The return of Sox Machine

Welcome to Sox Machine. For a bunch of you, it’s welcome back to Sox Machine.

The backstory, in case you don’t know the timeline: This was my original White Sox site, which I launched back in February of 2006 as a response to circumstances (I’d recently moved to New York just as people were talking about the Sox). After nearly five years here, SB Nation recruited me to take over South Side Sox after The Cheat departed, so I closed this thing down in January of 2011.

And now I’m back here six years later, and nearly 12 years since originally launching. Some of you have been there from the very beginning, and that’s pretty cool.

To acknowledge the question with a maddening lack of specifics, it just stopped making sense to continue writing for SB Nation. I’ll miss the community and the platform that made such deep/worthwhile/silly/absurd discussions possible, and I feel just a little bit selfish for returning to Sox Machine because of that, but a move is better for my motivation. If you’ve been a regular SSSer — or even a lurker — hopefully you’ll make the jump, too.

Speaking of which, Josh is bringing the (newly rechristened Sox Machine) podcast, and pnoles is aboard as well. Billy O’Keefe provided his services for the graphics. You should check out his other work.

You may have noticed the Patreon links. Here’s the deal with that: Tips are appreciated, but not expected. If I wanted a great return on my time, I probably would have stopped writing halfway into the 2007 season.

The deal is that you’ll get some extras — giveaways, post requests, mailbags, etc. You’ll also get an ad-light site experience. It’s currently an ad-free experience, but my goal is to supplement reader support with advertising that is relevant and unobtrusive. If an advertiser happens to be a business I like, I’d prefer to present them in ways that won’t make you hate them.

Maybe that sounds overidealistic, but I’m willing to give it a shot.

That’s the new deal for the new year and beyond. Here’s a separate post for site thoughts/requests/issues as I scrape off my site tech rust. Also, I have my pre-2011 posts content backed up, and I plan to re-import posts like the Mark Teahen flowchart and the AL Central Trail, but after enough time has passed that a whole bunch of posts from 6-8 years ago won’t confuse the hell out of the newcomer.

tl;dr: Meet the new site. Same as the old site, except this one can actually be accessed on a mobile phone.

Thanks for reading this, and thanks for reading everything else.

Happy New Year, and in multiple senses of the phrase.

-Jim

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fustercluck

now that that’s over with

yinkadoubledare

So with pnoles involved our annual thing is now the mathup eh?

Patrick Nolan

I’m down with that.

As Cirensica

Haha…how do I rec here?
Rec’ed

Anohito

More Sox goodness all around. I’m down. Best of luck Jim!

South Side Expat

Took ya long enough. So glad for you guys. Happy New Year!

2nd Half Adjustments

New profile, who dis?

mechanical turk

So is there a way to convert all my recs into likes or

Joliet Orange Sox

I think I speak for all (or at least most) of the Friends of the Podcast on the old site in saying that I would be more than fine with my tiny monthly donations following you from there to here. Is that going to happen? I don’t think the Friends of the Podcast Patreon was at all linked to SBNation.

In any case, looking forward to continued great Sox coverage from Jim, Josh, and Patrick.

Jer-in-Az

First time – long time

Got into Sox Machine approx a year before the move to the other site.  Appalling how they treat their writers, but that’s another conversation. Glad we are all still able to read your work.  A few initial request: No pigs or ‘dour’

loch

Excited for the new site. 

beachpig

Looking forward to the continued excellent coverage of the Sox in all forms by a class team of individuals.

ChunkySlugger72

Hmm…So that’s the origin of Sox Machine, I always kind of thought that SouthSideSox was a rebrand or a spirtual successor to Sox Machine and that it replaced it, What’s kind of funny is that I vaguely remember this site’s earlier years during my teen days when I was randomly looking for Sox news and ended up reading a few post here and there ,but didn’t think much of it until I joined SSS several years later, Wasn’t really around during it’s inception ,But looking forward to joining new and old faces on Sox Machine 2.0 !!!

itaita

I first found this place back when it was part of the sweetspot network on ESPN when i was tired of the national media mostly ignoring the team. So nice to have it back.

And while i love the new logo the question is just how toolsy is the rest of the site now?

asinwreck

Get on up.

Get on up. Get on up. Get on up.

Trooper Galactus

Follow you guys anywhere! Looking forward to continued excellence from you and the crew, Jim!

Eagle Bones

Love that new site smell

MadManx

Did anyone stop by Florida to update FloridaJims bookmarks? I’m worried we might lose him and a few other opos

Patrick Nolan

FloridaJim was a SoxMachine OG! He should be here!

striker

Congrats on the move. Glad Josh and Patrick came with. Any chance you bring the White Sox Outsider back? Or has digital made it obsolete?

