SB Nation User Blog: The Cheat

SSS Art Project: MS Paint Edition

The Cheat — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:23:01 -0000

Musket Love. (by hsa)

Have you been non-tendered because of "economics" even though you were more valuable than many of your co-workers?

Do you have a case of the Mondays?

Well, don't worry, because SSS is here to kill your productivity and make the day fly by...

Here at SSS, we've got a long history of MS Paint drawings dating as far back as Podsednik's first go-round.

So I thought we'd build on that tradition with a little art project (and competition). Open up your cheap-ass image editor and give us your best (or worst) White Sox related MSPainting. It can be anything from Punto's hilarious slide-back-towards-third to an abstract work about Ozzie Guillen calling a certain someone a 'fag.'

If we happen to get enough worthy participants, I'll put them up for a vote into the SSS Hall of Fame, which is really just the laundry basket that I refuse to fully empty of clean-yet-wrinkled clothes. (Oh and I've got another group project in mind for the Christmas break dead time...So look for that sometime in February).

5 Things We Learned About the White Sox at the Winter Meetings

The Cheat — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 21:19:32 -0000

5 Things We Learned About the White Sox at the Winter Meetings

1. The White Sox really like Mark Teahen
2. The Sox are in on JJ Putz, no matter how coy they try to be
3. The Sox probably are interested in Hideki Matsui, but only on their terms
4. The chances are increasing that Gordon Beckham leads off and Tyler Flowers is the backup catcher in 2010
5. Bobby Jenks probably won't be traded this winter

John Sickels' White Sox Top 20 Prospects List

The Cheat — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:34:48 -0000

John Sickels' White Sox Top 20 Prospects List

Check it out at the link above.

Open Thread: Winter Meetings Day 3

The Cheat — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:03:57 -0000

For when the spit hits the fan later this afternoon. Whatever that spit may be...

White Sox Sign Teahen to 3-Year Extension

The Cheat — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:50:06 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Browse more photos »

It looks like the White Sox weren't involved in the Winter Meeting's first big blockbuster, but that doesn't mean they weren't making suprising moves, signing Mark Teahen to a 3-year extension. The Sox lone position of depth appears to be third base, the position that Mark Teahen was supposedly brought in to play. They moved Gordon Beckham off third to bring in Teahen, and have both Dayan Viciedo and Brent Morel at the hot corner in the upper minors next year.

When Teahen was brought over from the Royals, the thought was that he was a passable stop-gap, that he could give the Sox a year of average-bat, below-average defense at the hot corner and not cost too much in terms of talent or actual money. But by signing him to a 3-year, $14M extension, the Sox are committing themselves to a player who, with the exception of a breakout 2006 campaign, has proven to be moderately above replacement level everywhere he's played.

I wouldn't go so far as to call Brent Morel trade bait, but this deal makes his name sure to be brought up by any team seeking to make a deal with the Sox.

Mark Buehrle on cover of 2010 World Almanac

The Cheat — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:32:10 -0000

Mark Buehrle on cover of 2010 World Almanac

Also pictured, Barack Obama and a chick who fucked Tony Romo

Open Discussion: White Sox Games of the Decade

The Cheat — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:39:49 -0000

More photos » by David Banks - AP

Browse more photos »

The White Sox have played over 1600 games since the beginning of the decade, compiling a regular season record of 857-764. They've taken home 3 division titles and a World Series. We've seen a no-hitter, a perfect game, a game 163 victory, a 500th homer, 300th homers on back-to-back at-bats, and two different Sox players break the major league record for most-consecutive batters retired.

It was a pretty good decade. Sure, it could have been better. But it's hard to complain given the list in the previous paragraph.

So I'll open up the discussion to you, and eventually put together a list for us to vote on; in addition to those highlights listed above, what games of the aughts will you remember most in another 10 years?

White Sox Add Andruw Jones to Crowded Veteran Bench

The Cheat — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:04:38 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

Jones is here to help you fill your quota of fat jokes

Browse more photos »

The White Sox seem to be going about their off-season in reverse. They're lining up their bench pieces to a team that still lacks two (or three) legitimate full-time major league position players.

Today, they've reportedly signed Andruw Jones to a 1-year, $500K incentive-laden deal to fill out the bench with Vizquel and Kotsay.

"This is an opportunity to add a power bat to the roster while improving our outfield depth," Williams said. "With the addition of Andruw, Mark Kotsay and Omar Vizquel, we feel our bench is taking shape to be a strong asset heading into the 2010 season."

Jones looked to have a halted his precipitous career free fall by joining up with Rudy Jaramillo in Texas last season, putting up an .850 OPS in the first-half, but not even Jaramillo could stop Jones descent in the second half when he hit just .185/.310/.333. You could easily write off that performance as simply 100 bad at-bats. But that line is closer to Jones norm of the last few years than was his resurgent first half.

At this price, Jones is certainly a gamble worth taking. He can still catch the ball all over the outfield, and can put a charge into one every now an then. But it would be foolish to think of him as anything more than an outfield version of Juan Uribe going forward.

Edit by larry: One interesting thing to note is that Jones is represented by Scott Boras.

Charles Barkley: "There are two guys I always hate -- Skip Bayless and Jay Mariotti. They're just...

The Cheat — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:40:33 -0000

Charles Barkley: "There are two guys I always hate -- Skip Bayless and Jay Mariotti. They're just idiots. ... They don't get the facts wrong. They just go in to be negative all the time. They're always going to play the bad cop and they both are idiots."

Charles Barkley calls Bayless, Mariotti 'idiots'

That's Nacho Contract

The Cheat — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 05:02:56 -0000

That's Nacho Contract

For 13 years, Chicago's Azteca Foods reigned as the Chicago White Sox's official nacho supplier -- until it was dethroned recently by Mexican-owned Mission Foods. Azteca's Art Velasquez knows that's the way the corn chip crumbles -- business isn't for the sentimental -- yet he can't help but feel a big loss.

Velasquez's family on his dad's side is rife with Sox fans. They've been watching the South Siders play live for more than a half-century, and they've had season tickets for at least 35 years.

Now that Azteca's once ubiquitous nacho carts will be gone from U.S. Cellular Field next season, Velasquez isn't sure he can go back. "I don't want to go around the park and see Mission Foods all around," he said. "It will be like a stab in the heart."