January 21, 2025 • 63 mins
In this episode of Dingers, we dive into the latest updates and speculation surrounding the Cubs’ offseason strategy. With a focus on bolstering the bullpen and bench, we analyze the team's priorities as they gear up for the season. We also dissect Tom Ricketts' recent comments and what they might reveal about the Cubs' financial plans, especially given their silence since the blockbuster Kyle Tucker trade. Are they playing it safe, or is there a big move still in the works? Plus, we recap all the major takeaways and highlights from the Cubs Convention, bringing you the latest buzz and insights. Don’t miss this packed episode of Dingers! Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6OP... Talk #Cubs baseball on our facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/18899... @dingercubs is presented by OnTapSportsNet.com, your go-to source for Cubs news, analysis, and updates. Follow us on social media: @Diingercubs | @OnTapSportsNet Panelists: @dingercubs | @baseball_buj | @wycoffjd23 | Follow us on Twitter: @dingercubs Follow us on Instagram: @dingercubs TikTok: @dingercubs Find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/dingercubs B4 Bat App Train like a pro, anywhere you go, with the B4 Bat App! Whether you’re hitting the cages or working on your swing in the backyard, all you need is an iPhone and a tripod to take your game to the next level. The B4 Bat App provides professional-level insights and tools to analyze and improve your swing, helping you achieve peak performance. Ready to elevate your training? Download the app for free today at www.b4-app.com! Plate Crate Looking for the ultimate baseball gift? Plate Crate has you covered! Plate Crate is a baseball subscription box packed with gear, training aids, snacks, and more, making it the perfect choice for competitive players of all ages. Whether you’re gearing up for the season or just love the game, each crate is a home run for baseball lovers. Treat yourself or the ballplayer in your life to a monthly delivery of baseball joy with Plate Crate!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to The Dinger's Podcast, presented to you by
tap Chorts Network with your host Mitch, j Jeff and
Kevis to make the greay to talk to some of the.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Cubs dogs and.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
All I need is a bet and y'all looking yah.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I ain't believe under estimate.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
The Swingers, under Dogs, Dangers.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
It's Mitch from the Dingers Podcast Today. I want to
talk to you about something that's truly transformed the way
that I, as a coach work with young players and
especially my own kids.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I'm talking about the B four bat app.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
For those who haven't heard of a before bat app,
it is an incredible tool that lets you track your exitvelocity,
launch angle and more, all from your iPhone. No fancy
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(01:06):
feedback that helps fine tune their swing. My son absolutely
loves it. He gets a kick out of watching his
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It's like a game for him, trying to find that
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been amazing to see how much this app has really
helped improve their swings in that immediate feedback and data
(01:30):
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dingers this season, I highly recommend checking out before Batting app.
You can go to bfore dot app dot com or
search before Batting in the app store. Trust me, you
(01:52):
and your kids will love it. Now let's get back
to hitting some more dingers. The d podcast is on
the air. I'm your host, Mitch. I'm here with Jeffrey
and Kevin. I have no idea where jeff went, but
we're coming off of Cubs Convention and we have a
(02:16):
lot to talk about. There's a lot that's happened in
Cubs news over the last since we've talked last. It's
been a while since we've got on the mics, just
because winners going to be long, and when we were
grinding and doing an episode every single week during the
season can be along. So this winter we've kind of
taken a little bit of break but we're back at it. Yeah,
(02:40):
so much has happened. Ah, I don't even know if
we've had an episode since Kyl Tucker. It's been I think,
But yeah, so we have a lot to talk about,
I mean, if we haven't had one since then. But
we're excited to be back on the mics and chat Cubs.
We have Jake in a drop in with a video
(03:02):
answering some questions, and we have from Sammy Sosa to
talking about Matt Shaw, to the first base backups in
our bullpen, and even again to discuss a little bit
of what Ricketts had to say this weekend. Because yeah,
(03:23):
there's a lot to get into there, but let's start
the show by talking about probably one of our childhood
best memories of summer was watching Sammy Sosa absolutely obliterate
baseballs for at least three years in a row, getting
(03:43):
sixty home runs. He's the only player to have sixty
home over sixty home runs in three straight seasons. Yeah,
what what how do you feel, Jeff of the Cubs
welcoming back Sammy into cubbed him, He's not welcomed back.
(04:04):
What's your feelings with all that? And seeing him at
Cubs convention and now being able to see him part
of of just the festivities that Cubs this year.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Oh so, was he welcome back because he apologized for
using steroids or it's just because he left as a
disgrumpled employee.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
I'm not quite sure that's what hasn't been really cleared up.
He just said I'm sorry. It's kind of like when
you've you've done a couple of things wrong with your
wife and oh boy, you don't know much once she's
mad at and you're like, hey, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
You gotta be just vague enough to cover all the bases.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Trying to all of them. I think that's what Samuel's doing.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
There's not a woman on the planet that the one
to say, what are you sorry for?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Like shit, yeah, but you have to be like it
has with your timing and your tone. There's a way
to get it across. So you're like, I'm pretty sure
this is gonna float and it's gonna be okay. And
then when they ask what you're sorry about, just be
like just for living, for being around, for not being around.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
There's definitely a thing that Jeff, I'm sorry I breathed wrong.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Oh, it's interesting. Uh, you know, there is the tainted
history from the PDS or whatever, but he did make
baseball fun for a lot of us when we unknowingly
knew what was happening.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
I don't.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
I don't know if we'll ever see another player like
him in a Cubs uniform that gets just fucking smash
Baseball's like that day in it, like that that month
of Junie had in ninety eight phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
I remember, so I grew up on a farm. I'm
a farm boy. I remember like purposely wanting to go
out in ray Ky and drive the tractor just so
I could sit in a tractor and listen to the
radio of him just obliterating balls, like I had to
be outside doing work, and so it's like, well, I'd
rather be in the tractor listening to the Cubs game
(06:15):
and sitting in a chair than like anything else. And
that was like my summer of just listening to him
on the radio with Pat Hughes in Ron Santo and
just him absolutely just destroying baseballs. And I mean there
was nothing better.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Yeah, that was like the summer I learned how to
read a box score and newspaper because we were often
busy enough. I didn't watch the games, but we'd get
the newspaper every morning and I'd pop it open and
go read the box score to see did he hit one,
did he hit two, did he hit seven? You know,
the night before. I'm super excited that they brought him back.
(06:56):
He was the last one of that era to be
kind of welcomed back. I mean, Barry Bonds has been
around for a while. Mark McGuire has been around for
a while. He has an energy to him that is
fun to watch him on the screen and watch him interact.
Especially there's that kid's interview and the kid asked him
to teach him how to do the hop. It just
(07:16):
pops up there, does it right away. He's got the
same old smile and grin about him. I love it.
I can't wait for him to throw. At the first pitch,
they'll show a highlight reel out on the big board.
It could be great.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
And Kim as well as Derek Lee will now be
inducted in the Cubs Hall of Fame, which is awesome.
Like we can have our talk, we can talk about
Deeley in a little bit. But like the from nineteen even,
I'd go back to nineteen ninety seven ninety six, like
(07:53):
Sammy Sosa all the way through two thousand and one
was absolutely insane, like watching him swing and like he
would hit home runs with balls that like off the
bat now like it just like he would just flicking
the rest gone and his energy. The running out with
(08:16):
the flag at Cubs con as kind of a remembrance
of what he did after nine to eleven, Like he
was one that I think did more for Cubs the
organization than any other player has done. He kind of
(08:38):
revived Wrigleyville and made it going to Cubs games fun again,
like I mean since season when the Cubs got had
a good team after that. Like I mean, I remember
going to games as a child, like it was. It
was great and exciting to go to Wrigley But there
(09:00):
was no.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Nothing like.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
I believe miss Wi Fi has locked up.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Oh boy, this boy, Oh he's back.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Sorry, There was.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Nothing like going to a game in nineteen ninety eight
and watching him hit bobs like that was Like I mean,
I remember going to a couple of games and it
was the best of being able to watch him in
the bleachers just absolutely destroy baseballs. But uh, not only
(09:38):
did he get inducted, but d League also got inducted
into the Cubs Hall of Fame or they will be
this season. Were you guys big d Lee fans?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
I was? I was? That was I kind of came
back to the fandom about that time when he when
Derek Lee was on the team running the show, he
had what is that some Starlin Castro year or really
really young Starlin Castro years.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
It was like Ryan Terio years. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Oh the third baseman Verez Ramirez.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
I mean was that when they made it to the Yeah,
they had that stretch Ryan Dempster, like when they were
really really good. They had Mark Durosa playing second base.
You thought they were gonna like do awesome in the
playoffs and then they get swept by I feel like
they got some of the d backs and.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
I don't know if they want a playoff game.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
They were like, no, they didn't that That team didn't win.
Those guys didn't ever win. They then they.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Win like three straight division titles, yeah two, not one two.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
And not one playoff win.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
But I also remember, like what year was it. I
think it was two thousand and six or yeah, two
thousand and six. He was having an absolute like MVP
season d Lee and then he broke his wrist, like
on a play at first base. I think I can't
(11:14):
remember who it was. I think it was against the Dodgers.
Was a Raphael vercall, maybe like ran into like he
was reaching over trying to grab a ball and ran
into his wrist and broke his wrist, and like you're like, oh,
are you kidding me? Like d Lee is going insane
right now, and like just that threw off that season.
(11:37):
But well, it's it's great to have them back, especially
have Sammy back. It was great to see them at
the convention. I'll say this, d Lee looked like he
could still play ball. You look, you look fit.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
He needs to be a potential backup. Keep him on
the he was when he was.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Playing for the Cups.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
So he looked like an eighteen year old.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Yeah he did. He didn't stay.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah, but yeah, Cubs convention was great. Uh. I'd never
gone to Cubs convention. I don't think I ever will. Like,
I don't have a desire. That means that that amount
of people in a small space, too many people.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
So I haven't. I haven't gone. I haven't I really
have a desire. I mean, meeting the players would be great.
It would be fun to like do the panels, but
like watching him on Marque is just as good like then,
and I don't have to deal with all the people.
But it was reported and and it was cool to
see all the players, and it was kind of reported
(12:43):
this weekend that like from Jed Hoyer and Ricketts conversations,
that the third base job is basically.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Going to be.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
In house, and so that's meaning that Shaw is going
to basically have the runway to earn that starting position
with like Gauge Workman they picked up who's pretty good defensively,
not great with the bat, maybe as his backup. How
confident are we in that of just handing the reins
(13:15):
over to a rookie third basement. I mean we've been
looking for third basements forever since Ron Santo. We got
it with a Romas Ramiers for a little bit, we
had it with Chris Bryant for a little bit. Are
we willing to pass this off and just give it
to Matt Shaw?
Speaker 4 (13:34):
Well, we really don't have a choice because we let
go the other guy that was playing third base esox Praatus.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Is it that I pronounced that?
Speaker 6 (13:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (13:43):
You said it right, Good.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
Jobs Parade magazine anyway, So yeah, we gotta give him
a chance.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
What's worse going to happen?
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Nick Madrigal? If Nick Madical could do it, he could
do it right, make the throw from.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Third to first without having a run halfway across the
infield he can.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Okay, well, then we're looking at we're on the upside.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Then right right, that's a I'm kind of looking at
the what we have here, and I think I like
the idea that they're going to give Shaw a runway.
I hope it works well. I'm interested to see how
he'll bounce back after the league adjusts to him, you
know that first time. That's always that that big thing
with rookies. There's another guy on the on the team
(14:33):
that's kind of been sitting in the back, backside that
we haven't seen a whole lot that Luis Fasquez is
around two. Be interested to see how he factors in
if he's I if Fangrafts has him really low percentage
playing there, but he potentially could be an option if
Shaw needs some worktime back down at Triple A. At
(14:56):
some points, I I do like like the confidence there.
What I like them to have gone out and got
a third baseman. Sure, we we said that forever, but
I don't I don't remember how we were feeling before
Chris Bryant came up. But we tend to have this
thing where we're like, yeah, sure, here you can play
third base now because we have nobody after service time
(15:18):
though after service.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
To make sure we can control them as long as possible.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
But now he could win, he could win. Yeah, rookie
when they get money. A'm I like it. I like
that there, and I think it's Jed Hoyer kind of
said this in the interview with with Kaplan that their
kind of goal is to create a stable core but
(15:44):
yet be able to pull up one rookie a year
to work them into the fold. And that's how you
create like good teams over years, is that you aren't
trying to backfill with a couple of rookies, just one
rookie and work them in, whether it's a picture. And
so I like that they're they're willing to allow Matt
(16:06):
Shaw at a young age to see where he's at.
The problem is is what they have around Shaw is
do they have enough that when Shaw goes through his struggles,
which he's going to rookie to be able to not
(16:27):
have it be magnified. You know, like when when PCA
was going through his struggles last year at the beginning
of the year, like it was magnified because there wasn't
people around him to kind of carry it and kind
of hide that he wasn't doing as well at the plate, right,
(16:48):
So like it's it makes it a lot a lot easier.
I mean, I was just a big Chicago Bulls fan
way back in the day when Michael Jordan played, and
like I was a huge I became a Bulls fan
because of bj Armstrong. I was an Iowahawkeye basketball fan.
Bj Armstrong gets drafted by the Bulls, and bj fit
(17:13):
in with the Bulls really really well and didn't have
to do a whole lot, and sometimes his struggles got
overshadowed by Michael Jordan's greatness and it wasn't as magnified.
And that's why I'm kind of concerned that there isn't
enough stardom around Matt Shaw and if he goes through
(17:33):
a struggle, everybody's be like, well, I told you, we
shouldn't have been given him the runway here, And it's
like if we would have a little bit more around him,
I would feel more confident. But the dude can ball out,
the dude can flat out play, and so I like
that that we're giving him the opportunity to just take it,
(17:55):
take it and run with it, go with it. So yeah,
I don't know. The other area of need is just
our bench. Our bench is pretty weak right now. Who
do we have? I don't even know who we have,
like gauge workmen we've picked up to play, maybe a
little backup third base. We let go of Master Bony,
(18:18):
so there's all those jokes we can't use anymore.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Is Darwin Barney available.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
That's a blaspheming path.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Not sure, but he doesn't have range and we don't
want him. The big spot that I think as far
as if we're not going to go out and get
anybody for third base and we're gonna fill that with
in house, they must be pretty confident engage workmen is
first base. Depth is pretty weak in the whole organization.
(18:55):
M H, what are you gonna do with with having
a backup full or Bush? I would say they need
to go out and get a handed bat. Mark cannot
would be a guy that I would I like, I
do know there's others out there. Our buddy Anthony Rizzo
(19:16):
is available, but he's left handed. I don't know if
I really want what Anthony Rizzo, but I would go
get Mark Canna in a heartbeat. And I think that's
gonna be one of the moves that they would go get.
He hasn't yet, but I know they've been talking. Okay,
that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, I'd like to see them pick up a right
handed bet what now I'm trying to remember. I watched
him play in Iowa? What's uh by Asteros? Is he
lefty as well?
Speaker 1 (19:49):
He's like lefty? Yes, yes, he's okay.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah, So I would like to see them go see
go go pick up a right handed back that can
play second base, and who knows, maybe it's a guy
who can play second and in an outfield position.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
There's also like Ty France is another one that's available.
Counter Joe is available. I think he bets right. I
think he bets right. Justin Turner is also available, But
I think Mark Cannell will be great. He can He's
(20:25):
played a couple different positions, but putting at first base
would be a great backup for that bullpen is another
area need and always trying to find a back end,
and I think that's where Jed wants to spend his
money and has reported that he was going to spend
(20:46):
that money Tanner Scott. But Tanner Scott decided to go
to the Dodgers, just like everyone else decides to go
sign with the Dodgers. Yeah, that that one. I mean,
we've talked about rookie Sasaki signing with the Dodgers, and
that's kind of expected.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I wasn't angry about that. I liked your message in
our chat. You think it was you who had the
on the move and it was all those characters after
Stander Scott, it was the rock Darth Vader.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Scott in the chat, says Peter Alonzo. Bat's right, he does,
he does. I don't think he'd be a backup to
Michael Bush. But yeah, I don't think that they're not
gonna spend the money. They're not gonna spend the money
unless it's a one year contract. There's never a bad
one year contract. So if Bragman or Peter Alonzo wants
(21:52):
to take a one year deal, I think Jed would
be on board. I would be on board with that.
But as far as bullpen. Now that Tamor Scott is gone, ah,
I will I will plug this so on Tap Sports Network,
We're part of the great on Tap Sports Network. We
love being part of of on Tap Sports Network. They
(22:18):
just released uh see to bring this up? Is it working?
It's just a sir, it's buffering there you okay? So
they just have an article time to pivot six relief
(22:41):
pictures you should consider. So go check out on Tap
Sports Network. It's a great write up on guys who
they should go after. Brooks Raley, he's been in the
Cops organization already at one time, but his pitch pretty
good left. Kirby Yates is a guy we've talked about
before on this show. That would be a great signing
(23:03):
to go to Kirby Gate. Cayl Finnigan, dude has been
lights out over the last couple of years with Washington
is available stander. And then Dave Robertson who's also a
pitch for the comes before. I really liked his time,
really liked hot to be Catov and then Carlos Staves
(23:23):
closer I like, maybe spend a little bit more money,
and then once on there is Kenley Jensen that has
been kind of footing all around. But there there, he's
going to be closer. And then you know, what do
you do with Porter Hodge? Where do you think they
(23:44):
they go next? Where do you think they kind of
shift their focus? And who do you think they will
kind of they will sign?
Speaker 2 (23:57):
I I was intro I was in trigud a couple
of things with the Tanner Scott thing that they came
out and said that the Cubs throughout what was it
four years, sixty seven million or something like that, like
a four year contract for a closer. I thought it
was interesting that the Cubs went out and kind of
swung for the fences on that one, a lot different
(24:18):
than kind of they've done with relief pitching in the past.
I would love to see them bring in a for
sure arm. We have a lot of youth in our bullpen.
It would be nice to bring in somebody. I mean,
we had David Robertson before and he was a great
presence in the in the clubhouse for our bullpen in
the past. It'd be nice to see him. If they
(24:41):
do something like that, like David Robertson, I wouldn't I
would like them to also grab another guy because David
Robertson really shined. Was it the setup role when he
was here with us last time and then moved into
closing I think a bunch of games because injuries.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
But we have a we have about thirty million to
be able to spend. I would say, right, and well,
it's gonna be really hard to split that money and
see if you can get two because I think they
want to save some of that for in season if
they're doing well, that they could go and get another person.
(25:20):
So that's where it's like, if you sign Carlos Estevez,
he's gonna probably get you Your probably spent at least
ten ten million on him. I would say that. I
mean that's about the same as like Hector Naris last
year the contract I think it was nine for him.
Like you're gonna have to get at least ten probably
and to be able to then turn around and get
(25:43):
like a Yates or get maybe a Roberson. But Roberson
pitched really really well last year, Like he's gonna be
looking to get a little bit of money. Finn again maybe,
Like I don't know how you can get two because
I think even like aj Mentor that signed with the Mets.
(26:03):
What'd he get? I think he got eight or nine
on his deal and he was hurt last year. It's like, okay,
he got a pretty good Pier's twenty two million, So yeah,
he got just a eleven million for that and he
was hurt. So it's like the price for relief pick
(26:27):
is going up. That makes sense. So it's gonna make
it tough to be able to get two. I would
like to, but I don't know if that's gonna happen.
Are you confident and Porter Hodgeby and the Closer.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Confident? I don't. I don't know. Their relievers are so finicky,
you know what they do from one year to the other.
Would I like to be confident in him? Yeah, but
I'm but I'm not. I don't know why. I think
we've just seen some We've seen some up and down
years from some of the guys we've actually homegrown or
(27:10):
who have been in the organization for a few years.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Do we have any other options? Scott says the next
big Cup signing is gonna be Carl Systems, which he's
a good, good relief picture. I think they're a little
bit hesitant after the nearest thing to be able to
go and do something like a longer deal, but they
(27:35):
were with Tanner Scott. But Tanner Scott's been a little
bit more proven, and so I think they're more willing
to go do that, and that he was left handed.
But I think one thing when we look at the
bullpen I think that we're forgetting is we have Jordan
Wicks that could possibly fill down. We have Ben Brown
(28:00):
that could possibly fill into the bullpen. And something that
like a lot of people are forgetting about is billion.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Oh true.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
I don't think he's gonna like the dude can throw gas,
give put put him in the bullpen, throw one inning,
and I think he will turn into a lights out pitcher.
So I think that, like I know they like him
as a starter, but I don't think he has enough
pitches in his arsenal to be like a four pitch pitcher.
(28:32):
I think he's a great three pitch pitcher or two
pitch pitcher that could be a great bullpen guy. And
he throws hard.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Well, and our starting pitching, we have a lot of
guys potentially who could starting pitch like he would be
nice to throw into the bullpen.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
YEP, now that they signed, they brought that Colin Ray,
they have Boyd that they've added, plus if Wix is
in the mix.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
There and and Brown is showing off the mound the
other day.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
So but Ben Brown I did really good as a
bullpen arm last year, so they could fill him in there.
So they have pieces where they can move around, but
they need then he a solid guy. And so that's
where like Estebez makes a lot of sense. David Robertson
has done it for a lot of years and he's
been pretty insistent. Maybe they go with him. I don't know,
(29:24):
but Tanner Scott would have been really nice because he
is his slider is absolutely filthy, but he gone mm hmm.
True to the Dodgers.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Of course.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Jeff, do you think do you think there should be
a salary cap? Yes, so that the Dodgers got to.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Be dumb a how many people have they signed to
deferred contracts that it's just outrageously ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
So you think that there should be a salary cap?
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, I think this is gonna be a tough one
because you know, I want to be a players fan
and they definitely do not want a salary cap. But
at the same time, if they're all just go in
and sign them with one team. It's really hard to
imagine how you would manage that without putting a cap
on on there. I mean, that's how football does it.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yeah, okay, I heard this. I can't remember where I
heard it. And this is why you don't want a
salary cap. So let's say that everybody has ten dollars,
every team has ten dollars to spend, and everybody from
(30:58):
China or not everywhere from Japan, all the baseball players
like rookie saki Otani, all them could sign anywhere in
the United States with any Major League Baseball team, and
there's a salary cap, meaning everybody can offer them the
ten dollars. Do you think they're gonna want to go
(31:22):
to Milwaukee? Do you think they're gonna want to go
to Cincinnati? Do you think they're gonna want to no where?
Where are they gonna want to go?
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Yeah, they're still going back to LA.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
They're still gonna go to LA. And you'll actually make
it even harder for those teams that have the salar
cap there in a small market because even the guys
for one dollar, are you going to play for one
dollar on a losing team? Or are you gonna play
for one dollar on a winning team and want to
win a World Series, Then you create people even in
(31:59):
the middle market, that like, well, I could play for
this team for like three dollars and lose, or I
can go play on the Dodgers for three dollars and win.
Like it would I think it would create even a
(32:19):
bigger mess where they would even get any they would
even get better.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
All right, well, okay, then here's what I want to see.
Speaker 4 (32:31):
I want to see the Dodgers go bankrupt, like just
totally implode to where they can't sign anybody for fifty cents.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
I want them to implode by like, not by getting injured,
by it just sucking. I want them to have I
want them to absolutely get rocked. I want, like I
like Freddy Freeman, maybe like Mookie Bats to go through
the biggest struggle of.
Speaker 4 (32:59):
His rear, like how many how much and you have
in a locker room one time.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I want show tany to forget how to throw the ball.
Who is the pitcher for the Cardinals that forgot like
how to pitch?
Speaker 5 (33:23):
Left?
Speaker 1 (33:23):
Yeah? I could see his name then came back as
an outfielder.
Speaker 4 (33:27):
Oh it wasn't Scott something. I can see him too.
There was just something done.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
But yeah, I want them to like all get the yips?
Can we like pray that they all get the yips?
I want to like cast that, like there's any witches
or wizards in our listening, like cast yips spell on
the Dodgers because it's it's ridiculous. Rick Ankiel. Yes, Carter Hawkins,
(33:58):
Carter Hawkins is listening to us tonight. Look that that
that's special right there, that Carter Hawkins. Wow, we're a
big time Rick Ankle. Yes, it was Rick Ankiel.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
That that.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Yeah, Hyen becomes Rick Ankiel as a picture where he forgets.
Speaker 4 (34:25):
H I don't think he's gonna pitch that long anyway,
keeps hurting the staring on anyway.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Let's get into let's I want to play Jake, another
guy host of our podcast. He couldn't be on tonight,
but I did send him some questions to be able
to answer. So here's him answering some of the questions
I sent him.
Speaker 7 (34:51):
Go Irish not really an ord Dame fan anymore, but
we hate Ohio State.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Okay, should be where of Bear's at though? Right now?
Speaker 7 (35:02):
First question? With no big moves coming yet after the
Tucker trade, what needs to happen to get you excited
about the upcoming year.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
I'll say.
Speaker 7 (35:12):
I'm kind of inherently excited just because I feel like
year two of Craig Council is going to make a difference.
You know, most of the other signings, well, I guess
Tucker was a trade, but the other signings moves have
just been kind of peripheral and not super exciting. But
they're treating the roster as if, you know, they want
(35:34):
guys to play above their projections.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
That's the thing we've.
Speaker 7 (35:38):
Heard now for years, and it's really annoying, especially as
we continue to see the Dodgers just poor money, just
just throw money at whoever wants it. I'd like some
money Dodgers. I I will say, I like the Matt
Boyd signing. I don't know if he's going to be
the fifth starter, but I think I like him with
(36:01):
the Cubs pitching infrastructure, Colin Ray not super exciting, but
I think that he's going to be a great swing man.
And then I just saw today that Kate Horton is
going to be healthy, full go come spring. So I
think that that's great to get him in the mix.
I don't know, man, I think it's tough. I don't
really think there's anything explicitly, you know, exciting right now
(36:25):
about the Cubs. I think I'm just kind of waiting
to see spring training and you know what storylines we
can follow there. Second question, with the problem last year
being that our offense was horrible for two months, is
the Tucker trade enough to make this lineup more sustainable
and consistent?
Speaker 1 (36:42):
No, it's not.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
It is not enough.
Speaker 7 (36:45):
Again, you are hoping for guys to play above their projections,
and I don't know, like I think that, Sayah says
been good, say it's been very good. I think it's
like over his last one hundred and sixty two games
or something like that. I don't know exactly what the
(37:07):
metric is, but he's been top ten in baseball and
WRC plus.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
Someone check me on that.
Speaker 7 (37:12):
But say a dhing, Maybe that makes him better, Maybe
that makes his offense better. He can focus on that,
you know, really study the pitchers in between at bats.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
Whatever. I don't maybe it hurts him. I don't know.
Speaker 7 (37:32):
I think you know, I've listened to a lot of
Fantasy baseball podcasts over this offseason, and guys really like
Ian Happ.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
People outside of the Cubs really like.
Speaker 7 (37:41):
Ian Happ, And yeah, you know, I mean, I just
would like to see him turn it on a little
bit earlier in the season. So I think, you know,
looking looking forward to that or looking to see that.
And finally, like, I'm really excited about match, but I'm
really nervous because this roster doesn't feel ready to like
(38:04):
cradle him, you know what I mean. It feels like
he's being pushed into something that him being the gamer,
it seems.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
Like he is.
Speaker 7 (38:16):
He'll he'll, you know, grab that opportunity by the by
the horns and run with it.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
But what's our backup plan if.
Speaker 7 (38:25):
Vidal Bruhan gauge workman, Like, what's our backup plan if
if he doesn't hit?
Speaker 3 (38:34):
So that that concerns me a little bit. That concerns
me a little bit. Uh.
Speaker 7 (38:39):
Finally, excitement level, Uh check, where are you at?
Speaker 3 (38:44):
This is right after Cubs Con weekend?
Speaker 7 (38:46):
Right yeah, right after Cubs Con weekend, a time where
we can all get excited for the season. And it
seems like we'll all come back to earth after the talk,
like we've all come back to earth after the Tucker
trade and nothing much happening.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Where is your side level overall?
Speaker 7 (39:03):
Like on a scale of one to ten, I think
for baseball, I'm at like a seven. Just baseball in general,
I'm at like a seven push in an eight. For
the Cubs, I'm below a five. I mean, they should
win the division, But I feel like we said that
last year.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
I think that.
Speaker 7 (39:30):
I'm not upset, like I didn't expect them to sign
Tanner Scott. I think it was on Bleacher Nation they
wrote I think Brett wrote that he'd be excited or
expects a combination of like Kirby Yates and Joann Mancatta
uh to kind of round things out. And I think
that to kind of go back to the first question, Yeah,
(39:53):
I could get behind both of those.
Speaker 3 (39:55):
I've always liked Kirby Yates and Yon Mankatta.
Speaker 7 (40:03):
If you bring him in as a guy that you're
not expecting him to be a superstar, you just kind
of you give him that one one year pillow contract,
you know, give him some time at third and second,
see what he does. Switch switch hitter only twenty nine
(40:23):
I think, or maybe even twenty eight. Still, Yeah, I
don't know, man like wild cards like that get me excited.
When we signed Dom Smith to a minor league deal.
I think that was last season. I was excited about that.
You know, post hype sleepers are are a thing in
fantasy baseball, and I look forward to guys like that
(40:45):
getting opportunities, as you know, fringe players in real life too.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
So I don't know.
Speaker 7 (40:50):
Maybe a change of scenery to the north side, not
a big move from Mankata, but maybe that does something.
I do think that they'll end up with him. I
do think they'll end up with him, and then Kirby
Yates or gosh who or the other. I haven't been, honestly,
haven't been reading a lot of baseball stuff because the
(41:12):
Bears have been you know, Ben Johnson, there's been stuff
to look at there, and the playoffs have been exciting.
But that's what I got, baseball excitement seven seven and
a half Cubs excitement.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
Call it a four do something Jed get me hyped?
Speaker 1 (41:33):
Yeah, I think that's like he nailed it with It's
too many times over the last couple of years where
where we've relied on guys outperforming their projections for us
to be able to be a successful team like the Yankees,
(41:56):
don't have to like worry about a guy outperforming projection,
he says to be him, he could be under projection
and they will still make the playoffs. Right, Yeah, that's
they can have three guys. They can have like Mookie
Bets Freeman, A let's say, uh Smith their catcher, they
(42:22):
underperformed the projections and they have enough to make the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
Yeah, it wasn't free. Didn't Freeman start last season on
like a pretty horrible slump or whatever, And it was like, yeah,
it doesn't matter, keep letting him play through it and
he'll get through it. Everybody else is carrying it.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
Or the brain said half their team hurt and still
almost made the playoffs. Yeah, and we have to like
hope that somebody loses, somebody loses, and we have to
outperform projections.
Speaker 2 (42:55):
Right when, I think Jake brought it up too, like,
you know, the Cubs are expected to win the division again,
but who was there was a writer for somebody who's
tweeting about how Cubs expected to win the division again,
but yet we'll still do the bare minimum to make
that just maybe a maybe rather than a for sure
(43:16):
and just yeah, and they're just ripping into them and
it's like, yeah, you could put this to bed, just
sign a couple more guys or whatever it was the tweet,
and that leads us.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
Right into our next topic conversation of talking about Ricketts
and his comments this weekend. I'm actually going to play
clips from the Setup Man YouTube channel, which Kyle with
the Setup Man is awesome. Like, if you aren't subscribed
to his YouTube channel, go right now, Like, go and
(43:51):
subscribe to the Setup Man or podcast type that he does,
like a live podcast on YouTube. It's awesome. He's a
great dude, super smart, his his stuff is great, so, like,
go check him out. He was at the Cubs convention,
but he he did a great episode. I think it
(44:13):
dropped today about some brickets coument. So I'm gonna play
a little bit of clips for that. He does a
good job a kount of breaking down just the predicament
that the Cubs are in. But yeah, so I'm gonna
play some couple of clips. We'll kind of talk about it.
Speaker 5 (44:26):
Here's what he said.
Speaker 6 (44:26):
The business model in baseball, it's it's worked pretty well
for a long time, but there's a few things right
now that just are a little out of kilter. Obviously,
the Dodgers have a lot more resources naturally from uh
smart business moves they made years ago, and so I
don't I don't begrudge them any of that. You know,
some teams just have outside resources that are funding their
(44:51):
their player moves and acquisitions, and and that's really hard
to compete with. And I you know, and and I
understand when fans say, how come you and spend like
that because they think somehow we have all these dollars
that the Dodgers have or the Mets have or the
Yankees have, that we just keep it, which isn't true
at all. Like what happens is we try to break
even every year and that's about it. And I think
(45:12):
that there's there's one problem that I think there's a
competitive balance issue that gets created. But the other problem
is I don't think fans should spend all their time
thinking about which team has more money or how much
they're spending when you're talking about players and who we
draft and who we're developing, and I just think it
becomes a big, a big narrative.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
That's a distraction.
Speaker 6 (45:31):
So I think the model could get better.
Speaker 5 (45:34):
Feels a little bit like deflection, does it not?
Speaker 8 (45:37):
Hey, I understand what fans are thinking, but we're trying
to break even. Also, you're focusing on the wrong things.
You should be focusing on our draft. You should be
focusing on yadya YadA. At the end of the day,
the draft doesn't make the big headlines.
Speaker 1 (45:54):
Well, let's talk a little bit about that. We'll get
into a little bit more of Kyle's setup. Man, But
what do you think about ricketts comments about one of
the big was break even, that we're just breaking even,
that you think that we're making all this money, but
(46:14):
we're just breaking even. How do you think like Ricketts
comes off there two fans listening.
Speaker 2 (46:23):
To that, okay, kind of like a a pitty prick
about being honest, like the idea that you're running a
team to break even. Like and from the outside looking in,
sitting there, I'm sitting there watching all those businesses that
they've developed over the last few years, all of the revenue,
(46:45):
the Marquee Sports and everything like that, and like in
my head going, you're you're only breaking even. Like for
some reason, that leaves me head scratching. However, I know
we have more information on that a little bit.
Speaker 5 (46:59):
But.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
It it's it doesn't sound like a guy who's really
excited to be a owner or personal owner GM of
a baseball team, you know, or runner or running the
baseball team if his goal is breaking even and just
how he talked about it.
Speaker 3 (47:19):
Yeah, Like I'm.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
I'm trying to give Brickets the benefit of the doubt
in and not be super overly critical because I don't know.
I don't want to pretend like I know everything that's
going on behind the scenes and who they all have
(47:43):
to pay, who they all like have employed, Like I
don't know all that, and I know, like in his
interview with Dave Kaplan, he brought up the they they
spent can't remember what the number was, a million dollars
(48:07):
on the renovations for Wrigley right out of their pocket,
where a lot of other city teams the city pays
for a new stadium, or the city with tax dollars
pays for renovations, and they did it all themselves out
of their own pocket through different investors, right, And so
(48:32):
I kind of like, Okay, they have done a lot
to Wrigley, Like in the interview with Dave Kaplan, like
he talked about like when he took the ownership of
the Cubs, he had two goals to win a World
Series and to renovate Wrigly and restore it back so
it could be the home of the Cubs for extended
(48:52):
period of time. And he's done both of those, right,
He's definitely done both of those two to make Riggy
back beautiful again and to they won the World Series.
I think they still want to win, but now they're
in a position where they have to make their investors
(49:14):
be and that's not overspending. So I don't even like,
I know, we like to go at Ricketts. I did.
I don't even know if it's like a Rickets issue anymore.
These other investors that have a so much pull into
what the team does and how they spend money.
Speaker 2 (49:38):
Yeah, and that's something he goes on to talk about,
as those investors and and then and how they hed.
He describes it almost like I think we were talking before,
like a publicly traded company that has to be able
to pay off their Wall Street debts or to speak,
or the you know, the Angel fund people that give
(49:59):
them the money up front, they have to be able
to pay them off before they pay themselves even and
stuff like that. The way he describes it kind of
seems more like that rather than a you know, someone
who's personally taking in a lot of revenue and then
turning around and being able to put all of that
towards the team, towards the product on the field. It's interesting,
(50:21):
but I don't I don't know. I'll it's also a
weird like at the same time, we've seen them do
big contracts in the past and and pay big money,
and and they've just been so seemingly frightened by that
first tax threshold that like not go above it or
below Like they want to always stay below it. Sometimes
(50:42):
they dip above it, they never want to be above
it for more than a couple a year or two.
Speaker 1 (50:47):
Well, that's it's it's when they pinch pennies on small
dumb things is when it really gets me. Like that's
where I was, like, I tried to understand rickets. But
then your you're two million dollars apart on arbitration with
(51:07):
your your franchise. Now your your best player on your team,
Cayl Tucker, and you're not willing to go an extra
two million or two million dollars and go from what
they it was like fifteen and eighteen or fifteen.
Speaker 2 (51:23):
Sixteen and like seventeen and a half or something like that.
Speaker 1 (51:26):
It's like, seriously, I would rather you not sign Gauge
Workman and put his contract towards the two million to
be able to cover the extra arbitration just so like
the I'll use the phrase from the Lockdown Cubs podcast,
which is a great Cubs podcast, the optics. It's just
(51:46):
the optics. It just doesn't feel good when you're trying
to like you have a player like Cal Tucker that
eventually you might want to sign to a long term deal,
which would be great, and you're gonna pinch pennies over
this little tiny thing. It's like, that's where I get frustrated.
Speaker 4 (52:01):
Well, yeah, let's let's piss them off right from the
get go and then make him really think hard going
in the next year, towards the end of this season
coming up, do I really want to screw around with
this franchise?
Speaker 2 (52:17):
Right? And And that seems to have been their arbitration
strategy lately has been to let it go to trial
with a lot of the players, Like I think I
heard Ian and some other folks talking about it on
the compound, like the fact that they actually came down
and had a deal had a lot to do with,
as you said, optics, and that they wanted to get
it done before slash during the first day of Cubs
(52:40):
con because they didn't want the convention to have all
these questions like when are you gonna settle with Kyle
Ducker you're working on extension. Wait, your difference was only
like this much. You really couldn't shake it, like and
get get there, like what's going on?
Speaker 1 (52:56):
And that's it's like a question for me, is with
this is and after this? A lot of these owners
by Major league teams as assets to be able to
get them to be worth more and then they sell
them and that's where they make their money, right and
as an asset. Since Ricketts has bought it, the Cubs
(53:19):
have like there's worth so much money now, the organization
in Wrigley Field and everything around it, they're worth so
much more money. And you look at other teams not
willing to pay big contracts or defer contracts because it's
(53:41):
really hard to sell a team when you have a
deferred contract down the road because then they have to
take that on. Or if they have all these big
contracts and you try to sell a team, that's where
like the Dodgers, Like why they can defer all this
money is because their owners have no interest in and
because it's gonna be a cash cow for them for
(54:02):
generations upon generations. And I look at Ricketts and I
feel like he is committed to being to keeping the
Cubs I think in the Ricketts family for a really
long time. I think he's looking at like the Dodgers,
because back in the eighties or like nineties, the Dodgers
(54:23):
weren't a great run organization, but the things that they
did in the nineties and early two thousand set them
up for who they are now. And I think he's
trying to look at as like, Okay, the things I'm
doing now might set us up by like Marquee Sports Network,
having the sports book, having the hotel, having Wrigley vill
be a thing like and so I don't know, I'm
(54:48):
just trying to like just think of like what what
they might be trying to do. But let's get into
a little bit more of the.
Speaker 5 (55:02):
The private equity owners.
Speaker 8 (55:06):
Now, if you don't know anything about that, make sure
you go watch my interview with Jesse Rodgers. We talked
about these private equity owners even though they don't have
any sort of feedback to Tom. That's still pressure on
Tom to go produce. And I'm going to equate this
to my airbnb business that I have. The way that
we manage that business is that we take on clients
who want to go buy a house and they want
(55:28):
to put it on Airbnb, but they don't want to
do the work. So they have money, they want to
make a return, but they don't want to do any work.
That's what a private equity investor is like that they're
either a company or a person that says, here's money,
we just don't want to do the work. So they've
invested it. With the Cubs and with the Ricketts family.
Now Tom Ricketts has his number one is to make
(55:49):
sure that those private equity investors are making a good return.
I'm sorry, fans, but that is the number one. Is
that he needs to make sure that the revenue that
has been created or the loans that have been created
to be able to fund this team have to be
paid back and they have to make a return.
Speaker 5 (56:08):
If they don't, that's.
Speaker 8 (56:09):
A major, major, major issue, way more major than just
upset fans.
Speaker 5 (56:15):
I'm sorry, but that is the case here.
Speaker 8 (56:17):
Then he has to say, okay, well we need to
make a really good product to be able to make
the fans happy to then make the money back for
those investors in my airbnb business. That's you know, if
you I'm sure all of you booked an airbnb, you
have to have you're looking for the experience, right You're
looking for the place that's close to Wrigley Field, or
you're looking for the one that's themed like you know
the Wrigley Field ivy. You're looking for all those great things,
(56:38):
a great product that you'll say, hey, I'll pay money
for that.
Speaker 5 (56:41):
The problem is there's a balance.
Speaker 8 (56:43):
If I go in and I say, hey, let's spend
two hundred thousand dollars to make your airbnb really really nice,
and I tell them all that's going to do is
increase their income by ten thousand dollars a year, that's
not a good return. For you that are good at math,
that's a five percent return. Five percent is not good.
So what Tom has to do is he has to say, hey, well,
(57:05):
I need to make that a ten percent return. So
I need to I can only invest one hundred thousand dollars.
And for that reason, it makes it as a person
staying in Airbnb aka the Cubs fan. It makes it
a less promising product, but it's this like balance in
the middle of like, Okay, I'm not totally pissing off fans,
but I'm also giving investors what they need, and so
(57:28):
for that reason, I'm able to kind of live in
this like middle grounds, this gray area. Now, as the fan,
we say, well, we you should invest more money, so
it's a better product one hundred percent. And this is
where the part of it where Tom says, hey, we
just try to break even. The math doesn't math on this.
If you look at Forbes, this could be incorrect, right.
(57:50):
Forbes could be wrong on this. Forbes could be missing
a number of things. I know for a fact that
the numbers that you see in front of you right now,
where it says that there was two hundred six million
dollars a player expenses, that's not correct. It was about
two hundred and thirty eight two hundred and thirty nine
million according to the final number that MLB put out
a couple months ago. And then it says operating income
(58:12):
is sixty eight million. So you you round all this
up to be in the neighborhood of between three hundred
to maybe three twenty five, and the revenue is five
hundred and six million. Again, the math doesn't math. I know,
there's a lot of other things. Maybe maybe one hundred
million of that goes to private equity investors. Maybe there's
(58:32):
you know, money that spread are all around the family,
and so it feels like you're just breaking even because
only the rickets themselves are only making call it, you know,
I don't know, ten million dollars a year each and
so that feels like breaking even.
Speaker 5 (58:46):
For billionaires, that would probably feel like breaking even.
Speaker 8 (58:48):
But at the end of the day, the math shows
that there's roughly a one hundred and you know, seventy
five to two hundred million dollars spread there.
Speaker 5 (58:57):
Forbes doesn't know.
Speaker 8 (58:58):
We don't know, so we have to temper like, okay,
is he is he lying?
Speaker 5 (59:04):
Or is there more to these p and ls? And
that's not my job.
Speaker 8 (59:07):
If you want to let me know what you think
down in the comments, please, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (59:13):
So like you can kind of understand a little bit
of what it is with these private investors. The big
problem is right now is that we're going to have
to live in this like he has to make them happy,
but he wants to make the fans happy. So he's
(59:35):
going to shoot for this, like eighty five to ninety
wins every year. That has to be our expectations. We're
he wants to shoot for that in hopes that we
get to like ninety three ninety four and barely and
get into the playoffs. He talked a lot about in
(59:56):
those interviews on Kaplan and even at the Cubs, can
just you just got to make the playoffs. Get making
the playoffs, and then anything can happen. That's true, But
making the playoffs and beating the Dodgers is still really
really hard. It's gonna be really hard. And so I
(01:00:17):
don't know, I don't I don't like it that the
team I love isn't Like that's where it's like I'm fighting.
Like I've heard that like angry and envy are are
really closely linked. And do I hate the Dodgers or
do I just envy the Dodgers because I wish the
(01:00:37):
Cubs were the Dodgers? And I think that that's it,
Like I think we all envy what the Dodgers are
doing because they're spending money and the Cubs and and
and they know they know they're gonna make the playoffs.
It's not a matter of like they know it. Every
(01:01:02):
Dodger fan knows they're gonna make the playoffs, and we're
like thinking, well, we should win the division. We hope
that they make the playoffs, but we still don't know.
And so that's that's the tough thing that we're in.
(01:01:23):
One more question, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, m What is
your favorite childhood cartoon theme song? Jeff go Scooby Doo.
Speaker 2 (01:01:37):
Singing classic, Yeah, Scooby Doo, b do where are you? Uh?
I'd say my favorite is probably the X Men. It
comes to comes to mind recently with the new X
Men ninety seven. Just that did and you can just
(01:02:00):
see all the X Men flying in over the big
all the Rays and everything. I love it always was
the last episode Mine is married.
Speaker 1 (01:02:11):
My top three is Chippendale Rescue Rangers Jip and Dale
Rescue Range and then uh, doctor tell us that that's
a good swimming in the gold. And then my my
(01:02:38):
favorite of all time is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I
think that is the best theme song for any cartoon.
I could sing it. Oh yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (01:02:48):
It's great, Scott C says g I. Joe that's a
good Joe.
Speaker 1 (01:02:52):
That's a good one, but those are mine anyway, Thanks
for listening. Uh, I don't know. We're gonna barely make
the playoffs, but if we do, that's where I think
this team is at. So. Uh, it's a long winter.
It's the coldest. It's freaking cold.
Speaker 2 (01:03:14):
H Do you even have school tomorrow? We're delayed right now.
Speaker 1 (01:03:19):
We are have to our late start. We have to
our late start today, so hopefully, I mean, it's just cool.
I'm ready for summer. I am so sick of this
winter already. Bring on summer. I'm ready to watch them
Cubs baseball and chill out drinking something nice on my patio,
listening to the patent Rod. So but yeah, thanks for listening,
(01:03:42):
and go Cubs.
Speaker 3 (01:03:46):
Okay,
You're listening to The Dinger's Podcast, presented to you by
tap Chorts Network with your host Mitch, j Jeff and
Kevis to make the greay to talk to some of the.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Cubs dogs and.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
All I need is a bet and y'all looking yah.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I ain't believe under estimate.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
The Swingers, under Dogs, Dangers.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
It's Mitch from the Dingers Podcast Today. I want to
talk to you about something that's truly transformed the way
that I, as a coach work with young players and
especially my own kids.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
I'm talking about the B four bat app.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
For those who haven't heard of a before bat app,
it is an incredible tool that lets you track your exitvelocity,
launch angle and more, all from your iPhone. No fancy
bat sensor or expensive equipment needed, Just your iPhone, a
tripod and you're good to go. I use the four
bad app daily with my son and daughter and the
results have been phenomenal. It provides valuable data and video
(01:06):
feedback that helps fine tune their swing. My son absolutely
loves it. He gets a kick out of watching his
videos of his swing and especially enjoys tracking his exit velocity.
It's like a game for him, trying to find that
perfect launch angle to maximize his explocity. For me, it's
been amazing to see how much this app has really
helped improve their swings in that immediate feedback and data
(01:30):
that they get are a game changer. So if you're
looking to get that valuable data and insight for your
own slugger and for them to hit maybe some more
dingers this season, I highly recommend checking out before Batting app.
You can go to bfore dot app dot com or
search before Batting in the app store. Trust me, you
(01:52):
and your kids will love it. Now let's get back
to hitting some more dingers. The d podcast is on
the air. I'm your host, Mitch. I'm here with Jeffrey
and Kevin. I have no idea where jeff went, but
we're coming off of Cubs Convention and we have a
(02:16):
lot to talk about. There's a lot that's happened in
Cubs news over the last since we've talked last. It's
been a while since we've got on the mics, just
because winners going to be long, and when we were
grinding and doing an episode every single week during the
season can be along. So this winter we've kind of
taken a little bit of break but we're back at it. Yeah,
(02:40):
so much has happened. Ah, I don't even know if
we've had an episode since Kyl Tucker. It's been I think,
But yeah, so we have a lot to talk about,
I mean, if we haven't had one since then. But
we're excited to be back on the mics and chat Cubs.
We have Jake in a drop in with a video
(03:02):
answering some questions, and we have from Sammy Sosa to
talking about Matt Shaw, to the first base backups in
our bullpen, and even again to discuss a little bit
of what Ricketts had to say this weekend. Because yeah,
(03:23):
there's a lot to get into there, but let's start
the show by talking about probably one of our childhood
best memories of summer was watching Sammy Sosa absolutely obliterate
baseballs for at least three years in a row, getting
(03:43):
sixty home runs. He's the only player to have sixty
home over sixty home runs in three straight seasons. Yeah,
what what how do you feel, Jeff of the Cubs
welcoming back Sammy into cubbed him, He's not welcomed back.
(04:04):
What's your feelings with all that? And seeing him at
Cubs convention and now being able to see him part
of of just the festivities that Cubs this year.
Speaker 4 (04:14):
Oh so, was he welcome back because he apologized for
using steroids or it's just because he left as a
disgrumpled employee.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
I'm not quite sure that's what hasn't been really cleared up.
He just said I'm sorry. It's kind of like when
you've you've done a couple of things wrong with your
wife and oh boy, you don't know much once she's
mad at and you're like, hey, I'm sorry.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
You gotta be just vague enough to cover all the bases.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
Trying to all of them. I think that's what Samuel's doing.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
There's not a woman on the planet that the one
to say, what are you sorry for?
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Like shit, yeah, but you have to be like it
has with your timing and your tone. There's a way
to get it across. So you're like, I'm pretty sure
this is gonna float and it's gonna be okay. And
then when they ask what you're sorry about, just be
like just for living, for being around, for not being around.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
There's definitely a thing that Jeff, I'm sorry I breathed wrong.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Oh, it's interesting. Uh, you know, there is the tainted
history from the PDS or whatever, but he did make
baseball fun for a lot of us when we unknowingly
knew what was happening.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
I don't.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
I don't know if we'll ever see another player like
him in a Cubs uniform that gets just fucking smash
Baseball's like that day in it, like that that month
of Junie had in ninety eight phenomenal.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
I remember, so I grew up on a farm. I'm
a farm boy. I remember like purposely wanting to go
out in ray Ky and drive the tractor just so
I could sit in a tractor and listen to the
radio of him just obliterating balls, like I had to
be outside doing work, and so it's like, well, I'd
rather be in the tractor listening to the Cubs game
(06:15):
and sitting in a chair than like anything else. And
that was like my summer of just listening to him
on the radio with Pat Hughes in Ron Santo and
just him absolutely just destroying baseballs. And I mean there
was nothing better.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Yeah, that was like the summer I learned how to
read a box score and newspaper because we were often
busy enough. I didn't watch the games, but we'd get
the newspaper every morning and I'd pop it open and
go read the box score to see did he hit one,
did he hit two, did he hit seven? You know,
the night before. I'm super excited that they brought him back.
(06:56):
He was the last one of that era to be
kind of welcomed back. I mean, Barry Bonds has been
around for a while. Mark McGuire has been around for
a while. He has an energy to him that is
fun to watch him on the screen and watch him interact.
Especially there's that kid's interview and the kid asked him
to teach him how to do the hop. It just
(07:16):
pops up there, does it right away. He's got the
same old smile and grin about him. I love it.
I can't wait for him to throw. At the first pitch,
they'll show a highlight reel out on the big board.
It could be great.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
And Kim as well as Derek Lee will now be
inducted in the Cubs Hall of Fame, which is awesome.
Like we can have our talk, we can talk about
Deeley in a little bit. But like the from nineteen even,
I'd go back to nineteen ninety seven ninety six, like
(07:53):
Sammy Sosa all the way through two thousand and one
was absolutely insane, like watching him swing and like he
would hit home runs with balls that like off the
bat now like it just like he would just flicking
the rest gone and his energy. The running out with
(08:16):
the flag at Cubs con as kind of a remembrance
of what he did after nine to eleven, Like he
was one that I think did more for Cubs the
organization than any other player has done. He kind of
(08:38):
revived Wrigleyville and made it going to Cubs games fun again,
like I mean since season when the Cubs got had
a good team after that. Like I mean, I remember
going to games as a child, like it was. It
was great and exciting to go to Wrigley But there
(09:00):
was no.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Nothing like.
Speaker 1 (09:05):
I believe miss Wi Fi has locked up.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Oh boy, this boy, Oh he's back.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
Sorry, There was.
Speaker 1 (09:13):
Nothing like going to a game in nineteen ninety eight
and watching him hit bobs like that was Like I mean,
I remember going to a couple of games and it
was the best of being able to watch him in
the bleachers just absolutely destroy baseballs. But uh, not only
(09:38):
did he get inducted, but d League also got inducted
into the Cubs Hall of Fame or they will be
this season. Were you guys big d Lee fans?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
I was? I was? That was I kind of came
back to the fandom about that time when he when
Derek Lee was on the team running the show, he
had what is that some Starlin Castro year or really
really young Starlin Castro years.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
It was like Ryan Terio years. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:08):
Oh the third baseman Verez Ramirez.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
I mean was that when they made it to the Yeah,
they had that stretch Ryan Dempster, like when they were
really really good. They had Mark Durosa playing second base.
You thought they were gonna like do awesome in the
playoffs and then they get swept by I feel like
they got some of the d backs and.
Speaker 4 (10:36):
I don't know if they want a playoff game.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
They were like, no, they didn't that That team didn't win.
Those guys didn't ever win. They then they.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Win like three straight division titles, yeah two, not one two.
Speaker 3 (10:50):
And not one playoff win.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
But I also remember, like what year was it. I
think it was two thousand and six or yeah, two
thousand and six. He was having an absolute like MVP
season d Lee and then he broke his wrist, like
on a play at first base. I think I can't
(11:14):
remember who it was. I think it was against the Dodgers.
Was a Raphael vercall, maybe like ran into like he
was reaching over trying to grab a ball and ran
into his wrist and broke his wrist, and like you're like, oh,
are you kidding me? Like d Lee is going insane
right now, and like just that threw off that season.
(11:37):
But well, it's it's great to have them back, especially
have Sammy back. It was great to see them at
the convention. I'll say this, d Lee looked like he
could still play ball. You look, you look fit.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
He needs to be a potential backup. Keep him on
the he was when he was.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Playing for the Cups.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
So he looked like an eighteen year old.
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Yeah he did. He didn't stay.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
Yeah, but yeah, Cubs convention was great. Uh. I'd never
gone to Cubs convention. I don't think I ever will. Like,
I don't have a desire. That means that that amount
of people in a small space, too many people.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
Exactly.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
So I haven't. I haven't gone. I haven't I really
have a desire. I mean, meeting the players would be great.
It would be fun to like do the panels, but
like watching him on Marque is just as good like then,
and I don't have to deal with all the people.
But it was reported and and it was cool to
see all the players, and it was kind of reported
(12:43):
this weekend that like from Jed Hoyer and Ricketts conversations,
that the third base job is basically.
Speaker 3 (12:52):
Going to be.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
In house, and so that's meaning that Shaw is going
to basically have the runway to earn that starting position
with like Gauge Workman they picked up who's pretty good defensively,
not great with the bat, maybe as his backup. How
confident are we in that of just handing the reins
(13:15):
over to a rookie third basement. I mean we've been
looking for third basements forever since Ron Santo. We got
it with a Romas Ramiers for a little bit, we
had it with Chris Bryant for a little bit. Are
we willing to pass this off and just give it
to Matt Shaw?
Speaker 4 (13:34):
Well, we really don't have a choice because we let
go the other guy that was playing third base esox Praatus.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Is it that I pronounced that?
Speaker 6 (13:42):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (13:43):
You said it right, Good.
Speaker 4 (13:43):
Jobs Parade magazine anyway, So yeah, we gotta give him
a chance.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
What's worse going to happen?
Speaker 1 (13:54):
Nick Madrigal? If Nick Madical could do it, he could
do it right, make the throw from.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
Third to first without having a run halfway across the
infield he can.
Speaker 1 (14:07):
Okay, well, then we're looking at we're on the upside.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Then right right, that's a I'm kind of looking at
the what we have here, and I think I like
the idea that they're going to give Shaw a runway.
I hope it works well. I'm interested to see how
he'll bounce back after the league adjusts to him, you
know that first time. That's always that that big thing
with rookies. There's another guy on the on the team
(14:33):
that's kind of been sitting in the back, backside that
we haven't seen a whole lot that Luis Fasquez is
around two. Be interested to see how he factors in
if he's I if Fangrafts has him really low percentage
playing there, but he potentially could be an option if
Shaw needs some worktime back down at Triple A. At
(14:56):
some points, I I do like like the confidence there.
What I like them to have gone out and got
a third baseman. Sure, we we said that forever, but
I don't I don't remember how we were feeling before
Chris Bryant came up. But we tend to have this
thing where we're like, yeah, sure, here you can play
third base now because we have nobody after service time
(15:18):
though after service.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
To make sure we can control them as long as possible.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
But now he could win, he could win. Yeah, rookie
when they get money. A'm I like it. I like
that there, and I think it's Jed Hoyer kind of
said this in the interview with with Kaplan that their
kind of goal is to create a stable core but
(15:44):
yet be able to pull up one rookie a year
to work them into the fold. And that's how you
create like good teams over years, is that you aren't
trying to backfill with a couple of rookies, just one
rookie and work them in, whether it's a picture. And
so I like that they're they're willing to allow Matt
(16:06):
Shaw at a young age to see where he's at.
The problem is is what they have around Shaw is
do they have enough that when Shaw goes through his struggles,
which he's going to rookie to be able to not
(16:27):
have it be magnified. You know, like when when PCA
was going through his struggles last year at the beginning
of the year, like it was magnified because there wasn't
people around him to kind of carry it and kind
of hide that he wasn't doing as well at the plate, right,
(16:48):
So like it's it makes it a lot a lot easier.
I mean, I was just a big Chicago Bulls fan
way back in the day when Michael Jordan played, and
like I was a huge I became a Bulls fan
because of bj Armstrong. I was an Iowahawkeye basketball fan.
Bj Armstrong gets drafted by the Bulls, and bj fit
(17:13):
in with the Bulls really really well and didn't have
to do a whole lot, and sometimes his struggles got
overshadowed by Michael Jordan's greatness and it wasn't as magnified.
And that's why I'm kind of concerned that there isn't
enough stardom around Matt Shaw and if he goes through
(17:33):
a struggle, everybody's be like, well, I told you, we
shouldn't have been given him the runway here, And it's
like if we would have a little bit more around him,
I would feel more confident. But the dude can ball out,
the dude can flat out play, and so I like
that that we're giving him the opportunity to just take it,
(17:55):
take it and run with it, go with it. So yeah,
I don't know. The other area of need is just
our bench. Our bench is pretty weak right now. Who
do we have? I don't even know who we have,
like gauge workmen we've picked up to play, maybe a
little backup third base. We let go of Master Bony,
(18:18):
so there's all those jokes we can't use anymore.
Speaker 4 (18:21):
Is Darwin Barney available.
Speaker 2 (18:28):
That's a blaspheming path.
Speaker 1 (18:31):
Not sure, but he doesn't have range and we don't
want him. The big spot that I think as far
as if we're not going to go out and get
anybody for third base and we're gonna fill that with
in house, they must be pretty confident engage workmen is
first base. Depth is pretty weak in the whole organization.
(18:55):
M H, what are you gonna do with with having
a backup full or Bush? I would say they need
to go out and get a handed bat. Mark cannot
would be a guy that I would I like, I
do know there's others out there. Our buddy Anthony Rizzo
(19:16):
is available, but he's left handed. I don't know if
I really want what Anthony Rizzo, but I would go
get Mark Canna in a heartbeat. And I think that's
gonna be one of the moves that they would go get.
He hasn't yet, but I know they've been talking. Okay,
that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, I'd like to see them pick up a right
handed bet what now I'm trying to remember. I watched
him play in Iowa? What's uh by Asteros? Is he
lefty as well?
Speaker 1 (19:49):
He's like lefty? Yes, yes, he's okay.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Yeah, So I would like to see them go see
go go pick up a right handed back that can
play second base, and who knows, maybe it's a guy
who can play second and in an outfield position.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
There's also like Ty France is another one that's available.
Counter Joe is available. I think he bets right. I
think he bets right. Justin Turner is also available, But
I think Mark Cannell will be great. He can He's
(20:25):
played a couple different positions, but putting at first base
would be a great backup for that bullpen is another
area need and always trying to find a back end,
and I think that's where Jed wants to spend his
money and has reported that he was going to spend
(20:46):
that money Tanner Scott. But Tanner Scott decided to go
to the Dodgers, just like everyone else decides to go
sign with the Dodgers. Yeah, that that one. I mean,
we've talked about rookie Sasaki signing with the Dodgers, and
that's kind of expected.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
I wasn't angry about that. I liked your message in
our chat. You think it was you who had the
on the move and it was all those characters after
Stander Scott, it was the rock Darth Vader.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Scott in the chat, says Peter Alonzo. Bat's right, he does,
he does. I don't think he'd be a backup to
Michael Bush. But yeah, I don't think that they're not
gonna spend the money. They're not gonna spend the money
unless it's a one year contract. There's never a bad
one year contract. So if Bragman or Peter Alonzo wants
(21:52):
to take a one year deal, I think Jed would
be on board. I would be on board with that.
But as far as bullpen. Now that Tamor Scott is gone, ah,
I will I will plug this so on Tap Sports Network,
We're part of the great on Tap Sports Network. We
love being part of of on Tap Sports Network. They
(22:18):
just released uh see to bring this up? Is it working?
It's just a sir, it's buffering there you okay? So
they just have an article time to pivot six relief
(22:41):
pictures you should consider. So go check out on Tap
Sports Network. It's a great write up on guys who
they should go after. Brooks Raley, he's been in the
Cops organization already at one time, but his pitch pretty
good left. Kirby Yates is a guy we've talked about
before on this show. That would be a great signing
(23:03):
to go to Kirby Gate. Cayl Finnigan, dude has been
lights out over the last couple of years with Washington
is available stander. And then Dave Robertson who's also a
pitch for the comes before. I really liked his time,
really liked hot to be Catov and then Carlos Staves
(23:23):
closer I like, maybe spend a little bit more money,
and then once on there is Kenley Jensen that has
been kind of footing all around. But there there, he's
going to be closer. And then you know, what do
you do with Porter Hodge? Where do you think they
(23:44):
they go next? Where do you think they kind of
shift their focus? And who do you think they will
kind of they will sign?
Speaker 2 (23:57):
I I was intro I was in trigud a couple
of things with the Tanner Scott thing that they came
out and said that the Cubs throughout what was it
four years, sixty seven million or something like that, like
a four year contract for a closer. I thought it
was interesting that the Cubs went out and kind of
swung for the fences on that one, a lot different
(24:18):
than kind of they've done with relief pitching in the past.
I would love to see them bring in a for
sure arm. We have a lot of youth in our bullpen.
It would be nice to bring in somebody. I mean,
we had David Robertson before and he was a great
presence in the in the clubhouse for our bullpen in
the past. It'd be nice to see him. If they
(24:41):
do something like that, like David Robertson, I wouldn't I
would like them to also grab another guy because David
Robertson really shined. Was it the setup role when he
was here with us last time and then moved into
closing I think a bunch of games because injuries.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
But we have a we have about thirty million to
be able to spend. I would say, right, and well,
it's gonna be really hard to split that money and
see if you can get two because I think they
want to save some of that for in season if
they're doing well, that they could go and get another person.
(25:20):
So that's where it's like, if you sign Carlos Estevez,
he's gonna probably get you Your probably spent at least
ten ten million on him. I would say that. I
mean that's about the same as like Hector Naris last
year the contract I think it was nine for him.
Like you're gonna have to get at least ten probably
and to be able to then turn around and get
(25:43):
like a Yates or get maybe a Roberson. But Roberson
pitched really really well last year, Like he's gonna be
looking to get a little bit of money. Finn again maybe,
Like I don't know how you can get two because
I think even like aj Mentor that signed with the Mets.
(26:03):
What'd he get? I think he got eight or nine
on his deal and he was hurt last year. It's like, okay,
he got a pretty good Pier's twenty two million, So yeah,
he got just a eleven million for that and he
was hurt. So it's like the price for relief pick
(26:27):
is going up. That makes sense. So it's gonna make
it tough to be able to get two. I would
like to, but I don't know if that's gonna happen.
Are you confident and Porter Hodgeby and the Closer.
Speaker 2 (26:48):
Confident? I don't. I don't know. Their relievers are so finicky,
you know what they do from one year to the other.
Would I like to be confident in him? Yeah, but
I'm but I'm not. I don't know why. I think
we've just seen some We've seen some up and down
years from some of the guys we've actually homegrown or
(27:10):
who have been in the organization for a few years.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Do we have any other options? Scott says the next
big Cup signing is gonna be Carl Systems, which he's
a good, good relief picture. I think they're a little
bit hesitant after the nearest thing to be able to
go and do something like a longer deal, but they
(27:35):
were with Tanner Scott. But Tanner Scott's been a little
bit more proven, and so I think they're more willing
to go do that, and that he was left handed.
But I think one thing when we look at the
bullpen I think that we're forgetting is we have Jordan
Wicks that could possibly fill down. We have Ben Brown
(28:00):
that could possibly fill into the bullpen. And something that
like a lot of people are forgetting about is billion.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
Oh true.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
I don't think he's gonna like the dude can throw gas,
give put put him in the bullpen, throw one inning,
and I think he will turn into a lights out pitcher.
So I think that, like I know they like him
as a starter, but I don't think he has enough
pitches in his arsenal to be like a four pitch pitcher.
(28:32):
I think he's a great three pitch pitcher or two
pitch pitcher that could be a great bullpen guy. And
he throws hard.
Speaker 2 (28:39):
Well, and our starting pitching, we have a lot of
guys potentially who could starting pitch like he would be
nice to throw into the bullpen.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
YEP, now that they signed, they brought that Colin Ray,
they have Boyd that they've added, plus if Wix is
in the mix.
Speaker 2 (28:57):
There and and Brown is showing off the mound the
other day.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
So but Ben Brown I did really good as a
bullpen arm last year, so they could fill him in there.
So they have pieces where they can move around, but
they need then he a solid guy. And so that's
where like Estebez makes a lot of sense. David Robertson
has done it for a lot of years and he's
been pretty insistent. Maybe they go with him. I don't know,
(29:24):
but Tanner Scott would have been really nice because he
is his slider is absolutely filthy, but he gone mm hmm.
True to the Dodgers.
Speaker 2 (29:39):
Of course.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Jeff, do you think do you think there should be
a salary cap? Yes, so that the Dodgers got to.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Be dumb a how many people have they signed to
deferred contracts that it's just outrageously ridiculous.
Speaker 1 (30:06):
So you think that there should be a salary cap?
Speaker 4 (30:09):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yeah, I think this is gonna be a tough one
because you know, I want to be a players fan
and they definitely do not want a salary cap. But
at the same time, if they're all just go in
and sign them with one team. It's really hard to
imagine how you would manage that without putting a cap
on on there. I mean, that's how football does it.
Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yeah, okay, I heard this. I can't remember where I
heard it. And this is why you don't want a
salary cap. So let's say that everybody has ten dollars,
every team has ten dollars to spend, and everybody from
(30:58):
China or not everywhere from Japan, all the baseball players
like rookie saki Otani, all them could sign anywhere in
the United States with any Major League Baseball team, and
there's a salary cap, meaning everybody can offer them the
ten dollars. Do you think they're gonna want to go
(31:22):
to Milwaukee? Do you think they're gonna want to go
to Cincinnati? Do you think they're gonna want to no where?
Where are they gonna want to go?
Speaker 2 (31:34):
Yeah, they're still going back to LA.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
They're still gonna go to LA. And you'll actually make
it even harder for those teams that have the salar
cap there in a small market because even the guys
for one dollar, are you going to play for one
dollar on a losing team? Or are you gonna play
for one dollar on a winning team and want to
win a World Series, Then you create people even in
(31:59):
the middle market, that like, well, I could play for
this team for like three dollars and lose, or I
can go play on the Dodgers for three dollars and win.
Like it would I think it would create even a
(32:19):
bigger mess where they would even get any they would
even get better.
Speaker 3 (32:28):
All right, well, okay, then here's what I want to see.
Speaker 4 (32:31):
I want to see the Dodgers go bankrupt, like just
totally implode to where they can't sign anybody for fifty cents.
Speaker 1 (32:41):
I want them to implode by like, not by getting injured,
by it just sucking. I want them to have I
want them to absolutely get rocked. I want, like I
like Freddy Freeman, maybe like Mookie Bats to go through
the biggest struggle of.
Speaker 4 (32:59):
His rear, like how many how much and you have
in a locker room one time.
Speaker 1 (33:10):
I want show tany to forget how to throw the ball.
Who is the pitcher for the Cardinals that forgot like
how to pitch?
Speaker 5 (33:23):
Left?
Speaker 1 (33:23):
Yeah? I could see his name then came back as
an outfielder.
Speaker 4 (33:27):
Oh it wasn't Scott something. I can see him too.
There was just something done.
Speaker 1 (33:36):
But yeah, I want them to like all get the yips?
Can we like pray that they all get the yips?
I want to like cast that, like there's any witches
or wizards in our listening, like cast yips spell on
the Dodgers because it's it's ridiculous. Rick Ankiel. Yes, Carter Hawkins,
(33:58):
Carter Hawkins is listening to us tonight. Look that that
that's special right there, that Carter Hawkins. Wow, we're a
big time Rick Ankle. Yes, it was Rick Ankiel.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
That that.
Speaker 1 (34:19):
Yeah, Hyen becomes Rick Ankiel as a picture where he forgets.
Speaker 4 (34:25):
H I don't think he's gonna pitch that long anyway,
keeps hurting the staring on anyway.
Speaker 1 (34:36):
Let's get into let's I want to play Jake, another
guy host of our podcast. He couldn't be on tonight,
but I did send him some questions to be able
to answer. So here's him answering some of the questions
I sent him.
Speaker 7 (34:51):
Go Irish not really an ord Dame fan anymore, but
we hate Ohio State.
Speaker 3 (34:58):
Okay, should be where of Bear's at though? Right now?
Speaker 7 (35:02):
First question? With no big moves coming yet after the
Tucker trade, what needs to happen to get you excited
about the upcoming year.
Speaker 3 (35:10):
I'll say.
Speaker 7 (35:12):
I'm kind of inherently excited just because I feel like
year two of Craig Council is going to make a difference.
You know, most of the other signings, well, I guess
Tucker was a trade, but the other signings moves have
just been kind of peripheral and not super exciting. But
they're treating the roster as if, you know, they want
(35:34):
guys to play above their projections.
Speaker 3 (35:36):
That's the thing we've.
Speaker 7 (35:38):
Heard now for years, and it's really annoying, especially as
we continue to see the Dodgers just poor money, just
just throw money at whoever wants it. I'd like some
money Dodgers. I I will say, I like the Matt
Boyd signing. I don't know if he's going to be
the fifth starter, but I think I like him with
(36:01):
the Cubs pitching infrastructure, Colin Ray not super exciting, but
I think that he's going to be a great swing man.
And then I just saw today that Kate Horton is
going to be healthy, full go come spring. So I
think that that's great to get him in the mix.
I don't know, man, I think it's tough. I don't
really think there's anything explicitly, you know, exciting right now
(36:25):
about the Cubs. I think I'm just kind of waiting
to see spring training and you know what storylines we
can follow there. Second question, with the problem last year
being that our offense was horrible for two months, is
the Tucker trade enough to make this lineup more sustainable
and consistent?
Speaker 1 (36:42):
No, it's not.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
It is not enough.
Speaker 7 (36:45):
Again, you are hoping for guys to play above their projections,
and I don't know, like I think that, Sayah says
been good, say it's been very good. I think it's
like over his last one hundred and sixty two games
or something like that. I don't know exactly what the
(37:07):
metric is, but he's been top ten in baseball and
WRC plus.
Speaker 3 (37:11):
Someone check me on that.
Speaker 7 (37:12):
But say a dhing, Maybe that makes him better, Maybe
that makes his offense better. He can focus on that,
you know, really study the pitchers in between at bats.
Speaker 3 (37:26):
Whatever. I don't maybe it hurts him. I don't know.
Speaker 7 (37:32):
I think you know, I've listened to a lot of
Fantasy baseball podcasts over this offseason, and guys really like
Ian Happ.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
People outside of the Cubs really like.
Speaker 7 (37:41):
Ian Happ, And yeah, you know, I mean, I just
would like to see him turn it on a little
bit earlier in the season. So I think, you know,
looking looking forward to that or looking to see that.
And finally, like, I'm really excited about match, but I'm
really nervous because this roster doesn't feel ready to like
(38:04):
cradle him, you know what I mean. It feels like
he's being pushed into something that him being the gamer,
it seems.
Speaker 3 (38:14):
Like he is.
Speaker 7 (38:16):
He'll he'll, you know, grab that opportunity by the by
the horns and run with it.
Speaker 3 (38:20):
But what's our backup plan if.
Speaker 7 (38:25):
Vidal Bruhan gauge workman, Like, what's our backup plan if
if he doesn't hit?
Speaker 3 (38:34):
So that that concerns me a little bit. That concerns
me a little bit. Uh.
Speaker 7 (38:39):
Finally, excitement level, Uh check, where are you at?
Speaker 3 (38:44):
This is right after Cubs Con weekend?
Speaker 7 (38:46):
Right yeah, right after Cubs Con weekend, a time where
we can all get excited for the season. And it
seems like we'll all come back to earth after the talk,
like we've all come back to earth after the Tucker
trade and nothing much happening.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
Where is your side level overall?
Speaker 7 (39:03):
Like on a scale of one to ten, I think
for baseball, I'm at like a seven. Just baseball in general,
I'm at like a seven push in an eight. For
the Cubs, I'm below a five. I mean, they should
win the division, But I feel like we said that
last year.
Speaker 3 (39:27):
I think that.
Speaker 7 (39:30):
I'm not upset, like I didn't expect them to sign
Tanner Scott. I think it was on Bleacher Nation they
wrote I think Brett wrote that he'd be excited or
expects a combination of like Kirby Yates and Joann Mancatta
uh to kind of round things out. And I think
that to kind of go back to the first question, Yeah,
(39:53):
I could get behind both of those.
Speaker 3 (39:55):
I've always liked Kirby Yates and Yon Mankatta.
Speaker 7 (40:03):
If you bring him in as a guy that you're
not expecting him to be a superstar, you just kind
of you give him that one one year pillow contract,
you know, give him some time at third and second,
see what he does. Switch switch hitter only twenty nine
(40:23):
I think, or maybe even twenty eight. Still, Yeah, I
don't know, man like wild cards like that get me excited.
When we signed Dom Smith to a minor league deal.
I think that was last season. I was excited about that.
You know, post hype sleepers are are a thing in
fantasy baseball, and I look forward to guys like that
(40:45):
getting opportunities, as you know, fringe players in real life too.
Speaker 3 (40:49):
So I don't know.
Speaker 7 (40:50):
Maybe a change of scenery to the north side, not
a big move from Mankata, but maybe that does something.
I do think that they'll end up with him. I
do think they'll end up with him, and then Kirby
Yates or gosh who or the other. I haven't been, honestly,
haven't been reading a lot of baseball stuff because the
(41:12):
Bears have been you know, Ben Johnson, there's been stuff
to look at there, and the playoffs have been exciting.
But that's what I got, baseball excitement seven seven and
a half Cubs excitement.
Speaker 3 (41:27):
Call it a four do something Jed get me hyped?
Speaker 1 (41:33):
Yeah, I think that's like he nailed it with It's
too many times over the last couple of years where
where we've relied on guys outperforming their projections for us
to be able to be a successful team like the Yankees,
(41:56):
don't have to like worry about a guy outperforming projection,
he says to be him, he could be under projection
and they will still make the playoffs. Right, Yeah, that's
they can have three guys. They can have like Mookie
Bets Freeman, A let's say, uh Smith their catcher, they
(42:22):
underperformed the projections and they have enough to make the playoffs.
Speaker 2 (42:27):
Yeah, it wasn't free. Didn't Freeman start last season on
like a pretty horrible slump or whatever, And it was like, yeah,
it doesn't matter, keep letting him play through it and
he'll get through it. Everybody else is carrying it.
Speaker 1 (42:37):
Or the brain said half their team hurt and still
almost made the playoffs. Yeah, and we have to like
hope that somebody loses, somebody loses, and we have to
outperform projections.
Speaker 2 (42:55):
Right when, I think Jake brought it up too, like,
you know, the Cubs are expected to win the division again,
but who was there was a writer for somebody who's
tweeting about how Cubs expected to win the division again,
but yet we'll still do the bare minimum to make
that just maybe a maybe rather than a for sure
(43:16):
and just yeah, and they're just ripping into them and
it's like, yeah, you could put this to bed, just
sign a couple more guys or whatever it was the tweet,
and that leads us.
Speaker 1 (43:29):
Right into our next topic conversation of talking about Ricketts
and his comments this weekend. I'm actually going to play
clips from the Setup Man YouTube channel, which Kyle with
the Setup Man is awesome. Like, if you aren't subscribed
to his YouTube channel, go right now, Like, go and
(43:51):
subscribe to the Setup Man or podcast type that he does,
like a live podcast on YouTube. It's awesome. He's a
great dude, super smart, his his stuff is great, so, like,
go check him out. He was at the Cubs convention,
but he he did a great episode. I think it
(44:13):
dropped today about some brickets coument. So I'm gonna play
a little bit of clips for that. He does a
good job a kount of breaking down just the predicament
that the Cubs are in. But yeah, so I'm gonna
play some couple of clips. We'll kind of talk about it.
Speaker 5 (44:26):
Here's what he said.
Speaker 6 (44:26):
The business model in baseball, it's it's worked pretty well
for a long time, but there's a few things right
now that just are a little out of kilter. Obviously,
the Dodgers have a lot more resources naturally from uh
smart business moves they made years ago, and so I
don't I don't begrudge them any of that. You know,
some teams just have outside resources that are funding their
(44:51):
their player moves and acquisitions, and and that's really hard
to compete with. And I you know, and and I
understand when fans say, how come you and spend like
that because they think somehow we have all these dollars
that the Dodgers have or the Mets have or the
Yankees have, that we just keep it, which isn't true
at all. Like what happens is we try to break
even every year and that's about it. And I think
(45:12):
that there's there's one problem that I think there's a
competitive balance issue that gets created. But the other problem
is I don't think fans should spend all their time
thinking about which team has more money or how much
they're spending when you're talking about players and who we
draft and who we're developing, and I just think it
becomes a big, a big narrative.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
That's a distraction.
Speaker 6 (45:31):
So I think the model could get better.
Speaker 5 (45:34):
Feels a little bit like deflection, does it not?
Speaker 8 (45:37):
Hey, I understand what fans are thinking, but we're trying
to break even. Also, you're focusing on the wrong things.
You should be focusing on our draft. You should be
focusing on yadya YadA. At the end of the day,
the draft doesn't make the big headlines.
Speaker 1 (45:54):
Well, let's talk a little bit about that. We'll get
into a little bit more of Kyle's setup. Man, But
what do you think about ricketts comments about one of
the big was break even, that we're just breaking even,
that you think that we're making all this money, but
(46:14):
we're just breaking even. How do you think like Ricketts
comes off there two fans listening.
Speaker 2 (46:23):
To that, okay, kind of like a a pitty prick
about being honest, like the idea that you're running a
team to break even. Like and from the outside looking in,
sitting there, I'm sitting there watching all those businesses that
they've developed over the last few years, all of the revenue,
(46:45):
the Marquee Sports and everything like that, and like in
my head going, you're you're only breaking even. Like for
some reason, that leaves me head scratching. However, I know
we have more information on that a little bit.
Speaker 5 (46:59):
But.
Speaker 2 (47:01):
It it's it doesn't sound like a guy who's really
excited to be a owner or personal owner GM of
a baseball team, you know, or runner or running the
baseball team if his goal is breaking even and just
how he talked about it.
Speaker 3 (47:19):
Yeah, Like I'm.
Speaker 1 (47:22):
I'm trying to give Brickets the benefit of the doubt
in and not be super overly critical because I don't know.
I don't want to pretend like I know everything that's
going on behind the scenes and who they all have
(47:43):
to pay, who they all like have employed, Like I
don't know all that, and I know, like in his
interview with Dave Kaplan, he brought up the they they
spent can't remember what the number was, a million dollars
(48:07):
on the renovations for Wrigley right out of their pocket,
where a lot of other city teams the city pays
for a new stadium, or the city with tax dollars
pays for renovations, and they did it all themselves out
of their own pocket through different investors, right, And so
(48:32):
I kind of like, Okay, they have done a lot
to Wrigley, Like in the interview with Dave Kaplan, like
he talked about like when he took the ownership of
the Cubs, he had two goals to win a World
Series and to renovate Wrigly and restore it back so
it could be the home of the Cubs for extended
(48:52):
period of time. And he's done both of those, right,
He's definitely done both of those two to make Riggy
back beautiful again and to they won the World Series.
I think they still want to win, but now they're
in a position where they have to make their investors
(49:14):
be and that's not overspending. So I don't even like,
I know, we like to go at Ricketts. I did.
I don't even know if it's like a Rickets issue anymore.
These other investors that have a so much pull into
what the team does and how they spend money.
Speaker 2 (49:38):
Yeah, and that's something he goes on to talk about,
as those investors and and then and how they hed.
He describes it almost like I think we were talking before,
like a publicly traded company that has to be able
to pay off their Wall Street debts or to speak,
or the you know, the Angel fund people that give
(49:59):
them the money up front, they have to be able
to pay them off before they pay themselves even and
stuff like that. The way he describes it kind of
seems more like that rather than a you know, someone
who's personally taking in a lot of revenue and then
turning around and being able to put all of that
towards the team, towards the product on the field. It's interesting,
(50:21):
but I don't I don't know. I'll it's also a
weird like at the same time, we've seen them do
big contracts in the past and and pay big money,
and and they've just been so seemingly frightened by that
first tax threshold that like not go above it or
below Like they want to always stay below it. Sometimes
(50:42):
they dip above it, they never want to be above
it for more than a couple a year or two.
Speaker 1 (50:47):
Well, that's it's it's when they pinch pennies on small
dumb things is when it really gets me. Like that's
where I was, like, I tried to understand rickets. But
then your you're two million dollars apart on arbitration with
(51:07):
your your franchise. Now your your best player on your team,
Cayl Tucker, and you're not willing to go an extra
two million or two million dollars and go from what
they it was like fifteen and eighteen or fifteen.
Speaker 2 (51:23):
Sixteen and like seventeen and a half or something like that.
Speaker 1 (51:26):
It's like, seriously, I would rather you not sign Gauge
Workman and put his contract towards the two million to
be able to cover the extra arbitration just so like
the I'll use the phrase from the Lockdown Cubs podcast,
which is a great Cubs podcast, the optics. It's just
(51:46):
the optics. It just doesn't feel good when you're trying
to like you have a player like Cal Tucker that
eventually you might want to sign to a long term deal,
which would be great, and you're gonna pinch pennies over
this little tiny thing. It's like, that's where I get frustrated.
Speaker 4 (52:01):
Well, yeah, let's let's piss them off right from the
get go and then make him really think hard going
in the next year, towards the end of this season
coming up, do I really want to screw around with
this franchise?
Speaker 2 (52:17):
Right? And And that seems to have been their arbitration
strategy lately has been to let it go to trial
with a lot of the players, Like I think I
heard Ian and some other folks talking about it on
the compound, like the fact that they actually came down
and had a deal had a lot to do with,
as you said, optics, and that they wanted to get
it done before slash during the first day of Cubs
(52:40):
con because they didn't want the convention to have all
these questions like when are you gonna settle with Kyle
Ducker you're working on extension. Wait, your difference was only
like this much. You really couldn't shake it, like and
get get there, like what's going on?
Speaker 1 (52:56):
And that's it's like a question for me, is with
this is and after this? A lot of these owners
by Major league teams as assets to be able to
get them to be worth more and then they sell
them and that's where they make their money, right and
as an asset. Since Ricketts has bought it, the Cubs
(53:19):
have like there's worth so much money now, the organization
in Wrigley Field and everything around it, they're worth so
much more money. And you look at other teams not
willing to pay big contracts or defer contracts because it's
(53:41):
really hard to sell a team when you have a
deferred contract down the road because then they have to
take that on. Or if they have all these big
contracts and you try to sell a team, that's where
like the Dodgers, Like why they can defer all this
money is because their owners have no interest in and
because it's gonna be a cash cow for them for
(54:02):
generations upon generations. And I look at Ricketts and I
feel like he is committed to being to keeping the
Cubs I think in the Ricketts family for a really
long time. I think he's looking at like the Dodgers,
because back in the eighties or like nineties, the Dodgers
(54:23):
weren't a great run organization, but the things that they
did in the nineties and early two thousand set them
up for who they are now. And I think he's
trying to look at as like, Okay, the things I'm
doing now might set us up by like Marquee Sports Network,
having the sports book, having the hotel, having Wrigley vill
be a thing like and so I don't know, I'm
(54:48):
just trying to like just think of like what what
they might be trying to do. But let's get into
a little bit more of the.
Speaker 5 (55:02):
The private equity owners.
Speaker 8 (55:06):
Now, if you don't know anything about that, make sure
you go watch my interview with Jesse Rodgers. We talked
about these private equity owners even though they don't have
any sort of feedback to Tom. That's still pressure on
Tom to go produce. And I'm going to equate this
to my airbnb business that I have. The way that
we manage that business is that we take on clients
who want to go buy a house and they want
(55:28):
to put it on Airbnb, but they don't want to
do the work. So they have money, they want to
make a return, but they don't want to do any work.
That's what a private equity investor is like that they're
either a company or a person that says, here's money,
we just don't want to do the work. So they've
invested it. With the Cubs and with the Ricketts family.
Now Tom Ricketts has his number one is to make
(55:49):
sure that those private equity investors are making a good return.
I'm sorry, fans, but that is the number one. Is
that he needs to make sure that the revenue that
has been created or the loans that have been created
to be able to fund this team have to be
paid back and they have to make a return.
Speaker 5 (56:08):
If they don't, that's.
Speaker 8 (56:09):
A major, major, major issue, way more major than just
upset fans.
Speaker 5 (56:15):
I'm sorry, but that is the case here.
Speaker 8 (56:17):
Then he has to say, okay, well we need to
make a really good product to be able to make
the fans happy to then make the money back for
those investors in my airbnb business. That's you know, if
you I'm sure all of you booked an airbnb, you
have to have you're looking for the experience, right You're
looking for the place that's close to Wrigley Field, or
you're looking for the one that's themed like you know
the Wrigley Field ivy. You're looking for all those great things,
(56:38):
a great product that you'll say, hey, I'll pay money
for that.
Speaker 5 (56:41):
The problem is there's a balance.
Speaker 8 (56:43):
If I go in and I say, hey, let's spend
two hundred thousand dollars to make your airbnb really really nice,
and I tell them all that's going to do is
increase their income by ten thousand dollars a year, that's
not a good return. For you that are good at math,
that's a five percent return. Five percent is not good.
So what Tom has to do is he has to say, hey, well,
(57:05):
I need to make that a ten percent return. So
I need to I can only invest one hundred thousand dollars.
And for that reason, it makes it as a person
staying in Airbnb aka the Cubs fan. It makes it
a less promising product, but it's this like balance in
the middle of like, Okay, I'm not totally pissing off fans,
but I'm also giving investors what they need, and so
(57:28):
for that reason, I'm able to kind of live in
this like middle grounds, this gray area. Now, as the fan,
we say, well, we you should invest more money, so
it's a better product one hundred percent. And this is
where the part of it where Tom says, hey, we
just try to break even. The math doesn't math on this.
If you look at Forbes, this could be incorrect, right.
(57:50):
Forbes could be wrong on this. Forbes could be missing
a number of things. I know for a fact that
the numbers that you see in front of you right now,
where it says that there was two hundred six million
dollars a player expenses, that's not correct. It was about
two hundred and thirty eight two hundred and thirty nine
million according to the final number that MLB put out
a couple months ago. And then it says operating income
(58:12):
is sixty eight million. So you you round all this
up to be in the neighborhood of between three hundred
to maybe three twenty five, and the revenue is five
hundred and six million. Again, the math doesn't math. I know,
there's a lot of other things. Maybe maybe one hundred
million of that goes to private equity investors. Maybe there's
(58:32):
you know, money that spread are all around the family,
and so it feels like you're just breaking even because
only the rickets themselves are only making call it, you know,
I don't know, ten million dollars a year each and
so that feels like breaking even.
Speaker 5 (58:46):
For billionaires, that would probably feel like breaking even.
Speaker 8 (58:48):
But at the end of the day, the math shows
that there's roughly a one hundred and you know, seventy
five to two hundred million dollars spread there.
Speaker 5 (58:57):
Forbes doesn't know.
Speaker 8 (58:58):
We don't know, so we have to temper like, okay,
is he is he lying?
Speaker 5 (59:04):
Or is there more to these p and ls? And
that's not my job.
Speaker 8 (59:07):
If you want to let me know what you think
down in the comments, please, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (59:13):
So like you can kind of understand a little bit
of what it is with these private investors. The big
problem is right now is that we're going to have
to live in this like he has to make them happy,
but he wants to make the fans happy. So he's
(59:35):
going to shoot for this, like eighty five to ninety
wins every year. That has to be our expectations. We're
he wants to shoot for that in hopes that we
get to like ninety three ninety four and barely and
get into the playoffs. He talked a lot about in
(59:56):
those interviews on Kaplan and even at the Cubs, can
just you just got to make the playoffs. Get making
the playoffs, and then anything can happen. That's true, But
making the playoffs and beating the Dodgers is still really
really hard. It's gonna be really hard. And so I
(01:00:17):
don't know, I don't I don't like it that the
team I love isn't Like that's where it's like I'm fighting.
Like I've heard that like angry and envy are are
really closely linked. And do I hate the Dodgers or
do I just envy the Dodgers because I wish the
(01:00:37):
Cubs were the Dodgers? And I think that that's it,
Like I think we all envy what the Dodgers are
doing because they're spending money and the Cubs and and
and they know they know they're gonna make the playoffs.
It's not a matter of like they know it. Every
(01:01:02):
Dodger fan knows they're gonna make the playoffs, and we're
like thinking, well, we should win the division. We hope
that they make the playoffs, but we still don't know.
And so that's that's the tough thing that we're in.
(01:01:23):
One more question, Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, m What is
your favorite childhood cartoon theme song? Jeff go Scooby Doo.
Speaker 2 (01:01:37):
Singing classic, Yeah, Scooby Doo, b do where are you? Uh?
I'd say my favorite is probably the X Men. It
comes to comes to mind recently with the new X
Men ninety seven. Just that did and you can just
(01:02:00):
see all the X Men flying in over the big
all the Rays and everything. I love it always was
the last episode Mine is married.
Speaker 1 (01:02:11):
My top three is Chippendale Rescue Rangers Jip and Dale
Rescue Range and then uh, doctor tell us that that's
a good swimming in the gold. And then my my
(01:02:38):
favorite of all time is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I
think that is the best theme song for any cartoon.
I could sing it. Oh yeah, it's.
Speaker 2 (01:02:48):
It's great, Scott C says g I. Joe that's a
good Joe.
Speaker 1 (01:02:52):
That's a good one, but those are mine anyway, Thanks
for listening. Uh, I don't know. We're gonna barely make
the playoffs, but if we do, that's where I think
this team is at. So. Uh, it's a long winter.
It's the coldest. It's freaking cold.
Speaker 2 (01:03:14):
H Do you even have school tomorrow? We're delayed right now.
Speaker 1 (01:03:19):
We are have to our late start. We have to
our late start today, so hopefully, I mean, it's just cool.
I'm ready for summer. I am so sick of this
winter already. Bring on summer. I'm ready to watch them
Cubs baseball and chill out drinking something nice on my patio,
listening to the patent Rod. So but yeah, thanks for listening,
(01:03:42):
and go Cubs.
Speaker 3 (01:03:46):
Okay,
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