The Dodgers & The ‘Stros Saved The (MY) World. (Kinda)

Posted on by mysoxsummer

Tonight begins one of the most anticipated World Series’ in our lifetime.  Not necessarily because of who is playing but rather who ISN’T playing.  My poor little social media life couldn’t have handled a Yanks vs. Cubs World Series.  No way, no how.  So tonight as I settle in and drink an IPL (Lawnmower Lager from Baderbrau) I will enjoy this series almost as much as 2005.  Thanks for saving my world Justin Verlander.

What’s funny is that Chorizy says he “can’t find these” any

Can you imagine how the press would have ramped up the coverage if it was NY vs CHI?  Oh my God.  Talking about HISTORY. America’s Teams.  Lapping at the balls of Aaron Judge, tossing Anthony Rizzo‘s salad.  And even though he was 2 for 26 during the playoffs, Javy Baez would be talked about more than a guy who actually deserves the praise.  It would be vile folks.  Kyle Schwarber would be mentioned in the same sentence as Babe Ruth and that is fucked up.

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A Yankees vs Dodgers series would have been awful as well, but that wouldn’t have fucked up my world as much.  The East Coast vs West Coast rivalry would have been renewed but with Judge and Kershaw leading the coasts.

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Wanna know how bad it got in Chicago?  I had ZERO idea that the NFL season had even started because we were being force fed Cubs stories.  I saw several shows giving the tour of the Cubs clubhouse, talking about raising beer prices, Joe Maddon rambling about rules that suck when they go against his guys, ALL while they were getting SPANKED by the Dodgers.  EVERYONE still thought it was possible for the Cubs to come back from 3-0 to win the series.  Clearly most media outlets were more focused on their next story rather than the story that was developing right in front of them.  Which was the complete annihilation of the Cubs.

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Now that the Cubs are out, and the Bears have won 3 games, holy hell we are a BEARS TOWN NOW!  Bulls suck (so bad that they beat up each other), the Blackhawks will make some noise later when the Bears are out. We don’t get that excited about early season hockey here, unless we are celebrating a Stanley Cup victory.

So thank you Houston Astros – Official Sidechick Of The 108 – for knocking down the Yankees.  Thank you Los Angeles Dodgers – Eh, Whatevs – for demolishing the Cubs 11-1 in Game 5 so we Sox fans could remember (and rub in that loss) using the EXACT RECORD the 2005 team ramped up on their way to a World Series title. Enjoy it folks, cause that will be us in a few year with any luck.  Can’t fucking wait.

Have some thoughts?  Tweet them at us @fromthe108. We’d love to hear from ya.

We also have some projects in the works that we will be announcing soon.  As ‘Loaf says “There is no offseason for the 108’ers”.  Well he might not have said that, but his constant demands that we keep producing content at a feverish pace seem to say that.  We love ya ‘Loaf.

Go ‘Stros! But still a BIG F U to this guy!

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-MSS

@mysoxsummer

 

Odd Job – Professional Suite Filler

Posted on by mysoxsummer

Hello Everybody! It’s your pal MySoxSummer and I wanna be a Professional Suite Filler.  Do you know what that is?  I am guessing no.  Does it even exist?  I fucking hope so!  I am gonna write a whole blog about my qualifications and my thoughts on why I would make the best rent-a-friend eva.  So let’s break it down.

 

How I Got The Idea

If you pay attention to our twitter (@fromthe108), you might have noticed that I was in a killer suite when the AZ DBacks were playing our sisters to the north.  Nope, I haven’t jumped ship, my wife’s cousin is a professional funny guy – T.J. McFarland – who happens to throw baseballs really good for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

USP MLB: SAN DIEGO PADRES AT ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS S BBN ARI SD USA AZ

Quick History Lesson – I was living in AZ when the DBacks beat the Yanks to win the 2001 World Series.  I worked for Alice Cooper’sTown which is a badass BBQ / Comfort Food joint right up the street from Chase Field, and across the street from United Airlines Arena.  I met a bunch of athletes during my days there, drank a ton of free beer, ate really good free food and even watched “Mr. Belding” a.k.a. Dennis Haskins do body shots off a young lady during a fundraiser for Alice’s charity. I have more stories that I would love to share, maybe someday I will write that blog.  Maybe off season.  We’ll see.

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So anyways, I am in a the best suite in Wrigley.  No shit.  Directly behind home.  Our suite neighbor to the left was none other than the architect of the rebuild, Theo Epstein.  It was pretty boss.  Our host was a great guy, who remembered everyone’s name and what they were drinking.  He ordered multiple things to eat, drink and when that desert cart came around, goddamn.  Bailey shots in chocolate cups.  Wonderful.

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If you don’t remember the game on Thursday, there were several rain delays and I can’t even tell you how sweet it was to not have to move out of the rain, or even give a fuck if the game was gonna start again cause you are eating your face off and drinking tons of free Heiniken.  The starting pitchers were Q vs Grenkie, so i was expecting an epic pitch off, but those rain delays really killed the momentum.  So I just enjoyed my wife’s extended family and had a great time.

Now, as you might or might now know, I have a young daughter, Little Miss Shortstop.  My wife’s birthday was the following day, so I let her stay for the game and I left about 6.  Big thanks to my SIL Shannon for watching my daughter for about 8 hours.  She rules.  So as I walked home, drunk and full of life, I decided that my dream job would be a professional suite filler.

During the course of our conversations, the suite host told me how hard it was in previous years to get the suite filled.  Amazing. I thought Cubs fans were the best?  I can only imagine how hard some of these guys on the southside must be working to fill theirs.  So that is where I come in.  I can be that filler.  Why me?  Glad you asked.

My Qualifications

Reason # 1 – I drink beer.  Alot of beer.  At first look you are thinking, uh, that doesn’t sound like a good thing.  On Thursday, I knew the crowd was a bigger fan of domestics and hard booze. I scanned that fridge upon entry, we were a little late, and there was more Heiniken than any other beer.  So that was the beer I drank.  And no one drank that beer.  If I was on the southside, and no one wanted the Budweiser, I would drink that.  Yes, I would take one for the team.  I also have a decent amount of knowledge on craft beer. I can explain most beers.  It’s a skill.

