Sox Populi - A Chicago White Sox podcast

No, you’re not experiencing déjà vu. The White Sox are again facing the Twins this soon into the season. Last week the Twins executed a four-game sweep against the White Sox, each game feeling more devastating than the last. The wonderful Brandon Warne of Locked On Twins and Access Twins joined me to chat about the bottom-dwelling White Sox and the low-on-the-list but still way-better Twins. Here’s what we talked about in this episode: The Bucks are in the playoffs Grading the offseason Confidence going into 2024 A rundown of Twins’ pitching Pedro Grifol, sigh Threats, fears, and keys to winning a series Are ballparks trying to give us diabetes? Predictions for 2024 The O’s are scary Lance Lynn on Father’s Day You can find Brandon on Twitter, and follow his work at Locked On Twins and Access Twins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a live YouTube/Twitter/Facebook event as the game got underway last night, a group of us (Dante Jones, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach, Joe Resis, Malachi Hayes, Hannah LaMotta, Brett Ballantini) went watched the start of the game to see whether the White Sox start would end up even worse than that of the worst-ever Cleveland Spiders. Spoiler alert: It did. Watch as the game turns from a scoreless tie to an eventual loss immediately after we begin Impressions of the first month The inability to commit to a rebuild is not wearing well in the early going, with the major league club or the organization as a whole Pedro Grifol’s hand in all of the mess What are you looking forward to in the season’s final five months? Predictions you’re regretting (or, crowing over?) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s an early check-in with our friend and Charlotte mainstay Jonathan Lee on all things Knights, including intriguing bats and the predictable breakdown of the Triple-A rotation: Jonathan’s take on the 8-12 Charlotte start: .400 ball, he’ll take it! Danny Mendick’s amazing power stroke that forced him back onto the White Sox active roster Conversely, the jerking around of Lenyn Sosa and Oscar Colás, never truly able to settle in a spot or role Colson Montgomery’s bat has been flaccid, but his shortstop defense stout. Wasn’t it supposed to be the other way around? Carlos Pérez, Chuckie Robinson, and the curious catching conundrum with the Knights until Edgar Quero arrives A rotation in shambles, but with brighter days (returns from injury, promotions from Birmingham) ahead Justin Jirschele: Next White Sox manager? (he learned a lot from losing in 2023!) How Nick Nastrini and Jonathan Cannon rank as valuable Charlotte starters and future MLB rotation arms Follow Jonathan Lee on Twitter @followmefor3. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The delightful Ben Jones of our sister site Twinkie Town joins the show to discuss the Minnesota Twins. Sitting just above the White Sox, the Twins are also riddled with injury and only rearranged their roster, aside from parting ways with Sonny Gray and Jorge Polanco in the offseason. But with heartthrobs like Joe Ryan pitching and a healthy Byron Buxton, the team might be able to contend this season. Here’s what we talked about in this episode: What’s new in Minnesota? The Twinkies are second-to-last, in front of the White Sox Everyone is injured and bats are cold (wait, that sounds familiar) Grading the offseason Confidence going into 2024 Pitching matchups Threats, fears, and keys to winning a series Byron Buxton is pain-free and feeling good Predictions for 2024 Hot Twins takes You can find Ben on Twitter and follow his writing on Twinkie Town or podcast Twins Talk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes, it’s been many months for our most, er, “exclusive” Sox Populi podcast. But Dugout Metrics is back, with a couple of pitching-themed programs ahead. First, it’s a deeper dive into the six players who are arguably (unquestionably) the future of the staff and rotation on the South Side. The upside is pretty phenomenal, and the down side is ... undecided? For a Chicago White Sox podcast, that is GLOWING positivity! Garrett Crochet: The source of his mysteriously-appearing cutter, his surprising dominance (yes, we recorded before last Friday’s challenging start) and his realistic workload going forward Malachi admits a change in philosophy when it comes to handling pitchers Michael Kopech is now in the pen, as de facto closer — is it the right move? For all the similarities, one key difference between Nick Nastrini and Jonathan Cannon Stepping down a level to the utterly dominant Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte, who’s more quickly ticketed for the South Side? A bonus seventh pitcher: Noah Schultz, and his possible timeline to the South Side could be Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

