Chicago White Sox - winning streak with Nick Murawski - Locked On Sox

191 Chicago White Sox with Nick Murawski

[00:00:00] Mark Corbett: Okay. Welcome to Baseball Biz on Deck at I'm Mark Corbett your host.

And with me today I have Mr. Nick Murawski, the man when he comes to talking about the White Sox. Nick, if there's somebody that's busy about the game, it's Mr. Nick Murawski. You can find him at, locked on Sox, and then also the podcast. Uh, Good guest talk Bach back. Yeah, talk Bach. You talk classical music, don't you, 

[00:00:27] Nick Murawski: Nick?

I might as well this season. Why not? Well, 

[00:00:31] Mark Corbett: welcome man. It's, it's great to have you here. I've always enjoyed, you've enjoyed Well, watching the socks the last couple years, some changes that. When it came to management and, not so much in other things,

[00:00:43] Nick Murawski: yeah. Yeah. I appreciate it, mark.

Thanks. You know, not a lot of people want to talk White Sox. Not, not a lot of people want to talk White Sox locally, let alone nationally. So, uh, thank you for the opportunity. It's never a dull moment. Uh, it's just been dull lately for our Sox. Well, 

[00:00:59] Mark Corbett: [00:01:00] you know, I've been looking at me, I think historically what you all were doing last year, second in the division.

And let's see who led. The guardians led the division and you guys were right behind them. And the twins, who are doing pretty well right now ended with a record of 4 81. You know, they were not, they were not doing so well. Uh, the Royals last year ended with 4 0 1, so, you know, and, and right now they're two 30.

So I, the question is this, how important is it right now? What's happening in April? I mean, is this a fair barometer for any team? 

[00:01:34] Nick Murawski: Well, that's, I mean, that's a, a good question. You know, Pedro Grifol, the new manager, would talk about, uh, in the off season, look, you can't win a championship in April and May, but you can lose it if you're not prepared.

 If you don't have sound fundamentals, if you're not executing, if you're not doing. The little things and, and I think that's what I had a problem with and I think maybe other Sox fans did. , last year in 2022, it seemed like the team was [00:02:00] just saying, Hey, look, this division's gonna be handed to us.

We won it comfortably in 2021. We just need to basically throw ourselves out there, put a lineup and everyone will fall over. , and we'll continue to do what we're doing. , as, as it happens, anytime you win a division, you've got a target on your back from other teams. They want to take down the champ.

, and we just did not play with any urgency last year. What I'm finding, , throughout April. It's just been bad. Baseball. Our bullpen one of the worst in all of baseball. , highest paid as well. Starting pitchers can't go more than four or five with any consistency. , the guys, we thought we were gonna get power from Jimenez.

Robert, you know, Moncada has been hurt. That, that hasn't been happening. I mean, Jake Burger has been the guy that's been giving us all the power. And at a national level, baseball fans are like, well, who's Jake Burger? I mean, but locally we know him and it's been nice that he's been getting an opportunity.

Um, if you dig yourself deepen up of a [00:03:00] hole mark, I, I think that's gonna be the problem. Yeah. Is when this team starts clicking. It's not like the twins and guardians are gonna put their lives on pause and say, well, let's wait for the White Sox to catch up so we can have a fun summer. , they're also gonna be wanting to really bury the White Sox, so, can the Sox turn it around?

I mean, You gotta start playing a completely different brand of baseball and, and Grifol. Maybe he hasn't been getting his message across, maybe they're not listening to him. Sox had 11 roster moves, uh, just a couple days ago. I mean, I don't remember a time where they had that many roster moves. Uh, coming out of a day off, shook some things up.

Socks now have a two game winning streak as we record here, and that hasn't happened all season long. So, I mean, you take the little victories right now. 

[00:03:51] Mark Corbett: Absolutely. And, and let's talk about those victories because last week you defeated the number one team as far as wins thus far. You guys beat the Rays [00:04:00] at the Trop?

