Sox Populi - A Chicago White Sox podcast

In what we’ll consider a semi-official Fans First Sports Network and Sox Populi coming-out party, a half-dozen (Chrystal O’Keefe, Tommy Barbee, Malachi Hayes, Dante Jones, Joe Resis, Brett Ballantini) of our 22 prognosticators got together to discuss the differences and similarities we feel about the fortunes of this White Sox team. Representing the 11 of 22 writers who see the White Sox in the playoffs, Malachi, Joe and Dante discuss how such a thing could be possible: Malachi can see Chicago clicking to as many as 95 wins, Joe foresees an unbelievably crazy finish to the season, and Dante feels the AL Central is bad enough that the White Sox claim a wild card Conversely, representing the 11 of 22 writers who think there is something very wrong with those 11 other writers, Chrystal, Tommy and Brett try to stifle their laughter. Although to be fair, Chrystal envisions what is possible an even weirder ALC race than Joe Because Lucas Giolito came up as the choice of a few SSSers as top pitcher for the squad this year, we again play the quick speed round of: Will Lucas re-sign with the White Sox? And in a bit of our bonus time, given that even the sunniest prognosticators on the podcast had to admit this team is a little rough at the moment, we went around the room to discuss what could happen early with the White Sox that would get us excited and revising our low expectations Tomorrow’s podcast and story: MLB predictions, including somewhat Soxy discussion of the AL Central race Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and current downtown Chicago correspondent, Will, celebrated the fact the regular season will soon be here. In their final preseason podcast, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and current downtown Chicago correspondent, Will, were ready to rejoice that Leury García will no longer be on the White Sox (OK, unfair — it’s just the absence of Leury’s bat we were ready to rejoice about, we like him just fine) until we learned the replacement appears to be Romy González. Yes, that Romy González, he of the career (albeit brief) of .196 BA and .482 OPS vs. righties Gonzálezes. That is so very, very White Sox. Word is the Opening Day roster will also include Hanser Alberto, who has had a magnificent spring to start his age-30 season and has always hit lefties well, but has never hit righties worth a lick when it counted (.590 OPS). And you thought the Sox lacked depth before now. After wondering who will play what and how badly when any regular gets hurt, the duo move on to predictions for 2023, both their own and those from people who actually know what they’re doing but don’t think the Sox do. Finally, a paean to great baseball — meaning the World Baseball Classic. But speculation time is nearly at an end — the season starts Thursday, so it’s time to Play Ball. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s the most fun any of Adrian Serrano, Dante Jones or Brett Ballantini can remember having during Spring Training, so it fits that we again converge for a postgame podcast, discussing Japan’s 3-2 win in the WBC title game over the U.S. Will this Quick notes on an amazing ballgame, not quite befitting the Japan-Mexico semifinal, but a terrific finale nonetheless And yes, that includes Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout playing in a game that meant something! Continuing this podcast’s discussion of the logistics of what time of year the WBC should be played — and how making this an October tournament could really work well Where does the WBC go from here ... has 2023’s stellar play and breakout stardoms truly turned the tournament into a “world series?” A detailed discussion of where MLB, and even the WBC itself is missing opportunities to grow the sport, particularly in African countries ripe for a baseball explosion Will this loss motivate the United States to bulk up the pitching staff for a next go-around, in three years? Will Yoán Moncada’s placement on the All-WBC team propel him to great things right away in 2023? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talked late, after Team USA’s blowout win over Cuba to advance to the WBC title game, so we’ll call it a Postgame Podcast. But really, with two staffers (Hannah LaMotta and Melissa Sage-Bollenbach) in attendance at the World Baseball Classic able to join Brett Ballantini for the podcast, we broadened the discussion to the game experiences and future fortunes of the tournament. Some rote (power!) details of Sunday night’s win, although not including any speculation about Yoán Moncada’s collision/injury in the game (thankfully, seems more incidental-contact bruising than serious injury, and we’ll see Yoán in action this week at Camelback Ranch) 10-run rule? The U.S. don’t need no 10-run rule to win! The Whirlwind Last 48 Hours of Hannah LaMotta ... including White Sox coverage, plane delays, and the wave (see below) More glimpses into the park experience at the WBC, completely unique and unlike anything you’ve experienced at Sox Park — even a playoff game Further details on the budding Fans First Sports Network and Sox Populi’s significant role in it ... including our plans to provide additional coverage on Sox Pop A do-or-die baseball choice: To wave, or not to wave? Wave-hater, Papa LaMotta, did give a blessing to Hannah to participate — and his Konerko jersey did the wave! Logistics of moving the WBC to another time of year A look ahead to the U.S.’s title game vs. Japan or Mexico Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re still a day or two away from our logo being ready — and let me tell you, it’s going to be worth the wait. But for entirely “legal” reasons, our podcast is no longer associated with/owned by Vox. (I only — almost — slipped up one time while recording!) On Friday when we recorded, the South Side Sox podcast had dulled itself into Chicago Baseball Podcast on Megaphone/Apple/Spotify et. al. That’s such a goofy, generic name, I figured this should be the one time we use it! Anyhow, we’ll have a post soon describing a little bit more of what the new podcast vision/network/goodies are. But the important thing for you to know is what you have already discovered: Nothing materially changes for you as a listener, viewer, reader, consumer ... the change has already happened, and you hardly noticed, right? It’s Melissa Sage-Bollenbach’s third trip to White Sox Spring Training and, after Sarasota and Tucson, her third ST venue to watch the Sox. This time, she’s brought along the son who has inherited her fervent South Side fandom, Sage. Both mother and son were kind enough to join me to talk about the up close and personal Camelback Ranch experience, and the eye-opener that was the World Baseball Classic. Right off, both Melissa and Sage agree that this White Sox team has a different vibe. Sure, that’s the optimism of March talking ... but only to a degree. As reported in both of Melissa’s stories, the White Sox are drilling (with Pedro very much present and engaged as manager) and prepping in a way we haven’t seen in at least the past couple of years Melissa shares a couple of easy tips for those who still might be planning on making the trek to Arizona, or want to get in on the fun next year On to the World Baseball Classic, and the absolutely unique experience that rooting for your country (the pair caught Team USA vs. Columbia last week), alongside fellow MLB fans of other clubs you’d never be sitting next to and cheering at the same time during the regular season It’s tougher to catch the WBC given it’s not an every-year event, but this tournament comes even more highly recommended from both Bollenbachs than the Camelback Ranch/White Sox experience — it’s that special Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five months after we wrapped up the 2022 MiLB season with a review of Triple-A Charlotte, Darren Black and Brett Ballantini are back with their promised offseason podcast — OK, barely still offseason — taking a look back at Project Birmingham. Plus, saying hello to 2023 — and goodbye to Vox! Yes, a shockingly seamless-seeming transition from South Side Sox-Vox podcast to Sox Populi-Fans First Sports Network is afoot, meaning this podcast you are now listening to may be the LAST one under the Vox umbrella. Or, maybe not. These things do change However, not to worry, you will notice nothing but a new podcast logo — all our SSS podcast programs on the feed will remain with us at Megaphone (and all the assorted podcasting outlets like Apple, Spotify) While Darren and Brett don’t see 100% eye-to-eye on the merit and execution of Project Birmingham, there’s probably 95% overlap. And the main agreement comes from: Why in the