Latest / North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast / Detailing the Cubs’ offer to Alex Bregman

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Detailing the Cubs’ offer to Alex Bregman · North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Welcome into North Side Territory Foul Territory Networks Cubs podcast.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: I'm your host SAH Day of Sharma with Patrick Moodey,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: my co host. I said that differently than I normally do,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: didn't I, Patrick? That's because this is the same time
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: we're recording this podcast. He recorded last night Big Alex
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: Bregman preview for is he Gonna Choose the Cubs?
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: Is he come into the Cubs? Maybe it's really happening, And.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Know that podcast got dumped it in the trash. Bregman
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: goes to Boston three year deal, one hundred and twenty
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: million dollars, you know, opt outs after year one and
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: or two. Just a really good deal for him if
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: he's looking to go to a bigger market and and
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: that's what he wants to do. Uh, but the Cubs
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: didn't really come close here all things considered. I mean,
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: you you just reported in your latest these four years
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: one point fifteen I believe, so just the wasn't even
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: matching a three year offer from Boston. So like it's
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: just unbelievable. How you know, it seemed like they were
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: in this and that they were serious. But you know,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: he's he's headed to Boston now, and the offer really
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: wasn't all that competitive, and when you when you really
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: break things down, no.
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: It wasn't.
• 1:29
  Speaker 4: And I'm sure in ownership's mind they felt like they
• 1:31
  Speaker 4: were stretching and going, you know, far beyond a comfort zone.
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: But we all know how free agents keep score. It's
• 1:44
  Speaker 4: years overall dollars, you know, the guarantee, the average annual value,
• 1:50
  Speaker 4: and like by all of those metrics, the Cubs were
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: not particularly close, Like this was not.
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: All that competitive.
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: I mean, I'm sure they they were serious too, they
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: put work into it. I think you know, they could
• 2:08
  Speaker 4: have felt like it was plausible at some point, but
• 2:12
  Speaker 4: they also knew like this was not something that was
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: going to blow him away. It was not something that
• 2:17
  Speaker 4: was going to separate them from the pack. And I
• 2:21
  Speaker 4: think the real interesting part we'll get into is how
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: Jed Hoyer today is Thursday, right Thursday morning, came out
• 2:32
  Speaker 4: and met the media and you know, there was at
• 2:34
  Speaker 4: least one, probably two cameras on him, and he just
• 2:39
  Speaker 4: flat out said Bregman was an exception. You know, they're
• 2:42
  Speaker 4: pretty cool to their budget limits. Now there is you know,
• 2:48
  Speaker 4: some flexibility. They could do a couple of smaller things
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: here in spring training. In season, they'll have, you know,
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: some funds. Maybe they're opportunistic again and they could present
• 3:01
  Speaker 4: something larger to the board. But I mean, at the moment,
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: this was Bragman was an exception, a unique opportunity, and
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: they still would not go long, would not make the
• 3:14
  Speaker 4: highest offer.
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: Would not them away with a V.
• 3:17
  Speaker 4: And philosophically, he said, the organization does not really approve
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: of deferrals. So that's one more mechanism that it's kind
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: of off the table here. So like, you know, not
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: not going to get it done, not when Scott Boris
• 3:38
  Speaker 4: is on the other side, and you know, not when
• 3:43
  Speaker 4: if you look at his numbers at Fenway Park, Uh,
• 3:45
  Speaker 4: pretty outstanding. And also just you knew the Tigers were
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: sort of desperate and not desperate aggressive. The Red Sox
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: were under a ton of pressure locally, and the report
• 3:59
  Speaker 4: was out there that you know, the Astros you know,
• 4:03
  Speaker 4: already presented that offer to him. I think it was
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: like six and one fifty six something.
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: In that range.
• 4:08
  Speaker 4: So like that was like there was kind of a
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: baseline or a framework out there that was known, and
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: you know, the Cubs did not circle his name at
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: the start of the off season. They didn't like put
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: the full court press on Boris at the GM meetings,
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: but like, as this lingered, he thought, hey, maybe the
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: Cups have a chance. And in the end they were
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: not close at all.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a it was jarring to see some of
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: the quotes I saw. I watched about five I'm not
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: sure if he only spoke for five minutes, but I
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: watched a five minute clip of Jed talking.
