I know barrels of ink...

...have been spilled on this subject, but I've been wondering a lot lately why the White Sox are such an undervalued franchise in this town. Chicago, in case you don't know, is the third-largest city in America and yet the Sox have the fifteenth most valuable franchise in baseball, behind the Seattle Mariners and below the MLB average. (The Cubs are fourth, behind the Yankees, Dodgers and Red Sox.)

And never mind the recent success of the North Siders. In 2005, when the Sox last won the World Series, the mediocre fourth-place Cubbies easily outdrew the South Siders, 38,749 to 28,923, on average.

So what gives? I don't know, and I know I'm not the first person to ask this question. (But I've still never heard a good answer.) Why can't the White Sox replicate the success that the Cubs have enjoyed?

Well, let's start with the name of the stadium, because it says a lot about their brand. Instead of something like Wrigley Field or Comiskey Park, the current owners sold the rights to a company called Guaranteed Rate Inc. Seriously, Guaranteed Rate Field? Not exactly Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium, is it? I have a little advice for the owners of the White Sox: don't be penny wise and dollar foolish. You have what should be one of the most valuable franchises in sports (you're in one of the largest cities in America, remember?); don't be a you-know-what and just sell everything to the highest bidder for short-term gain. Keep your eye on the Big Picture, the long term. And have some pride, for the love of God! Honor your brand. How do you expect anyone to take you seriously if you don't show any self-respect?

And what about those uniform colors, black and white? Sheesh, could you have possibly come up with a less imaginative combination than the two colors that aren't even colors? (What do the Cubs wear? Oh, yeah: red, white and blue.) And as for that slogan, "Good Guys Wear Black," well, no they don't. Haven't any of you ever seen an old Western? Unless you consciously want to cultivate a "Bad Boy" image like the Oakland Raiders, ditch the black and white. How about something flashy, like the 1970s red uniforms, above? You could do worse.

Here's my suggestion for the Sox ownership. (And I realize I'm very much late to this discussion.) First of all, give up on the North Side. You're never going to pry those fans away. Instead, concentrate on the western  and southern suburbs. Try to capture the kids out there and maybe you'll get some fans for life. How? I don't know, how about lowering the price of tickets and concessions and maybe even throwing in free parking for a year or so. I know, you won't make as much money at first but maybe, just maybe, some mothers or fathers out there will look at how competitively priced your product is and they'll bring their family out some night. With the Dan Ryan and the Red Line it's even more convenient than Wrigley.

And don't give me any of that baloney sausage about the "neighborhood." Oooh, Those People -- scary. It's Bridgeport! And De La Salle and IIT are just across the expressway. I've walked around that part of town at night many times and it's just fine. (Although the immediate neighborhood could use a few more bars and restaurants.) And how about some more day games at Sox Park? Let the moms and dads of the world play hooky once in a while -- trust me, the earth will continue to turn on its axis -- and take their kids to a game on a weekday. That way everyone can be home for dinner and in bed at a reasonable hour.

I don't know, does any of this make any sense? Has it all been suggested before and dismissed? Come on, Sox owners, you're sitting on a potential gold mine -- a Major League Baseball franchise -- for crying out loud. At least act like you're trying!