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* Sun-Times…
For the White Sox’ 102nd loss, a couple of hundred can say they were there.
For their 103rd loss hours later, quite a few more can say they saw one of the catches of the year by Rangers left fielder Travis Jankowski, who skied high above the wall to take a walk-off homer away from Andrew Vaughn in the ninth inning of a 4-3 loss carrying the Rangers to their second win of the day.
Finishing a game suspended by rain after only four pitches the night before, the Sox lost 3-1 to the Rangers before the sparsest of crowds in the first of two games Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field.
The 4:10 p.m. start, scheduled just 19 hours earlier, figured to attract a small crowd and had about 150-200 fans on a 77-degree afternoon at the first pitch. The loss in the second game left the Sox needing to go 12-16 over their last 28 games to avoid tying the 1962 Mets (40-120) for most losses in major league history.
The Sox, 4-32 since the All-Star break, fell to 72 games below .500.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 7:54 am
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The game on Tuesday: Crochet throws 4 pitches and then the game is suspended. Summarizes the season.
Comment by Andersonville Right Winger Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 8:04 am
So, honest question… are Sox fans wanting the team to bottom out and claim the worst record of the modern era or to pull through and avoid that distinction? On one hand, it’s embarrassing, obviously. But on the other hand, maybe Jerry and Co. need to be historically embarrassed to force some kind of change?
And how about them Cubs? Above .500, baby!
Comment by TJ Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 8:05 am
As a national league fan, I neither love nor loathe the Sox. Candidly, 100% of my Sox news comes through this blog.
Valued at $2 billion, it would seem the team could be sold to someone that wants to make the necessary investments in the team. But that doesn’t solve the attendance issue.
From afar, it would appear that the Sox would be an excellent candidate to move to a new market, like Nashville. But I’m certain there are other teams likely vying for that possibility.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 8:06 am
I bet there will be bigger crowds once they hit 119 and 120 losses.
Comment by OneMan Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 8:07 am
The end of the second game last night really said it all. Not only did they get robbed of a game winning home run in the 9th, but infielder Lenyn Sosa played 30 minutes of comically bad baseball. First, he failed to run out of the batter’s box on a pop-up he thought was foul but landed in fair territory. He was called out for interfering with the catcher. Then he went out in the field and was caught day dreaming at second base during warm-ups, allowing a throw from the catcher to hit him in the face, which delayed the game while he got medical attention. He stayed in the game only to make the final out in the 9th with the bases loaded.
Why am I still watching this?
Comment by BC Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 8:26 am
They’ve won 3 games in the last three weeks.
Comment by So_Ill Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 8:42 am
This is exactly the kind of organization I want my tax dollars to bailout and reward with another a new stadium.
Comment by John Q Public Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 8:42 am
I keep hearing MLB wants to expand. If that is the case no city would want the Sox get an expansion team and draft good players off other team rather than just get all the Sox players
Comment by DuPage Saint Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 8:43 am
Theme song for the Sox: “Rock Bottom” by Wynonna.
“When you hit rock bottom, you’ve got two ways to go. Straight up, and side ways.”
Comment by H-W Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 8:48 am
=== So, honest question… are Sox fans wanting the team to bottom out and claim the worst record of the modern era or to pull through and avoid that distinction? ===
Ultimately I don’t think JR cares.
=== who skied high above the wall to take a walk-off homer away from Andrew Vaughn ===
Some would say this is bad luck, I would say using your 3rd overall pick on a 1B without any power and not developing him at all is a microcosm of what’s wrong with this organization.
Comment by ChicagoVinny Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 8:50 am
Say what you will but this has been a historic season, and no one will ever be able to take that away from us Sox fans!
Comment by Parlay Player Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 9:00 am
===From afar, it would appear that the Sox would be an excellent candidate to move to a new market, like Nashville. But I’m certain there are other teams likely vying for that possibility.==
Going from the 3rd biggest MSA in Chicago to Nashvilles 35th seems to be a ridiculous notion to me. Add in that the White Sox have a built in fan base dating back to 1901 and would probably be the third or 4th most popular team in a smaller city if they moved.