Patrick Nolan

Was SB Nation taking a cut of the editions released at SSS?

ParisSox

Just your conscious. 

madridsox

¡Hola de nuevo!

GrinnellSteve

OK, for what little bit it’s worth, I’m in.

Congratulations and good luck, Jim and crew.

ParisSox

Saw a calendar for sale at Wal Mart – classic midwestern towns or scenes or something.   Downtown Grinnell was one of the months.   Thought of you.  

mikeyb

You guys are the best in the business for white sox coverage. The first commenting account I ever created for any website was SSS, because it was just a fantastic place. Excited to follow you guys here after a nice long run at SSS.

Ted Mulvey

I, for one, enjoy not worrying about what text to put in the subject line versus the comment box.

KenWo4LiFe

wait a minute. Where is the sporcle going to be? This is a burning question.

Ted Mulvey

The weekly Saturday Sporcle will be continuing here!

Pointerbabe

Yay!   Love me some Sox Sporcle!

Patrick Nolan

Awesome.

Right Size Wrong Shape

Sold.

steely3000

Wonderful!

JiminMaine

Enjoyed your insight, approach and writing at the ol’ Sox Machine, followed you to SSS and happy to follow you here. Best of success Jim (and company) and thanks for keeping it going!

JoeMa25

Just started reading SSS in the last 2 years or so, but happy to follow you over here. This coverage is the best . Thanks for all you do.

writchrd

Well, this is a surprise. Welcome back.

KenWo4LiFe

God dammit jim. You know I hate rebuilds.

katiesphil

Well, then. I can go back to being katiesphil again. Congratulations, Jim. I wasn’t around for the first incarnation, but happy to be here for 2.0.

karkovice squad

whodis?

MrTopaz

*Looks around, gives a low whistle*

Nice digs.

Pointerbabe

You move…I follow…

Plywooded

Cool, I was just thinking about how I miss the days of less networked online forums in general. Hey, and this site merely informed me that my password choice was weak rather than forbidding me from using it! And the “prove your humanity” math problem wasn’t half bad!

Hardslab

I came for the writing, but stayed for the Simpson’s references.

katiesphil

Is this where the cool kids are hanging out now?

Cerpin Taxt

Yes.

Milky✌️

Maybe there’ll be fewer* authentication issues here

Patrick Nolan

Couldn’t authenticate you.

karkovice squad

Do memes make the migration?

BuehrleMan

fuck nick swisher will die when i do.

karkovice squad

Your face will die when you do.

DocLizardo

address plz

jorgefabregas

It’s my first time here. Hooray.

granfaloon

Long time lurker, I’ve been reading your content since the old SoxMachine, and I’m happy to follow you back here. Welcome back Jim, looking forward to the future of SoxMachine and the White Sox!

mikeschach

same same

Kyle321n

Welcome back Sox Machine! Are fans called cogs and how many likes does it take to go green here?

Steve

How many likes for you or for anyone else?

Reindeer Games

Bright side – it looks like pretty much everyone is still here. Downside – I no longer know what the best content is, because it isn’t provided in green for me. Ain’t nobody got time to read through all your comments.

awkwardsilence

As a long time lurker at sss, I look forward to hiding in the shadows here as well. 

NateDPT12

Aww, I just joined SSS and now there’s another site I have to move to? I just unpacked. ?

In all seriousness, if I reset my password on this site does that mean I just reset my password on SSS.

jorgefabregas

No

yoyo

The content, podcast, AND saturday sporcle.

ok you got me!

billyok

Pff I already knew about this

Welcome home!!

Wow 5 minutes to edit a comment instead of 90 seconds. Eat your heart out SBN

colintj

wooooo

Amar

Lol look who the Sox Machine dragged back in

patrick

Haven’t commented in awhile (forGoodnessSakesTakeAPitch) because of family and job obligations but happy to follow to your new home!

Also changed my name because it was too long and a pain in the ass to login

Flitcraft

Is this the gamethread?

northsiderepresent

Hola.

Steve

Hee

2nd Half Adjustments

Best of luck to the newest endeavor, everyone. Thank you Jim, as always.

To 2018 [raises glass]

Reindeer Games

Nobody knows who you are anymore 2HA except your twitter homies like me.

Lurker Laura

Hi, everyone. 

northsiderepresent

Halloooo

grittyiq

So this is where everyone went

steely3000

Good to be here! Glad to see me?

steely3000

Hey I can like myself here!

northsiderepresent

I for one can’t get a lick of work done today.

This is a revolution.

Trooper

but but but… what’s a soxmachine?

Lorenzo Barcelo

This isn’t where I parked my car?

rhubarb

Did larry get you out of your non-compete?