I'm not so sure now. A guy over at Uni Watch in Chicago -- dedicated, as it says, to "the obsesive study of athletics aesthetics" -- just did an amusing and informative piece on the evolution of the White Sox uni's (after having surveyed the Cubs') which will remind you, if you'd forgotten, just what ugly can *really* mean. Remember the shorts? Anyway, check it out, it's good ugly fun:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=lukas/080701

The opener: "The virtual ink had barely dried on Uni Watch's recent survey of Cubs uniform anomalies when the feedback started pouring in from disgruntled White Sox fans.

The typical communiqué went something like this: "After all the crazy looks we've had over the years, you've somehow decided that the Cubs have had history's most innovative, most eccentric uniforms?! It's bad enough that the Sox can't get a fair shake in their own city, where it's all Cubs, all the time. But you'd think a uniform columnist would be able to recognize the obvious, namely that the Sox have had the most wide-ranging uniform history of any team in the bigs."

Fair enough. Uni Watch, ever obsessed with small details, was drawn to the subtlety of many of the Cubbies' quirks, but there's something to be said for a team that puts its uni abnormalities right in your face. And it doesn't get much more in your face than the ChiSox, who over the years have had some of the game's most bizarre, groundbreaking uni designs.

So in the interest of equal time, here's a top-10 breakdown of great (or at least noteworthy) moments in White Sox uniform history, along with Uni Watch's assessment of which ones might've been better off staying on the drawing board."

Geroge Sherrill was chosen to take part in SI's weekly The Pop Culture Grid. Here's his answers that he gave to the questions posed by SI. Other respondents were Luciano Emilio (DC United player), Greg Dobbs (Phillies 1B), and Rashad Floyd (Crush (AFL, maybe?) DB). Anyway, to the answers:

Q: ______ should play me on the big screen

A: Denzel Washington (same answer Emilio gave, btw) 

Q: Favorite thing to chew

A: Skoal straight

Q: _______ should be added to the dictionary

A: Imus-ism

Q: Song I'd love to sing karaoke to

A: Orioles Magic

Q: I secretly have a crush on

A: Jessica Biel

George Sherrill is the man.

I'm trying to gauge how early i have to get my student ticket for tomorrow afternoons game vs. the rangers....I'm thinking it might be crazy given that everyone is off work all day and able to make it to the ballpark on time. Hopefully, we supply Guthrie with some run support... you gotta feel for the guy! Please let me know what you think as well as how early you think the first fan will arrive a pickles. happy fourth

The FAA has declined the City of Ft. Lauderdale's request to keep rent for the Orioles artificially low at Ft. Lauderdale stadium, and as a result, Baltimore will most likely relocate north for the 2010 season. The Orioles are not expected to pay $1.3 million annually to stay in Ft. Lauderdale, which is what the FAA wants to charge them. They are paying between $70,000-$120,000 currently.

The FAA's decision might be appealed, but barring a reversal at a higher level it could spell the end of a nearly-50 year tradition of spring training in Ft. Lauderdale. The $40 million renovation plan for Ft. Lauderdale Stadium was contingent upon the FAA exempting the Orioles and the City from "fair market value" lease payments.

Though I am the Rays blogger here locally at SBN, I do consider myself a connoisseur of Florida Spring Training, and this is of interest to me. On the one hand, I am happy at the prospect that Dodgertown would be returned to service, but on the other hand I'm sad to see another tradition abandoned in Ft. Lauderdale. Still, this decision meets with the economic realities of a "grown-up" Florida, and Spring Training became less and less valuable to Ft. Lauderdale as the city grew into a large part of a major metro area. ST is far more integral to a place like Vero Beach.

It's definitely a shame to see these old sites left behind; we're going through the same thing currently with Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, and it is kind of chickenshit how the FAA is scuttling this deal. They're going to torpedo an economic booster to the area just because they decide now is the right time to jack up the rent. It is the eptiome of know-nothing, disconnected government.

