aaronsinger

I was there a couple years ago, the beer wasn't bad and I remember having a good buffalo burger there.

It wasn't really a small ball team, more of an Earl Weaver, pitching-and-3-run HR team. The offense was middling, led by Jermaine Dye, Paul Konerko, and for a few weeks in June and July, Frank Thomas. But the pitching and defense were fantastic. IIRC, only two other teams in MLb history led their divisions (or the league, pre-1969) wire to wire and swept the World Series. I think the others were the 27 Yankees and one of the Reds 70s teams. Ozzie and Kenny are both hot-headed, type A personalities, it was inevitable that they would clash. Ozzie's number could be retired as a player for one, no he wasn't a HOF player or anything, but he certainly meant a lot to the team over the years in sticking at SS. The Sox have had a few Venezuelan shortstops in their historry, notably Luis Aparicio and just before him, Chico Carrasquel. Amazingly, in a 5-game ALCS the bullpen pitched all of 2/3rds of one inning, as starter Jose Contreras came out in the 9th with 1 out in Game 1. After that, Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, Freddy Garcia, and Contreras each pitched a CG in games 2-5 against Los Angeles of Anaheim. KW's teams in the early and mid-2000s were perhaps similarly built to old GM Frank 'Trader' Lane. Hamstrung by the hardline owner in Jerry Reinsdorf, who refused to invest heavily in the draft under the old CBA, he built the team through shrewd trades. Garcia came from Seattle for OF prospect Jeremy Reed, C Miguel Olivo, and OF/SS Mike Morse; Garland from the Cubs for a reliever, Matt Karchner; Contreras for Esteban Loaiza, a one/two year wonder after being taught a cutter, as pitching coach Don Cooper has done for a number of pitchers. Preseason, they were picked to finish 4th by many publications. 2000--2004 the team had some success with a real softball, masher lineup. Thomas, Konerko, Carlos Lee, Magglio Ordonez, Jose Valentin, and more saw the Sox put up consecutive seasons over 200 HR that only the Yankees topped. After the 2004 season, the Sox had concerns with Magglio's knees, and he departed for a big contract in Detroit. LF slugger Carlos Lee was dealt to Milwaukee, and a year later he signed his own $100+ million contract; they got table-setter Scott Podsednik, who would prove to be a crucial leadoff man in 2005. Hitting 2B, and a perfect 2-hole hitter, was a complete unknown from Japan, Tadahito Iguchi, who flamed out after a few seasons, but put up good numbers for a couple years. They got a C who ended up being perfect in the clubhouse in AJ Pierzynski, after his year in San Francisco turned out to be a disaster (not helped by the Giants idiotic trade for him, dealing away Joe Nathan and Francisco Liriano). The money they didn't give to Maggs ended up filling out the rest of the roster and it was a complete team. Juan Uribe and Joe Crede on the left side of the infield proved to have great defense and timely hitting. And an iconoclast DH in Carl Everett filled out the order. Everything just fell completely into place, after teams that looked good on paper underperformed after a surprise division title in 2000; 2003 they faded down the stretch, 2004 they were wracked by injuries (Maggs, Thomas). Eventually, two big egos in Williams and Ozzie clashed, and Ozzie departed for Miami a few years later. They won 90 games in 2006 after dealing for Jim Thome, and he, Dye, and Konerko all had very good seasons; but the pitching staff wasn't the same, perhaps worn out from the year before. They fell off over time, thanks to the team's inability to develop any young talent. Now, KW's act has worn thin, and while GM Rick Hahn has improved the farm, it still has a long way to go. The only thing worth watching on the team now is Jose Abreu, continuing a line of good power-hitting 1B after Thomas and Konerko; and Chris Sale, who if he stays healthy could end up being the best pitcher in the team's 114-year history. Amazingly, the White Sox have never made the postseason in consecutive years.