Yeah. What, what was it at the 

[00:04:01] Nick Murawski: trap at home? Uh, we, we beat him. I'm sorry. At home. That's right. Yeah. In the series finale. Yep. Because I was 

[00:04:06] Mark Corbett: thinking, my gosh. Alright, first off, I have so much sympathy for you guys in Chicago, period. When I see these games in April, I think, good Lord, man, how cold it gets out there.

There's sleeting rain and such, and playing. So just the, just the folks that stick out for these games, okay? The game that you guys beat, the Rays, it all pretty well happened in the ninth inning. All that scoring and I, as I was watching on tv, alls I could think of, I respect those fans there in the bottom of the ninth.

They were there when they go to work tomorrow. Nobody else can talk to them cuz they were there, they stuck around part and saw the game finish. 

[00:04:44] Nick Murawski: Yeah, it was, uh, well it was, it was rain, it was cold. What a rollercoaster of a game. And, and really, uh, a rollercoaster of a weekend, especially with that Saturday game where, uh, Lance Lynn had a no-hitter going into the seven Sox.

Were winning three, nothing. I [00:05:00] was at that game. I had, I left a little early and I'm watching the rest of it at home and I said, I, I think I might have walked out on history. Lance Lynn looks really good here. Uh, and then just completely went into a different direction. I've never seen anything like that where they just gave up 10 runs just like that.

Uh, so Sunday was great. Sox needed that. A big walk off from Andrew Vaughn. But the weather is, um, , there's a lot of fans I know that won't even go to April or May games. Wow. So let's just say, you know what, , I'm waiting till June, , a couple seasons ago. I went in, in an April game early April, and, uh, we, we braved out the, the elements my wife and I bundled up in winter jackets, ski caps.

And we were, , we, we had a nice prize out of that Carlos Rodan through a no hitter. Uh, so Wow. It's like sometimes you might say to yourself, ah, it's gonna be 45 tonight with the wind chill. I don't know if I want to go again. You'll never know what you're gonna see. Uh, so, uh, good on those fans.

Yeah. For [00:06:00] sticking around. They were treated to a nice finish indeed. 

[00:06:03] Mark Corbett: So I was really glad to see you guys do that. They am now hitting, uh, beating the, um, Your division leader, this twins last night, and you know, right now looking at scores top the fourth and you guys are tied. So, , that could happen.

Again. I'm, I'm looking at your team and overall most of the people that have been on the roster last year are appearing this year as well. I mean, if I look down the list, Tim Anderson, thank goodness he's back. Uh, Andrew Vaughn Eloy Jimenez. , Louis, Robert, uh mm-hmm. Gavin Shees. Grandal, Burger and what?

Elvis Andrus. So, I mean, all of those guys were there last year, weren't they? 

[00:06:42] Nick Murawski: Yeah. Yeah. Elvis came, uh, towards, middle end of the, of the year when, uh, Tim Anderson went down with a finger injury. Mm-hmm. We, we picked him up and he was really a spark plug for the White Sox. , as we kinda went on a mini run, , late last, last year, and Elvis said, look, I, if there's an [00:07:00] opportunity, I'd love to come back and play, uh, for the White Sox, uh, that would've meant.

He was gonna have to change positions, uh, as a lifelong shortstop. He was gonna have to move to second base, and it took some time, uh, in the off season. But he eventually, , I nothing to, nothing against Elvis Andrus, he's a veteran. Uh, a solid guy. Just got his 2000 hit not too long ago. But I don't think a lot of people were tripping over themselves to sign Elvis Andrus, but, right.

You know, our, our, for our team, the bar has been pretty low , for second basemen. The White Sox just do not go out. , and pay for, , some of the big names that are on the market, uh, second base wise. And there's a lot of other positions too. So to get a veteran like Elvis Andrus to come back that, that was, , maybe not what was maybe the missing piece, but, you know, a a, an okay move, uh, for the White Sox, but 

[00:07:51] Mark Corbett: Andrew, Benintendi.

Wow. Now there's a nice addition to any team and you guys, I mean, watching was a last night where not only did he have the walk [00:08:00] off, but he also I saw this incredible, yeah. Uh, catch, I mean it must have been two, three feet over the wall and he was up there and he caught that ball and, and stole that home run.