Reason #2 – I don’t eat much.  While I am a huge fat guy, most of my extra lbs come from massive amounts of beer consumption. I eat minimal food, unless there is a plentiful amount.  I do not wanna be the fat guy that everyone looks at and says that is why we have no food left.  Not gonna happen.

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Reason #3 – I kinda know a little about baseball.  I can at the very least nod my head in agreement when I have 0 fucking idea who you are talking about.  Ask the fellas, hell they might not even know that I am pulling a Swingers style move when they talk about draft picks or our recent pick ups.

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Reason #4 – I have tons of stories that fall into the PG-13 and R category.  Yep, just gonna say that.  Some involve famous folks, some are from college, some are from my 10 years out west.  Wanna know more? Invite me to your suite.

Reason #5 – I don’t look like I CAN’T fight.  If we get in a pinch and we need some muscle, I at least look the part.  Get to talking to me, I am not that guy, but my looks and size scare away potential troublemakers.

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So there you have it! I feel like I could really excel in this line of work.  So do you know any guys that have a suite?  Send them my way – @mysoxsummer is my Twitter.  Or hell even email me at mysoxsummer@gmail.com.  If last night was any indication of the year to come, you are gonna need me to fill your suite!

-MSS

This week is the week folks!  Wanna meet and party with us?  Then show up Friday or Saturday for 2 108 special events! (Truth be told, there is a pretty good chance you can get drunk with us on Monday or Tuesday, just won’t be an official event)

Badergate At The Park – Elvis Night! 

Date: August 25th

Location : TBD (But usually Lot E)

Time: 4pm

What: Free Baderbrau beer.  Free Baderbrau food.  Free swag from the 108 boys. Do you need any other reasons to come get drunk on Friday night?  Be there or be square.

Fill The 108 Night! MSS Turns 40! Star Wars Night 

Date: August 26th

Location : Section 108 / $20 Tickets

Time: 6pm

What: My Sox Summer is turning 40 on Aug 20th, but we won’t celebrate till the 26th.  We have 30 plus tickets bought already for our friends and family, let’s buy even more.  MSS would suggest you get them at the box office to save on fees and get there early to get the bobblehead.  If you don’t want that bobblehead give it to MSS.  Ha.  We promise to be drunk AF and we will go live a few times.  Have fun in a full 108! We might have to get an extra Modelo vendor that night to handle all the requests.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly #62forQ

Posted on by mysoxsummer

Friends, it’s your buddy BeefLoaf……I’m here to round up the weekend with, “the Good, the Bad, the Ugly”……..a little snippet of what the 108ers see when attending games for a Sox homestand…………..

The Good

#62forQ – On Thursday the White Sox traded Jose Quintana to the Cubs for Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease and two other prospects that are likely to be working at Chipotle by the end of the season.  This trade has fully cemented the White Sox rebuild as he is the last high profile player to be traded.  This trade also inspired the 108ers to start a campaign for the White Sox Friday Night game, the first game since the All-Star break  to celebrate Jose Quintana’s White Sox career, “Irish Wake Style”, by drinking 62 beers during the pre, game and post.  Of course, we crushed this goal and had a great time doing so…..special thanks to @Pete_Hand for buying the 108ers a round to help accomplish this.

 

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Avi Garcia – 2 Homers on Sunday and a pretty decent weekend at the plate in total show me that the White Sox lone All-Star is back on track.  He even kept his sock game strong as usual.  I’m not sure if he’ll be here past August 1st but he sure has been fun to watch this year.
6PM Saturday Games –  I, MSS, will admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of these late Saturday games at first.  But I LOVE THEM. I can get chores done, which Mrs. MSS LOVES, and THEN go get drunk with the boys.  I feel accomplished and I still get my fun time.  Plus it seems to do well with the crowds.  Lotta drunks though, which is good for business, bad for the security guys.

The Bad

Derek Holland – He looks cooked, he looks finished.  Everyone is hitting the ball hard off of him and to all fields.  I’d be in shock if he could have even 1 start the rest of the season in which he goes 7 innings.  Chorizy-E was mentioning that he as a $2M bonus if he hits 150 IP for the season.  He’s at 97 Innings right now, so maybe the Sox just make him go away John Danks style before long and we won’t have to watch him much more.  Bring on Reynaldo Lopez.

 

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“Kids Run The Bases!” Line – MSS took a piss in the 9th, d-hy-drate-d, and he could barely get into the bathroom because of this line.  Then while exiting, the goddamn line took up half of the concourse.  Teachers, parents always yell at kids to get in single file lines, time to take that advice yourself folks! Seems like this could be done better, but it’s the Sox, so who knows.

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The Ugly

Tim Anderson‘s Defense – We’ve written previously about Anderson’s struggles and the effects that some things in his personal life might be having on his performance.  He is struggling mightily this year and it is getting harder and harder to watch.  It seems that basically every game  he is making a major defensive gaff.  This year, I guess it’s fine because the more losses that pile up the better it is for the future, but goddamn is it tough to watch.  He could probably use a mental health day every so often, especially once Moncada is here.

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Sink Water Temp – Listen, we get it, the park and what goes on at the park can get messy and disgusting.  But 175 degree water in the bathroom by the 108 is insane yo! MSS made his way out slowly on Saturday, and stopped by a different bathroom and the water was a reasonable temp, so it can be done.  Poor BeefLoaf lost 2 layers of skin on his gnarly paws and MSS couldn’t keep his hand under there that long at all.  It’s nuts and dangerous.  Dangerous for your nuts too, just ask Slumpbuster.

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– BeefLoaf (and a few hits by MySoxSummer)

Remember what happened last year on 7/23/16? Of course you do! Matt “El Nino” Albers made his first start for the Chicago White Sox!  Because we couldn’t fit “El Nino” on a t shirt, we decided to commemorate the reason why he was on the mound: Chris Sale, his trusting hunting knife and some uncomfortable retro jerseys.  Have you seen the shirt yet?  God I hope so.  On 7/23/17 they will be $5 off, just go to our store and order one!  We have other shirts available too!  Plus any money we make goes towards new shirts that will make you proud to be a White Sox fan!
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Avi Garcia – Trade, Extend or Nothing….

