Sox Machine

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Rundown

• How AJ Mithen picked the Chicago White Sox as his MLB team to follow
• How baseball is received in Australia
• After the impressive World Baseball Classic 2023 run is baseball gaining momentum in Australia?
• Why the White Sox and other MLB teams should spend more on scouting the ABL
• Travis Bazzana is aiming to be the first Australian to be selected in the first round of the MLB Draft. How Bazzana is blazing a new trail to follow for other young Aussie ballplayers.

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Buy "Tell Me A Story That I Don't Know" from your local bookstore or online here.

Rundown

• [Intro] Josh's quick preview of "Tell Me A Story I Don't Know'
• [2:26] George Ofman, who spend almost 50 years covering Chicago sports on the radio, shares his experience launching a podcast
• [6:07] What it was like for George to mentor Mike Greenberg
• [7:21] A story about Ozzie Guillen path to becoming White Sox manager and how he took the job away from Cito Gaston
• [12:54] A story about Jason Benetti's path to becoming a broadcasting star and why he wasn't going to be the White Sox play-by-play announcer for life
• [16:56] A story about why Steve Stone is the best baseball color commentator Chicago has ever had, and what it's like going out to dinner with him.
• [20:52] A story about launching The Score
• [23:14] How covering Chicago sports has changed over the years
• [25:18] A White Sox story from George that Josh didn't know

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The Saint of Second Chances is now available on Netflix. Link to film

Rundown:

• [Intro] Josh's quick recap of The Saint of Second Chances, a must watch for Chicago White Sox fans
• [2:50] Night Train Veeck joins the show and shares what the filming experience was like
• [5:42] Why did Night Train get into the family business?
• [7:13] The lessons learned and wisdom bestowed from Mike Veeck to Night Train of the Disco Demolition Night
• [10:38] Why the family business model works
• [13:31] Night Train's experience working for Fan Engagement with the Chicago White Sox
• [19:14] What it's like to boss Mike Veeck around?
• [21:02] Night Train's experience learning how to operate an Australian Cricket league
• [26:01] Veeck family now part owners of Northern Ireland Football League club, Larne FC

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Record Date: 1/6/2024

Rundown

[Intro] Josh is heading out on vacation visiting Australia and New Zealand

[4:21] Alec S.

If this wasn’t your job, how many Sox games would you watch this upcoming season? The second half of last season I watched games around the league and realized how much good baseball there is to watch. I don’t see myself watching more than 40 Sox games this year

[10:49] Michael

In the spirit of a very old P.O. Sox question I asked where I wondered who would have the better career between Rodon, Kopech, and Alec Hansen.

Which prospect that didn’t make the majors from the recent rebuild did you have the highest hopes on that didn’t pan out? What do you think went wrong?

[18:16] John Phillips

We will be going to Arizona again this year. We usually catch several Sox games and wander the practice fields. If you had this opportunity, where would you focus your attention?

[21:43] Noah Amstadter

In light of the Sox numerous AAAA acquisitions the past few weeks, are the team’s numbers in Ben Clemens’ metric looking any better? And isn’t strong AAA depth for this team as it currently stands kind of like carrying low deductible car insurance on a 17 year old beater with 300,000 miles?

[27:52] Jordan

How is BetterHelp not a sponsor of this podcast? I’m sure all of us Sox fans could greatly benefit from some professional help at this point….

[29:23] Benjamin Gazda

How has a replacement for Benetti not been named yet? Do we even know who they are looking at to take the position?

[39:02] Bryan Dolan

What is a realistic statistical goal for Noah Schultz this year/has there been any noticeable comments or changes (ie bannister) to avoid recent developmental struggles ie Crochet/Rodon/ dear god Carson Fulmer. Enjoy your trip Josh!! It’s a dream of mine to make it there.

[47:42] Asinwreck

If Brett Phillips isn't the starting RF on Opening Day, who would be a realistic option? Also, can Josh bring Dave Nilsson back from Australia to manage the Sox?

[57:04] Stephen Millark

After signing roughly a dozen defensive replacements to one year deals, it doesnt seem like the White Sox have a real long term plan and probably don't have the farm system to achieve a real competitive team in Luis Robert's window of control.

Considering that, is this the time to trade him? Even if you only get 80 cents on the dollar, those 80 cents probably do more to help the Sox return to the playoffs in 2-3 years than Robert does before he leaves

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Record Date: 1/4/2024

Rundown

• [Intro] When will Chris Getz make his first big move? Also, a check on remaining available ex-2019 Kansas City Royals players that could be added.
• [5:26] Hello, Brett Phillips. Why are White Sox fans fearful that Phillips will be the Opening Day starting right fielder?
• [20:05] Hello, Chad Kuhl. While his fastballs are getting awful results, Kuhl can help the Charlotte Knights with pitching depth that they didn't have last year. Or, because of his above average slider, could the White Sox help Kuhl transform into a reliever?
• [30:51] Josh and Jim discuss Joel Sherman's column in the New York Post about the New York Yankees pursuit of starting pitching, and what Sherman is hearing about the White Sox asking price for Dylan Cease.
• [45:34] Yoshinobu Yamamoto secured some nice contract perks. It got Josh and Jim thinking about what kind of perks they would ask for signing a hypothetical MLB free agent deal.

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Record Date: 12/31/2023

Rundown:

• Happy New Year!
• [2:08] Chicago White Sox sign starting pitcher Chris Flexen. Can Brian Bannister and Ethan Katz help fix Flexen's fastball? If yes, then there's a chance the White Sox added a starter than can pitch 125 or more innings in 2024.
• [16:36] With new Boston Red Sox GM Craig Breslow saying that the team needs to be prepared to part with prospects to acquire controllable starting pitching, could this be an angle for Dylan Cease? Which Red Sox prospects should the White Sox target in such a deal?
• [38:40] Lucas Giolito signs with the Red Sox. What are the chances Giolito bounces back in Boston?

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Record Date: 12/28/2023

Rundown:

• [Intro] Jim is back from holiday break
• [3:22] White Sox sign Martin Maldonado in an attempt to solidify the catching position. Josh and Jim like what Maldonado brings in blocking and countering the running game, but his poor framing is a big concern.
• [27:24] Maybe Tim Hill is a poor man's Aaron Bummer. A lot will depend on how Hill heals from a ligament injury in his throwing hand and if he can regain velocity with his sinker.
• [41:41] This episode marks the last in 2023 calendar year. A HUGE thank you to everyone who listened during a 101-loss season.

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Record Date: 12/26/2023

Rundown:

• [Intro before the intro] According to Robert Murray of FanSided, the Chicago White Sox are signing Martin Maldonado. Podcast episode recapping that signing coming later this week to recap that news
• [2:11] White Sox request from Cincinnati for Dylan Cease
• [9:48] MLB News: Mitch Garver signs with Seattle
• [12:42] MLB News: Kevin Kiermaier signs with Toronto
• [15:10] With Kiermaier off the board, what are the White Sox plans for right field?
• [21:04] MLB News: Cleveland trades for Estevan Florial
• [25:01] MLB FanFests are going away and that's concerning

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Record Date: 12/21/2023

Rundown:

• [Intro] MLB rule changes for 2024 including reducing pitch clock and mound visits, and widen of first base path line.
• [16:03] 2024 PECOTA Projection: Luis Robert Jr.
• [22:41] 2024 PECOTA Projection: Andrew Benintendi and Eloy Jimenez
• [27:47] 2024 PECOTA Projection: Andrew Vaughn and Yoan Moncada
• [34:53] 2024 PECOTA Projection: Erick Fedde
• [39:05] 2024 PECOTA Projection: Dylan Cease
• [42:02] 2024 PECOTA Projection: Rest of White Sox pitchers

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Record Date: 12/18/2023

Guest: Ben Clemens, FanGraphs

Article Link: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/how-not-to-build-for-depth/

Rundown

• Ben Clemens wrote on FanGraphs "How [Not] to build depth" and highlights how awful the Chicago White Sox depth issue truly is
• Jim Margalus joins the show to share his thoughts about the topic, how the White Sox should implement more roster churn, and does that type of churn apply to "Core" players such as Yoan Moncada, Eloy Jimenez, Andrew Benintendi, and Andrew Vaughn?

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