Location is pretty flexible as long as metro accessible, time isn't as much, we were thinking around 11am. Only thing which I was expecting to be an issue was that this isn't a group who are going to want to spend a lot of money, not $50 a head or anything like that, just a get together of friends from all over. Was thinking maybe Open City? Other places mentioned include Jack Rose, Irish Whiskey, Founding Farmers, Fainting Goat. No idea if any of those places would be a good fit, just names that have been brought up.

Norm Cash, another youngster dealt away by the White Sox at the time. Cash, Johnny Callison, and a couple others. During their 17-year run of consecutive winning seasons in the 50s and 60s, their strength was pitching, defense, and the running game (hence the Go-Go Sox), their weakness was power hitting. If they had kept them, who knows, maybe they would've squeaked in another pennant win besides 1959.

Hello, Not sure if this is even possible, but can anyone think of a centrally located brunch spot for a sunday brunch, able to handle a large crowd, hopefully not too expensive? And metro accessible? Will probably be about 20-25 of us, and this would be the first sunday of November (the 8th). Thanks! -daniel

The alley Three Dots & a Dash is in is the alley behind Bayless' empire, FWIW. I've only been there once, but it was worth it. I've been to Violet Hour a couple times and enjoyed it, haven't been to the Aviary. If you happen to be in Evanston, Ward 8 is a good cocktail place on Howard St. Someone mentioned pancakes up above, a favorite spot for north shore folks (and it has a brief cameo in Ordinary People), is Walker Brothers in Wilmette.

Isn't Iko Iko an old Mardi Gras Indian song? Would explain the costume in the video.

I got into San Francisco late sunday morning, headed to Oakland first for a matinee A's-Yankee's game at the Coliseum. Then met friends first at The Trappist, a Belgian-focused small beer bar in downtown Oakland. Not a big beer list, but they had some unique stuff on tap, I had an excellent gose from Germany. Walked across the street after that to a good Cambodian restaurant, though nothing great enough to especially seek out; service was good and lingered there for a couple hours with good conversation. Monday my plan was to walk from downtown to the Asian Art Museum--oops, they and the DeYoung closed mondays. I walked to Golden Gate Park anyway and had some tea at the Japanese Tea Garden. Took Muni back downtown where I met friends at Yank Sing, an upscale but very good dim sum place (with another location, I want to say in Chinatown). Walked from there towards Chinatown, shopping around a bit, stopped at City Lights, then went up to Coit Tower, parting with friends at Fisherman's Wharf. Weather was perfect for the Giants game that night. Tuesday I had a couple pre-flight hours to kill, so bought TCHO chocolate to take home, then also some cheese at Cowgirl in the Ferry Building. Growing up and currently living in Chicago fresh seafood is not something I'm used to eating, so I got a quick lunch at Hog Island, with a perfect view of Treasure Island & the Bay Bridge. Oysters were great, clam chowder less so. But when I stepped out of the car when I got back home I knew I was sick immediately. It could've been just that I'm not used to eating seafood, or maybe it was all the cream in the clam chowder--don't know. But all in all, it was a great trip.

Well, I didn't make it to any wineries, besides where my friend's wedding was. I decided on breweries instead. Got into SFO around 4 thursday. Checked into hotel in Santa Rosa around 7. I was exhausted, but still hungry, so made my way all of 3 miles to Russian River Brewery. They're probably most famous for Pliny the Elder (and I made sure to bring back two bottles, one a gift). But most of what I tried there was very good, though I didn't get to their dark beers or sours. Took me about 40 minutes just to get a seat at the bar, place was packed on a cool night. Food was meh, I had a pizza, it wasn't spectacular but I was hungry and it was fine. Friday I had the whole day to kill, so I woke up, ate free motel breakfast, then headed west through the Russian River Valley itself, stopping first at Armstrong Redwoods State Park, just north of the hippie-ish small town of Guerneville. On the way there I drove past Korbel. The state park was nice, with a small, mile and a half-long loop that was an easy and enjoyable hike, with a few old redwoods over 300 feet. From there I made my way west, then north up the coast for a couple dozen miles to the old Russian settlement at Ft. Ross. The park ranger there gave a short but interesting talk, and then I made my way down the coast, stopped for coffee in Bodega Bay, than headed back east, eventually to Petaluma and Lagunitas. I was feeling a bit antsy by then and fairly tired, so only had a small beer sampler, getting some souvenirs and goodies to go (barrel-aged stout for later that night, to pair with the ice cream sandwiches I bought next door to my motel at Trader Joe's). Lagunitas indeed had a great outdoor patio--so packed on a beautiful friday afternoon/early evening that I couldn't find one spot to sit outside, so I plopped myself down at the bar. Their burgers sounded good, but I stopped at an In n Out in Petaluma prior to that.