world are Low-A (or even fresh High-A) players seeing action in five or more games a week in DOUBLE-A? The longer second half of this program takes a look ahead to the 2023 bevy of prospects: The depth in the middle infield, dearth of outfielders once you matriculate Oscar Colás to the bigs, and the still-dicey setup of the Charlotte rotation Clear breakout (“Davis Martin”) candidate for 2023: Sean Burke Wildest wild cards to see Chicago in 2023? Kohl Simas, or even Cristian Mena Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and current downtown Chicago correspondent, Will, celebrated the fact the regular season will soon be here, Mother Nature demonstrated her counterpoint and set off a brief ice and snow barrage across Chicago, a small warning about playing baseball in Chicago in early spring. Naytheless, they discuss numerous key points: Can the Kansas City Royals, sitting at 14-2 in the Cactus League, continue the pace and win 140 games this season? Should you bet the over or the under? Isn’t it nice the World Baseball Classic provides March games where teams are really trying to win, not just keep from getting hurt? And isn’t it nice White Sox players are doing well in the WBC so far? Can we trumpet the great success so far of players like Oscar Colás, Jake Burger, Hanser Alberto, Eloy Jiménez, Andrew Vaughn, Yasmani Grandal, Elvis Andrus and Michael Kopech without acknowledging the struggles so far of Andrew Benintendi, Dylan Cease — and virtually every player except Burger who might be needed for depth this season? Speaking of depth, is the White Sox depth thicker or thinner than a sheet of regular typing paper? And speaking of Kopech, will he be made the fifth pitcher in the rotation so he starts the home opener, or will the White Sox be even more tone-deaf than we already know them to be (which is really, really tone deaf) and keep he who must not be named in the fifth spot? Only The Shadow knows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mothership is back, after just a week this time, and Kristina Airdo, Hannah LaMotta, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and Malachi Hayes meet up with Brett Ballantini to discuss the good and bad of Spring Training 2023, plus some thoughts on the spectacular World Baseball Classic. A rundown of the goods and bads about halfway through Spring Training sees Jake Burger and Yasmani Grandal singled out for plaudits — and the White Sox offense and basepaths-burning Billy Hamilton getting a tsk-tsk On to the World Baseball Classic, and when we aren’t applauding Italy for their crackerjack club of homegrown talents, we’re citing the otherworldly Shohei Ohtani and the killer Japan club. It is shaping up to be a barnburner of an Elite 8 The lost sleep crew is headed by our WBC scribe Kristina, as well as spring-breaking Hannah If not because Team USA is not the favorite, then will our U.S.-centric eyes be opened by the outstanding play of other countries in overall play? In the next week or so, we’ll have Melissa on the ground in Arizona, checking out both White Sox Spring Training and the WBC game vs. Colombia, while right as time ran out Hannah confessed considering a jaunt to Miami to catch WBC play there. Stay tuned Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and current downtown Chicago correspondent, Will, delve into matters on and off the field, beginning with Will answering the survey the White Sox send out every spring about fan attitudes, after which the front office apparently deletes the answers without ever looking at them. Also in an off-the-field segment, the elephant in the room raises his trunk and blows a huge raspberry at the world, as MLB uses the old ruse of issuing its decision about Mike Clevinger on a Sunday afternoon so no one is available to take calls from reporters. The question now is how being forced to keep Clevinger on the team will impact the clubhouse, one which mild-mannered José Abreu recently said was already in total disarray last season, and not all because of the HOFBP. Then it’s on to actual baseball matters, including praise for Pedro Grifol for getting the team to work much harder, at least so far, and for the veteran non-roster invitees who are putting it all out to show they belong on the team. And Will relates the video where Sox pitchers speculate over which of their brethren will have the most trouble with a pitch clock. As for individual players, the preseason isn’t at the point yet where stats matter, but one has to take note that tied for the top batting average on the Sox are Eloy Jiménez and — get this — Hanser Alberto. Alberto has actually been a .272 hitter over his career, though only .244 last year, but there’s a piece of data that sure makes you wonder what Rick Hahn was thinking when he signed him to a minor league contract. That’s because Alberto has some of the biggest platoon splits you’ll see, clobbering lefties and clueless against righties. And he considers it unmanly to take a walk. Ever. Maybe Hahn forgot which kind of pitchers the White Sox already hit really well and how they were 29th in MLB in walks last year. Seem to be the kind of things that tend to slip his mind. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a February break, the mothership is back to take on the good and bad of Spring Training 2023 — right after a couple of words from the top. We have not made a formal post because there are still details to be addressed, but no later than the end of this month, the South Side Sox family of podcasts will become Sox Populi, our new mothership podcast and podcast umbrella. Mechanically, nothing will change for you as a listener/subscriber. Materially, the podcast and network (Fans First Sports Network) is going to deliver much more to you. More details will follow And while we’re at it, a reminder that the mothership, and daily coverage, is not attending to criminal enterprises on the White Sox, so the elephant in the rotation this season will remain unnamed and under-attended Get this: The pluses portion of the podcast was twice as long as the minuses! Plaudits are issued to Oscar Colás, the bullpen, basepaths aggressiveness, Yasmani Grandal, and more White Sox SB aggressiveness begs a discussion of whether a first-time manager like Pedro Grifol is more apt to push the envelope with strategy or lay back and play cautious; the panel is unanimous with their hunches On the negative side ... yes, we had to get to negatives ... the defense, the initial offense (at least to start Cactus League play), Romy González, and Tim Anderson’s relative lack of power all fall under scrutiny Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A couple of games into the exhibition season, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and, for a few months, downtown Chicago correspondent, Will, start a cast of bits and pieces by looking at the impact of the new rules on games so far. Which is to say, so far, really not all that much. There have been a few cases of pitch-clock violations, one ending a game, but only one in a White Sox game, and that minor. Though it’s too early to tell, Steve Stone thinks the clock will work to the advantage of pitchers, even though it gives them less time to recover from the strain of the previous pitch — a point worthy of discussion. There has not been a surge in stolen bases resulting from the limit on pickoff attempts, or from the slightly larger bases — though maybe players are taking it easy on that front pending being more stretched out, and in one White Sox case, the goal of eliminating over-slides went for naught (yes, that was you, Romy). On one weighty matter, the duo discuss the poundage of Lance Lynn (yuck!) and Eloy Jiménez (nice!). On another, they shudder at comments to the media made by Mike Clevinger (when the hell will MLB finally deal with him?) and Tim Anderson, who was waaay too sensitive about past criticism. As for what happened in games, two hits by Oscar Colás were praised, and the continued appalling lack of defensive fundamentals by the Sox scorned — pop-ups in front of the plate aren’t really supposed to be a challenge beyond T-ball, guys. But the duo agree it is very early, so there should be plenty of time for Pedro Grifol to teach the team what a cutoff man is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To celebrate having reached the 100 mark, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, welcome the boss, Brett Ballantini, to the show, because the only way to celebrate big occasions is to invite the boss over, right? After a little nostalgia (OK, a lot, but who’s counting?) the trio notice the elephant in the room has gained weight, and launch into the Mike Clevinger situation and the incredible stupidity that got the White Sox into this mess — a mess for which heads would normally roll. But this being the White Sox, they won’t. Then it’s on to the thrill of Spring Training starting and baseball being back, even if the thrill is definitely muted by said elephant, and the way the White Sox interviewed so far have gone all Gordon Beckham and announced they’re in the best shape of their lives, a surefire ritual of spring. That’s followed by a return to reality and a look at the grim prognostications for the Sox from the professional predictors, with some guesses from the three on how the team and individuals will perform in 2023. Is the outlook terrific? Well, uh, no. But baseball is back! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the final Sharing Sox before pitchers and catchers report for spring training, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, ponder the question of how incredibly incompetent the commissioner’s office has to be to have not yet completed analysis of domestic abuse complaints against Mike Clevinger that were filed last summer, and then ponder what the heck the White Sox are to do if Clevinger reports to camp. Aside from that small matter, discussion includes possible injury impact on the seven White Sox playing in the World Baseball Classic; team shill Scott Merkin’s prediction of the Sox Opening Day lineup (including some scary parts); the just-announced minor league contract for Chris Shaw, one of baseball’s biggest failures of recent years; how that signing somehow didn’t alter the plethora of ratings that have the White Sox offseason the worst in MLB and the team now mediocre at best; the team depth that is more bathtub than ocean, in the outfield, infield, and rotation; and the unsurprisingly large number of Sox fans who think Rick Hahn is a failure — but the surprisingly relatively small number who want him gone. But, heck, that’s all just talk. Real baseballs flying through the air will soon be coming to a field near you — provided, of course, you live in Arizona or Florida. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Poor Jake Marisnick. Here we are, in a week where the journeyman outfielder getting signed to a minor league contract by the White Sox should be the big news, and some guy named Clevinger steals the headlines. The new accusations against a pitcher already well-known to be a total, absolute, unmitigated *$&hole are disgusting. SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, launch into a diatribe about Clevinger’s past horribleness, which even someone as abysmally ignorant as Rick Hahn should have realized set off red flags as big and hefty as fire trucks, while wondering why the hell the commissioner’s office has taken months to decide whether the latest domestic abuse allegations are true and, if so, what punishment they require. One new question, though — how much did Clevinger’s Cleveland teammates have to hate him to not only not try to protect him when he pulled his COVID stunt in 2020, but instead not just throw him under the bus, but get into the driver’s seat and put it in gear? (Hint: a lot.) With fewer than three weeks left before Spring Training begins, is there any chance under the MLB protocols that the White Sox will be able to cut the piece of crap before then? Or will he become the story of the spring instead of the new manager and players trying for comebacks? As for the pitching staff, is there any chance the Sox will sign one of the two remaining good free-agent starters, Michael Wacha or Zack Greinke? (Insert laugh track here.) There’s time also to delve into the 2023 prospective lineup, including Eloy Jiménez and his strong desire not to DH, and the strong desire of all fans never to see him in the outfield again. Plus the fact the new rules will mean solid defense at second base will become much more important — a fact completely ignored by Hahn and company. But, hey, it’s not all bad news — at least Jason Benetti and Steve Stone have new multiyear contracts, so there will be intentional humor in the TV booth in addition to the accidental humor on the field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the news of Liam Hendriks’ devastating diagnosis still sinking in, Brett Ballantini gathered together Chrystal O’Keefe, Malachi Hayes, Dante Jones, Joe Resis and Melissa Sage-Bollenbach to discuss his situation, and gather up other White Sox news of the day. First and foremost, our best wishes to Hendriks, as this is a chilling reminder of how fragile life is. Among our discussion topics are Dante’s poignant story breaking the news and Melissa’s dose of perspective, which points readers toward Liam-approved ways to pay it forward The White Sox don’t have any arbitration cases! Yay! Yay? Brief interlude: An appreciation of the Carlos Rodón/Dylan Cease basketball card video series, Back Room Breaks An extended discussion of whether or not the White Sox have done enough this offseason, whether Rick Hahn has another plus-WAR player addition in him, and how different our staff predictions for 2023 are going to look from 2021-22 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the heels of learning that no one on the 2023 SSS Veterans ballot made the cut, Brett Ballantini quickly assembled our own Veterans Committee proper to try to shove at least one or two players into the Hall. Taking on this prestigious assignment were Malachi Hayes, Dante Jones, Joe Resis and Melissa Sage-Bollenbach. Guaranteed, you won’t see one of our picks coming. Go figure; Brett is the softest voter, having supported all 10 on the ballot for the Hall Melissa states unequivocally that PED or other cheating associations eliminate players from her consideration; after all, Hall election is a privilege and a responsibility Scattered support of David Cone, Bret Saberhagen and Kevin Brown intrigues in the the first half of the podcast, but bites us in the ass in the second half Universally supported, without reservation: Kenny Lofton. He’s in Our other elected candidate? Reminiscent of the Harold Baines Vet election (although Harold is not nearly as worthy a player), he finished NINTH in SSS reader voting. Not gonna tell you who it was, it’s such a shocker. But like Dick Allen, he wore a helmet in the field Going forward, it’s uncertain whether we will continue with the Veterans ballot in the future, as only one candidate of 10 getting more than 40% — and this on a LOADED and worthy ballot, with no limits on how many players you can vote yes on — does not make for a promising future But hey, this was fun, and here’s hoping you enjoyed the back-room process of our votes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the first episode of Sharing Sox of the new year, one dominated by the sad news that Liam Hendriks has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and has begun undergoing treatment. The news has personal impact for SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, because Leigh’s father/Will’s grandfather died of NHL. He did so in his 70s, on his second round with the cancer after being in remission several years from the first time around, so the correlation to Hendriks is thankfully very loose — but there is still an emotional tie. “It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy,” is literal in Hendriks’ case, not sarcastic, because the White Sox closer is an even better human being than he is pitcher, so best wishes are very much the case. The podcast contains perhaps more information about NHL and treatment for it than you really want to know, helped by input from Leigh’s physician brother, and hopefully free of medical jargon. On to baseball, as discussion shifts to what the Sox do about relief pitching now, and how much the loss of Hendriks derails the one area where the White Sox actually had people worth trading and the depth to do so — leaving Rick Hahn with perilously little to offer in trying to fill gaping holes in the offense. Hence, greetings to Hanser Alberto, of all people. Then it’s on to talking about the American League Central now that Carlos Corrrea is back with the Twins, a conversation involving many fingers crossed for luck. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brett Ballantini hosts Chrystal O’Keefe, Allie Wesel, Malachi Hayes, Dante Jones, Jordan Hass and Melissa Sage-Bollenbach in our new podcast that covers a lot of ground, mostly because a dearth of Sox moves forces us to tap dance a bit. With the majority of participants in holiday-festive getups, let’s get down to this program’s outline: Does Allie light up when talking about the White Sox? Not in the way you might think Round tabling it on whether or not the White Sox have another significant move in their pockets, and if you can’t anticipate what the consensus was, you’re not reading South Side Sox closely enough Back from break, a brief tour of some of the Soxivus Gifts, because yes, this qualifies somewhat as the final Soxvus podcast of the season. You will really like Allie’s! Open forum leads us mostly to Tim Anderson and the cryptic way he uses social media. Perhaps Dante is going to rock a TA impression for us one day on site — no fear, as there is no pressure to be profound A preview of coming attractions for SSS, including our prospects work, a special Christmas Eve treat, and Hall of Fame voting A big thank-you to our six podcasters, all of whom worked their asses off this season to try to inform and entertain with this thoroughly unlikable ballclub And as always, a big thank-you to you for listening to scores of these podcasts, because without you we’d be just talking to ourselves Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If a tree falls in a forest of deals at the Winter Meetings, but no one from the White Sox was there to hear it, did it really make a sound? To wrap up the year, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, delve into the biggest White Sox free agent contract ever, as the team strives mightily once again to attract all the COVID it can, by following up the Mike Clevinger signing with that of Andrew Benintendi. The duo agree that, if nothing else, the newest member of the team will provide fans with their biggest bang for the buck in jersey lettering thanks to his 10-letter last name, which may well be the longest on the Sox until Colson Montgomery makes the bigs. As for baseball, they agree it’s a nice signing, if a tad expensive, but just a small step on the way to putting the more than 50 million bucks saved via players no longer on the payroll to useful work. What more is needed, you ask? How about a cheap, good defensive outfielder to fill in until Oscar Colás is ready for the majors later in the season, one who could play center during the inevitable Luis Robert injury stints, one available on a one-year contract and familiar with the GuRF? (Hint: One with the initials AE fits that description, although the apparently-preferred BH could also do the trick.) As for the rather huge gap at second base, they recommend a trade with San Diego, sending Liam Hendriks west because you don’t need a closer if you’re never ahead late, throwing in another player or two, and getting one of the Padres’ many extra middle infielders. Will likes some guy named Tatís, but Leigh suggests Jake Cronenworth, even though his 11-letter monicker would knock Benintendi back to second in last name length. Most of all. in the spirit of the season, they never mention Rick Hahn, Ken Williams, or Jerry Reinsdorf, so there is absolutely no swearing at all. Otherwise, Happy Holidays to all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If a tree falls in a forest of deals at the winter meetings, but no one from the White Sox was there to hear it, did it really make a sound? Such is the philosophic quandary pondered by SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, as they consider events and non-events of the past week whilst somehow avoiding discussion of the verbal diarrhea to which the general manager of the White Sox is addicted. Naturally, discussion covers big events at the Winter Meetings, none of which have anything to do with the Sox, except for the bit where the Guardians got demonstrably better by signing Josh Bell. It also covers the fact the White Sox now have about 50 relief pitchers on the 26-man roster, which is a bit of a squeeze, while carrying only one real outfielder, which could possibly prove a negative should any of those relievers surrender a routine fly ball. There is also the question of how a baseball team can improve their mediocre offense by failing to keep their best run producer, their worst-in-the-league defense by letting go their best defender, and their horrible outfield defense by letting hot dog vendors try their luck in the corner slots. Also, just to have something different from how everyone else is slamming the White Sox management, they start the inevitable debate whether the nickname of the right fielder who may start the season in the majors despite only 31 Charlotte at-bats should be Pepsi or Coca (spoiler alert: Leigh prefers Pepsi, given the Saturday Night Live skits about Chicago institution Billy Goat Tavern). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brett Ballantini hosts Chrystal O’Keefe, Allie Wesel, Joe Resis, Dante Jones, Jordan Hass and Melissa Sage-Bollenbach in our new podcast that saves the sucky for the end — yeah, the White Sox non-moves — and gets downright silly in the final seconds. It was the podcast that almost wasn’t. But, here you go, enjoy! Reax to the biggies: Aaron Judge, Justin Verlander, Jacob deGrom and Willson Contreras Allie gets on Jerry Reinsdorf’s holiday card list. And who knows, maybe a free season ticket is in the offing! A brief moment — wait, actually a couple of segments — praising the Cubs. No, this was not endorsed or encouraged by the host This Bleed Cubbie Blue podcast returns from break, confused, to discuss the White Sox, confused Yeah, we did find things to discuss about the White Sox. Emphasis on cuss Chrystal begs to be gaslit by the White Sox, because that’s at least better than the ghosting relationship the team has with fans right now Somehow we land at imaging Rick Hahn, taking us on a blind date to various cheap restaurants and acting like you should thank him Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chrystal O’Keefe hosts Allie Wesel, Brian O’Neill, Dante Jones, Jordan Hass, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and Tommy Barbee for a little group therapy session. Yes, the South Side Sox staff eulogized José Abreu in writing, but sometimes that is just not cathartic enough. Initial reactions to the news that Pito was leaving town, for real Many of us are used to losing our favorite players, but others are newer to the fandom The Astros? Really? He could’ve gone anywhere else! The impact Abreu had on the White Sox, and the renewed Cuban pipeline Our favorite Pito memories Tears were shed ... A Boyz II Men duet, featuring Allie and Tommy Turning to brighter possibilities, who will open-mouth kiss Rick Hahn if he signs Aaron Judge? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Soxivus! We are following up our first year celebrating Soxivus in 2021 with a full two months of festivities in 2022. This week, our companion piece to this podcast is the Soxivus Miracles story that much of this podcast refers to. We’re overjoyed to have Father Soxivus, Tommy Barbee — the man who conceived of our Soxivus celebration last year — with us on these podcasts. Joining Tommy to discuss worst games are Dante Jones, Jordan Hass, Allie Wesel, Adrian Serrano and Joe Resis, with the festivities hosted by Brett Ballantini. We discussed each of our Miracles, and in-between those “highlights” we took on some broader issues: It’s a pajama podcast, with Brett and Adrian going full-bore into the theme We kick it off discussing the multiple Miracle votes: Eloy’s resurgence (Adrian and Jordan), Rick Hahn being gone (Leigh Allan and Year of the Hamster) Look for cat cameos! Preacher Dante assumes the pulpit, with a fiery talk about White Sox health Speed round: Will Hahn be aggressive this offseason? Another speed round: Will Lucas Giolito play for the White Sox beyond 2023? Final, spontaneous speed round: Will José Abreu be back in 2023? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the spirit of the holiday season, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, raise glasses high to José Abreu, reportedly at the top of the San Diego Padres wish list, thanking him for all of his years of being about the only player on the White Sox worth watching and, often, the only one who seemed to be trying. If the reports are true, José finally has a real chance of playing deep into the postseason, and may that happen for him. We do, however, refrain from breaking into Auld Lang Syne. As for the players left behind after the White Sox finished emptying the outfield defense by non-tendering Adam Engel and the infield defense by doing the same with Danny Mendick, well, there are some. In the outfield, during the half of the season Luis Robert can’t manage to play, the lineup should be Eloy Jiménez-Leury García-Gavin Sheets. In the infield, Rick Hahn apparently thinks things will be swell with either Romy González (three BBs, 50 Ks in MLB) or Lenyn Sosa (one BB, 12 Ks) at second, or with both of them forming the up-the-middle defense when Tim Anderson takes off half the season. Don’t be surprised if every pitcher goes on bended knee asking to be traded. Ho-ho-ho. But we are a holiday ahead with the ho-ho-hoing. Instead, it is time to baste the turkey, along with Ken Williams and Jerry Reinsdorf, and look on enviously as other teams ladle on the gravy of prime free agents and trade tasty desserts the White Sox have to pass on because they have nothing anyone wants to trade for. But, hey, the holiday season is upon us, so ... Happy Thanksgiving! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Soxivus! We are following up our first year celebrating Soxivus in 2021 with a full two months of festivities in 2022. This week, our companion piece to this podcast is the Best Games of 2022 story that much of this podcast refers to. We’re overjoyed to have Father Soxivus, Tommy Barbee — the man who hatched the Soxivus plan last year — with us on these podcasts. Joining Tommy to discuss worst games are Dante Jones, Jordan Hass, Allie Wesel, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and Joe Resis, with the festivities hosted by Brett Ballantini. We discussed each of our Best Games, and in-between those “highlights” we took on some broader issues: It’s a sweater vest/sweater podcast! Note: Whether Worst or Best games, SO MANY of them were with the team at or just off of .500 Look for the offspring cameos! Play Who Caught COVID at Sox Park bingo When you have a .500 season that was drastically disappointing, you are going to have some “best” games that are actually losses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alas, Jim Click is already gone as GM of the Astros, making the hope of trading Rick Hahn (who would be willing to do whatever dumb thing any jerk owner wants) for a GM who knows what he’s doing and can’t be browbeaten a mere fleeting dream. So, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, move on to talking about players. First, the news the White Sox are interested in A’s catcher Sean Murphy — as are maybe 25 other teams — but have no one they can trade for him and no way to unload Yasmani Grandal that doesn’t involve Tony Soprano. Then, proceeding through several of the predictions about where free agents will end up. Of course, even the few times the White Sox are mentioned as a possible landing spot for a top free agent are just for humor’s sake, because Hahn has said the Sox are more apt to make changes through trades, despite having no one any other team would want who wouldn’t leave a huge hole behind when he departs. Plus, we engage in some mandatory discussion about the team’s previous stupid moves, all the while hoping Pedro Grifol will somehow find a way to overcome them. Oh, and we do offer thanks to AJ Pollock for his voluntary payroll-saving departure. Thank you, AJ! See? Isn’t the offseason fun? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Soxivus! We are following up our first year celebrating Soxivus in 2021 with a full two months of festivities in 2022. This week, our companion piece to this podcast is the Worst Games of 2022 story that much of this podcast refers to. We’re overjoyed to have Father Soxivus, Tommy Barbee — the man who hatched the Soxivus plan last year — with us on these podcasts. Joining Tommy to discuss worst games are Dante Jones, Jordan Hass, Allie Wesel, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and Malachi Hayes, with the festivities hosted by Brett Ballantini. We discussed each of our Worst Games, and in-between those “highlights” we took on some broader issues: At what point, among various times in the season (April through September, really) did the color on the mood ring change from “think we still got this” to “uh-oh” to “giving up hope?” A sidebar discussion of the various ways the White Sox were embarrassed nationally by events on and off the field in 2022 The effect Tony La Russa’s health may have had on his erratic decisions, and the erratic performance of the team Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, shake off their initial “huh?” reaction to the new White Sox manager and join the mob of fans inspired by Pedro Grifol’s first press conference, whilst quietly hoping he really meant it when he said there would be consequences for players who don’t give full effort. True, there is disappointment there wasn’t a new general manager doing the introduction. Or, a new owner, or a new VP of Baseball Operations or CEO of Parking Passes or whatever it is Ken Williams is called these days. But you have to start somewhere. Excitement for the new guy done, the duo move on to a look at what Baseball Trade Values has to say about the future of the White Sox, given that Rick Hahn showed no indication there will be free agent signings of any importance (except, of course, in the amount of money he blows on stupid signings). Most of the BTV numbers are what you’d expect, from Dylan Cease and Luis Robert at the top to Yoán Moncada and Yasmani Grandal at the bottom. But who would have guessed Lance Lynn has even less value than Jake Diekman or Joe Kelly? How could anybody have less value than those two? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the (still unofficial) news breaking early on Tuesday that Pedro Grifol was the new White Sox manager, members of the crack SSS Breaking News crew saw the Sox logo beamed up into the night sky and assembled to digest the news. Tommy Barbee, Jordan Hass, Allie Wesel, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach, Joe Resis, Dante Jones and Brian O’Neill circled the Zoom table, with a discussion by sometimes-hatted, sometimes-dancing, sometimes-aching, and pretty much always-joking moderator Brett Ballantini. It’s an hour-plus of SSS takes on the hire, process, and ramifications on bringing Grifol on: Immediate reaction to the news Who really wanted Grifol? (Hint: Rick Hahn, because he has hired a manager he can best work with control) White Sox Baseball 2023: It Could Have Been Worse What’s one positive and one negative ramification of the hire? Brian questions the knee-jerk dismissal of the hire simply because Kansas City didn’t want him; Dante demurs Various panelists at various points are guilty to drinking the White Sox Kool-Aid To that end, Tommy is a bit incredulous (and disappointed) at the volume of positive spins put on the hire, when it’s just going to be same-old, same-old White Sox Baseball 2023: Safe Choices Speed round 1: Do you like this hire? Speed round 2: Was Grifol the White Sox’s first choice for manager? Speed round, final: Are you more or less excited for 2023 after this managerial hire? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Soxivus! We are following up our first year celebrating Soxivus in 2021 with a full two months of festivities in 2022. Last year, we picked managers who could dethrone Tony La Russa in running the White Sox. This week, our Feats of Strength take the form of programming a SoxFest, after the White Sox cancelled their official one for the third straight season. We’re overjoyed to have Father Soxivus, Tommy Barbee — the man who hatched the Soxivus plan last year — with us on these podcasts. Joining Tommy to program our Fest are Jordan Hass, Allie Wesel, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach, Joe Resis and Malachi Hayes, with the festivities hosted by Brett Ballantini. Read our accompanying Feats of Strength story on programming Soxivus Fest that much of this podcast refers to, please. Reviewing the short-sighted decision to cancel SoxFest for the third straight year — did someone cheap out on putting down the non-refundable deposit on McCormick Place? We can get up in arms about losing SoxFest and chide Rick Hahn for being afraid to face the music, but it’s the hundreds of young fans (and fans who cheer like children, there are many, no shame there) who really lose out On to our SoxivusFest, with Melissa explaining her Run Sox Run activity, which borrows from Herb Lawrence’s ill-fated sprint challenge during the season. We think we would fare better Joe’s Put Away Pitches event challenges fan managers to make the right call on 1-2. Anything better than in intentional walk comes away with a free SoxivusFest T-shirt. Tommy’s Manager Draft cleverly finds a way to cram all of the bad, recycled White Sox manager possibilities into one season, in a sort of college of coaches arrangement. There’s also an Inspiration Station that has to be heard or read to be believed Jordan comes through with two fun ideas, starting with Rick Hahn’s Mild Ride — duller than white bread. Also, there are outfield tryouts, and if participants manage to injure themselves in exotic (but, for the White Sox, predictable) ways, they’ll get a start in 2023 before Oscar Colás Allie stages an intervention for Hahn, with the intention of making him