Posted on by mysoxsummer
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In the 15 months or so that we have been writing in this space, I think we have probably written about Avi Garcia too much.  Whether it be to talk about WHY the White Sox continue to give him chances, or to make fun of him for sneaking under 260 lbs as a playing weight.  The 108ers are intrigued by Avisail Garcia.  The other night, I ran a Twitter poll of our followers and there isn’t a general consensus on what the White Sox should do with Avi Garcia

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So, I figured, as any blogger with a mediocre offering might do, I would breakdown the potential actions….

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TRADE

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The whole thought that Avi could be traded was kicked off via a rumor, of course, it was a Cafardo, so it is likely to have no basis in reality.  I remember when Sam Smith used to write for the Bulls and he would make up trade scenarios, at least he wrote them in a way in which, you knew he was just making something up and it was fun.  Nowadays these fucking guys make up shit and then blasted it out there like it is reality.  It’s a bunch of BS.  Anywho, so, Cafardo noted that the Cardinals were looking at Garcia and a few other power hitting RF’s.  I looked up and down the rest of the playoff contenders and pretenders and truthfully didn’t see much in the way of a team that really needs a RF.  The only other team that looked appetizing to me, were the Mets, but not for this year, they’ll start clearing off the Granderson and Bruce contracts at the end of the year, they could probably use a young controllable (at least for 2 years) RF to help out in their competitive window.  Besides those two teams, you got me.

Truthfully though, I don’t need to find a suitor, if Avi is to be traded, someone will emerge. I am just in need of finding a prospective value back in trade.  Avi is tough to compare given that he’s had 3 pretty blech seasons and now 3 pretty excellent months.  He’s still not walking a lot, but the “walking a lot” folks need to go fuck off, you can be a plenty valuable player with power and high contact rate.  The two most comparable trades from last deadline are the Mets trading for Bruce and the Rangers trading for Beltran.  The Bruce deal netted the Reds Dilson Herrera who was a top 10 prospect in the Mets system, but graduated from his prospect status and a lottery ticket.  The Beltran deal, which required the Yanks to toss some cash in the nap sack that went along with Carlos to Texas included a top 5 prospect in the Rangers system (Dillon Tate) and top 100 overall and two lesser prospects that were top 10 round picks in the 2014 amateur draft.

In other words, it isn’t likely that an Avisail Garcia trade ends up with much star power included in it.  It is possible that his control with 2 arb years remaining would boost the haul, but it is likely you would just be adding more assets and setting the clock back on those assets.  It is doubtful you line up something with as much promise as say, I dunno, 2013 Avisail Garcia.  If trade is the answer, it may be a signal that the competitive window is a little further away (say, starting in 2020) and that the White Sox need more assets that start arriving then.

EXTEND

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This is a tough one, as Garcia has 2 arb years left.  For the 2017 season he netted a 1 yr $3M deal before going to arbitration.  Truthfully, he was pretty terrible heading into his 1st arbitration year and still got $3M.  Arbitration is pretty kind to giving raises if someone could, oh, I dunno, put up a .900 OPS season.  You might expect Avi to pick up a $3M to $4M raise in 2018 and a similar one in 2019.  Which would put Avi’s salaries at say $7M in 2018 and $11M in 2019, the White Sox would need to buy those out and then buy out some portion of free agency.

I think the closest thing to Avi in estimated value might be someone like Mark Trumbo who got 3 yrs 37.5M.  Truthfully, if you think Avi is actually this Avi, he’s much better than Mark Trumbo, so maybe Ian Desmond‘s 5yrs $70M is closer to accurate.  Let’s assume if you extend Avi (and the extension would have to occur around now or at least before he puts in an entire season of being a 3 to 4 win player) that the extension would be for 5 yrs and $75M (buying out arb years 2018 & 2019) and then signing him through  2022 (his age 31 season).  Avi might feel some loyalty towards the White Sox and get something like this done.  Or, he might realize that he goes to free agency at 28 and could make more money than this when he does.

NOTHING

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This is the best action in my opinion.  I don’t think the market yet believes in the new Avi, making trades tougher and I think it is pretty cost prohibitive to the future competing White Sox teams to possibly fuck up this extension.  I think you let Avi play this out and then in 2018 you re-evaluate.  Maybe he finds his level as a 2 WAR RF and then you decide that he’ll be cheap enough to extend or a valuable enough commodity to trade for a real chip.  With the current expiring assets on the roster, I think Rick Hahn has his hands full trying to unload everything that isn’t nailed down for something of future value.

 

– BeefLoaf

Holiday Weekend Round Up!

Posted on by mysoxsummer

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It’s MSS and here is your Weekend Round-Up! My original idea was to live blog this weekend, but I decided that I needed to be fully engaged to enjoy this long homestand.  A homestand that includes a daytime double header, #WallyMoney tossing a first pitch, the return of Chris Sale and excessive drinking!

FRIDAY

It was supposed to be a double header but the weather gods had other plans.  Slumpbuster showed up EARLY and had a fancy mexican lunch with BeefLoaf at local fave Antique Taco.  They had margaritas and presumably talked about baseball and making that money yo!

The rest of the crew (Chorizy – E, BigUns, Slim Mick and #WallyMoney) showed up at Beefloaf’s place and got their drink on.  I took my sweet ass time getting to the 108 Drinking Patio but I was crushing beers at home like they were gonna expire.  After eating some dinner, I made the walk with my red solo cup with a fresh High Life.

Of course the clouds opened up on me during my walk, so I was wet and buzzed by the time I got there.  There was a pile of beer cans on the table already, and we just kept adding to them.  Crushing beers, talking baseball and bullshit, watching Intervention waiting for the rain to stop.  Slumpbuster spilled BigUns beer, then not to be left out #WallyMoney spilled his ‘drank all over hizself. For reals.  He even soaked his socks.

