Podcast: First Half Grades

With it being our 100th episode, this week's show is 105 minutes long, and the segments are broken down by the time codes below.

The rundown:

• A recap of the Houston Astros series where it was good to see Jose Quintana throwing behind Evan Gattis. Also, preview the New York Yankees series which would be a great opportunity for the White Sox to help reduce another team's chances of earning a wildcard bid.
• (14:52) Jim and I hand out our first half grades, which are posted in the table below compared to the grades that the SSS community gave. 
  
  

  	Jim	Josh	SSS
  Adam Eaton	A-	A-	B+
  Jose Abreu	B-	B-	C
  Todd Frazier	B-	C+	C
  Melky Cabrera	A-	A-	B+
  Brett Lawrie	B	B	C+
  Avisail Garcia	D	D-	D
  Dioner Navarro	D	D	D
  Alex Avila	C	C-	D
  Bench	C-	C	C-
  Chris Sale	A+	A+	A+
  Jose Quintana	A-	A	A-
  Carlos Rodon	C+	C+	C
  Miguel Gonzalez	C	C	C
  Bullpen	C	C+	C
  Robin Ventura	C-	D	D
  Rick Hahn	D+	D+	D+

@SouthSideSox Do you think the team is on the right track with int. signings? Who do you have your eye on from the last couple of years?

— Paul Czech (@garridgepride) July 3, 2016

@SouthSideSox as a STH, I get to go to a Q&A with Hahn on Wednesday. What do you want me to ask him? #POSox

— Bill Coon (@thebillcoon) July 3, 2016

To listen, simply click play below:

There are a lot of people to thank for reaching this milestone episode. It took a lot of work, collaboration, and patience to get the show at the level of quality it is today. This began as four White Sox fans joining on online conference bridge that we paired the audio with a PowerPoint deck and posted to YouTube which was seen 101 times. After six episodes following that format, we decided that a change was needed to draw a larger audience. Why a larger audience? Well, I am a firm believer that every White Sox fan should read the work by Jim Margalus, larry, Patrick Nolan, and Steve Peters. I believe that every White Sox fan should take the plunge and graduate from lurker to full fledge SSS member by interacting with fellow Sox fans in the comments. With Chicago media paying less attention to our baseball team, it was an opportunity to not only grab the attention of other Sox fans and bring them to South Side Sox, but given the talent on this site, we could produce the show that Sox fans deserve.

Thank you to all those helped me reach episode 100:

• Hazy, Pnoles, and Rhubarb for taking the initial plunge with me. Then Hazy and Pnoles continuing to take time out of their weekend's to hash out dozens of episodes as we learned on the fly.
• Rob Hart, not only is the voice of god on the show, but he has been the best mentor an aspiring podcaster could ask for. Always available to lend an ear, inspire confidence, and his advice has been invaluable.
• Some of our best guests on this show have been thought of by larry. His incredible insight on the farm system and how players are developing just make this site smarter. Remember when people were doubting Tim Anderson? Or Trayce Thompson? Or hell, raving about Jason Coats? If we just listened to larry in the first place, we would all have been much smarter Sox fans.
• Scott Merkin and Dan Hayes who I look up to as mentors. They make themselves free for us that when we need additional insight into the clubhouse, they deliver that for us when we don't have that access.
  
• We have many friends of the podcast, but Dan Szymborski and Jim Callis stand out from the rest. Never once have they ever declined an interview request and often they have fit us into their busy schedules. To have the writer who created ZiPS that many projection models use today, and a writer who has been covering the MLB Draft and prospects for 20+ years has given our show a level of credibility that many podcasts don't have.
• Big thanks to Erik Heiss from AudioBoom to sign us on to their platform, and Connie's Pizza for being amazing sponsors. They allow us to expand our show and deliver two episodes a week.
• Q, Stanley, and Ty for helping me improve the audio quality, promotions, and content structure.
• BillyOK for giving us an identity and creating the super amazing Condor shirts without asking for anything in return. If you can help me pay him back for his time and talents, please pre-order his book "The"These are my Friends on politics."
• My girlfriend, Kim. She is my rock, my biggest cheerleader, and her support is a big reason why we made it to 100 episodes. Thank the lord she is a White Sox fan or my ass would have been dumped by now. I love you.
• Jim. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to run with this show and to spend even more time each week talking about this team. You make me better with every episode we host together and I can honestly consider you a dear friend.
• Finally, you, the listeners. We started this show because as a fan base together grew tired of the poor quality of Sox talk on the radio. My goal has been the same since episode one - to produce the best audio show about the Chicago White Sox. I thank those that have been listening since episode one, and for those that just found the show, welcome. Stick around. We are good folks that share a common love with you.