soxsignguy

DEJA VUE, ALL OVER AGAIN

(May 31,2012) Can there be a downside to the fact that one’s team has suddenly become very successful? Perhaps there can be if one uses a bunch of signs at games to show support. Bear with me on this. The White Sox have been doing so well lately – eight wins in a row and 12 wins out of the last 13 games – because a number of hitters have been really hot. When Paul Konerko gets four hits in a game, should I really hold up the same sign each time to acknowledge his performance? 

So I decided that rather than using the same sign a second time in a game, I needed to bring two different signs for Konerko and Adam Dunn. M –V – PAUL – IE ! was obvious. It plays on his MVP worthy season so far and echoes the chant which many fans make when he comes to bat: “Paul-ie, Paul-ie.” For Dunn, I finally came up with ADAM SMASHER ! Here the reference is to his recent wave of home runs and the “atom smasher” nickname for a cyclotron (particle accelerator). Actually it’s Adam doing the smashing here rather than being smashed but, so what, it’s only a sign held up at a baseball game!

While I have had a sign for several years to use when the opposing team’s pitching coach or manager comes out to talk to a struggling pitcher – HE’S FINE. LEAVE HIM IN ! – I did not have a sign to use when the pitcher is removed after giving up several runs. Now I do: CELL SHOCKED? U.S. Cellular Field, where the White Sox play, is commonly referred to as the Cell. The reference is to “shell shocked,” a war term which quite accurately describes the reaction a pitcher may feel after a White Sox hitting onslaught.

NATO

(May 22, 2012) The White Sox are actually doing better than most of us expected this season, but I have had little inspiration to create new signs or even bring them to the games I have attended. And, although I am finally getting to use my sign for Adam Dunn – WELL DUNN ! – there have not been many roster changes to get my creative juices flowing. Well that changed this past weekend.

This past weekend was the first half of the annual Sox-Cubs crosstown series. But that was not the big story in Chicago. THE STORY was the NATO meeting hosted in the city. Security concerns had a big impact on transportation with much of the central part of the city off limits to regular traffic. So the challenge was if I could 1) overcome the traffic mess to reach the Saturday evening game at Wrigley Field on the North side of the city and 2) use the NATO presence as a sign topic.

Well, the Sox swept the series, the city survived the meeting and I used two NATO signs at the game. One was baseball related – NATO: Not  A Tough Out – which I held up when one of the weaker Sox hitters made an easy out. At least the Cub fans enjoyed that one. I held up the other sign – NATO: Not Any Travel Options ! – after the top half of the seventh inning. Everyone must have enjoyed that one because they gave it a standing ovation!

IT’S OVER

(October 3, 2011)  At the end of my last post, I quoted the famous Yogi Berra observation:” It’s not over ‘til it’s over.” As if we needed a reminder about how well that statement applies to baseball, we certainly got it on the last day of this year’s regular season. Four games dramatically changed the composition of the playoffs late that evening.  The Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves ended September with terrible slumps and gave up the large wild card leads they had earlier. Many teams have slumps at one time or another during a season. These two just picked the wrong time to have them and so they are viewed as having “choked.”  My theory: both teams were located in Boston when Babe Ruth was traded to the Yankees long ago!

The night before the last day of the regular season, I attended my last White Sox game. Their season had been over several weeks before when they fell out of the race in their division. They had periodically flirted with success during the year but never consummated the relationship. In the end, they just could not beat the Tigers and the Indians when they needed to. The marketing theme for the team this year had been “All In.” In response, at my last game I held up ALL IN-CONSISTENT!

For Ozzie Guillen, Yogi might have said “it’s over before it’s over!” Two days before the end of the season Ozzie decided to resign as White Sox manager and then later was hired by the Florida Marlins - a team to be named later the Miami Marlins. While it was an odd situation to be at a game with Ozzie no longer in the stadium, it was a great sign opportunity. I used WHERE’S OSVALDO? Not only is that Ozzie’s real name, but it is a reference to the famous children’s book series Where’s Waldo?

It may be over for Mark Buehrle with the White Sox. The game I attended could have been his last start for the team since he will become a free agent after the World Series. The fans and the team were well aware of this and there were many standing ovations for him. I held up RE-MARK-ABLE! I hope he comes back next spring.