[00:08:10] Nick Murawski: Yeah, , again, we have not have a, a proven left fielder, uh, in a while. We had two DH first basemen, uh, in our corner outfield last year, and Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets, uh, that is gonna be a problem. You know, opposing teams who knew what to do when the ball was hit into the corners, you know, take the extra base.

Those guys do not have outfielder arms and that had to be addressed. Uh, you know, the money, the, the, the biggest contract the White Sox have ever given, I mean, 75 million and. Again, the way the Sox operate in terms of money is just so archaic. I mean, one of, they're one of the few teams in all of baseball now that have not given a nine-figure contract.

They have just not done it. And you look at the other two teams, I think the Royals and the Oakland Athletics, and you see where they're [00:09:00] at and have been lately are record wise. So, I mean, I guess you can, , draw some lines to everything but Benintendi. Brings the lefty bat. I was hoping we'd have a little bit more power from him early on.

Uh, but he gets on base. I mean, he gets some hits, you know, I feel like sometimes when the socks aren't hitting, he's there, you know, getting a single or, or, you know what, again, not the, not what we wanted out of him, wanted a little bit more power, but he's been pretty consistent, at least. Consistent to his career numbers.

And of course adding the glove, a gold glove winner, , out there in left field, , was really huge. It checked a big box for, uh, for the White Sox in the off season. 

[00:09:41] Mark Corbett: Well, I know it was exciting to watch him last night out there, left field and, and if he's gonna continue to be that kind of player, I, I mean, it's a reason for me, if I was a White Sox fan, to come back again and again to watch the team.

But one of the things I was concerned about last year, you know, Nick was. Was, well, [00:10:00] let's, let's face it, you had a guy, a lot of, a lot of people didn't like he was the manager and I think the owner liked him and, um, he's a legend here in Tampa, but man, I, I don't know. You know, it it, the time, it's time to come for Tony LaRussa.

I guess so, yeah. With the new guy. Is, is his, is he bonding yet? I seem getting thrown outta game. So 

[00:10:23] Nick Murawski: he's trying, he's trying. I don't, maybe he just doesn't wanna watch the sax anymore. I don't blame him. Um, you know, he, uh, look, the, the whole Tony La Russa thing I. The, the reason why he was, I put in place, if you read between the lines and everything, it's pretty obvious, uh, Jerry Reinsdorf trying to right an old wrong.

 Did, wanted to take the keys away from Ricky Renteria, I thought pretty early. I think Ricky Renteria could have still been the manager in 2021 and they would've won the division. , but Rick, uh, uh, Jerry Reinsdorf said, you know what? I think we still have a team here that can win, that can get to the A L C S, [00:11:00] could maybe get to a World Series.

I'm gonna put the guy in that I wanna put in. He pretty much went over our general manager, Rick Hahn's Head? Yeah. Brought in Tony La Russa. . We got a division championship in 2021. Quickly bounced out of the playoffs in 2020, uh, at the end of 2021. And then last year was just a mess. I think Tony La Russa was battling some health issues, , for most of the season before the big.

One with his heart was announced, right? And he had to step away from the team. , I don't know if he was fit to manage, I'm just kind of speculating after some of the things I read, uh, over the off season. But a, a new manager had to come in , and I think it was Rick Hahn's opportunity now. , to hire, , his guy.

And I, you know, I, I think a lot of people were scratching their heads at Pedro Grifol. Uh, a who is this guy? Even though, you know, he came from within the Al Central, he came from a Kansas City Royals. I mean, he's a baseball guy. Very impressive resume. A lot of [00:12:00] people have said wonderful things about him. what kind of person he could be a communicator, what kind of baseball mind he has. Uh, but I personally as a fan was looking for somebody that had, um, come from a very successful organization. I mean, looking at your, you know, Tampa. I mean, looking at the Rays organization and how they do things, looking at maybe Houston, , Atlanta, some, somewhere where, you know, and,, and they had a instant, they had a, a track record for success, not just that one World Series in 2015, uh, that he was involved with the organization.

