Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Mark Gonzales: Cade Horton is the key to Cubs overtaking Dodgers (Hour 2)

Episode Date: March 2, 2026

In the second hour, Leila Rahimi and Mark Grote were joined by Mark Gonzales of the Sun-Times to discuss the latest Cubs storylines coming out of spring training. Gonzales shared what he believes is the key to the Cubs potentially overtaking the Dodgers in the National League. After that, Russ Dorsey of Yahoo Sports joined the show to discuss the latest Cubs and White Sox storylines.

Bregman so far this spring, three for nine. Banner 2025 season with the Red Sox. Bregman in the air, left center field. It's back to the track and it is gone. Cubs fans get used to this. Alex Bregman, solo Homer. We're all tied up at one in the first. I'll take a Bregman bombsky on this Sunday. Why not? That is Alex Cohen and Elise Menaker on the call in the Marquis Sports Network from yesterday. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, The Score.

And we go to our hotline. That is where we find our friend, longtime baseball reporter Mark Gonzalez. He is at MD Gonzalez on X. Mark, how are you? Doing well. Great to hear your voice. How's everything?

Oh, same here. It's just nice to catch up. Like Grody's smiling. I feel like a little bit of the baseball. cruise just happening right now. Yeah, and I won't tell you how great the weather is, so we can move on to Cubs and socks business if you want. Yeah, yeah.

It's just like something I've learned to, except I've been doing this a long. You can't hurt me with your Arizona weather, Mark Gonzalez. I will not let that happen. It's a good place to start would be what we saw on the mound yesterday from the Chicago Cubs. everybody was ultra concerned about Shota Imanaga at the end of last year. Didn't think Shota Imanaga was going to be part of the Cubs rotation

this year. And unfortunately, he did not eliminate any concerns with the three home runs that he gave up in his start yesterday. What did you think about it, Mark? Location was terrible. Velocity was good. The problems he had yesterday were fixable. So he's going to have a few more starts down here.

You've got to think that he's got to be at the back end of the road. rotation just based on the way the rotation has sculpted what guys like Kate Horton did last year. Certainly Chauten knows he's got to pitch better and pitch more consistent, more stronger, because he saw where he faded toward the end last year. He wasn't the only one that did so, but he knows what's at stake because the hope is that steel will be ready at some point, you know, late May, early June, and you have the reinforcement. So Shoda's got a lot to prove, but I think there's time,

and I think the case with location, he can fix that in a hurry. Real quick follow-up on that, because you mentioned what's at stake, and of course it makes sense. Justin Steele comes back. Maybe he replaces Shoda in the starting rotation. I think that's what you're saying. Is there any chance that Shoda Imanaga is out of the starting rotation even before Justin Steele comes back, considering last year,

considering the start to this year as well? he would have to really slip in a hurry. I think given his track record, I think they'd give him a leash. You know, also you can also, you know, manipulate the rotation with off days and such. So I think he'll get a decent leash anyway, whether it's two months, you know, we'll see. But I think he's to the point where he'll get a chance. He'll get a fair chance. I don't think there'll be a quick cook.

with him, but you want results. No, you do, Mark. And one of the things I noticed when you were talking about the home runs and the location of the ball, that's the first thing I'm looking at, right? Like, if you're going to up the velo, then you'd better be able to still place where you need to, especially when the velo wasn't that high to begin with. And that ball to egg or caro was about shoulder high. You know, and it was inside.

Like, what did you think about just the home run balls that he didn't give up? I mean, that one kind of raised my eyebrows because, you know, it's good that he's throwing 95, 94-95. That's encouraging, but it's not a skeeens fastball. It's not 100 miles an hour. It's 95. Guys can catch up to that. If you're going to throw 95, you've got to be more effective getting it on the hands. He didn't do that.

So, therefore, he's going to pay a price. And I think that's where it comes along, not just his fastball, but a slider as well. You know, Montgomery, Braden Montgomery, he looked like he was sitting all over that one, but he got enough to clear the fence with some distance. So he's got sort of got some work to do. But once again, I think it's fixable.

Yeah, the Braden Montgomery. Good for Braden Montgomery. Good for him. Hitting a 1-1 curve for the home run. And the Austin, hey, I don't know what the Austin Hayes Homer, well, I think it was a fastball. It seemed like it was right down, like, center cut. It was low, though.

That was not a... I didn't think that was a bad pitch. Really? I think it was just a little high. See, I didn't think the Edgar Carrow pitch was a bad pitch because it kind of came up and in... Oh, no. Now that I'm looking at the replay of Hayes, guys, it's...