Just trying to decide between wine and beer. I'm more a beer drinker, but I visited a bunch of wineries when my dad was working in the tasting room of one near Paso Robles, and I don't expect to be in the area anytime soon. Not exactly many wineries to visit around Chicago! Good to know about their outdoor patio. Weather should be beautiful friday.

I saw him in concert at the California Mid-State Fair, around 2003 or 2004, and he was surprisingly good.

Earlier in the thread Cy Young's 511 wins was discussed as an unbreakable record. Even more unbreakable might be his 316 career losses.

Any recommendations for the Santa Rosa area? I'll be flying into SFO thursday afternoon and driving up, have thursday night and all day friday free to myself. My friend's wedding is saturday in Calistoga, then sunday morning I'm driving back down to SF and staying in the city until tuesday. I was thinking of maybe going to Russian River brewery thursday night, then perhaps Lagunitas & Cowgirl Creamery friday. But Cowgirl I can go to when I'm in SF, and living in Chicago I can make a trip to Lagunitas' production facility and taproom here. I was considering maybe a small hike in redwoods (Armstrong Redwoods SP near Guerneville appears to be the closest to Santa Rosa), and then a few wineries for tasting. But I would know nothing about which to choose, as well as places to eat those couple days, whether in Santa Rosa, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, or somewhere around there. I think I'd rather stick to those environs (and maybe somewhere along the coast) than head east to Napa.

Never been to either place, though I've heard of Coco Pazzo. Around River North is also Osteria via Stato, and Eataly. Haven't been to either of those. Some of the best Italian eats, besides upscale spots like POTUS' favorite Spiaggia, are found in the old Italian neighborhoods on Taylor Street (by UIC, just SW of downtown) and on Oakley (sometimes called the heart of Italy or something like that). But you'd most likely need a car to get there. Also, my apologies, Revolution isn't right by the Logan Square blue line stop, it's a few blocks south on Milwaukee Ave.

Every year just before the baseball season starts I meet a few of my fellow Sox fans at an otherwise unremarkable bar in Bridgeport. Instead of mediocre bar food last weekend, I walked around the neighborhood to head to Pleasant House Bakery, a British-style pie place. I've been there 4 or 5 times now, and it always is delicious.

Frontera/Topo/Xoco (the latter also has nice, quick breakfast options) is also around the corner from the Best Western on Ohio. In the alley behind Bayless' block of buildings is Three Dots & A Dash, a newish tiki bar (though it can get very crowded on weekends and doesn't have many seats/tables). The Architecture Foundation boat tours are the best ones, though it may not be all that warm in April. I've only been there once, but I really liked Longman & Eagle, if you head up to Logan Square. It's also just a few dozen yards from the Blue Line stop,, so pretty El-convenient. There's also an Intelligentsia right there, as is one of the better and bigger of Chicago's craft breweries, Revolution. Across the square is Lula Cafe, a good farm/table restaurant. I've only been there for brunch, but I really like it. Iberico is a cheap tapas place and a popular nightlife spot for the River North crowd on the weekends. I haven't been there in many years, no idea if the food is any good anymore.

Even once with the bases loaded!

