Latest / North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast / What we’re hearing about Alex Bregman and the Cubs’ playoff planning

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What we’re hearing about Alex Bregman and the Cubs’ playoff planning · North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Welcome into Northside Territory Foul Territory Network's Cubs podcast. I'm
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Saad Absharma with my partner Patrick Mooney. We are your
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Cubs beat writers over at The Athletic. And Patrick, we
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: got good news on Alex Bregman. It was surprisingly positive.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: I wasn't sure what direction everything was going to go
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: when we got to the ballpark on Tuesday. It was Tuesday, right?
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: I don't know what day it is today. Uh, and, uh,
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: it was Tuesday. Yeah. Uh, I, I, you know, I,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: I wasn't assuming doom and gloom just because it sounded like, uh,
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: the worst case scenarios had been avoided by that point. But, uh,
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: you just don't know, uh, what they're going to tell you,
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: how much information they're going to give you. And, uh,
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: council was extremely positive. I felt like Jed was too
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: when we talked to him. Right now, this is all about,
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: you know, Alex Bregman. We saw him. He didn't speak
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: to us, but we saw him walking around. He was
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: tracking balls. He got a workout in, and I think
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: he's going to ramp up the work that he does
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: in pregame over the coming days. And I was surprised
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: to hear this, that the regular season isn't even ruled
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: out for him. He could play in the final weekend perhaps.
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: And certainly not the postseason ruled out.
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: Exactly. It was surprising that the Cubs did not sort
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: of couch this a little more. And there were some
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: of those conditionals, like they still have to see how
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: he responds as they ramp up that those activities. If
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: there's a setback, obviously there's not that much time left
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: on the baseball calendar here. We already knew that Bregman
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: was going to push as hard as he could to
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: get back to play.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: This year.
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: There still is that concern of what if it's hit
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: in the same spot? Is there a greater long-term risk there?
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: But all in all, I was kind of blown away
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: by how optimistic they were talking about this situation, which.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Makes me think it's more likely than not that he'll
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: be playing third base for the Cubs in game one
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: of that wildcard series, wherever it is and whoever they're playing.
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: Yeah, his absence would have completely changed the way you
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: feel about this team. There's obvious questions when it comes
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: to the pitching staff, particularly the bullpen. We know that.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: But this offense gives you hope. The offense and the defense...
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: gives you hope with what the Cubs can do, what
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: they can accomplish this postseason. Losing what's been their second-best
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: performer overall, offensively certainly over the last few months, and
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: we've seen how good Bregman has been at third base. Yes,
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: they have good depth. Matt Shaw and Pedro Ramirez are
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: solid players. they're not Alex Bregman. Alex Bregman is a
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: postseason performer. He's a veteran who is performing at a
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: very high level. Uh, losing him would have really changed
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: the way you feel about this team. Even if it was,
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: even if it was like, he's just out for the
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: first round or whatever, we'll see what he could do
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: after that. It, you don't feel good about advancing without
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: Alex Bregman because it's the offense and defense that the
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: Cubs are going to have to ride to, to make
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: a run this postseason. Um, this was, this was a,
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: a little bit of good news as you know, the
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: Cubs have dealt with just like a season full of
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: random bad luck when it comes to injuries, uh, bad
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: luck and just, you know, overall, just like a ton
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: of injuries, uh, to key players at different points of
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: the season. Uh, it's, it's been a long season full
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: of that and, and they finally avoided something significant here, uh, and, and,
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: they're not yet clinched for the postseason, but we'll enter
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: the postseason with a little hint of optimism, at least
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: with that. Yes and no.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: I mean, you saw Tuesday night, I think the offense
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: went one for 18 with runners in scoring position and
• 4:47
  Speaker 2: left 15 on base.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: I believe that's what it was. So I do think you're,
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: the narrative will shift once again, if this offense doesn't
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: get it going, if great playoff pitching shuts them down,
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: like what could have been, you know, we heard some
• 5:07
  Speaker 2: of the Kate Horton stuff last year, once Cubs got
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: deeper into the off season of, you know, if they
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: had advanced, you know, they could have used him and
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: Bregman was in such a great rhythm. You know, he
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: was in the zone. If, Pete Armstrong didn't have such
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: an unbelievable season. We would have been talking about Bregman, uh,
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: a lot more. And I know Bregman is this baseball
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: gym rap, but you know, it's, it's baseball is an
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: everyday thing as we all know. And it's just hard
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: when you're kind of, you put on, uh, when you
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: press the pause button like this and kind of have
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: to work your way back, uh, at the biggest for
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: the biggest moments of the year. Yeah.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: We'll see if, you know, if he can get in
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: over the weekend, uh, that'll obviously matter. Uh, it can
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: be a game or two to kind of prep himself
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: for the playoffs. Uh, yeah, I, I agree to an extent.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: I also think like veterans like him can handle a
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: little time off and, and quickly perform. Uh, But you
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: just don't know. These games like Tuesday, they're going to happen.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: And I guess you'd rather happen this Tuesday as opposed
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: to a week from today. Fair enough, yeah. But yeah,
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: that was an ugly game in the sense that the Cubs,
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: we should probably be leading this show with the Cubs
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: clinched and are headed to the postseason and are angling
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: for that one seed. Uh, and, and that's not what's
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: happening because they couldn't get the hit. They just couldn't
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: get one hit. Matt Shaw couldn't get a bunt down. Um,
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: you know, that one stands out, but there were, like
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: you said, it was one for 18 with runners in
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: scoring position. That's, that's not acceptable. Uh, that can't happen
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: for a team that is like I just said, you know,
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: going to rely on its offense to get where they need,
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: where they want to go, uh, this fall. Let's take
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: a quick break and kind of talk about where they sit,
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: the situation, and what's going on this weekend as well.
