The 5 – We need a HERO! Who will fill the void of Matt “El Nino” Albers

Two months into the season, the 108’ers are still looking for someone to fill the void of our group favorite from 2016, Matt “El Nino” Albers.  It is hard to replace a man with such passion for the game and with such an amoebic frame.   Let’s take a look at the early candidates………..

Tyler Saladino – Truth be told, last year’s utility man and friend of the 108 #southsidestachemen would be the no brainer choice here, but then a few things happened.  1) His bat got cold a few weeks into the season. Even though he was still the steady glove man at every position, he was in and out of the lineup more. Thus we didn’t get to #raisethestache for him as much.  2) He fucked up his back and landed on the DL.  Now, if you are really super colorful and insane, we can still cheer for Tyler on the DL, but it doesn’t always work out.  We still have HIGH HOPES for Tyler, but we’ll just have to wait and see.  Get well soon buddy.

Derek Holland – I would say he’s the leader in the clubhouse right now. He acts the fool all the time and has been producing on the field.  Look, this is a rebuild and as long as Derek takes the ball every 5 days, he can have a James Shields start every so often and it won’t hurt his status as a 108 fave.  Just look at Matt Albers track record last year from about May 15th on (save for that faithful day in Flushing Meadows).

Tommy Kahnle – This fella right here has been disgustingly good, but that’s not why he’s on this list.  A few weeks ago, another former Colorado Rockies player LaTroy Hawkins deemed him “the worst teammate EVER”.  Now, when you take a look at Mr. Kahnle, I can’t help but agree with Paul Sporer that he has a very punchable face, but let’s walk this comment back to it’s source for a minute.  LaTroy Hawkins, I remember LaToya when he was here in Chicago, with the Cubs and boy did this mutherfucker cry about every goddamn thing.  I immediately thought to myself any player who would want to punch LaToya in the face is fine by me and deserves consideration for 108 fave.

Avisail Garcia – Everyone’s favorite this year (so far) but was roundly hated every single year before that. Much like the kid with an undiagnosed learning disability, Avi seems to have fixed the issue and is making up for lost time.  Location is great for the 108 (our front porch if you will) and love of the BBW women makes it a no brainer. However, his increasing batting average and popularity is something to consider, but he’ll always be our eskimo brother, like Prince. 

Yolmer Sanchez – Now here’s a guy who already has quite a bit of love from White Sox twitter, but needs to be in the running.  Not only has he  been stroking the ball on the field, but he’s an incredulous goof off of the field.  You can’t be on White Sox twitter for 5 mins without seeing a crazy gif of him.  He’s probably a little more in the Melky Cabrera camp in that we can’t claim him for our own, but when he’s going good, boy is he fun to watch.

BONUS EXTRA CONTENT!!!

Melky Cabrera – Truth be told….we can’t include Melky here.  He’s everyone’s favorite. It would be unfair for us to choose him, plus he plays LF and is basically is far away from the 108 as any player on the diamond.  That being said, we are going to miss him when he ends up on a contender in August.

Let us know who you think should be the new FAVE of the 108. Tweet it at us at @fromthe108.

– BeefLoaf & MSS (kinda, the ‘Loaf did all the heavy lifting)

Also a quick PSA for those who don’t follow us on Twitter. We are running low on the small sizes for the Jersey Demolition shirt.  If you wear something other than a XL or 2XL, you might wanna order soon.  Todd Frazier wears an XL, just FYI.  He is the proud owner of this shirt, which as we have discussed either means he has a excellent sense of humor or maybe he and Sale weren’t the best of friends. 

Order your shirt here –  http://fromthe108.bigcartel.com/