Ozzie on Twitter

Guess what?! Our favorite manager is now on Twitter!! Now, people get to hear more memorable quotes from my crazy manager. Ozzie hasn't been completely technologically isolated to this point, (he writes a bi-weekly column in Spanish on whitesox.com) but this is his first official social networking site.

So now that Ozzie's on twitter, let's take a peek at what he's said so far (or at least what Ozzie Jr. and Oney have been writing in place of their dad when he's too busy swearing at the press to post):

• 2/23/10: finally I am on this twitter thing it's about time!
• 2/23/10: what I saw on the field today was a lot of grass...
• 2/23/10: 3 day of Spring Training and im already boreddddddd
• 2/23/10: going to eat in half hour why dye no have a job ? (my personal favorite)
• 2/23/10: Iam tired from bad very bad golf
• 2/24/10 (last update as of this posting): Un saludo a mi gente latina gracias por el apoyo especial a mi pais venezuela pero no sabia que me traia dolres de cabeza con la gente (rough translation: Greetings to my fellow Latinos thanks for this special opportunity to my country of Venezuela but I don't know why these people give me a headache)

I guess it's him-the poor grammar says a great deal.

To Oney and Ozzie Jr: If you're reading this, for the love of God, DO NOT edit your dad's profanity-laced comments!! They make for good page-fillers on a slow news day, and bring me a little taste of home since I am a transplant, like many of my fellow Chicagoans.

Stay tuned for more colorful quotes from my manager in the months to come.

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

Spring Fever

With Spring Training just around the corner, we still have a few things to take care of before the season starts.

For 1 thing, we have new positions for some of our favorite players! Gordy Beckham will be moving from 3rd to 2nd base, and my beloved Carlos Quentin (who has recovered from plantar faciitis, a sore knee, a sore back, and his infamous wrist injury from 2008, and looks ready to go) will no longer be relegated to left field. Now, my boy will be manning right field. As for our favorite dustmop, Bobby Jenks, he appears to be satisfied and healthy for the upcoming season.

Oy, I am just bursting with excitement at the prospect of seeing all my favorite players again!

Speaking of players, looks like Johnny Damon will not be joining the White Sox this year. According to whitesox.com, Kenny has withdrawn his offer, a reported 1-yr, $6 million contract, from the devil himself, Scott Boras. Kenny says he's waiting for the price of Damon to go down before he reconsiders courting Damon, but it's known that Kenny and Boras aren't exactly on good terms. The two have had issues in the past (and since Boras is the devilish king of sports agents, it's a wonder how not every GM has a target painted on Boras' back), but they appear to be reconciling.

That's all for tonight! More to come as the info becomes available!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Fat Tuesday Fill-up

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! I hope that the grocery stores out here have paczkis (they're these Polish doughnuts that go on sale on Fat Tuesday), but since I'm in the desert and there are no Polish people out here, I doubt it (plenty of Mexicans though, but not that there's anything wrong with that. Wonder what they have for Fat Tuesday fare...). Normally, I don't eat doughnuts, but I'll put aside my diet restrictions for these. As a transplant, the loss of local culture is something I must frequently cope with.

So lets see, Omar Vizquel gets to wear Luis Aparacio's old number 11. It was brought out of retirement just for him. There wasn't a whole lot made about this story, but then again, what's the big deal about it?

Here's a big story! JD might be retiring! Frank Thomas, who I vaguely recall from my youth, has recently retired (or something like that. He's been outta baseball for a long time) and had a conversation with JD. JD told Frank that if the right offer doesn't come along, he will retire. With Spring Training around the corner and JD still has no prospects, retirement might actually not be a bad idea. Although JD is just 36, he's had a good career.

But thats not to say that JD's had a miserable offseason, waiting for a contract to come along. He rejected a 1-yr, $3.3 million offer from the Cubs, but the Atlanta Braves are still interested in his services. With pitchers and catchers reporting to Camelback Ranch next week for Spring Training, time is running out.

And this is your Fat Tuesday fill-up!

Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Unsteady Freddy

Check out this video of one of out starting pitchers, Freddy Garcia, at Soxfest, saying some not-so-nice words for the rival Cubs.




According to Deadspin, where I found this video, Freddy was just a weeee bit sloshed when the infamous "F*CK the Cubs, muthaf*cker!!" phrase was uttered.

Wait, Kenny, you mean this raging alcoholic is our replacement for Jose Contreras?! Though his age is uncertain, Jose kept somewhat of a low profile. Freddy, on the other hand, has had multiple run-ins with the law (including one infamous incident in Venezuela where he beat up his wife).




































This is gonna be a long season...

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Jim Thome is a Twin

There's a headline not many people in White Sox Nation ever thought they'd see.

The story is true. Jim Thome is indeed a Minnesota Twin. They signed him for 1 year, $1.6 million.

In response to this unsettling bit of news, my favorite cartoonist, Carl Skanberg came up with this cartoon (the shirtless guy is a Chicago Blackhawks hockey player named Jonathan Toews who got in trouble for a DUI).












**Image courtesy of Carl Skanberg**

If it's any consolation, we in White Sox Nation can rest a little easier with the knowledge that Thome hasn't got much left in the tank.

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam

Thome or not Thome

So in the course of this busy offseason, we have aquired Omar Vizquel-a 43 yr old wonderboy, avoided arbitration with that fat dustmop Bobby Jenks (although he reportedly slimmed down alot since the end of the season, so now I might have to just call him a dustmop. Wonder if Bartolo "Fatso" Colon took any hints too) and my boy Carlos Quentin. JD might be going to the Cubs (NOO!!), and we officially have no DH now that Thome is gone.

But this gaping hole at DH is precisely the topic for today's post.

"Big League Stew" says that Ozzie intends to use a rotation of Vizquel, Mark Kotsay, and newcomer Andruw Jones in the DH slot. The reason for this, according to the Sun Times, is that if needed, Vizquel, Kotsay, and Jones can pick up a glove and play defense. Thome will be 40 in August, and is clearly well past his playing days, but was our most productive hitter over the course of the mediocre 2009 season. Now that the Dodgers have released Thome, and no one has picked him up so far, big Jim just might come back to the AL central, but as a dreaded Twin or Tiger.

As a loyal White Sox fan, I would excore Kenny Williams to pick up Jim Thome. But reality says that even if we did pick him up, where would we put him? With the whole concept of a rotating DH, Thome might sit on the bench for days at a time, and then get grilled by the media for not playing. And as even the most dimwitted of economists knows, it's never a good idea to waste money on something that doesn't produce its value.

BLS speculates that because the Sox don't look like they want Thome back, we just may as well have traded away our shot at winning the AL Central. Of course, it's early in the season, so there is still the possibility that we'll be fine, provided Alex Rios, my boy, and Mark Teahan all have career seasons. If not, Kenny's got some explaining to do...

Yet in spite of all these concerns and unknowns, I trust Ozzie and Kenny. Don't forget, there's still Spring Training, so if our rotating DH doesn't work out as planned, it's still not too late to go after Thome!

GO WHITE SOX!!!

tamtam

The Dugout: Thome In Minnesota

I know, it's been a while since my last post.

So much has happened since then, and I've been in White Sox hibernation for the past few months, but now that Spring Training is just around the corner, I promise I'll get back to business like a good journalist should.

I thought I'd start out my first entry of the new year with a piece from my favorite spoof site, The Dugout.

According to MLB fanhouse, the dreaded Minnestota Twins are looking to snag Jim Thome!

Here's The Dugout's take on it.

The Dugout: Thome In Minnesota

Enjoy!

GO WHITE SOX!!!
tamtam