It's like right there. It's middle, middle of the plate. It spent roughly two years over the plate before it got to get hit out of the ballpark. In the words of Joe Madden, and it was center cut. Yes. Yeah. He did start that, didn't he? because I use that, and that was a Joe Maddenism, wasn't it, Gonzo?

Yeah, I mean, Joe got credit for a lot of things that he didn't certainly originate, but he popularized, and I'll give him credit for that one. Yeah, he was Mr. Pop Culture. What do you think about Alex Bregman? I mean, they looked really good at the plate yesterday, the home run. I believe he had a double as well. I mean, it was nice. I don't know if importance is the right way to put it,

but maybe important to see that in spring training, considering the $175 million five-year contract they gave him? He leaves with a good feeling. I think he's one of the guys you have to worry least about, just given his track record, but the way he plays the game, he saw it at third, he gives you a good at bat.

He's a good teammate. We've already seen it. Him talking to his teammates about certain things during drills and all that. He's pretty complete and steady. And I think if this team's going to go farther, they need guys like him. He's also been battle tested. You know, he's played in the playoffs and a World Series. So he's one of the guys you're not going to be worried about if this team goes where it wants to go.

We're talking to Mark Gonzalez joining us live from a nature preserve or something. He's doing a Disney movie. He's little birds flying over his head. Where are you right now? Mark, are you at the facility in Mesa? No, I'm actually somewhere where it's, it's true. tranquil and peaceful. Oh, yeah.

Yeah, it sounded that way. Yeah, we all heard the birds just now. Mark was covering the game for the Sun-Times, Maddie Lee, filling in, and we were talking about the Cubs and Sox game that we all got to witness yesterday. It was on TV as well. It was on Markey. How much level of concern, if at all, Mark, when it comes to us understanding that this was the lineup that we were going to see out of the Cubs before the World Baseball Classic?

and the fact that you had the Bregman home run and that was about it offensively. How much stock do you put into that, if any, at all? None. None, really. What I look for is,

you know, at bats, like Pete Crowe Armstrong against, you know, Anthony K. A lefty, we all know. Pete had trouble. Last year against lefties. He got a nice hit to left field. Went the other way. You want to see more of that,

especially him becoming a little more discipline against lefties covering the strike zone but not expanding it. That's one thing I look at. You're just kind of isolating things and looking for certain instances rather than, you know, results batting average at the end of the spring because that means nothing, as you know. So I look at those things. And if you want to take a step back to Saturday, Ben Brown and Javier Assad pitched very well against the Dodger team that at five of its big boys at the top of the order.

So you look more at those things right now. It's a weird time of spring training, and I say that because even if it wasn't the World Baseball Classic, there seems to be a lull at times. And that's when you can get in the bad habits or guys get hurt or they have the infamous dead arm stage. So it's a very curious time right now, especially with the guys going off the World Baseball Classic. But it's an opportunity for guys like Ben Brown and Assad to us.

assert themselves because injuries are part of the game and they've got to have these guys ready to step in if something happens. Yeah, I heard Ben Brown talking about trying to get better. I mean, it was Bruce talking about Ben Brown trying to get better at the mental game. But I do want to stay on the lefty motif for a second with PCA, as you said, going up against the White Sox starter, Anthony Kay, who is a leftie and could very well be in the starting a starter for the Sox once we get this thing going for real. but Michael Bush obviously was up against the lefty,

34 home runs last year, 866 OPS, 592 played appearances. That was seventh on the team. Did they just let them go this year, Michael Bush, or at least try, at least start the season, just saying, yes, you will play against everybody, all lefties, righties, no funny stuff. Michael Bush, show us what you got.

I think that's the case. You know, another element is the fact that, you know, Tyler Austin being out, that's going to create a situation where you're going to try to find somebody who can spell him at first base on occasion. The unfortunate thing is that Miguel Amaya and Christian Bettencourt, who's a non-roaster guy, and targeted his backup catchers, they're playing for Panama on the World Baseball Classic. So who knows if you see even Matt Shaw over there. but I think that Michael Bush will get a longer leash.

