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Cubs mailbag: How are the pieces going to fit together? · North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast

0:00
Speaker 1: Great energy, a good work effect, really freakish talents, but
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Speaker 1: a front office, a coaching fact, needs to see results.
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Speaker 1: Welcome to North Side Territory, your Chicago Cubs podcast on
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Speaker 1: the Foul Territory Network. This is Patrick Mooney of The
0:20
Speaker 1: Athletic opening it up for a mailbag episode. During this
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Speaker 1: final stretch before the trade deadline, the Cub's last gasp
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Speaker 1: attempt to avoid a selloff has failed. The offense scored
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Speaker 1: nine runs in the first six games out of the
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Speaker 1: All Star Break, losing two must have series against real
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Speaker 1: playoff contenders. Cubs President Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer has already
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Speaker 1: signaled that he has no plans to add rental players
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Speaker 1: for the final two months of the season, and he
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Speaker 1: is not someone who likes to sit out the action
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Speaker 1: at this time of year, so that almost certainly means selling,
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Speaker 1: and it's really not that hard of a decision at
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Speaker 1: this point. At the start of Thursday's off day, the
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Speaker 1: Cubs are forty nine and fifty five, eleven games back
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Speaker 1: in the division and five games out of a wild
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Speaker 1: card spot. Look for Hoyer's front office to at least
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Speaker 1: move some relievers before the deadline, such as Mark Letter, junior,
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Speaker 1: and we'll see how much deeper those cuts go as
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Speaker 1: the Cubs pivot towards the future. Once again, let's get
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Speaker 1: into your questions. All right, let's get into your questions.
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Speaker 1: We'll start here with Brian Deal, who wonders do you
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Speaker 1: think that the old slogan There's always next year is
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Speaker 1: something that helps Gen and company sleep at night?
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Speaker 2: Now?
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Speaker 1: I think this is something that certainly helps ownership and
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Speaker 1: the business side get through their work days. Clearly, if
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Speaker 1: you're at Regally at all during this homestand you just
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Speaker 1: saw enormous crowds, you know, standing room only forty thousand
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Speaker 1: plus up in the high thirties for a team that
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Speaker 1: is now in last place and getting prepared for a
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Speaker 1: sale at the trade deadline. Within baseball operations, though, I
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Speaker 1: would not characterize Jed Hoyer as feeling super comfortable right now.
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Speaker 2: I know.
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Speaker 1: What you may see on Marquee and kind of the
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Speaker 1: patience and the rationality that he shows on camera. That
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Speaker 1: is just part of his job that he has to
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Speaker 1: project calm, that he has to look at the long
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Speaker 1: view and take all of those things into account.
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Speaker 2: But I would not.
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Speaker 1: Characterize the front office right now as being super comfortable
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Speaker 1: with how this has played out. They're very much aware
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Speaker 1: of how it looks when the team that you assembled
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Speaker 1: is in last place and can't keep up in a
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Speaker 1: very big, mediocre mix of teams in this wild card race.
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Speaker 1: Jed has one more season remaining on his contract. I
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Speaker 1: would still be surprised if ownership decided to move on
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Speaker 1: from what has been a very logical, rational plan that
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Speaker 1: aligned with ownership's long term interests. Like, in a lot
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Speaker 1: of ways, this is sort of the team that they
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Speaker 1: had wanted built, meaning a steady flow of young pitching,
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Speaker 1: some rational by free agent standards deals for players who
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Speaker 1: have performed really well. Talking about showda Inmanaga, Jameison ty On,
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Speaker 1: even Dansby Swanson. While he has not performed at all offensively,
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Speaker 1: he's still a gold glove shortstop and the guy that
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Speaker 1: analytically they had sort of targeted as the one who
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Speaker 1: made the most sense for them as part of that
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Speaker 1: a great shortstop class from a couple of years ago.
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Speaker 2: So this is.
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Speaker 1: A long way of maybe getting around the fact that, yeah,
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Speaker 1: this team should be much better right now, and that
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Speaker 1: there's absolutely no hiding from that. You look back to
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Speaker 1: the twenty twenty one trade deadline. There's not a lot
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Speaker 1: to show for it. I think if you look at
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Speaker 1: the farm system, it is in better shape than it
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Speaker 1: had been, but you don't see any sort of Chris
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Speaker 1: Bryant type prospects knocking down the door. And you know,
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Speaker 1: really it's just been another weird year of where things
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Speaker 1: just haven't synced up. You know, the Cubs have not
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Speaker 1: clicked in all phases of the game. I think firing
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Speaker 1: David Ross and bringing in Craig count was inevitably going
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Speaker 1: to put more focus on Jed Hoyer and his front office.
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Speaker 1: And right now the Cubs have not come close to
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Speaker 1: delivering on the promises that they made, and I think
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Speaker 1: that's why this coming off season there's going to be
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Speaker 1: a ton of pressure on them to get outside their
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Speaker 1: comfort zone, make some bigger deals, and it's setting up
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Speaker 1: a playoffs or bust year next year, assuming they get.
5:34
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6:37
Speaker 1: Aaron Baker Backer. Sorry, I'm not sure exactly how to
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Speaker 1: pronounce your name, but Erin, you have a very good
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Speaker 1: question here. What is the front office's view of Christopher Morell?
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Speaker 1: Seems like a great guy, but his play hasn't been
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Speaker 1: great this year. With prospects on the way behind him.
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Speaker 1: How much more leash does he have? Aaron, I think
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Speaker 1: everyone around the Cubs recognizes that super Morell has great energy,
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Speaker 1: a good work ethic, some really freakish talents, and to
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Speaker 1: his credit, he has gotten better in certain areas. I
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Speaker 1: think if you saw just this past homestand some they
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Speaker 1: had that one inning there of just like one great,
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Speaker 1: great defensive play after another.
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Speaker 2: I think he has improved at third base. I think his.
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Speaker 1: Swing decisions and his offensive approach has improved as well.
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Speaker 1: But at a certain point, a front office, a coaching
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Speaker 1: staff needs to see results, and.
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Speaker 2: That just hasn't been there right now.
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Speaker 1: And it stands out even more because the Cubs have
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Speaker 1: so many other weak spots in their lineup that you
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Speaker 1: can't really hide him, you know, in the bottom third
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Speaker 1: of your lineup and let him figure it out. Like
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Speaker 1: they need him to be just a middle of the
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Speaker 1: order slugger, and it hasn't quite gotten there yet. I mean,
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Speaker 1: you're looking at a slightly below average major league hitter
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Speaker 1: in terms of OPS plus, certainly not the leap the
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Speaker 1: Cubs had hoped for. You're looking at a.
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Speaker 2: Guy who made his debut.
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Speaker 1: In twenty twenty two. He's accumulating service time. This is
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Speaker 1: just not a point where you can say, like, oh,
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Speaker 1: We're just going to run it back with Christopher and
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Speaker 1: you know guarantee that he's your third baseman slash DH
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Speaker 1: and I'm not really as focused on the prospects behind him.
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Speaker 1: You know, maybe Mattshaw does come up or whatever. But
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Speaker 1: I think what we were just talking about earlier, the
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Speaker 1: pressure to win in twenty twenty five. I'm not sure
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Speaker 1: how you can just like move on from Christopher Morrell
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Speaker 1: and then just hand a job to Matt Shaw or
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Speaker 1: some o their prospect and hope that he figures it
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Speaker 1: out on a fly. I think you would probably be
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Speaker 1: looking more at does Alex Bregman want to come and
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Speaker 1: play in Chicago or is there some other like short
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Speaker 1: term fix or a complimentary player to work with morell.
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Speaker 1: I think if Christopher was having a better year, you'd
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Speaker 1: probably hear his name mentioned more prominently.
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Speaker 2: In trade rumors as well.
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Speaker 1: So we'll see what he does the last two months
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Speaker 1: of the year. I don't think that leash has run out,
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Speaker 1: but it is just by definition shorter because he's been
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Speaker 1: around for a few years now and has not definitively
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Speaker 1: answered the question of whether or not like he can
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Speaker 1: be a third baseman.
