Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the significance of SoxFest for White Sox fans?
60 and 102 win team. I guess 60 and 102. 60 wins, 102 losses. That would be the Chicago White Sox. They are having Sox. They had Sox Fest. And as we said, our own Courtney Finnegan was boosting the ground right there, doing interviews, doing excellent interviews. We're going to give you four of her interviews, four excellent conversations, quick conversations, sort of pitch and moans on the go.
I think that's the first time we've ever designated that, but baseball isn't boring on the go. Why not pitch and moan on the go?
Chapter 2: Who are the notable players discussed in this episode?
Do such a good job. We're so proud to have that podcast underneath the baseball as an umbrella. And in this case, the conversations are with some four interesting, interesting guys on a very interesting team. Shane Smith, Miguel Vargas, Grant Taylor, Chase Mydroth, all answer some questions. Really, really good questions from Courtney. Excellent job by her.
And like we said, it's just a taste of what was going on at Sox Fest. Really, it was a team – it's a celebration of a team that won 60 games. But more importantly, it's a celebration of a team that is projected to win 64 and a half games. That is the over-under win total for the White Sox. I will say this. I don't know if there has been a team or an organization that is probably –
More optimistic, and not even about making the playoffs, but just more optimistic about the way things are going or trending. that is projected to win just 64.5 games than the White Sox because that's how bad it's been. But remember, this offseason for the White Sox has been a little bit of a shot in the arm.
Obviously, you get Morikami, you get Acuna, you get Hayes, you get Dominguez, you get Kay, you get Sean Newcomb, and that on top of the breakout guy from last year, Colson Montgomery, that on top of another guy coming up, another Montgomery coming up, Braden Montgomery.
the guy who obviously was probably the main piece of the Garrett Crochet trade, along with Kyle Thiel, who's also on the team, along with the aforementioned Mydroth, who's also on the team, probably playing second base. So anyway, it's a really, really interesting team.
And I'll just say this, and Courtney can agree or disagree, I don't know, but she would know better than I, because again, she's in the belly of the beast that was the Sox Fest, the celebration of the White Sox. I do think that if we're going to pick a team to take the over on, the White Sox at 64.5 wins, you might do it.
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Chapter 3: What insights did Shane Smith share about his goals for the 2026 season?
In part because I don't think division's that good. It's okay. But also, I think they're going to be better than people think. And I also like Will Venable. All right, well, let's get to the interviews. Shane Smith, a guy who's been on the podcast from the All-Star team, had a semi-viral video of raiding North Shore roast beef places. He's obviously from Massachusetts.
But Shane Smith is a good story and a good pitcher and a good player. He went 146 in the third innings last year, had a .388 ERA, made 29 starts. Yeah, he had a pretty good year for the first year. One of a few different young pitchers, one of a few different Rule 5 pitchers who actually said, this is a piece of the foundation with the White Sox.
All right, well, it's always good to catch up with Shane, and that's exactly what Courtney did. Shane Smith, how are you? Good to see you. Welcome back to Chicago. Thank you, thank you. Are you surviving the cold weather so far? Coming from Boston, this isn't new for me, so good to be back. Did you get the two feet of snow in Boston? I did.
Chapter 4: How did Miguel Vargas transition from the Dodgers to the White Sox?
All right. How'd you survive? Shoveling. Getting that arm ready already with the shovel. Yeah, a little workout. So a couple quick questions for you. Now that you are a second-year player, what are your goals for the 2026 season?
Yeah, I think it's building on the momentum of last year as a team and personally and making sure you're doing the right things that made you successful last year and also learn from the mistakes that you made. So obviously this team has made some adjustments this year. They've signed a couple guys, Murakami, Anthony Kaye is a new guy in your rotation.
What kind of identity do you see this team going into spring training with? Yeah, I mean, I think it'll organically come as we go through spring training, but we have a ton of guys who want to win. A lot of young guys who want to prove it to themselves and prove it to the city that we're ready to be a good baseball team and compete at this level.
So when you got the call to come up to start pitching last year, who was the first person you called? I called my parents. Called your parents. Yeah, yeah. They were the first one. Were there any tears, any excitement? I mean, what was the main... A lot of emotion, but definitely
Chapter 5: What are Grant Taylor's expectations for the upcoming season?
you know tears um you know some relief from for me and my family and uh definitely excitement toward the end so obviously you have a couple of other boston guys with you you have shades are mike bassel of course who's been on the podcast sean burke i mean do you guys hang out in boston you guys going out together hitting the little italian area how do you guys you guys hang out thank you i cannot come up with that uh yeah so i i've worked out with mike the last couple of years so i know mike really well
Sean lives in Nashville in the offseason, so I saw him early on, and then he went back. We work out together. We hang out off the field together. We have a good time. Sean Newcomb is one of our new signs. He's a Boston guy I've worked out with, so we've got a good little Northeast crowd coming to Chicago.
Well, I do have another question, New England-based, for you shortly here, but one more question for you baseball-wise. Have you had any adjustments this offseason compared to last year, now that you are the second-year player on this rotation?
