Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: Who is Steve Stone and what is his background in baseball?
Steve Stone. I certainly love Black Sabbath. Former MLB Cy Young winner.
Steve Stone is the first American League pitcher since Denny McLean to pitch three hitless innings.
Color analyst for CHSN.
When Stoney watches a game, he's going to call it like he sees it. Look who is pinch-hitting at the plate. Former White Sox, Jan Moncada, makes his first appearance in an Angels uniform. They are familiar faces. Not as kind of a reception as Tim Anderson received.
Chapter 2: What are the expectations for the White Sox on opening day?
Well, number one, he wasn't here quite as long or near as effective as Tim was. Steve Stone with Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score.
I'm jamming out to the new Steve Stone Open. Nicely done, Tyler Beerbaugh. This is Rahimi Harris and Grody, and for the first time this season, we are happy to go to our hotline. That is where we find the White Sox game analyst for Chicago Sports Network. He is the American League Cy Young Award winner. He's an all-star, and he's just important from a baseball and my baseball-watching standpoint.
Steve Stone, Stoney, good to talk to you.
You too, Leila. I hope everything is going well. I am so excited. Baseball is finally here. I think everybody feels the same after spring training. About the last week of spring training, you're just dying for the season to start, and so we're a day away.
I can't believe we are here, and I know that everybody always says that, but it is nice to be at this point. And with an opening day expected tomorrow, Stoney, that I feel like is really bringing some optimism with what the White Sox are putting together. How do you take in just what you're looking forward to this season on the eve of opening day?
Well, they're going to be a better team. I don't think there's any doubt about that.
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Chapter 3: How has spring training influenced the White Sox's season outlook?
And a couple of question marks that still have to be answered, but as far as ability is concerned, this team has a lot more ability than the last couple of versions of the White Sox. Quite obviously it didn't work out very well. There's a lot of optimism this year. I think what we saw at spring training, there was a couple of things that really made me happy.
Number one, you have everybody on the team hustling, and I think that's a compliment to Will and his staff, and the entire team buying into what they're preaching, which is look for the extra base, be as aggressive as possible, Let's learn three or four different ways to win a game instead of just one, instead of just hitting the ball out of the ballpark. And when we don't, we lose.
We can't have that if you want a successful season. And I think Will is trying to impart to all of the players that hustle every play and good things will happen. If you don't hustle every play, you will hear from me or somebody else on the staff. But they don't set up any bombs. They talk to these guys quietly. They call them in. They get their message across.
And I think we saw it in spring training. We saw a very, very good, aggressive version of the White Sox team that's going to represent Chicago this year.
And Steve, it's exciting to be a White Sox fan and understand that things appear to be headed in the right direction, not knowing a timetable of how long it would take to get playoff worthy, but to just be on the right path.
I'm curious if there was anything that jumped out to you this spring that gave you maybe even more of a sense of, hey, I think this young player could take off, or just a sense of things coming together that maybe you didn't have going into spring training.
Well, certainly I think this team is going to be a little more powerful, and hopefully that turns out to be the case. You know, you add a left-handed power hitter in Murakami, and that's something that this team certainly needed. I think we saw with Colson the last half of the year, we saw what he can be, Now, whether he carries it over or not, I don't know. I tend to think he will.
I think he's got a lot of ability, and I think he started to truly believe in himself the second half of last year, and we saw the results of that. So in looking at that, there's only a couple of things that have to work out in the Sox' favor for them to put together the kind of year that everybody would like to see. One is a very difficult situation in that you don't have too many veterans that
on the pitching staff. It's a fairly young pitching staff, especially in the starting rotation. And by young, I'm talking about major league experience, especially experience winning a whole lot of games in a given year.
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Chapter 4: What are the key strengths of the White Sox's roster this season?
You don't have a whole lot of that. And then your young guys are a little too young. You look at McDougal and you look at Smith and you look at Noah Schultz. They're not ready quite yet. Doesn't mean they won't be this year. They probably will see one or two of those guys this year, maybe all three, who knows. So you're kind of in between.
You have some young pitchers on your major league team, some even younger pitchers that aren't quite ready yet, and the development of those three, as well as the guys who are currently in the starting rotation, that's going to determine just exactly how the Sox are going to be. I think the bullpen will be better.
You didn't want to lose too many essential players in spring training, but the loss of Teal and the loss of Vassell are something that you have to overcome. Vassell, I think, is going to be difficult because he was so versatile. He could do whatever it is that Will wanted him to do, and now you've lost him for the year to Tommy John surgery, but those things can't be helped.
Those things are going to happen. That's why you have to have depth.
We're talking to Steve Stone on Rahimi Harrison-Grody. Stoney, of course, the White Sox analyst for Chicago Sports Network. And there were some tough decisions that had to be made regarding the roster as well. We get the late news about Reese McGuire joining the team and signing a contract, and that made it apparent that Corey Lee would not be starting with the big league club for the season.
What do you think about that aspect of just his fate with this team and how all of this breaks down?
Well, I think he tried everything that he could to make it and thought perhaps after the teal injury that they would see him on the team. But they just decided they wanted to go another way. I think they believe McGuire might be a little bit better defensively than Corey Lee. I think Lee still can be a major league catcher. I really love the way he works at it. I love the preparation that he has.
He learned a lot from Maldonado when Maldonado was over here and also in Houston today. And so I think the future is fairly bright for Lee, and hopefully he finds a spot, a place that appreciates him. Sometimes it is just a numbers game, and they feel that Carroll being a switch hitter is going to hit better. They feel McGuire might be a little bit better defensively, at least defensively.
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Chapter 5: What challenges does the White Sox pitching staff face?
At the start, I didn't think they wanted to go with three catchers, and so it creates a problem, but there's a few of those that hang around, and one of them, of course, is just exactly how do you take a guy who led the team in home runs last year and where are you going to play Sosa? That becomes another question that you're looking for.
Since you just said that, I have to follow up. Where do you think he should get the majority of his at-bats?
Well, he's going to get them. He's going to get enough at-bats, certainly. The question is... where you're going to put him, and he has the ability to be a little more versatile than most, especially on the infield.
So, look, he's not going to be a great glove man, but he does have a very substantial bat, and that's something, especially for a team that was challenged scoring runs last year, that's something that you look forward to. I don't know exactly where he's going to get most of his play. I think that... Maidroth is in a good situation leading off and making contact, being the kind of player he is.
I think Sosa gets some at-bats at second base. I'm not sure much about third base and what he's going to do there, but you can see him there occasionally. And maybe at first base, if you shuttle that around between who plays first base and who DHs, you might see some at-bats there also.
We're talking to Steve Stone, the White Sox analyst, on Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. And, Stoney, there's also been some reports that it would appear that William Bergola and Sam Antonacci are starting the year in AAA. Antonacci's gotten a lot of love on our show in particular. Russ Dorsey, one of our reporters, says that scouts just love him.
What do you think about his World Baseball Classic and how his spring training went?
Well, he's a very impressive young player, and I think those people who saw him last year, you know, Connor McKnight is one of those guys that initially brought his name up and brought it to the forefront, because he was down there taking a solid look at our minor league system, and I've got to congratulate Connor. He knows this organization backwards and forwards, and
Listening to him break down things is really interesting. So I think he's done a terrific job with the time that he's been given and working as hard as he can. But he's the guy that talked about both of those guys, but especially Antonacci.
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Chapter 6: How does the team plan to utilize young players this season?
But starting those guys in AAA will give them a chance to get the at-bats that they need, and eventually we'll probably see one or both here. I would say probably this year.
Steve, tell me if I'm right on this, because I'm way more worried about getting through games from a pitching standpoint than I am about them being able to score runs. I know scoring runs was very up and down proposition last year, but Shane Smith is your opening day starter.
You've got other guys in the rotation who have been a part of what the White Sox are doing, but just haven't been able to give them enough innings to get through games. Do you feel better about longer starts and more innings from the starting rotation this year?