In discussion of our bet earlier, at one point you said:

15.5 behind the Sox and 15.5 behind first place is the same thing.

Now, I'm a logic guy, and from this I infer that you're saying the Red Sox will be in first place at the end of the season.

But, being a logic guy, I can't help noticing that the Rays are actually in first place right now, 3.5 games ahead of Boston.

So here's the part I don't understand. If you're saying Boston will be in first place at the end of the season, doesn't that mean the Sox will have to figure out how to beat the Rays on the road at some point instead of being swept?

I'm confused. 

Joe Buck admitted this morning on Colin Cowherd's show on ESPN Radio that he rarely watches sports on television and that he feels baseball is too big of a time commitment for people to be able to follow.  Buck noted that The Bachelorette is part of his television viewing repertoire however. 

I've never liked this fucking guy.  I've never liked FOX's coverage of the sport.  But to hear that this spoiled little shit doesn't even fucking watch sports and then has the audacity to make lame ass excuses about it, pisses me off to no end.  Can some of the lawyers around here tell me if it's possible for the government, or any other semi-functional entity, to take control of the broadcasting rights away from FOX on grounds of the incompetence they put in their announcing booth?

You can hear the offending clip here.

A number of current MLB controversies have made it clear that the game is moving forward into a new era. One fan tries to find the best balance between past and present.

From http://www.splicetoday.com/sports/the-nl-needs-the-dh

Continue reading this post »

Well, that idea didn't last long.

Roch is reporting that Cintron has been placed on the DL and Freddie 'Shoes' Bynum's contract has been purchased.

This is kind of cruel.  Bynum was just released, then, all of a sudden, he's looking great now that Cintron is down and Fahey's the only other option.

Where does this team go from here?  Do we see the team begin the free-fall pundits expected to see at Spring Training?  Do they dig a trench at .500 and hope to God they stay there?  What happens?

And is it bad that part of me wants to see the team start to falter?  That way trades can be made.  Huff, Sherill, Payton, Bradford, and Walker (when he returns from the DL) could be traded relatively soon after it becomes evident that the team will be sliding.  There has to be a way to pry a shortstop away from some team.  I'm still hoping for a trade with the Brewers.  They have a fantastic prospect in Double-A who could really be a difference maker for the Os in a couple years.

Heck, trade Cabrera.  I'm tried of rooting for this guy only to have him stumble over his own tree trunk of a body/fortitude and turn back into 'Wild Thing'.

My wife and I are flying in tomorrow on a quick two day stop before driving on to PA to visit family.  We will be attending the Wednesday and Thursday games.  I asked a while back and saved most of those suggestions but thought I'd ask again just to make sure.  Any suggestions on places to eat and drink around the ballpark that we need to check out?  Nothing too touristy.  We also thought about heading over to Fells Point one night as well.  We are staying at the Marriott by the ballpark I believe. 

Thanks everyone.

Back in the beginning of April 6, there was a brief discussion started by Jonnypops about switch pitcher Pat Venditte, drafted by the Yankees this year. In the thread, punkrawka expressed a desire to see a switch-pitcher/switch-hitter matchup before his demise.

Punk, your wish is granted. Venditte made his professional debut for the Staten Island Yankees against the Brooklyn Cyclones on June 19. With the Cyclones trailing 7-2, Venditte came on to close the door in the ninth. He retired two batters, then gave up a hit. With two outs, and a possible comeback in the making, Ralph Enriquez, a switch-hitter, strode to the plate....

The video is hilarious. It starts with the previous batter, and then Enriquez steps in (off camera) at the :45 mark. Be forewarned the video is over 8 minutes long! Of special note is the 4:36 mark, where you can watch the whole sequence from the centerfield camera, which gives you a better idea of the cat-and-mouse game than the initial angles they show. 

And here's the NY Times write-up on the incident from two days later.