I hate to use that phrase again, but he'll get a chance to prove himself against lefties. And I think it's fair, too. You know, he's still young, and he had a really terrific season last year, maybe still underrated even though he hit 34 homers. I think he's still got plenty of upside there. So, you know, why not give him a chance to see what he can do against lefties? So, you know, sometimes having him face lefties is better than anybody

else on the bench facing a lessee, with few exceptions. Mark Gonzalez is joining us, and in, Gonzo, we should have probably started by asking you this question. I think we all just went into old habits, like, hey, let's talk about the spring training game from yesterday. But what are your questions, you know, regarding this Cubs team as a long-time reporter and someone who covered the team? Like, what are your observations about just how this team has been put together this

season and what you think? I've been critical of them in the past, but I think they have a really good team. I think this is the first time you could say, yeah, they could really challenge the Dodgers for the title. I really feel this team is well balanced. The issue is going to be health because

we saw what happened in the rotation last year, and certainly they have somebody like Colin Ray in the wings and Justin Steele is going to be ready, hopefully late May, early June. But I still think that in order for this team to overtake the Dodgers, and I hate to put pressure on one guy, but, you know, Kate Horton's going to have to do more of the same. I think he's the guy because you look at the second half of last year,

I mean, you had a great feeling when that guy took the man like you were going to win. And the question is, do you feel that good about the other guys? and that's going to be an issue where somebody's going to have to step up as well as Kade and provide quality starts because down the stretch and even in the playoffs it was usually a coin flip because, you know, Shota was on fumes and Matthew Boyd hit a wall as well. I mean, that was not a good feeling and you kind of think, God, if Kate Horton didn't have that rib fracture, they would have advanced and probably played the Dodgers for the National League championship. So that's where health and depth come in.

Because I think the team is pretty well balanced right now. Certainly, you know, the backup outfield situation can sort itself out, but they've got plenty of candidates out there, and you've got to think that, you know, Ian Hap, PCA, and say they are going to play a lot out there. So that person, it's going to be tough for that person to get, you know, 200, 250 at bats. But that's the way they are equipped.

and I think that all around you look at the infield and the outfield, it's pretty well structured. Mark Gonzalez, by the way. I want to make sure I have this right, Gonso. Do you know, are you the only beat writer in this town that has covered both the Cubs World Series on an everyday basis? I was there with you and the White Sox in 2005. Is that correct?

Yes, it is. Wow. Yes, it is. And I don't take any credit for this, but also this marks the 25th anniversary of the Diamondbacks winning their World Series title, and I was fortunate to be the beat writer that year. In fact, there's a lot of stuff going on down here in Arizona with the Diamondbacks World Series title 25 years ago. Wow, Louise Gonzalez, where are you now?

That is. Well, we know where Craig Counsel is. Yeah, we do. So there's that. He was a part of that team. Yeah, he was. And, by the way, Gonzo, I'm forever. grateful to you for introducing me to the Montgomery Inn, a great ribs joint in Cincinnati.

I hope you still are able to make it to that place. But just having watched the Cubs and the White Sox play yesterday, I know you still take an interest in what the White Sox are doing. And specifically, Braden Montgomery with a couple hits on the home run, how fast do you think that guy could end up on the White Sox roster in their outfield? Because it feels like there's room at the inn. specifically in that White Sox outfield right now for somebody like Braden Montgomery. The White Sox Center, Chris Gets, have not been afraid of rush guys, accelerate the pace through the minors. But I would tap the brakes a little bit on Montgomery.

I think he's a chance to be a super player. But I think this year is going to be very important in terms of his development and taking that last step to the majors. He's a switch hitter. He's got great tools. And maybe it's a situation where he hits for a higher average than the power. I still think there's some things he's got to work on. I saw him in the fall league quite a bit.

I saw him as a freshman at Stanford. I liked him, and he went also three with a strikeout. But he just stood out there. He looked like the real deal. In a best case scenario, I could see him being up around the All-Star break. but once again, I think there's no need to rush them yet. So I would put some pause on, give some pause on that. Fine.

Paused. I hit pause. Fine. It's never bad having hope in a player. I like it. Then you can say that you've got to see him on his upswing, so that's awesome. Mark Gonzalez, always great to talk to you. Thanks for joining us. We like to hear your voice, too. And I guess we'll let you get back to this bird sanctuary you're at, because we can hear all of the happy birds in the background. It's a beautiful day down here.

