Before crashing into White Sox matters, duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, indulge in postseason palaver — especially happy on Will’s part because he got to take part (very small part, but part nonetheless) in the team that won it all. So, much of the discussion is about the complete — and very happy — collapse of the Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series. Yea, verily, that inning showed that even the White Sox are occasionally better than teams much better than they doth occasionally perform. (Will had a sort of defense of Yankee ineptitude, in that coaches always tell teams never to give an opponent four outs but never say anything much about giving them six.) On White Sox matters, the big news is of course the hiring of Will Venable to be the latest to try to convert sows’ ears into Bottega Venetas with the materials he’s being handed to manage. The duo are amenable to giving Venable a big opportunity to show he can get the Sox to play like major leaguers are supposed to play, and just hope he’ll get them to quit playing stupidly even if they don’t play well. On other fronts, there wasn’t much to say about the the Sox not picking up the option on Yoán Moncada, which was inevitable, though a sad reflection on hopes of the last many years ... and a lot to say about whether to tender Andrew Vaughn, what would seem to be an easy decision being hampered by the big question of who else the Sox have to play first, the answer to which you probably already sadly know. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Soon after the story broke of Jerry Reinsdorf possibly selling the White Sox, thereby sending waves of glee throughout Chicagoland, duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, try to figure out if Reinsdorf had the information leaked in order to try put pressure on politicians to plunge public billions into a monument to himself, or if he just had it leaked (to somebody on The Athletic who has no Chicago ties) because he hates the news media and wants to see them make fools of themselves believing it. Whatever the cause, it would be hard to believe under any circumstances. But that a potential buyer group is headed by Tony La Russa best bud Dave Stewart, who just happens to want to bring pro teams to Nashville, which Reinsdorf likes to toss into conversations about leaving Chicago, makes it worthy of an SNL skit. And would Reinsdorf consider selling without making sure every possible bidder gets a shot? Nonsense. Naytheless, fun to talk about. Too bad we can’t put a poll at the end of this to see how many people believe the ploy. As for actual playing of baseball, the duo delve into the playoffs with predictions, but mostly with kudos to ex-White Sox pitchers who are doing so well. That naturally leads to a serious discussion on how unscary Carlos Rodón looks without any beard (per Yankee rules) and whether Michael Kopech’s new beard looks like he should do an off-season road tour with ZZ Top. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is no way to avoid acknowledging the horribleness of this White Sox season, and as promised in the Saturday podcast commemorating a record-tying 106th loss, Brett Ballantini came right back to acknowledge Sunday's record-breaking 107th with another, and even longer, solo podcast. Points Brett made while talking to himself: All the White Sox have to do now is win out, and Brett nails his preseason prediction of 107 losses Today's new research factoids, centering on losing streaks of 10 or more games in history The dubious, solitary partner the 2024 White Sox have in owning three such streaks in 2024 alone Looking ahead to 2025, really? Really! Really. And finally, the podcast ends as Brett's injured list vocal cords finally blow and give out Watch the podcast over at YouTube if you so choose, or listen on the podcast player below. If you like our work here and want to support us, please click our Patreon link and make a commitment! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tommy Barbee, Chrystal O'Keefe, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach, Dante Jones and Brett Ballantini gathered together during the Soxivus season to take on the biggest of our celebrations: The Airing of Grievances. Watch and participate, as we all drag out our pitchforks and stab the White Sox into swiss cheese. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Year 3 of the South Side Sox Soxivus Celebration! We kick off the festivities by looking within, to discover what it is about this team that holds our fandom. (Our companion piece to this podcast is available to read, featuring some writers not appearing on this podcast.) Brian kicks things off, with a Joycean paean about the tragic sensibility of fandom, inextricable from romantic optimism. If you haven’t read The Dubliners, that means in part that he’s surprised the White Sox still matter to him — but they do Chrystal is sunk too deep into baseball, writing 135 game stories a year, and is left with little choice Dante and Tommy both speak of the hope of personal history Malachi still feels that no one entity, even the owner of the team, can take his Sox fandom from him Brett, honestly, has lost the passion for the team, but not for South Side Sox Father Soxivus previews our coming events, which include a live program on December 10, the Airing of Grievances; December 17 (Feats of Strength); and December 22, Soxivus Miracles A quick speed round toward the end asks whether there is anything that could ever happen to cause any of us to completely lose our Sox fandom Chrystal’s crack research indicates that, yes, we are all members of the White Sox cult, and also coins a solid pocket schedule theme for 2024 ... White Sox: Please Be Mediocre And sorry, Papa Jones, Dante still ain’t crossing over to the north side Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the occasion of the holiday, and perhaps before everything is buried in football and turkey and drunken political arguments, Sox Pop 164 assembled with Joe Resis, Brian O’Neill, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and Brett Ballantini to give thanks for our White Sox fandom. No, really. First and foremost, we all thank you, our wonderful readers and community here at South Side Sox. It’s said ad nauseam, but without you and your passion, there is no site. Thank you dearly for sticking it out with us, when it would be much easier not to And without all of us and our passion, collectively as fans, there is no White Sox (something, perhaps, to keep in mind this holiday season, White Sox) Brian is thankful that he still cares about the team, even when the emotions are usually anger, repulsion, disgust, shock or disappointment. There’s something about baseball, and the White Sox, that stirs him as no other sport does Melissa is taking advantage of the, um, pause in actual MLB competitiveness to learn and care more about the prospects in the system. Ah, youth, not spoiled by what has become the reality of 21st Century Soxdom Joe still sees the joy in the players, from the unlikely heights of Seby Zavala to the continued dominance and flair of Luis Robert Jr. Brett is happy, for the first time in his life, not to be a White Sox employee Bonus viewing note: See how visibly uncomfortable compliments make Brian. We should to it every podcast After the break, extended mawkishness toward the site and even the host, absolutely the hidden agenda for this Thanksgiving podcast We take the end of the podcast to discuss whether or not my contract has an out clause the offseason prospects for the White Sox, summed up by Melissa: meh Brian and Brett are willing to allow some sunshine to poke through the clouds, but realistically nothing will really move the needle; Joe and Melissa are too savvy even to allow for the possibility Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With all the season’s-end awards issued, Sox Pop 163 assembled with Joe Resis, Brian O’Neill, Chrystal O’Keefe, Ryiin, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and Brett Ballantini to review the good and bad of the 22 SSS prognostications on site before the 2023 season. (Also read our predictions-in-review article to accompany this podcast.) The host takes a victory lap Tip for next year: copy