Chicago White Sox Archives - Page 2 of 32

White Sox Dylan Axelrod: from 927th overall draft pick to 5th starter

March 29, 2013 by paulmbanks Leave a Comment

Dylan Axelrod, a minor unsung hero of the 2011 Chicago White Sox, has made yet another comeback. Dylan Axelrod went from pitching with one south suburban semi-pro team to the pro team on the south side. While disappointments always show up this time of year as major league baseball teams teams trim their rosters to the 25-man Opening Day limit, Independent Baseball got a double dose of good news with two of its recent pitchers nailing down No. 5 starting roles in rotations.

Scott Kazmir has drawn so much of the attention because of his comeback with the Cleveland Indians, which started when he was with the Sugar Land (TX) Skeeters in the Atlantic League last season, but it is no less meaningful that Dylan Axelrod nailed down a starting role with the Chicago White Sox. It could even be argued that the Dylan Axelrod opportunity is much more impressive in that he came up without the resume of Kazmir, a former No. 1 draft choice who already has 66 major league victories.

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INSANE Chicago sports fan has Bulls, Hawks, Bears, Sox hybrid tattoo (photo)

March 13, 2013 by paulmbanks Leave a Comment

Talk about wearing your Chicago sports heart on your sleeve. Or at least on your arm. This crazy Chicago sports fan has had some permanent ink done He’ll have this tattoo when he (or she, we don’t know for sure) is 90 years old. It’s a composite of a Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks logo, borrowing elements from each insignia.

Sorry, Chicago Cubs, this must be a Southsider. And the Chicago Fire, Wolves, Sky and Red Stars. Unfortunately you’re left out too. What a Chicago sports fan huh?

Too bad this person is not a Cubs fan, he’d be a prime candidate for this new Cubs marketing campaign highlighting the craziest of Cubs fans.
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10 best coach and player interviews I’ve ever done

March 5, 2013 by paulmbanks Leave a Comment

I’ve had the tremendous opportunity of conversing with many of the most interesting and compelling interview subjects in the world of sports. Across the spectrum in the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, college football, college basketball and much much more. Most player interviews are terrible, but these were great.Unless otherwise noted, these coach and player interviews are pretty much all exclusive.

It was impossible for me to truly rank these 1-10, as you’ll find most fascinating whichever game or personality you are Unless otherwise noted, these coach and player interviews are pretty much all exclusive. ost into.

And besides, narrowing years of work down to ten coach and player interviews subjects was difficult enough. Click on the title in bold to read the whole interview feature.

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Spring Training preview with baseball scribe Jessica Kleinschmidt

February 10, 2013 by paulmbanks Leave a Comment

Meet MLB scribe Jessica Kleinschmidt, who gives us the lowdown as pitchers and catchers report today. That’s right baseball season has alreaddy begun. You can follow Kleinschmidt on Twitter here

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White Sox outfielder Jerry Owens: where are they now?

February 8, 2013 by paulmbanks Leave a Comment

Ever wonder what happened to your favorite, least favorite Chicago White Sox players? One facet of the research that goes into preparing each of these columns is to pour over countless press releases and news stories from the 40 teams that make up the most established Independent leagues to sort through the most meaningful information to use. For example, it is fascinating to study the background of many of the players coming onto Independent rosters because there are so many diverse stories.

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Comcast Chicago brings in Jen Lada from Fox Milwaukee to free-lance

January 30, 2013 by paulmbanks Leave a Comment

Comcast SportsNet Chicago has made a couple female hires in the recent calendar year. First there was Susannah Collins to replace the departed Sarah Kustok, now Fox 6 Milwaukee’s Jen Lada gets the call up to the big show from AAA.

Beginning Wednesday, Lada will join the network’s anchor-reporter team as a free-lancer and will contribute to Comcast SportsNet Chicago’s online and on-air coverage. She replaces Nicole Darin, who joined Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic.

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Top 10 Chicago Media Criticisms of 2012

January 17, 2013 by paulmbanks Leave a Comment

This column started in April, so it’s less than a year old. However, 2012 gave me plenty of people who set themselves up to be criticized. It was a fun 8 months, despite the fact that I’ve been battling a monstrous illness the entire time I’ve had this blog. I’ve done guest radio spots for The Score, CBS radio Cleveland and ESPN Honolulu- all while in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV pole. Things have gotten much better on that front, and continue to get better every day. So hopefully in 2013, I can spend less time in clinic and more time on my work.

And I can do more of these. Because the critical columns are fun, and often make new friends, especially among the rival media outlets which I just ripped. Or at least it gets you more Twitter followers and Facebook friends among the media in general. So without further ado, here were the ten best.

Click on the title to read the original column/learn more

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White Sox World Series ring for sale on Ebay

January 13, 2013 by paulmbanks Leave a Comment

A 2005 Chicago White Sox World Series Championship ring is for sale on eBay. Whose is it? Don’t know as the seller is anonymous. So how much does this baseball bling cost? The “buy it now” price is $24,999.99.

Here’s the description posted in the listing:

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Ink dries on Chicago Cubs deal with Edwin Jackson

January 3, 2013 by paulmbanks 1 Comment

The Chicago Cubs and right-handed pitcher Edwin Jackson have agreed to terms on a four-year contract. A Cubs source said that the deal is for $52 million; including an $8 million signing bonus with annual salaries of $11 million per year.

Jackson, 29, has pitched all or part of the last 10 major league seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers (2003-05), Tampa Bay (2006-08), Detroit (2009), Arizona (2010), the White Sox (2010-11), St. Louis (2011) and Washington (2012). He has reached 31 or more starts in each of his last six seasons, has recorded double digits in wins in each of the last five seasons and has exceeded 180.0 innings pitched in each of the last five years, including three-straight seasons of 199.2 innings or more from 2009-11.

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White Sox Beckham engaged to Reality star Brittany Fletcher (photos)

December 27, 2012 by paulmbanks Leave a Comment

Chicago White Sox second baseman Gordon Beckham is engaged to Brittany Fletcher, a medical device sales rep who starred in Amazing Race season 21.

A few minutes ago Beckham tweeted the news:

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Former White Sox OF Andruw Jones arrested on Christmas for domestic violence

December 26, 2012 by paulmbanks Leave a Comment

When Andruw Jones was with the Chicago White Sox he gave the fans a couple thrills. Most notably, his 400th career home run. He played with four more MLB teams, including the Atlanta Braves for 12 years, for which he is best known. Jones won 10 Gold Gloves during his career.

But enough about that, it wasn’t a very merry Christmas in the Jones household, in fact it was a dysfunctional and violent one. He was arrested on domestic violence charges, assault and battery. Perhaps he should hang out with another former Sox slugger, and alleged wife-beater Wil Cordero?

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Texas Rangers sign A.J. Pierzynski away from White Sox

December 20, 2012 by paulmbanks Leave a Comment

The Chicago White Sox are hoping that Tyler Flowers hits better than .100 next season, because he’s the new full time catcher on the south side. A.J. Pierzynski is off to the Texas Rangers, for a one year deal, pending the physical. His remarkable eight-year run with the White Sox is now over. When Opening Day comes next April, Paul Konerko will be the last remaining player from the 2005 World Series team still with the White Sox.

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