Sunday, October 26

CHICAGO -- “Let’s give ’em something to talk about.”

It’s one of Bonnie Raitt’s most popular lyrics. It also could be a 2026 marketing slogan for the up-and-coming White Sox squad.

Moving on to the ’26 campaign will come soon enough. Before we do, let’s look at the ’25 White Sox in their own words:

“I’m a third baseman. I love playing third base. But if the team asks me to play anywhere to help my team, then I’ll be able to. I love helping my team and being in the field with the guys.” -- infielder Miguel Vargas

Vargas’ growth as a player and a clubhouse presence was essential. He managed third and first, so it will be interesting to see which direction the White Sox travel.

“I will go over some things, things I can improve on. The biggest thing is you want to try to bulletproof your body as much as you can to be able to play 162. That’s the goal and pretty much one of the things I’ll go into the offseason mostly worried about. You can do as much hitting, but if you are not on the field, you can’t perform.” -- shortstop Colson Montgomery

With his 21 home runs, 55 RBIs and .840 OPS over 71 games, not to mention his stellar defense at shortstop, Montgomery was the team’s most valuable player. He has a desire to become truly established during his first full big league campaign.

“We are going to find ways to improve this. Most importantly we need to have these young players, or players in the organization, have an excellent offseason. Absolutely dominate when it comes to their offseason program and providing the support that’s needed in that continual development. We are going to carry that out in the offseason, because this group is vital for the future success of this organization.” -- general manager Chris Getz

“You look back on the year and where we are right now, I think there’s a lot of positive. ‘Optimism’ is the word I would probably say best describes it. We got a lot more information, exposure to some of these young guys. You can start to see some of these pieces starting to fill in the puzzle, which is great.” -- assistant general manager Josh Barfield

Look for the White Sox to enhance their bullpen at the heart of their offseason spending. But the ongoing growth of this talented core remains the biggest focus.

“There are problems to be solved at all times. I realize with this job, the focus on those things does not allow also for emotional responses to losses. We have stuff to do, and we know if we go to work on these things, we will get better results. The focus on what we can do to get better occupies most of my brain, regardless of the result.” -- manager Will Venable

Venable certainly wants to improve on the team’s third-straight 100-loss season. But the White Sox clearly have the right man in charge moving forward.

“I watched a lot of the MLB games on most nights as I’m winding down, getting ready for bed. It’s exciting seeing the slate of young players that have been going up. I played with a lot of them on the high school circuit. I look forward to one day being able to join them.” -- outfielder Braden Montgomery

That Major League arrival date could come in ’26 for Montgomery, ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 1 White Sox prospect and No. 35 overall. He made his Arizona Fall League debut Tuesday with a run-scoring double and three walks.

“There’s a little bit of art to it. At the end of the day, anyone can do it. I give a lot of gratitude toward Coastal Carolina, which if you get out of the way there, it’s a little scary because you’re getting yelled at. They taught us well, taught us how to do it the proper way. Just goes back to being selfless, wanting to get on base for your team. The way I look at it is if you’re in an 0-2 count and they throw a curveball at your feet and you’re getting out of the way, that shows me you don’t really want to win too much.” – infielder Sam Antonacci

The No. 11 White Sox prospect had a breakout ’25 campaign, including getting hit by a pitch 35 times between stops at High-A Winston-Salem and Double-A Birmingham.

“The plaque on the bottom -- I asked my wife, ‘Did you have any idea on what that even said?’ Because I didn’t even read it. I told her go out and take a picture of the plaque so I could see what the plaque said. I had no idea.” -- Mark Buehrle

One of the greatest pitchers in franchise history had a concourse statue dedicated in his honor on July 11, followed by an entertaining return to pitching for the Savannah Bananas at Rate Field, with A.J. Pierzynski catching.

“We feel him? Yes, of course. I don’t feel him because he made us win the championship. I feel him because of what kind of guy he was. … That man was absolutely [a] little teddy bear. … You never die when people will remember you every day, every time. You never die, you just left. That’s what it did to him.” -- Ozzie Guillen

During the 2005 World Series championship reunion, Guillen and many of his charges spoke of closer Bobby Jenks, who lost his valiant battle against cancer on July 4 at the age of 44.

• Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is one of the top players, top forces in baseball. Yet, in some ways, he seemed, to me, a little underrated or even undervalued. That is no longer true, as the Blue Jays’ first baseman leads his team into Game 1 of the World Series on Friday.

• Speaking of the World Series, Dodgers in 6. They are built for October.

• I was having lunch near Lake Michigan on Sunday, watching the Bears’ victory, when I saw a boat named “Summer of George” sail past. That owner is a true “Seinfeld” aficionado.

• Michigan football needs to win Saturday night. I’ll take my chances on the final four to eight games after a victory this weekend.

• It’s just 155 days until the White Sox open the 2026 regular season in Milwaukee.

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