Latest / North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast / July sell-off looming? Cubs show fire but drop another series

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July sell-off looming? Cubs show fire but drop another series · North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Time to evaluate how did this go wrong and it
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: has become unacceptable? I don't know how else to kind
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: of evaluate it other than that. Welcome into Northside Territory.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Foul Territory Networks Cubs Podcast. I'm Sahadev Sharma with Patrick Mooney,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: your hosts and Cubs beat writers for The Athletic. Patrick,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: I think it's time to wake that up and talk
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: some Cubs. I'm fired up here in my basement, all
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: rowled up over another Cubs loss where they got two
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: hits in one run. So getting all fired up like
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Justin Steele did on Saturday did not rally the troops.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: It did not lead to a hot streak. Not yet. Hey,
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: maybe they win the next six, you know, like you
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: can live in a fantasy land and pretend that's going
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: to happen. But I get fans wanted to see that.
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: What happened on Saturday. Justin Steele, if you're not sure
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: what we're talking about. After an inning that we frankly
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: saw three times this series, three bad innings nearly led
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: to a sweep right each game they had a just
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: a forgettable innings on Saturday was a bad rundown ball
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: that a bunt. I think that Justin Steele couldn't feeld
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: cleanly and it led to two runs after they'd taken
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: a two zero lead on the first two pitches of
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: the game, and Steele, walking off the field heading into
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: the dugout, appeared to say. He didn't address exactly what
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: he said. Nobody addressed what he said, but it looked
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: like the cameras caught him saying, wake the f up.
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: I don't know if he said that. Either way, he
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: was fired up and showed some emotion. And I actually
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: said this. It was a topic before the game. It
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: was a topic before the game. Council was asked about it,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: and he's just His point was, you just have to
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: act the way you are right, behave the way you
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: your personality is. And I get it, like Justin like,
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: fans want to see the emotion because they're fired up.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: You know, they're upset, they're ticked off. Like what am
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: I watching? What am I rooting? For? My point is hey,
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: Like from my perspective, yeah, I want them to do
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: things like that too, because it's fun to write about it.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: It makes it a lot more interesting than watching them,
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: you know, get two hits and score one run right.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: But I don't think it matters. I don't like. I
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: don't think they don't care because they're not doing that.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: I like me as a person. I don't get fired up.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: I don't lose my cool. That doesn't mean I don't
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: care about things. I just don't like. That's not how
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: I react to situations. There are a lot of players
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: in that clubhouse, and we've talked about this, Patrick who
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: wrote about it like they they maybe lack that edge.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: It's been a topic. It was a topic this weekend.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: They asked tay On about it after Friday's loss, and
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: he he said something similar to council like, you just
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: have to behave the way you you know, people react differently.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: Everyone compartmentalizes these things differently and and it comes out
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: in different ways. Uh So if it's not natural, then
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: it's not going to work today. It didn't lead to
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: anything today. You know, Ian Happ makes that mistake. You
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: can't make mistakes behind Kyle Hendricks and and it's a
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: seven to one loss, another series loss, and and just
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: more evidence that this team isn't going to do what
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: they need to do.
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: So Snottive, I'm in the booths for visiting Baseball operations officials.
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: So I'm assuming this is the booth where there was
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: those great like memes or gifts of like you and
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Jed just like slumps down, you know, kind of hands,
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: you know, head in their hands, or like slumped to
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: the one side, you know, leaning on their shoulders. And
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: so that's kind of you know how it feels covering
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: this teams, and you seem very spry and refreshed. You
• 4:07
  Speaker 2: probably have like a nice day, you know, family. You know,
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: I was not a good history buff question for you.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: Where were you June thirtieth, twenty twenty one, exactly three
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: years ago?
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: Was that the Jake Arietta game?
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: Yes, you were here.
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: I was here here.
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: That's where you are.
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: Meant when Jed privately conceded that they were going to
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: have to sell, and to me, I just looked this
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: up before we started recording, it was just amazing symmetry
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: to me that three years later the Cubs trade away
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: all these guys, they hire Craig Council, the Brewers trade
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: away Corbyn Burns, Brandon Woodruff gets hurt, and I believe
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: the Brewer's Division lead is now a eleven and a
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: half games heading into July. Just a staggering kind of
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: lack of progress, I would say, and that to me, you.