 

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Pretty sure we were all feeling no pain when we filled that roadie cup, and made our way over to the game which was slated to start at 7:45, then 8:30, and it seemed like they got the field ready as fast as fuck, but we got there in the 1st.  One thing that always confuses me on delay games is they still run the show like it started on time.  Now, I know most normal fans had been there for hours, but when you live up the street you see shit different.  The auction booth was closed in the 1st.  Last call was in the 3rd, but like all good drunks, we just backed ourselves up enough to make sure we made it till the end.  #squadgoals

Trivia was going, Chorizy was killing my peanut bag (trying to take the edge off his buzz no doubt) and we even got a visit from Pete! The Sox were playing great, Modelos were going down smooth, great night all around.  Then shit got weird….

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In the 8th, BigUns and Slumpbuster got up and left.  So we walked over to ChiSox to get our maple wing fix!  We were informed by our waitress that the kitchen was closed.  Classic Sox behavior.  So we drank our 24oz Pacifico, and walked back to BeefLoaf’s pad.  While walking, we discovered that #WallyMoney drives a #bangbus and we all could get in to go get a pizza at Freddies.  Which we did.  But they were out of slices.  DA FAQ! So while debating ordering a full pizza, we were chanted into ordering a JUMBO by the staff.  AND WE CRUSHED THAT SHIT.

I had severe trouble navigating the #bangbus back area, which had plenty of room for activities. I was army crawling, barrel rolling like a mofo.  Chorizy didn’t pass out holding our pizza and fries (which is a tradition with these guys that I will never understand. Who eats fries with pizza? BeefLoaf and Chorizy).  Somehow we were quite enough to not wake Ms. ‘Loaf or Bonita Steakie, which was amazing.  I got a lift in the #bangbus home and since I had already eaten, I didn’t pass out in the chair, but found my way to bed and passed the F out.

SATURDAY

Friday nights seem to be the crazy drinking nights, so like clockwork, I woke up with a slight headache and some acid reflux.  A few pills later I was back to bed and feeling fine.  BeefLoaf was in the same boat, but fancy ass Chorizy-E said he felt like death.  The deck opened at noon, so after I crushed some hot dogs, downed a few beers I started out my walk to the deck.  My wife and kid decided to hit the DH too, so they walked down with me.  This would be the time that my body decided that we needed to sweat out all the poison that was in my system.  Thanks to Polish With Extra Onions for pointing out that I was pretty sweaty.  Which was very obvious.

Because the 108 is in the shade for a majority of day games, our section seems to fill up with randos that are afraid of the sun.  So it makes for less room for our buds to come by and talk some shit.  But the beer was flowing, and the game was a good one.  We would have enjoyed the announcement of Luis Robert, had we been there on time, but sometimes you gotta show up late to crush a few cheaper beers on the deck.  New addition to the weekend was the 99¢ 4-Pack Kul.

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So for less than the price of 2 Modelos in the park, you can get 3 CASES! Insane.  I seem to be the only one who doesn’t mind this beer, but I will say that it isn’t much worse than the Kirky Lights, maybe slightly more flavor.  Maybe.  Another tip, drink as fast as possible as while it warms up, unlike a fine stout or porter, it does NOT taste good.

The deck was in full swing with all the guests including Slumpbuster and BigUns back for the 2nd day!  Impressive gents.  While I am dripping getting an awkward sunburn, I look over and see Chorizy dressed like it is an early April game.

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Like fries with pizza, these guys are always fucking confusing me.  Yes, that is a koozie.  No, Chorizy isn’t drinking refried beans.  He has, but not this time.  That is a refreshing Tecate.  I seem to recall in a drunken state Chorizy telling me he was dying of the heat later, but I cannot confirm that.  Lotta family and friends at that first game.

 

And there was this guy too…..

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This guy is awesome.  Even drunk as hell, he is STILL paying more attention to the game than the Cubs fans he came with.  #ThatsCub.

The first game the Sox just tore it up to get the W #FlyTheArrow.  The sweat hadn’t dried yet, and almost half the park was gone before the 2nd game even started.  It was a ghost town.  Once again they stopped serving beer in the 1st!  The 1st!  So again, we backed up till the cows came home.  We bought so much Modelo, that we are pretty sure that our beer guy can buy a boat.  And not a cheap boat, but rather a fancy ass boat with hoes included.

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So we drank and drank and watched some baseball.  MF and her crew came down to the seats and partied it up.  Then, all of a sudden, like the 7th, the crew decided that the game was over.  It was a mad dash to the gates, leaving my head spinning, and we walked home.  I noted then that my head was spinning cause I was HAMMERED so I walked my drunk ass home.  Got some great sleep and wasn’t even hung over the following morning.  #thelittlethings

SUNDAY

Ok, Game 4.  Sox have taken 2 of 3, so we were excited as it was anyways.  Early morning texts from BeefLoaf confirmed that we’d do it all again, and we had some special guests.  For the 3rd straight day, Slumpbuster and BigUns made it out to ye ol ballpark.  So what does that mean?  Another drunken day.  The beer went down smooth, so smooth even #WallyMoney was crushing Coors Lights.  It was awesome.

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Slim Mick and his family were living the high life is a suite due to his daughter writing a great essay about how great of a father he is.  Even included that despite being a Cubs fan, he was still pretty awesome.  Which the 108 agrees. Especially when he rocks a Jersey Demolition shirt in the suite.  And matching 108 Trucker Cap!   Both available here for the low price of $25!

Modelos and pretzels. The shortest rain delay in history happened, but the weather even got better.  It was nuts.  the Sox played hella good ball, Pete stopped by, and the post game was on the deck.  Quick beer for the Indiana fellas, but after they left, we hit the hot tub to talk about the weekend and think up new ideas for the blog.  We popped some bottles and enjoyed the hot tub getting all the stress out of our lives.  I ended the day with with my lovely wife and daughter eating cheap pizza and drinking water.  Which is a good thing cause for the 2nd day in a row I woke up with a 0% hangover.

