1953 Bowman Color

There is nothing that should jump out and grab your attention about this set. It is simplistic in nature and somewhat muted in palette. The mostly posed photographs almost scream nostalgia. I am not certain if the effect is created by the cards themselves or the length of time the set has been in our consciousness. this set is almost a marquee-less answer to 1952 Topps. Unobstructed by names, team logos and star lined boxes, the focus is ultimately drawn to the photograph itself on each card.

Other Bowman releases in the fifties may have more notoriety, but not many match a set which rivals the look of tobacco releases but uses a larger canvas with better photography (in most cases) and manages to improve on previous Bowman releases by showcasing the subject and leaving the information squarely on the back of the card.

The White Sox have eleven cards in the set.

18 - Nelson Fox
36 - Minnie Minoso
39 - Paul Richards
50 - Lou Kretlow
54 - Chico Carrasquel
73 - Billy Pierce
75 - Saul Rogovin
88 - Joe Dobson
98 - Hector Rodriguez
137 - Sam Dente
157 - Sherman Lollar

From Paul Richards stoic dugout pose to Minnie Minoso's cuddly pose to Hector Rodriguez and Nellie Fox joyfully posing in mid throw, this set has personality and things not normally seen in competitor Topps' head shots. While this doesn't necessarily capture realistic action like witnessed on recent cards, this is closer than a set shown from the neck up.

With the exceptions of Fox and Minoso, most of these cards can be picked up for a song, if you are patient enough.

WSC Birth Years: Jake Petricka

Card #148 - Jake Petricka

Born: June 5, 1988

Jake was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the second round of the 2010 draft out of Indiana State University, sandwiched in between first round pick Chris Sale and third round pick Addison Reed. While moving through the Pale Hose farm system, Petricka suffered a setback due to a back injury and was switched from starting pitcher to relief. The switch enabled Jake to crack the majors in 2013.

Petricka made his MLB debut on August 22, 2013, relieving David Purcey in the bottom of the eleventh inning, facing Kansas City catcher Salvador Perez and getting him to ground into an inning ending double play. Conor Gillaspie homered to lead off the twelfth inning and Addison Reed nailed it down to ensure Jake would win his first MLB game in his first appearance. Petricka appeared in sixteen games for the ChiSox in 2013 and has put himself in a good position to be a part of the bullpen in 2014.

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2013 Bowman Draft Picks And Prospects

Here we go again with another round of Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects. New year, new faces, same lovable flavor.

There is no tension. No drama. No surprises. The design is remarkably similar to the last few years, so much so that it takes more than a quick glance to decipher the year. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Brand recognition is a good thing. Bowman definitely has that. Repetition of basic design year after year is not such a great thing.

Bowman has an identity crisis as a brand. It has a clear cut goal of being the place to find rookies. It does a very good job at that. Rookies abound throughout each set.  I believe that Bowman would do much better as a straightforward release. Cut down the parallels (or get rid of them all together). Throw the Chrome parallels away and keep them in Bowman Chrome, where they belong. Have a base set, maybe a few inserts and an autograph parallel of each base card. I think that would clean up Bowman nicely.

I could do without the Draft Picks and Prospects standalone set. Isn't that what the Bowman set is supposed to be anyway? If there has to be a Draft Picks set, (and I've said this before) make it a different design from the Bowman flagship set.

It may sound like I have a hate of Bowman. I really don't. I like Bowman. I see what it could potentially be and I love the tools it has at its disposal. I do not like the execution of the Bowman sets. There is a lot of wasted opportunity, in my opinion. It is bogged down with shiny distractions and needs to get back to basics.

The White Sox have seven cards in the set. It breaks down to three base cards, three chrome cards and an insert.

Base cards:
15 - Josh Phegley
TP-37 - Courtney Hawkins
BDPP-13 - Tim Anderson

 Chrome cards:
15 - Josh Phegley
TP-37 - Courtney Hawkins
BDPP-13 - Tim Anderson

Future of the Franchise Mini:
Courtney Hawkins

The White Sox cards in this set are not difficult to collect and that is a major plus in a set riddled with left turns and rainbow chases. There are blue, orange, red, black, silver ice, red ice, purple ice, black ice, cyan printing plate, magenta printing plate, black printing plate, yellow printing plate, chrome, chrome refractor, chrome blue refractor, chrome green refractor, chrome gold refractor, chrome black refractor, chrome orange refractor, chrome red refractor, chrome superfractor, chrome cyan printing plate, chrome magenta printing plate, chrome black printing plate and chrome yellow printing plate parallels that make up the 220 base set.

In order to get every card of Josh Phegley, you will need the regular base card and the twenty-five different parallels. I'm not sure if I want twenty-six different variations of the same Josh Phegley card. Do you?

Congrats Frank!

Congratulations on your election to the Hall of Fame. While some may have doubted that you would be a first time entry, no one could deny that you belonged there. I was one of the faithful that had a feeling you would get elected on your first try.

I've been following your career from the "don't believe the hype" motto that was instilled in you early in your career through your contributions to a world championship season and beyond. Careers have ups and downs and highs and lows. White Sox fans have been with you the entire way.

I am proud that you were my first WSC Hall of Fame member, voted on by the readers, and now I am proud that you are a member of Cooperstown.

Thank you for the thrills. Thank you for staying in Chicago for the majority of your career. It was an honor to watch you play.

WSC Birth Years: Bryan Anderson

Card #147 - Bryan Anderson

Born: December 16, 1986

The St. Louis Cardinals selected Bryan in the fourth round of the 2005 draft. He made a limited amount of appearances for the red birds in 2010 and 2012, but not much more than a third or fourth option for catcher materialized. His best season was his rookie season of 2010, where Anderson batted .281, drove in four and had nine hits in fifteen games. 2012 saw less games for Bryan, coupled with a slight dip in batting average. He was granted free agency after the 2012 season and signed with the White Sox.

Anderson saw action in ten games for the Pale Hose in 2013, aided by a team going through a ninety-nine loss season. Bryan was competent behind the plate but committed a throwing error, allowing a runner to score, in his last game for the 2013 season. The backstop was granted free agency after the 2013 season.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you and yours a joyous day.

WSC Birth Years: Erik Johnson

Card #146 - Erik Johnson

Born: December 30, 1989

Erik was chosen in the second round of the 2011 draft by the Chicago White Sox. Johnson spent 2011 and 2012 in class A ball. In 2013, he was considered to be the third ranked prospect in the White Sox organization. Erik started the year in AA, but quickly vaulted through the levels until his MLB debut on September 4, 2013.

Johnson's time with the Pale Hose in 2013 was a quick five games, but he has already racked up a few highlights, including striking out Ichiro Suzuki with the bases loaded. Erik could be a little wild at times, but that could be from the expected jitters of pitching in the big leagues for the first time. Johnson pitched well enough to win in the majority of his starts, but he was a victim of poor defense in a few cases. His MLB sampling could earn him a long hard look during the 2014 season.

2013 Pinnacle

Welcome back, Pinnacle. How many of us missed you? I can honestly say that I really didn't.

It's not that I didn't like Pinnacle. I sorta did. I remember buying packs and being marginally happy with the product. It never wowed me though. It had a lot of hype, but no bite. After a few years, the original sets sunk themselves into parallel hell and any hopes of resurrecting itself into something viable slowly was crushed by the weight of the wasted trees used in the production of endless mirror cards and shallow gimmicks.

So... what's Pinnacle like after a fifteen year absence? Pretty much as you remember it. The basic black designs from the first sets are imitated nicely, but the card feels dated, and not in a good way. These cards could have been released anywhere between 1992 and 1995 and no one would have batted an eye.

Are there parallels? Yes, Virginia, there are parallels. Even one of the parallels has a parallel. It is parallel heaven, if you're into that sort of scene. I, for the most part, am not, so this does nothing but irritate me, similar to a mosquito buzzing by your ear. It's not the worst thing in the world and it won't ruin my evening, but I'd be happier if it wasn't there.

The White Sox have five cards in the base set.

27 - Paul Konerko
94 - Alex Rios
99 - Dayan Viciedo
108 - Chris Sale
122 - Adam Dunn

What would a nineties revival be without inserts. And there are plenty of them.

Awaiting The Call
8 - Frank Thomas

Clear Vision Hitters
14 - Paul Konerko
31 - Alex Rios
70  - Frank Thomas

Clear Vision Pitchers
16 - Chris Sale

Position Powers
19 - Alex Rios

Slugfest
13 - Adam Dunn

Swinging For The Fences
5 - Adam Dunn

Team Pinnacle
5 - Frank Thomas/Albert Pujols

Autographs
4 - Chris Sale
21 - Frank Thomas
66 - Paul Konerko

To add to the fun, there are no logos on any player, so theoretically, there is much more to collect for the team collector, if they are game. Bo Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr., Steve Carlton and Tim Raines are the former White Sox players that stuck out during a quick perusal of the list.

Pinnacle is a harmless release. I'm on the fence as to whether I would collect it or not, but if you do, it isn't the worst set that you could pick up. Call me unimpressed but slightly nostalgic.

WSC Birth Years: Marcus Semien

Card #145 - Marcus Semien

Born: September 17, 1990

Marcus was originally drafted by the White Sox in the 34th round of the 2008 draft. Semien did not sign and opted to go to the University of California, Berkeley instead. Chicago drafted Marcus again in the 6th round of the 2011 draft. This time Semien signed and started in Class A Kannapolis. Marcus rose through the ranks fairly quickly and eventually made his MLB debut on September 4, 2013, playing third base in New York against the Yankees.

In his first at-bat, Semien hit a single to right field against C.C. Sabathia. He would collect two hits that day, the other against David Robertson, resulting in Marcus' first RBI. From mid-September until the end of the 2013 season, Semien played regularly in the infield, mostly at third base. He got his feet wet and made a good impression. Marcus is setting himself up to possibly become the everyday third baseman in 2014.

WSC Birth Years: Andre Rienzo

Card #144 - Andre Rienzo

Born: June 5, 1988

The first Brazilian born pitcher in the major leagues, to start and win a game, made his debut on July 30, 2013 for the Chicago White Sox. Andre went seven innings and gave up six hits, three runs, three walks and six strikeouts in a no decision against the Indians in Cleveland. Rienzo would have to wait nearly a month later until his first MLB win, on August 21st, against the Kansas City Royals.

Andre signed with the Pale Hose as an international free agent in November 2006. He slowly worked his way up the organizational ranks. After toiling in rookie and A ball through the 2011 season, Rienzo was promoted to AA Birmingham in 2012. Andre was added to the 40 man roster following the 2012 season. Rienzo's walk rate will need to improve slightly in order to stay in the rotation beyond 2013, but his enthusiasm and good extension should land himself a place on the team for the 2014 season. At only twenty-five years old, Andre has the potential to be a bright spot with the White Sox.

WSC Birth Years: Charlie Leesman

Card #143 - Charlie Leesman

Born: March 10, 1987

Charlie was selected in the eleventh round of the 2008 draft by the Chicago White Sox. Taking a slow and steady route through the farm system, Leesman seemed to be on the fringe of being called up for a few years. His 2012 season with the AAA resulted in a 12-10 record with a 2.47 ERA and 103 strikeouts, but what appeared to be an easy callup for 2013 was hampered by an ACL injury Charlie suffered in the 2012 International League playoffs.

Leesman was designated for assignment in April 2013 and picked up on waivers by the Texas Rangers. The Rangers assigned him to the minors, but Charlie became a free agent when he refused the assignment. Leesman signed with the White Sox, nine days after they DFA'd him. Charlie made his MLB debut on August 9, 2013, against the Minnesota Twins in the second game of a double header. Leesman was mostly thrown out of the bullpen in losing situations, where he was expected to stop the bleeding. His 7.04 season ERA mostly came from a game against the Cleveland Indians where he gave up seven runs without a single out. Charlie may be in the mix for the 2014 bullpen if he can build on his taste of the majors.

WSC Birth Years: Avisail Garcia

Card #142 - Avisail Garcia

Born: June 12, 1991

Avisail started his career in the Detroit Tigers organization in 2011. In 2012, he became the Tigers' minor league player of the year and made his MLB debut with Detroit on August 31, 2012 against the White Sox replacing Brennan Boesch in right field before the eighth inning. Garcia made enough of an impression that he made the 2012 postseason roster for the Tigers, playing in every series.

On July 30, 2013, Avisail was involved in a three-team trade, where the White Sox sent Jake Peavy to the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers sent Garcia to Chicago. The Tigers also sent Brayan Villarreal to Boston and the Red Sox sent José Iglesias to the Tigers. All three clubs improved their rosters with the trade. Since landing with the Pale Hose, Avisail has thrived with the opportunity to play everyday in right field. Garcia looks to be one of the cornerstones of the next era of winning baseball of the South Side.

WSC Birth Years: Josh Phegley

Card #141 - Josh Phegley

Born: February 12, 1988

Josh was selected in the first round (38th overall) of the 2009 draft by the Chicago White Sox. After an injury setback in 2010, Phegley moved up the ranks in the ChiSox minor league system until his call up in July 2013.

Phegley made his MLB debut on July 5, 2013 in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays, where he collected his first hit, a single, and his first RBI. Two days later, Josh hit his first home run off of the Rays' David Price. Four days after that, Phegley hit his first grand slam off of the Tigers' Anibal Sanchez.

After an initial power surge to kick start his career, Josh's bat cooled off and settled at .206 average. While he had four home runs of the 2013 season, three of those came in his first five games. It is unclear if Phegley will earn a backup position in 2014, but he will need to build on his major league experience for that to happen.

Panic At The Disco Not At The White Sox

The 2013 White Sox season could be summed up in a Panic! at the Disco song title. "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage". It's overly complicated and how some people think the season went. I could sum up my involvement with another song title from the same group, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies". And it was a sin the way the White Sox essentially wasted the season.

Why have I been comparing the 2013 White Sox to a baroque pop outfit? Maybe because they're both a little baroque?

No?

Can't be fixed?

I'll show myself out.

I could tell you that I am happy with the 2013 White Sox... and I wouldn't be lying.

Don't get me wrong, this season was awful, but it was only frustrating  because I knew that this team was better than this and they were trying. A White Sox team from my childhood seemed to abandon all hope, yet that team had a better record. That team lost me before the season ended. The 2013 team had me watching all throughout the season, albeit from afar, in Michigan.

2013 was worse than 1989, as far as White Sox seasons go, yet I didn't feel abandoned by this team, as I did by the 1989 squad. While things were slowly improving behind the scenes in 1989, the team on the field was superbly lackluster, as they slipped further down than the previous year. The turnaround in 1990, seemed to come out of nowhere.

This past season slipped lower, but unlike twenty-four years ago, I can see a quick recovery. I'm not saying that the White Sox will be World Champions in 2014, but I think they can contend. Here's why.

2013 was a year of freak injuries. Danks was coming back from one, Floyd went down for the season, Beckham was injured at a key part of the season and shut down momentum, Crain went down early, Keppinger was playing hurt, and Flowers probably was too.

This team had a lot of career low years that happened concurrently. Every team goes through their share of slumps every year, but generally there are a few who carry the team through these periods. Most everybody slumped at the same time. It's rare that everyone slumps at the same time.

Great pitching was given by most on the pitching staff, but isn't noticed because of fundamental errors behind them in the field. Someone clicked the off switch on the defense and it cost the Sox a lot of games. The spotty defense taxed the pitching staff, giving the opponent four or five outs in an inning. Those add up quick. Shoring up the defense should be the number one goal of the offseason. A good chunk of that poor defense was from players playing hurt. The rest was just from down years.

The third worst winning percentage in the majors has a few advantages. The Sox were able to trade hefty contracts for prospects and some of these prospects have shown sparks in the latter half of the season. Injured players were able to shut down early, so they can be ready in 2014 at full strength. Low records equal high draft picks and with the scouting improved in the last few years, this should help greatly.

There are a lot of things to be optimistic about regarding the White Sox in 2014. If nothing pans out next season, at least there should be more White Sox baseball cards being made with all the players that have been/will be traded and/or promoted in the second half of 2013 and the first half of the 2014 season.

See? There's always a silver lining.