There are plenty of ways to win. You can be the buttoned-up Yankees or the freewheeling A's. I'm not even sure winning is the highest value. Baseball is supposed to be entertainment.

But then, I wasn't the one blaming the lack of rules for the White Sox lack of success. That was a guy who actually played on the team. And he isn't an old white heathen. The team he played on isn't winning and isn't particularly entertaining. Though Saturday night's game was worth watching.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Whether there are rules in place or not, you cannot have things like guys sleeping thru things and missing meetings. Just shows there is no one on the Sox that has real leadership abilities or a real desire to be their best. These are professional athletes. The manager does not have to be a hard ass. But guys need to have a little focus and determine that they are going to put forth their best effort and lead other guys around them to do the same.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

As much as I dislike Hahn and  Grifo, I'm not willing to accept the thoughts of a disgruntled former player as gospel. A former player who was only here for half a season. That said, I do think leadership is lacking. That vacuum was created by Hahn.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

Why is he a disgruntled former player?

What he said definitely lines up with what everyone has saw with the eye test in this team.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

You don't need to look any further than Moncada to know that nothing is demanded and no one is accountable.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

He doesn't seem disgruntled, just matter-of-fact.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Middleton isn't some young guy who doesn;t know better. He has nearly 200 appearances as a reliver across seven big league seasons. He played under Scioscia and Maddon with the Angels. He played with the 90 win Mariners in 2021. He's been around for a while. I'll trust his judgement in saying the White Sox clubhouse is dysfunctional. His comments also make it no surprise as to why Abreu seemed all too fine to leave town. And Middleton's comments fit right in given the past and present antics of Tim Anderson.

The White Sox- from the very top on down- allow this sort of thing. Its why they have been a terrible baserunning team for years. Its why they have been a defensive team for years. The one time somebody tried to get things in order in the clubhouse, it ended up with LaRoche retiring and a near boycott from other players. Then a few months late, we had jerseys cut up with scissors.

Looking at whats taken place over the last 2+ years makes it every clear that Tony LaRussa took this job as a golden parachute type of deal. 90s Oakland LaRussa or midd 2000s Cardinals LaRussa wouldn't have stood for this shit. But here we are.

Grifol sucks as well but honestly he's trying to operate a rudderless ship. He's in way over his head. This is the organization you get when you hire Robin Ventura, Pedro Grifol, and a 77 year old who's been drinking and retired for a decade. Well done, Jerry. You're a fucking terrible MLB owner.

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Kelly was taking the naps. I guarantee it was him.

Seems pretty gruntled from where I sit.

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He was traded?

I don't believe for one second that the Sox don't have any rules. I would love to add to my list of reasons to bash Hahn and Grifo, but I'm not buying the rule-free narrative. Also, we had no problem with the antics of a TA7 when he was playing at an MVP level and could actually hit a home run. As an old white man, the antics are annoying when the player sucks, and the team is losing.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

I'm an old white man who never liked Tim Anderson.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

You are just choosing to ignore what is right in front of your face. There is nothing disgruntled in that article.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

why would he be disgruntled? He pitched well here and was treated fairly well and got traded to a team to actually playing for something. He should be happier than a pig in shit so he has no reason to throw shade at the Sox because he’s actually in a better place now. Wouldn’t that lend ihis criticisms more credence?

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Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Fun is winning and winning is fun and when you're an All Star who wins a batting title and is actually on the field and not on the IL, you get a little more leash. Manny being Manny was a theme for years in Boston which was accepted because he likely will be in Cooperstown and he has two WS rings.


Also lets not forget that Middleton was traded to a last place team. So its not like he is shoe in to be playing in October.

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The article said naps in the bullpen. Him and Bummer took their naps on the mound.

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Yeah, I've always been an "Act like you've done it before" guy, but showboating can be entertaining when the guy or biological woman is playing at a high level on a winning team. I have no use for this Timothy Devon Anderson Jr.

I don't expect him to shit on the Yankees while he's playing for the organization.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

According to Jesse, Grandal, Eloy, and Moncada are the cancers.

_________________
Be well

GO BEARS!!!

The biggest cancers are Jerry, Kenny, and Rick Hahn. Until those guys are gone, nothing will improve.

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Most White Sox fans and certainly the Chicago media did not want that version of Tony La Russa to be managing this group of joyous players .

_________________
Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Then they got their wish because that version of TLR has been proved to be long gone.

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I didn't read Middleton's comments as having anything to do with bat flipping or the appearance of the players. He was calling out a general lack of discipline and the failure of management to articulate clear rules and then enforce those rules.

If this is trolling, its neither funny nor clever. If this is what you truly believe, its just sad.

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Right, but that's all part and parcel of a culture. He talked about shaving his beard for the Yankees. The Sox take the field looking like homeless bums and wearing a variety of colors that is anything but uniform. Middleton sounds like a guy begging for structure that doesn't exist in the White Sox organization.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

It wouldn’t surprise me if this White Sox team ends up looting a downtown 7-Eleven at some point

_________________
Proud member of the white guy grievance committee

It aint the six minutes. Its what happens in those six minutes.

Again, he wasn't tying the physical appearance of the players to the lack of discipline or structure. In fact, he said he didn't want to shave his beard.

If you had a guy who showed up on time, followed the rules, and was a good teammate, would you cut him because he had blue hair and liked to flip his bat? If the Sox came on the field looking like a bunch of accountants, would they play better? You don't need physical uniformity or a strict prohibition on bat flipping to be a tight and well disciplined team.

I think he was. If not, why mention shaving his beard at all? If what you say is true, shouldn't he be disgruntled about being forced to shave his beard? Instead, he seems to understand the rules and structures the Yankees have in place and his belief that they foster a winning culture.

I'm not even saying I agree. The Gashouse Gang were drunks in dirty jerseys. The A's had ridiculous facial hair and circus uniforms. But the culture either matters or it doesn't. I tend to think the Sox suck because they don't hit well or pitch well. Not because of a lack or rules or who the manager is.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don