In a blog post earlier this year I speculated about the possibility of holding up my signs at weddings and bar mitzvahs. It may be that I was limiting my opportunities. At the last game, two baseball fans from Canada sat behind me. As we got to talking, I learned that they were in town to attend a conference on controlling bed bugs. Yes, apparently there are conferences on such topics. Would there be an opportunity for me to hold up signs at some of the conferences held in Chicago? After all, I had not even thought about it before this game and I already had a sign in my bag I could use for a bed bug convention: WHAT A RELIEF!

Only four and a half months until spring training!

NO SIGN IS A BAD SIGN

(August 8, 2011) During the last home stand, the White Sox played the Tigers, the Red Sox and the Yankees. I had tickets for one game against each of those teams. Expectations were high since the White Sox had gotten closer to first place then they had in a long time. All three teams generally draw well against the White Sox. Usually I only have one specific sign for a visiting team but for these three I bring several signs and hope to use them all. It’s great if the White Sox win, even better if I get to use a lot of signs, and the thrill of victory is best if I can show my visitor specific signs to hoards of fans (obnoxious, by definition) rooting for the visiting team.

Unfortunately, there is always the opportunity for the agony of defeat and that is what happened in the games against the Red Sox and the Yankees. And those games were not even close. In one game I use one sign and in the other I held up two. As a fan, you know it’s a bad sign if there are only a couple of things to cheer during a game. As a fan carrying a 20 pound bag of signs to a game, it is even more disappointing if you can’t use them. Someone asked me how many signs do I need to hold up to make the effort worthwhile. The answer is that in a Sox win, any number of signs is fine but in a loss, lots of signs are not enough!

The Sox just swept the Twins in Minnesota for the first time in about 7 years so there is still hope for this season. IT’S NOT OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER !

ENCOURAGING SIGNS

(July 26, 2011) When I arrived at last night’s Sox game with the Tigers, I saw on the field a large Smurf - more correctly, someone walking around in a Smurf costume. My first thought was that Kenny Williams had traded Alex Rios for a Smurf. After all, a Smurf would fit Williams’ typical trading deadline addition: an older formerly successful performer who was well past his prime. Then I hoped he batted left-handed and could play several positions! It turned out that the Sox were part of a promotion for the new Smurf movie coming out this week. Bill Veeck would have approved.

Then I wondered if it was fair to pick on Rios when he was not the only Sox player to have spent most of the year struggling at the plate. After all, I had brought a sign last night which was not part of my traditional approach. Normally I use signs to reward success or comment on something that had already happened. But I had decided that the Adam Dunn situation called for something different. His performance this year had been so bad that I felt I was watching a train wreck which was about to happen each time he stepped into the batter’s box. I did not think that more boo’s would help so I brought an “encouraging sign” which I held up as he came to bat: TODAY’S THE DAY. ADAM ! Did he see it? Did it make any difference? He did get two walks in the game and the Sox won. I suppose those are both encouraging signs for the future.

WEDDINGS AND BAR MITZVAHS ?

(June 28, 2011) 

When you bring a bag of 25 signs to a baseball game, fans expect that you have a sign for every possible situation. Something unusual will happen in a game and some fan will ask, “Do you have a sign for that?” The most recent example was after Adam Dunn struck out for the fourth time in a game - unfortunately, not as unexpected as one would think. I have often thought that I should carry a sign that simply says HERE’S A SIGN FOR THAT. It is a play on the ads which say “there’s an app for that.”

Last Saturday I was out in the left field seats and a bachelorette party sat next to me. They were all dressed in a similar fashion and the bride-to-be wore a Sox hat with a wedding veil attached. They were all having a good time - it helped that the Sox were winning - and the mood in the stands was festive. After seeing me hold up several signs, one of the women asked if I had a sign which would be appropriate for a bride-to-be to hold up. One sign immediately came to mind and she enthusiastically held up THE END IS NEAR,  much to the pleasure to those around us. Several fans took pictures of her and one woman yelled out, “Don’t do it. You’re too young!”

This got me to thinking. The Sox have a mascot called Southpaw - sort of a Muppet on steroids. The Sox promote Southpaw for birthdays and other events. Perhaps there is a market for me to bring my signs to such activities. Although I am not willing to dress up in a shaggy rug costume, at least those in attendance will understand what I am saying with my signs!

OZZIE ON THE BOOS

(JUNE 7, 2011)

Ozzie Guillen has made several comments recently about fans who boo sustained poor performance by several White Sox players. And, since Ozzie does not appear to have a “filter” between his mind and his mouth, the comments were sharply critical of the fans. Personally, I have never understood why fans boo players on teams they support. Booing may be justified if the player is giving less than full effort or is just being a jerk. If that is not the case, if you think the player is trying hard to be successful, why boo? Will it really give the player more incentive than he already has? Most likely, he is already putting more pressure on himself than he should and that is what may be  contributing to his difficulties. Some will say they have the “right” to boo and there is no question that is correct. But does having the right to do something make it the right thing to do?

While I agree with Ozzie’s view on this matter, I think it is a mistake to lash out at the booing fans. Given that, what sort of sign is an appropriate way to convey my displeasure with Ozzie? As I indicate in the section on my sign “philosophy,” I generally do not use negative signs for individual Sox players. I have signs for times when the Sox are well behind in a game (WE NEED A TOUCHDOWN or @!&%*#&!) but criticizing an individual player is not my style. In the case of Ozzie, however, I thought I should make an exception because it was about something he said and not some decision he made as the team’s manager.  

Ultimately, I came up with OZZIE BAWL ?  It’s an obvious a play on the term “Ozzie Ball” often used to describe his preferred National League style of play. “Bawl” is not a perfect fit for what Ozzie was doing but the play on “ball” was just too good to pass up. Adding the “?” made the sign more of an inquiry rather than a statement and lessened the sign’s negativity in my mind. I used the sign during a seventh inning stretch for the benefit of the Sox announcers and at least they appeared to understand its meaning. I hope I don’t have to use it again.

THIS IS A BAD SIGN

(MAY 5, 2011)

That is the sign I sometimes use when things are not going well during the game for the White Sox. Unfortunately, I have been using it all too often during the first month of the season. But, as every baseball fan knows, it is a long season and early defeats can be overcome by later winning streaks. If the losses continue for the Sox, however, it could turn out to be an even “longer” season!

When last season ended there were questions about whether Konerko and A.J. would return. They are back and there has been relatively little change in the Sox roster from last year. So far, I have only added two new signs to my collection:

Hawk Harrelson, the Sox TV announcer for the last 25 years, was recently honored by renaming the location occupied by the the radio and TV announcers, Hawk Harrelson Level. My sign for Hawk: HAWK ON THE LEVEL!

The winter addition of Adam Dunn’s left-handed bat to the middle of the Sox batting order had been expected to improve on last year’s offense. So far, it has not happened so I have not had a chance to use my new sign for him: WELL DUNN!

Perhaps when the Sox return from the current West Coast trip, it will be time to hold up a more optimistic sign for the season: THE AUDACITY OF HOPE!

A SEASON ENDS

If you are a baseball fan, the season always ends too soon. (Unless, you are that Mets fan who held up THANK GOD IT’S OVER!)  That is especially true if your team does not make the playoffs, as the White Sox failed to do this year. There will still be another month of great games to watch - thank you, Roy Halladay - but if your team is not in the competition, you become just a spectator and not a fan.

The last Sox game this year was particularly poignant. Two players from the 2005 championship team - Paul Konerko (SOX PLAY “PAUL” BALL!) and A.J. Pierzynski (A.J. COMES TO PLAY!) - became free agents at the end of the season. They both received nice farewells from the fans and their teammates. As the players always say, “it’s a business and we understand that.” Fans have more trouble being philosophical about such departures. There still is a chance they will return.

Unfortunately, there appears to be no return possibility for Nancy Faust,  the Sox organist for 41 years! She has retired and fans lined up all during the last game to pay tribute, get autographs, and thank her. In an interview published in the Chicago Tribune on the day Nancy retired, she said that she had been given a gold record by a recording company for single-handedly reviving the song “Kiss Him Goodbye” which she played when the visiting team removed a pitcher. I hope she saw the sign I held up in her honor: NA NA NANCY, HEY HEY, GOODBYE!

A season should always end with a sign of hope. Mine was PLAYOFFS HERE NEXT YEAR !

MANNY BEING….

(SEPTEMBER 10, 2010)

Tonight the Sox return for their first home game with Manny Ramirez on the team. Manny comes with lots of baggage and that makes it more complicated to create a sign for him. He is “our” Manny now so, as a fan, I don’t want to raise the negative aspects of his career. But they are still there and it would seem to be wrong to overlook them. In a sense, it’s a lot easier to do a sign for Manny on the visiting team than when he is on the home team.

My first take was to do MANNY MANIA. It’s neutral but that makes it sort of bland. Then I came up with SUPERMANNY ?. I liked the reference to Superman and the question mark reminds us of the “bad” Manny without making too much of it. In fact, the question mark enables the viewer of the sign to decide just how negative he or she wants it to be. However, I usually only hold up signs after a player has done something positive (see the “PHILOSOPHY” page) so it would be inconsistent with his accomplishment. I decided to go with SUPERMANNY !.

He has not yet had an extra base with the Sox but perhaps it will happen tonight - that would certainly make the use of this sign more fitting even if Manny’s uniform is not!

THE BIRTH OF A SIGN

The White Sox have just brought up  several players from the minors. It turns out that one of them (Brent Morel) is related to a friend of one of my colleagues at my day job. We thought it would be nice to greet Morel with a sign when the team returns to Chicago next week. So the question was what to do with “Brent Morel.”

The first idea was to use MOREL MUSHROOMS since morels are a kind of mushroom. This is the same approach I used for Brent Lillebridge with LILLE BLOOMS. But mushroom as a verb means to grow or spread out. That did not seem quite the same as blooming and did not have a favorable connotation.

Morel also brought to mind two similar commom words: “moral” and “morale”.  Associations with “moral” are “moral hazard” and “morality play.” The first one clearly did not fit the situation. The second one had some promise because of the presence of “play” as a common term in baseball. Both terms, however, are quite obscure. I considered trying to use “the moral of the story..” in some way but could not get something short enough to work on a sign.

This left me with “morale.” A common usage with “morale” is “morale booster.” That seemed to  work well with the idea that when he did something well he would be boosting the morale of the team and the Sox fans. In addition, there is a second meaning to the sign: by holding up the sign I am a booster or supporter of Brent Morel. So the sign will be A MOREL BOOSTER ! and I hope he appreciates it.

ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH

(JULY17, 2010)

I did not grow up a White Sox fan. I was born in Michigan and, although I moved away at an early age, I was an avid Tigers fan. I came to Chicago for school in 1965, and began going to White Sox - Tigers games. I attended the Joel Horlen no-hitter in 1967,  Disco Demolition Night in 1979 and the Jack Morris no-hitter in 1984 - all White Sox - Tigers games at Comiskey. During that period I was fortunate to follow the Tigers as they won World Series in 1968 and 1984. Then, something strange happened. I joined a White Sox season tickets group in the mid 80’s and began going to more games with friends and family - no longer just the games with the Tigers. Eventually I became a White Sox fan and my interest in Detroit faded as the players I had followed there left the team. So while I don’t have the long standing hate for the Cubs, as many Sox fans (including my daughter) do, I still consider myself a true Sox fan.

Having suffered through poor seasons and sparsely attended games (one of my earliest signs was IF YOU WIN, THEY WILL COME), it was wonderful to participate in the celebration during  the 2005 season. My signs then included MIRACLE ON 35TH STREET, IT’S SOXTOBER, and in the end, FIELD OF DREAMS COME TRUE. I am reminded of those signs now as the Sox recent success points the way to another possible World Series appearance this year. During the victory parade in 2005, I held up ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH ! As a former Tiger fan who experienced a second World Series victory, I can assure everyone it is just as sweet the second time around.

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SWEEP HOME CHICAGO

(JULY 11, 2010)

The Sox have now gone 25-5 in their last thirty games and I was able to hold up a new sign in the sixth inning of the game today: SOX IN 1ST TO STAY. At that point the Twins had defeated the Tigers and the Sox were tied with Detroit for first place in the AL Central Division. The game ended with the Sox winning 15-5 and they were 1/2 game ahead  of the Tigers going into the All-Star break. They swept the Angels and the Royals in the seven game home stand.

My bag now has two new signs for players  recently added to the roster: LILLY BLOOMS!(Brent Lillibridge) and DAYAN DA MAN!(Dayan Viciedo) both of whom contributed to today’s win.

As the Sox scored all those runs I thought, as  many fans do, that it would be nice if they could save some of them for a future game when they would need them. But do I really want to hold up SAVE SOME FOR THE NEXT GAME when there is always the chance that the team might not win the game?  That opportunity, no matter how unlikely, to catch up late in the game is one of the great characteristics of baseball. IT’S NOT OVER TILL IT’S OVER.