which could be any day now.
Sox Sucking It Up, Too
All is not well on the North Side as we all know, but things ain't much better on the South Side either. While not quite fist fights and on-field tantrums, the White Sox have resorted to some unusual measures to try and awaken their team from its slumber.
Sox Extend Vasquez's Contract
Chicagoist is becoming increasingly concerned about Sox GM Kenny Williams and his mental state. Has he been overworked the past few years? Does he need a break? Is he trying to get himself fired? Does he covet some scouting job with the New York Mets? Otherwise, we're at a loss to explain his handling of the White Sox starting rotation since the end of last season. In early December, he traded Freddy Garcia, a workhorse...
Dumb and Dumber?
Both of our baseball teams made some noise involving pitching on Wednesday at MLB's Winter Meetings, with the Cubs signing a high-priced free agent, while the White Sox traded away one of their starters. The Cubs signed Ted Lilly to a 4-year, $40 million deal — with Jim Hendry in the hospital, no less! "Jim was hooked up to an EKG machine, and we got it done," Lilly's agent explained. Hendry had been admitted to...
Arms Race
With baseball's Winter Meetings now underway in Orlando, baseball's hot stove is heating up. Both Chicago clubs are at the center of many rumors, as pitching has been the clear focus of this offseason for most teams. The Cubs have been mentioned as suitors of nearly all big-name free agent pitchers, from Daisuke Matsuzaka to Jason Schmidt. With the Red Sox winning the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka and Schmidt likely out of the Cubs'...
Potential White Sox Blockbuster
From the sound of things, White Sox GM Kenny Williams has been a busy man recently. While the Sox have yet to make the splash during the off-season their North Side rivals have, media reports suggest the White Sox may be close to making a very big trade with the Los Angeles Angels.
One and Done
We'd known this day was coming, yet we remained in denial. We distracted ourselves with the Bears and hoped we'd suddenly hear some pleasantly unexpected news. Instead, we learn that the White Sox are offically out of the playoff hunt on account of their 14-1 loss to Cleveland Monday night. Earlier in the evening, the Minnesota Twins beat the KC Royals 8-1, cutting their magic number to one. The Sox loss changed it to...
Deal or No Deal?
Baseball’s non-waiver trading deadline passed today at 3:00pm (CDT). The Cubs and Sox were both rumored to be players in possible deals, with the Cubs likely sellers of players and the Sox looking to add those missing pieces to help them right their ship and hopefully make a return trip to the World Series. Since the Cubs fell out of the running, there had been rumors that Greg Maddux and Todd Walker would get shipped...
Love You Long Thome
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.
White Sox Give Up on Borchard
Seems like forever that we've been hearing that Joe Borchard was the next White Sox superstar. A former quarterback for Stanford, the Sox gave the once-promising outfielder a then-record $5.3 million signing bonus after drafting him in 2000.
"He's an Idiot."
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.
Frank Thomas Done with White Sox, Wearing Yellow Ones Soon?
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.
Konerko Signs!
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.
White Sox Trade for Thome
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.
City Celebrates Sox with Parade and Rally
The White Sox festivities began with a caravan of double decker buses filled with players, White Sox staff and their families. They rode past cheering crowds throughout the South Side, starting at U.S. Cellular and continuing through Bridgeport, Pilsen and Chinatown before entering the Loop for the ticker tape parade along LaSalle.
Haven't they heard of "Win or Die Trying?"
The Sox have spent most of this baseball season in obscurity despite the best record, banished to the depths of flyover country and treated as second class citizen within their own city. So Sox fans have been understandably upset when a Jonny Damon haircut or George Steinbrenner's lunch gets more airtime on SportsCenter than the Sox.
Big Hurtin'
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.
2005 Baseball Preview
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...
Pitchers and Catchers Report
To most baseball fans, among the sweetest words in the English language are "Pitchers and Catchers Report." As in Spring training. Forget Punxatawney Phil or Windy City Woodie, the surest sign spring is around the corner is when baseball players begin descending upon Florida and Arizona to get back into shape for the upcoming season.

