Archives: Podcasts

Our special guest this week is Sarah Spain, and we discuss the importance of a good start for a team with such high expectations, as well as Joe Maddon, Jake Arrieta, Kris Bryant, and much more. 

Jake Arrieta threw another no-hitter and no one is that surprised…talk about high expectations.

Ryan has our question of the week on Rizzo hitting homeruns, Joel can’t quite match last week’s 60 Seconds with a Former Cub, but he gives it a shot with Bill Matlock, and Isaac has our At Bat of the Week with a Jason Hammel at bat.

With the Cubs off to a good start, the guys break down how it’s happened despite some very unimpressive offensive stats (other than Dexter Fowler). Taking pitches has definitely helped, but pretty amazing to be off to this kind of start when so many players are around the Mendoza line. The Cardinals are coming! Wouldn’t anyone in their right mind want the Cubs roster over the Cardinals roster? The guys discuss. Also, Javy Baez is back on the team and they discuss the benefits of having him vs trading him.

For 60 Seconds with a former Cub, Joel drops some serious A-material on Bob Tewksbury and the guys can’t stop laughing. Well done, Joel. Ryan has the question of the week and Isaac covers the at bat of the week. Can you guess which one he picked? It’s an easy one…

Special guest and Editor in Chief of Baseball Prospectus Wrigleyville joins the team to break down the Kyle Schwarber injury and whether or not the front office needs to adjust so early in the season. The Cubs are 5-1 so far and the offense is clicking, the bullpen is solid, and things are looking good. Also, Rian shares something that surprised him when entering a big-league clubhouse for the first time.

For the 60 Seconds with a Former Cub segment, Joel stalks Steve Trout and almost gets him to open up. Ryan takes a question from a listener about other positions Kris Bryant might play, and Isaac debuts the At Bat of the Week with an Anthony Rizzo number.

The guys talk about their most important questions of the season as game one wraps up WHILE THEY RECORD. Can the bullpen really keep it together this season? Will the Cubs win the NL Central? Will they have to trade away any prospects to reinforce the team? Will all the young players improve or is that asking too much. Lots of questions but we have answers!

Joel brings Nomar back for 60 Seconds with a former Cub and his horrifying groin injury. Ryan’s got the Question of the Week and it’s about a six-man rotation. And Isaac hits up the final Stat of the Week segment to make way for At Bat of the Week.

Then everyone gives their predictions for the NL Central. After that, the Cubs wrap up the win as the guys wrap up episode 9 and all is well in the world. Cubs win.

We are one week away from real baseball, so the crew invited Cat Garcia (@TheBaseballGirl) from BP Wrigleyville and BP Southside to help with the team previews. Cat covers the rebuilding Reds, Joel discusses the slightly-ahead-of-the-Reds-but-also-rebuilding Brewers, Isaac fills us in on why the Pirates could afford a relatively quiet offseason, Ryan has the Cardinals #devilmagic, and Carlos touches on the Cubs and their depth.

After delving into the NL Central, Joel takes us back in time for our 60 Days with a Former Cub segment with Lee Smith. The question of the week is about potential trade targets and Isaac takes us through Win Probability Added for our stat of the week.

Hector Rondon has some pretty miserable Spring Training numbers, but should fans be concerned? How would the pen hold up if someone else had to step up and close games? Word on the street (or at least Rick Sutcliffe’s street) is Kyle Schwarber will be catching Jason Hamel on the regular. Wasn’t this inevitable in a way?

It may not be Cubs news, but the guys chime in on Adam Laroche and his decision to retire rather than stop bringing his son to games EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Before we fire Isaac, he brings you the stat of the week (WHIP) and Joel revisits the days of El Pulpo in our 60 Seconds with a Former Cub segment.Ryan, in the meantime, has surprising results from a Twitter poll.

We’re getting closer and closer to real baseball, but for now let’s discuss Baseball Prospectus’ Top Ten prospects for the Cubs. We go deep on Dylan Cease, Jemier Candelario, and a scratch the surface on a few other guys. Kyle Hendricks is apparently a lock in the rotation. Ryan regales us with stories of his trip to Arizona and we talk a teeny bit about the Brewers and former Cub Matt Garza.

In our main segment we muse on what might get in the way of the Cubs making it to the World Series this year, and Carlos gives a very unsatisfying answer.

In our 60 Seconds with a Former Cub, segment, Joel takes us back to the days of Bill Mueller.

And for our Stat of the Week, Isaac walks us through the publicly available information behind WARP.

Spring training games are underway! Small sample sizes be damned! We review the first two games and chat about Javier Baez’s versatility, Pierce Johnson’s chances of pitching at Wrigley in 2016, and Kyle Hendricks’ expectations. 

Then we go around and each of us picks our top players that might surprise in 2016. 

Joel takes us back to the Hee-Seop Choi era in the 60 seconds with a former Cub segment, and Isaac walks us through Fair Run Average in our stat of the week. Ryan tackles a Matt Szczur question from a listener and Isaac almost makes it to the end of this one before getting fired. Again.

Dexter Fowler shocks the world and comes back to Chicago. We take a look at the repercussions on other players of his return as well as the return on the Chris Coghlan trade. Does this mean the final bat off the bench is now decided? 

We go around the table and pick out which player worries us the most in terms of how a bad performance would impact the team going into 2016. Then Joel tells us what Michael Barrett has been up to in our 60 seconds with a former Cub segment. 

The stat of the week is ISO and Joel makes a bad Vanilla Ice joke. 

The question of the week asks who will lead off: Fowler or Heyward?

Spring Training is here! We take a look at some storylines to watch out for, including how much playing time Chris Coghlan will get this season. Can Heyward cut it in CF? We take a look at some comparables as well as the Cubs strategy of signing 153 relievers to fill one open spot in the bullpen. We’ll also go around the room to fill in the blank: “The Cubs will be awesome if ________ has a good year.” Also, Isaac professes his undying love for Addison Russell.

Isaac talks about FIP for the stat of the week and Ryan takes our first ever fan question.

And thank you to the Drive By Truckers for allowing us to use their track for the intro and outtro on the podcast!