stronger in future trade and free agent negotiations and getting him a true Seat at the Table Malachi puts a twist on the Garage Sale of years past, where creative payment plans are not only encouraged, but expected Adrian Serrano was not able to join the podcast, but did provide events of his own, as well. Additionally, he created our Soxivus 2022 T-shirt available to order at our SSHP store The second half of the podcast — yes, this one is chock-full — addresses the Ozzie Guillén managing rumors. The panel is deadlocked as to whether the White Sox are actually going to hire Ozzie — who, let’s review, left the South Side the first time by announcing his new manager position during a game he was managing for the White Sox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trying to stay awake during what seems like a 5 1⁄2 -year break between LCSs and the World Series, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, indulge in a little nostalgia. That nostalgia ranges from the prospect of the return of Ozzieball to the new book that casts Frank Thomas as much more Big Jerk than Big Hurt in his playing days (bringing on discussion of other White Sox Big Jerks). Then it’s on to funtime managerial speculation. And a useless suggestion to pick up David Stearns (who just resigned as president of baseball operations of the Brewers) to replace Ken Williams (who apparently is in the MLB witness protection program he is so unfindable) so Stearns can remove Rick Hahn, and that replacement can hire a new manager, who can then hire all new coaches, who can then turn over about half of the roster. Ain’t fantasy wonderful? And, as long as we’re fantasizing, we end up with a lineup that includes Dansby Swanson, Brandon Nimmo, and, of course, Aaron Judge, and a rotation that includes Carlos Rodón and Jacob deGrom. The World Series better start before we add Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Soxivus! We are following up our first year celebrating Soxivus in 2021 with a full two months of celebrating in 2022. Ready or not, here we come. We’re overjoyed to have Father Soxivus — the man who hatched the plan last year — Tommy Barbee with us on these podcasts. Joining Tommy to start the festivities is host Brett Ballantini and Jordan Hass, Allie Wesel, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach, Joe Resis, Chrystal O’Keefe, Adrian Serrano and Jacki Krestel. The official Soxivus kick-off comes here, with the Airing of Grievances: We kick off with the trio of Tommy (Hahn hiding behind La Russa), Joe (preposterous resource allocations) and Jacki (wherefore Rodón QO) with variations on a theme: Boy, were the White Sox general-managed like a clown show in 2022 Next up Chrystal and Adrian spoke of injury mishandling and bad planning Jordan aired her grievance on the utter lack of power on the roster Allie’s grievance relates to the initial trio, but specifically the ineptitude at the trade deadline — and smugness in handling the failure Melissa and Brett had thoughts on how the White Sox perceive us (as fans, web site writers, fellow humans, choose your poison); Melissa with a specific scold for smarmy Steve Stone, Brett repeating his beef with the fan-shaming and disregard that is coming in increasing doses from Rick Hahn and upper management A little bit of SoxFest talk, and an acknowledgement of our podcast-absent grievers Preview of coming Soxivus events, including Feats of Strength, gifts, quotes ... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Strap in, it’s a bumpy right and rough visit to Planet White Sox these days — but Trooper Galactus sees a possible sunrise on the horizon. He and Brett Ballantini discuss all things South Side in our second episode: An introduction to Trooper’s Should I Stay or Should I Go series, which indeed promises to point to GO when the budget insists STAY It’s not the injuries (that led to the 2022 team’s demise)! A sneak preview of Trooper’s Soxivus Grievance for 2022: Rick Hahn has hamstrung the White Sox for 2023 And finally, the three-point plan — free for the taking, White Sox — that will ensure greater success for those 2023 White Sox Bonus content: Manager talk (shooting for Matt Quatraro, expecting something much less) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recording at a time when each league has played two LCS games, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, delve into playoff baseball, with the added touch that one of Will’s softball teammates works in the Dodgers’ office and could report on the dirge-like atmosphere after the Padres beat the allegedly best team in the game. Of course, that loss took some heat off the White Sox, who went from the most disappointing team in the majors to just the most disappointing regular-season team in the majors. Admiration for the quality of play in the playoffs, and hope the White Sox have been paying attention to the novel concepts of good defense, solid fundamentals and hustle, eventually gave way to talking about our own team. At that point, enthusiasm went downhill a tad, what with having no faith the Sox front office will be cleared out and that the same dumb decisions will be made with regard to a new manager and player changes. Naturally, any small spark of hope gets rapidly crushed when you look at how much payroll is already obligated for 2023, and how incompetently that money has been spent. But, hey, that’s what being a Sox fan is all about. As the great Bill Veeck put it: “If there is any justice in this world, to be a White Sox fan frees a man from any other form of penance.” Of course, we have Veeck to blame for selling the team to Jerry Reinsdorf. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy Soxivus! We plan on following up our first year celebrating Soxivus in 2021 (Airing of Grievances, Feats of Strength, Miracles, etc.) with a full two months of celebrating in 2022. Ready or not, here we come. We’re overjoyed to have Father Soxivus, the man who hatched the plan last year, Tommy Barbee with us on these podcasts. Joining Tommy to start the festivities is host Brett Ballantini and Jordan Hass, Allie Wesel, Dante Jones, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and Joe Resis. The topic to kick off Soxivus, because it is timely and we likely will have no need to address it a year from now, is the manager search: The Calling of the Managers is running on site now, and addressed in the podcast. Two candidates found endorsements from more than one writer, and they aren’t hard names to guess. Pros and cons of Joe Espada and Sandy Alomar Jr. Tommy managed to destroy Ron Washington’s candidacy with a discussion of Ron Washington’s priors, which found Joe to be choosing another candidate entirely and for little support to remain among everyone else A lively debate of which 2005 White Sox player would make the best 2022 White Sox manager; Brett chose one, which at first blush seemed to terrify everyone on the panel However, once Brett’s vote was validated by swag and resume, the panel came around; your hint? He’s a seasoned and skilled manager — just not in this country What also-ran infielder with a cornpone countenance was one panel member’s first White Sox crush? Speed round: Is there any conceivable way José Abreu ends up on the North Side? Dante in fact has a suitable answer to satisfy both sides of town Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recording on the day three of the division series would end, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, admire some of the playoff performances, especially by superstars not named Judge. That’s even more especially true for José Ramírez, whose full-out dash to first and second, then third, on a blooper to left in the 10th inning Friday should be shown over and over to young aspiring players. It also should be shown to every player on the White Sox (except Josh Harrison and Elvis Andrus, who are unlikely to be on the team again, anyway), over and over and over until they finally pay some attention and maybe learn that you’re supposed to hustle, not lope around the bases or stomp your feet in dismay or admire your work on a ball that ends up not being a homer. As for White Sox stuff, the two debate the virtue of Ron Washington as a possible manager, the virtue of getting rid of the entire Sox coaching staff — even if it you had to lose Ethan Katz to foist all the others into oblivion. They also debate the likelihood Andrew Vaughn will be able to adequately field at first base and to recover from his slump of the second half of 2022, and, most of all, what in the world Rick Hahn could possibly have in mind when he thinks a team with an empty farm system and no MLB depth could improve through trades. Maybe Hahn could trade himself. Should be able to get a decent hot dog vendor for him if Jerry eats most of his salary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darren Black chats with Brett Ballantini about the highs and lows of the 2022 Charlotte Knights. Hey, did you know that in approximately 95 of 150 games, the Knights used an opener rather than a proper starting pitcher? Now THAT is some terrific planning from the White Sox front office. See? You’ll learn some stuff! How legit a catching prospect is Carlos Pérez? He certainly has developed a power stroke! Lenyn Sosa and Yolbert Sánchez, prospects heading in different directions due almost exclusively to the bat Kade McClure segued from starter to pen arm, and acquitted himself rather well. Is he the next arm up in the 2023 bullpen? We wedged an AFL preview in at the end, which doesn’t serve you too-too well now a week into game play, but hell, Justin Jirschele is the top prospect there anyhow, and he’s retired OK fine, Brett got Darren to talk some about Terrell Tatum Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, lament the probable departure of José Abreu, celebrate the departure of the HOFBP, and fervently wish for (futilely, they know) the departures of Ken Williams and Rick Hahn. They give credit to the HOFBP for overcoming his natural arrogance to make a nice departure speech, but no credit to Hahn for a pathetic set of excuses in his own presentation, showing once again that he’s not just a lousy general manager, he’s an absolutely useless human being. The big look back to the Monday press conference, though, is speculation of what Liam Hendriks meant when he said the White Sox need an authoritarian as manager. That’s scary, coming from an outspoken and very bright and observant member of the team, because it sure indicates a situation in total disarray. There’s some of the usual playing with end of season numbers and regretting the players and their overblown salaries the White Sox are stuck with next year, but you already know that those are horrible, so then it’s on to predicting the playoffs. The smart money will listen to every prediction Leigh and Will make, and then bet the opposite. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Somehow, GM Rick Hahn took a press conference dedicated to Tony La Russa’s surprisingly graceful bow from active managing and turn it into a season-in-review shitshow of tone-deaf proclamations and empty promises. Brett Ballantini is joined by Jordan Hass, Allie Wesel, Dante Jones, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and Joe Resis to discuss the turn, which we all knew was coming — just perhaps not today, of all days. We had zero additional reaction to the news that Tony La Russa was actually gone as White Sox manager. It was pretty well covered yesterday, so on to the main event! While knowing that Hahn will be spending it perhaps makes it OK for him to temper expectations for 2023 payroll, given the GM’s gaffes, the idea that he’s gonna stitch a silk purse out of this roster and minors system just smells like more “oh well, we tried” sentiment Journalism 101: When the GM piloting the worst stretch of White Sox baseball in at least eight decades that if he didn’t feel he was the right person for the job he’d step aside, you MUST follow up with a question that presses him to tell fans what he feels his strengths are in the job. Because, well, the are NOT OBVIOUS As Joe highlighted, Rick could not stay away from fan-blaming, with the odd response telling us that just two years ago, the management (uh, Rick, you’re talking about yourself) was up for awards, and won a division a year ago, etc. The deer-in-headlights act — as if managers (remember that guy who has YOUR NAME, Rick, Renteria?) and GMs don’t routinely get canned in spite of very fresh successes — is weak As Brett broadly brayed over and Melissa succinctly brought out, Hahn’s habit of talking down to fans in spite of well knowing how intelligent White Sox fans are is simply the wrong play. We in fact dedicate this podcast to you, Rick, in hopes that 2023 can be the Year of Respecting Fans Speed round: Presuming the White Sox remain mired in mediocrity, will the next chant be Fire [MANAGER] or Fire Rick? Dante and Allie went off the board with their answers Super speed round: Another fun guess at who the next White Sox manager will be. No Drake LaRoche this time, at least Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brett Ballantini had no idea this podcast would be so much fun, not after penning a recap as dark as he can remember reading on these pages. It’s a tribute to such a good cast — Chrystal O’Keefe, Joe Resis, Adrian Serrano, Dante Jones, Allie Wesel and Melissa Sage-Bollenbach — that we could all laugh through the tears stomach pains. The main topic was, what else, Tony La Russa’s rumored retirement announcement on Monday. With no team confirmation as of this writing, approaching 24 hours after Bob Nightengale’s “break” of the news, who knows what we’ll be reacting to tonight during podcast 124. But we’ll be around, talking about the clowniest clown car moment of 21st Century White Sox rooting. Gut reactions to the news that Tony will be gone range from bittersweetness to anger, as we page through our Tony La Russa scrapbook of nightmares Dante gave us an entertaining visual: A “let’s effing go” as he heard the news break on his morning walk We discuss the increasing frequency of the White Sox making fans feel like team and organizational failures are somehow their fault — and the Stockholm Syndrome we are all suffering from as a result Chrystal’s son played a recent game with a goal of “being like Eloy”; three guesses as to whether he ended up hurt One of Allie’s hills to climb is the fact that she “bought into Rick Hahn’s bullshit” The second half of the podcast begins with more of the gut feelings that the end of this utterly unnecessary era of White Sox baseball are generating in all of us; Melissa is feeling foolish and duped, while Dante is determined that the White Sox will not break his soul Three speed round questions to end the podcast: Will this Tony rumor prove real, if so will the White Sox conduct a true managerial search, and which White Sox legend will be the next manager once the front office gives up on the endeavor? There are a few easter eggs thrown into this podcast, and if you like what you hear, support the artists creating our intro music, incidental music, or outro song Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darren Black chats with Brett Ballantini about the highs and lows of the 2022 Birmingham Barons. Hey, did you know the Barons had a better record without all those blue-chip prospects added as part of Project Birmingham? See, you’ll learn some stuff: How José Rodríguez went from 98-pound weakling to Charles Atlas superman in the course of a couple of months! Davis Martin has lost his potent put-away pitch in the majors compared to Double-A, but hey, he wasn’t supposed to be in the majors yet, anyway The “new Martin,” Sean Burke, underwent an amazing transformation from first half-Bham to second, and holy moly was the second half better The parade of potential second basemen on the South Side continues beyond Popeye, to MLB debuter Lenyn Sosa and Wiffle batter Yolbert Sánchez Oscar Colás seemed to hit the ball farther and farther as the season wore on; what’s the key to him breaking into the majors in 2023? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darren Black chats with Brett Ballantini about the highs and lows of the 2022 Winston Salem-Dash. Hey, did you know the Dash had a .500 first half of the season, in spite of that ugly final record? See, you’ll learn some stuff: Bryan Ramos: most exciting hitter in the system? Luis Mieses continues his re-ascendance, from bottoming out with a demotion early in 2021 to holding his own at Project Birmingham by the end of 2022 And then, on the other side of things, it’s the dynamic duo that’s not been terribly dynamic, Matthew Thompson and Drew Dalquist; Darren breaks both down and predicts they start at different levels in 2023 Duke Ellis: Does this basepaths disruptor have a future that stretches beyond, say, Triple-A? Adam Hackenberg, No. 2 catching prospect in the system? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and current next room correspondent, Will, give the player of the week crown to Mark Payton because, who else is there for this past week, and, besides, he actually hustled. Beyond that, it’s a look back at the badness, including some horrible numbers for the whole season, a debate on whether it would be a perfect ending to show total mediocrity by ending up 81-81, or if that would be too kind an ending for this team. They delve a little into Trib columnist Paul Sullivan’s list of untradable players (long) and those for whom there might be some decent return (short). Of course, there’s also discussion of the elephant in the room — no, not Lance Lynn, you nasty person — and fervent hope that the HOFBP will not be back next year, whether as manager or in any front office position except Official Handholder to the Chairman. There is also a look forward to Rick Hahn’s end of season press conference, when he will blame everything on injuries, bad luck, phases of the moon and the invasion of Ukraine — everything except horrible decisions by the manager and himself, including, in his case, not only horrible acquisitions and contracts, but deciding that a roster that puts five DHs on the field at the same time was a good idea. (Hahn will not resign at that time, which is very sad.) At least it’s the last in-season podcast, so there is that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Mothership Podcast, starring Brett Ballantini, Chrystal O’Keefe and Joe Resis. The trio that has brought SSS seven separate podcasts — you might know them from Episode 105 (“Steve Stone”), Episode 38 (“Lynnsanity”), Episode 48 (“Fattening Up”) or even Postgame Podcast 2 (“Rodón No-No”) — have many, many things still to cover this season: Hustle — specifically, do the White Sox have any beyond Mark Payton, a Triple-A veteran hungry to get a roster shot somewhere in 2023? An ancillary La Russa topic: Presuming management is not fully to blame for a flaccid 2022, what changed this season to prevent the White Sox from being a factor in the division race? Chrystal brought up injuries to the question above, so we dig deeper there: Is there any way to prevent a repeat of an “injury-prone” team carrying over to 2023? The Tony rumors: We delve into the smoke signals in the front office, that there is a fracture over the question of keeping La Russa for 2023. Could anything have changed on that note in the past two years? We all take a crack at predicting the final two series, and season record, for the White Sox. Yes, .500 seems a pipe dream Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darren Black chats with Brett Ballantini about the highs and lows of the 2022 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. Hey, did you know Kanny was a lot better in the second half with the 2022 draft class, after losing some players to Project Birmingham and Winston-Salem? See, you’ll learn some stuff: Lead story: 2021 second-rounder Wes Kath, and what is imperative to see from him in 2023 This Wilfred Veras guy ain’t bad Ditto DJ Gladney Colby Smelley was a catcher, now he’s a masher The most exciting pitchers in all the system saw time in Low-A this year, so let’s compare and contrast Norge Vera and Cristian Mena And not forget about out-of-nowhere, under-radar standouts like Kohl Simas and Tommy Sommer Is Jared Kelley back on track? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darren Black teams back up with Brett Ballantini to list out the highs and lows of the 2022 rookie league seasons. Hey, did you know the DSL team was the only affiliate with a better than .500 record? See, you’ll learn some stuff: The unmitigated awesomeness of Loidel Chapelli Jr., and why he won’t return Brett’s phone calls What happened with DSL bonus baby Erick Hernández? Wait, there’s a player who’s better than Chapelli on the DSL White Sox? Is the ACL almost a useless league given the late draft and massive roster? There was at least one significant step-up from the DSL in 2021, and that’s the emerging bullpen force Emerson Talavera What are the chances hit machine Darío Borrero goes from zero professional homers to, like, 30 next year? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Mothership Podcast, pirated by Chrystal O’Keefe and friends. Chrystal, Allie Wesel, Dante Jones, Joe Resis, Jordan Haas, and Zach Hayes mourn the loss of a bad season: Positive moments with the recently deceased: DFAs, almost no-nos, surprise acquisitions, and putting Josh Donaldson in his place Guardians social media: Did the White Sox deserve the trolling? (And: Is Dante a jinx?) When did you know the season was over? The most painful sweep of the season Who would you like to see as the manager in 2023 if, by some miracle, the White Sox look outward? Roundtable: World Series matchups? Final thoughts/eulogy for the White Sox Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, took a pass on maintaining hope for the 1/1,000 chance computer algorithms give the White Sox to win the AAAL Central (maybe we shouldn’t call it that any more, since Cleveland appears to be an actual major league team), did some of the mandatory lamenting about the horrible quality of baseball and spirit the White Sox showed not just in being swept by the Guardians but the entire season — except right after the HOFBP flew off to get his pacemaker jiggered (a small number of players excepted). And then, they looked toward the future. It not being polite to harp on the need for the death of you-know-who, they called for the immediate firing of Ken Williams, followed by the sequential firings of the entire front office on down to field level, including the coaches (except Ethan Katz, of course). That is what’s known in journalism as a #*%)@$ fantasy. On the field, they considered what to do with a team that currently puts as many as five players in the lineup who should only be designated hitters, promote the idea of having Tim Anderson come and finish the season — at second base — and once again suggest maybe it’s not a terrific idea to have your starters throw more pitches per inning than anyone else. Looking at what could theoretically be instead of what actually is got so exciting they kept going until Mr. Zoom ended the discussion as abruptly and assuredly as Cleveland ended the White Sox season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No. 120 (honestly, for real, it’s podcast 120) has the tone of a wake, naturally. But a fun wake? An unbelievable wake? A wake, with some facts sprinkled in? Attendees Brett Ballantini, Allie Wesel, Dante Jones, Joe Resis and Melissa Sage-Bollenbach invite you to mourn along with us: A review of the impossibly-disappointing Cleveland sweep this week Was this the Worst Case Scenario for the 2022 White Sox season? We’re torn between yes — and no, this is worse than worst-case Has it sunk in that the White Sox truly did fail to win in the middle of a contention window, when the rest of the AL Central had largely conceded to Chicago as the overwhelming favorite? 2023 season projections (i.e., is the DNA of this Tony La Russa White Sox club that of a .500 team, or a division winner?) Instructively, Joe feels the White Sox “won’t crap their pants” Allie interrupted her mental health break from the White Sox to sit in for this program and provides the White Sox their 2023 pocket schedule title in the process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a podcast today that boasts the best of both worlds. First, it’s some away ballpark talk with Brett Ballantini, Chrystal O’Keefe and Elizabeth Gonzales, the latter two being SSS writers who were at this past weekend’s series at Comerica Park in Detroit. One of these people is old enough to remember Tiger Stadium. And next, the playoffs have come two weeks early, because the White Sox have to treat this week vs. Cleveland as must-win. Here are some highlights: What number podcast is this, anyway? Hey, they don’t pay Brett to count The consensus on Comerica and Detroit en toto is positive — although, hmm, the fans are pretty chippy given they’re rooting for a dead-last place club. Clean it up, Rock City Still, Elizabeth grants Co-co Best Park status, or at least Best in the ALC status, while neither Chrystal nor Brett deem it so As for the White Sox, given Cleveland’s win on Monday putting it four games up, this week’s series is not just must-win, but must-sweep — so the playoffs, indeed, have come two weeks early Chrystal, who promised to keep caring, and keep caring WITH AUTHORITY, if the White Sox won on Saturday in Detroit; and Elizabeth, who is on the White Sox Train until (if) it derails, still acknowledge the South Siders have a hill to climb Advantages in the rotation matchups, which are pitting Cleveland’s top three vs. Chicago’s What role might fatigue play in Cleveland’s attempt to squelch White Sox hopes? Likewise, do the White Sox have advantages in leadership and/or veteran playoff experience that could factor in Final speed round gets goofy: Will José Abreu be back with the White Sox in 2023 — and will he (see Konerko, Paul, ca. 2011) be asked to player-manage? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices