This story was excerpted from Scott Merkin’s White Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
CHICAGO -- No day is greater than today in the mind of Will Venable.
And when Wednesday's contest against the Royals is complete, the White Sox manager is on to Thursday’s series finale. It sounds simple and a bit cliché, but it’s that sort of micro focus contributing to this young team’s early success.
With that mindset, it should be of little surprise Venable had no preseason win target for the 2026 White Sox when asked during a recent extended interview with MLB.com. His thought process was steeped more in what goes into the buildup for the campaign than actual results.
“Honestly, just going through it last year, when we talk to you guys all the time, it’s really hard to put expectations as far as wins and losses,” Venable said. “Knowing the situation last year that we were coming into, it was really important to focus on the things we can control today and make it be about that and preparation and effort and execution in the game.
“Then the results are what the results are. This year, more of an internal belief amongst the players that we can win games and that we have added pieces that can help us do that, and guys that are going to take steps forward. So, long answer, no, not in terms of wins and losses, but certainly being a team that can go out on a daily basis and win every day, it was an expectation.”
Venable admits White Sox pitching is progressing better than he expected, without selling short any of his hurlers in the rotation or the bullpen. They have been asked to throw strikes and maintain count leverage, and the staff continues to improve in those areas. Venable believes this overall mound success is sustainable.
The spirit of this team, the togetherness of this team, is something Venable and the White Sox have reinforced since SoxFest at the end of January. This group genuinely likes playing with each other, and more importantly, for each other.
Sunday’s victory has been talked about over the past few days as a prime example. Catcher Drew Romo was on third with one out in the eighth when Miguel Vargas hit a short fly ball to Mariners left fielder Randy Arozarena.
Third-base coach Justin Jirschele read the situation, knowing Arozarena was coming on at full speed. He also had pregame knowledge of Arozarena not having the strongest arm, opting to send Romo for what turned out to be the game-winning run.
It was fearless, not reckless, as Jirschele explained after the game.
“We talked a lot about the energy that the guys bring, the way they run,” Venable said. “The way they are handling themselves in the meetings and those types of things. They are all doing what we have asked them to do.
“All those things are taking on a life of their own because of the kind of guys we have and what they made important. So, I don’t know what I expected other than for us to play hard and we’ve done that and had good results.”
In this age of Statcast and so many numbers, the essence of team still matters.
“It’s making all the difference, honestly,” Venable said. “It’s bringing the best out of our group. We play other teams that on paper might have more talent than us, but we are competing with them and beating them because we play harder, we run harder, have more energy in the dugout. We have a lot of energy.
“That’s something that is going to be a challenge, too. It’s a long season and these guys have done a really good job of doing that up to this point. It gives me confidence because myself, the group, everyone recognizes the energy these guys bring on a daily basis is special.”
This change really took root after the All-Star break last season when young players such as Colson Montgomery, Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth and Vargas showed off their potential. But they weren’t satisfied with good results.
They wanted more going into the offseason, and this overall dedication is bringing the White Sox more through the season's first month and a half.
“Our cohesion, the effort level on a night-to-night basis is outstanding and noted by opponents, noted by others in the league,” White Sox bench coach Walker McKinven said. “That’s kind of been our identity so far, what we’re leaning on.”
“These guys who made their debut last year [were] trying to figure it out, and they came in being committed to getting down their line through their preparation and kind of reinforcing that energy and bringing that everyday work,” Venable said. “They bought into their own stuff. They bought in themselves.”