PIRATES, CARDS, and WHITE SOX: Party Like It's 2005

<p>Welcome back to another edition of the <em>Painting Corners Baseball Podcast</em>! This week, Johnny C and Aidan Smith are breaking down the absolute chaos brewing across the diamond, focusing heavily on a wild NL Central and the pitching labs making waves in 2026.</p><p>First up, the boys dive into the Milwaukee Brewers&#39; pitching lab to marvel at <strong>Jacob Misiorowski</strong>. Standing at 6&#39;7&quot; with 100th-percentile extension, is his 103 MPH fastball sustainable, or is his elbow a ticking time bomb? We compare his glassy, unbothered demeanor to <strong>Paul Skenes</strong> and look back at the chaotic energy of former relief pitchers like James Karinchak.</p><p>Then, we head over to St. Louis. Are you buying or selling Cardinal stock? With <strong>JJ Wetherholt</strong> holding down second base as the ultimate &quot;Short King&quot; alongside a surging <strong>Jordan Walker</strong>, manager Oliver Marmol is officially playing with house money.</p><p><strong>Also in this episode:</strong></p><ul><li><p><strong>Chicago White Sox Resurrection:</strong> How Chris Getz flipped a 121-loss franchise into an AL Central contender, the impact of Murakami, and why prospect Noah Schultz looks like a modern-day Randy Johnson.</p></li><li><p><strong>The Chris Sale Renaissance:</strong> At 37 years old, Sale is anchoring the Braves&#39; rotation for pennies on the dollar. Johnny drops a massive hot take on why he’d rather meet Sale over Shohei Ohtani.</p></li><li><p><strong>Shohei &quot;Stohei&quot; Ohtani:</strong> Is Ohtani deliberately focusing on pitching to snatch the Cy Young right out from under Paul Skenes? Plus, a look at his flawless base-running metrics.</p></li><li><p><strong>The Fernando Tatis Jr. Dilemma:</strong> Nando is showing signs of life in San Diego, but between the pre-suspension metrics and off-field narratives, the boys debate if he can ever reclaim true superstar status.</p></li><li><p><strong>Raise the Jolly Roger:</strong> The Pittsburgh Pirates are crashing the NL Wild Card picture. We talk Bubba Chandler, Mitch Keller, and close out with a legendary historical detour about Honus Wagner’s love for bananas.</p></li></ul>