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For the Chicago White Sox Home Opener, Soxman’s day started at 3:00 a.m. From meeting future Hall of Famer Frank Thomas to visiting various members of Chicago Media to watching the final out of the White Sox defeat of the Detroit Tigers, Soxman shares his experience with the Sportsbank.net including photos from the great day.
A week into the 2012 season it is apparent that a new era has begun on the south side of Chicago. After several months of anticipation, White Sox fans finally had their chance to witness the team and the many new additions to the ballpark firsthand.
This was our time to see a rebuilding team, to say goodbye to some of our favorite players and to formally embrace a new manager with a completely different style in Robin Ventura. So what were the highlights of opening day? New “must try” additions to U.S. Cellular Field?
Read on to find out!
In all the years I’ve been a White Sox contributor for the Sportsbank.net there has never been a season where expectations for the team has been lower as the words “new era” and “rebuilding” are frequently associated with the team. As a matter of fact most experts and sports periodicals pick the southsiders to be among the worst teams in the game. So in a year where there is so much negativity in terms of expectations why is the Soxman so motivated to cheer with passion and pride?
Get ready for the 2012 Chicago White Sox season with a look inside how things are done in the front office. For those of you who have ever wondered how the Sox or any MLB team for that matter gets built, we bring you the insight of Dan Fabian, White Sox Director of Baseball Operations.
He was gracious enough to join us on conference call.
Transcript provided by South Side Sox
Last preseason held very high hopes for the Chicago White Sox. In 2011, most publications ranked them in the top 10, often top 5 in MLB power rankings entering the year. This year, you’ll see them in the high 20s across the board in pretty much all publications. ESPN picked them dead last, and Sports Illustrated predicted they’ll lose 95 games. The offseason saw the departure of long time ace of the staff Mark Buerhle and face of the franchise Ozzie Guillen.
And while the 2011 offseason was about addition, the 2012 edition was about subtraction. Therefore, not a lot of people are high on this club entering the year. But there’s always some cause for optimism somewhere right?
White Sox V.P. of Marketing Brooks Boyer has some:
There isn’t a ton of reason to be optimistic about either Chicago baseball team this MLB season. The Cubs figure to be bad, and the White Sox only marginally better. But there is an interesting comeback story possibly brewing on the White Sox pitching staff. For a guy to play for the lowly Windy City Thunderbolts, who play in suburban Crestwood, IL, the heart of White Sox fan demographics, to come back to the big club.
Interesting….
On the heels of yesterday’s deal with the Chicago White Sox, the University of Illinois and Chicago Fire Soccer Club have formed a cross-promotional partnership where Illini fans will receive special offers for Fire events, including pre-arranged behind-the-scene tours of Toyota Stadium and unique events like breakfast in the clubhouse.
Illini fans who purchase Fire season tickets by visiting here, will see 20 percent of the proceeds benefiting the University of Illinois Athletics IFUND. The purpose of the IFUND is to cultivate and prepare Illinois student-athletes to be leaders in industry, business and community.
“Moneyball,” one of the most acclaimed movies of 2011 was released on video last month. The Billy Beane biopic and adaptation of Michael Lewis’ best-selling novel was nominated for six Academy awards including best picture, best actor (Brad Pitt) and Jonah Hill (best supporting actor). Because of it’s popularity, more baseball fans are wondering how SABR-friendly their favorite MLB team is.
The Chicago White Sox don’t have a reputation as being the most sabermetric-focused of teams, and the front office is fine with having that rep, according to the member of the Sox front office that we spoke with. Dan Fabian, White Sox Director of Baseball Operations joined us Sox bloggers on conference call, and what he had to say may surprise you.
The Chicago White Sox Senior Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Brooks Boyer recently shared his opinions on the upcoming 2012 White Sox season, from the perspective of the fan experience. What marketing fireworks might he be creating for the team in 2012?
The Oakland Athletics opening day starter this MLB season is likely to be former Chicago White Sox hurler Brandon McCarthy. Who happens to be a pretty funny tweeter. Not just “funny for an athlete” or “humorous by celebrity standards,” but an actually funny guy. You can tell because even his public @replies and RTs are funny too.
Here’s a sample:
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.
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.
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