So, I also was looking for a manager that had previous managerial experience. I mean, this was his, now his first big league gig and. Look, he, he won me over with everything he said in the off season. And, and this is what we're gonna do and these are the things we're gonna emphasize, uh, emphasize on, and the fundamentals.

And I love the coaching staff that he brought in and surrounded himself with that Charlie Montoyo, the bench coach and Castro hitting [00:13:00] coach and, um, you know, brought some friends from the Royals organization that he's comfortable with. But, you know, I, I don't know. I if, if players just kinda listened to his message and said, yeah.

You know, you've never done this before. You know, you've, you've never been a big league manager. I'm not gonna listen to you. Some of the things we're dealing with and hearing about right now, it sounds like, like, like Pedro Griffo's harping on fundamentals. Well, that's something that should have been figured out in the off season or spring training or when some of these players were in high school, you know?

Yeah. Like, I, I, I don't, that's the stuff I don't quite get right now. And is it we have lazy players, or is Grifol not able to, you know, be an effective manager? I, I don't know. I don't 

[00:13:45] Mark Corbett: know either. But I, I gotta tell you, I was watching that one game last week and I thought, I was looking at Manny Machado from a years, few years back when he said, hustling is not his cup of tea.

Sure. Yeah. And I saw, you know, looking at, of course, uh, Robert Jr. Yeah. And [00:14:00] yeah. Oh Lord. I thought, dude, really, I, I understand some players saying, okay, I'm not gonna completely kill myself to get the first and, and pull a hammy, you know that, but still, You're not paying attention to the PO potential in a case where you really did have a possibility of getting on first and.

I sat there and I look over to the misses. I said, Karen, I can't freaking believe that. You know, I can't believe it. Yeah. 

[00:14:24] Nick Murawski: But, yeah, it's, uh, y you know, he, he came out with the statement after the game Robert Jr. Did, and said, well, his hamstring, uh, was kind of bothering him. And because he hustled so much the night before, he thought he was gonna take, he was gonna take it easy with the hamstring, but he didn't tell anybody.

And even when he was, uh, asked by Grifol and Montoyo in the dugout, like, are you okay? What, what was that? He did not give them a clear answer. From what I understand from the, from the stories I'm reading from different, uh, journalists that are beat writers with the socks, a player outed him. [00:15:00] And went to Grifol and said, actually, I think he's got a hamstring issue.

Maybe that was the thing. So that's like hamstring gate, uh, that was going on here in Chicago for a few days. And the weird thing is Mark, the next day, he's not starting okay on Sunday, but in that just sloppy conditions, critical moment, he comes into pinch hit, and I'm saying to myself, If he has another moment where he's gotta beat out a ground ball.

Okay, well, I'm not trusting a guy that's got an iffy hamstring in these wet conditions. Yeah. So apparently the hamstring was, uh, magically healed, uh, overnight. So I, 

[00:15:39] Mark Corbett: I gotta 

[00:15:39] Nick Murawski: meet his doctor right away. Right, right. 

[00:15:43] Mark Corbett: Oh, well, I, I'm glad to see that he's returned with a little more enthusiasm. But, you know, I, I go back to what that weather's like for you guys.

Yeah. And I, I keep looking at the, it seemed like there was. Seemed like the umps missed a lot on both sides to me. Uh, I was looking at the umpire scorecard and I [00:16:00] think on the Sox end for that last game, they had 'em hitting about 80% being correct. So I mean, 20% of the time they're wrong on, on balls and strikes.

And I always wonder too, do you think umpires say, Damn. I'm tired of being out in this cold and wet and I'm just gonna expand the strikes zone. 

[00:16:18] Nick Murawski: You think so? You know, but right now with the, with the quicker pace of play, I guess maybe it's not, uh, maybe it's not so much of an issue this year, but I have thought that too in years pass, like, Hey, this game's going on four hours.

It's 35 degrees out. You guys are down by eight runs. Like, let's just, you know, uh, j hey, five inches off the corners. Let's go, let's get this thing finished. 