So overall it was an EXCELLENT homestand with the company of friends and fans. And foes.  The Tiger fans also enjoyed the 108 with us, and winning 3 outta 4 put us in rare form.  Despite the fact that many of you seemed to have missed our article on how to use the bathroom properly (read that here) and the 109 trying to start the wave (watch this) we all had a great time.  Stories were shared, memories were made, and we killed it again Fam.

It’s not over yet and we expect to see many smiling faces out today for the arrival of Chris Sale and the Bo Sox.  And don’t forget #WallyMoney will be bouncing one in on Tuesday night so be sure to make that.  Oh and Sale is tossing against Q.  Big whup.

If you still need your Jersey Demolition shirt, hit us up on Twitter and I will bring it to the game today or Tuesday!  $25 for the best shirt money can buy!  Original content, only 100 made, be the hit at your next Sox gathering.

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The 108 Learning Annex – Bathroom Etiquette at the Ballpark.

Posted on by mysoxsummer

Even though we don’t wanna do this, we feel like the hot mess that took place on April 22nd, 2017 has deemed it necessary that we go over this.  Usually this takes place on Opening Day, but a 32k crowd on that “Sweatshirt Saturday” blew it out of the water. Some of y’all have NO FUCKING IDEA ON HOW TO USE THE RESTROOMS AT G-RATE. NO IDEA. NOT A CLUE.

Let’s take a look at the diagram –

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So most of you know to enter in the A area.  Some of you go backdoor and hit the C area, which I understand, but you are still a cunt when you do so.  So much so that I won’t tuck my wide shoulders when going out the exit in hopes that I give you a stinger. So you go in A.  Now, if you gotta shit (and I will say that in hundreds of games that I have attended I have done it twice) you can stay in the A area, but move to the side so other guys can get past. If you are using the stall to piss, you gotta reevaluate your life, for reals.  The last thing anyone is looking at is your dick size at the ballpark.  If you have a kid and are using the stall, hey, thank you for bringing the ‘yutes to the game. One time I saw a guy drinking a beer, taking a piss with his kid in a baby carrier. It was amazing.

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When you enter the bathroom, and you just have to piss, walk right by the people in the A area, and head to the B area.  Simple right? You’d think. Why do this you ask? This will prevent a big bunch of people blocking the entrance while ONE FUCKING GUY is just sitting there waiting for the next open urinal.  Right now, huge lines ensue just so “First In Line” Fred can get his pisser before anyone else does. We in the 108 LOSE OUR FUCKING MINDS when this happens.  But how can it be avoided?  Oh, we’d thought you’d never ask!

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Now, here is where it get’s tricky. We all like to gamble right?  Well, now is the time (as Slumpbuster put it) to “pick your horse”.  You line up behind a guy taking a piss, so there is no bunching in area A, which allows for people to get access to the next open urinal.   Now, several things can happen. Your “horse” might win before the guy who might have gotten in line before you. It is your urinal, you won, piss away. But you can do the, “Go ahead” movement if you wanna be a nice guy.  But ultimately, it is yours to use. Just following this little suggestion, will make things go so much smoother, and Chorizy – E won’t wanna kill you.

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I know all you guys are all about being “fair”, well except you cunts that go in the exit and think it’s hilarious. But honestly, this first come, next served bullshit has to end.  When there are less people in the bathroom, I stay in an “area” of a few urinals. If a guy who was waiting longer than me picked a bad horse (depending on how bad I gotta piss) I usually will offer up my spot to that guy.  I try to be fair, but sometimes, especially when the bathrooms are full, you gotta make a decision and deal with it. It sucks, but it’s the best we can do.  This one guy waiting for the next available one has gotta end.  I am gonna have a fucking aneurysm the next time I get in line only to find out we are waiting for “Next In Line” Ned to get his properly deserved urinal.

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Now, you don’t have to be right on the guy taking a piss, give him some space and don’t rush the guy.  Usually I am pretty drunk, so I don’t give a fuck how close you are, but some guys that might give them stage fright.  What actually will give most guys stage fright is when you don’t leave a one urinal buffer in an empty bathroom.  I know we are a group orientated type of society, don’t like to be alone, but one spot, is public bathrooms.  Stay the fuck away.

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I am sure I have pissed off a bunch of people, but IDGAF. This madness needs to end.  Seriously.  I am tired of waiting in lines so one person can be treated fairly.  We are in a  group situation and what works best for the group, not than the individual, should rule. So when you see a guy walk by you, cause you are living in “It’s My Turn” Ted’s dumb world, waiting in the A area, don’t freak out, but rather follow him to the future.  We in the 108 will be there, and we’ll have fancy future beer. Wanna join us?

 

-MSS

 

Big thanks to all the 108’ers that came out last night to support my first lofty and slow pitch.  Miguel Gonzalez called it an ultra slow change-up, awesome guy by the way. It was a wonderful experience that I am very appreciative of.  Having my wife, daughter and all you jagaloons there meant more to me than you will even know.  The shit talking after the pitch was pretty light, I think because I was holding my daughter.  I am sure it will continue tonight.  Extra special thanks to Mike from the Sox (an avid 108 reader) for his hospitality. Can’t wait to do it again.

 

And then this –

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So our new t-shirt idea is available in our BRAND NEW SPANKING STORE! In this store you can get our brand spanking new “Jersey Demolition” shirt and OG 108 Trucker cap that all the fellas wear. Available also is our original OG 108 shirt (Chicago colorway, black and white) in limited numbers.  In very limited numbers we have the 2016 Hot Stove Champions shirt.  The money we get from these shirts goes to fund more funny t-shirt ideas.  If there is money left after that, we promise to drink it away.  

So visit our store here – http://fromthe108.bigcartel.com/

Take a quick look at our merch and buy something!  Please and thank you!

 

Own Some White Sox History!

Posted on by mysoxsummer

Hello everybody! It’s MSS, and as you know, I do a bit of collecting of White Sox stuff.  Mostly I collect the bobbleheads (if you have any you wanna sell, email me at mysoxsummer@gmail.com) but I look at all sorts of stuff.  Most recently I purchased some blueprints from New Comiskey.  I also picked up an engraved bat that had the last team that played at Old Comiskey. Great stuff to add to my collection.

