Episode

Can the White Sox win the AL Central?!

Podcast
The White Sox Podcast w/ Chuck Garfien
Published
May 21, 2026
Duration seconds
3079
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://chsnwhitesox.podbean.com/e/dan-hayes-joins-the-show/
Audio
https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/vnfcphtxsnb8p62d/WSP_0521_-_FINAL_AUDIO_mixdownah7m2.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/the-white-sox-podcast-w-chuck-garfien-946797/episodes/can-the-white-sox-win-the-al-central
Markdown
/podcast/the-white-sox-podcast-w-chuck-garfien-946797/can-the-white-sox-win-the-al-central.md

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Summary

Chuck Garfien chats with The Athletic's Dan Hayes to break down a surprisingly competitive American League Central race and why the division may be more wide open than expected, including for the Chicago White Sox. They discuss how the Cleveland Guardians continue to win despite losing one of baseball’s top closers, while the Minnesota Twins have struggled to protect leads even with strong starting pitching and one of the league’s highest-scoring offenses. Chuck also lays out what the White Sox need to do to seriously contend for the division, especially in head-to-head games against Cleveland. Chuck and Dan explore why the idea of the White Sox winning the AL Central may not sound as unrealistic as people think, including comparisons between the Sox’ current momentum and Cleveland’s 2022 run. They revisit the memorable 15-inning Twins-Guardians game from 2022, examine why Chicago now has several “Guardian-like” players on the roster, and debate which team is best positioned to finish on top when the season ends. The episode wraps up with Dan’s prediction for the eventual AL Central winner and Chuck offering some playful advice to noted Sox-killer Byron Buxton before the next White Sox-Twins series.