Neighborhoods

I've a Sox fan as long as I can remember and I'm 55 yeaqrs old. I was very disappointed with what the Sox braintrust did with the pitching staff getting rid of Freddie Garcia and Brandon McCarthy, along with not adding more veteran pitching. The spring didn't alieviate my fears either. Boy, seeing Contraras give up 9 runs in the 1st 2 was crazy today on opening day.

Pitching is the name of the game, what was Kenny Williams thinking? You can't boast of unproven rookies in your pitching staff. I hope it won't be a long season but all signs point to trouble unless Kenny pulls off a miracle turn-around.

Can he do that?

I still don't understand why everyone is so concerned about Jimbo's. Is it because it's a neighborhood bar? Is it because it's the closest bar to Comiskey (I still refuse to call the park US Cellular)?

Jimbo's was fine as a "Sox bar" when the Sox were perennial losers and nobody cared about Bridgeport. But consider that the Sox are now a hot ticket and have been attracting a different, more corporate clientele, i.e., the type of clientele that won't commiserate in a bar like Jimbo's. Of course, the South Sider in me says, "Good riddance! We don't need those cake eaters patronizing the local establishments!" But the realist in me says those local business owners are smarter than that and want to maximize their revenues and, hence, their profits. I understand the insular nature of Bridgeporters/11th Warders, but give me a break! God forbid a bar near Comiskey tries to cater itself to "outsiders" in an attempt to attract more revenue and visitors to Sox games and Bridgeport in general. Isn't the point of a business to attract as many paying customers as possible?

Could it be that the owner wants to put a new & improved bar/restaurant in Jimbo's place? After all, anyone who knows anything about Bridgeport knows that Jimbo's historically has been considered a bar where the clientele has been known to offend verbally, physically, and sensory. It's the place that fans of the pitiful Scrubbies refer to whenever they talk about the trash and crassness of South Siders. But perhaps the building's landlord wants to change that image. As long as the Sox keep winning and Bridgeport keeps gentrifying, the businesses around Comiskey have a fiscal responsibility to adapt with the changes, much like it seems Jimbo's landlord may be attempting to do.

I've never been to Jimbo's, but if Jimbo's gets evicted--which is their landlord's right to do since the landlord OWNS the property!--I have a sneaking suspicion that more (and better) bars will take its place in Bridgeport.

Sox ain't going to be a hot ticket much longer and when Ray DeGrazia evicts Jimbo and opens a bar, he is going to watch with gritted teeth what Jimbo weathered for 21 seasons: a crowd full of regulars. It's ashame that the DeGrazia's got bite the hand that fed them for the last fifty years. Boycott their pies boys, they may as well be the Starbuck mother-brothers.

I like Jimbo's. I love Bridgeport! Open more bars near Comiskey!!!!