I'm going to have Ray add that to my sleep sounds for my... Chirping birds of Mark Gonzalez's background. I get a nap to that. Take care of y'all. Thanks, Mark. Like we mentioned, Mark Gonzalez, still on Twitter at MD Gonzalez. He's also a senior writer at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. Coming up next, let's delve a little bit more into what we saw in that Cubs and Why

Sox game because I think there are some themes, you know, that we can actually say this is something that we hope to see this season. And this is something that we hope to not see this season. And I have a complaint about the broadcast from yesterday that I would like to discuss. Mark has a complaint. I would like to officially file a complaint. All right. So we'll do all of that next. This is an Odyssey Sports Minute. Alice Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has fans excited saying that he's willing to quote, bust the budget to spend in free agency to improve the team's defense. But remember a couple years ago, Jones said the Cowboys were all in on the 2024 season and then really didn't do much to improve the roster.

So talk is cheap. If Jerry's able to do it, then credit to him. But I think Cowboys fans should be skeptical of what their owner is saying. I'm Nick Costos. Russell Dorsey. My eye is on which version of Pete do you get in 26? Because if you can get, we'll call it 65%. even 70% of the first half, Pete Coromstrong, offensively,

with that same high-quality defense that we saw from him, since he's gotten to the big leagues, to be honest. Then you still have a high-quality player. Insider and analyst for Friday night baseball on Apple TV Plus. Hey, man, postseason, we're a show hey. And in the biggest moment, on the biggest stage, the best player to walk the face of the earth, showed us exactly where he was.

Russell Dorsi. On 1043, the score. The score. By God, that's Russ Dorsey's music. I should do better than that. In the honoring of JR, it was Elimination Chamber weekend at the United Center, and that wasn't my best. A lot of people there.

Yeah, including Janus. Yonis. And let's not forget about the Nasus. People always say, he was like he wasn't there by himself. So Dan eviscerated Thanassus one day on this show, and I don't know that we've ever recovered. as a society. He was like, he can't play basketball.

By all accounts, I hear he's a very good guy. See, see, that's important. And that gets you a long way in life, being a good guy. Like, it's kept him on NBA rosters outside of being Janice's brother. Like, if he was Janus's brother but a bag, it would be a lot harder to keep him on a roster. I would like to counter the wonderful things Russ is saying that I'm sure are very true with this line from a Freddie Gibbs song on his most recent. album from last year where he has a diss line where he says you're shacked in like the nascus

oh my god that is amazing that is an amazing line that i always think of fredi gizzo too very good album that's the album there where he has that line it's amazing big chicago bears fan uh freddie gibbs knows about 820 the score yeah bears okay so his his sibling reference point would probably be Casey Earlacker. It was always on the Oh, Casey Erlacker is on the roster. Oh, not anymore. What did Casey do now?

At the very least, at least Patrick Mahomes' brother doesn't play football. You know, we don't see him much these days. Yeah, something happened there. Some PR machine got to him. Big Pat, we might have to do that same thing because he gets himself in a lot of trouble.

But neither here nor there. Funny. Russ Dorsey, in studio with us. We are timing Russ's schedule because he's a man who needs to be in many places. So he showed up early with us and then I was practically doing jumping jacks to try to get your attention and say hi. But you were focused. You kept your head down and then you're kind enough to join us for this segment. So we're really, we want to pick up where we left off yesterday.

Cubs and socks play each other in spring training. I got two themes for you. Okay. Number one, we're going to be watching out for Shoda Imanaga's home run propensity all season yet again. Yeah. Number two, the dudes who you expected the White Sox Day hit bombs produced. And that is a good thing as well for that young core. Yeah.

Let's start with Shoda. The thing I will give him, if I'm going to give him some leeway here, it's March 2nd. Yeah. The ball flies in Arizona. And a lot of times, guys are working on different things. and so you can't take Arizona results and that just be gospel. Got to take it a little bit with a grain of salt.

For sure, that was showed his issue. We talked about it at length going into the postseason last year. Like his last 11 starts, including postseason, he had given up homers. No bueno. So that's going to have to change. I imagine that they worked very hard to try to combat that this season. But if you're Cubs fan out there and you're saying,

woof, here it comes again, relax, the ball absolutely carries in Arizona. If that happens the first week of April and into May and June, then we can talk about it, but I wouldn't be concerned about it today. Not fully concerned about it. I mean, I think people, I was going to say, I think people are allowed to be concerned about Shota considering what last year was, considering the fact that he wasn't necessarily even supposed to be on this roster. You're right, Groats, because I was the person that talked about it.

So let me rephrase. If I say scale 1 to 10, my concern for Shoda Homer's allowed is like a three. Okay. So there is concern, but not that much yet. Concern only because we've seen it and that was an issue going into this year. But it's not concerned because it happened in a spring training. Concern meter is higher for me. I'm going to put the concern meter about Shota Imanaga giving up home runs at like six.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, maybe seven. Wow. Because that, because he's done it. I mean, Mark, we're, I'm probably, I'm probably closer to you, Leila. I'll go 5.5. Here's the thing, though, is I agree with you, Russ, on the fact that it's being clear what his directive is. You've got to get the VLO up. If you're going to, if you're going to throw that ball out of your hand and you're trying to tunnel it with your splitter, get the VLO up.

Okay, well, if I'm going to do that, it's going to require some trial and error as to how I perfect both the fastball and the splitter. That's it. And you better do it better than you did last year. So I understand that that's going to be a bugaboo in all of this. Yeah. I'm going to continue to say a three. But the points you guys make are valid.

I'm just not ready in a start on March 1st. Now if it's happening on May 1st, then we got issues. But on March 1st, I'm not ready to say. say, Shoda, you're out of here. That's fair. I may still be thinking about game one against the Brewers and the DS. I get it. Maybe I am.

It's the most recent evidence that we have to this on an issue that lasted for five months. I get it. Well, and this is a good time, too, for me to bring something up from yesterday. And we've talked about a lot. The velocity is up for Shoda and I'ma. Good, good. And Marquis did a great job yesterday of showing graphic with all of his different pitches that are up a couple miles per hour.

Again, absolutely great. I don't know if this was just me, and maybe it was, because I haven't heard anybody talk about it at all. They did not have the radar gun in the scorebug on marquee yesterday. I don't know if either of you guys noticed that, but the theme of the broadcast was, mentioned four times justifiably. It's a good story and good on Marquis and, you know, good on Elise Meadow. and Alex Cohen, who did a great broadcast, but nobody was telling me what the velocity

was yesterday for him at any point in time. I'm like, well, where's the velocity? I don't see it on the graphic. I don't hear them talking about it. So I guess my question to you is like, is that a spring training thing? Yes. It is. It's spring training for everybody, including broadcasts.

Like, there are some ballparks, and I don't think Sloan is one of them or, you know, Camelback Ranch, where, I guess, the access to radar guns isn't as widely available. Okay, so that's on the stadium. It's on the logistics, not necessarily. But also, like, if it is in the ballpark, but you just don't have it, you didn't make an effort to have it on the scorebook, that's something that could be put back by the next game.

You know what I mean? Okay. So, like, it might be something as small as, hey, yeah, it got taken down. It shouldn't have. It could be, there's actually no radar that we can see in the ballpark. Well, I do know that the radar was some radar somewhere was picking up on the pitches because they're on MLB.com game day. So you can see pitch by pitch what the speed of the pitches were. This is real inside, but hear me out on this.

So having covered spring training for regional sports networks and like being part of the broadcast, there are oodles of broadcast crews and trucks in one spot where there aren't normally. So I remember doing one of the games out of a Big Ten Network truck one time because there are only so many production trucks and they're all covering these games at once, not to mention other sports are going on right now where you've got you've got basketball in season, you've got college basketball really heating up.

So because of that, and you've got hockey. So because of that, all these, the reason why they're trucks is because you can take them across the country and you use that truck in its whole production, anywhere you want to go. So there's not, there's a shortage of trucks at spring training. Additionally, you might not have the same equipment that you normally have for all of them. So maybe that factored into this situation.

I mean, can't have that as the theme and they're not telling me the velocity. I agree. I wanted to know how hard Jordan Hicks was throwing for that matter. You could throw 105. You can assume he throws 100 miles. You can assume all those pitches were 100 miles an hour. A hundred percent. Okay.

Yeah, I was going to say 105, maybe. at this juncture in his career is not the case, even though that's what he busted out onto the scene with. But that's the first thing I thought of when I saw Jordan Hicks. I'm like, oh, now I don't get to know how hard he's throwing. So I saw a text here says it may just be me, but it's amazing how much Russ sounds like Charles Tillman. Do I, do I like Charles Tillman?

I mean, I'd have to listen more. Off the top of my head, no. Okay. Not necessarily. I'm not saying it was like crazy, but give me some time on that. I love that. So that any peanut comp I can get is green. Yeah, that's a pretty.

That's a very nice compliment. Quality dude. You actually, the last time when you and I did a show, or maybe you were a guest with Marshall and I, when Layla was not here, you said, Charles Tillman, he should be the next bear to go into the hall of the game, I did say that when we were over in the performance studio. That's right.

Good old number 33. When the move that you created is now taught as best practice across the league, wouldn't that indicate that you change the game? In high schools? He's got his own punch. Yes. Yeah. It is now taught his best practice in football.