But Jerry Reinsdorf is the business man, and I’m not. I’m sure he’ll do what’s best for his short term bottom line because his family will likely sell the team upon his passing.
Comment by Sox Fan Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 9:03 am
4-32 since the all star break is just incomprehensible to me tbh. And I’ve watched a lot of bad baseball over the years.
Comment by ChicagoBars Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 9:07 am
H-W - I think the Sox are in the market for a rock drill and some explosives to bust through the rock bottom.
Comment by Huh? Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 9:16 am
The fact that Reinsdorf came to Springfield before the season and thought he would get a new taxpayer funded stadium for this joke of an organization is still hilarious.
Comment by So_Ill Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 9:18 am
I am not sure if Nashville wants the White Sox. MLB is planning to expand and Nashville may prefer a brand new team rather than the sorry Sox.
Comment by Gravitas Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 9:23 am
Cubs, you had that loser thing down for a while. Your sacred history. HA.The White Sox have stolen the loser title and are about to bronze it.
Comment by Amalia Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 9:34 am
It’s like the movie Major Leagues, but at Comiskey.
Comment by Formerly Unemployed Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 9:39 am
Hard to say where this is going, but one possibility is Reinsdorf rides out his twilight years in Miami Marlins/Oakland A’s/Tampa Rays mode: keep a bottom four payroll, collect a cut of the luxury tax on top of the revenue sharing, and just crank-out small but steady profits. It’s made all the more possible by their almost rent-free stadium lease. This way he would leave a clean, low-cost asset for his estate to sell.
Comment by Sam Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 9:55 am
Baseball on the Southside is going to be bad for at least 4-5 more years. Top to bottom the organization is poorly run. Injuries plague the team, talented minor leaguers get worse as they move through the system, free agents don’t want to come here, fan base thoroughly dejected, uninspired and mentally weak roster, enlisting coaches that serve as bench coaches from bottom tier teams, I could go on and on.
Comment by Frida’s boss Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 9:56 am
“maybe Jerry and Co. need to be historically embarrassed to force some kind of change?”
If they cared about the quality of the product they’d be embarrassed.
At least with the Sox you can see the quality of the organization reflected in the empty seats. I have no idea why people are still paying high ticket prices to see the Bulls. There are other things to do, other teams to watch that are also trying to put a quality product on the field/floor while they reach into your pockets.
Comment by Larry Bowa Jr. Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 9:56 am
This summer has been the pits for me as a lifelong Sox fan. However we wound up with the 2005 team is irrelevant to me because that was my best year as a baseball fan. The reason I mention that is that it pains me to want to see a change in ownership because they brought us a WS trophy. I don’t care if it was luck or not. But what has been happening the last three years is simply over the last three years is simply awful. Jerry and the entire management group all the way down to the field need to go. Baseball is my one sumer vice and I cannot waatch.
Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 10:00 am
So what I’m hearing is…The Sox need a new Stadium…put in on the Board!
Comment by City Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 10:03 am
“Going from the 3rd biggest MSA in Chicago to Nashvilles 35th seems to be a ridiculous notion to me.”
Oakland is the 2nd team in a town with an MSA population of +4 million, and moving to a town with an MSA of +2 million (the same as Nashville’s).
Chicago has an MSA of +9 million. But attendance is a killer. I think MLB in general is challenged by lower attendance…and increasingly so.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 10:05 am
== Oakland is the 2nd team in a town with an MSA population of +4 million, and moving to a town with an MSA of +2 million (the same as Nashville’s).