• 4:44
  Speaker 5: There was a lot in those five minutes.
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: Yeah, more than like half an hour.
• 4:48
  Speaker 4: Normally it's like half an hour, and there's a lot
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: of fluff or who cares type of stuff.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: This was right to the point, right, And I'm sorry,
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: but my dog gets standing right there and wants to
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: come inside, So I'm gonna go run in that.
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: But I have to read something to this.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: I think it's pretty important. Well, and I know where
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: where you're going with this.
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: And the example of Cody Bellinger, which we all thought
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: was sort of like, hey, maybe this is the roadmap
• 5:16
  Speaker 4: to getting him NA And it's Cody Bellinger, a Boris guy.
• 5:21
  Speaker 4: You know, Boris has Regman and you know, maybe you
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: know the Cubs do keep this this powder dry and
• 5:29
  Speaker 4: that they could kind of go go huge in terms
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: of aav and this.
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: Is like you also look at like the comes has
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: been building.
• 5:39
  Speaker 5: For years, right, this is like the moment, the right
• 5:42
  Speaker 5: player at the right moment.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: And we never hear Jed talking like this, almost never right,
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: but this, I thought it was pretty pointed, and I
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: think we need to highlight this. He said, we were
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: at our budget last year and Bellinger was still available.
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: They were at their budget before they signed Ballinger. Is
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: what he's saying. Just remarkable.
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: I was really thankful that the Ricketts family allowed us
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: to go way over budget last year to sign Belly.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: It was the same thing. We're really close right now
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: to our budget limits. That's you know what he said
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: to you guys. We have a little bit of money
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: for some small in season things, but this was obviously
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: a significant exception. Listen if their budget, if they're coming
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: up close to their budget, Vangraft says, they're a two
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: o nine. Say it's a few million short. Fine, that's
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: not realistic. That's not a major market. That's not how
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: Chicago should behave. Where's their advantage now? So now they
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: have to behave like Milwa. They really have to act
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: like a small market team. There's no you need to
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: bludge in the competition with your financial might. That's how
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: I look at it. You are the Chicago Cubs, and
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: this is becoming a joke. It's just I mean, I've
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: said it before. Yes, I get it, they're not super
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: cheap and acting like to Pittsburgh Pirates.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: But you are the Chicago Cubs.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: You should not be outside of the top ten or
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: lingering around barely getting into the top ten. It is
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: embarrassing and to and I'm sick of it. I'm sick
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: of hearing Tom Rackets bring up the Arizona Diamondbacks or
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: or any other team that doesn't spend.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: That makes it.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: Yes, good for them, that's great that there are teams
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: like that, because we need baseball to be healthy and
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: competitive and not just one or two teams dominating with
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: the that spend the most. That's good. That doesn't mean
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: that's not an excuse to not spend. That's not an
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: excuse to not act like a big market team. And
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: now you're handcuffing your front office and they're on one
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: year deals and you're acting like all the pressures on them.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: How about you give them the money to act like
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: a big market team. How about they go out and
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: push teams around and say, we're signing Alex Bregman and
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: we have more room to spend and it's not an
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: inconvenience and we're be able to add at the deadline.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: This is just like it's that we have to listen
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: to this. There's a reason theo Epstein left. There's a
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: reason that they weren't adding after they added you Darvish,
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: and suddenly they're just not this big market team that
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: can go and spend and act like the Chicago Cubs.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: Like they looked like they were headed in that direction
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: in twenty sixteen, that this was going to be a
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: team that pushed around the NL Central. The NL Central
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: can't compete financially with the Cubs, they can compete in
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: other ways. And now you're not giving them that full
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: advantage and you're handcuffing this front office. And thankfully, I
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: feel like I'm seeing some people more and more talk
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: about it about like how this is mostly on ownership,
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: like act like a big market team.