Well, as we talked a little bit about it, there's a couple of areas of concern. One is the starting rotation. That's an area of concern. And that's an area of concern because you'd like to see them shorten up the workload for the bullpen. So, you know, everybody talks about the pitchers. It used to be the reputation was a five-and-fly guy.
You threw five innings, you looked at the manager, and you say, you know, I need somebody else out there. That was looked down upon or even scorned when I was playing, but now – It comes, you know, if you get five, five and a third, five and two thirds innings, they think you're a hero most of the time.
The reality is that if you can take it into the seventh inning, you can really help your bullpen, especially over the long haul. You know, early in the season, you find these guys in the bullpen and they're pretty strong and they're going to get people out in key situations and all of those things. Then you're going to get to the 35 appearance mark, maybe the 40 appearance mark.
And all those guys that were getting guys out in April and May suddenly stopped getting them out. maybe toward the middle, toward the end of July, because you're at that 40 appearance mark. You can wear down a bullpen pretty quickly, and the starting rotation is the best way to keep a bullpen sound. With that in mind, we've got some guys who are capable of doing it.
Now what they have to do is go out and get them into the seventh inning. I think that's probably a goal. You might come short of that quite a bit. But if you can get to the seventh or maybe a little bit beyond that, you can really help that bullpen in the long run. And I think that is the concern. So I think, Marshall, you're right.
That is one of the areas that most people are concerned about as far as this team goes. I think the bullpen is stronger.
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Chapter 7: What are the implications of recent roster decisions for the White Sox?
I think the jury is still out on the starting rotation.
I think we're going to have a big welcome to Major League Baseball moments, Tony, when Monotaka Murakami has to face Jacob Mizoroski tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that matchup for a few different reasons, but what do you think of how his beginning of the season is going to go?
Well, what I would like to see in looking ahead, you know, occasionally I'm able to look ahead. I'd like to see Mizoroski actually go ball one, ball two, so that Murakami can look in the strike zone. for something that he can certainly handle.
But what's going to be interesting, if you watch the hands of Murakami, and I know that he had a conversation with Otani about the hand position, I don't think he's changed it all that much by using his hands and keeping them away from his body like he does.
I'm sure he has a reason for that because, you know, when you're a two-time MVP in Japan and you've hit 56 home runs, you're obviously getting it done. The question will be, and some of the harder throwers here, can he catch up to the inside pitch with his hands like that? Because when you put your hands out, you have to bring them back in order to swing. And that's part of the deal.
And the question is then becomes timing. Can he catch up to that 96 to 98 to 99 mile an hour fastball that's in on your hands? So you have to bring your hands in. If he can do that, well, then you can hit the guys who have the high 90s fastball. He's going to see it tomorrow, and we'll see how successful he is.
But that's the first place they like to test guys, especially with a hand position like that. They'll test him inside anyway, but especially when they start like that, and we'll see if he can catch up to it. He has to be able to adapt to new surroundings as well as new pitchers that he's going to see, but I think he has the ability to do it. Those numbers in Japan just jump out at you.
Psychic Steve Stone is back. We're in mid-season form. Stoney, this has been a lot of fun.
Thanks for letting us speak at that crystal ball of yours.
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Chapter 8: What should fans watch for in the upcoming matchups this season?
But yeah, this show has been keeping an eye on things like Team Italy and other White Sox ventures. So Stoney, always a pleasure. We are looking forward to the game tomorrow.
Thanks, Steve. Take care. We'll talk to you then. Talk to you down the road. Bye.
Absolutely. That was Steve Stone for the first time this season. Things just feel right. Baseball is back. Opening night is live tonight on Netflix. Aaron Judge and the Yankees clash with Rafael Devers and the San Francisco Giants. MLB opening night. Yankees, Giants, live on Netflix tonight at 7 p.m.
Coming up next, it is halftime here on Rahimi Harrison Grody, and I may have our most dramatic dating term yet. What? More dating terms? It's pretty bad.
Okay, I'm excited. I'll hang around for the hook.
I'm here to frustrate Marshall next.
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