SI

The White Sox Stink, but Their Social Media Team Is Great

As the season winds down, the White Sox social media team is doing its best work.

Jimmy Traina

It's been a long year for White Sox fans.
It's been a long year for White Sox fans. / Matt Marton-Imagn Images

1. Why on Earth would I lead Traina Thoughts the day after a full slate of NFL action with a baseball team that has a 36–120 record?

Because the White Sox’s social media team deserves credit. Not just because it's had to spend the past six months tweeting about a team that has lost 120 games, but because it has elevated its game this past week.

After a three-game winning streak from Sept. 14 to 16, the White Sox quickly went back to their losing ways and have dropped every game since then. Here’s what Chicago’s social media team has tweeted after each of those five losses.

The White Sox have six games left. We will be rooting hard against them just to see what else Chicago’s social media crew can cook up.

Plus, there will be some beautiful symmetry in a team finishing 36–126.

2. So, this was some bizarre stuff from Cris Collinsworth during Sunday night’s Chiefs-Falcons game. A conversation about the “doink” on a missed field goal somehow led to a jumbled conversation about flag football. Huh?

3. Sunday morning, I was in my local supermarket and a guy behind me in line at the bread counter was wearing an Angry Runs T-shirt, so I enjoyed seeing Kyle Brandt getting some love from a fellow Long Islander.

I tell you all this because a little later, Kyle starred in this very amusing piece for CBS's NFL Today. mocking social media influencers.

“I don’t do Sundays. I do run days. I do gun days.”

4. I had over 25 rushing yards at +155 for Patrick Mahomes last night. This was tragic.

Fortunately, I did not have the over in the Giants-Browns game, which was 37.5, because this was tragic as well.

5. We, as a society, can’t agree on anything. But I would hope that we could at least all agree that the NFL needs more hook-and-ladder plays.

6. The newest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with CBS’s lead college football play-by-play voice, Brad Nessler.

Nessler talks about CBS losing the SEC and landing the Big Ten, replacing the legendary Verne Lundquist and the one college football stadium he has never called a game in.

Nessler also shares stories about the various analysts he’s worked with through the years, reveals the one event he hasn’t called but would like to, weighs in on what he thinks of Tom Brady and Nick Saban as television stars, and much more.

Nessler also talks about his friendship with wrestling icon Ric Flair and reveals whether Flair or Bill Raftery is the bigger partier.

Following Nessler, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. In this week’s segment, we discuss ESPN’s Jason Kelce–heavy Monday Night Football broadcast of Falcons-Eagles game, the trend that NFL bettors should be aware of, Saturday Night’s Main Event returning to NBC, whether The Bear is a comedy, and much more.

You can listen to the SI Media With Jimmy Traina below or on Apple and Spotify.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Sports Illustrated‘s YouTube channel.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Happy 75th birthday to Bruce Springsteen. While I’m the rare sports media person who is not a fan of The Boss’s music, his appearance on Curb Your Enthusiasm during the final season was spectacular.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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