Jim Margalus talks Braden Montgomery's epic MLB debut, White Sox's success
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What exciting event sparked the discussion about Braden Montgomery's MLB debut?
Sox Machine.
You know what that music means. Number one, Daft Punk should always be celebrated. They are architects of modern music of our time. Number two, it is Sox Machine time, and we are thrilled to bring on the managing editor of SoxMachine.com. They are doing a lot of work, both on the baseball side, the minor league side, and then also the stadium side, because that's right, the Sox are in the mix. It is Jim Margulis. He is at Sox Machine, and he joins us on our hotline and on Twitch, twitch.tv slash thescorechicago. Jim, how are you today?
If you're thrilled to have me, I'm thrilled to be here.
Of course we are. Good things are happening. I don't know how anybody watches that game yesterday and just doesn't have all of the good baseball vibes. That was incredible. For Braden Montgomery to do what he did, just outrageously amazing.
How did the White Sox manage to win against the Braves despite challenges?
It was, especially since it wasn't a perfect game. They've been able to win games where they overcome themselves, whether it was questionable strategy or just questionable execution. I think it was both in terms of trying to get that fourth run home and tie the game up and playing for one run when they probably shouldn't have. To be in that position where they get the game to extra innings, and then even though Grant Taylor isn't his usual dominant self, he just lets the Manfred man score and gives him a chance. Game comes down to Braden Montgomery, of course, like the way you draw it up of just a rookie. They can't hide from baseball. The game's got to go through you, and you've got to be there at the end.
You can't hide. He didn't hide. He hit an opposite field homer off the very top of the fence. And yeah, that's the fact that it wasn't a no doubter. It hung in the balance for like two seconds to wonder if it's going to get out or be caught or merely tie the game up and extend the misery and excitement further was just a lot in those two to three seconds.
It was a lot, and it was exhilarating. And you're right, it left a lot of stuff in the dust, like big things that happened that we're not going to talk about maybe as much, like Tyler Davis getting out of the jam with first and second and no outs, like a mini El Duque there. But I do want to pick up.
What were the key moments that defined the game for Braden Montgomery?
on what you are saying about this not having been a perfect game. And you even mentioned something on Twitter to the effect of Will Venable over-managing, and I assume that you're talking about the bunts and the Drew Romo, Randall Gritchick attempted safety squeeze, over which, by the way, Will Venable was very critical of himself afterwards. I'm wondering what you thought about the game, and specifically, what do you think about Will Venable in general? Is over-managing an issue for him in your mind overall?
I think it can be. I think it's probably a little bit of a transition right now going from managing a team that had no expectations, that had a lot of young players, that had a lot of platoon players or quadruple A players with weaknesses to hide and try to complement them with players with certain strengths. And so he's pulling a lot of levers, pushing a lot of buttons, and he might get in this mindset to where he has to manage this team to win. He has to be the one pushing and pulling, subbing guys in, taking guys out. And a lot of the pathways to victory, he calls it, go through him. And as this roster gets more talented, I think the idea is to be more hands-off, to have more guys who don't need subbing out, pinch hitting, pinch running, trusting players to handle lefty on lefty situations or righty on righty.
And we're probably catching him at a little bit of a transition time to where the lineup gets deeper. Yeah, I think the Jerome one was even he admitted that he had tunnel vision to a certain extent, thinking like, well, it's an automatic out or yeah, and we just want to have one out instead of two with a double player, a useless out with a strikeout. And, you know, at least he admitted it after the game. He was very upfront with it.
What are Jim Margalus's thoughts on Will Venable's managing style?
I think, you know, in a change from the Pedro Grafol era where he was very defensive about all his moves and maybe kind of revealed like a kind of an insecurity in terms of his standing with the clubhouse.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What exciting event sparked the discussion about Braden Montgomery's MLB debut?
0:01–0:56
2
How did the White Sox manage to win against the Braves despite challenges?
0:56–2:16
3
What were the key moments that defined the game for Braden Montgomery?
2:16–4:01
4
What are Jim Margalus's thoughts on Will Venable's managing style?
4:01–4:52
5
How has the White Sox's performance changed expectations this season?
4:52–6:25
6
What challenges are ahead for the White Sox in their upcoming schedule?
6:25–7:53
7
What impact does Jacob Gonzalez have on the White Sox's lineup?
7:53–9:13
8
What insights does Jim Margalus provide about Sox Machine's coverage?
9:13–12:23
Speakers
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