Yeah, I think a lot of it's looking at what you did last year, whether it's mechanically or arsenal-wise, making sure you're making those adjustments, whether I'm trying to throw my slider a little bit better. So just being in the lab with that, making tweaks, making adjustments, and now
and making sure I'm throwing strikes in my off-speed, throwing strikes in the fastball, and the pillars of what makes a pitcher good. Perfect. So I saw you at the Patriots game earlier this year. I know you're a big Patriots guy. I just have one question for you, and this is probably the most important question you'll get all weekend.
How badly would the Broncos have beaten the Patriots with Bo Nix healthy? Be honest. I don't think anybody's scoring in the second half, no matter if it's Knicks or not. Those are my thoughts.
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Chapter 6: What adjustments did Chase Mydroth make in his offseason training?
So you think the snow still would have slowed them down? Yep. I don't think you're doing anything against the defense. So in all honesty, do they have a shot in hell against the Seahawks? Be honest. If our offense does a 180, I think we've got a good chance. Right now, it's going to be tough. A 180? I mean, you're asking for a lot here. Yeah, we need a little bit of turnaround.
I haven't scored a ton in the last couple games. I've noticed. Against really good defenses, so that's a plus, but I think we've still got a good shot. Well, I appreciate your time, Shane. Good luck this year. Thank you. Thank you. But we always like guys with good personalities. Miguel Vargas has a good personality. He's still, by the way, just 26.
Chapter 7: How does the White Sox team plan to build their identity for the 2026 season?
Remember, he was a guy who was with the Dodgers, cruising on life through the Dodgers to world championships. And then, boom, the deadline in 2024, he gets traded in the Michael Kopech trade. And he ends up where the White Sox goes from literally the best team to literally the worst team. And now he is entrenched probably at third base for the White Sox.
For the Dodgers, you remember, he was the opening day second baseman in 2023. We shouldn't forget that. Had a lot of potential. A lot of people say, oh, well, what happened to him? He didn't live up to it. He was supposed to be part of that foundation, of the Dodgers foundation. But he kind of resurfaced last year and was pretty decent. 138 games, 16 homers, 717 OPS.
Good player, good personality, good guy for Courtney to catch up with. Here's Courtney's conversation with Miguel Vargas. Miguel Vargas, nice to have you on. How are you doing? Good, good, good. Really good. Thank you for having me here. Absolutely.
Chapter 8: Why do players believe that baseball is not boring?
It's great to see you, as always. How are you surviving our cold? I'm trying. I'm on it. This is not my type of weather, but I really love everybody around here, so I feel warm, too. Where do you live in the off season? Are you a Miami guy? Yeah, I'm in Miami, Florida, yeah. This is a hell of a change, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. It's way more warm out there than here, for sure. That is very true.
I have to start off by saying you are now a known Vikings fan, right? Yes, I am. And you know, that's kind of a dirty word in Chicago, as you can well imagine. Yeah, I mean, I like the Vikings from a long time ago. One of my teammates, you know, he also played here in Chicago. It was Michael Bush, right? Yeah, Michael Bush. So he also played here in Chicago.
And, you know, I've been rooting with him the whole time. And, you know, now I cannot change. Now everybody knows it. Everybody knows now. Yeah, now I cannot change teams. So I come from a family of Vikings fans. My dad's a big Vikings fan. And I have to ask, how did you survive JJ McCarthy this year? I think it's going to be fine. I think, you know, it's just his first year. He's young.
And, you know, hopefully he's going to be in a better position next year for the whole team. I mean, do you watch every Sunday? Are you locked into the games every single Sunday? You are? Hey, this is Richard Deitch, the host of the Sports Media Podcast. If you're interested in what's happening with all the places where you consume sports, the Sports Media Podcast has you covered.
I've been turning down interviews all week. Hoda Kotb reached out, Oprah, George Stephanopoulos. So I said, no, I was booked on the Deitch podcast before the Taylor Swift phenomenon. I must live up to my responsibility. Listen, wherever you get your podcasts. No, not sometimes because we're playing some Sundays. Oh, that's true. Yeah, but for sure I see Sunday night football for sure.
Did you happen to get to any games this offseason? No, no, no. I was at home this offseason spending time with family and recording from the long season. You know, just glad to be back here. Well, my entire family's rooting for JJ right along with you, so I get it. I get it. He's going to be good this year. Okay, well, let's see. A couple baseball questions for you now since I have you.
This will be your second full season with the White Sox, right? Yep. So what are some of your goals for the 2026 season? I think we've got a really nice group. We're a really good group of guys. We're all hungry for what is coming, and we want to win games. I think we've got a really nice group, and we're very excited for it.
So what kind of identity do you think this team will have come spring training? I think we're going to be loud. It's going to be fun. Now we know each other for a long time. It's going to be so much fun now that we can spend time together. So what do you think? Are you thinking, not to put you on the spot, but third base for you? Is that your ideal? Yeah, I'm happy to go back to third base.
Anywhere where I can help my team to win games, I'm glad to do it. So have you made any adjustments in your off-season trainings? Have you done anything different? No. I'm just with my family, having a good time, you know, working out, drinking water. Drinking water. Very important. That's it. That is very important. Watching the Vikings lose, unfortunately. No. No.
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