Twenty years on from a championship, details get blurred as stories only get better. But it’s right on the money to say the Sox never would’ve won it all had they not remade their roster in a tone-shifting manner.

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.

Carlos Santana hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning, and the Cleveland Guardians beat the Chicago White Sox 4-2 in the opener of a split doubleheader.

MLB draft begins Sunday, and the White Sox and Cubs each have 20 picks. And a Whitney Young alum could be a first-round selection.

In this week’s “Polling Place,” your home for Sun-Times sports polls on the social platform X, we asked if you’d take a Cubs wild-card berth right now or if you’re holding out for a division title. “Settle for a wild-card spot? Heck, yes, like a drowning man ‘settling’ for some oxygen,” @RonaldVoigt4 commented.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago White Sox are monitoring Shane Smith 's workload going into the last part of the season. Smith pitched three innings in Friday's 4-2 loss to Cleveland in the opener of a split doubleheader. Manager Will Venable said the abbreviated start was planned.

The World Series champion White Sox gave us a reminder that good things can happen and you just have to celebrate when they do.

Elko was removed after the fourth inning of Friday's game against the Cleveland Guardians with right knee soreness.