With the advent of the smart phone, several apps have come along for people to sell their stuff online for no extra cost.  In addition to Facebook and Ebay, there is now Offerup and Let Go, both sites are like virtual garage sales.  I have moved some stuff on these sites, but find that the people are usually unreliable and never respond after they make an offer.  Or they lowball the shit outta ya.  Which is fine, but don’t get angry when I won’t sell to ya.  I check from time to time for stuff in my area and well, I got crazy lucky today.

This is amazing!  Clearly over priced and it’s not even certified (although it is listed as certified)! I looked over the pictures and noticed that the ball had been damaged (maybe played with by a kid Sandlot style) but there seems to be a tear so it’s most likely damaged by a dog.  Comes with the original case, even has the black “display stand”.

So I reached out to the seller to get the authentication number, ya know, since it’s listed as that…..

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HOLY SHIT!!!! This is fucking history for the low price of $150?  Not just a World Series used game ball, but it was a HOME RUN BALL?  There were only 6 home runs in the entire 2005 Playoffs for the White Sox, and this is one of those balls right here, on Offer Up, for under $200.  AMAZING.  I was not born yesterday, so I decided to ask a few more questions…….

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You see, you start doubting people and they reassure you that it’s a real item and if that doesn’t hold water for you (which it shouldn’t) the seller offers up that he knows a Pawn Shop that will let you know that it is real.  But the gem here is that he has Scotty Pods walk off game winning homer ball, autographed by Scotty Pods.  That is simply fucking amazing.  Once again, for under $200.  I mean baseball fans love these stories, as do Sox fans.

So at this point after I email him the story that says Scott has the homerun ball, I fully expect him to stop all communication with me, but he one ups me!

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Now everyone has a story from their grandfather that might be lacking in the truth area. According to my dad, my great grandfather always claimed to be at Game 3 of the 1932 World Series. Why is that game significant? Babe Ruth called his homer.  He also claimed to have been at the Red Grange 6 TD game vs Michigan in 1924. The way my father told the stories to me later in life makes me believe that he even questions them, but it would be awesome to be true.  So grandpas have been lying for ages. 

But this takes the cake.  Grandpa told Freddy (Could this be Freddy Garcia?) that this was the home run ball from Game 2 of the 2005 World Series. He gave it to his grandson with picture evidence of Pods signing it. Never mind that you can find out the info on this ball in a few seconds on Google. So instead of checking Grandpa’s story, let’s just keep it alive without any proof.  So I decided to lower the hammer…..

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Anyone that has seen a game used baseball knows they aren’t white. They use mud on them from these guys. And if it was part of history, I would think you’d buy a better case than the retail one that is sold with the retail balls. But he carried on. Sure, throw your grandpa under the bus. Sure, you are gonna have a serious talk with him too.  And then…

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He ain’t giving this up.  Why did I offer $20? These balls go for about $25 to $35 blank and in perfect condition. I am guessing the sig is real, I’d risk $20 to find out.  It’s a cool story to tell folks, like I am now.  But he doesn’t take my offer and says that never used baseballs signed go for $120.  Well, a certified Pods WS Ball was just sold on Ebay for $26.  And it has authentication.  And it wasn’t chewed by a dog.  At this point, I just move on cause he doesn’t really care, as shown by his use of emojis.

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So while you are looking for great deals, make sure you do your homework. Don’t trust anyone, unless you know them.  Lotta guys scamming out there, so ask questions.  A legit seller will answer all your questions.

The Sox announced 2 more bobblehead games this week, a Game Of Thrones Southpaw bobblehead and a Mark Buehrle bobble.  They join a Southpaw Birthday Bobble (for kids only) and a Star Wars bobble.  As far as bobbles, some of the weakest bobbles I have ever seen. Not sure why Tim Anderson doesn’t have a bobble yet (Could be the Star Wars bobble I suppose).  And I am all for a Tyler Saladino “bobble-stache”.  Chance the Rapper should of had one too with all his recent success.  We’ll see, I am guessing we get a few more before the end of the year.

Go Sox!

-MSS

Now that the season has started, feel free to swing by the 108 and look for us!  We can’t promise to be there, but a pretty good chance one of us will be there on the weekends. You can tweet at us too @fromthe108 and join us on FB too!

Opening Day – You Just Gotta Believe.

Posted on by mysoxsummer

Happy Opening Day 2017 Ya Bastards. It’s the best day of the year, by far.  Of course it was somewhat ruined by this dumbass Opening Night our instant classic society demanded.  Wait a day!  Patience is a virtue and a bunch of you mofo’s need some, unless you are in the car.  It is totally cool to lose your patience on a bad driver.

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Back to baseball. Was I this excited last year at this time?  Kinda, yeah.  But was it for the party or baseball?  Both, duh. I thought the team had filled some holes last year, rather than made some dumb “big-name” signings and thought they could compete.  Which, for awhile, they did.  But then they collapsed, in epic fashion.  We had a bunch of weird stories coming out of spring training, lotta bullshit, which took awhile to come to the surface.  A year later our knife wielding ace is off to greener pastures and his bubble blowing compadre is ghosted too. Talk to the fanbase, we are gonna suck bad this year, lose a bunch of games, #tankforbeer, ya know, the exact opposite of what you are supposed to be aiming for at this time of year.

Let’s take stock in our team. Some fans are mad we traded Sale, some fans are pissed we didn’t give everyone away.  Some fans expected the new kids to just all of a sudden become insta-super stars. Well folks, we are in a for a ride.  It could be a fun ride, it could suck major balls, it could be both, but we can’t lose sight of the big picture. Have hope Sox fans!  In short, you just gotta believe.  Let me elaborate.

We are being given a great gift to watch a team strip down to basics, and start over so to speak, to make something special.  Will this path work?  I have no fucking idea.  But what I do know, is that without the guys we cut loose we aren’t any further away from having a playoff team.  Shit was broken, they are trying to fix it.  No way in hell, you get all the fans to agree that every move is the best, but I am pretty sure 70% of us were totally on board.  And as Sox fans, 70% is passing, so it counts.  You just gotta believe.

