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Memorable Chicago White Sox quotes on the first half

It's the all-star break, and in keeping with tradition, let's take a look back at the White Sox' first half by reprising some of the key quotes from players, the manager and the front office.

As an added bonus this year, keep an eye out for a doozy from TV broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson.

Here we go, starting from the beginning of the year:

• • •

“You need to play better. This is the major leagues. If you are not going to play clean baseball, you are not going to have a chance to win. We haven't played as well as we liked at the end here. So, for these guys, it's all about the execution of what you do. We need to be good at it. We need to take care of the baseball.”

— Prophetic Sox manager Robin Ventura on April 5, the day before the season opener. He was not happy with the way the Sox played at the end of spring training.

• • •

“It's not ultra-frustrating. Obviously, we'd like to start out a lot better, but we have a good team. That stuff is going to come out sooner or later.”

— Infielder Gordon Beckham on April 10 after a loss to the Twins dropped the Sox to 0-4.

• • •

“I think I'm the right guy for this. I'm not going to go out of my way to defend myself. People are going to think what the way they want to think. I know I love being here, I'm passionate about the White Sox, and I want to do right for this group and for what we did in the off-season.”

— Ventura in an exclusive interview April 12 with the Daily Herald about rumors he was on the hot seat.

• • •

“For me, I'm not a big fan of him. I don't know what the deal is. We're just gonna try and clean it up and play some baseball tomorrow. We'll see what happens.”

— The Royals' Lorenzo Cain on White Sox starter Jeff Samardzija following an April 23 brawl.

• • •

“We need to act a little more mature and understand that things happen within games and we need to control ourselves better. And we'll go about it that way and we'll learn from it. But we understand as two starters on this team that we're very important to this team and we need to play.”

— Samardzija on April 24 after he and Chris Sale were each suspended five games for their actions in the brawl against Kansas City.

• • •

“It's been very difficult to watch over the last several days. It has been unacceptable from our perspective, and I understand from a fan perspective.”

— General manager Rick Hahn on May 5 on the White Sox losing five straight games, falling to 8-14.

• • •

“It was a very exciting moment for me. But the most important thing is that we won the game.”

— Second baseman Carlos Sanchez on May 18 after his walk-off single in the 10th against the Indians lifted the Sox to their sixth straight win and a game over .500 at 18-17.

• • •

“It was nice to see your name up there. You know it's going up there, and I had known it's been going up there for a while. But when you actually see it, a lot of things flash across your mind. A lot of work, a lot of things back when you're young in high school, in the minor leagues, you have those thoughts about stuff, a lot of the struggles to get to that. It was meaningful.”

— Paul Konerko on having his uniform No. 14 retired at U.S. Cellular Field on May 23.

• • •

“Extremely frustrating. We are not just getting beat, we are beating ourselves and making good pitchers look great. It's embarrassing.”

— Adam LaRoche on May 24 after the White Sox lost to the Twins 8-1 to complete a 2-5 homestand.

• • •

“Obviously, as you get closer to July 31 (trade deadline), you have some priorities you have to put in order, whether it's the current season and feeding what you're doing right now versus reshaping for the future.”

— Hahn on June 5 when asked about the White Sox' 24-28 record.

• • •

“Easy now. You think I'm going to say something bad about one of my teammates? You're dead wrong. We have a bunch of fighters in here. We have guys that come in here every single day and play as hard as they can, plain and simple. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.”

— Sale after the White Sox lost their eighth in a row on June 19, a 2-1 decision to Texas.

• • •

“Our defense has absolutely sucked.”

— Harrelson during a June 22 game at Minnesota, which the White Sox lost 13-2.

• • •

“Those kinds of things don't really matter to me. There's a time and a place for that stuff, and it's not now, not here.”

— Sale on June 30 after tying Pedro Martinez for the record with 10 or more strikeouts in 8 straight starts.

• • •

“There have been some tough stretches, but we are still having fun. We are still enjoying being around each other. Now we are starting to play a little bit better, playing as a unit. Everything is starting to click a little bit more.”

— Catcher Tyler Flowers after the Sox defeated the Cubs on Saturday for their ninth win in 11 games.

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Chicago White Sox third baseman Conor Gillaspie bobbles a ground ball hit by Los Angeles Angels' Albert Pujols for an error in the first inning of a baseball game Saturday, June 7, 2014, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo) Associated Press
Chicago White Sox manager Robin Ventura (23) waits for an interview before an opening day baseball game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Mo., Monday, April 6, 2015. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner) Associated Press
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