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: So, Jay, do you ever find yourself crashing in the afternoon,
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: needing a boost, but not wanting to have caffeine that
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: you know is going to ruin your sleep?
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, definitely. I found myself on the golf course
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: a lot lately. And sometimes, you know, it can be
• 7:42
  Speaker 3: long days out there. So I reach in my golf bag.
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: I keep the ultra focus pouch right here with me,
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: keep it in my golf bag. And it's part of
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: my golf bag, as I said.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: And so what are some of your favorite effects of
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: the Ultra Pouches?
• 7:57
  Speaker 3: Definitely, you know, gives me a little bit of focus,
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: that little bit of energy that I'm looking for. And
• 8:02
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• 8:05
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• 8:29
  Speaker 1: All right, Patrick, uh, they, the Cubs are, their magic
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: number is one to make the playoffs and they are
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: now in a three way tie for the top spot
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: with the wild card with the San Diego Padres and
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: Philadelphia Phillies. Uh, before we start talking about, uh, where
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: they sit and all this. Let's make this our Fox
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: One segment. Let's see what's on deck presented by the
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: Fox One app. Okay, so like I said, they are
• 9:10
  Speaker 1: tied with those two teams, the Padres and the Phillies.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: They have the tiebreaker. Uh, that's not what I want
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: on the screen. They have the tiebreaker and, uh, and they,
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: you know, it's, we don't know where we're going to
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: be next week. We don't know where the Cubs are
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: going to be next week. It is kind of a
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: mess in that sense. Uh, right now, if the playoff
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: started today, they'd be at home. Uh, I don't know
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: who has the tiebreaker between the Padres and the Phillies.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: So I'm not sure who they'd face. Uh, that, And
• 9:49
  Speaker 1: if they fall behind both those teams, they'd be in Atlanta.
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: So there's a chance. There's four different cities where they
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: could be in, obviously, Chicago. is the ideal, uh, scenario
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: for them. Oh, wait, I have you muted. Start again.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: Go ahead.
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: I was just asking, what are your travel plans for Boston?
• 10:14
  Speaker 2: Thinking through, uh, All of these various travel scenarios and
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: the logistics, the forecast does not look good in the
• 10:25
  Speaker 2: New England area this weekend, and the Red Sox don't
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: really have anything to play for, and the Cubs have
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: a ton to play for. It sounds like the Cubs,
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: Red Sox, and Major League Baseball have already started those
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: discussions and will kind of be scrambling to get those
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: last three games in and preserve that off day for Monday, correct?
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, this, they, they're really trying to avoid playing on Monday.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: It right now. And Jed was saying this, that the
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: forecast can change. We all know this. We live in
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: Chicago where forecasts barely mean anything. Uh, uh, they right now,
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: the forecast makes it look like Friday's clear. Saturday starts
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: to get worse as the day goes on. And Sunday
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: is just like all day rain. Uh, Uh, I, I
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: think the, it sounds like from what we're hearing, they'd
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: like to have a double header. One of those days,
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: probably Friday. Uh, nothing is set in stone. It doesn't
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: sound like they're pushing to move the, you know, move
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: the games to, you know, Tampa or wherever they could, uh, Texas, Houston,
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: all those different options. Uh, Yeah, this is not ideal.
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: I believe MLB dealt with this about two years ago,
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: two or three years ago, and it was a disaster
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: in the sense that they had to play multiple games
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: on Monday, I don't think, and it was two teams
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: that were, those games meant a lot. It was two
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: teams that were trying to clinch the playoffs, and there
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: was a third team that eventually got eliminated and It
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: was not a great situation when you're dealing with last-minute seating,
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: travel plans, all these different things. So who the hell
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: knows how they handle this, but it sounds like a
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: doubleheader is likely headed our way.
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: It sounds like the Cubs are going to keep.
• 12:37
  Speaker 2: How do you phrase this? Nothing changes until it does.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: They're going to try to win Wednesday, Thursday. They're going
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: to try to win this weekend as well. They want
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: that number one wildcard seed and the chance to bring
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: playoff baseball back to Wrigley, but at a certain point
• 13:02
  Speaker 2: this weekend, they're going to have to kind of take
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: their foot off the gas a little bit in terms
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: of their pitching, whether it's lining up guys, resting guys,
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: making sure they don't burn out their bullpen. I think
• 13:16
  Speaker 2: if the Cubs had gotten, say, that bunt down or
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: one extra hit, I think we'd be talking about how
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: the bullpen might actually be coming together. I mean, the
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: Marlins broke through against... theobar and cabrera uh with cabrera
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: in particular being a guy that you know if he's
• 13:40
  Speaker 2: pitching in the playoffs either something went wrong or the
• 13:43
  Speaker 2: cubs advanced really really far i mean that like i
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: don't see scenarios in which craig council is going to
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: him early or in a big spot in the playoffs
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: so um it will be interesting to see how they
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: manage this um if they're able to get it done
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: Wednesday night, curious to see what a day game lineup
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: after a clinch would be like at Wrigley and how
• 14:11
  Speaker 2: much juice they'd have left. But there's still a lot
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: to play for, and they're certainly making it interesting for
• 14:20
  Speaker 2: us here down the stretch.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, the bullpen does kind of seem to be coming
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: into focus a little bit here. You got another really
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: good outing from Daniel Palencia. Uh, Zephyr John seems to
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: be in a much better place. Uh, Aaron Savali is
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: kind of finding a role here as well. Uh, and
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: Ryan Rolison finally got some strikeouts, which he had not
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: had in a while. Uh, even without those strikeouts, he
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: just isn't giving up a lot in general. Uh, he
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: looks good out there. Uh, I don't think, I don't
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: see how Edward Cabrera, uh, fits into this puzzle right now. Um,
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: he needed to show something and he just, I mean,
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: that was a bad outing. You can't, it went walk
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: hit by pitch walk. Is that right? And then, and
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: then there were some hits in there. It, yeah, that's,
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: that is not going to instill any confidence. He needed
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: to have a, he needed to continue to build on
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: his last few outings and he just hasn't looked great.
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: I don't think you can, I'm not sure how you can,
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: you know, put them in a big situation, especially in
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: the post season. It just doesn't make sense to me,
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: but the bullpen does finally seem to like, it seems
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: like you have three or four guys that you can
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: trust right now. And I don't, you know, uh, I
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: did not expect to be thinking about Aaron Savali in
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: those terms, but, uh, here we are, uh, we'll see
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: what Jacob Webb can do. And if he can, uh,
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: if he can bounce back, uh, I do want to
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: talk about another pitcher. But before we do that, let's
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: talk about Fox 1 real quick. MLB on Fox is
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: streaming on Fox 1. That is not what I need.
• 16:07
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• 16:10
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• 16:13
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• 16:16
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• 16:23
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• 16:31
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• 16:34
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• 16:37
  Speaker 1: three-day free trial today at fox1. com. All right, Patrick. So...
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: They are not ruling out Justin Steele. That is another
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: surprise that we got yesterday. We asked about Justin Steele
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: after getting all the Alex Bregman updates, and Craig Council
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: said he is an option, essentially, for this weekend. What
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: that means, not really any details beyond that, but we'll see.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: I mean, Justin Steele had, they were They were happy
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: with his performance at AAA's most recent outing, and now
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: he may get a shot this weekend in Boston.
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, both Council and Jed Hoyer were pretty noncommittal on this,
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: but I do think it was significant that they did
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: not just shut him down. Obviously, there are several implications here.
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: The weather that we just talked about, they don't know
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: exactly kind of how they're going to have to piece
• 17:52
  Speaker 2: this together. The seating for the national league playoffs is
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: obviously a factor. So you have that kind of game
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: state consideration as well. The roster ramifications of maybe if
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: an injury pops up over the next couple of days,
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: maybe that creates an opening. If not, what do you
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: do there to add a guy to, who has not
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: pitched in a major league game in like almost 18 months,
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: I believe. Um, but you know, crazy, we've seen crazier
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: things happen, uh, in the post season. That's kind of
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: why we keep writing about and talking about it just
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: cause you never know. And Steele's gotten this far. He's,
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: he's left handed, uh, you know, very good, and Cubs
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: are a little desperate on the pitching side that I
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: think you just can't, like if this pitching season had
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: gone a little more according to plan, well.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: One, Steele would have been in the rotation.
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: But if everything else, you know, you'd not be kind
• 19:10
  Speaker 2: of piecing it together this way. So that's at least
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: a little, an interesting little sidebar here for your weekend
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: at Fenway Park, and just kind of have to see
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: where it goes from there.
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: I'm struggling to see a scenario. So these games are
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: probably going to mean something for the Cubs. It's going
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: to be really hard for them. I think there's an
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: opportunity for them to lock up the one seed before Saturday,
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: and it would require a lot of things going right. But...
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: I think there is a scenario where that happens. Uh,
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: I just don't see, I'm struggling to see a scenario
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: where Justin Steele. So if those games matter and they're
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: pitching and they pitch Justin Steele, that's great. Like he's
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: pitching in a game that matters. He's getting in a
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: major league game this season. I think all that stuff
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: matters for Justin Steele and for the Cubs. Um, beyond
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: 2026 i think that's it's important to see this and
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: and just mentally uh the accomplishment for for steel to
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: get back on the mound in a big league game
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: this season i'm sure that matters i don't know what
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: he if there's something he can do out there that
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: says he can pitch in the playoffs uh i just
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: don't know how that like i i don't know how
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: that happens that quickly um How much can he pitch?
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: How often can he pitch? And what type of stuff
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: can he give you when he's on the mound? No
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: guy's going to go out there and give you 50%
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: or something like that or not pitch to their fullest extent.
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: Do you feel okay with that? Are you comfortable with
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: him going out there and throwing in the playoffs, pitching
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: in the playoffs multiple times a week to try and
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: help your team win? I'm not, I'm not sure. I
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: just don't like it. If, if he goes out there
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: and he just looks like, wow, this guy looks like
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: he never left. And this is the, what year was
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: he just a really good reliever for David Ross? 21, 22, um, uh, 21.
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: Uh, I feel like it was before the deadline. And
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: then after the deadline, there was an opening after that
• 21:32
  Speaker 2: huge sell off in which he sort of ran with
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: that opportunity. Yeah.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Uh, But if he looks like this dominant two-inning
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: reliever for one outing this weekend, does that suddenly change things?
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I find that hard to imagine, really.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: I struggle to get to that point.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: And I think they may be close to that point
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: anyways already, but it's, I guess, worth it to just
• 22:06
  Speaker 2: let this play out to keep open that possibility. Uh,
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: they have this sort of stay ready group, uh, at
• 22:17
  Speaker 2: Wrigley field, they'll be around the major league club sort
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: of just in case, uh, because you never know, um,
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: you know, you have to prepare for maybe playing until
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: around Halloween. Um, and so that extra month things, um,
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: more things are going to happen, uh, inevitably. And I
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: don't know. That's why after going through the Kyle Schwarber experience, you, you, uh,
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: you had that news way back in the day. I
• 22:52
  Speaker 2: feel like you just have to be alert for like
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: the sort of, Hey, you never know, or never say
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: never type of stuff. Even if there's only a, you know,
• 23:01
  Speaker 2: one to 5% chance of it actually mattering.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's a good point. I don't know how, uh,
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: risk wise, like, uh, how they measure these things, pitchers
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: versus position players and all that stuff. Uh, it does
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: feel a little riskier with a pitcher. Uh, it always
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: is right. Pitcher injuries are just so, uh, commonplace and, uh,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: you know, the risk of re-injuring seems to be pretty
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: high in these situations. Uh, You just have to make sure,
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: you know, you have to think about him first and
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: foremost in his future. He's going to want to be
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: out there. I don't think listening to him and hearing
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: what he has to say on this subject, it, it
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: matters because he, he can be honest about like, if
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: he doesn't feel great, that obviously matters. But these guys
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: are ultra competitive and want to go out there and, and, and,
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: you know, help their team win. So he obviously is
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: going to say, yeah, throw me out there. I can
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: help you guys. Um, I'm not sure. I think, you know,
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: other people are going to have to put their foot
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: down and make this decision here. It just, you know,
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: it may not, he may not love that, but that's
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: just likely how it's going to have to be. But
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: we'll see. We'll see if he gets in. I think
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: it's a big deal. If he gets in that, that'd
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: be fun for him and it'll be a nice story.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: All right. That's it. We'll see if that's it for
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: this episode. We'll see. I assume if they haven't clinched
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: by the time we record again, Patrick, It's going to
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: be a doom and gloom episode. All right. That's it
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: for this episode of Northside Territory. Make sure to rate, review, subscribe.
• 24:41
  Speaker 1: Subscribe to the YouTube channel and subscribe to The Athletic
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: where Patrick and I are on top of all things Cubs.
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and watching, everyone. Take care.