[Er, uh, um, this was recorded before Friday’s night’s slaughter in Philadelphia, so the lavish praise for Garrett Crochet may need a tiny dab of correction. Nah, what the heck, he’s one of the only decent things to happen with this team, so let’s plow on.] This edition, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, disagree as to whether Garrett Crochet will have a higher WAR than number of wins. It’s close call either way, so here’s your chance to make a guess (hint: as of recording, his bWAR is 0.8, record 1-2): Since Sharing Sox was recorded on the same day The Athletic raised serious doubts the White Sox will have fewer losses than the 1962 Mets, who went 40-120 and inspired the famous Casey Stengel quote, “Can’t anyone here play this game?” So, what the heck, here’s another chance to vote. As for other matters, the duo discuss how the pitching is better than expected (though not great) and the two newbies did well, how the promise of defensive improvement was apparently meant as humor, and how the Mendoza Line is so far above the majority of the White Sox lineup that it’s barely visible up there. Of course, the billionaires seeking billions in handouts gets some discussion. Then there’s Tim Anderson coming to Chicago to play the Cubs and being quoted about Sox players not really caring about winning. We’d noticed, Tim. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The White Sox head to Philadelphia to face the Phillies. Sitting dead last, the White Sox will deal with the pesky bats of multiple home run hitters, with a top three consisting of Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, and Bryce Harper. This series can also push the Phillies to first place in the National League East as they are just two games back (at the time of this episode being recorded) from Atlanta. Thankfully we won’t see Ranger Suárez in this series, who just tossed a complete game shutout. It was against the Rockies — but it still counts. This will be a tough series, and Nick Nastrini’s first real test as an MLB pitcher. Here’s what we talked about in this short but fun episode: What’s new in Philly? Grading the offseason So many home run hitters That one time we thought Bryce Harper to the White Sox was confirmed Deaths, national disasters, and drive into deep left field by Castellanos Confidence going into 2024 The new City Connect jerseys Pitching matchups Threats, fears, and keys to winning a series Predictions for 2024 John Schriffen, a man of the people You can find Brett on Twitter and follow his writing at Sox on 35th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To keep the Sox Pop on the Farm Podcast canon taut, we went back in time to fill in the phantom podcast 49, and in doing so created a doozy of a look at the jewel of the system, the Birmingham Barons. And in doing so, Brett Ballantini again called on president and GM of the club, Jonathan Nelson, to get us up to date on this promising club: Congratulations to recent Barons grad Jonathan Cannon on his pending MLB debut! Birmingham paying tribute to the Negro Leagues with the No. 42 uniform honors The amazing pitching duo of San Diego acquisitions Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte A peek at a player still finding his footing, starter-to-relief arm Jared Kelley Catcher Edgar Quero: Not only mashing to start the season, but commanding the field with his leadership and game-calling The bittersweet nature of sending players up to Charlotte or Chicago, never to see them again The (somewhat) surprise of Brooks Baldwin’s assignment to Double-A and the energy he brings to the club Extremely different players, but similar three-outcome mashers, Terrell Tatum and Wilfred Veras, and what makes them both so special as prospects The game-changing speed of Duke Ellis, back to health and out the gate hot Impressions of Sergio Santos in his first games managing at Double-A How to deal with an ump show (Or: Making sure the pregame food spread is delicious and fluffing those couch cushions in the umpire’s room) Follow Jonathan Nelson on Twitter @JonathanN_Bham, the Barons @BhamBarons, and find tickets to an upcoming Barons game by clicking this link. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the third episode of the Ladies’ Night podcast, Delia Ritchie, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach, and Allie Wesel discuss several topics related to our beloved — or despised, depending on the day — South Siders. Whether you’re a die-hard White Sox fan or not, there’s something for everyone. So, sit back, relax, and grab your favorite beverage because the girls hit a home run chatting about all things baseball, including: The most recent chatter around the possible, but unlikely, new White Sox stadium deal — big Jerry getting told by Springfield AND Chicago where he can stick it The impending expiration of the NBC Sports Chicago contract and what might be around the corner by moving the broadcast to Stadium The good, bad, and ugly of the club’s historically terrible 2-14 start. Highlighting the impressive pitching, including Nick Nastrini’s MLB debut, and ripping on the anemic and absent offense The team’s signing of Tommy Pham and what, if anything, does it mean for the direction of the franchise The podcast will air bi-monthly, with the next episode dropping in May. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wick Terrell of Red Reporter is back this season to chat about the Reds, how fun Elly De La Cruz is, and what to expect from the opponent for this White Sox homestand. Cincinnati had a busy offseason and welcomed a slew of young players to the team, but have also faced the injury bug — just at a much slower pace than the White Sox. What’s new in Cincy? What’s it like to have lost the veteran presence of Joey Votto Grading the offseason Confidence going into 2024 Pitching matchups and breakdowns Is everyone injured? Let’s clone Chris Sale Bring back the dad bod Threats, fears, and keys to winning a series Predictions for 2024 RIP Oakland Coliseum You can find Wick on Twitter and check out his work at Red Reporter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you up to speed on everything happening around Major League Baseball right now? Tune in to hear Bayleigh and Chrystal talk about the White Sox, Red Sox, and noteworthy topics from the week. Content warning: Around the 40-minute mark the show is about domestic abuse and assault. We understand if that is something you would prefer not to listen to. On this episode: The White Sox are down bad And so are the Red Sox, actually Shall we blame the pitch clock for all the pitching injuries? The Naylor brothers hit bombs in the same inning on National Siblings Day Welcome to the show, Jackson Holliday! The A’s have one thing to celebrate Jacob deGrom update Shohei Ohtani drama Julio Urías is in a lot of legal trouble Putting bad people on pedestals Breaking news — O.J. Simpson has died Be sure to follow their Twitter account Soxy Chicks. You can also find Bayleigh and Chrystal on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imari McPherson is back this season to talk about the Cleveland Guardians and help preview their home opener against the White Sox. With Cleveland being in the path of totality, fans will be able to catch the solar eclipse in the ballpark. Will that eclipse turn the White Sox around, or will the Beibs and company make us wish we stared directly at it so we don’t have to watch this team anymore? What’s new in Cleveland? What’s it like to have so many players on the White Sox now? Can former catchers manage a team? Grading the offseason So many young guys and injured pitchers Confidence going into 2024 The Guardians starting rotation Threats, fears, and keys to winning a series Who will fans taunt now that Tim Anderson is gone? Best White Sox offseason move: the milkshake Miami Marlins are winless but still good Predictions for 2024 You can find Imari on Twitter and check out his podcasts Rockin at the Jake and find his work at FearTheSword. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unfortunately we ended up skipping Winston-Salem on the podcast dial, forever creating a phantom Podcast 49, but now it’s time for a look at the Low-A Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. Brett Ballantini welcomes in play-by-play broadcaster and Kanny jack-of-all-trades Dan Helotie in to talk about stars past and future, as well as the beautiful and still pretty-new ballpark there: Our 2023 review notes ... you may want to be sitting down for this ... there was a White Sox affiliate with a winning record ... the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers! Sure, let’s start with a player NOT on the Cannon Ballers any longer, Noah Schultz And one more, Colson Montgomery! Chat of a few players who will be with the CBs on Opening Day or soon thereafter: Ryan Burrowes, Ronny Hernandez and George Wolkow And one more might not be: Eddie Park The curious case of player-turned-bench coach, Daniel Millwee, and what he brings to the roster under manager Pat Leyland Gorgeous Atrium Health Ballpark, now in its fourth year, including the robust build-up in downtown Kannapolis Interests and promotions for the new season Follow Dan Helotie on Twitter @Dan_Helotie, the Cannon Ballers @KCannonBallers, and find tickets to an upcoming Cannon Ballers game by clicking this link. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sure, this White Sox season will be mostly gloom and doom, but SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, begin and end this session of Sharing Sox on high notes. Early on, they rave about the brilliant performance so far of Garrett Crochet, and, as a grand finale, wander into the one great new addition to the Sox this year, an addition that singlehandedly raised the White Sox from the absolute bottom of the annual ESPN team watchability list. OK, it was only up to 29th place, but it was still an accomplishment, and a very tasty one at that. In between, well, the mostly doom-and-gloom bit pretty much had to dominate, because that’s the reality. And looking at the Sox offense would make anyone doomier and gloomier, whether its being dead-last in team OBP or watching the team’s one star flail feebly at breaking pitches to the tune of a 50% strikeout rate. Much other ground is covered, including the mysterious small-sample-size stats of MIchael Kopech and Deivi García, where two numbers in each case show wild divergence in evaluation, to the most recent Sox acquisition, which is a giant middle finger in the face to much of the remaining White Sox fan base. Oh, yeah — there’s also a little chat about the recent vote in Kansas City, the A’s moving to Sacramento, and Jerry Reinsdorf’s current attempt to again rip off the people of Chicago and Illinois. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first series in what feels like 87 this season, the White Sox travel to Kansas City to face the Royals — or what I consider, their future teammates. Michael Farina is back this season to preview the first series with the Royals. Michael hosts the Royal de Lux Pod and contributes to Farm to Fountains. What’s new in Kansas City? A lot, apparently! What’s it like to have so many players on the White Sox now? At one point, K.C. had faith in Pedro Grifol Grading the offseason It’s kind of sad being fans of these teams Confidence going into 2024 The Royals starting rotation Threats, fears, and keys to winning a series Predictions for 2024 You can find Michael and his podcast Royal de Lux on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the second episode of the brand-new Ladies’ Night podcast, Kristina Airdo, Jacki Krestel, Hannah LaMotta, and Melissa Sage-Bollenbach discuss several topics related to our beloved — or despised, depending on the day — South Siders. Whether you’re a die-hard White Sox fan or not, there’s something for everyone. So, sit back, relax, and grab your favorite beverage because the girls hit a home run chatting about all things baseball, including: Who’s hot and who’s not around the league, including the Pittsburgh Pirates’ surprising 5-0 start. Unfortunately, they had to discuss the Yankees, too The good, bad, and ugly of the White Sox 1-4 start, highlighting the incredible pitching of Garrett Crochet and the immense disappointment of the $75 million-dollar man How the new milkshake at Guaranteed Rate is not widely available, as the franchise even dupes fans about the food offerings An in-podcast live reaction to the Pale Hose’s first win The podcast will air bi-monthly, with the next episode dropping in mid-April. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Next up for our affiliate previews, after a look at Charlotte (and a talk with our first Jonathan), is the Birmingham Barons. Team president and general manager, Jonathan Nelson, took a moment out of his club’s busy season prep for a read of the 2024 Barons season: Can the theme of affiliate experts named Jonathan extend through all four affiliates? Nelson gives us his amazing history in the sport, and specifically with the Barons, dating back to Michael Jordan Pouring out a 40 for the heartbreaking 1983 White Sox Sergio Santos, manager? Sergio Santos, manager! The immediate talent and immense potential of catcher Edgar Quero Colson Montgomery’s growth from Project Birmingham newbie to star on the rise, one year later Some behind the curtain thoughts on bringing new players into the system midseason, after trades, as well as coordinating his roster needs with the big club up north A look back at Project Brimingham, two years on Highlights of the 2020s so far Opening Day is on the horizon! Is anyone thirsty on Thursday? Follow Jonathan Nelson on Twitter @JonathanN_Bham, the Barons @BhamBarons, and find tickets to an upcoming Barons game by clicking this link. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pod guest extraordinaire and top-tier South Side Sox contributor Tommy Barbee returns to discuss the second series of 2024, vs. Atlanta. The White Sox face off against the Braves and a few old friends in Atlanta’s rotation. Just barely missing Chris Sale, the White Sox will likely see the likes of Reynaldo López and Aaron Bummer, now working with better pitching coaches. What’s new in Atlanta? Grading the offseason and Aaron Bummer Confidence going into 2024 with a chip on their shoulder Pitching matchups with old friends and aces Garrett Crochet: good at pitching Threats, fears, and keys to winning a series Predictions for 2024 Tommy’s 90 matchup for the World Series Making baseball fun again with steroids Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bayleigh and Chrystal have brought their show Soxy Chicks to South Side Sox! Bayleigh, a Red Sox fan formerly at Pesky Report, and Chrystal, a White Sox fan and pillar of this site, bring their love of baseball and knowledge to a bi-weekly podcast. They’ll talk about everything happening in Major League Baseball, and a little of their thoughts about their respective teams. On this episode: Introduction and move to South Side Sox Thoughts and predictions on the 2024 season as fans Shohei Ohtani drama Pablo Sandoval’s career ... is it over or will he continue? Our least favorite disgraced pitcher, because unfortunately, we need to talk about him and move on All of the Reds are injured! Actually, a ton of people are injured The Orioles have been busy lately An ode to Tony Kemp Has Scott Boras lost his luster? Be sure to follow their twitter account Soxy Chicks. You can also find Bayleigh and Chrystal on Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We kick off a new approach to our Farm podcasts by going straight to the source in Charlotte, veteran journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Lee, for a read of the 2024 season for the Knights: Brett, as a veteran of dubious MacGyvering of video and files all across American League ballparks, pays homage to Jonathan’s amazing job of it in getting his end of the podcast set up in the first place, from outside the press box One of the coolest offices to work out of in all of baseball, Charlotte’s Truist Field The around-the-batting-cage scuttlebutt from some of the newest Knights, including an impressed MLB vet, Brett Phillips The past two seasons have featured a preposterous number of openers/bullpen starts, but in 2024 Charlotte runs out a real, live, solid rotation Top prospect Colson Montgomery is in town, and Jonathan has a sneaky/subtle key to his presumed success this summer Middle infield woes for Lenyn Sosa and José Rodríguez, who find themselves still plying their wares in Triple-A while retread vets occupy real playing time on the South Side Justin Jirschele impressions, from his debut Triple-A season in 2023 to now Plenty of nuance of covering the minors from Jonathan, a veteran of Boston Red Sox World Series coverage Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices