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THE CUBS ARE BACK · Monday Morning Cubs Show

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: And we're clear.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Good morning, good afternoon, and evening Chicago Cubs fans, and welcome back to the Monday Morning Cub Show.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Today is Monday, June 29th.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's your host, Carl, and I am so happy to announce that I am joined by my close pal Mahoney.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: Coming off of one of the great weeks of the Chicago Cubs season this year, my friend.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: We're in a great mood.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Dare I say, Carl, we're rolling, baby.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Rolling.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: Rolling.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: I almost use Tina Turner's version of it.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm saving.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's like a little premature, just based on some of the stuff we're going to talk about today.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: Injuries, pitching staff, where we're at.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: But like, heaven forbid, I feel great today.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, I mean, just look at what these cubbies did against the road trip.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_02: Feeling good.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_02: Uh divisional win against our now heated rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_02: What a nice Sunday all over the place.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_02: World Cup travelers, Cubs winner.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, yeah, I'm feeling great, dude.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_02: And this is a great Monday to be a Cubs fan and to be a maniac.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, and we're going into fourth of July week.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: I know a lot of people have some time off this week.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's time to spend family.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: You and I both got like a weekend before where we got a ton of family time this weekend.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: So as far as the Cubs being great, the vibes are high.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: But as far as us personally and just like being around those we love and doing fun stuff, this is probably the best I've ever felt going into a Monday morning cup show with you.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, and it's something it is just beating the brewers that gives us that extra pizzazz, you know, to really bring it for the maniacs on this Monday.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_02: And it really, I think, is gonna set the tone for the entire week.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: So let's do it.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what we have.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, there's a couple things I want to get to off the top, like introduction-wise, just so we set the stage, so we just remind maniacs here's where we're at, here's where we were a couple weeks ago.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, obviously, you know, we're gonna have a title word from Thirsty of Carol.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's no way we don't talk about Thirst of Acaro after this past week.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: You prepared some baller strikes, and then I have some more nitty-gritty topics outside these baller strikes.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: I I don't know what that segment's called, but we'll just get a little bit more into some details, I think, of like specific stuffs that are important.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, and if there's things that pop up along the way, we'll keep a mailbag or a grab bag.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then I've actually on the outline have entrusted you to do the outro because we always say we're terrible at outro.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, like you will have the final say on the show, and then I will just end with a solid go cubs and recording.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Can we agree on that up front?
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_02: Well, let's agree on that up front, two minutes in that that we're closing the show tight this go-around.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great weakness.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, it's a great weakness with the Cubs, too, right?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: We don't have Palencia right now closing things down as much as we'd like.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: So we're just gonna have to piece it together before we start.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_00: Let's be honest about that.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, hey, here's the things I just had, and I and I know this is this this could go very long, but it's important to just say a couple weeks ago, Mahoney and I sat down, we looked at the schedule, we were playing the athletics, and I said, guys, right now we have 22 in a row against teams below 500 at the time of recording.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: And when we get done with these 22 games, we're going to Milwaukee, and Milwaukee's red hot, and all I care about are these next 22 games and getting us ready and rolling.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: We start those 22 games three and six.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: I think we dropped the first three series, and that was probably the lowest point so far in the year, all things considered, even though it wasn't a 10-game losing streak, even though it wasn't the wheels completely falling off, you didn't see all the injuries.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: What you saw was an opportunity for us to get out of the cellar and us just completely wasting it.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: So the thing I want to come back to now, though, is we're 11 and 4 over our last 15, right?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: That does include the two and one against the Milwaukee Brewers.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: So technically, 9-3 in those closing two, which is my long-winded way of saying we went 12-9 in that 22-game stretch with the rain out.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: Dylan ceases the rain out, thank goodness.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: So 12-9, which is a 93-win pace in that stretch.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: We identified as a big deal going into Milwaukee, so we can have momentum, however, we can get it.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: We had it.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Then we see Mizerowski on Friday.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: He shoves it up our ass because he's the greatest pitcher in baseball.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: There is no question or debate about it, and then we just come back and figure out a way to win those two games.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I cannot be more proud of the team to say that we're 14 and 10 over that 24-game stretch.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's a 95 win pace.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: We go back to when we said those were the 22 games in a row we had on teams against 500.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: So we were going into Milwaukee.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: We come out 14 and 10 with a rain out in that situation.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: Scale of one to 10, that's a 9.6 with where we were when it started.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_02: Dude, it's a 9.6.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: And if you really look at what the Cubs have done the across the whole season, not just in the last game, barring the injuries.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_02: If you would have told me that the record is where it stands today, and I knew all these people were going to be hurt, it's a pretty positive number that we're seeing.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_02: You know, four or five games above 500, five and a half out of the division against a Milwaukee Brewers team that's playing amazing.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_02: You mentioned the Miz, he's throwing 105.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_02: That deserves an F bomb.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: The guy's talking, he's thinking that he's thinking scientifically you could throw 106.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: And I I he might be able to do it.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_02: So it's just great that where we are with the things that have gone wrong.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_02: And yeah, that 22-game stretch, it's like a previously on the Monday morning cup show.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: If you remember us detailing that 22 games, it was big.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: You need to win these games.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_02: And so I'll take 12 and 4, 11-4, whatever it was.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, we do have momentum, it's back on our side, and we just cap it off with that win.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_02: The series win in Milwaukee.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: So as we stand here today doing this show, we're five and a half back.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: We do have momentum.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think that's a question.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, another thing that is for sure is there are four series left in the first half.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: We have six at home at Wrigley Field, three against the Padres start tonight.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and then against St.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Louis, which is great.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: Can't wait to play the St.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Louis Cardinals at home.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then we're on the road to close Baltimore and Cincinnati for the first half of the season.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: So we have four series in a row.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Not one of these teams is going to be as good as we saw from the Brewers in Milwaukee.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's his heightened and his focus.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: So just basically what we're asking is carry that forward.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Seems like we have some momentum.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Couple things off the top, though.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: I really I shouldn't say a couple things.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Last thing off the top, I have, and we can shoehorn this into a later part of the segment, but I think it deserves it up front.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: Alex Bregman's getting paid$35 million a year.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: He's supplanting Matt Shaw, who is on that short list for Cubs players where you see him in the rookie year and you're like, all right, now this guy absolutely has a future.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, the rookie season Matt Shaw put together was certainly good enough to say we are building around this guy.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: And then we give$35 million to Alex Bregman so he can Cadillac down the first baseline, unacceptable.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: And JD said it perfectly.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for bringing this up.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: It was on one of my lists.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: You are we're not expecting you to break a world record, you do not have to set the hundred-meter world record.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not asking you to break your fucking back running on the first base.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: But if you can't find as a professional this late in your career,$35 million, all eyes on you, everything to put forth a consistent fucking pace down the first baseline.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: If any situation where you're a base runner and you as a viewer can visibly notice now he's running harder because he visually recognized the ball was misplayed, fuck you.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_02: Absolute bullshit out of Bregman in a critical game, a critical series against a critical opponent, and you are the person that we have talked about professionalism in the clubhouse, how we can lead the team by example, even when things aren't going so well, and then you see that.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: Now that's kind of a fucking excuse my language, no, but that really grinds my gears.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_02: That and that is it, you can't have that out of a leader and somebody who's making the most money in the in the ball in the clubhouse.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Listen, if you're mad at Bregman, that's the number one thing to be mad at him about.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: If he can miss he misses pitches over the plate, fuck him.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: You want to get mad at him because he's not delivering 35 million.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: We still hit him two, we still hit him four, and there's problems with Craig.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: But that's a wake-up message where I think the rest of the team can look at him and be like, Yeah, we get it, dude.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: We know you've been here before, we know you're a consummate professional, but um under no circumstances can the other eight guys in the lineup look at you and have respect and tolerate that because we're in it.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: And if I'm gonna sit here and work, if I'm Ian Hap, I'm working couchs against Mizorowski.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm David Peterson, I'm coming in here pitching my balls off.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: If I'm Pete Carl Armstrong willing to dislocate a rotator cuff to keep a ball in play on Christian Yellich, etc.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_00: All this stuff of guys really putting themselves out there to perform and compete.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, though that's way harder than you put the ball on the ground.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like the at least the best you can do is run at a pace where if there is a bobble, you're gonna beat it out, and like cocktailing it and Cadillacing it down the line ain't it.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_02: Especially if you look at how we won that game.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_02: That was a gritty win, dirt under the fingernails type of win, right?
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: You had to get base runners, we walk in the guy, we had to have Milwaukee's pitcher kind of implode, and that's how close of those types of games are, and you can get on base, you get on base, and you're Alex Bregman.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_02: So I there's nothing else I could say about it.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: If you went if and last thing for because we got to get this this show on the road, but there's no way I'm not talking about Alex Bregman off the top.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I would just say if you listen to the Friday show or you have a concept in your head of how Milwaukee wins the game, I'll absolutely guarantee you this.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: They don't do shit like that, and that's how you string together.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: And we're lucky we're able to come back and win that thing.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: We're or I should say we're lucky we're able to scratch that out going up 4-1 and extra is making that interesting because we got bullpen issues, and that's a whole different that's a whole different bag of tricks.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: But my just point is this is just show it to me when you find the guys on the brewers that are Cadillacing it down first base because they think for sure it's a guaranteed out.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's just never gonna happen with them.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so hopefully we don't see it from Bregman.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, it becomes a big deal internally.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, that's the thing that gets correct counsel.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_00: Say, Alex, I need to talk to you.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Alex, come in here for a second.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Alex, I got no problem with you grinding.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: I got I'm gonna hit you two to four.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna put you in positions to succeed, I'm gonna trust your professionalism.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: I know you're gonna make these adjustments.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can't be giving people outside of this clubhouse reasons to shit on you more than they already are.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, strike, strike, nothing else to add.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, baller strike Thirsty Vacero is the reason that we do the Monday morning cub show.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: Thirsty Vacero is the reason that we do the Monday morning cub show, and it might be the reason that the Cubs are performing so well.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_02: A certain vigilante, a trio of vigilantes might have shown up to the Wrigley Phil doorstep a couple weeks back.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_02: So I think those boys are uh getting some of that real agave in them, Carl.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: We've been red hot since I've been pushing spicy watermelon as my number one.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so when you talk about the watermelon with the jalapeno, I was like, fucking, I'm going all in on it.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think we're like 11 and 4 straight.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I do like the mango muerte in the morning, I do like it at night, and Lamon Ladron is when it's like I'm sitting down for a real nice meal, and that's where Lamon Ladron has paired itself.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I just have a thousand things to say about it, but you know it's so good, Mahoney.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_02: Wait until the second half of July when all we're talking about is Lamon Ladron.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_02: So, like, yeah, we were heavy on Mango Muerte early in the season, you know, talking about having it in the morning.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: We're all up on Sagria Salvajo, you know, the watermelon flavor, and we got to keep that rolling because I feel like the Cubs are rolling.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_02: So you you stick with the vigilante that's working, but I like I said, I think we might be talking about Lamon Ladron a little bit later in the month.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: And at what point do we say to to a to a guy like Cook Daddy who's on the front lines with the Lamon Ladron or with the with the watermelon spicy?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: What do we say to our guys that are on the front line sending us the pictures?
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like this is the community we're building, you know.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm doing it pre-game, Mahoney's doing it pregame.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're we're rolling 11-4 over our last 15.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's where you can really start to feel it.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: I said, Thirsty Vaquero season's upon us, it's hot, it's humid, and not every time you got to reach in the cooler for an ice cold beer, guys.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's plenty of moments for that stuff, but what we're talking about is a non-alcoholic, 100% organic agave, real fruit juice beverage with that totally spicy kick that's gonna bring you back down to earth, baby.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: Go get some on Amazon ships right to your front door.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, knowing that the maniacs are drinking it while I'm having one, it just brings me a sense of calm during these games.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_02: So thank you to all who have supported Thirsty Vaquero.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you to Thirsty Vacero for supporting the Monday morning cub show.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_02: Couldn't do it without you, and couldn't do it without the maniac support who are actually enjoying and appreciating the product as we all do.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: So with that in mind, Thirsty Vaquero sponsored the next segment.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's just a quick Mahoney baller strike.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: So um I think this is an appropriate I think this is an appropriate way for us to get into some of the nitty-gritty.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then we are we'll have a little look ahead with Padre stuff with some Cardinal stuff as we're coming off of six and one week.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: But Mahoney, take it away with some baller strike, my friend.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_02: Carl, baller strike, best series win of the year.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_02: Baller strike.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: It's almost too easy.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we didn't solve any major roster problems in Milwaukee, but we we got away with a series win.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that what's nice about this Cubs team with all the pitching issues, the injuries, etc., uh it still reminds the league that we are dangerous.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_02: And when this offense can go, you know, like they did on Friday's game, that's what I'm talking about.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_02: And then the way that they won a gritty game on Sunday, those are the type of wins we're gonna need over the course.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: So I think it just reminds the league that this Cubs offense can and will be dangerous, and you know, that's the hope moving forward throughout the remainder of this first half.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's a Cubs offense that can take advantage of maybe not necessarily mistakes.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: When I say that, I'm thinking of Jorge Soler hitting one out, you know, into the moonlight.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm thinking about uh, you know, Kyle Shorber over the scoreboard.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: When I'm talking about his mistakes, more generally and collectively, if you're this team is very good against pitchers that don't have their best stuff on a particular day.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: If you're struggling locating your four-seamer, or if you can't command your this and that, or if you have any trepidation, or if you don't feel like you're executing, I think this is a lineup that does very well against that stuff.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're not great against premium matchups where you might only get that one mistake, that one inning.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, but we're much better when you're when we're in situations to work counts and we have guys that aren't necessarily as confident.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm starting to learn a little bit more about the identity that we have, but there's no doubt about it that this is by far the biggest series win of the year.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, maybe if you want to pick out, like, you know, when we swept the Phillies at home, and that was like a really big part of our kicking things off in the midst of a 10-game win streak.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, there's another series at home where we like, you know, we beat the diamond, we swept the diamondbacks, or you know, it's a it's a strike, it's a strike, Carl, because it's it's the Brewers.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_02: We had to win a series against the Brewers.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_02: That's the team that we're going to have to beat over the next few months.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_02: And then that's why it's the most important series.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_02: Go, Carl, go.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: But baller strike, then Sunday's the biggest game of the year, winning four, three and extras in in that Jordan Wicks play.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: For me, that's a strike, absolutely.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Right, four three, because that's a difference between five and a half back, seven and a half back.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: And as we're as we're kind of grinding our way down into that first half, like if we could get that number around two and a half, three and a half, just keep it under five and a half, Babu, roll it.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: Seven and a half, too much.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: Five and a half.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_02: I'll get to that.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, baller strike, say a Suzuki was the biggest bat this weekend.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's a strike, dude.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's just like this is why we love Saya.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_00: This is why we love Saya.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's just the quality that bat that that guy gives you.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: He doesn't, he's not pulling off or spinning out.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of his power derives from just having a great swing mechanic profile.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_00: And again, it's just a guy when he's healthy, he's such a difference maker.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: So we just cautiously, every time I think of say, I got to talk about him.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, dude, without say this weekend, no shot are we taking that series.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, he he went deep on Saturday and then the two-run single, you know, and the way that he put that back together, which was eventually the go-ahead run.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: The Brewers, you know, made us clinch our butt cheeks a little bit.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: But yeah, I have that as the biggest bat of the weekend in San Suzuki.
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_02: That was a strike.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that Sunday game is a game we lose to the Brewers.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: The Brewers win.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: You you flip-flop.
• 17:28
  SPEAKER_00: That's the game the Cubs have the eight runs or have the eight hits with one run going into the 10.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's the game where the Cubs don't exit, and somehow the Brewers find a way to score four runs on four hits.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_00: Like we beat the Brewers doing what the Brewers do to other teams on Sunday.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: That's fantastic.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, it goes back to what clutch hitting, having a guy like say Suzuki at the end of the game, who can just really, just really bear down into his approach and try and hit a line drive.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I just love to see it.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: Love to see it.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_02: And then, yeah, Jordan Wicks rolling up a double play where we needed it the most.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: Love that as well.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: Carl, I got another one for you.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_02: Ball or strike.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_02: The rotation is fine because Peterson looked good once.
• 18:07
  unknown: Ball or strike.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's the firmest ball.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Chicago.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, dude.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's like Ricky Vaughan in Major League when he throws it off the side and it cracks in half and then turn and goes, How much?
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: 96.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: Like that ball's not even close.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's whizzing past the head.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: But Peterson was solid, and at least it's a step in the right direction.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Little nugget that came out of that trade, which I think enforces what we've talked about on the show, Mahoney, is that it's so hard to trade early in the season.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: It's just so hard to make these trades.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I broke down David Peterson and Cole Mathis on the Friday, and exactly why we were in that situation to give up a second rounder who has good numbers in high A.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: Jed Hoyer initiated the David Peterson trade conversation six weeks before that deal was done.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: So before Eddie Cabrera is out.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_00: So before you find out Justin Steele's done for the years, so before I mean, like it doesn't just have oh god, this guy's hurt, pick up the phone.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_00: Like they're laying, they you have to lay that groundwork and you have to get that basis of what do you guys need and where are you weak organizationally?
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: And what worked out for us in the Mets is that their weak farm system, primarily because they had one of the top third base prospects and they had Pete Alonzo for a number of years.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so as you're building and developing your framework in your farm system, before David Stearns comes in there, it's like Pete Alonzo's a met for life.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: So now, do you have urgency to draft a first baseman, first, second, third, fourth, fifth round?
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: No, not at all.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: And if you have Brett Beatty and then Mark Vientos is a great third baseman through a playoff run, are you guys in this weird situation now where you're trying to figure out do we need more corner infield help?
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: And if we do get it, well, then you're gonna draft high schoolers and you're gonna take late flyers on guys.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_00: So you get to a point with the Mets now where it's like, hey, we're a little thin in our farm system, we don't have double A, we don't have action at first base and third base.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, there's a need there with Cole Mathis.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I would imagine six weeks ago, the Cubs start talking about this Cole Mathis guy with the Mets.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's where David Peterson comes in.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Long story short, it takes that much time to get a good trade.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: So just take its deep breath, I would suppose, as Cubs fans, and when we talk about the patience required to deal in June, to deal in May, like there's a reason it's almost impossible to trade a prospect for a major league ready player this early in the season, as evidence.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now that we have David Peterson, I think he's a good fit.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_02: Good fit could very well be a bit of a stabilizer for this rotation at this moment in time.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: Do you like him?
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_02: I do like him.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, five and two third innings, a two-run ball, like your first game as a cub.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_02: I'll take that.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_02: His first start.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: I was getting more sure.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_02: I like him.
• 20:48
  SPEAKER_02: He could throw the ball.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, polish 6'4, lefty doesn't overthrow, you know, tries to pitch within his defense.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's atypical.
• 20:57
  SPEAKER_00: He's atypical because most starters in big leagues are max effort, you know, heavy strikeout.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now he's he's kind of got that old school JD vibe to him.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm gonna put the ball in play and I got a mix.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: What did you say?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_02: Something about his ground ball rate with like 50%, something or near there.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, that's a perfect target for somebody like Jed to go after, you know, with the defense that we have.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I do feel like based off of that, and I probably have the number wrong, however, I do like the fit on the team.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, especially given the considerations.
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he leads major league baseball in ground ball base hits.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: He played for the Mets, and uh they have what is considered objectively the worst in field defense in Major League Baseball.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: And the Chicago Cubs have about a top five in field in Major League Baseball.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Really depends on how much emphasis you want to put on Pete Crow Armstrong's impact on the team DRS, but we're Second in Major League Baseball and team defensive runs saved.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of that, obviously, PC so good, hap so good.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: But our infield's a top five infield.
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: So you're going to see Peterson like it makes a difference.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: Runner on first base, nobody out, fucking nobody on one out.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_00: Like the difference that makes in how you pitch the next guy.
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: So the Matt's had him in a number of situations where he's pitching in and out of jams.
• 22:23
  SPEAKER_00: And he has the stuff where he doesn't swing and miss.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: He has the stuff where he's not going to get you.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: He can't.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, hey, runner's not second and third.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: He can't just gear into this.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to punch you, uh, meaning strike you out.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: Where other guys, you know, guys have that.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: He's not like that.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: So he's more of like, I don't want you to get the first base in the first place.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to get weak contact in the first place.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_00: I want my defense moving in the first place.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: And the last thought thing I have on that Mahoney is it's great for the offense.
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: And you'll hear offense talked about it.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: Ian Hap talked about it when they interviewed him.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: What was it like playing behind David Peterson for the first time?
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: And he said, you know what I really like about him is he's very engaged in the game using his offense or using his defense, then that gives us momentum to go back in the dugout, put the helmets on, and score some runs.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: When you're in the field and you're actively engaged in the game, it's so much easier for you to get off the field into the dugout with the helmet on.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: Let's get rocking and rolling, baby.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're spending these half innings in left field fucking counting down the minutes until you can dandelions, oh buddy.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't think that, I'm I'm asking the maniacs, please believe me, it's no different than little leak.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you if there's action, you're rolling, baby.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's what you want in the defense is give me action.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_00: I want first pitch strikes, I want the hitters on their heels, so that I can't anticipate the ball being hit to me a certain way, which which changes if it's 2-0 and your anticipation is I'm gonna be hunting this gap as opposed to it's 0-2.
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna be breaking in on this shit because it's weak contact.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: All this stuff comes together in a cocktail.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: So what else we got?
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_02: Baller strike.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_02: It's okay to overreact to Jordan Wicks' save on Sunday.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_02: It's okay.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I have that a strike.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_00: What do you have?
• 24:04
  SPEAKER_02: That I had it as a strike as well.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_02: I got I loved his post-game interview, dude.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_02: It looks like he has like a different type of haircut.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_02: He has something about him changed.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_02: He needed his moment, and I think he got one.
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_02: And we need all the help we can get.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_02: So I think I talked a little bit, you know, on Jordan Wicks a couple weeks ago, how I just didn't think that he was gonna have it.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_02: This is how you do it as a baseball fan.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_02: You just you win me over with one double play.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's all I needed.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think his confidence is much different, though, because he hasn't had a great moment in Major League Baseball yet.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_00: He's had a bunch of terrible moments.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: He's had a bunch of terrible, awful moments.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: He's had a bunch of injuries.
• 24:41
  SPEAKER_00: He he's still a nice man.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: He's a quiet, simple farm boy.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: He's he's not this complicated ego, though those exist all over Major League Baseball.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: He's a simple man, he just needs a little bit of something behind him.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: And we talked about Ben Brown needing urgency or having a moment, a breakthrough, or or I should say, an opportunity to to for it to realize within your head that, like, hey, if it's not now, it's gonna be never in my life.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: And so, like, Jordan Wicks has been living in that moment this year of like, if it's not now, it's gonna be never with the Chicago Cubs.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: So then to have that opportunity and to deliver that opportunity in in what we describe as the biggest game of the year, you better believe I can't wait to watch him take the mount again because the thing that holds him back is how competitive he can be with his forest team fastball early in the count.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: The more competitive he can be with it, the earlier he can get to his change up.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: The earlier he can get to his change up, the more success he's gonna have at the major league level.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_00: But as it stands or as it has stood in his career, his force team has typically been high, low, up, out, very fringe guy.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_00: And this is where we can compare back to Ben Brown, where you add that sinker that lets you just be a little bit more aggressive in the strike zone, which then opens the bread and butter up, which then fucking wide open can Ben Brown go to that breaking ball.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: Can we do something?
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_00: Is there something Jordan Wicks can do inside the strike zone so he can get to his changeup?
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_00: Because it's devastating.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: Swing and miss plus pitch, the type of thing you can feast and have a fucking career on.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll just see, man.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, just keep your eye on Jordan Wicks, a guy we ruled out, even though just one big moment and with all the injuries we have on the staff, he should have some other opportunities.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_02: I hope so.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_02: I don't want Jordan Wicks to have to go back and forth on that Iowa shuttle anymore.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_02: No, I want him to show up as an emergency starter and deal.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_02: I want him in a late inning situation like he was yesterday, and just no complaints, get it done.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_02: Be a multi-ending weapon if we need it.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_02: Jordan Wicks, I want you on the Cubs.
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_02: The maniacs now want you on the Cubs, and we want to see you perform.
• 26:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well said, Mahoney.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: What else?
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_02: I'm pointing at the monitor right now.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_00: No, if this is this audio only, but you guys, the maniacs should know this is about as fired up as I've ever seen.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: Mahoney's a Jordan Wicks guy.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody get him a Jordan Wicks jersey.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: What else we got?
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: Baller strike.
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_00: Five and a half games is nothing, baby.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's nothing.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_00: It's uh we were up five and a half games in August last.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_00: No, we were up no forget five and a half games.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I've seen that get erased real quick, Carl.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_02: And before the all-star break, I laugh at five and a half.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't love Brandon Woodruff on Sunday for the Brewers.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: That was a guy I'd circled to say, we'll see what we got.
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if he's gonna be a low 90s guy, then then I'm gonna relegate him to just kind of like you'll get what you get from Brandon Woodruff.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, that was something that it made me a little bit nervous.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Kyle Harrison still obviously has some flaws that can be exposed.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: He's a great pitcher, though, and he's a great lefty to come off of Mizerowski.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't expect the Brewers to have any down stretch without any significant injury to their pitching staff.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: But what I would expect is like, I do think 20 games over 500 was inflated.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: I do or 19 now.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_00: I do think that's a little inflated from their talent pool, but they play the game fucking hard, man.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: Don't expect them to lose less than 93 games.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_00: But just if there is a chance where they could play a 500 stretch of baseball over 25 games, man, now would be a great time for that to happen.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's gonna be the time that we'll be able to jump on them, get caught up, and we have a plenty of series against the Brewers remaining throughout the season.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now, anything that I said there on any of those baller strikes, do you disagree with, or do you want to add some context to that?
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: Like five and a half, you're fine with five and a half.
• 28:16
  SPEAKER_00: You're Mahoney.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, no, I really am.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_02: Five and a half at this point, and it's it's not seven and a half, like you said earlier on the episode.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_02: That that makes me feel a little uneasy, but five and a half to me is a series, you know, a series and and having them fall off just a bit against other competition, and we'll be all right.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: Can I ball or strike you for a second here?
• 28:36
  SPEAKER_02: Give it to me.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so baller strike.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you're nervous that we just have so many injuries to the bullpen.
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like when you go to Cubs Twitter every day, there's a graphic that's like recalled this, option that recalled this, shuttle bust him.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, these names are just so it's so hot.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: Ethan Roberts yesterday.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's like Ethan Roberts out here in a must-win game, three run.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_02: Like, whoo! Bryce Wilson was the 30th Cubs pitcher that had you know shown up in a game this year, and I think that that's who we had throughout all of last season.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_02: So that just goes to show how bad the injuries are.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_02: You have Hobie Miller has he had his appendix, he has an appendectomy.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_02: We got die, we don't know really what's going on with Palencia.
• 29:22
  SPEAKER_02: It was a mild right flexor strange.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_02: Phil Mayton is on the IL with tendonitis in his knee.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_02: It's non-stop.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_02: So ball or strike, it's what reef can you give it to me again?
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm giving it to you again.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: Ball like ball or strike, ball or strike.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: You have cause for concern about the injuries in the bullpen.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_02: Massive strike, dude.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, like piping not fastball.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: We've used 31 pitchers in 2026.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_00: Absurd.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, we used we used 26 in 2016.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: See, I wasn't even close.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_00: I'll repeat it again slowly.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: We've used five more pitchers before July 1st than we did 10 years ago in the entire season we won the World Series.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: That includes trade deadlines, too.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: That includes guys we're bringing in.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_00: So um, all right, injuries aside, we're here's the thing with the injuries.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: We've talked positively before about more guys get opportunities, more guys get a chance to emerge, right?
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, like it does suck.
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the one benefit is that six weeks from now, after this trade deadline, we should have actually a good idea what this bullpen is, you know.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so, like, there are relievers that are having good seasons this year that could be anomalies that won't be worth much.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: Adding bullpen help around the trade deadline is just a matter of giving up high A resources.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not worried about the bullpen, not nearly as much as I should be.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: And again, a lot of that just comes back to we just took two out of three from the Brewers where we had to rely on our bullpen.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, the island of misfit toys that pitched on Saturday.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, man.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: Oh god.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: So it does suck.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_00: I think the reasonable attitude is to say it sucks and it needs to be improved.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: But like if if we are 11 and 4 over our last 15, I will continue to roll the dice on these guys.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_02: Ryan Rawlson, two Key and E's, Jacob Webb got that win.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh yeah, it was just we we're in survival mode with the bullpen, but hey, if they're gonna get it done, just get it done.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: A faceless bullpen day with seven relievers on Sunday took a season.
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_02: I look up and I'm like, I've never seen that day before.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_02: And I do a show about the Cubs.
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_02: I look at the roster and I have no idea who that person is.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: Moni, I'm with you, and I am a certified lunatic.
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I like, all right, I don't feel too bad.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: But again, dude, seven relievers in a clear bullpen game, one run through regulation.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that that's that's where you can make the argument back and be like, yeah, obviously the bullpen's not great.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: Look at what they just did on an entire game on Sunday.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: So pick and choose where you're gonna be mad.
• 32:00
  SPEAKER_00: There's gonna be a moment this week we get mad because they blow a leap.
• 32:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we have six games this week.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_00: One of these we one of the one of them at one point, we're gonna blow it.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like at one point.
• 32:09
  SPEAKER_02: So, did you see Craig like biting his hat in the dugout?
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_02: I didn't like that Sunday.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_02: You know, why is he so he's so like pent up just then?
• 32:18
  SPEAKER_00: He's such a pussy, dude.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: And like that's what bothers me more is that what I like about the game of baseball is it does create certain characters, like a Jim Leland and a Bobby Cox and an Earl Weaver, and guys that you just don't even look at, they come out to take the ball from you, you don't look twice, you say yes, sir.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_00: Even though Earl Weaver's five foot six, 145 pounds.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: Like he'll fucking kick your ass after the game, all right.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like you if if you disrespected Bobby Cox, buddy.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'll just I'll just tell you right now, you're playing for the fucking Cleveland Indians chief tomorrow.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, tomorrow, or any concept of like Jim Leland kicked Barry Bonds out of fucking spring training.
• 33:05
  SPEAKER_00: Get the get out of here.
• 33:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we're talking about the sport of baseball creates such tough people to lead.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: And ultimately, what it comes down to is not what your playing career was or any of this shit, it's your capacity to go into a big league clubhouse and get 25 guys and now at this time 26 guys to shut the fuck up, look at you, and play a certain way.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: When I see Craig throwing his hat and flabbergasted and frustrated, I don't know, I don't know what that guy's doing.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know who he thinks he is or what scale this were.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: This is this is not a college summer league team.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is the Chicago Cubs with with a luxury tax-breaking fucking payroll.
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: You cannot be acting like a pussy in the dugout.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: You need to be stoned.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: I don't care how hard it is, but then he's gonna turn around with the media and just give us some canned answers.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 33:58
  SPEAKER_00: Am I wrong on this, Mahoney?
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_02: When I say he's one or the other.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_02: Don't try not to be who you are.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_02: If the authentic Craig is that boring hand that steadies the ship and gives the bland answers, just be that.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_02: We've begged for him to kind of like show more, you know, gumption in his post-game pressers or in the dugout.
• 34:19
  SPEAKER_02: And then when he does, like he did on Sunday, it didn't look for all that um authentic and real to me.
• 34:24
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't know if it was just putting on a bit of a show for the players, a bit of a show for the broadcast, but I just don't think that's him either.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_02: It's like, give me one or the other.
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_00: I have a connection for you.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: He's mad about a lot of things.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_00: He was probably so mad at Bregman, he is probably so mad at Bregman and so handcuffed, where he's just like, What do I have to do now?
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: What did it get to what like how?
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: How?
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: What now?
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_00: And Tyler Ferguson's gonna blow this, yeah, or you know, and then or I should say Ethan Roberts gonna blow this.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: We're somehow gonna lose this game.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: We should win.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_00: We're so we somehow held them to one run in nine innings.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_00: We're we somehow scored three runs in the top of the ninth, and we're somehow still gonna blow this.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta be kidding me.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_00: And there's probably all that frustration of like, and I'm gonna have to sit there and talk about Alex Bregman.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: That mug that's the only extension I can give Craig because I do want to give him the benefit of the doubt after 11 and 4, you know, not rolling over.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: And the other thing is we're still in the middle of the season.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_00: I start going out on him now.
• 35:25
  SPEAKER_00: What are we gonna do in June?
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: Or what are we gonna do in July and August?
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: Like, we we gotta roll.
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: We you and I, we have to continue this.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you ain't kidding.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: So let me baller strike you this baller strike, okay.
• 35:40
  SPEAKER_00: Dansby Swanson is the player we saw in Milwaukee.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_02: Dansby has been clicking more than he has all year recently.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_02: Is this who Dansby is?
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_02: I sure hope so, Carl.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_02: I'm gonna go ahead and say that that's a strike.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_01: That's a ball.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: Is he though?
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know, dude.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_02: And this is the thing is like a lot of hard hit balls yesterday, just to the wrong spot.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_00: Dude, he can do this.
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's okay.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now, when people get mad at Dansby, now get mad at this.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: It's not just the 180 and runner scoring position or whatever is bad in average it, it's the fact that he has this in him that kills me.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_02: I know, and we we've seen it before, and uh he's looked lost, he doesn't look as lost.
• 36:30
  SPEAKER_02: So I feel like if he's finding his way back to the surface, I will give Dansby the benefit of the doubt here.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_02: Being that uh we know what the back of his baseball card looks like, so that's what we expect of him, and anything that I could see out of Dansby, which I have this weekend, gives me hope for the future.
• 36:50
  SPEAKER_00: He's kind of like a really technical musician, you know.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe some other musicians or bands or acts kind of play improv, they feel it.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_00: How much lessons did you take as a kid?
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_00: How much goes into like your your act or your performance?
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: And then Dansby Swanson would be like the most technically trained guy of all time who's just in it.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_00: He's like Steely Dan.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: He's trying to figure out the right chord combinations.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: He's gonna have 10 different fucking session saxophonists come in and he's gonna hate all of it.
• 37:21
  SPEAKER_00: He's gonna have to redo and record it.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_00: He's just a complete lunatic when it comes to his swing, and I think it makes it hard for him to get comfortable.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_00: I do.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think the amount of thought and swing process stuff that he has makes it hard for him to get comfortable, and the amount of information he has about the opposing team, what they're trying to do, what he's trying to do, I think it makes it very difficult.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then what happens is sometimes it just clicks and it's on, and the foot's down and the hips loaded, and the hands are back, and he's getting the pitches he wants.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because the guy he's been over the last do we want to do the guy he was, let's see, in this and in this past week.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: I have the numbers in front of me.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_00: A couple dingers.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: I have the numbers in front of me.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: Hard hit balls.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, if you go back to the if you go back to the Toronto series, he has a 990 OPS.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: Solid.
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: Really good.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I mean, on the season at 649.
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, what is it there?
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he is our nine-hitter.
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: He does lead the team in RBIs.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: He did have the absolute hottest stretch of baseball this past week.
• 38:40
  SPEAKER_00: We are very happy for Danzby Swanson.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: There's a significant difference, though, because I'm gonna transition to Pete Crow Armstrong here, and when you watch those two together.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_00: So, like, let's just look ahead.
• 38:53
  SPEAKER_00: Ball or strike, Danzby Swanson will have a better week than Pete Crow Armstrong.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_02: Ball.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_02: Keep going.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_02: PCA to me, I mean, he's cooled off very, very slightly.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_02: And we're coming home against San Diego.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_02: I I just don't I see PCA having some game changing at bats this week, and that's what was in my Monday morning minute outro.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_02: But with that said, I gotta give it to you now.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I just think PCA is gonna be as he has been, and and Dansby is still fingers crossed.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: Fair?
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's fair.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: Petro Armstrong since getting put into the leadoff position and being given all of the responsibility, his just completely different baseball player.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_00: I think I like him as a leadoff hitter more than I've ever liked him as a four-hitter when he was red hot.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I do love the idea of like, hey, game starts, you're now playing the Cubs.
• 39:55
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing you see is Pete Crow Armstrong in the batter's box.
• 39:59
  SPEAKER_00: That's great identity.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's great for playing a team three times in a row.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's great when you play a team eight or whatever it is, 13 times a season now.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, he's our superstar.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_02: That's who they have to see the most.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_02: That's who I want to see on my TV the most.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna have to get hit the most amount of at bats against him, you have to deal with him the most.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, and as long as he is what I've witnessed is controlled power, he's not sacrificing a ton of body movement to get to his power.
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_00: He's got it and it's synced and it's tight and it's clean, which means he doesn't have to guess as much, he's not out on his front foot as much.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_00: That means his walk rate's gonna go up, he can be more patient because the mechanical adjustments that allowed him to get the ball a little bit deeper, so he gets a little bit look at it.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: Leon, I'm talking about fractions of a second, but that stuff matters.
• 40:51
  SPEAKER_02: It does, and the thing about PCA that I I'm very proud of as a fan is how quickly he has made this adjustment, and I that makes it sound so easy.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_02: I know he's probably worked his tail off in order to do so, but for him to see the different flavors of PCA and him to adjust and what we've seen this season gives me so much just juice for the future, and him being the leader of our ball club um moving forward.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: Little stat for you, because I know we like stats on the show.
• 41:24
  SPEAKER_00: In the month of June, PCA posted a 447 on base percentage.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_00: That would rank sixth all time tied with Lou Garrett ever for career.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_00: Lou Gehard was 447, Barry Bonds was 444 for his career.
• 41:45
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, yeah, John now I'm looking at John McGraw, like John McGraw 466, Ted Williams 480, good company.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like his last month, his last month is like Lou Gehrig's on base percentage.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: Lou fucking Gehrig, Mahoney.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's just insane.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: Where we're sitting here going, can PCA get on base at a 330 clip?
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_00: Which is like David De Jesus, yeah.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: And he's like, Don't worry, hey, I got something for you.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_00: I got something for you.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: Just let me make some adjustments in June, put me at the top of the order.
• 42:23
  SPEAKER_00: And now it's like, well, your OBP is better than Barry's career, your OBP is equal to Lou Gehrig's career, your OBP is like a tick below Oscar Charleston.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: Are you fucking kidding me?
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_00: Come on, come on.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of reasons to be optimistic.
• 42:39
  SPEAKER_00: Him in the leadoff spot, Danzby in the back end.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_00: Now there's some stuff in the middle there.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_00: Bregman, I don't, you know, obviously don't love.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_00: We've talked all about that.
• 42:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'll probably bitch about him more next week.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see how he plays after Cadillacing it and getting it from everybody.
• 42:52
  SPEAKER_00: Because at least you can sit around and say, Hey, I'm not squaring balls up, I'm making my own adjustments.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: Every single person watching that game can run hard down to first base, every single person can give a hundred fucking percent.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_00: And like, especially if it's especially if you're a fan who like works all day and then goes home and watches them, if especially if you're somebody who like busts their fucking ass so you could pay for seasoned tickets and then you go and you watch them, or if you're somebody where like it really makes an emotional difference to you that you get a chance to watch the sport you love and the guys you care about compete, and then you have the highest paid guy walking down to first base because he hit a ground ball to shortstop, like fucking blow me, buddy.
• 43:30
  SPEAKER_00: But other than him, Bush looks good, hap looks good, Suzuki looks good, Matt Shaw went healthy.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_00: Not sure what's going on there, but Matt Shaw went healthy, is you know, very a very good baseball player, or catching tandem's awesome.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_02: Quick quick tidbit on Shaw.
• 43:46
  SPEAKER_02: I I didn't hear anything in post game, but the pinch running was that so that they had the newer dude on the team at the in second, or was he was there an announcement where he tweaked anything?
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_00: So they pinch hit Justin Dean and Right away on radio.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_00: I was listening to the game on radio, they had announced it.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: Then I went and put it on marquee to see if there was anything Taylor was reporting or whatever.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because JD and Coomer or Coom and Zaidman on Sunday were on their own.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they're not plugged into the marquee, right?
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_00: So they're just saying, so all of a sudden you have Coom going, Man, I really hurt.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_00: Hope Shaw's okay.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_00: I really hope this isn't a big deal.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a little confused.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: They have less information of what's going on in the dugout, where the marquee people have the guys in the wells plugging up and saying, Hey, so-and-so's pinch hitting this and that.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I went to marquee, didn't get any more information from that.
• 44:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I haven't seen anything since.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was a wrist.
• 44:38
  SPEAKER_00: I thought it was something to do with a wrist or like a soft wrist, or like his wrist was bothering him, or something.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_00: And even then, in that situation, if your wrist is bothering enough where you're holding the bat, it's like, yeah, give me Justin Dean 100%.
• 44:50
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, fair enough.
• 44:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's just literally something that popped into my head, not on the outline whatsoever.
• 44:55
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's fair.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_00: Is there anything else that popped into your head?
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because we're kind of like we have covered the outline inside and out.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like the David Peterson trade thing, like we are gonna get more trade help provided that we can be competitive over the month of July.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_00: So for these next 12 games, competitive to me is seven and five.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if we're seven and five going into the all-star break, I'm very happy with where we're at based on how bad May was.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm very happy with where we're at with how much starting pitchery pitching injuries we have.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, like I said earlier, if you look at the record and knew what you know now, I would have been shocked.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_02: Color me shocked, folks.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_02: But no, I mean, we got the Padres coming to town, they just lost two or three against the Dodgers.
• 45:43
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, Mandy Machado hit a dinger or what have you.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_02: So of course we're gonna have those big boys come into town with tatis, their bullpen and all that, and our fatigued bullpen.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_02: But um, yeah, we're a 705 game on Monday.
• 45:56
  SPEAKER_02: Looks like Shota is gonna be going for us tonight.
• 45:59
  SPEAKER_02: I'm excited about Shota.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_02: He's as close as thing if we have to an ace at the moment.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_02: And uh yeah, man, let's see Seyo Suzuki carry that momentum into this Padre series.
• 46:09
  SPEAKER_02: I want to see a tone setting start out of Eminaga tonight.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_02: I think that the Cubs are gonna be making some sort of pitching roster move by the end of the week.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_02: That's a Monday morning guarantee.
• 46:20
  SPEAKER_02: Guys are gonna be going back and forth and and and what have you.
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_02: And uh, like I said earlier, I think PCA is gonna be having another game-changing moment at Wrigley uh over the course of the next three games.
• 46:32
  SPEAKER_02: Mark my words.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, well said, Mahoney.
• 46:35
  SPEAKER_00: Well said.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_00: Do you I I had one more thing before we touch your outro.
• 46:40
  SPEAKER_00: Fuck! All right, let's go.
• 46:42
  SPEAKER_00: The three games we have against uh Padres, we have great pitching advantages.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_00: Uh the guy pitching today for the Padres is Griffin Canyon.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_00: He has an 850 OPS against and hitter slug 480 against him, which would mean the average uh hitter against him this year is like an all-star caliber left fielder.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like that that's the average MLB hitter against the guy that's pitching tonight.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_00: And then I thought we were gonna see JP Sears, who's you know, relatively like in an average lefty, in my opinion, you know, he has some swing and miss stuff.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see him tomorrow.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_00: And then we've got Walker Bueller, game three, who's like very major league average, was a very good pitcher at one point.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_00: But if you're gonna sit here and make this argument that like a healthy average Walker Bueller is significantly better than Colin Ray at home, like I I don't know about that.
• 47:50
  SPEAKER_00: And Matt Boyd is making his return for the Cubs against JP Sears, so I think you're gonna get a lot of momentum from the boys in the dugout to give Matt Boyd like a welcome back.
• 47:59
  SPEAKER_00: We need you back.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, if you're a position player for the Cubs and Matt Boyd's making the start, like there should be some like yeah, dude, and then right from there, uh, you know, against St.
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_00: Louis, like I I sure get like by by all means give me Matt Liebertor on a fucking Sunday Peacock game, you know, and Andre Palente or however you want to pronounce that last name.
• 48:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not good with two L's when I know it's a Latin name.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_00: Kyle uh Leahy, like these aren't where we're coming off Ms.
• 48:30
  SPEAKER_00: Kyle Harrison, you know, Brandon Woodruff's 10-year big league vet who has had a tremendous amount of success against the Cubs.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like those are those are great pitching matchups.
• 48:40
  SPEAKER_00: And now for the next six games, we're kind of back to what we saw with the Mets, where it's like, yo, we have big advantages against these guys.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_00: The idea of hanging seven, eight runs against Griffin Canyon is like very routine to me.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel good about where we're at this week, feel good with the lineup, don't love the pitching injuries.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_00: Kind of goes back to the strength though that like we get to figure out who is gonna be in that bullpen when time matters.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_00: David Peterson can give us important innings and we can continue to rally, which seems like we're doing, then I think we're in a fine place.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_00: And based on all that I said, Mahoney, I'm ready for your outro.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_02: So, Carl, the Cubs, they took this big boy series in Milwaukee.
• 49:15
  SPEAKER_02: We've been stacking wins at Wrigley.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_02: We know PCA is a superstar, and the team has not shown its final form.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_02: You know, and the first half of the season, if it's taught us anything, it's that we do know that the team does respond, right?
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_02: We've had highs and highs and lows of lows, right?
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_02: So they are giving us something to talk about on Monday at the least.
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna see if this momentum keeps rolling.
• 49:38
  SPEAKER_02: Let's put the brewers in the rearview mirror for the time being.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_02: I want Jed Hoyer to be sweating a little bit more about whether he needs a pitcher or three or four.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_02: And for Carl, I'm Mahoney and all the Monday morning maniacs out there.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_02: Thanks for spending your week with us.
• 49:53
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, folks.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see you guys on Friday, Go Cubs.
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_02: Hey, that was pretty good.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it was one.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that was all right.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.