[00:16:43] Mark Corbett: Oh gosh. Well, but the thing of it is, I was wondering with Mr. Anderson coming back, if that was gonna be a spark, if there was, if there was a. I wouldn't say blase attitude, but maybe just not energetic attitude.

Is that [00:17:00] gonna come back with Tim Anderson? Now I heard some of that interview. They had him in in the, , clubhouse or the other day and he was saying, yeah, you know, that's, you, you guys' an in the press, been talking about this for some time. Mm-hmm. Now, yeah. And you know, it's not gonna turn on one guy.

[00:17:13] Nick Murawski: Yeah, he, I mean, he is a guy that, uh, no question about it. I mean, he gets things going for the Chicago White Sox. Players know it, fans know it. I mean, Grifol knew it, you know, just coming into the job. I mean, he knew all about Tim Anderson from seeing him on the other side with Kansas City. Uh, we saw what he did in the World Baseball Classic on a national stage.

 He can hit, he can play some defense. , he's just got, he's got an energy about him. He's got, , a spark about him. And with Jose Abreu being gone, I think he kind of takes over a bit of a leadership position. , I think he could be actually the longest tenured Chicago White Sox player now, uh, with Abreu, who's departure.

So, uh, I sure hope so. I mean, he, he fits so nicely in the top of that lineup. Uh, if he can kinda stay [00:18:00] healthy and, and protect those legs, , We need that, , at the top of the lineup. We really do. , we just also need, you know, guys to just start hitting, you know, yeah. We need a Eloy Jimenez to start hitting.

, I'd like to see that a little bit more consistent. You know, Robert had a three run homer, , here in this game too, against, uh, the twins early on. But we need more of that and plate discipline. Guys need to start getting on base. , we, we can't make it so easy on opposing pitching. , you gotta clean up some fundamentals.

Hit a cutoff, man. You know, back up a base, little stuff like that, that has been really just, just real hurt. It hurts as a White Sox fan to see some of that is like these, these are how we're, we're, you know, losing games. So, and then of course pitching Mark, you know, I mean, Anderson can only do so much like our bullpen is just, , as I said, I think worst era r a in all of the league.

 We had issues, uh, last night. Again, just giving up leads. Just giving up leads or letting a team come back and, , that, that could, that is really taxing. Now I will [00:19:00] say starting pitching hasn't been going deep in games either, so that has been tough. I mean, these, these bullpen arms of ours, uh, have been having to log a lot of innings and when we don't have a very good bullpen, that is a recipe for disaster.

[00:19:13] Mark Corbett: Yeah, , I was watching and saw Lance Lynn and it was magic to watch that man perform, but at one point I think he got up to about like 102 pitches and yeah, you gotta get the man a break. I mean, it's it, and it started to fail. I wanna take a jump here real quick, because to me, you're, as a manager, you wanna make sure you're taking care of your pitcher's health.

And I think in 102 pitches, that's, that's a pretty good sense. But if you're in New York, Hmm, and you're a Yankee fan and you're looking down there and you're seeing Aaron Boone after 81 pitches, pulling, hit the pitcher, and it was, I don't, I think it was the Ninth Inn. I can't remember. Anyway, he pulled German and.

He's got 80 some odd pitches. He had only one man. He just guy got a single on him and Boone pulls [00:20:00] him straight out of the game. Yeah. And then they wound up losing, you know, it's like, it's, it's tough to know when to protect those arms and you're gonna be second guess no matter what. As a manager, you come out and take the ball.

But Lance 

[00:20:14] Nick Murawski: Lynn, and you need to know, I would say Mark, it. It's, that is probably one of the most difficult things because there is a lot of, well, what has your bullpen done recently? Okay. Like, were they taxed the day before? Who's available? How do they match up against the hitters that are, uh, like we're seeing maybe in the lineup here coming up right.

What does our next day look like? Do we have an off day? Can we kind of, you know, so there is just so many different things that I would assume those conversations have happen in pregame, you know, with, uh, pitching coach, pitching staff. It's like, how do we prepare for different situations? That's my hope.