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: Wrote about it Friday night.
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: The fact that Jed Hoyer is publicly acknowledging the possibility
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: of a sells off means there's a very strong likelihood
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: of a sell off, because you know, watching this team
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: every day and like, believing in a turnaround just requires
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: a certain detachment from reality.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I like, I you know, I pushed back. I
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: wouldn't say I pushed back. I had to make sure
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: that that was what he was saying. I like made
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: sure he like clearly asked him, like, so you're not
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: taking a cell off the table, And I knew, I
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: know he can't. We know Jed well enough that he
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: doesn't rule these things out right, but you need to
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: hear it from him, And yeah, you have to be
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: a realist about the situation. Is this tell you what
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: he said, and I think we all see what the
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: situation is. This offense is like playing at an unacceptable level. Frankly,
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: like they have too much talent. They should be better
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: than this, and they're not. The way they're performing is
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: below is well below expectations and well below talent. Level.
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: Sometimes that happens, and sometimes you have to reevaluate the mix.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: I mean, we've talked all about it, the lack of
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: star power, but it is it's a little jarring how
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: consistently we're seeing these types of games. Whether it's one
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: day like today, like Sunday is complete absence of offense.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: Other days it's even in Saturday's win, they were one
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: for twelve with runners in scoring position, just unbelievable. And
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: then the mistakes that are being made are the types
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: of things at Patrick, you covered the game today. I
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: was at home and I watched my son's travel game.
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: What drives me nuts when I watch those games the
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: sloppy defensive place where at they're at an age level
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: that they shouldn't be. They should just be making the
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: defensive plays. When I see that on Saturday with the
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: rundown at a major league game, like that's unacceptable, Like
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: that type of stuff, it's like, what is going on?
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: And I get why Justin Steel's yelling when he comes
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: to the doug out when he sees stuff like that, right,
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: but it's it's it has to be maddening, and and
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: it's just like sometimes it's just like really again, How
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: are they making these types of plays? How are these
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: types of mistakes happening? I think Hoyer A lot of
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: the response that I got from that piece was Hoyer
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: shouldn't be making these decisions. I understand that the frustration
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: there and the desire to make a change. I don't
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: think it makes any sense to get rid of Jed
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: Hoyer before the trade deadline and not allow him to
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: make the moves, because then who's making the moves. Are
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: you saying that Carter Hall should be making the moves?
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: Are you Are you saying that Tom Ricketts should be
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: making the moves because you're not replacing Jed Hoyer mid season?
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure. We'll see. I think the assessment of
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: Jed Hoyer has to come at the end of the season.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: I also don't think he's been that bad when it
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: comes to making trades. They haven't all been perfect, but
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: I think, uh, he's gotten value. We'll see if he's
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: gotten actual results on the field. As far as those
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: prospects go right, they're valuable. That's that's the one thing.
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: I still think there's a way you can you can
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: handle this deadline in a way that helps you beyond
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: this year. And also immediately, I think they kind of
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: have to look at it that way, because what do
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: you First? I guess the biggest question is what are
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: you moving? And we we can we can focus more
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: on that later, I think, right, but yeah, the whole
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: month of yeah, but but I just don't really have
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: a lot of pieces that and and one big reason
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: is Cody Bellinger is not hitting for power, and that's
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: that makes him a questionable contract, right, and then the
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: rest are just like I don't know what you do.
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: I don't know who you move. Unless you're looking to
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: take a solid step back, it would have to be
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: combined with other moves, because a step back is unacceptable.
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: I think when when I say step back, I mean
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: beyond twenty twenty four. I understand you may have to
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: change the mix for twenty twenty four, but twenty If
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: you're looking at a step back in twenty twenty five,
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: then then you're talking about Jed Hoyer's job undoubtedly, right,
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: Like then you have to bring it up and say,
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: what what is happening here?
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah?
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: I mean, no one's going to miss this team, Like
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: if he whoever gets traded away, however, they reshuffle it
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: like no one's going to look back fondly on the
• 9:48
  Speaker 2: twenty twenty four cause be like, oh man, you know,
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: remember this misplay or this brutal loss, like it hasn't worked.
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: I think last I checked, their record is like thirteenth
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: out of fifteen National League teams, which is kind of
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: staggering as well. I believe they ended today on an
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: zero for twenty six run against the Brewers. I think
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: we're not too far off from kind of the spin
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: zone of you know, this is this next whatever seventy
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: sixty games, whenever it kind of gets deconstructed of you know,
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: Miguel Amaya, Pico Armstrong, Chris Morrell, Michael Bush.
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: This is runway for them, see what we got.
• 10:42
  Speaker 2: And you know, maybe if they trade certain veteran pictures,
• 10:46
  Speaker 2: it's shedding some salary, making sure they say underneath the
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: CBT and oh wow, we have these power arms in Iowa.
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: We want to see what we got in those guys,
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: but you know, to see to see it.
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: Disintegrate this quickly was not something I had anticipated at all.
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: I thought with their starting pitching and just the overall
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: state of the National League, it would not be all
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: that hard to sustain at least the illusion of competitiveness.
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: And the fact that that has not happened.
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: Thus far heading into July, I think, really leaves everything
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: on the table, everything up for scrutiny.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, you're when you say it that way, the
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: thirteenth out of fifteenth that like it maybe do double take,
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: but yes, you're I knew that there are only two
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: teams behind them in the wildcard race. It's just hearing
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: that like works.
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: Than last place thirteenth out of fifteenth when those other
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: two teams are the Marlins and Rockies.
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: Like they're quickly because like I was gonna say, the
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: Marlins and the Rockies especially like they're they're a you know,
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: they're the butt of jokes right in baseball world, and
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: the way the Cubs are playing, they're not that much better.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: And that's like that's just so far away from what
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: they're supposed to be. And and it's just I mean,
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: you said it it like I'm I'm surprised how far
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: it's gone off the rails. Like I said, Friday, Saturday,
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: and Sunday, they were just innings where you're just like,
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: are you kidding me? And there are moments like it's
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: like really again, with this offense, and it's just it's
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: on repeat. We're seeing the same story over and over again.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: And it's stuff like that that makes me think, like, oh,
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: I get why fans want to see people screaming and yelling,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: because how else are they reacting? Like like I it
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: makes sense to me. It's like, oh, yeah, well, I'm
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: hearing the same I watched the what Council at to
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: say in postgame and listen, He's not saying anything offensive
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: or crazy or or it's wrong. It's just at a
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: certain point us hearing it is just like I don't
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: know what what I'm supposed to do with this, Like
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: it's the same he's and I think he's struggling to
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: like what else am I supposed to say here? Like yeah,
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: I was.
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: You can't be a phony in that job.
• 13:19
  Speaker 2: And if you tried to, you know, it would be
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: like if if Joe Madden's you know, tried to be uh,
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: you know, kind of a tough guy or the sheriff
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: all of a sudden, like that doesn't work right, Cross
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: kind of took on a totally different persona than the
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: guy that everyone knew when he came up. You just can't,
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: I can't live that way. And I was curious of
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: what You've known Jed a long time. You've covered him
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: a long time, you have a good relationship, like you
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: kind of can read the tea leaves whenever he talks,
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: like what what was that scene? Like when I'm assuming
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: he sat down in the visiting dugout and talk for
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: it sounds like a really long time, right.
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I was gonna say it was said nearly
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: thirty minutes, just under thirty minutes. I think it was
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: twenty six minutes on my recorder, twenty six plus. And honestly,
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: he didn't seem like I've seen him, more like flummixed
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: and more frustrated and and just like in a bad mood.
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: I didn't get that sense he Like I asked, is
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: there you need to kind of reevaluate what the like,
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: what you've done, like what you've put together here, like
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: you we like And I've written this so it's I'm
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: I'm guilty of it too. But Jed goes back to
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: we were good offense last year, the first month of April,
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: good offense. Okay, what point do we have to stop
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: saying that?
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: Right?
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: And just like this is what it is what's gone
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: wrong and what did we do wrong? And and he
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: admitted that he's like, listen, that's a good question. I
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: can't answer it on June whatever date that was twenty
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: eight And I get why he's saying that because in
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: baseball you cannot make these types of rash decisions and overreact.
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: And I know people say two months is a long time.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: It just isn't. It just isn't right. I'm I'm not
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: convinced that it'll change. I was a month ago, I
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: was another month of it has shifted my thinking. These
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: guys get like, are like are good at their jobs
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: for a reason. It's because they don't overreact to these things.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: So he needs to he needs to assess it at
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: the end of the year. What did go wrong right?
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: What have what mistakes did I make? I think we
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: both agree that it's you need to be aggressive for
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: that superstar and that that could have been this past
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: offseason going for Wan Soto, it could have been five
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: years ago, going for Bryce Harper. When these opportunities arise,
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: you cannot you just can't sit on your hands right
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: and say like, well, this isn't the perfect time for that,
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: This isn't the right time for that certain point, you
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: just have to go and get the superstar. Right, this
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: guy's available, he wants to come play here. We got
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: to overpay for him. That's how it works. Yeah, there's
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: probably seven or a dozen names in between Bryce Harper
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: and Juan Soto that you could point out and say, like,
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: look at that terrible contract that this team is saddled with. Right,
• 16:21
  Speaker 1: I get it, I get it. I'm hindsight is twenty
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: twenty and im and I'm cherry picking a couple of
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: names there. But you know, and I was against this,
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: but maybe it would have made sense to be aggressive
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: for Aaron Judge. I don't know if it would have mattered.
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: He probably doesn't leave the Yankees, but they weren't in
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: on that right. Things like that, like when a superstar
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: hits the market, I think it's just time. Like that's
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: that's what Jed needs to start rethinking and evaluating. Like
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: a lot of it was, you know, searching for answers,
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: admitting that he needs to look inward. That was one
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: thing that was kind of new. We find we've started
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: approaching the subject of is it you know, are are
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: you on the hot seat? We didn't glad out ask
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: that just yet And I think that's probably next time
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: we meet with Jed. Just the straightforward Uh that that concept.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: But how often is he talking to Tom Ricketts? And
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: he said, just as they're they're asking questions all the time.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: And he said, if they it's when they stop asking
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: questions is when you have to get concerned. Uh. And
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: I get what he's saying there, when they're disinterested or
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: they're like if they don't see value in talking to Jed,
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: then uh, then that's a problem, right. They're they're trying
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: to figure these things out too. Uh. He said he's
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: looking inward, trying to figure out reevaluating everything and thinking
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: about all the decisions he makes.
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: Uh.
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: So it's not like he's he thinks he's perfect. I
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: just don't like it's really hard for when things are
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: not going as expected. I I don't expect them to
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: just be like to have many answers. I thought it
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: was interesting. Maybe a week ago Chris Young made some
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: made they weren't major moves, but he was shaking things
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: up with the Rangers, Okay, And I get that, Like
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: there's not much sometimes you just have to shake things up.
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: I get it. I didn't look at those moves and
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: say like, oh, okay, yeah, this is going to change
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: everything for the Rangers. And I'm not sure that there
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: are those moves for the Cubs just yet, so that
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: something needs to be done. I know people don't want
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: to hear it there. They're five games out of the
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: wild Card, Like if they hang around, they need to
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: do something to shake this team up and find a
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: way to spark something, because you can still get in
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: this race, and they're they're at a point where they can't.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: If there's even like that faintest hope, they have to
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: cling to it as far as where they are in
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: this contention cycle.
• 18:49
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and we'll obviously have way more time to do
• 18:52
  Speaker 2: like a full accounting of Jet's time. And I think
• 18:56
  Speaker 2: what we've said earlier still stands of inherited it under
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: difficult circumstances.
• 19:03
  Speaker 3: I think.
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: A lot of his moves like there's no real move
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: you're like, oh my god, what was that? Like, it's
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: a lot of defensible, like sensible moves. I think it
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: just will that get you to the place you want
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: to go. And I think how well the Brewers have
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: performed is just should be really embarrassing for the Cubs,
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: and I think that's going to be a big driving
• 19:30
  Speaker 2: force of change just generally speaking. I don't know if
• 19:35
  Speaker 2: Counsel is going to be like a COGM, but he
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: certainly has a lot.
• 19:40
  Speaker 3: Of authority and a lot of experience.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: And obviously the Brewers were not some one man band.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: It was not the correct council show. There have a
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: lot of talented people working here. I did think the
• 19:54
  Speaker 2: worst look for the Cubs is just you know, where
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: is that breath making prospect? And like, why haven't they
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: truly been able to figure out the bullpen here?
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: I mean, you've been on this for a while.
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: How many like X Cubs are on the Brewers and
• 20:14
  Speaker 2: performing really well or outside any sort of expected standard
• 20:19
  Speaker 2: or norm And like where's the trade for William cantreeris Like,
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: you know, I don't think you can truly defend trading
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: Josh Hater at that moment because of the impact in
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: the clubhouse. And that's not really an apple to apple
• 20:39
  Speaker 2: comparison to anything the Cubs could do. I mean, they
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: are on totally ano their financial stratosphere, but like, where's
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: some of the challenge trades or or the creativity? And
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: obviously you know, Michael Bush that looks like a good,
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: good trade showed him NAGA, great signing. We're seeing Justin
• 20:57
  Speaker 2: Steele really you know, follow up an All Star season
• 21:01
  Speaker 2: with really emphatic like you know, I want to take
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: this team on my back. And he still has what
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: I think zero wins, so like it just hasn't added
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: up at all.
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: And you know, I don't think Jed is someone who.
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: Would be exactly like Farhan in San Francisco to where
• 21:24
  Speaker 2: he's just basically like you know, calling I'm Scott Boris
• 21:28
  Speaker 2: trying to put together any sort of deal, But I
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: do think they will be. There will have to be
• 21:33
  Speaker 2: some sort of internal plan presented of like, Okay, this
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: is where he misevaluated, these are our weak spots. This
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: is how we address it. This is how we're going
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: to shake up this area. This is how we want
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: to enhance you know, this department, whatever it is. It's
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: just hard to you.
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: Know, run this back again. And I think that process
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: will probably start here in July.
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it has to, right, they need to start talking
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: about what like part of July is dismantling what went wrong? Right,
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: I know you again, Jed said you can't he can't
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: evaluate it just yet. It's a full season thing. But
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: if they don't start winning soon in the next two weeks,
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: three weeks, then we're talking about them moving pieces. And
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: when you're talking about that, then it's time to evaluate
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: how do this go wrong? And when you're moving pieces,
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: you have to find a way to I mean the timeline.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: Remember the quote about the timeline when he traded you, Darvish.
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: These players' timelines are isn't the contention timeline own own
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: Case's in trile a. He needs to be added to
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: the forty man at the end of the year if
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: the Cubs aren't. If the Cubs aren't in the playoffs
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: this season, then Owen Casey's timeline is the same as
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: the Cubs, if not quicker, you know, becoming a contender
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: like That's so it has become on a acceptable by
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: even Jed's own timetable like it just like that's that's
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: where we are. I don't know, I don't know how
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: else to to kind of evaluate it other than that,
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: Like it's about wins and it's about playoff appearances. They're
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: not doing those things. So as nice as the system is,
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: and I think there are a lot of good things,
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: and you name some of them, Michael Bush Tray justin
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: steel development, all the pitching development in general, like the bullpen. Sure,
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: I'm seeing something though Porter Hodge and Luke Little the
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: last few maybe the last week, let's give it. I'm
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: seeing flashes and it's like, oh, that's stuff. Hey, there's
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: there's stuff and getting out. I I don't I don't
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: know if I trust it because a week of a
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: relief of good relief isn't isn't anything to rely on that, No, no,
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: but but I felt like it's important to mention it
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: just so I don't ignore that. Okay, I saw something
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: that that hey, maybe there's signs of life there. When
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: it comes to development, I do like what they've done
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: with pitching development. It's just not enough. And the offense
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: falling off the reels. I mean, Patrick, if we had
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: this podcast the entirety of theo jed like playoff teams,
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: how many times would have we talked about an offense
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: that we expected more from. How many times have written
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: about it. It's it's a completely different group and it's
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: the same it's not happening in the same way. But
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: the bottom line is it's underperformance and and and a
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: lack of power and runs scored bottom line, you know,
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: run scored that those those are important and the Cubs
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: don't do it.
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean hitting only gets harder, That's what we
• 24:47
  Speaker 2: keep hearing. And it just leaves a sense of like,
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: you know, are the Cubs keeping up?
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: Are the Cubs adapting? Are the Cubs on the cutting edge?
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: And and I do think, kind of circling back to
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: the beginning, this the whole idea of fire and showing intensity,
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: and I think there is a little bit something to that.
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: In terms of.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: Being a Chicago Cup is a very comfortable existence. It's
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: not the same pressure as wearing the Yankee pinstripessane as
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: playing in Boston.
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: It's not.
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: Kind of the traveling circus that is the Dodgers that
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: keeps you on your toes.
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: So I do think that has to be examined.
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: But at its core, I think this is an issue
• 25:36
  Speaker 2: of just kind of roster construction and that the team
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: just simply not being good enough or not as good
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: as they had hoped. And that's gonna This wasn't the
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: second half of the season we anticipated covering and podcasting about,
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: but we definitely have to be open to that when
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: the team president says the selloff could be coming right.
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: Uh. We'll have two more episodes this week, one more
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: with previewing the Phillies coming into town with our friend
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: Matt Gelbt. Like the Phillies are kind of uh, I
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: think what Cubs fans would dream of, right, like that
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: they have the the team leader, slugger Babe Ruth looking uh,
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: Kyle Schwarber, who the Cubs Cubs fans obviously loved at
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: one point and I'm sure I still do. And and
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: the superstar Nick Castillanos, who is a Cubs very favorite.
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: Uh and just like great veteran stud pitching. That the
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: type of guys that it's like, oh, we're going to
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: the playoffs with Aaron Nolan, Zach Wheeler at the front. Awesome.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: And then they have these guys that pop up out
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: of nowhere like Ranger Suarez and I'm blanking, I'm the
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: Christopher guy that that they have just signed an extension,
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: right yeah, yeah Sanchez? Is that the same Christopher Sanchez?
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: Uh?
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: But he's been awesome.
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: Uh.
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: You know, guys that you don't fully expect, Like that's
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: the type. They've built a really nice team, their powerhouse.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Now they've gone from fun, plucky uh team that that
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: was making runs in the playoffs the last two postseasons
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: two like, oh, now we're going to dominate the regular
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: season two. I think they're a fascinating organization, uh that've
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: done it with a lot and in a lot of
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: different ways. I'm curious. I'd like to hear more details
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: from galb about how, beyond just spending money, how this
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: has worked, because it obviously is more than that. The
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: Cubs need to figure those things out too, Like there's
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: there just hasn't there's not enough results and we know that.
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: I I don't know, I I I can't. I can't
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: complain about this team any longer. Patrick, So I'm gonna
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna move.
• 27:46
  Speaker 3: On and we'll talk to.
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: Enjoy enjoy your say, yeah, I got it.
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: Just writing. I gotta drive home from.
• 27:53
  Speaker 2: Say there's another podcast tomorrow, right, Yeah, we got another podcast.
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: So we got an the podcast tomorrow. Thanks to everyone
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: for listening This is Northside Territory. Make sure to rate
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: and review and subscribe to the podcast. We do appreciate
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: you listening and all the kind words you have for
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: the podcast. Make sure to read our work over at
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: the Athletic where we got you covered. I know this
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: is frustrating, but we'll try and let you bent in
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: the comments or at least give you some information about
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: why this is happening and how it can change and
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: what will change in the near future. Thanks for listening. Everyone,
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: Take care.