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Mark McLemore

Archive for category Chicago White Sox

Stylin’ in New Tommy Bahama MLB Team Shirts

Mar 8

Posted by Jerry Milani in Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, Logos, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies | 5 Comments

It might be time for me to update my Yankees wardrobe — for games I usually go with the old-time 1903-era New York Highlanders cap and a home or away jersey over a Yanks or plain tee, at least during the warmer months.  While I don’t usually stray from the traditional (no multi-colored caps or inane “Got Rings?” t-shirts), these new offerings from Tommy Bahama combine the classic Yankees design with an updated look.

According to the Tommy Bahama news item, they will only be offering eight teams — the Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox, Mariners, Angels, Dodgers, Phillies and Cardinals. I’m not sure how the M’s got in there over, say, the Mets, though I suspect the Ichiro effect on the Asian market might have something to do with it.

In any case, the company says that the Yankees and Red Sox shirts will be rolled out first, in time for their season opener on April 4.

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Ozzie & Twitter

Feb 24

Posted by Tom Biro in Chicago White Sox | No Comments

On Wednesday afternoon, the Associated Press noted that Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen would be letting fly via a new medium – a Twitter account – and that GM Ken Williams was “not happy about it.”

Aside from the fact that a lot of fans of the pale hose – and baseball overall – probably think this is a pretty fun little experiment, given Guillen’s penchant for saying what’s on his mind, this is probably more than just an experiment — it might just set the bar for what a Major League manager, or coach in other major sports, can or cannot say directly to the public going forward.

To date, sports talk radio, SportsCenter and other media have been the channel through which we’ve “heard” from players, managers and executives, for the most part, making it fairly rare that something wasn’t secondhand to the street when it came to sports. Sure, people bump into players or executives on the street, at dinner, and so forth, and maybe in recent years those interactions have been published to Twitter, blogs, Facebook, and so on, but that hasn’t been the primary source for fans across the board. But now, Guillen (and other MLBers, along with players, coaches, and execs from other sports) are cutting out the middleman, creating an opportunity for immediate interaction for fans and members of the media alike.

Love it or hate it, it’s an interesting dilemma. While leagues such as the NFL or broadcasters such as ESPN have set precedents for what its players and employees can or can’t do online or in social media spaces, this is still a pretty new area to set rules in for a lot of PR and communications folks, especially as mobile devices become more and more integral to our day to day lifestyles.

Will we see the blowup that Ken Williams seems concerned about possibly happening from his excitable manager Guillen, or are we all making a mountain out of a molehill? Do we think Guillen’s entrance into the Twittersphere will get other coaches and managers interested in the medium? Only time will tell, obviously, but this could be fun to watch.

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‘The Club’ Could be Mightier than ‘The Pen’

Feb 19

Posted by Jerry Milani in Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Sports on TV | No Comments

MLB Network announced today that it will debut a new reality series this summer, entitled The Club, which will follow the front office personnel of the Chicago White Sox, in much the same way last year’s program The Pen did with the Philadelphia Phillies’ relief corps.  I saw a few episodes of The Pen and really liked it.  I thought it was a pretty raw look at the day-to-day of being a major leaguer, and the unique aspects of being a relief pitcher.

I hope and expect that The Club will be even better.  Though The Pen did a good job with the topic of what is like to be a player, that ground has been pretty well covered in books and documentaries.  Front office machinations are less known by fans, and I think a lot of fans — myself included — will be surprised by all that goes on at the highest levels behind the scenes.

The Club is scheduled to premiere on MLB Network on Sunday, July 4 at 8 p.m.

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