I love baseball.  I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I fell in love.  I enjoy being outside, the excitement of watching a guy fail 7 outta 10 times. Because those 3 times he succeeds, it’s fucking magic. It reflects life, it provides hope to everyone watching.  Cause we all wanna hit the big one, but most of the time we swing and miss. If a guy told you you were gonna fail more than you were gonna succeed, you might not wanna get up there and try.  But these guys have made a life doing just that, trying to change the odds. You gotta believe it’s gonna happen.

The hope has returned (to me and my buds in the 108) and I’m gonna enjoy watching this team lose (or win) while developing young talent. Especially enjoy it with a cold ass Modelo or Baderbrau in our fantastic seats.  Enjoy it while I am struggling to see if anyone is on 2nd and who is pitching.  Gonna be a fun year of learning, watching kids grow into baby men, it will rock.  As I said after SoxFest, this group of guys is hella nice.  That’s gotta be a good thing right?  I just wanna see them play.  I just wanna believe.

Some of you out there are saying “Aww shit, MSS is drinking the happy juice” and you are right.  But if Opening Day doesn’t give you at least a little bit of optimism, why are you watching this game?  Why are you investing your time in this?  I agree it can get majorly frustrating, but that shouldn’t start before the season.  The slate is clean, it’s a new year, who knows what’s gonna happen.  I am unsure if all the pieces fit, if they will turn out to be great moves, but I hope they do.  It’s one day (hell a week) of hopes and dreams for the new season.  We all start at 0.

So put on your poncho, your rain suit, or sack up and wear a hat and a jacket with some jeans and get your ass to the ballpark today.  Some scalpers are selling low priced tickets, take advantage. Come celebrate the small guy, the everyday guy, the guy who reminds you of you when you could still run. It’s gonna be wet, it’s gonna be cold, but you won’t find more hope anywhere than on the southside this day. Come believe with me (and have a beer and a brat).

As always, thanks for reading and GO WHITE SOX. Happy Opening Day Fans!

-MSS

The 5 – All The Places We’ve been Banned.

Posted on by mysoxsummer

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Running a blog is a pretty thankless job, but from time to time you make an impact on something or someone, so you keep writing stuff.  I ran a pretty successful blog in the summer of 2012 called My Sox Summer.  I had just moved to Chicago, Bridgeport to be exact, and wanted to see how many games I could go to for under $500.  I decided to try for 50, ended up with 53 games for $400.  This was pre-$7 and $5 upper corner seats, so the lowest face value was around $15. So if you wanna relive that epic collapse of 2012 through the eyes of a guy with no job, you can read it here.

In 2017, we are trying to step our game up here in the 108. We had a bunch of ideas that we didn’t execute last year due to timing and piss poor planing, but look at us now!  We have t-shirts and business cards! They were a big hit at SoxFest. Hell we even have a contest running for the best mustache with Tyler Saladino! And the most epic March Madness Bracket EVAR for the best baseball movie. So anyways we are trying to get more readers and followers in 2017.

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I am not sure how familiar you as the reader are of the White Sox online community, but there was a really popular message board back in the day called WSI (White Sox Interactive).  I was a west coaster back in the day and I am pretty sure one of the moderators hit me with a card back when it started up, but I never joined. Fast forward to 2012 and I am trying to promote my blog, I start posting on any White Sox message board I can find.  I encountered a bunch of red tape when trying to post on some of these message boards, as they don’t allow the small time guys that make no money to self promote their blogs.  After several messages WSI did decide to allow me to post on their board, which drove a bunch of traffic in 2012.  I tried to post again in later years and I was banned for life.  Ha. Soxtalk was another message board that always allowed me to post my blog, which was awesome too.  I had a FB page, Twitter and Insta page. All drove traffic to the blog, all made me $0.

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We started @fromthe108 in 2016, I was pretty aware of the different channels that we could use to promote.  Message boards have since died, mostly due to the moderators being control freaks, and FB pages have become the new message boards.  There are TONS of these pages on FB and I try to join as many as possible.  Mostly I am there as a Sox fan, but I am also there to promote our blog among the others. Many pages allow this with no issue, a few have issues, but I will talk about them later. First let me tell you about the people that run our blog.

In 2012 I met a group of guys that had season tickets to the Sox and let me tell you, I lucked into a group that suited my needs for baseball. All of the guys were very welcoming, but not in a sappy way, more like “we respect you cause you are a big guy, but you are fun drunk so please hang with us” kind of way.  It’s fun to come into situations where the guys were just like my friends, pretty much known each other for life.  Lotta crazy Bridgeport stories, college stories, all that shit.  It was a match made on the southside. We all have tickets (that we pay for) for every weekend series.

On the heels of a video that I shot that went viral, the From The 108 blog was born.If you haven’t, watch this video. It’s hilarious.

We promoted the blog on several sites, most were open to it, some were not.  Here are the sites that had issues with us.

Reddit

I was banned for 7 days?  All for posting links to our stories.  They claimed self promoting, which I was, but is that not allowed?  You can post any link on their sub-reddit, except your own I guess.  We got a serious keyboard lashing from one of the members because our blog didn’t fit in his/her little box of what a fun White Sox fan blog should be.  He called out BeefLoaf for having a dumb name.  That might be true, but fuck him, you write a blog.  So if you wanna read censored White Sox stories, just like you can ANYWHERE, check out The White Sox Sub Reddit.  If you like our blog, post it on there, we’ll owe ya.

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Soxtalk On FB

Soxtalk started as a message board and has a FB page.  We seemed to have a great relationship until we posted a blog in which BeefLoaf quoted Pulp Fiction and said the racial slur “wetback”.  He is of Mexican heritage, so does it even count?  Can’t you make fun of your own race?  Not on the Soxtalk FB page!  We were booted after that blog

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Sox Fans On Deck – FB Page

I got a swell message from the moderator of this page telling me that while he was happy I was part of his group, he would appreciate it if I didn’t promote my page on his page.  We linked to our Twitter contest with Tyler Saladino, I figured the Sox Fans On Deck could use some free tickets.  I was wrong! We launched into a big debate as what most of these pages complain about is me making money off them.  I tried to explain that we made no money with the blog, and then explained how other websites DO make money from ad revenue, but it fell on deaf ears.  Another one bites the dust!