So you don't really get caught off guard, you know, and the weird things can happen all the time in a game where you might say to yourself, whoa, I didn't necessarily see that. But [00:21:00] that's where the preparation comes into play. But I, I would say, From a managerial spot that Yeah, that when to do it, that gut, you know, against the metrics and all that stuff.

[00:21:09] Mark Corbett: . 

Well, I was wondering maybe if you guys are gonna wind up with Joe Madden before the season started. 

[00:21:14] Nick Murawski: You know, he, uh, I, he was pretty vocal on the Chicago radio stations. I think he was peddling a book of his that he just wrote. And, uh, I, he made it known that I think he's still got the interest, but I think he also said in the same breath that.

You know, the way his perspective of the game might not be as embraced as it is right now with how things are done. I think, uh, you know, the whole metrics and, , the numbers and the, just the, the data and, , he might do things in a, in a little bit different way and that might not jive with, uh, front offices.

But honestly, I thought Ozzy Guillen was coming back. They gave him, you know, they, they gave him a look. They gave him an interview, I believe. Um, you know, I, he, he, he does [00:22:00] the, uh, pre and post game for our cable, for our cable, uh, network, N B C Sport Chicago. He's still very much involved in everything. Sees this team regularly.

Fans would've, most of, most of the fans, a certain guard would've lost their minds if he came back in a positive way. And then there's another faction that would've lost their minds in a negative way. , , , he could bring out, uh, a divisive, uh, you know, kind of fan base. But, um, honestly, it's like, He, he's got experience though, you know, he's got managerial experience and he won a World series.

, at least it would've been entertaining. Yeah, I mean, Ozzie, Guillen makes it absolutely entertaining. In hindsight, if this was the type of season we were gonna be seeing throughout April, might as well have some fun , with a manager that kind of just absolutely goes off during post-game comments.

[00:22:50] Mark Corbett: Oh, that's fantastic Nick. And man, like I said, I, I love watching the white Sox from a young man till now. And, but like you said, you're talking about that [00:23:00] bullpen. I'm looking here at the list right now. I'm looking at Gray and I'm looking at Colome. I saw Gregory Santos and I thought, isn't that that? I thought, isn't that that guy?

It's a fake senator or something? Something Santos? No, he's a 

[00:23:10] Nick Murawski: fake baseball player. Well, this, this guy Gregory Santos, he's got 102, 103 mile per hour if he needs it. Not very. Sometimes he's a little out of control, which you can be if you're throwing that hard. But that's a lively arm right now that they're trying to find different spots in a game for, yeah.

[00:23:29] Mark Corbett: And bummer. He had a couple of rough outings there too. 

[00:23:33] Nick Murawski: Oh boy. Um, yeah, Bummer. You know, he's kind of, uh, he's lost my good graces over the last year or so. Uh, he, uh, he was a guy that's got a funky delivery, you know, a left-hander that would get a lot of soft contact and, and just lately he's just been getting a lot of.

Tough contact. I mean, it's not even like, well the, you know, he's in these squibbs that are finding no man's land, or they're beating the shift or this, that and the other. Not this year. [00:24:00] I mean, he's just, he comes in and he just, you know, he can't get out of an inning. He lets runners score. Um, I, I thought when they cleaned house, uh, earlier this week, he might have been a guy that they just.

DFA'ed, you know, instead they dfa Jake Deman, which, uh, he was definitely a guy on my list of get this guy out of here and then maybe bummer down the road, I don't know if, if, if we get the power arm. Garrett Crochet finally back, uh, who's been battling back from Tommy John. 

[00:24:29] Mark Corbett: I was wondering about that cuz I was, yeah, I saw it Tuesday.

Bam. I think it was 11 or 12. Players. Yeah. Moved on the 

[00:24:36] Nick Murawski: roster. 11. Yeah. Good 

[00:24:37] Mark Corbett: lord. So are we, are we seeing a lot of people come up from the farm or what's, well, 

[00:24:42] Nick Murawski: you saw Billy Hamilton, uh, who they signed in the off season. I mean, he was a real, just positive energy guy in 2021 and they took a. flier on him.