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: Stop with this nonsense. It's just it's a joke.
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: I mean, I have to look it up, but I
• 8:48
  Speaker 4: mean the Diamondbacks might have a higher payrel than the
• 8:52
  Speaker 4: Cubs at the moment.
• 8:52
  Speaker 3: I'm not sure.
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: I mean, like the Cubs ruled out Corbyn Burns like
• 8:58
  Speaker 4: immediately the start of this offseason, as you know, as
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: we were both reported right like kind of coming out
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: of the GM meetings. So like, the Diamondbacks have done
• 9:09
  Speaker 4: some really impressive things.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: By luxury tax, you're right there, they're almost ten million
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: over the Cubs according to roster Resource.
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: By luxury tax payroll, they are above the Cups.
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: Okay, So I mean we're looking at, you know, kind
• 9:24
  Speaker 4: of this migration towards the National League of a lot
• 9:28
  Speaker 4: of premium talent, and.
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: You know, you're talking about the Dodgers, You're talking about Wuan.
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: Soto, Burns coming back to the NL, and really the
• 9:40
  Speaker 4: teams that have broken the molds or kind of gone
• 9:47
  Speaker 4: far beyond what people thought were possible are in the
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: National League. The mess right, the Dodgers, the Padgers are
• 9:54
  Speaker 4: sort of coming back in this limbo stage, but they
• 9:57
  Speaker 4: kind of, you know, totally reimagined what was possible in
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: that market. You have the Diamondbacks, a very well run
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: front office and then an owner who's kind of unpredictable,
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: who will do stuff like that. Who will rip Jordan
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: Montgomery after giving him that pillow contract last year? You know,
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: the the Giants are kind of in the Cubs ballpark
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: for payroll. Braves are more or less like Cubs payroll
• 10:30
  Speaker 4: plus a bragman salary, Like you know the Phillies.
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: I think they're around three hundred million.
• 10:36
  Speaker 4: Now, So like this is what they're competing against. Obviously,
• 10:43
  Speaker 4: the NL Central has sort of gone into retreat or hibernation.
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: But otherwise, when Jed says wins are at a premium,
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: particularly in the National League this year, like this is
• 10:56
  Speaker 4: what he's talking about. They wanted a difference maker who
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: could give them some breathing room. And now it just
• 11:03
  Speaker 4: feels like if they do make the playoffs, if a
• 11:05
  Speaker 4: lot of things go right, it's gonna be like sort
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: of just kind of hanging on and getting in instead
• 11:11
  Speaker 4: of like just kind of rolling into the year. I mean,
• 11:13
  Speaker 4: you were there in twenty sixteen that camp, how they
• 11:17
  Speaker 4: started the season, even with Kyle Schwarber's injury, that was
• 11:22
  Speaker 4: a team that just knew it was stacked and had
• 11:24
  Speaker 4: like answers upon answers.
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: This is a team that has lots of.
• 11:29
  Speaker 4: Nice players, Kyle Tucker, who's clearly not getting an extension.
• 11:33
  Speaker 4: If this has taught us anything, he's not getting an
• 11:36
  Speaker 4: extension from the Cubs. Some nice pitchers, a different bullpen,
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: and then you just hope Craig Counsel does his Milwaukee magic.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and listen, I like this team.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: I think they're good enough to make the playoffs and
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: anything can happen, sure in the playoffs. It's just really
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: like when you hear things like we're up against our
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: budget and things like that, it just it's and it
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: makes it makes me roll my eyes.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: That's all. That's my only reaction. I don't like.
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: I don't think like, oh, poor billionaires, wish they could,
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: you know, find a few extra bucks to make this work.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: It's just not it's it shouldn't be how it is.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: Beyond that, Patrick, beyond that, curious what you're hearing as
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: far as what more they may do, And then like,
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: what does this mean that they can be aggressive at
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: the deadline if they only add smaller pieces?
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I would say like there is precedent
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: for that. I mean Tom Rickis was the one who
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: personally like authorized Nick Castillanos.
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: In I guess was that twenty nineteen.
• 12:48
  Speaker 4: That was nineteen, Yes, of right, like this team needs
• 12:51
  Speaker 4: a spark, we need to do something different, Let's go
• 12:55
  Speaker 4: for it.
• 12:57
  Speaker 5: That Obviously the player worked out really well, team did not.
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: As well. Poom poom.
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: But like, I don't know, we had heard names like,
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: you know, earlier in the offseason of like David Robertson.
• 13:15
  Speaker 4: I'm not sure if that.
• 13:18
  Speaker 5: Is even like within range right now.
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: Sure, you know, they could do Justin Turner type. Mark
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: Canna is kind of a name. I kind of I'm
• 13:33
  Speaker 4: not sure how great the fit would be, but you know, JD.
• 13:36
  Speaker 4: Martinez would be like a hitter that would give them
• 13:39
  Speaker 4: some some power and some of the intangibles that Bregman
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: would have brought. They're always looking for pitching, right and
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: maybe guys get a little more anxious those free agents
• 13:55
  Speaker 4: who are still out there as you know, once like
• 13:58
  Speaker 4: full squad starts and you know, the games are approaching.
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: But like in terms of.
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: It's not like, okay, they were gonna give Bregman like
• 14:08
  Speaker 4: whatever twenty eight million plus. That doesn't mean those funds
• 14:13
  Speaker 4: are automatically redistributed within baseball operations like that was you know,
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: kind of on.
• 14:20
  Speaker 3: This case by case things and some of the smaller stuff.
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: It's not like they need board meetings to sign you know,
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: some aging bench player or something like that. But I
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: don't know how many big opportunities are out And this
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: is what we talked about.
• 14:37
  Speaker 5: In our you know podcast that got.
• 14:40
  Speaker 4: Got spiked there, like there isn't like a plan be
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: equivalent when you don't get Alex Bregman. I mean, is
• 14:48
  Speaker 4: a two time World Series champ gold glove third basement
• 14:52
  Speaker 4: the one position in your everyday lineup that had that
• 14:54
  Speaker 4: question mark. As much as they like Matt Shaw like,
• 14:58
  Speaker 4: Bregman was the piece and that is why ownership greenlit
• 15:06
  Speaker 4: Jed going beyond the number that he had already been provided.
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: There is not another Bregman to bring to them at
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: this moment. And so while I'm sure they play well,
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: things are looking pretty good, and they see something out
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: there during the season, I'm sure they would authorize it.
• 15:31
  Speaker 4: I mean, Ricketts has told us they should wind up
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: being around the CBT, which is two or forty one dollars,
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: but they're not anywhere close to it at this point,
• 15:43
  Speaker 4: and I think when they leaf for Japan, I don't
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: think they're gonna be like that.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: Drastically closer to it, right, and and anyone hoping for
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: like some massive trade with the Padres. Everything that I've
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: heard over the past twenty four hours is yeah, they
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: have added a couple of pictures over the past two days. Right,
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: they added like a fifth starter type and then Nick
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: Pavetta as well.
• 16:07
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: I think some people thought that that may mean that, oh,
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Dylan Cees is available, Michael King is available. What I'm
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: hearing is no, like a J Preller wants to go
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: into the season with those guys if he's gonna move, uh,
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: like they did it. So they're their concern isn't the
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: luxury tax. It's it's pure cash flow.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: Uh.
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: So that that's so they're not That's why like these
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: the way these deals are structured, they're okay. They they
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: Preller got creative, Preller has it's it's it's less about
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: like going of the over the luxury tax threshold and
• 16:40
  Speaker 1: purely about cash.
• 16:42
  Speaker 5: Uh.
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: We'll see if something becomes available at the deadline, and
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: maybe that makes a ton of sense for them.
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: They can leverage their depth and and see who's.
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: Really like, see what their needs are, and they can
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: move Dylan Ceas or or someone else.
• 16:55
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: I'm just as speculating now, but that that's not happening,
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: Like it doesn't sound like it's happening unless there's a
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: change of thinking.
• 17:02
  Speaker 2: The only way that happens is if you pay above.
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: And beyond, right, if you bowl a J Preller over
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: and say, here's, you know, three of my five top
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: prospects that are all major league ready, or two top
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: prospects that are on the verge and a guy that's
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: already ready to pitch in the big leagues or something
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: like that, right, And you shouldn't do that.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: I mean, you know, unless you're just that piece away.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: And I do think someone like Dylan Cees changes the
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: like kind of structure of this team. And you look
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: at like at Dylan Ceese. Is is that like I'd
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: almost make the argument that I would if you if
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: you had to, like, you know, all things being equal,
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: if you're saying Dylan Cees versus Alex Bregman, you only
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: get one to this team, I could. I can listen
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: to and understand the argument. For Dylan Cees. They don't
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: have a front of the rotation bat messer. They have
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: like majority of their prospects are position players. I like
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: the upside a lot of those of a lot of
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: those guys, as much as I like Ben Brown, as
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: much as Kate Horton maybe you know, healthy and back
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: to who he was in twenty three. I just like
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: the idea of Dylan Cee's fronting a rotation that's really
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: talented but probably misses that no doubt Ace that that
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: guy with the dominant stuff that shuts down the other lineup.
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: That's just my two cents on it. But it's not happening.
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: It's just they're they're not going to pay the price
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: that it would take to bowl Preller over, and I'm
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: not sure that they should. But there's no pivot here,
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: I guess is the point. There's this, Like you said,
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: there's nobody else comparable on the pre agent market, and
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: that trade just isn't there. So yeah, right now it
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: looks like this is I mean, in Hoyer said it,
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: this is pretty much the team that he expects to
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: go to Japan. You know, small moves here and there
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: as much as this is. You know, the excitement was building.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: This does feel like a little bit of a letdown.
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: I don't want to suck the excitement out of the season.
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: I think more of the it's just more of a
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: reality check and a little bit of like behind the curtain.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: I just think, what that quote that I read from
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: Jed Hoyer is so important and it needs to be
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: I mean, I think that's the story. Frankly, I think
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: that like when he says that, And I don't think
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: I fully appreciated when he.
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: Says that about Belly too.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: They were up against the budget already and they decided
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: to go way over. Like, what what are we talking
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: about here, Patrick, Like, that's that's a little ridiculous in
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: my opinion.
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it was.
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: Just barely over and they wound up just barely over
• 19:42
  Speaker 4: the CVT. So it's just and they wound up with
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: eighty three again, and so yeah, I mean, no doubt
• 19:49
  Speaker 4: Jed Hoyer has been the star of spring training thus far.
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: His candor in.
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: Terms of the anxiety he's feeling in the last year
• 20:00
  Speaker 4: deal and then even taking us through, walking us through
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: the offer and some of the finances and some of
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: the philosophical differences at the moment is pretty fascinating. It
• 20:20
  Speaker 4: just shows the pressure everyone is under. Because I do think,
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: like Tom Ricketts and Jed Hoyer are aligned in a
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: lot of ways, and I think Jet isn't running the
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: team sort of the way the family wants. But at
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: this particular moment, you know, ownership did not blow anyone away.
• 20:47
  Speaker 4: It was very much kind of an offer that was
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: pretty easy for Bregman to pass on.
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: Yep, certainly a disappointment for the fans, but you know,
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: let's try and stay positive for spring training. We don't
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: want to crash the twenty twenty five season before it starts.
• 21:07
  Speaker 5: Like the full squad they haven't had a full squad workout.
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's just like what all right.
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: We'll try and be more uplifting in the future. But
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: that was a kind of a crash and burn moment
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: to start the spring. Thanks so much for listening to everyone.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: This is north Side Territory. Make sure to rate and review,
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: Subscribe and subscribe to the YouTube channel. Subscribe to The
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: Athletic where Patrick and I are on top of all
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: things Cubs. We appreciate all of you. Thanks for listening.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: We'll be back with another episode later this week. Thanks
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: to take Care
• 22:00
  Speaker 2: The doss to Dodge above