Pregame notes: Surely this time…

The White Sox are 4-28 in Chris Flexen starts, where as Angels starter Tyler Anderson made his second All-Star team this past July, so surely the extra juice the team has felt in denying their fans--heartbroken to the point of derangement--a chance to witness history can't sustain them forever.

"When you're nudging up against history, it's one of those deals for us where our backs are against the wall and we're going to see who's about it and who's not," said Davis Martin. "I think everybody's kind of answered the bell."

"Those guys are fighters and they don’t want to see their home crowd upset or rooting against them," Grady Sizemore said. "It’s hard not to take it personal, but they’ve been pros. They’re not pointing fingers or getting upset. But yeah, there’s a lot of fight in them and they take pride when they go out there. It’s not going unnoticed, but they’re not letting it distract them from what they have to do every day."

The recent upturn has actually put the White Sox into somewhat murky waters for "worst team ever" territory. A modern history record of 121 losses still feels like a mortal lock, but one more win would clinche the White Sox having a better winning percentage than the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics, who went 36-117 for a .235 mark. A 39-123 season would be good for .241.

Hate to be the bearer of good news.

Garrett Crochet addressed Chicago media for what could wind up being the last time. He once more said he'd be open to contract extension talks, while also stipulating that it will take more than just openness to get it done. He endorsed Sizemore to stay on as manager, but his observation on the previous regime's attempts to impose a culture might be the most eye-opening.

"We tried to force the chemistry in ‘23 and ‘22," Crochet said. "This year, we tried to force the ‘play F.A.S.T.’ motto. What we were trying to do with ‘play F.A.S.T.’ was go out there and be Cleveland, and we’re not Cleveland. Though they play a very admirable brand of baseball, that’s just not who we are. We have a different type of player in our organization than they have. I always liked in ‘21 — it was a different cast and crew — but I liked how it was kind of the villain role. We kind of owned that everyone hated us."

Brooks Baldwin said his sprained right wrist has recovered to where "I can almost swing 100 percent" after taking batting practice on the field on Wednesday. If timing weren't an issue after a long absence, he feels good enough to play and wouldn't balk at it if he were activated for the final series. But the larger goal was to get himself in place to have a normal offseason.

"That way going into it there's no worries or anything in the back of my mind that I won't be ready to go by the time I start ramping up again in the offseason," Baldwin said.

Fresh off guiding the Double-A Birmingham Barons to a Southern League championship, Sergio Santos said he called Chris Getz to express his interest in the major league managerial opening. He acknowledged multiple times that the team "has a process," and there are no guarantees. The deck is stacked against Santos, after Getz reiterated that he's looking at candidates outside the organization, even after making an exception for Sizemore.

""I hope I'm fortunate enough to be considered," Santos said. "It would be an honor in and of itself."