As long as you're in the Nats blackout zone, which covers a fairly large chunk of the mid-Atlantic, you can't legally watch games streaming.

Where did you play? I know the high school team played games at Robert Crown (still does, AFAIK).

Even this White Sox fan loves Major League. That was in the early 90s when the Sox could be considered villains. Speaking of Francona and the Sox, Tito was Michael Jordan's manager in Birmingham.

This thread inspired me to finally (after having it saved for years in my bookmarks, half-read) finish reading a 1986 New Yorker article by John McPhee on the Atchafalaya River. I wonder what has changed in the time since; ProPublica had a great series of articles a year or two ago on the disappearing Louisiana coastline (with the exception to that being silt deposited by the Atchafalaya, IIRC).

Me, too. Good, affordable six-pack, I picked it up recently for $8.99. The wild is even better, but I'm cheap and it's usually $11 or $12. I should head down to the city sometime and visit their (massive) new brewery.

Born 1984, Chicago, Illinois, Lived Evanston, IL until 2002. College: Oxford and Atlanta, Georgia, 2002-2006. Atlanta/North Decatur, Georgia, 2006-2007. Washington, DC (Military & Connecticut), 2007-8. Alexandria (Del Ray), 2008-9. Chicago (Edgewater), 2009-11. Evanston, 2011-present. Places frequented growing up to the present to visit relatives: Springfield, IL (with side trips to St. Louis); Fresno, CA; Washington, DC; Los Angeles (Century City and Los Feliz); Paso Robles, CA; Denver, CO.

I still think MLB failed Montreal more than Montreal failed MLB. Their dwindling attendance over the 90s and 00s coincided with disinvestment in the team. There was a proposal for a downtown ballpark (Labatt Park, though I think Molson is the more popular beer in Montreal?). That may have been just a distraction by Loria, though, in counting down the clock to his selling the team to MLB and swapping ownership to Miami. His handling of the Expos and turning his ownership into a Florida team reminds me of the plot behind the movie Major League. Anyways, I look forward to reading Keri's book. I've never read a book of his, but I always enjoy his baseball writing at Grantland. As a White Sox fan I would quibble with likely have faced the Yankees. They weren't so far ahead of other AL contenders, and were inexperienced compared to what was to come in the decade. That said, a Cleveland fan would point out that they were just 1 game back of the White Sox (though whomever lost that AL Central race could've won the first Wild Card, if Baltimore or Kansas City didn't catch up to them). Yeah, the Impact use the Big Owe for big attendance games. I'm not sure if they also use it for when it's too cold to play at their own park, Saputo Stadium. I think it's right next door to Olympic Stadium?

Jonah Keri, Montreal native, has a new book out on his love for the Expos, I just ordered it and can't wait to read it. 1994 was a special season, with Matt Williams chasing though far away from 61, a couple players including my favorite Frank Thomas chasing an unlikely Triple Crown, having the best year of his career and one of the greatest seasons ever seen in MLB, Tony Gwynn chasing .400, Greg Maddux having a historically great season, and the first season of re-alignment seeing a woeful new AL West. It hurt a lot as a 10-year old White Sox fan to have that team not get a chance to compete again in the playoffs after losing to the defending and eventual champions the fall before. And it was the Sox owner who led the hardline owners in the strike. Coming back in 1995, the team wasn't the same--broken up because of a bitter owner who didn't want to invest in new lucrative free agency and broke up the existing team. It took years for the franchise to recover, and arguably still hasn't seen the heights in popularity that they had in the early 1990s (which even a World Series title in 2005 couldn't quite cure). "Up, Up, and Away: The Kid, the Hawk, Rock, Vladi, Pedro, le Grand Orange, Youppi!, the Crazy Business of Baseball, and the Ill-fated but Unforgettable Montreal Expos" by Jonah Keri Although the Expos may be long gone from Olympic Stadium, special sporting moments can still happen there, as seen just a couple days ago with MLS' Montreal Impact: