'Reimagined' SoxFest: We'll take a pass

Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease, Don Cooper and Steve Stone at SoxFest 2020.

We haven't had a legitimate SoxFest since 2020, and we won't have one in 2025 either.

Instead the White Sox will be hosting "SoxFest Live" on Jan. 24-25 at the Ramova Theater in Bridgeport. According to the team's website, the "reimagined" event "promises a unique blend of entertainment, interactive experiences with players and White Sox greats, and celebration of seasons’ past and those ahead."

I'm not sure what the hell that means. I can tell you the program is from 5 to 9 p.m. each day, and while they haven't specifically said so, it seems like it's the same show each night. It's $56, plus fees, for a single-day general admission, or $225, plus fees, for a single-day MVP Experience. 

The fact that they aren't offering two-day passes is telling. If you go one night, why go the next?

We'll be taking a pass on this, even though we've been frequent SoxFest attendees in the past. 

It used to be a three-day experience with a two-night stay in a downtown hotel. Now? It's four hours in a renovated theater that (generously) holds 1,500 people.

There have been no announcements about who will be there. Current players? Former players? Who knows? It's as if they want you to spend the money now, and then they'll tell you later what the experience will be. It makes no sense.

This is just another in a long line of cheapened White Sox experiences. They want you to support a team that has nothing but Triple-A players on it, but they'll charge you major league prices. The game day experience has been stagnant for years. They are out of fresh ideas, but hey, it's better at the ballpark!

They launched a new regional sports network that looks low-budget, and they don't have a deal with the largest cable provider in the Chicago area. So, we're all hanging antennas in the window to watch the games. Hope it doesn't storm.

And now this watered-down version of SoxFest is introduced. It's the latest absurdity.

White Sox baseball: Settle for our crap, or else. If you don't like it, too bad.

SoxFest to return in 2025

Get your pitchforks and torches ready, White Sox fans!

SoxFest will return Jan. 24-25, 2025, according to a news release from the team. Sure, the event is almost a full year away, but this will be the first time since 2020 that fans will get to meet with and question team brass.

In the four years since, the team has been making excuses for not holding SoxFest. They've hidden behind the COVID-19 pandemic, even in 2022 when the overwhelming majority of the American public no longer cared about the virus. 

In 2023, they canceled SoxFest, citing "multiple factors," without elaborating on what those factors were. This year? They didn't even bother to make announcement.

One can only assume the Sox weren't eager to face their fans after a 61-101 season in 2023. Early predictions for 2024 are calling for a similar season -- the current Las Vegas over/under for the Sox win total is 63.5.

So why would the team pick now to bring back this event? Well, for starters, 2025 is the 20th anniversary of the 2005 World Series championship team. It is also the 125th anniversary of the franchise.

The venue, activities and guests for SoxFest will be announced at a (likely much) later time, but expect to see a lot of the 2005 heroes at this event. I won't be surprised if Paul Konerko, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras, Jermaine Dye, A.J. Pierzynski, Joe Crede, Aaron Rowand, Bobby Jenks and the rest of the gang are brought back to keep the booing to a minimum.

Less cynically and more optimistically, the Sox have a lot of money coming off the books after the 2024 season. Perhaps next offseason, they might actually make some moves to reshape the roster and give fans hope for the 2025 season. Right now, hope is in short supply for 2024.

Either way, the move to bring back SoxFest is long overdue. Congratulations, team, on finally doing something right.

It feels like I should be doing something baseball-related this weekend

A welcome sign at SoxFest 2019.

The last weekend of January ... it used to be a highlight on the calendar, because it was SoxFest weekend.

Alas, the event isn't being held this year. It hasn't been held since 2020. COVID-19 hasn't been a valid excuse since 2021, but here we are.

I'm not a big autograph guy. In fact, I don't think I've gotten a single autograph in all the years I've attended SoxFest. But still, it's nice to gather in January with fellow Sox fans and talk baseball.

SoxFest was the only time you would ever be somewhere with a crowd of 100% Sox fans. For reasons never explained, it's gone away. And that is sorely disappointing.

Thanks for nothing, Jerry Reinsdorf.

'Winter with the White Sox' apparently replacing SoxFest

The White Sox haven't conducted SoxFest since 2020, and there won't be such an event this January either.

However, there will be a "Winter with the White Sox" gathering for season ticket holders on Jan. 26, 2024. I received a "save the date" email on Tuesday afternoon. 

This is a little surprising because I have not renewed my season tickets for the 2024 season, and frankly, I do not intend to renew. I do not expect to be included on emails such as this. 

Perhaps they are trying to entice me to renew by offering me access to this special event. That will not work.

It's bizarre for the Sox to send a "save the date" without telling potential attendees what the venue will be, or what the event will entail.

I mean, are they going to host this at Guaranteed Rate Field? It's a little cold there in January, right? Maybe they'll have the event in Nashville, since Jerry Reinsdorf wants to move the team there, LOL.

To be honest, even if I were invited, I don't think I want to go to this event. I'm not excited about the 2024 Sox. They haven't made any impact acquisitions this offseason, coming off a 61-101 season. And that, ultimately, is the reason I'm not renewing my season tickets. It isn't fun to be a fan of this organization anymore.

I will be interested to hear what type of activities they will be offering at this occasion. Here are a few guesses:

• Meet your ticket representative and discuss upgrading your seats!
• Purchase a spring training travel package now! See Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Camelback Ranch (and the Sox too)!
• Buy discounted merchandise! You will never get a better deal on Ronald Belisario's game-worn pants from 2014!
• Enter a raffle to win a White Sox bobblehead! Multiple winners will be drawn! (We have to get rid of these damn Yasmani Grandal bobbles sometime.)
• Meet "White Sox legend" Ron Kittle! Sure his career WAR is like 4.7, but he won American League Rookie of the Year 40 years ago! Bring your kids for autographs, even though Ronny retired 20 to 25 years before they were born!

That's the kind of stuff the Sox generally come up with these days. They are simply out of ideas. I wish I had better things to say about the organization, but it's just a sorry state of affairs.

Notice how I managed to work Ohtani into this blog. The metrics show that mentioning him increases traffic by leaps and bounds. 

You don't think people are actually visiting this site because they enjoy reading about the Sox, do you?

I feel as though I should be doing something baseball-oriented this weekend ...

Me with Dylan Cease at SoxFest 2020

If only the White Sox hosted some sort of event where fans were allowed meet current and former players and ask questions of the manager and general manager ...

That would be fun, right? And it would get you excited for the start of spring training, no?

Instead, all the baseball discussion in Chicago right now centers around domestic abuse and child abuse allegations made against Sox pitcher Mike Clevinger. Disgusting and gross.

This sucks.

SoxFest better return in 2024.

McCormick Place as a venue for SoxFest ... It has potential

Pitcher Michael Kopech and his wife, Vanessa Morgan

This was the first year SoxFest was held at McCormick Place, and speaking just about the venue and the setup, I'd give it mixed reviews.

First, the good part: I really like the fact that there are three hotels attached to McCormick Place, and that fans had a choice of accommodations. Access to McCormick Place was easy. You simply walk across a footbridge, and you don't even have to go outside into the January cold.

There also are good dining options within reasonable walking distance for after the fest, which is nice because, well, you don't eat that well at SoxFest itself.

However, here's the problem, SoxFest was more cramped and crowded than it ever was when it was at the Chicago Hilton on Michigan Avenue, the previous venue.

The Sox really pumped up the idea that they were holding SoxFest at the "largest venue in North America" or whatever, but then they only rented a very small portion of the space available. I felt as though I could have walked for miles through the empty space at McCormick Place this past weekend, and I thought to myself, "Couldn't the Sox have used this area?"

That's especially true because it was standing room only at the main stage for almost every seminar the whole weekend. There were maybe 200 seats there, and the Sox actually needed about 500.

The "White Sox Museum" was a nice idea, and it was used as a secondary stage for seminars. Only problem? There were maybe 100 chairs in there. They needed at least double that, especially for Chuck Garfien's podcast featuring pitcher Michael Kopech and his wife, actress Vanessa Morgan.

And don't even get me started about the food court. I ate my lunch sitting on the floor Saturday, and so did everyone else I know who attended the event. The McCormick Place food court was not open; the Sox no doubt wanted all the profits, so they set up their own food vendors. And they were approximately 500 tables short of what they needed to accommodate the crowd.

Autograph stages were too close together, and walkways were jammed as lines to see headliners such as Kopech, Frank Thomas and Eloy Jimenez snaked around the convention hall.

The Sox obviously sold more tickets to this event than they did in years past, and that's fine considering the bigger venue.

Problem is, they didn't use the venue properly. That main stage needed to be somewhere else. It was practically right next to the museum, and those attending seminars in the museum were routinely disrupted by what was going on at the main stage. It just didn't make sense.

I guess there is one good thing for the Sox in this scenario: Their posts on social media showed the overflow crowd and long lines in the conventional hall. They can stake their claim that there was a lot of interest in SoxFest this year, and that's not completely wrong. The area designated for SoxFest was packed with fans.

However, if they really want to have a great event, they need to rent more space. McCormick Place, as it turns out, is an inspired choice as a location, but for crying out loud, they need to make better use of the venue.

54 days until Opening Day: Celebrate with classic White Sox jerseys!