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These are the most recent places that have asked us not to post, or booted us from their site for posting our blog.  It’s America, so rock and roll.  We DGAF  that much, but it is just sad to me anyways that the independent guy can’t post his poorly written blogs but anything that Sports Mockery turns out will get a million views.  Or the Trib.  Or Yahoo.  Christ, these guys are making thousands on ad revenue, but because they are established, no big deal, post away!   This blog costs us money right now, with ticket prices, concessions and these sweet T-shirts that we got made up, we are in the hole.  But we do it cause we are fans that love the White Sox. And we have something to say to you other fans.  I am also sure that many of our ideas have not gone unnoticed.

Soon enough if you wanna contribute to the plan, buy a shirt from us.  We have some sweet limited edition ones that we will be producing later this year, so keep an eye out.  Original content blogs, sweet limited edition t-shirts, what more do you want?  Let us know!

Big thanks to the FB pages (Pride & Passion, Debating Cage, We Love The White Sox, Grinder Ball, Sox Fans Only and many more!)   that allow us to post our content and for the thousands of you that read our stuff.  We promise to keep getting drunk to provide you with hours of shitty content and sweet shirts.

-MSS

Another Beer Blog.

Posted on by mysoxsummer

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Did you see the news on Friday?  After a 30 year run (and countless cases of cirrhosis) Miller is out, Modelo is in. I have mixed feelings on the whole deal, and I hope we learn what happened, but more than likely we’ll never really know the details.  It ends a relationship that seemed to be mutually beneficial for both groups, but maybe it is time to move on.  As reported, Modelo is the 2nd leading beer in the city of big shoulders behind Lite. In the 108, it makes an appearance during the summer on Beefloaf’s Patio, sometimes several.  Reportedly this opens up what will be served at the park, which is quite the selection as it stood.  I know we all wanna know if they will be serving Cheladas, which could get very interesting. Let take a look at some of new options that the Sox have included in the conversations going forward.

What are the “NEW”  local options?

Two new breweries have been announced for G Rate Field, Baderbrau and Pollyanna. Let’s take a look at what they both have to offer.

There is this little brewery a mile or so away from the park called Baderbrau. It is often credited as the first craft brewer in Chicago, serving a Czech-style pilsener in the mid-90’s.  They have a sweet location on 25th and Wabash that the 108 posse has hit many times. But the best part? SOUTH SIDE PRIDE. A Helles style brew that it damn tasty.  I suggest you take a look the next time you wanna buy a local beer and give that can a try.  They have several styles, lots of lagers, that are easily session beers that will hold up with any in the Chicago scene. Being so lager forward, it is an easier transition for the domestic drinker to move to a crafty style lager. The Chicago Pils might be one of the most easy drinking beers I have ever had.

 

I am not as familiar with Pollyanna, but I will be taking acre of that problem as soon as possible.  I am pretty sure I was drinking Mazzie during the NIU/Toledo football game in Nov, but who knows?  Whatever it was went down smooth and helped me forget that there were only 47 people at that game.  Their offerings on their website look delish, including a high ABV Porter (Eleanor) and IPA (Lexical Gap). I promise to write yet another blog about beer after I have been to or drank a shitload of Pollyanna Beer. I will do all that drinking just so you don’t. Sacrifice, it’s what the 108 is all about.

What are the OLD “local” options?

A 108 fave is a Revolution Brewery.  We’ve talked at great length about the Sec 112 24oz Anti-Hero for under $12, but they produce other awesome beers. Lagunitas is already there too, but I’d love to see more options from another brewery that is only a couple miles from the park.  Lagunitas serves up some great food too, and the people that work there take great pride in introducing you to a vast array of lovely beers.

I love me some 3 Floyds too, but not a fan of Yum Yum, which is what they sell at the park now.  I get why they sell that there though, one of the more easy drinking beers they produce, I’d hate to see a rowdy crowd killing Zombie Dusts’ like they are going out of style.  Even with a 6.66% ABV, it sneaks up on you and you can go from zero to drunk rather quickly.  With a season upon us that could prove to be brutal on the scoreboard, it could get bad with high alcohol beers in mass quantity.

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I get that most folks don’t really like to crush what they consider “heavy” stouts at a summer game.  But as a coffee stout aficionado, I’d love to see an option on the menu for the early and late season games.  Stouts and porters tend to open up as they warm so even if you sip it, it just get’s better.  One of my faves is from Great River Brewery in the Quad Cities. Redband Stout, which used to be readily available, but now seems to be only available at special times.  Or not at all.  Who knows? If we go outside the state, Coffee Bender from Surly is a strong choice too.  Check it out if you like coffee flavored beers.

So what is the best case scenario?

What I would like to see, it a bunch of draft options, that could be limited, could be unlimited, but always should be fresh.  Can any one brewer in Chicago handle the output?  I am guessing no, but that let’s conquer it in numbers.  Have several breweries there providing their best beers, let’s make it like a beer festival up in the G Spot (ugh, shudder).

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For all you domestic drinkers, I am sure you will be well taken care of, as Lite will still be in the park, just not in the bins.  The Shandy’s will be around I am sure, so that should suffice about 75% of our beer drinking fans.  I’d encourage you to try some of these other beers when you are out and about in your home drinking scene.  I wouldn’t suggest giving them a try at the park when the price will make it even worse if you dislike it.  And you should be fair to beer, it’s earned that right.

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The beer revolution has been great to me and other beer drinkers and I think the Sox have been right on the pulse getting good beer options to the fans.  Way better than up north, that is for sure.  The Sox are the beer (and BP Cup) champions.  I think they will continue this trend with more great options.

Have any suggestions for us?  Send them to us on Twitter – @fromthe108

Cheers fans.

-MSS