After some of Brett Ballantini's idiotic, angry and/or questionable ramblings in our staff discussions, Malachi Hayes suggested a ... debate? ... of sorts, centered around the White Sox trade of Adrian Houser to the Tampa Bay Rays at the deadline last week.

You don't have to listen to the podcast to determine who won the debate: If you are a "gut" fan, you might like my arguments, while if you like reasoned analysis and optimism, Malachi is your guy. (By the way, first round went to Hayes, as Houser had his worst start of the season to open his Rays career.)

This was mostly Houser and related debate, but we did move on to other things:

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Bayleigh and Chrystal return to talk about a busy few weeks in Major League Baseball.

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Brett Ballantini, Joe Resis and Melissa Sage-Bollenbach gathered together to look back at the month of July in the White Sox farm system, with special attention paid to the surging Birmingham Barons. 

Topics? Yeah, we got 'em:

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Claire joined Chrystal to chat about the Mariners and help break down the upcoming White Sox series.

Here is what they discussed:

You can follow Claire on Bluesky.

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 The White Sox roared ... well, squeaked ... through the trade deadline, sending off only Adrian Houser and Austin Slater and getting back all of three minor league pitchers (only one of them even listed on any teams top 50 prospects) and one utility infielder. Duty geezer Leigh Allan and his son and west coast correspondent, Will, talk about the White Sox activity or lack thereof, including what the future may mean for Luis Robert Jr., and then wander into the more interesting world of teams that actually got better ... or in some cases, worse (looking at you, Twins) ... and what all that may mean.

The duo also consider the strong possibility the AL Central is headed back to its usual doldrums after a brief sojourn into adequacy in 2024, and commiserate with Guardians star José Ramírez, who deserves a better fate than playing for a team that doesn’t seem to care any more.

Of course, there is fun talking about the post-All Star break offensive surge for the White Sox, and chat about just how real Colson Montgomery should be considered at this point.

Speaking of fun, there are also a few chortles about how little the other team in town did on the trading front, with best wishes for the team north of the state line to whip them soundly.

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Happy 100 episodes! Chrystal failed to acknowledge that in the episode, but we can all celebrate it here.

Brett Haffner is back to chat with Chrystal about the Phillies and help preview the upcoming series.

Here is what they talked about:

You can follow Brett on X, where he also posts content from Sox On 35th.

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Nick Mear joined Chrystal O'Keefe ahead of the Crosstown Classic to talk about what's happening on the North Side and preview the upcoming White Sox series with the Cubs.

Here is a bit of what they talked about:

You can follow Nick on X and Bluesky. His podcast, NickFlix is available on Spotify and Apple.

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The 14th episode of the 2025 season features host Melissa Sage-Bollenbach with a special edition of Ladies’ Night-turned-Family Night with guests Shaun and Sage Bollenbach. Melissa’s husband and son join her to discuss several topics related to the upcoming Crosstown Classic showdown between the White Sox and the Cubs this weekend at Rate Field.

Whether you're a die-hard White Sox fan or a Cubs Fan, there's something for everyone. So, sit back, relax, and grab your favorite beverage because this divided family trio hit a home run conversing about all things baseball, including:

Don't forget to check out the Sox Populi YouTube channel (and please subscribe) or listen on Megaphone below.

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It's been a while, but Bayleigh and Chrystal are back to discuss what's going on around Major League Baseball.

You can keep up with Bayleigh on Twitter/X. Chrystal is primarily on Bluesky but sometimes on Twitter/X.

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Jason Collette of RotoWire and FanGraphs joined Chrystal to talk Tampa Bay Rays baseball, preview the series, and catch up on what's happening around the league.

Here is what they talked about:

You can follow Jason on Bluesky. He also has a weekly column for all your fantasy baseball needs on RotoWire. Lastly, you can listen to his podcast The Sleeper and the Bust on FanGraphs.

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