Today is Feb. 2. The first game of the 2019 Major League Baseball season is March 28. That means we are only 54 days away. To celebrate, perhaps I should don one of these classic No. 54 White Sox jerseys, found at the garage sale Jan. 25-27 at SoxFest:

Chris Beck, my second least-favorite Sox player of all-time!

Jeanmar Gomez

Deunte Heath

Man, there have been some bad No. 54s in the Sox bullpen through the years. Let's review some of the other gems I uncovered during my weekend at the Chicago Hilton:

Emilio Bonifacio

Scott Downs

Dustin Garneau

Mat Latos

Francisco Liriano

Cory Luebke

Hector Noesi

Mike Pelfrey

Andre Rienzo

Bruce Rondon

Rob Scahill, with photobomb from my friend Brian

Blake Tekotte

Trayce Thompson

Charlie Tilson

Jacob Turner

Chris Volstad

Andy Wilkins

Early list of 2019 SoxFest attendees released

Dewayne Wise

SoxFest 2019 will take place from Jan. 25 to 27 at the Chicago Hilton, and believe it or not, that's only about a month away.

I've already got my hotel package booked, so I got an email this week with an early list of players scheduled to attend the event. Let's have a look:

Current players:
Jose Abreu, Tim Anderson, Nicky Delmonico, Adam Engel, Jace Fry, Lucas Giolito, Leury Garcia, Michael Kopech, Reynaldo Lopez, Yoan Moncada, Daniel Palka, Yolmer Sanchez.

Prospects:
Micker Adolfo, Luis Alexander Basabe, Dylan Cease, Zack Collins, Eloy Jimenez, Nick Madrigal, Luis Robert.

Coaches:
Rick Renteria, Daryl Boston, Nick Capra, Don Cooper, Curt Hasler, Joe McEwing, Greg Sparks, Todd Steverson.

Alumni:
Harold Baines, Carlton Fisk, Ken Harrelson, Carlos May, Bill Melton, Tim Raines, Jim Thome, Dewayne Wise.

Broadcasters:
Jason Benetti, Steve Stone, Ed Farmer Darrin Jackson.

A few thoughts:

1. Props to Giolito for showing up. Usually, when a guy has a bad season he doesn't want anything to do with the fans at SoxFest the following winter.

2. Early favorite for most crowded autograph line: Jimenez. They probably will pare him with someone that few fans will be interested in, such as Delmonico.

3. I'm not sure Baines and Fisk have any stories left to tell that I haven't already heard. Of course, Baines is a team ambassador, and he was just elected to the Hall of Fame, so I'm sure the Sox will try to capitalize on that with a seminar of some sort.

4. Wise is an unusual name to appear on the guest list. I guess 2019 is the 10-year anniversary of Mark Buehrle's perfect game -- and Wise's spectacular catch to preserve that achievement -- but reflecting on that day isn't worth much if Buehrle isn't around to share in it.

5. What, no Ron Kittle?

Former White Sox pitcher Esteban Loaiza arrested on drug charges

Esteban Loaiza

I was surprised when I saw former White Sox pitcher Esteban Loaiza at SoxFest in January.

Loaiza's name had not been mentioned as being among the attendees before the event, and he hadn't been involved in the Sox organization much since he was traded for Jose Contreras in the middle of the 2004 season. Sure, he pitched three games for the South Siders at the end of his career in 2008, but he hadn't been heard from since.

It seemed strange that he suddenly resurfaced, 15 years after he won 21 games for the Sox and started the 2003 All-Star Game for the American League at U.S. Cellular Field.

Turns out, Loaiza might have been desperate to make whatever appearance fee the team pays former players who come to SoxFest.

The former right-hander was arrested Friday after authorities searched his home in Southern California and found more than 44 pounds of what is suspected to be cocaine.

Loaiza is being held on $200,000 bail on suspicion of possessing and transporting narcotics for sale, according to a San Diego Union-Tribune report.

According to baseball-reference.com, Loaiza made $43.7 million during his 14-year major league career. His inability to post bond to this point suggests that perhaps he blew through all that money, and perhaps he was trying to make some easy cash with the drug running.

I suspect he randomly showed up at SoxFest for the first time in years also for purposes of trying to make some easy cash.

At the end of the day, it's quite possible Loaiza soon will be throwing cut fastballs in the California Penal League. This is an unfortunate story about a player who had the best season of his career while wearing a Sox uniform in 2003.

Great jerseys found at SoxFest ... and by 'great' I mean not great

One of the annual joys of SoxFest is a visit to the garage sale in Salon B at the Chicago Hilton.

