It's been six months since the Catholic Church elected a White Sox fan as pope to set the spirtual agenda for 1.4 billion people worldwide, which has been enough time for the concept of a pope who had to wrestle with forgiving Jerry Dybzinski to settle into my brain as an established fact despite the staggering odds.
For instance, two weeks ago, somebody in attendance at the Vatican yelled, "Go Chicago, South Side!", to which Pope Leo XIV responded, "South Side, all right!" This would've baffled me back in April, but now I've more or less come to expecit from his interactions with the public.
However, just like the first time His Holiness wore a White Sox cap with his cassock, I'm still capable of being thrown by a particular facet of his existence. The latest such example is the video of the supreme pontiff ribbing the North Side from atop the Popemobile.
Someone in the crowd: “Go Cubs!”Pope Leo XIV: “Han perdido! They lost!”
— Razzball (@razzball.bsky.social) 2025-10-15T16:47:29.049Z
There wasn't a camera angle that allowed me to check whether there's a bumper sticker saying "MY TWO FAVORITE TEAMS ARE THE WHITE SOX AND WHOEVER PLAYS THE CUBS," but for those who think "Fly the L" is played out, "Han Perdido" presents a refreshing alternative.
Manager searches
Either the Angels aren't entirely victims of the capricious whims of Arte Moreno, or the Orioles are taking the opposite tack after years of standard Ivy League thinking, but Albert Pujols reportedly has multiple teams interested in his capabilities as a major league manager, according to Jeff Passan and Aiden Gonzalez at ESPN.
The Orioles have yet to formally interview Pujols but are expected to as they seek a replacement for Brandon Hyde, who was fired in the early portion of what became a disappointing 87-loss season in 2025. [...]
The Los Angeles Angels still appear to be the most likely destination for Pujols and remain the only team he has formally interviewed with, industry sources said. Pujols met with Angels general manager Perry Minasian in St. Louis last Thursday and is still highly considered for the job, though former All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter is also a serious candidate. The Angels' hiring process, however, might be slowed by owner Arte Moreno and president John Carpino's involvement in the civil trial over the death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
The Twins' search is also gaining steam with a name that will resonate just as much -- if not more so -- with White Sox fans, as Dan Hayes reported that Minnesota has gained permission to interview Nick Punto in their search for Rocco Baldelli's replacement. Punto doesn't have a wealth of major league coaching experience, but he did dive into first base a lot.
Punto isn't the only candidate, just the Twinsiest. Hayes provides a list of known names later in the story:
A team source also confirmed the Twins have spoken with, and are planning to interview, former Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton, New York Yankees hitting coach James Rowson and Boston Red Sox bench coach Ramón Vázquez. Another hot name internally is Chicago Cubs bench coach Ryan Flaherty, though it’s unclear if the Twins have yet been granted permission to speak to the former infielder because Chicago’s season only ended a few days ago.
Gold Gloves
Major League Baseball released its list of 2025 Gold Glove finalists, which is to say that it revealed the winners and obscured them by naming two other guys at each position. Either way, the White Sox aren't included.
This didn't appear likely given that no White Sox were threatening the top three at any position in the Aug. 10 update of the SABR Defensive Index, and the only one who stood a chance of getting a boost from his reputation suffered a season-ending injury two weeks later.
The announcement is mostly devastating to my hunch that the White Sox might field an above-average defensive pitching staff in lieu of strikeouts. As a unit, they fell from -2 Defensive Runs Saved in 2024 to -10 in 2025. My first sense was that Sean Burke was a key contributor, given that he led all American League pitchers with five errors, but he somehow finished in the black at +1.