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Speaker 2: Where's he going to play, and.
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Speaker 1: The Cubs are really sort of stuck with a group
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Speaker 1: of position players. Otherwise, Aaron Schmidty wonders, and this is
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Speaker 1: a good one as well. Hate to be talking about
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Speaker 1: twenty twenty five in July, but here we are. Do
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Speaker 1: you think Corbyn Burns is a good fit for the
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Speaker 1: twenty twenty five rotation? If the Cubs deal tie On
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Speaker 1: at the deadline? Starting pitching is hardly a hole, but Burns,
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Speaker 1: Steele and Shoto would be one of the best top
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Speaker 1: three in baseball.
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Speaker 2: Aaron, You're right.
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Speaker 1: It's not never a good sign when in the middle
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Speaker 1: of a playoff race, your team or you as a
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Speaker 1: fan is wondering about the upcoming class of free agents. Yes,
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Speaker 1: I think Corbyn Burns will be a good fit for
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Speaker 1: any team that wants to win the World Series. In
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Speaker 1: terms of reality check, I believe he switched to Scott
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Speaker 1: Forres as his representative head of free agency.
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Speaker 2: And if just being honest, if you've.
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Speaker 1: Looked at the Cubs history of free agent deals and
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Speaker 1: Scott's history of free agent deals for pitchers, I'm thinking
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Speaker 1: of Garrett Cole as one comp that will probably be
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Speaker 1: top of mind. I don't see the Cubs running out
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Speaker 1: and doing that. However, there's gonna be a lot more
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Speaker 1: pressure on them to deliver that kind of star power.
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Speaker 1: And you know, I'm not I would not automatically assume
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Speaker 1: that tie on will be gone at the deadline, though
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Speaker 1: it is certainly a possibility. I think you're right that
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Speaker 1: starting pitching is not the weakness. I think if you're
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Speaker 1: gonna go huge in free agency, you gotta get some
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Speaker 1: slug in the middle of that lineup like that. To me,
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Speaker 1: someone who can hit three run homers, someone who can
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Speaker 1: carry an offense at a time, someone who can help
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Speaker 1: pull an offense out of those slumps so that only
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Speaker 1: lasts a couple of games or a week and not
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Speaker 1: like two months. That to me is the number one priority.
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Speaker 1: But I don't think you can look at all the
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Speaker 1: injuries the Cubs have experienced this year and really just
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Speaker 1: the state of pitching health in general across the game
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Speaker 1: and feel like the Cup are totally set in the rotation.
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Speaker 1: I think adding another starter would certainly make sense. You
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Speaker 1: can't rule that out.
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Speaker 2: And Burns.
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Speaker 1: Burns' relationship with counsel, as well as his history with
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Speaker 1: the Cubs kind of coming out of the draft you
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Speaker 1: know there's a guy that was on their radar.
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Speaker 2: I think all of those things.
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Speaker 1: Are going to have him on that short list of
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Speaker 1: like kind of dream guys who could really like change
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Speaker 1: the perception of this team. I'm going to group these
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Speaker 1: next prospect next prospects related questions together because I thought
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Speaker 1: it was a good way to kind of think about
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Speaker 1: things moving forward. Brad asks, how does the front office
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Speaker 1: view the logjam of outfield prospects?
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Speaker 2: BC?
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Speaker 1: Hornets SB wonders any chance of seeing one of the
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Speaker 1: outfield prospects being called up this season? Oh and KC
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Speaker 1: question mark a reference to own Casey. Then Tyler Dershel asks,
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Speaker 1: in order for the prospects to play, they have to
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Speaker 1: get rid of the logjam of offensive players at the
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Speaker 1: major league level who would be the most realistic.
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Speaker 2: To move off of.
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Speaker 1: Okay, So this idea of a logjam of outfield prospects,
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Speaker 1: or that the Cubs have like way too many great
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Speaker 1: prospects to fit onto one one major league field, I'm
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Speaker 1: not buying it. I think that is a mindset that
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Speaker 1: the Cubs have to get out of. We've seen all
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Speaker 1: the injuries that Brendon Davis has experienced. Unfortunately, in the
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Speaker 1: early portion.
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Speaker 2: Of his career.
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Speaker 1: The Cubs clear for whatever reason, haven't gotten a good answer.
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Speaker 1: Don't really trust or want to see much.
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Speaker 2: Of Alexander Canario.
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Speaker 1: And that is both while David Ross was on the
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Speaker 1: team and Craig Council managing the team. Sure, Kevin Contra
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Speaker 1: could be a really nice player, I don't think he
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Speaker 1: is like that close yet, though certainly he has the
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Speaker 1: physical abilities to make up some of those development gaps.
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Speaker 1: And you know, really one of the things that Jed
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Speaker 1: Hoyer stressed this week during his media session was like,
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Speaker 1: there is no scenario that they're considering in which they
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Speaker 1: would just like let a whole bunch of these kids play,
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Speaker 1: like they wouldn't call it a rebuild, you know, three
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Speaker 1: years ago.
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Speaker 2: They're not going to call it a.
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Speaker 1: Rebuild in year five of Jed Hoyer's contract. So that
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Speaker 1: is one reason why I'm curious about this trade deadline
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Speaker 1: of are they going to move some of this minor
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Speaker 1: league inventory. Are they in a position to do a
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Speaker 1: deal that helps them for twenty twenty five and maybe
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Speaker 1: even helps this year.
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Speaker 2: I mean, those deals are really.
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Speaker 1: Hard to pull off, and this front office doesn't have
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Speaker 1: a long track record of doing that, they've been pretty
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Speaker 1: clearly defined buyers or sellers.
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Speaker 2: August and September.
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Speaker 1: I do think there will be more of a shift
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Speaker 1: towards player development, though perhaps that does mean Owen Casey.
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Speaker 1: I think it's a red flag though that how quickly
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Speaker 1: Craig Council had dismissed the idea of oh, that next
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Speaker 1: hitter up from Iowa. I think there are real questions
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Speaker 1: about the development tracks of some of these players, not
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Speaker 1: Casey in particular, but just the enormous gap between Triple
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Speaker 1: A and the majors has become very, very apparent, and
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Speaker 1: the Cubs don't have a lot of spots, as Tyler mentioned,
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Speaker 1: to just give players five hundred bats.
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Speaker 2: Now, that is sort of happening.
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Speaker 1: With Pete kow Armstrong, and I do think defensively he
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Speaker 1: brings so much impact that the Cubs can at a
16:14
Speaker 1: premium position that the Cubs can live with some of that.
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Speaker 1: But yeah, like Tyler said, their Cubs are very quickly
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Speaker 1: or all of a sudden seemingly become stuck, and that's
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Speaker 1: something that they have to deal with at this deadline.
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Speaker 2: As well as next to off season.
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Speaker 1: Sean Healy asked was the Craig Council hiring a rushed decision, Sean,
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Speaker 1: that is a very interesting idea. I would say that
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Speaker 1: Jed Hoyer's style is very deliberate. I'm not sure if
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Speaker 1: he ever makes rushed decisions or decisions out of emotions.
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Speaker 1: You have to remember just how long the Cubs had
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Speaker 1: watched Council coach up the Brewers and how frustrated Jed
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Speaker 1: and THEO were watching the Brewers come back. And you
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Speaker 1: catch the Cuds in twenty eighteen and the year before,
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Speaker 1: they really pushed the defending World Series champs, you know,
17:12
Speaker 1: into a place where they did sort of like jump
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Speaker 1: out and rush into a Jose Quintana trade just to
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Speaker 1: try and energize their team and fend off a really
17:22
Speaker 1: tough Milwaukee group as well. And so you're going back
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Speaker 1: to the end of last season, and I think this
17:30
Speaker 1: is where you know, when a team doesn't make the playoffs,
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Speaker 1: some unpredictability can creep in. And so Hoyer had all
17:41
Speaker 1: of October to think about this. The Brewers were bounced
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Speaker 1: out of the playoffs very quickly by the Arizona Diamondbacks,
17:48
Speaker 1: and really, as Hoyer was kind of stewing over what
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Speaker 1: he thought should have been playoff trip. He's seeing the
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Speaker 1: council situation unfold in Milwaukee, and so I think Council's
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Speaker 1: track record is so long that I wouldn't call it
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Speaker 1: a rushed decision, And I think Hoyer's nature is such
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Speaker 1: that I wouldn't call it a rush decision. But yeah,
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Speaker 1: it it hasn't worked out the way they thought yet
18:17
Speaker 1: doesn't mean it won't be a great hire in the
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Speaker 1: long run, but certainly it has created a perception that
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Speaker 1: leads into a final question here that really jumped out
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Speaker 1: at me as something that like I've been thinking about
18:35
Speaker 1: on my own, something I've been talking.