There is a good reason they call it a "garage sale." It's full of junk that sane people wouldn't want -- old lineup cards, broken game-used bats, programs from years ago, used uniform pants (huh?) and, of course, jerseys of bad players.

Any of these jerseys could have been mine for the low, low price of between $75 and $125. Shockingly, I passed up the offer.

However, it was amusing to find some of these gems:

I had trouble containing my laughter when I found this George Kottaras jersey. Did he even appear in a game for the Sox? I don't believe so. This one probably is the rarest of finds.

There was no worse feeling than knowing you had ticket for a game that was going to be started by Dylan Axelrod. Get ready to see some bullpen pitchers used, and pray the offense can score some runs.

Remember when people thought Jason Coats was the left fielder of the future? He could hit Triple-A pitching. Big-league pitching? Not so much.

Jeff Keppinger is the answer to a trivia question. He was Sox general manager Rick Hahn's first major free-agent signing. He also was a disaster in a Sox uniform. Back then, Hahn was considered an inept fool. Now, he's considered a genius because he "finally has a plan." Hopefully, that plan does not include more signings such as Keppinger.

MLB Network's crawl at the bottom of the screen lists the "key free agents" for each team. Somehow, Mike Pelfrey is listed as a "key free agent" for the Sox. Most of us believe one of the "keys" to the 2018 season will be Pelfrey pitching for some other team, hopefully a division rival.

Matt Purke is most famous for his entrance music. "Time for Da Perculator" would blare over the speakers as the useless left-hander would jog in from the bullpen. Time for Da Perculator? More like Time for the Walk Machine, given Purke's habit of issuing walks in bunches. 

Remember when Cody Asche tore up the Cactus League in 2017? I'll bet you don't. He also is the answer to a trivia question: Who was the Sox's starting DH on Opening Day in 2017? It went downhill from there for Asche, as he was exposed as the Quad-A bum that he is. We'll always have the memories from March 2017.

White Sox make additions to 2016 SoxFest roster

Jose Contreras

With the holiday season over, it's time to look ahead to SoxFest 2016, which believe it or not is just a little more than two weeks away.

The event is scheduled for Jan. 29 to 31 at Hilton Chicago.

The White Sox on Monday announced outfielders Melky Cabrera and Avisail Garcia; pitchers Dan Jennings, Erik Johnson, Nate Jones, Zach Putnam and Daniel Webb; and catcher Dioner Navarro have been added to list of current players expected to attend.

World Series hero Jose Contreras highlights the list of former players slated to appear. Other 2005 team members include Carl Everett and Willie Harris. Chet Lemon, who was an All-Star outfielder for the Sox in 1978 and 1979, will be in attendance, as will former pitcher Kirk McCaskill, who is best known for being on the mound when the Sox clinched the 1993 AL West Division championship.

Overall, the list of ex-players slated to attend the event is pretty good. It includes Carlton Fisk, Harold Baines, Bo Jackson and Ron Kittle.

Other current players who previously committed to appear include first baseman Jose Abreu, catcher Alex Avila, pitcher John Danks, third baseman Todd Frazier, infielder Tyler Saladino and pitcher Chris Sale.

If Twitter is any indication, center fielder Adam Eaton also will be on hand.

You can monitor any additional updates to the list of attendees by visiting whitesox.com/SoxFest.

Single-day passes for SoxFest: I'm priced out

Single-day passes for SoxFest go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday morning.

The annual event runs from Jan. 24 to 26. One-day tickets cost $50 for Saturday and $40 for Sunday. Two-day passes, good for admission Saturday and Sunday, are on sale for $70.

In other words, I won't be going. I'd love to buy a one-day pass for Saturday, but that's just too much money for me -- especially in this period of post-holiday financial malaise. It isn't just the $50 for the fest either. You gotta pay to get downtown as well, either by driving into the city and paying absurd parking rates, or using Metra or the CTA. Then, you gotta buy food. It's a day that will cost over $100 before all is said and done.

The Sox lowered their ticket prices last season to make the ballpark experience more affordable and family-friendly, and you wonder why they can't do the same with SoxFest.

I wonder whether they will sell out their one- and two-day passes this year, especially coming off a 99-loss campaign that was the worst in many of our lifetimes.

What's really funny is the Sox' website promotes the event by saying the Saturday pass is "just $50." As if that is just a drop in the bucket for all of us fans.

Maybe the Sox are counting on the idea that fans will be willing to pay for the experience of congratulating newly elected Hall of Famer Frank Thomas, who is among the former players on the guest list.

I'd like to be there, but the bottom line is I can't pay $50 for that experience. $25? Yes. Maybe even $30. But not $50. We'll see how the Sox do with their sales for the fest. That's the only true way to judge whether they've set prices correctly for this event.

The only thing I know for sure is I'm priced out.