Chicago has an MSA of +9 million. But attendance is a killer. I think MLB in general is challenged by lower attendance…and increasingly so. ==
Two things to note…
In the extremely unlikely event that the Sox move, it’s all but a sure thing that IL Dems will raise such an uproar that it’d all but for the MLB to greenlight an expansion back into the city, a la Stuart Symington after the Athletics moved (wait a minute…). Chicagoland is way too big for MLB to let a single team hold a monopoly over it.
Worth noting re the Bay Area, the Giants actually did the A’s dirty in a staggering way. Back when the Giants were trying to get a new ballpark, they were stuck in a tough negotiation position as the A’s owned market rights to San Jose, so the Giants couldn’t threaten an in-market relocation. A’s gave up their rights to the city, Giants got some leverage, and they got a new San Francisco ballpark. Fast forward a few years, and the A’s were stuck in a bad spot with Oakland and were looking to move to San Jose, but the Giants (under new ownership) refused to give up the rights to San Jose that they were gifted as a mere procedural formality, which left the A’s with no options in the Bay Area. The A’s doing the Giants a solid ultimately killed their future in the Bay Area, and as a result the Giants now hold a massive market monopoly starting next season.
I feel like this should just be more widely known.
Comment by TJ Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 10:33 am
Was watching last night. That catch summed up the way the season has gone (for me, at least). Just had to break the team. And Sosa’s subsequent at bat was pathetic.
Comment by Original Rambler Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 10:37 am
It’s been said here before, but bears repeating: MLB is looking to expand to 32 teams before 2030. Seems dubious that the other 29 current owners would allow the White Sox to move to Nashville for free when they can charge a new group at least $2 Billion for the rights to an expansion franchise there. That’s something like $70 million directly in the pocket of each owner for just signing their name to a piece of paper — money they don’t have to share with the players.
Comment by TNR Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 10:43 am
As a Sox fan, the only disappointment that can come out from the season at this point is them NOT breaking the loss record - just hoping the are within reach of 121 in their last homestand before their final away series to finish out this miserable season.
Comment by CT Guy Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 10:45 am
Not sure ive seen many catches like that ever. Although Im a lifelong Sox fan, the upside to this season is it has made sports wagering easy. Just take whoever the opposing team is and win big.
Comment by low level Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 11:08 am
The current team has contributed substantially to bring the franchise record below .500. Since the beginning in 1901, the Sox are now 9584-9594 (win-loss). Sad indeed. And yet, four years ago they were in the playoffs, and 20 years ago, the won the World Series.
Comment by H-W Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 11:11 am
A heckuva catch… and I’m pulling for history to be made at Rent Free Stadium. Might as well get something back for our tax dollars.
I found this which gives a decent recent history of the Sox:
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/jerry-reinsdorf-keeps-failing-the-white-sox-forty-years-of-ownership-and-almost-nothing-to-show-for-it/
Comment by Vote Quimby Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 12:49 pm
Especially the part about the alternate stadium linked in the article… here is the direct link:
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/the-white-sox-ballpark-in-chicago-that-never-was-and-could-have-changed-history/
Comment by Vote Quimby Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 12:52 pm
On the plus side, MrsJM and I really enjoyed the one Sox home game that we attended this summer.
On the minus side, Atlanta beat Boston 8-3.
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 1:14 pm
“I feel like this should just be more widely known.”
Great insight. Thank you.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 1:29 pm
=I bet there will be bigger crowds once they hit 119 and 120 losses.=
No a Sox fan and I’ve only been to that park maybe 5 times in a decade, but if they are sitting on 119 and/or 120 and are at home, you better believe I’ll be there for it. And not for schadenfreude, just to see something that’s never been done in baseball
Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 1:59 pm
===They’ve won 3 games in the last three weeks.===
BUT, the improvement over the previous three weeks is so great that it can’t even be quantified mathematically (0-21)
Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 2:05 pm
I see what you did there Bidenopolous. Good math.
Comment by H-W Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 2:51 pm
I’d be embracing the bad…following this on Zorn’s Picayune Sentinel
Comment by SLM Thursday, Aug 29, 24 @ 4:20 pm