And he didn't make camp outta spring training, which was not surprising. He's a speedster, still has that speed. He can be a defensive replacement in the [00:25:00] outfield and be a pinch runner, which they used him in the first game of this twin series. So they brought him up, , and they brought up, A couple, they brought up Colome and , another arm, and they sent down, uh, Lanine Sosa, who was an infielder that was getting some time while uh, Tim Anderson was on the il.

Right. And they also sent down their starting right fielder from the beginning of the year, Oscar Colas. And that one was really bizarre in my personal opinion. Here's a guy that, you know, they hyped up in the off season. Lefty bat, um, pretty green. Okay. Did not have a lot of, uh, minor league experience, especially not aaa, but people in the know, quote unquote thought he was ready.

You know, he's gonna mash uh, pitching. He's gonna have a learning curve, of course, cuz he's young. But he's, , a actual right fielder, which again, the sacks, , didn't do anything to address that, uh, situation seriously in the off season. So of course they were gonna do [00:26:00] internally Gavin sheets or Oscar Colas.

Okay. So he had a pretty good spring, which I believe the front office was probably wiping the sweat off of their brow. Like, whoa. Okay. So this will justify us having him make the team. That's fine. Well, he made the team and you know, he scuffled, uh, throughout April, which he was supposed to scuffle. You know, it's like, buy the ticket, take the ride.

You knew this was gonna happen to this guy. Let him ride it out. He's not gonna carry the offense on his shoulders. He's not supposed to. But instead they said, he's not meeting our expectations and he's gonna have to go back to aaa. Well, you should have started him in AAA to begin the season. Let him mature, let him get some reps, you know, and ease your way in instead of this confidence knock now.

And this back forth. Back forth. So that was of the 11 moves, that was the one that I just really have a problem with. But it's so White Sox, that's how they operate as reactionary [00:27:00] and , that one stuck with me. , 

[00:27:03] Mark Corbett: . You know, I'm just thinking about front office while you're saying that, I think this last year that see you guys spent, uh, 184 million in 2023 thus far, that's 12th in spending.

So Yeah, I, I would expect, you know, you guys were just above the Cubs, by the way. I can't remember exactly what they had, but you, you know, you do expect more. You, you see, but at the same time, you're talking about what. You don't have somebody, what's the highest number you, you've got 

[00:27:29] Nick Murawski: right now? 75 million is the big contract.

Mm-hmm. And uh, the second largest was the 73 million contract that Yasmani Grandal signed years ago. That's expiring at the end of this season. So, you know, money gets spent, but is it spent correctly? You know, that's the question that I think I have for guys like Rick Con and Kenny Williams and. You know, I, I was talking with somebody, uh, that was a, you know, d does, uh, some podcasting for the Minnesota Twins recently.

And they were talking about, you know, the depth [00:28:00] that the twins brought in, in the off season to, to really make, uh, fans feel comfortable that they could make a run and win this division. It's a weak Al Central. So as long as you can plug some holes and you've got some pitching and you know, maybe you can fight off the injury bug.

But the depth that the twins were able to, to get in the offseason, A and that's the problem I think the Sox have had. It's just those marginal guys, right? Those, those utility guys, you know those cuz you know you're gonna have injuries and you're gonna have to plug some holes. Well, how are you spending those millions?

How, how are you? How are you analyzing, you know, talent, uh, and, and bringing them in? That's what I've been really concerned with, what the Sox front office has not been able to do over the years. Uh, some of the, some of the contracts they've been giving out ridiculous, uh, for, for the talent. 

[00:28:52] Mark Corbett: Well, here's something to think about too.

The central division has been criticized in the past of being [00:29:00] not strong. Okay. Uh, I looked at the power rankings this week and the espn m l b of the top five, three of 'em are from Al East. Mm-hmm. Uh, so looking at that, consider that a possibility that the central division has not been that strong. Is the balance schedule going to force those divisions which haven't been as strong as others?

To make changes, will they, will, do you think owners will invest more in those teams because are they gonna be challenged more because of this balanced schedule? 

[00:29:34] Nick Murawski: That, that absolutely makes sense. I, I think that was something that, uh, I think you could use as a cop out, I guess as a, someone from the front office with the White Sox is like, well, we're just keeping up with the division and we don't have to do much in this division.

When you look at AL East and you look at a team like the Toronto Blue Jays and what the record they have and the talent they have and what are they, fourth in the LES or something like that, and it's like, [00:30:00] Well look what they had to do in, in the Baltimore Orioles. And like everybody has to be clicking on all, uh, cylinders all the time to compete, uh, with the likes of the Yankees.

And now, like with, with the Rays have been doing, even though nobody gives, you know, the rays, the credit nationally, but they keep putting some, a quality product out there. Uh, and yeah, maybe that hopefully comes around to the Al Central and say, well, We just don't want to compete in the Al Central. We wanna be competing the best in the American League.

There you go. You know that that's that. That's really what it should come down to. Yeah, 

[00:30:36] Mark Corbett: well I'm hoping maybe that does kind of give those teams a push that froze front offices, I should say, a push to be able to build a strong, good, consistent team. So, well, I'll tell you what, Nick, I don't wanna take much more of your time.

I know you've got a lot going on with, uh, locked on socks and good guest talk back podcasts, which you all can find everywhere. Nick not only has it with [00:31:00] audio, he has it on YouTube for both those two. How's Mr. Pat Hester doing there with you on Good Guys Talk Back. He's, 

[00:31:05] Nick Murawski: he's doing great. You know, I've known Pat, um, gosh, over 20 years.

We met in college doing college radio, you know, I was a bro. I was a mass com, uh, radio broadcasting major, as was he. And we had, we had a college radio show together, and we've been very close for all of these years and, You know, five years ago or so, it was like, you know what? Let's, let's really do this.

Like we're, we both have that radio bug in us and it became a little bit easier to set up, you know, a podcast on your own. And, uh, the equipment is reasonable and we both have the unbelievable passion, uh, for the White Sox. And I felt like, you know, five years ago the sacks weren't as represented. Uh, definitely locally on the big radio stations and.

So yeah, we were able to, uh, to kick that off. And it's been going, uh, strong. A weekly, uh, weekly rundown, uh, that has been, uh, therapeutic as of [00:32:00] late as we both can kind of vent to each other. And as you only can to someone you've known for 20 plus years. There you go, friend. 

[00:32:08] Mark Corbett: That's great. Well, I'm looking right here on the, what's going with the score, and right now it's four to four with the twins in the socks of the moment.

So top of the fifth. Wish you guys another victory here man. Go ahead and take sweep the series and kick it, brother. 

[00:32:22] Nick Murawski: Boy Mark. It would be, if we win tonight, it would be the first series win all year long, so you better believe I'm, wait. I'm hoping for a victory right now. 

[00:32:33] Mark Corbett: All right. Again, we're talking with Mr.

Nick Murawski of Locked On Socks and also good guys Talk Back podcast, so check it out folks. Nick, I wanna thank you, man. It's always great having you here on Baseball Biz On Deck. Brother and, uh, look forward to talking to you again soon, 

[00:32:47] Nick Murawski: buddy. Yeah. Really appreciate the opportunity. Uh, always fun talking baseball with you.

So, uh, thank you so much. Hopefully go socks. I don't think we see the Rays again for the rest of the year. I could be mistaken, but that we got that outta the [00:33:00] way in April. 

[00:33:02] Mark Corbett: Well, that's done. Yeah, right. 

[00:33:04] Nick Murawski: Exactly. 

[00:33:05] Mark Corbett: All right, brother. Thanks again, man. Appreciate it. You got it. You got it. Mark.

Tags:

Chicago White Sox, Sox, Tim Anderson, Lance Lynn, Luis Robert, Pedro Grofil, Dylan Cease, Renteria, Andrew Benintendi, Rick Hahn, Tony La Russa, Twins, Rays, Royals, Bummer, Yasmani Grandal, Nick Murawski, Oscar Colas, MLB, AL Central, Locked On Sox, GGTB, AL East