Chrystal Seventh-place finisher Brian quickly outs himself as the worst White Sox predictor of the bunch Random cap-tips and drive-bys for great and terrible picks, among them several picking the Mets as best in the NL (and special dispensation for Tommy Barbee picking them to win the World Series), Allie for both good (Gavin Sheets is terrible, Andrew Vaughn not bad!) and bad (one of many tabbing Lance Lynn as best pitcher) Celebrating the demise of the New York Yankees, and confirming inescapable loserdom of [redacted] and the Cubs A new round of loss predictions for 2024, among them Ryiin saying Pedro gets fired quick (nuh-uh replies Brett), Joe foresees a Soroka resurgence, and Chrystal is on board the losing train by seeing 118 losses Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The experts are out with their predictions of what free agents will end up where for how much and how long, so the resident non-experts, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, decide to toss in their two yen worth as well. First, though, while they are admirers of mlbtraderumors.com, the two take time out to have a real big laugh at the MLBTR thought that the White Sox might be suitors for Eduardo Rodriguez or Teoscar Hernández in the four-year, $82-million range. Yeah, right, and when did Jerry Reinsdorf sell the team? Then it’s on to the predictions involving recent White Sox players like No. 50 on the MLBTR list Tim Anderson (is he better off trying to sign with a big-market team, or to avoid media coverage in a small market?), No. 49 Liam Hendriks, No. 29 Reynaldo López and No. 17 Lucas Giolito (two years, $44 mil, Lucas? We’re rooting for you.). And those the White Sox might reasonably pursue, like Cuban Yariel Rodriguez (recently of the Chunichi Dragons) and Whit Merrifield, who is getting a whole bunch of people saying he’ll be joining the Sox at the tender age of 35, maybe just because he has hit more home runs and drawn more walks against them than any other team ... or maybe because Jerry thinks he can get him to play second base and right field at the same time and save some payroll. After that, there’s trepidation at the thought Bob Nightengale might possibly be right and the Cubs are working hard to lure Shohei Ohtani to Wrigley (is that possibly why more and more Japanese restaurants are popping up in Lakeview every week?). And there’s speculation whether recent United International Baseball League draftee Bartolo Colón will be able to extend his career for another few decades by playing in Dubai. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the occasion of having to say goodbye to franchise leaders and stalwarts Tim Anderson and Liam Hendriks, Sox Pop 162 assembled with Joe Resis, Dante Jones, Chrystal O’Keefe and Brett Ballantini. Sadness, and hilarity, ensued. Were either of the cuts, Hendriks or Anderson, a surprise? Push-back from the host, then: Was cutting either player a smart move for the White Sox, from a roster construction or prospect return sense? Cap-tips for what both players did for our community Cap-tips to Chrystal for her unflagging domestic violence donations for every [redacted] start A new round of loss predictions for 2024: Dante has the self-driving hope it doesn’t crash plan, Joe brings a rare no-math approach, and Chrystal just can’t bear more nausea than she already experienced in 2023. Thus, no one else has woken up to join Brett on that 107-loss island. It’s happening, people. Plenty of room on the sad bus Finally, though the predictions review podcast/article was promised in mere days, we can’t officially roll that out until all player awards are issued, so we’re still about 10 days off. Brett’s a tease Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s World Series time, and SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, just naturally talk World Series on the day before it begins, and just as naturally disagree in picking a winner. They also take a look at the rosters of the Diamondbacks and Rangers and match them up with the White Sox lineup to see how many members of the Sox would make an All-Star team also made up of players from just one of those teams (hint: The entire Sox position player share of the team was born in Ciego de Avila, Cuba, on Aug. 3, 1997). There was naturally conversation about former White Sox players who will be taking part in the Series, and how the two Rangers have a combined 2023 bWAR just a hair shy of that of the entire Sox team. There was also discussion of the difficulty of spelling the name of the player received in trade for Marcus Semien, Chris Bassitt, et. al, which isn’t easy, so it won’t be attempted here. On the actual White Sox front, the two started listing all the teams that will be in the playoffs before the Sox make it there again, with agreement that only Oakland is unlikely. And, in talking about managers and GMs on the move, there was complete agreement that no actually qualified person in his right mind would come to the White Sox while a certain person remains in control. Plus, there’s a bonus movie review of The Saint of Second Chances, including agreement about the benefits of pigs delivering baseballs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As brusquely noted at the top of the podcast, it only took about 500 of these to find Brett Ballantini finally falling in as the junior in a multi-guest program, as site historian Mark Liptak and duty geezer Leigh Allan hop on to cast their votes on The Worst Year in White Sox History. All three came up with different answers, among at least a dozen solid contenders: Right off the bat, it’s Gut Check time: How are Mark and Leigh feeling, as fans of what’s become an awful team and pretty reprehensible organization Leigh takes us through his late 1990s search for a new team, post-Albert Belle signing A query about feeling unable to defend the White Sox mediocrity and amorality vis-a-vis our Crosstown rivals descends into a bit of Cubs-bashing, which is never a bad thing A focus on 1970, given that Leigh’s article was the impetus for this podcast and discussion: I am hardly born, Mark is a teenage fan, and Leigh not yet a Chicago resident — but we all have thoughts on the depths, and the turnaround, of a 106-loss team In the second half, we trot out our Worst Years, all within our lifetimes. Leigh’s seeming “joke” pick would never have been made at the time — but in retrospect, 1981 resonates as a terrible turn for the team Mark sticks with 1970, given the three seasons of pathetic baseball and off-field drama that had the White Sox possibly leaving Chicago With a dramatic bow to what had to be the worst year to be a White Sox fan or any fan (1929), Brett chooses, yes, 2023 — the year that gutted him, perhaps permanently, as a South Side rooter We wind up with a gut check of a different sort, premature predictions of 2024’s loss total Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, manage to first avoid talking about the White Sox by venturing into playoff land and the many odd things that have happened in both leagues, leading off with opinionating on whether having a week off after the regular season was fatal to the Braves, Dodgers and Orioles. Then there’s the comeuppance of the mighty AL East and its 0-7 playoff record, as well as the oddity that the feeble AL Central produced a champion who managed to go 3-3 before bowing out. But, alas, this being a White Sox blog, the White Sox must be covered, so talk wandered to the question of what the Sox should do about the three players for whom they must make option decisions by five days after the end of the World Series, and whether it would be doing them a favor to let Liam Hendriks and Tim Anderson go. As for Sox-related rumors, they agree that Salvador Perez would be a good acquisition — as a manager instead of the Kansas City failure we have now. And they scoff at the idea that Kim Ng would be willing to come to a team with a micromanaging control freak chairman when she left Miami to avoid being controlled. Then they look at the prospective Sox lineup for next season, and somehow manage to keep from breaking into tears. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It wasn’t just the last White Sox playoff victory (and, perhaps, one we’ll have to savor for many more years to come), but the ALDS Game 3 win over Houston in 2021 is important to South Side Sox for another reason: It connected Allie Wesel to Jacki Krestel, and therefore Allie to us at South Side Sox! We review the genesis of the buddy comedy of Jacki and Allie, and much more: We intended a companion podcast featuring many more of our writers at Game 3, but it fell through; I wasn’t hallucinating during this podcast. So next year, we’ll revisit what is sure to be our more recent playoff win once again! Kicking off with a clip from a podcast a year ago, we get additional details on how Jacki and Allie met, and what the game was like together. Yeah, it was a bit lively The atmosphere of the game, including Jacki’s thoughts on Blackout 2008 vs. Blackout 2021, as she attended both The mood pregame, and in the early going as Houston jumped out a bit Top moments of the game, beyond just Leury García’s massive home run A detour, discussing the dirty rotten scoundrel Astros, and examining José Altuve’s Hall of Fame case The what-if aspects of the game/series ... how might the past two seasons be different had the White Sox fought harder, or advanced in this series? Then and now: Walking into or out of Game 3, did either Allie or Jacki think just 61 wins was Chicago’s destiny just two seasons later? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is no way to avoid acknowledging the horribleness of this White Sox season in real time, sometimes, and this is one of those sometimes. An under-the-weather Brett Ballantini mans the mothership solo to navigate a 106th season loss — tying the all-time White Sox single-season record — on August 31 of the season! Points Brett made while talking to himself: Futility Watch updates Horrid offensive WAR updates Watching the White Sox loss on Saturday go final (yes, the podcast started before the loss was in the books because, well, 105 prior losses would tell you a comeback wasn't in the works) Reviewing the prior end-of-season projection that had started with the Yankees series, and despite all the details of each series being wrong ... the final record projection is still dead on, and DEAD UGLY Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brett Ballantini, unsure what he is doing hosting a podcast for a 101-loss team, is joined by Joe Resis, Dante Jones and Brian O’Neill, none of them certain why they are sitting around talking about a 101-loss team. For that matter, why are you reading a post about a podcast about a 101-loss team? Well, that said, we’re glad you’re here with us. We’re family, in good and bad times. And given this is the first mothership podcast of the offseason, it’s a good time to thank you for reading, watching, and listening. Now, let’s figure out how we spent an hour talking about the sixth-worst team in White Sox history. After some brief confirmation of just how bad this team was in 2023, we launch right into rewinding back to March and imagining what we thought the worst-case scenarios were for this year’s club. It doesn’t need be said that no one imagined 101 losses So as not to immediately suffocate in negativity, we touched on some positives coming out of the season — although some involved players on other teams. (Brian even had two, just don’t fact-check them) Turning back ugly again, we take an early peek at whether the White Sox will be better or worse in 2024. Only Brett, now at 107 losses, thinks the club will be worse; the other three writers still believe in Santa Claus Brett flexes his wrestling IQ And finally, a preview of coming attractions for the site this offseason, including some adjustments to the normal calendar, and one or two things we haven’t done before Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brett Ballantini, unsure what he is doing hosting a podcast for a 98-loss team, is joined by Ryiin, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and Malachi Hayes, none of them certain why they are sitting around talking about a 98-loss team. For that matter, why are you reading a post about a podcast about a 98-loss team? Well, that said, we’re glad you’re here with us. We’re family, in good and bad times. And given this is the final mothership podcast before season’s end, it’s a good time to thank you for reading, watching, and listening. Now, let’s figure out how we spent an hour talking about the likely fifth-worst team in White Sox history. As often happens, top of the podcast runs down the numbers, and of course, they’re not pretty. However, the White Sox have played two games better than he anticipated looking at the final three series Because, no joke, what are we going to talk about that hasn’t been said, the podcast is filled with speed-round questions and season reminiscing, kicking off with ... Will the White Sox be better or worse in 2024? The decision was split Will the White Sox set their record for losses in a season next year? Malachi and Melissa think the team will be better; while Ryiin says maybe, and Brett guarantees 106 losses in 2024 And on the flip side, we discussed positives coming out of the season — and neither firing Rick Hahn nor Luis Robert Jr. came up immediately! Deep cuts! A preview of upcoming podcasts, including more DISH Deluxe history podcasts and a postgame podcast after the Sunday finale Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friends, we’ve made it. This cursed season of White Sox baseball has come to an end. A lot of people wisely checked out early into the season; others, let's call them the masochists, stayed through the bitter end. When I look back on this season and all the games I needed to watch to keep my gig here at South Side Sox, I think about the end of one of my favorite movies. I am in fact Winona Ryder at the end of Heathers.  On the final episode of the 2023 season, I hosted Javier Reyes of Locked on Padres. Like the White Sox, the Padres are also a huge disappointment, without hope in their respective divisions.  We both concluded that baseball is pain and despite all the frustration that comes with it, we keep coming back for more.  “It’s the hope that kills you.” - Ted Lasso What happened in San Diego this season? Javier’s biggest season takeaway The Padres MVP Offseason targets and 2024 predictions Baseball is pain  How many Let’s Go Brandon T-shirts does Manny Machado own? Is there still bad blood over gestures broadly Rick Hahn and his many seats at the table We’re recording early, so no pitching matchups — just a breakdown of our rotations The keys, the fears, and what player will have the most impact on the series Out backup plans for both divisions and thoughts on who might win it all  You can follow Javier on Twitter (not calling it by the other name), over at Just Baseball, and his podcast, Locked On Padres. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With just six games to go in the White Sox quest to reach 100 losses, SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, look into the question of the ages — does winning one game thanks to a 311-foot opposite-field Pesky Pole nudger and another thanks to the intervention of tropical storm Ophelia mean the baseball gods have determined they want the White Sox to lose a measly 98 or 99 games instead of 100?  With three of games against a Diamondbacks team with everything to play for, but the tail end of their rotation scheduled to pitch, and then three against a red-hot Padres team, presumably ending the season vs. Blake Snell, can the will of those gods be overcome? Then there’s another big question — how good are the chances multiple players who were with the White Sox in 2022 (and in most cases also most of 2023) will be in the World Series?  There’s also the question of whether someone on the Sox coaching staff should have thought to suggest to Jake Burger that he not swing so hard, the apparent advice he was given in Miami that has raised his batting average and OPS each by about 100 points since he was traded to the Marlins? While we’re on questions, what do the latest reports on the mystery shooting at the GURF mean? And where is Hercule Poirot when you need him? And finally, are the odds longer on winning the Powerball or that Joe Kelly was serious when he told Will he wants to play on Will’s slow-pitch softball team after the baseball season is over? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friends — baseball is almost over, at least for these two teams. The Red Sox will likely finish last in 2023, worse than .500 at the time of this recording. The White Sox sit in fourth place, just slightly better than the somehow sadder Royals. The Red Sox fired their chief baseball operator Chaim Bloom. The White Sox replaced bad with worse in the firing of Rick Hahn and Ken Williams, only to hire within by bringing in Chris Getz. But as Bayleigh Von Schneider points out, the Red Sox will probably be good next year — and their owners will spend money. Some of you might remember Bayleigh, my co-host for Soxy Chicks. She also contributes to The Pesky Report, and the two of us often have each other on for other podcasts. We break down the woes for both teams and try to determine how this series might go.  What happened in Boston this season? Thoughts on Chaim Bloom’s firing Bayleigh’s pick for MVP Off-season targets and 2024 predictions Chicken pot pies, Boston accents, and that time David Ortiz dropped the F-bomb  Old friend alert and pitching matchups The keys, the fears, and what player will have the most impact on the series Out backup plans for both divisions and thoughts on who might win it all.  Somehow we never talked about the Scream series! You can follow Bayleigh on Twitter (not calling it by the other name), and our podcast, Soxy Chicks, ahead of next season Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will the White Sox make it to 100 losses? SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, ponder the odds of making the magic number, as the Sox press onward toward the famed century mark. The duo also delve fundamentally into fundamentals, starting with the lack thereof on the part of Oscar Colás and on to the lack thereof on the part of most of the White Sox, with Will reporting on how hard he sees other major league players working — players on good teams — compared to the visible (lack of) work ethic of the White Sox and other underachieving teams. Gee, could it be the dysfunction of the whole Sox organization leads to dysfunction on the field? After a look into all the categories of hitting, fielding and pitching where the White Sox are at or near the bottom of the majors, it’s on to questions of the future, including what will be Chris Getz’s first big decision (well, first except for where to plant his lips on Jerry Reinsdorf’s keister, be it a new spot of the one he’s used for the last seven years): Whether to pick up Tim Anderson’s 2024 option. Both think TA wants out, so would it be better to decline the option, or take it and try to trade him? Of course, any look into the future of the White Sox wouldn’t be complete without contemplating how many years (decades?) it might be before the team could become competitive — even competitive in the AAAL Central. But, lest all be despair, the two try to guess how incredibly high the ceiling is for the play of Luis Robert Jr. PLUS >>> a lesson in major league mound preparation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brett Ballantini and Brian O’Neill sat down with to discuss, just a few days since our last podcast together, what’s changed with the abominable 2023 Chicago White Sox. While not much really has, aside from an embarrassing near-sweep at the hands of the Kansas City Royals, Brian does feel worse than he did just a few days ago And yes, Brett’s “numbers rundown” of how bad the White Sox are right now — and how the team compares to the 123 years of the franchise in total — may have helped that bad feeling Wednesday’s win flipped the script a bit, as the 2023 team has eased back ahead, barely, of 2018 — but yes, another brief discussion on the contention window slammed shut and the likelihood of competing even in a horrible AL Central any time soon A chicken-and-egg discussion of White Sox players traded (Lance Lynn, et al.) and suddenly doing better with their new teams A rundown of where the White Sox stand in terms of “star” players on poor teams; truly, only the 1948 team, losers of 101 games (in a 154-game season) and second-worst in club history, had less star power than the 2023 club And by the end, Brian could take no more, having to throw the flag on a White Sox September 2023 podcast lasting longer than a half-hour Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The White Sox barely avoided a sweep from the Royals in time to head over to Detroit to face the third-place Tigers. Brandon Day of Bless You Boys joins the show to chat about all things Tigers and helps preview what will likely be an uneventful series.  The pitching matchups are slightly up in the air, as Michael Kopech and Matt Manning have question marks looming over their heads. The Tigers also play poorly at home. As I’ve said before, this might be a mid-off, and certainly doesn’t matter now that both teams aren’t postseason-bound. But hey, it was a fun chat! What kept the Tigers out of contention?  We all love Austin Meadows Brandon’s biggest takeaway from the season Who is the MVP for the season? On the other end, who is the White Sox leader? What happened to Andrew Vaughn? Or Yasmani Grandal? More questions from Brandon All the AJ Hinch discourse your ears can handle That one time the White Sox had Hinch’s signature on a picture of Tony La Russa Off-season targets The post-Miggy era A mid-life crisis break Why do bad things happen to good players? How much money has Chrystal donated this year to domestic violence organizations? Pitching matchups and a series preview Fears, threats, and the keys to winning the series Around the league  Find Brandon on Twitter and over at our sister site, Bless You Boys. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ah, the Chris Getz era of Sharing Sox begins, as SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, wade into the swamp that is the mind of Jerry Reinsdorf and the resultant morass that is the Chicago White Sox to wonder whether promoting a man who has proven an utter, catastrophic failure in his current post is a sound baseball, or business, strategy. First, though, the duo venture into happier thoughts, praising the Cleveland Guardians for picking Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López off the waiver wire and wondering if that will be enough for the Guardians to catch the Twins, even with three of their own starters coming off of the IL in coming weeks. Unfortunately, no one claimed You Know Who, be it for ethical or monetary reasons, so the Sox are stuck with him for the rest of the season. And, of course, no podcast this week would be complete without a look at the Fan Fat Fold Firearm Fiasco, which remains unsolved because, well, because, this is the White Sox, where nothing ever gets solved. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Resis, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach, Jacki Krestel, Malachi Hayes, Ryiin and Brian O’Neill sat down with Brett Ballantini to reassess our fandom in light of the pending decision to elevate Chris Getz to Chicago White Sox general manager. Put bluntly, can our fandom survive? Ryiin and Brett are the most broken by the succession of moves made through the entirety of the Rick Hahn Era, but now extending beyond — and seemingly getting more egregious by the day Malachi Hayes brings up a point echoed by others, however, than his fandom will outlive Jerry Reinsdorf and this ugly, horrible, short-sighted, terrible era of White Sox baseball We have had so many things taken from us in the past decade, as the team’s traditionally-proud and competitive nature has evaporated Likewise, we can’t even street-fight defend the White Sox any longer; go ahead, ESPN, forget 2005, or report only on guns in the park, or ... whatever. The White Sox have stolen the fight from us Where do we go from here? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The wonderful Tim Ryder joined me again to chat about the state of the Mets. Despite being in third in the National League East, the Mets are closing in on Atlanta and hoping for a Wild Card spot. An invigorating trade deadline added depth to their lineup, Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor have been on a roll lately, and overall better baseball is being played in Queens. Here is what we talked about: What's new with the Mets? How to make the playoffs The deep hatred for Atlanta Trade deadline thoughts Pitching matchups Keys to win, fears, and the biggest threat to the White Sox Nicky Lopez vs. Nick Madrigal The Mets would really like to forget about 1962 The kids are alright You can follow Tim on the artist formally known as Twitter, listen at Simply Amazin', and read The Apple. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The White Sox are about to face the Tigers and Royals. Blah blah blah. Instead of talking about this team, and some other bad baseball teams in the American League Central, I decided to go in a different direction.  Dollars for Dingers was started in 2019 by the wonderful women over at A Pod of Their Own. What started as something small between friends has turned into a much larger and incredibly influential fundraiser. Linda Surovich and Allison McCague join the podcast to talk about something that sadly intertwines quite a bit with baseball: domestic violence. How Dollars for Dingers came to be The monetary goal for this year Women’s Night at Citi Field, and what it’s like to have a good owner Not a Mets fan? You can still make a pledge! Funny and creative pledges — just make sure you can find the amount in the box score Other ways to give if you can’t afford to donate Donating for [redacted] starts and when other abusers play Light commiserating on a terrible season You can follow along with A Pod of Their Own, Allison McCague, Linda Surovich, and Home Run Applesauce.  Want to pledge? Sign up here. If you happen to be in the area, don’t miss out on the in-person event.  If you are experiencing any abuse, visit the National Domestic Violence Network.  Resources & support for anyone in the U.S. affected by intimate partner violence 24/7/365. 1-800-799-7233. Chat at http://thehotline.org | Text “START” to 88788 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rumor has it that while the White Sox have been blah on the field lately, events off the field have been pretty exciting. Thus SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, after due commiseration with and best wishes for Shohei Ohtani, take a few moments to consider all that has happened and all that might. Do they cheer mightily for the termination of Kenny Williams and Rick Hahn? Of course.  Do they think Jerry Reinsdorf, apparently aided by his swell buddy and one time waaaaaay back in history HOFBP, will do anything but something exceedingly stupid? Of course not. Do they believe that Reinsdorf will shake down Chicago and every other city in North America for every tax dollar he can gouge from them to add to his billions? Of course. Do they believe he will actually sell the team when it might cost him to actually pay some taxes himself? Of course not. Do they believe anything anybody in the White Sox front office, now or then, ever says or leaks? You’ve got to be kidding. Do they believe any experienced general manager with an iota of sense or self respect would ever work for the White Sox while control-freak Reinsdorf controls the team, thus relieving us of the dreaded specter of Chris Getz? For the sake of whoever might be thus tempted and their sanity, let us hope not. Well, you get the picture. Probably nothing you haven’t thought and said yourself. On the other hand, it’s a really fun rant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Really, this title pretty much says it all, right? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don’t ask us how they got out there among the hoi-est of polloi — actually, Brett did ask! — but Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and her husband and partner-in-ballpark-travels, Shaun, take us through the magical, inaugural Field of Dreams Game, two years ago today: Getting tickets! “Shaun, I’ve got some good news, and some bad news ...” Hey, let’s get in the car and drive four hours to a baseball game! And back! Did Melissa employ a “Queen’s wave” as Iowans lined the roadways to greet fans attending the game Pregame outside the park, including Steinbrenners cutting the concession lines Pregame inside the park, with kudos for MLB putting on an A+ show In-game, including Hands across America, as fans of all stripes show up for the game to unify in rooting against the Yankees The corn went Hollywood José took one to the corn Mood swings late — and was it the White Sox or Cubs fan who preached patience and practiced optimism as the South Siders appeared ready to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory? THE ENDING Where this game ranks as an attendee, all-time A “bonus” discussion of Field of Dreams, the movie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a dramatic weekend and an embarrassing week, the White Sox are hopefully looking ahead to this weekend's series after taking two straight sets. Ideally, the dirty secrets are over and maybe the news will break that there are several coaching and front office jobs opening up. (It won’t happen, but a girl can dream.) Jordan White joins the show to talk about the first-place Brewers. You might know Jordan from Pitcher List, and the recently-ended podcast In The Deep. He’s also your go-to guy if you want advice on fantasy baseball pickups.  The pitching matchups look promising, so long as Michael Kopech can maintain the magic from his previous start, and Dylan Cease can bounce back from what was probably his worst start ever.  Jordan’s Pitcher List departure has him watching baseball for fun again.  The Brewers are in first place, but the National League Central is still wide-open What’s going on in Milwaukee, anyway? The Cubs' annoying hot streak Baseball butts: Mark Cahna edition Jordan’s MVP on the Brewers A White Sox and Brewers trade Twitter questions!  Pitching matchups and a series preview Fears, threats, and the keys to winning the series Chrystal and Jordan make unconfirmed plans because baseball is better with friends Around the league  Find Jordan on Twitter and see some of his work on Pitcher List.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

South Side Sox duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, manage to take a moment off from this week’s White Sox weirdness to agree wholeheartedly with an article in The Athletic bemoaning the fact official scorers are terrified of ruling errors any more, to the point any routine booting of a grounder or drop of a fly is deemed a hit, and only throws into at least row Q will be scored with a big E.  That example of players not being held responsible for their actions then just naturally led to the White Sox Week That Was, full of a bizarre boxarama (spoiler alert: We politely suggest some mental health help for a certain member of the Sox who has appeared very troubled this year) followed by accusations of a deceased culture in the Sox clubhouse, reinforcement of that accusation, denial of that accusation, and then a whole bunch more accusations of lax effort or attitude on the part of certain players. Whew! And if that wasn’t enough, there was Rick Hahn, holder of law and business degrees giving the business in a way no lawyer would ever advise to all the players who were traded at the deadline by saying they got rid of the problem people.  Who did he mean? The pitiful Chicago media forgot to ask, so all six of those traded except Keynan Middleton, who got a separate blast from the pitiful GM, are open for speculation. None seem likely culprits, but maybe there was a six-player conspiracy. Got a favorite? Feel free to take a guess in the comments.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, two bitter baseball fans chat about their below-average teams. That’s right, we’re talking about the White Sox and Yankees! I also had a headache while recording, so things get a little loosey-goosey. That being said, Asher Dratel from Pitcher List joins to chat about the Yankees, and why everything is so bad right now. Twitter brought a lot of good questions, and as a content warning, we do discuss alcohol abuse and domestic violence in light of recent events involving Domingo Germán.  The lack of a pitching matchup at the time of the recording is also discussed, as both teams face pitching woes. At least the Yankees have Gerrit Cole. We also talk break down our expectations for the series, and move on to teams that are way more fun to watch right now. The White Sox are bad, but the Yankees are, too! What’s going on in the Bronx, anyway? Despite Aaron Judge returning to the lineup, it’s a little too late to mount a comeback The Yankees MVP not named Aaron Judge Will Carlos Rodón get better? How badly did the Yankees fumble the trade deadline?  Old friend alert, though Twitter questions!  Pitching matchups are non-xistent at the moment, and that’s pretty telling Touki Toussaint appreciation break Fears, threats, and the keys to winning the series Around the league  Find Asher on Twitter and over at Pitcher List. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an unprecedented burst of activity, the often elusive Dugout Metrics podcast goes back-to-back episodes, this time tapping Luke Smailes and his article series on the 2023 collegiate picks for the White Sox. Luke, fresh off of Lumen Field in Seattle, where he was so close to the draft he could smell Harold Reynolds’ aftershave, sat down with Brett Ballantini to share his many insights:  First off, yes, Brett claimed that he re-signed Luke to a more lucrative Dugout Metrics deal, but Luke spilled the real beans, that he simply invoked the no-trade clause in his deal. Smart man, because he got to come back on better terms than ever — thus a first-ever Dugout Metrics one-on-one! With a nod to top pick Jacob González, Luke reveals his Best Pick of the White Sox draft — a tweener whose selection was met with more groans than cheers As Most Intriguing Pick, it’s a pitcher with pedigree, and the confidence to match it Least Exciting Pick is a tough category, but Luke did find two guys in the Top 12 to highlight as question marks Most Out of the Box Pick is the funkiest and quirkiest pitcher of the bunch We addressed another six picks beyond that, covering almost all of the collegians, and even found time to celebrate the George Wolkow coup Draft trends for the White Sox: BB/K ratio, College World Series pedigree, and lefty bats. What of those traits are most important to Luke? An assessment, early though it may be, of the two Mike Shirley drafts Bonus Horned Frogs and Joe Kelly content, for the Dugout Metrics superfans! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After almost two years away, Dugout Metrics is back, and bolstered by a new teammate, pitcher/analyst Malachi Hayes, who sits down with Trevor Lines and Brett Ballantini to review Rick Hahn’s Big Trade Deadline Adventure.  Dugout Metrics left field Luke Smailes has been traded! We needed pitching, badly Up top, did Hahn execute at this deadline about as well as expected, better, worse? Breaking down everything, trade by trade. Importing some catching, good; expecting greatness of hurlers jettisoned by a pitcher-strengthening organization like the Dodgers, a bit dicey But, broadly, Hahn took some big swings, a necessity for a team in the bottom-five in baseball, and a minors system no better A dive into players not dealt, which of course features a ton of Dylan cease talk but also moves into both, hmm, why not Aaron Bummer and, hmm, who in the world else has any luster for other clubs? Malachi makes a strong case for why Tim Anderson was never close to being dealt, and never should have been On a scale of 1-10, how did Hahn do? What is Hahn’s future with the club, as his post-deadline comments indicate there might be some writing on the wall Also, just kidding, Luke was dealt away for this podcast, but he’s back tomorrow to break down the 2023 draft class! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

South Side Sox duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, took time out from warming up in case the White Sox need them to fill out the bullpen to talk about the heavy activity and non-activity on trade deadline day. The final Sox tally, pending judicial review, was six pitchers gone, along with Jake Burger, who is headed to Miami. Incoming are a whole bunch of prospects of various minor league levels, almost all pitchers, but including two well-regarded catchers (thank goodness).  The pitchers weren’t a surprise, but Burger was, because he’s second on the team in home runs with 25, though admittedly seldom gets on base unless he’s hit the ball at least 500 feet. Burger’s departure is some more cleaning out of the crowd of Sox DHs, so there are only about 10 left. Also left are Tim Anderson and Yasmani Grandal, for some reason. That made the Sox by far the most active AAAL Central team, as the Twins apparently didn’t pay their phone bills or forgot what time of the season it was, and the Guardians inexplicably traded away their only healthy veteran pitcher, Aaron Civale, as well as Josh Bell.  Speaking of the inexplicable, the most bizarre twist of the day was Eduardo Rodriguez refusing to waive his no-trade clause so the Tigers could trade him to the Dodgers. We figure it must be because he doesn’t want to have to play baseball in October. But now all that is done, so Will and Leigh naturally have lots of advice for how to organize lineups the rest of the season. Hint: Let the kids play, OK? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Tigers are coming to town to face the White Sox, who are fresh off a win. I never thought I'd have a chance to say that again. Friend of the pod Rogelio Castillo joined me to chat about the third series of the season against Detroit, and an update on all things Tigers. Here is what we talked about: What's new with the Tigers Trade deadline thoughts The future and prospects Booth drama Detroit fans don't respect Jason Benetti The epic downfall of Javy Báez White Sox Twitter Pitching matchups Threats, keys to win, and fears You can follow Rogelio on Twitter and be sure to follow along at Motor City Metrics and the Tigers ML Report. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not all of our DISH Deluxe history podcasts will be about a single date in White Sox history — in fact, quite often they won’t be. This episode is our first such podcast. The 1977 club was selected now, because at 22-6, it remains the best July club in White Sox history. And the South Side Hit Men spent the entire month in first place, stretching nearly into mid-August. Mark Liptak and Brett Ballantini discuss the overwhelming sense of fun associated with that club, and more: Not only the best July club in White Sox history, but the only one better than .500 from 1973 to 1982, and the best team overall between 1966 and 1982 Setting the scene — Bill Veeck and Roland Hemond’s clever/desperate Rent-a-Player strategy The key trade made at the dawn of the season — and the bonus ace who was almost stuffed into the deal! Opening Day: snow Heating up/highlights as the White Sox made their ascendance Where it started to falter and fall off The legacy of the South Side Hit Men The unsung hero of that 90-win club Miraculous ... defensive? ... achievements! The overlooked pitching staff How close were the White Sox to bringing Oscar Gamble back to Chicago? Player spotlights: Chet Lemon, Eric Soderholm, Steve Stone, Lerrin LaGrow, Oscar Gamble, and others  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With PECOTA now giving the White Sox just a 1% chance of winning the hapless AAAL Central, with a predicted 72.6 wins (that last six-tenths of a win is always the hardest), SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, indulge in the Sox fan merriment of the moment and try to guess who might go where by the trade deadline, and in exchange for what. Much of the discussion is on Tim Anderson — where will he go, if anywhere? Will he play second base wherever he goes? Will the change of scenery be good for both TA and the new team? And after all the dust settles, who should play what position(s) for the White Sox the rest of 2023? How about in 2024, which is apt to be a write-off, barring miracles and other hopey stuff? Can 2025 really be a big turnaround year, the one that’s been promised since Richard Daley was mayor? Ah, so many questions, such as how much salary the White Sox would have to eat to get some team to take Yasmani Grandal. And even occasional answers, such as to whether Andrew Vaughn and Eloy Jiménez should be deemed protected from the trading block. Oh, yes, there are also games to be played. Not that most of them matter any more ... except against the Cubs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where were you 13 years ago today? Almost undoubtedly, you were either glued in front of the television from the first inning forward, or at least got to a screen after Hawk implored all White Sox fans to call their mothers, daughters, sons and fathers. If you were really lucky, and some of you may have been, you were in the park. Malachi Hayes and Brett Ballantini were, unwittingly sitting just a few seconds apart on the home dugout side. The pair revisit the game and gush some trivia. In a season like this one, maybe memory lane ain’t such a bad place. Setting the scene — including the fact that the White Sox were right in the first-place hunt on the occasion of this game Tracing some highlights: Josh Fields, Gabe Kapler, box score details, Dewayne Wise ... Audio-visuals! Ramon Castro talks to Brett about the perfect game a year later, one of Brett’s snaps from the game, the split-second before Kapler almost broke all of our hearts An “exclusive” “premiere” at our Sox Populi YouTube channel: Brett’s footage of the final out, from Section 143 The worthy case to be made for Mark Buehrle in the Hall of Fame  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Little did we know when we began our latest “livestream” (to @SouthSideSox on Twitter, Sox Populi on YouTube and South Side Sox on Facebook) that we’d be mourning more than just another lost White Sox season. Midway through, Dante Jones broke the news to Brett Ballantini, Sam Sherman, Chrystal O’Keefe, Malachi Hayes, Kristina Airdo and Ryiin that Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López had been traded to the Angels. That changed the temperature of the room, quite a bit. With the loss, the White Sox dipped back to worse than .400 as a team, and again cracked the 10 worst winning percentages in club history Sam found the Crosstown losses so bad, so embarrassing, it shook him back out of indifference and into rage, particularly at an executive class that seems to hold fans in disdain To that point, you can flip fans the bird with a rebuild, or by throwing a tantrum at Reggie’s, or hiring Tony La Russa, because the team is planning or in ascendance; today’s bird-flipping (we’re still rooting for the rebuild to fail, Rick?) doesn’t fly, because we know the outcome of the rebuild — and it wasn’t success Similarly, per Sam, being inscrutable with every move (management, personnel, spending, the daggone injured list, for crying out loud) works if you WIN; when you lose, you’re coming across as at best obstinate, at worst, aggressively dumb Debate over whether this White Sox team is predestined to be worse in 2024 — Malachi, for one, doesn’t think that’s a foregone conclusion Tears will be shed over the loss of Lucas, even though we all knew it was coming sometime this year, during or after the season; hang in there, Chrystal and Kristina! Surprisingly, the return for two rental pitchers, catcher Edgar Quero and lefty arm Ky Bush — is FAR richer than any of us was expecting Imagining what the final, painful, two months of the season will be like Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode is a little different this week — it’s all Chicago-centric! It’s also a merger of SB Nation and Fans First Sports Network misfits. That’s right, I’m talking about a Crosstown Classic Crossover episode! Sara Sanchez of Bleed Cubbie Blue joins the show to talk about what’s going on north of Sox Park and preview the upcoming Crosstown series. The White Sox are fresh off getting swept in Minnesota, while the Cubs took three of four away from their own rivals, the Cardinals. Sara also comes with a few questions of her own. Everything is awful in the American and National League Central What’s going on with the North Side team, anyway? Where will the Cubs be sitting by September? Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger — will they still be Cubs in August or next season? Who is untouchable for the trading deadline, and who is the MVP? Pitching matchups for part one of the series, and how easily matched they might be Fears, threats, and the keys to winning the series The best parts of each ballpark, and our favorite player from the other team Around the league with love for Kim Ng, Joey Votto, and Elly De La Cruz There was a special guest joining the show. Here’s a hint — she barks A LOT Find Sara on Twitter as well as over at Bleed Cubbie Blue and BaseballHQ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Past Crosstown podcasts have mostly just consisted of getting together and trashing the Cubs. Not that there isn’t plenty of garbage to talk about on the north side, but buried almost 20 games south of .500 is not a circumstance for healthy trash talk. So it’s part humility, part curiosity that drove Brett Ballantini to invite the first of several (OK, at least two) “mixed marriages” on the podcast to talk Crosstown fandom. Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and her husband, Shaun, take the plunge as we unveil this new, odd podcast feature. The origin story of both Melissa and Shaun, and given their hometowns, both make good sense What do each think about the others’ favorite team? How does their star-crossed fandom play out in terms of raising their two kids as baseball fans? And how does that play out in terms of the makeup of the baseball “family cave” in the basement? What is easiest to tolerate about the other fan base — and the one thing they most hate about the Crosstown club Addressing a disappointing 2023 on both sides of town, with additional thoughts on Grandpa Rossy Impressions of Truist Park in Atlanta, the latest ballpark adventure for the couple And finally, the ultimate challenge: The Newlywed Game, Crosstown Edition! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With less than half of the season left, the American League Central could be up for grabs at this point, if any team gets hot. (Except for you, Kansas City. Sorry.) The Twins and Guardians have stayed close to one another, constantly hovering at the top while the Tigers stand by, ready to pounce. The White Sox, well, they are somewhere. Teams are usually a dreaded injury or a hot streak away from losing or gaining traction before their almost guaranteed first-round exit.  Josh Hill, content director for Puckett’s Pond over on FanSided joins to chat about the Twinkies, the sibling rivalry, and what to expect during the series.  Everything is awful in the American League Central The Twins and Guardians race to see which team wins the division — and if it’ll be with a .500 record or not The sibling rivalry between the White Sox and the Twins What’s going on in Minnesota, anyway? Byron Buxton and his now chronic battle with injury Will Sonny Gray retire? Will the Twins be in first by September? Who is untouchable for the trading deadline and who is the MVP? Questions from Twitter that range from serious to silly, with the mention of donuts and fraternal or identical twins Series matchup without knowing who gets the start each day Fears, threats, and the keys to win the series Around the league with Josh’s thoughts A World Series matchup, and a way for Jacob deGrom to get a ring  Find Josh on Twitter, over at Puckett’s Pond, and for those interested in the NFL, at The Pewter Plank.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before I make the trip to watch my National League team host my American League team, I talked to Tim Ryder of The Apple and Simply Amazin’ about the lukewarm Mets. There isn’t a whole lot to be impressed with, and these teams seem to be eerily similar. Between bullpen woes, injuries, and leaving runners in scoring position, watching the Mets feels like looking in the mirror. Will this be the matchup that helps the White Sox get hot, or are they destined to stay mired in mediocrity? Everyone is way behind Atlanta in the National League East  The Mets are 18 1⁄2 games back with just a .462 winning percentage, so what’s going on in Queens? What’s the common denominator with Edwin Díaz, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and Pete Alonso? Their time away with injuries has really impacted the team Alonso’s terrible pitcher in the Home Run Derby Will the Mets get hot, or will the season end in September? Who is untouchable for the trading deadline? The lore behind Mrs. Met’s cheating allegations Series matchup, without knowing who gets the start each day Fears, threats, and the keys to win the series Around the league with Tim’s thoughts An Andrew McCutchen, Joey Votto, Jake Burger, and Luis Robert Jr. love-fest.  Find Tim on Twitter, at The Apple, and on Simply Amazin’ Pod. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While our plans for daily history podcasts are pushed back to the offseason, we are still set to unveil a new podcast at Sox Populi, the DISH Deluxe. Every couple of weeks, we’ll sit down and address events from the rich, 120+ years of Chicago White Sox history. Upcoming podcasts will take a look back at Mark Buehrle’s perfect game, the Field of Dreams game, and the 1977 White Sox. We’ll have a rotating group of guests discussing our history, with Mark Liptak, our site historian, as a featured, recurring guest. Our debut addresses the two most famous All-Star Games in all of Chicago history, 1933 and 1983 Both, obviously, hosted at Comiskey Park — but Mark reveals the surprising origins and justifications of the 1933 game, hosted by the White Sox You ever notice that there are more All-Star Games than there are years the game’s been played? Mark addresses why multiple games were played in the late 1950s and 1960s The unique event that occurred in the 1983 game, and how it may have turned the fortunes for the American League A team that ended up winning 99 games had just one All-Star selection: Ron Kittle Largely overlooked in all the attention over the 50-year anniversary was the was the Old-Timers’ Game the day before Bonus content: Mark reveals the one horrible White Sox performer in All-Star Games: Luis Aparicio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our latest “livestream” (to @SouthSideSox on Twitter, Sox Populi on YouTube and South Side Sox on Facebook and, natch, here on the “home page”) featured a review of the 2023 draft and look ahead to the second half of the regular season. Adrian Serrano and Dante Jones joined Brett Ballantini to talk about the best and worst picks and trends of the draft, and what in the world the White Sox are going to do while wheezing through the last 70 games of the regular season. The familiar theme of not having nearly enough starting arms to attack a 162-game regular season — and how that, sadly, was not addressed in an otherwise inspiring draft Melissa Sage-Bollenbach checks in and demands some cussing on the program, after she had to witness Friday night’s debacle in Atlanta in person The front office finally finished reading Moneyball! And the shocking change in tone, with picks who can get on base and don’t whiff Excitement over local prep George Wolkow — and whether his closest draft-steal comp, Jared Kelley, provides hope or horror in the seasons to come Addressing the Chris Sale-Yoán Moncada-Michael Kopech trade, which breaks back full circle into a philosophical look at how to approach a rotation in the 21st Century Cameos from B.B. the Cat! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The White Sox make their final stop of their Western road trip to Oracle Park to face the fourth-place Giants. Don't let their spot in the division fool you though, the Giants are still in playoff contention. Britt of Casual Diehard joined me again this season to chat about what the Giants are up to and what the White Sox should expect in the series. Here is what we talked about: What's new in the Bay? Climbing up in the division Matt Chapman's future Trade deadline thoughts Pitching matchup Robbie Ray's decline but also his tight pants Logan Webb Tyler Fitzgerald and all of his home runs Hitting with RISP Bobby Witt Jr. and the Royals playing competitive baseball It's been a fun season overall The Evil Empire vs. the Ewoks Aaron and Gus Judge You can follow Britt on Twitter and listen to her chat about baseball and F1 on a Casual Diehard podcast near you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The All-Star Break is over and we’re back to the unfortunate reality — the White Sox still have the second half of the season to play. The trade deadline is looming, no one seems to know who is pitching each day, and everyone is likely playing through some kind of injury. This first series should be fine though. Right? Oh, never mind.  Tommy Barbee, SSS’ Southeast correspondent, is back on the show to break down another team in his backyard — the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta is the best team in baseball and sits comfortably at the top of the NL East, eight games ahead, with a .674 winning percentage. Will the White Sox get swept yet again, or will they do that weird thing where they win against the best teams but barely beat the bottom-dwellers?  Everyone is way behind Atlanta in the National League East  Post-Freddie Freeman era seems to have little to no effect, they’re still good Thoughts on the All-Star break and Atlanta’s franchise record of eight players in the ASG Sean Murphy has been excellent both behind the plate and at bat, and also had a special ASG moment Will Atlanta let anyone get close, or will they still be at least eight games better than everyone in September? Who is the MVP on a team full of MVPs? Who is untouchable for the trading deadline? Twitter Questions, featuring a chat about the ’98 Braves and the whole racism thing Series matchup and pitching breakdowns — and perhaps a hug watch? Fears, threats, and the keys to win the series Around the league with the Orioles, Mariners, and how awesome the Reds are doing The Chicago Blackhawks??? Find Tommy on Twitter and read all the excellent work he does for our site.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SSS duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, consider first how incredibly dysfunctional an organization has to be to send an entrant to the Home Run Derby without realizing he has no family to be with him and no teammates who are All-Stars and therefore needs to have someone from the club there cheer him on or commiserate, as the case may be. Unlike every other contestant, poor Luis Robert Jr. had to just stand by himself and look lonely. And to add to it, he got hurt. But that’s the past. It’s time to look ahead to the future and guess how may current White Sox players will still be with the team come August 1. Will Jerry Reinsdorf’s typist, Bob Nightengale of USA Today, be correct and three starting pitchers and three relievers all be traded? How about his 50-50 prediction on Tim Anderson, given TA has almost no value at this point? (We delve into TA’s career hitting vs. good and bad teams. It ain’t pretty.) Or will Jon Heyman of the New York Post be more accurate, when he says the only players who are considered untouchable are Robert, Dylan Cease, Andrew Vaughn and Eloy Jiménez (and, if so, why are Eloy and Vaughn in the same category as Luis and Dylan)? Only The Shadow knows, but the rest of us will find out before the end of July. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For the first round of the 2023 MLB draft, we opted for another “livestream” (to @SouthSideSox on Twitter, Sox Populi on YouTube and South Side Sox on Facebook and, natch, here on the “home page”). Malachi Hayes and Tommy Barbee joined Brett Ballantini to talk about the early draft overall, and speculate on the White Sox pick. Watch, in real time, as our hopes our crushed and the bounty of a rich draft is left on the table, again: Early thoughts on the speculation that Pittsburgh would veer away from one of the two (more expensive) LSU options, which turned out not to be true Watch as the trio’s hope builds, with off-the-board picks coming from several teams you’d think would know better in a rich, rich draft ... ... and then falls, as the safe, pedestrian, duplicate pick of Jacob González is announced. Even the spin heard on MLB Network — which spins every pick into sunshine, pretty deep into the draft — rings a bit hollow Discussions of launch angle and organizational draft philosophy Speculation over how Rick Hahn picked the lock on the door to break out of wherever Ken Williams stashed him — and how he managed to sully this pick, halfway out the door to a new job Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices