Chrystal O'Keefe, Brian O'Neill and Hannah Filippo hopped on with Brett Ballantini to discuss the fabulous first half for the White Sox, but more so to focus on the second half and stretch run that could give the club its first postseason berth in five seasons.

We discuss how the second half plays out, who ends up winning the division, what the trade deadline will look like, and who finishes the season as the White Sox MVP — and much more!

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It was a little hard to tell at South Side Sox given all of our normal draft features being churned out, but this year marked a wrinkle to our coverage: Actual writers on the ground to cover the event.

Melissa Sage-Bollenbach and her son, Sage, were in Philadelphia for the draft, Melissa as credentialed SB Nation media.

Now ... did that turn out to be a good thing? And did Sage, donned in a UCLA Roch Cholowsky jersey and White Sox cap, get feasted on by writers and broadcasters looking for No. 1 overall draft choice material?

Tune in to learn all of the the ins, outs and power failures of the weekend experience in Philadelphia, as the pair sits down with Brett Ballantini to chat on MLB draft 2026.

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Melissa Sage-Bollenbach, reporting from the 2026 draft in Philadelphia, joined Brett Ballantini to wrap up an extremely impressive effort by the White Sox.

We revisit the debate over the No. 1 overall pick (we had both settled on a player other than Roch Cholowsky), Chicago's maneuverings to land Landon Thome, note securing a first-round talent (and Grady Emerson doppelganger?) Cole Prosek at 41, and other highlights — including players taken DEEP in the draft, all the way down to Round 20.

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The wonderful Aaron Cameron is back for the second time this season to talk about the Athletics. Aaron shared his experience with seeing the A’s in Las Vegas, as they start to integrate and build hype in the desert. The pair went over trade deadline needs and confidence levels about 2026.

Chrystal and Aaron also previewed the series, talked about the game they caught together at the end of May in Chicago, and Aaron shared his hottest take to date — he hates the Home Run Derby.

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Red Sox media jack-of-all-trades Owen Brown made his Visiting Dugout debut to talk to Chrystal about what’s new in Boston and preview the upcoming laundry series.

Owen touched on the April firings, the Willson Contreras suspension, and if the Red Sox will be buyers or sellers at the deadline.

The pair also went over what to expect in this series including pitching matchups and fears, before moving on to what’s going on with MLB in general.

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Imari McPherson joins again to talk about a familiar team, the Cleveland Guardians. While the pitching matchups in this series will be similar, the White Sox will see the Guardians on the road this time, and for four games.

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The full squadron of South Side Sox minors writers (Brett Ballantini, Melissa Sage-Bollenbach, Joe Kiang-Resis, Kristina Airdo and Hannah Filippo) assembled to review June and the first half in the White Sox system.

We assessed the second-half fortunes for each affiliate, and highlighted some of the system's brightest and most disappointing players.

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Dream is back to talk to Chrystal about all things Orioles. The pair talked about what’s going on in Baltimore, and previewed the series and what to expect.

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If there's one thing you can count on from Sox Populi, it's that every time the White Sox win a game by 21, we'll be on the air for a postgame podcast. That's our promise.

Of course, that's never happened in White Sox history, and there's been just one bigger blowout in all 126 years of play for the South Siders, also against a Kansas City team (the Athletics, in 1955). And the 22 runs scored in the blowout tie for the second-most ever by the team (again, 1955, 29 runs).

Game recapper Trevor Land (in his Sox Populi podcast debut) and Hannah Filippo hopped on with Brett Ballantini to talk about the win. And believe it or not, one of the trio STILL is not overly impressed with this White Sox team. Find out who, and give us a listen.

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Journalist Vince Guerrieri joined the podcast to chat with Chrystal about the Cleveland Guardians. Plagued with injuries and losing the heart of the order, the Guardians are still lingering at the top of the American League Central alongside the White Sox.

Vince talked about the offseason, and how Cleveland owners don’t spend money on free agents, either, as well as his confidence levels for taking the division.

The pair previewed the series, and the pitching clinic the Guardians always seem to have. Vince shared the keys to winning, and his fears heading into the series before breaking away and sharing his insight on the rest of the season and the potential labor stoppage in 2027.

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