The rift between former Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen and current GM Kenny Williams, led to their parting ways on the second to last day of the MLB season, but that doesn’t mean all the issues have been resolved. When MLB Network conceived of a “reality series” focusing on the relationship between Guillen, Williams and owner Jerry Reinsdorf, the idea sounded like must-see television. Especially with all the Ozzie versus Kenny tension.

The end result of “The Club” was boring watered down pablum which served only one purpose- giving you Sox headlines from 2-3 weeks ago. But enough with the boring stuff, the current Miami Marlins manager has something special in mind for his former employer.

In a series of tweets sent out Friday morning from Guillen’s personal Twitter account, Guillen says when he returns stateside, he will reveal the true story of what happened with his parting of ways with the White Sox. Guillen tweeted he will, “kill people’s feelings, no mercy” and that he will “speak the truth,” urging people to “put on seat belts.” (ht 670 The Score)

Sounds like goooooooooood watching. Get ready Sox fans. You know the track record of the Guillens on Twitter. Whether it’s the Bobby Jenks dismissal or the non-drafting of certain members of the family, they do not hold back.

Here are the screengrabs of Guillen’s tweets.

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

When Don Cooper recently met with White Sox season ticket holders, he shared his insights on John Danks, Chris Sale and the White Sox closer’s role in 2012.  He even spoke on the secrets of Jake Peavy and his views on how fans could best support the team.  What did he have to say?  Keep reading to find out.

By many White Sox fans, pitching coach Don Cooper is a legend in his own right.  A specialist in finding ways to help pitchers maximize their potential, “Coop” is respected by most fans and players alike.

In a recent opportunity for White Sox season ticket holders to meet with their pitching coach, Cooper answered many of the questions on fans minds as we head into spring training.

First as closer Sergio Santos was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for Néstor Molina, the Jason Frasor was traded and Chris Sale is bound for the rotation.  With rumors abound that Matt Thornton could also be on the trading block, who will be taking the ball in the ninth inning?

“Right now we have no defined closer,” Cooper said.  “It will be an open competition in Spring training.”

His rationale appeared to make sense among the fans.

“Having a defined closer limits opportunities for other pitchers in spring training game situations.  If it does work out with the guy you name, you’re scurrying to make adjustments.”

While last season, Cooper hope Chris Sale would have grabbed the role, he knows that Sale’s future is in the rotation.
“It’s something he worked for and wanted real bad,” Cooper said. “Several guys are capable, as last year no one expected Sergio Santos to grab the role in only his second year as a major league pitcher.”

While there are several young arms that Cooper is excited to see, he’s most excited to see the progress pitcher Addison Reed has made.

“We got a taste of what he’s capable of last year,” Cooper said.  “Unlike years past there are at least three opportunities on our pitching staff.”

While boasting that the White Sox have been among the most healthy teams in the majors in recent years compared to total teams days on the disabled list, he explained that last year’s six man rotation was a one-year experiment done out of injury necessity.
“We have no plans to re-invent the wheel with the six man rotation,” Cooper said.

Cooper also shared his thoughts with anyone who thinks he can fix Jake Peavy’s mechanics, which Sox fans expressed could be a major contributing factor to Peavy’s back and shoulder issues.

“We didn’t get Jake Peavy to fix him,” Cooper said.  “We got him to be the Cy Young award winning successful pitcher that he’s always been.

Cooper also shared kind words on pitcher John Danks, expressing how he has grown as a leader and represented the White Sox well on and off the field.  On how to best support the White Sox, Cooper offered advice that Sox fans aren’t always good at doing when their team is struggling.

“Show up,” Cooper said.  “Through thick and thin be there.”

UP NEXT: Jeff Manto on Gordon Beckham, Alex Rios and Adam Dunn.

As the ultimate reward for their loyalty, today the White Sox gave season ticket holders an unprecedented opportunity to chat with pitcher John Danks, pitching coach Don Cooper and new hitting coach Jeff Manto.  The event was facilitated by long-time White Sox and Chicago Blackhawks public address announcer Gene Honda.

As both a journalist, super fan and yes season-ticket holder, I must admit that this was without a doubt the best reward the White Sox have ever offered their most loyal fan base in addition to an exceptional platform to promote their upcoming Sox Fest event, scheduled from January 27th through January 29th.

The White Sox opened with left-handed pitcher John Danks, who despite going 8-12, with a 4.33 ERA in 2011, is expected to become the Sox opening day pitcher and staff ace due to the departure of Mark Buehrle, who signed with the Miami Marlins in the off-season.

Danks, who signed a five-year, $65 million contract extension over the winter, spoke with the poise and diplomacy that you would expect of a leader.  While many fans, experts and sports writers believe the White Sox are entering a re-building phase, Danks remains optimistic.

“While some great players have been traded, there is a lot of talent left on this team,” Danks said.  “We may have lost some great arms in Mark Buehrle and Sergio Santos, but we also got some great arms for the future.”

While entertaining a variety of questions ranging from his comfort level pitching to Tyler Flowers to his the prospect of playing a major league game with his brother Jordan Danks patrolling the outfield, Danks even revealed the hitter he fears facing most.

“Michael Cuddyer,” he said.  “A.J. and Buehrle would joke I should get the ball when I got him out because it was a historical event,” Danks said.

Danks also shared very candid feelings on Chicago White Sox fans.

“They let us hear it when we do something good, and they let us hear it when we do something bad,” Danks said.  “That’s a good thing too because we should be held accountable for the way we play.”

On the season ahead, Danks looks forward to working with new manager Robin Ventura and believes there will be differences in working with his new skipper.

“Ozzie was pretty loud and vocal,” Danks said.  “Robin’s style appears different.  While I lobe Ozzie to death, he’s all I’ve known.  I’m excited to work with Robin.”

UP NEXT: Don Cooper and Jeff Manto  

The Chicago White Sox have fairly boring so far this hot stove league. And I guess it makes sense given hwo they went “all in” last year. It was a great marketing slogan, even though the end result was a train wreck of phantasmagoria.

Time to undue the damage I guess. And since no one in their right mind (MLB doesn’t have a GM like Isaiah Thomas in in his New York Knicks days, that every NBA front office would deal their garbage deals to) would take on the ultra-expensive crap that is the Adam Dunn, Jake Peavy and Alex Rios signings, the Sox will have to cut payroll and try to be more financially efficient elsewhere.

They started by dealing their closer to Canada.

The Toronto Blue Jays acquired Sergio Santos from the White Sox in exchange for Nestor Molina.

Santos went 4-5 record with a 3.55 ERA and 30 saves, 8th in the American League.  The 6-2, 230 lb. native of Bellflower, California struck out 92 hitters in just 63.1 innings last season allowing 41 hits and 29 walks. Santos was 3rd among American League relievers last season with 13.07 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

Molina posted a 12-3 record with a 2.21 ERA between Dunedin (A) and New Hampshire (AA) last season in 26 appearances (23 starts). The Valencia, Venezuela native was also signed as a position player prior to converting to pitching in 2008. In five minor league seasons the 6-1, 179 lb. right-hander has pitched to a 27-7 mark and a 2.21 ERA in 103 games, including 27 starts.

This move signifies that the Sox are in full on rebuilding mode. There’s no denying it, 2011 was “All in.” 2012 is “we fold.” And there’s nothing wrong with that- it’s probably the right thing to do. Tell me again why manager Ozzie Guillen is gone but GM Kenny Williams stays? His three horrific deals (Peavy, Rios, and Dunn) are going to handcuff this team from doing anything for a couple years at least.

Mark Buerhle is gone next. Forget any “hometown discount” this time.

Enjoy your 2012 AL Central race, Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers.

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; and he’s a member of the Football Writers Association of America, U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and Society of Professional Journalists. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

Wow is this a bizarre creepy story. Chicago police contend that a scary looking man who also has a previous rap sheet broke into the home of White Sox general manager Ken Williams this past weekend and completely made himself at home:

He drank beer, ate pizza and got on Williams’ computer before leaving the home dressed in Williams’ clothes and wearing his 2005 White Sox World Series ring.

According to the Chicago Tribune:
Wayne L. Field III even defrosted a lobster and kicked back on the bed, police said.

Field, 51, broke into the home sometime over the weekend, according to police. He was arrested at 7 p.m. Monday when he returned and was spotted peeking into the home, they said.

During the burglary, Field had left behind a hospital bracelet with his name on it, police said. When officers spotted him back at Williams’ home, the name he gave matched the one on the bracelet, police said.

Ok, so in addition to looking like a serial killer, Field is also a very dumb criminal. He also has sexual abuse, indecent exposure and assault on his record. He’s served time and been on court supervision, although most of his crimes were misdemeanors and the charges ended up being dismissed.

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, a Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports.

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; he’s also a member of the FWAA, USBWA and SPJ. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

Here’s a listing and synopsis of some of the top prospects in the Arizona Fall League. Many reside in the AL Central and NL Central divisions. The Chicago Cubs have two.

by David Malamut
Robbie Grossman    Pittsburgh Pirates
Wil Myers      Kansas City Royals
Junior Lake     Chicago Cubs
Brian Dozier     Minnesota Twins
Matt Adams     St. Louis Cardinals
Josh Vitters     Chicago Cubs
Terry Doyle     Chicago White Sox
Brad Boxberger    Cincinnati Reds

Grossman was the 6th round pick of the Pirates in the 2008 draft. The 21 year old outfielder hit .295 in 134 games for Bradenton of the Florida State League. This was his second straight year in Bradenton. He had 13 homers in 616 plate appearances with 34 doubles and two triples.

Myers was the 3rd round pick of the Royals in 2009 this 20 year old kid spent last year in AA Northwest Arkansas; in 99 games he hit .254 with 8 homers and 49 driven in. In 2010 he split the season between the Royals two A level teams and hit .315 in 126 games with 14 homers, 37 doubles and 83 driven in. Plus 12 stolen bases and 3 triples. Last year was the first time in his career that he wasn’t behind the plate. He made the move to the outfield and committed seven errors in 202 chances.

Lake was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2006 by the Cubs. He is a 21 year old infielder. With Starlin Castro at short the Cubs might have a decision to make about where to play Lake. He has played mostly short the last few years. His hitting is ok, he hit .279 combined in Daytona and Tennessee last year. In 116 games he had 12 homers and 51 driven in. That includes 109 strike outs and 19 walks.

Dozier was the 8th round pick of the Twins in 2009. He is a middle infielder who split last year between New Britain and Fort Myers. He hit a combined .320 in 127 games with 9 homers, 33 doubles and 12 triples. He stole 24 bases, had 55 walks and only 66 strikeouts.

Adams was the 23rd round pick of the Cardinals in 2009. He is big, 6’3″, 230 at the age of 23. Last year in Springfield he hit .300 in 115 games with 32 homers and 101 driven in. In his three year career he has 64 homers. The thing is last year he struck out 90 times and walks 40 with an on base percentage of .923. Adams is a first baseman and last year he only made eight errors and turned 85 double plays

Vitters has been a prospect for the Cubs for the past few years. He was their first round pick in the 2007 draft, third pick overall. Last year he spent his second one in Tennessee and hit .283 in 129 games. With 14 homers and 81 driven in. He has been the Cubs next third baseman for the past few years. With Aramis Ramirez likely gone it’s his turn.

Doyle was the White Sox 37th round pick of the 2008 draft. He went 7-5 with a 3.24 era in Birmingham last year. In 15 games started he had two complete games and one shutout. In pitching 100 innings he struck out 73 and walked 22 giving up 91 hits. He spent 11 starts last year in Winston-Salem, going 1-5 with a 2.84 era with one complete game. In his minor league career he has a 26-23 record with a 2.94 era in 94 games.

Boxberger was the Reds 1st round pick in 2009, 43 overall. Last year he split time between Carolina and Louisville. Combining to go 2-4 with a 2.03 era in 55 games. He would save 11 of them in 62 innings he gave up 32 hits and 93 strikeouts.

Voice of A Season Ticket Holder
(Kane County Cougars)

Malamut.net

Twitter is the new AP. By that I mean Associated Press, not Adrian Peterson. Everything breaks there first; because it’s so easy.

Press releases by contrast are well-crafted, full page statements that convey a highly controlled message to the masses. However, by the time most get sent out to a given team’s media mailing list/posted on their website, the news has already been out for some time.

Boston Celtics Interactive Media Director Peter Stringer made the statement that “the press release is dead” during his SES Chicago presentation this week. He was one of four panelists for the “Social Media and Sports” presentation at the Search Engine Strategies 2011 conference here in The Chi.

He was joined on the panel by San Francisco Giants Social Media Director Bryan Srabian and Chicago White Sox VP of Communications Scott Reifert. It was moderated by Jamie Trecker, Senior Writer, Fox Sports and Fox Soccer Channel.

It’s interesting that the NBA guy, Stringer, made this point on a panel with two MLB guys. I’ve found that baseball seems to be the sport that’s behind the times when it comes to digital media. When Adam Dunn signed with the White Sox, the press release was disseminated to the media more than a day and half after all the news was out.

The Cubs sent out their press release introducing Dale Sveum as the new manager after they had their press conference introducing him to the media. The major reason for that isn’t MLB being slow to adapt, it’s the fact that everything needs to be official and finalized before the press release can go live.

Which only backs up Stringer’s point: by the time it hits the inbox of me, the reporter, the news is probably already old.

However, press releases make a good starting point for an article, because you have all the 5 Ws and the stats ready to copy and paste.

The quotes are USELESS though- I never copy those. PR professionals have told me these quotes are usually made up, never actually said by the individual they’re attributed to. They’re written by the department, not said coach/player. And 99% of the time the quotes are cliche and dull.

“We are pleased to announce our partnership with  x.” “We are honored to welcome y to the x family.” BORING.

And these days you can’t copy and paste press releases anyway (well beyond the obvious plagiarism issues), because one, “everyone has an agenda,” (this was my favorite soundbite of the panel) and two, Google penalizes duplicate content. So PRs are a good starting point, but not a stand alone end product.

A couple of other good nuggets from this session:

Srabian said 90% of Giants fans bring a smart phone to the game. Guess I’m wrong about baseball being an old people sport.

And there are only two jobs in sports: those who play for the team and those who sell the team brand to the public. You’re either one or the other.

You can follow Stringer on Twitter (@peterstringer)

For the full Stringer interview

You can follow Srabian on Twitter (@srabe)

For the full Srabian interview

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, a Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports.

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; he’s also a member of the FWAA, USBWA and SPJ. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

New Chicago White Sox bench coach Mark Parent is another long-time professional who has not forgotten a lesson he learned while managing in Independent Baseball.

      “It brought back the feelings for me and the passion that I had for the game when I was first starting out, and it was a great thing to see,” the 13-year major league backup catcher told The Chicago Tribune of his years (2005-07) managing the Chico (CA) Outlaws, a North American League team last season.

(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes year round on Independent Baseball.  Fans may subscribe for the remainder of 2011 and all of 2012 at WirzandAssociates.com, enjoy his blogs, AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com and IndyBaseballChatter.com, or comment to RWirz@aol.com.  The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)

The Ohio State University baseball program Thursday afternoon unveiled the newly-renovated Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes recognized the New York Yankees star Nick Swisher for his philanthropy. He gave the program $500,000 to help install a new field.

“The word honor comes to mind,” Swisher said. “I never would have thought I would have been at Ohio State. When I came here, I experienced that passion, pride and tradition that Ohio State has. I think everyone on the team experiences that every single day. It’s been an amazing thing.”As an outfielder/first baseman for the Scarlet and Gray (2000-02), Swisher was named 2000 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and twice received first team All-Big Ten accolades in his career.

Selected by the Oakland Athletics with the 16th overall pick of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft, Swisher had one ginormous bust of a season with the White Sox before heading back to the New York Yankees where he won a 2009 World Championship ring was and named an American League All-Star the following season. In his professional career, the Columbus native has seen action in 1,061 games and has amassed 185 home runs.

Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium opens March 16th 2012, when the Buckeyes first home game takes place versus Austin Peay.

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, a Google News site generating millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports.

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio all over the world; he’s also a member of the FWAA, USBWA and SPJ. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.

Some very sad news to report today.

Paul Leka, who wrote the infectious chorus of “Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)” performed by the band Steam has died. The catchy hook led to the song being adopted as the anthem for the Chicago White Sox in 1977, the famous “Southside Hitmen” team, a.k.a. the most celebrated third place team in baseball history. (It’s Chicago baseball, also-rans are often celebrated, see the ’69 Cubs)

Leka died of lung cancer in Sharon, Connecticut at age 68.

Leka, wrote the song that Sox organist Nancy Faust plays whenever the Sox chase an opposing pitcher from the game and the home team has a lead. Sometimes it’s played as a victory song too. It’s become a staple at sports arenas throughout the nation.

For more on this story see the NY Times

The song was a #1 hit in 1969, and I took the liberty of embedding the video below:

Paul M. Banks is CEO of The Sports Bank.net, an official Google News site that generates millions of unique visitors. He’s also a regular contributor to Chicago Now, Walter Football.com, Yardbarker, and Fox Sports

A Fulbright scholar and MBA, Banks has appeared on live radio shows all across the world. The President of the United States follows him on Twitter (@Paul_M_BanksTSB) You should too.