So when that's the case, don't you think that therefore you should be in the Hall of Fame? That helps. Yeah. That helps. You talk about changing the game, like in terms of like with basketball. Like, all right, Steph Curry changed the game of basketball. You could make a great argument that Peanut Tillman changed the game of football. That's it.

He saw it differently. And now you've changed football. Yeah, you deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. A question for you guys. Can I make a White Sox point before we move on to our next thing? Love it. Love it. Can you make it after our break?

Yes, I can. I can because I want y'all to hit y'all bricks. You got told no. Well, Ray and I, well, Ray, Grotty and I, what you don't know is Grotty and I betrayed Ray at the top of the hour and we were late to Gonso. So we'll make it up to Ray and go to break on time. And then I want to hear your White Sox play because they look pretty good yesterday.

So more with Russ Dorsey. He is, of course, the baseball insider. He works for Apple TV Plus. That season is starting up soon. We were thrilled to have him in. More with Russ, more spring training talk on the score. Rahimi Harris and Grody. That sounds so crazy.

104. 3, the score. Wow, I like that. Midday's 10 to 2 on 104 3, the score. Five defensive backs in, greasy, he hits for reach. He's dropped the ball. And it looks like Charles Tillman forced another bubble. What's new?

Tillman sees it, C-ball, get ball, punch. Well, no, no, no. No, no, no. we need the voice of Charles Tillman. I don't know, man. I think we just have a little on the brain. That was him that did the 104.3. Okay, so earlier,

Russ was saying that people say he sounds like Charles Tillman. And people are agreeing on the text line. So I want to hear Charles Tillman's voice to answer Russ's question. Does he sound like Charles Tillman in my brain? Not necessarily, but it doesn't sound like a terrible comp, but I'd like to hear. But it's about the hand-eye coordination. He was too busy looking down on the film, and he figured I was out of it.

He thought his lineman was going to come get it. But actually, he didn't see me. I got long arms. I'm a long-linky guy, so I just figured I'd punch it. Majority of the time when guys go down, they put their hand down, and this is, you know, when they fall down, right, that's when the ball is the most vulnerable. So, yeah. See ball get ball.

Okay. I do see where he's coming. The animated. We're both animated. We do have a. a high energy cadence. High energy cadence. That's it.

That's it. Okay. It's something about sentence construction, too. Maybe I think that's it. Like, I was trying to hear it. I'm like, I don't think so, but maybe it's in the way we put sentences together.

It is. Yeah, it's not a terrible comp. I don't know if it's spot on, like, or if I would think that, but it's not like, I see where the textor was coming from.

We have similar sentence structure. I love a good science experiment. Congratulations. And like, honestly, I love Charles, so I'm fine with it. There's what's wrong with it.

If it's somebody I hated, I would be like, oh, don't do that. But I'm fine with it. Thank you to Markey Sports Network for the Charles Tillman sentence construction we heard there as our example. Wow, we had to go that far to get Charles Tillman. But you know what? So you've been some recent, you know? I like it. I like that we go to these lengths to try to figure out if Russ Dorsey sounds like Charles Tillman.

No, I liked it. I liked it. Not a bad con. Now I just want to go get onto a football field and punch a football out somewhere. but we can't really do that yet. In the meantime, you had a socks point you wanted to make. I did. Can I tell you guys about the White Sox prospect that people need to keep their eye on?

Yes. It must not be an obvious name. It's not Braden Montgomery. Okay. It's not No Schultz. Hagen Smith. It's not Hagen Smith. Wow.

Wow, Grady. Sam Antanachi? The White Sox prospect that people need to keep their eye on is Sam Antoni. Oh, no! I got it! I got it right. Such a socks guy, Grody. I want you guys to clip this up because a year and a half ago, my favorite scout texted me and's like, yo, I'm scouting the white socks right now.

And the kid that everybody needs to keep their eye on is not one of their big boys. It's not Colson Montgomery. It's not Cairo. It's not any of the pitching prospects. He's like, the guy that's going to, I can guarantee you will play in the big leagues for 12 to 15. 15 years is Sam Antonia. Wow. Okay. I love this.

And this is a guy that knows baseball. And I'm looking at you. I won't say your name because I got to keep you anonymous, but this clip is for you. And he just says this kid, and this was before he burst onto the scene. Like people know who Sam Antanachi is now, like hitting some homers, doing some things. But he's like, he's your, he's a, he would be described by people in baseball as, guy's just a baseball player. Gets on base.

Gets on base. knows how to like crowd a box. Can play any position that you put them at. Best at second though is his. Probably. Yeah, probably. Okay.

But like in a pinch, could play short. Okay. In a pinch, could play third base. In a pinch, might be able to play a corner for you. Just that type of guy

that can do a lot of different things well. But it was, and these are types of things the scouts look at. He said, I watched them from the time he got off the bus, to the time he went back on the bus, to leave. And he was like, and it was hustle everywhere he went. Wow. So in addition to the baseball skills, it was, this is A grade character. Is he Nico Horner for the White Sox? Maybe. So here's

some numbers on Antonacci. And he's playing for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. And he's from Springfield. How about that? Shout out Springfield. Love you all. Love you all. Downstate. I don't know. Can you get 670 in Springfield? Absolutely. Loud and clear. 1-4-4-3 for the city, spring at 670 for the distance. Shout out to Springfield have a horseshoe on me. So batting 308, two home runs, three RBI, stealing three

bases, walking three times, and he gets hit by a pitch twice. And that's what I mean. There's some guys who, there is an art to know, Rizzo had it, you know, there's an art to knowing how, Carlos Quentin going back in the day. There's an art to knowing how to get hit by a pitch and make it work for you. It hurts.

But there are guys who know how to step up, I think, to a play and know how to have that be a part of their game. Yeah. When he's doing a lot of things well, like you mentioned hit by pitch, stole a bag, hits the ball of the ballpark, gets on base at a high clip. Like those are all things that you got to do if you want to get to the big leagues. Right?

You can never have enough guys, Grotie, that do everything. Mm-hmm. Oh, yeah. Give me 26 do everything, guys. Yeah. I mean. Everybody loves homers. David Eckstein, if you will.

Yes. David Eckstein. Ben is a long time. Ben's over us. Hello. No, but that's also the Jerry Ridesdorf, David Eckstein. He loved him. Love David Eckstein more than anybody.

So Jerry's got to love it in this situation. Like, you can play in the big leagues for a decade when you can do a lot of things well. And so for a scout that's not in Chicago to text me and say, hey, people are getting it wrong, the guy that's really going to impact the thing. And it's not like he doesn't think. the white socks, he speaks very highly of what the white socks have done. But he was just like, in what they've done, they found a jewel, a diamond in the rough, if you will, that's really going to impact their roster. See, this is the stuff for me with the White Sox.

You know what I mean? Like, I love, like, the guys that are present on their roster right up. Can't wait to see what Colson Montgomery does. Full season, yeah. The full season of him. Like, I cannot wait. But it's that next wave of guys. And maybe Antonacci is part of it.

But like Noah Schultz and guys that, you know, you know, you know, you know, You mentioned Braden Montgomery and Hagan Smith. It's that next wave that really makes it. 217 says they are listening in Springfield to us now. Shout out. Heck yes. I love the science experiment. Shout out to Springfield.

There's this place in Springfield, and I think I'm getting right, is it called Cozy Dogs? It's like the Corn Dog Place. Yeah, that does sound familiar. I spent two years there. That does sound familiar. There was a summer where my parents, we were driving a lot. And we drove through Springfield and like, we're going to go to this place called Cozy Dog. And me and my brother were like, all right.

And they did like, they specialize in like corn dogs. And it was actually kind of sick. I've been to Cozy Noodle by Wrigley a time or two, but I've not been to cozy dog. And I've been to the Chick-fil-A in Bloomington normal. Cozy Dog Drive-in. Heck yeah. Described on Google as a low-key memorabilia-laden counter-served dining, diner serving signature corn dogs plus chili and burgers. That is the perfect description.

I couldn't have said any better. Shout out to cozy dog. Russ Dorsey loves himself the state of Illinois. All parts. I just get yourself a bushel of cozy dogs to the score here. I've been craving a corn dog for like a month. Really? I just texted my friends the other day and I'm like, gosh, I know I'd be eating healthy and stuff, but like, you know what I could go for right now?

I got it figured out. A corn dog. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to take you and I are going to take a little road trip. to the Illinois State Fair this year. What the hell? Layla. They usually have a decent musical act.

They always do. Wasn't it like Nelly recently or something? Maybe. Nellie was at a state fair. It was Nelly. Yes. And we're going to road trip it and get corn dogs and formal cake. And anything on a stick at the state fair.