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Speaker 2: About with other reporters, and.
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Speaker 1: It's from Hoops says Council is a steady presence. So
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Speaker 1: are the guys in the clubhouse. No grit, no sandpaper.
18:48
Speaker 1: The Cubs seem to have responded to Justin Steele showing
18:51
Speaker 1: some fire, but have now lost it again. Does this
18:54
Speaker 1: team need some sandpaper in the everyday lineup? If Council can't,
18:58
Speaker 1: Slash won't provide it. This is kind of an unanswerable thing,
19:02
Speaker 1: and it is, but it is something that the Cubs
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Speaker 1: will no doubt be asking themselves in the audit of
19:08
Speaker 1: this season, like the mix of personalities, and I think
19:13
Speaker 1: you're right, Hoops, that this group of players is very professional, diligent, hardworking,
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Speaker 1: and I think counsel is right to stress how long
19:24
Speaker 1: the season is and to be yourself and that you
19:28
Speaker 1: can't manufacture a lot of this stuff. At the same time,
19:32
Speaker 1: it's hard to look at this group and how things
19:34
Speaker 1: have unfolded and think like, yeah, they got it right,
19:37
Speaker 1: that this is like a great kind of chemistry, the intangibles,
19:42
Speaker 1: whatever it is, the stuff that you can't measure. However,
19:48
Speaker 1: after covering the end of the Joe Madden error, I
19:50
Speaker 1: am very very hesitant to point at things like grit
19:59
Speaker 1: and emotional temperament when it's clear that the Cubs have
20:04
Speaker 1: so many obvious talent deficiencies like up and down their roster,
20:09
Speaker 1: like if you have the catching setup is not good enough.
20:13
Speaker 1: Third base has been a question mark for a long time.
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Speaker 1: Picrow Armstrong's defense elite in center field, his offense nowhere
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Speaker 1: close to that level. Yet you have guys with long
20:26
Speaker 1: track records and who have long term contracts who.
20:30
Speaker 2: Have clearly underperformed.
20:34
Speaker 1: If Cody Bellinger hits a couple more home runs, if
20:37
Speaker 1: Dansby Swanson gets just a little bit closer to what
20:41
Speaker 1: has been his career norm. Are we talking about this
20:46
Speaker 1: or are we kind of lauding them for their kind
20:50
Speaker 1: of quiet determination and their stick to itiveness. I don't know,
20:54
Speaker 1: but by playing down to this level, it is certainly
20:59
Speaker 1: up opened a whole new line of questioning that is
21:04
Speaker 1: quite frankly not comfortable for anyone.
21:07
Speaker 2: Involved in the Cubs organization.
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Speaker 1: So thank you everyone for your questions, Thank you for listening.
21:15
Speaker 1: Thank you to our Foul Territory crew behind the scenes
21:19
Speaker 1: who just hustle and work around the clock, and they will.
21:25
Speaker 2: Continue to do so around the trade deadline.
21:30
Speaker 1: Our buddy SAIDI Sharma, my co host and colleague at
21:33
Speaker 1: the Athletic. We'll be back from vacation here very soon.
21:36
Speaker 2: We'll be coming at you with another.
21:38
Speaker 1: Episode, and we'll be responding to everything that happens around
21:42
Speaker 1: the trade deadline.
21:43
Speaker 2: Thank you for listening, Take care, Bye,