Cheese on a stick, meat on a stick. Hot dog, obviously. That would come on a stick. That would come on a stick. The 2025 acts were Snoop Dogg. You know, they're shutting out. Okay, Illinois. Snoop does anything these days, by the way.

The chain smokers and deaf left. We're going to the state fair. We might have to do something. All right. That's amazing. What a lineup? That is a line up. What the hell?

A heck of a lineup. Let's check on Toyota 24. So here's my one concern, roads. Yes, sir. Jonas Brothers, Miranda, Keith Urban and Mali Crew. Oh, my God. You and I used to.

Guess up the car. He used to both be chunky fellows. Wait, wait, you and I... Used to be? I mean, I appreciate you saying that about me, but anyway. Used to be. I don't want us to relapse. That's a good problem.

You know what I mean? Well, so that's what we... Like, you could go down. One meal didn't get you into that, and one meal's not going to get to that. But one meal leads to the next meal. Right. That's the problem in the addiction world. You get a hit for the first time in 15 years.

As somebody who's also weighing lighter than I did in high school and very much college. You know what I mean? Like, you're trying to do your... I could leg press like 250. Like there still smells where I'm like, oh, there was a time. Got to have that. And you just got to walk home. Right, right.

Oh, man. You know, right? Anything, yeah, a lot of deep fried stuff. Like, just that smell. Yeah, just deep fried oil. Here's what we do. We go and then we run away. And then we go back for the acts.

Get in the car. All the musical acts. Like, if it was crew and deaf leopard, what's the next one to play? Is it Iron Maiden or something? Or a hair band from the 80s? Like, there's a pack. pattern here and I'm not being able to follow it. Brett Michaels? Is it Brett Michaels? How about

Systema Down makes another trip? By the way, Sierra Santos on her Instagram story, guess who posted a picture with her as we were talking about him the other day? Brett Michaels. He posted the picture of her. He's like, I'm going to tag you in this pick. She's living her best life at Innings Fest. I love it. Out there in Arizona.

Okay, so back to the socks discussion. Anyway, and funnel cake. And funnel cake. Dang, now I'm going to think about funnel cake. Here's what it is, Russ. I want to see these musical acts. My goodness, Illinois stay fair throw it down it's just one day so we can think about this meal for the next several months fair right in the in the meantime we do what we got to do to protect ourselves we were you really a fat guy

yeah like like i was susceptible to that like not now but at my heaviest i was 315 wow wow yeah holy cow 315 down the 185 oh good for you man congratulations i did not know that about you so but now we're still sitting at a comfortable 205 okay okay i'm at a uncomfortable 220 right now, but I'll get it down. We'll get it down. Nelly is at the Wisconsin State Fair this year. I knew I saw Nellie in a State Fair somewhere. Also a solid state fair. Oh, how about Milwaukee

Fist? That's another... A lot of food on a stick there as well. Yeah, okay. Let's do a state fair two or the three of us. And maybe Marshall, too. I'm not a post. Can Marshall handle state fairs? It doesn't like crowds. I don't know if he can handle it. He didn't want to go to Riggley or to Chris Kendall Market, remember? That's true. Did you hear about this, Russ? But that's because we were all

where we were going to all go with dates. like it was an always sunny episode to Chris Kittle Market, but Marshall hated the idea. And poor Robbie was going to have to wear mittens and dress like an elf and write down everything. I love, I loved all of that. It was very always sunny,

very always sunny. And the irony being that none of us ever have dates. I think that was the part. Marshall likes to keep his dates private. I think you guys could find dates. I think we could. I don't know if we'd be happy, though. I mean, think about it.

Oh, we have acts. Okay. So the Grand Stand concert schedule is Bailey Zimmerman, Laney Wilson, Matchbox 20, Ella Langley, and Shinedown. Matchbox 20. Oh, Rob Thomas in your life. Following up Motley Crew and Duffer was Shinedown. Also, I don't know about that. The text are say, peanuts a half octave higher than me.

Okay. And that you guys both speak with confidence, which I agree with. Yeah, it's all, I mean. Similar voice inflection. I agree with that. We get excited and then we start doing things. So this was multiple text. Exters who initiated this?

Yes, and people are in agreement, and they agree with our point about sentence structure, but it's the way we talk when we're, like, making a point or excited. Is that the line you open up with on a date? People have said I have this sentence structure of Peanut Tillman. Walking around with a 33 on his back. Oh, if there's one thing I date for, it is somebody who has the sentence structure of Pened Tillman. That is a quality.

Coming up next, you want to hang with us for five on it? Yes. Russ is hanging with us for five on it next.