Monday Morning Cubs Show

Good, Bad & UGLY: Breaking Down The 2026 Cubs On June 1st

• Carl + Mahoney

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- Carl & Mahoney

Welcome Back And Reset The Vibes

SPEAKER_00

And we're clear. Good morning, good afternoon, and evening, Chicago Cubs fans, and welcome back to the Monday morning Cubs Show. Today is Monday, June 1st. The Cubs are off. It is your host, Carl, joined by my pal Mahoney. It is good to see you, my friend. It is welcoming to see you. You are very necessary for today's show.

SPEAKER_01

Thank you, Carl. It's nice to see you as well. Sorry, the maniacs, for last week's episode, I had thrown a family memorial day party and just wasn't quite ready to be in the mix. But here we are, back on Monday, back to get this week going, back on an off day and in a new month of June, baby.

SPEAKER_00

This should be a good example today of why I enjoyed doing this show with you so much because you will keep me on the rails. Like last week's a good example of what happens. Like if Mahoney's not there to be a Sherpa, to be there to help me. Uh, because I I can be unhinged. Like that's just an the Cubs losing 10 in a row. We're gonna get into some of this stuff. I just got to start there. If you look back to last Monday, which was like a less than 30-minute show, just completely unhinged. And the 2026 Cubs took me there in fucking May.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, and that's understandable, Carl. Sometimes, and quite honestly, I do think that you need that, and the maniacs need that as well. We will rear it in a bit. You know, we're feeling okay, we're on to a new month. I will say though that the Vegas rant episode is which I like to call it, had automatically played anytime I started my van or my SUV with my kids in the car in the you know, loud volume, and I had to like scramble real quick at the Bluetooth shut off. So that was actually kind of funny because they were like, Daddy, what is that? What's that, your friend? And I'm like, Yeah, that's my friend on the show, you know, onto uh some teletubbies or whatever other music we could play for you guys. But that was one uh, you know, a kind of a fun thing from that show is um I needed to listen to it, and I think my kids did too. And I think you needed to get out of your system, and and now we're on to a new month.

SPEAKER_00

But effectively, like, I don't see us as being those guys, and I don't necessarily love those guys within the context of sports media, radio, sports content coverage, etc. Of like the hooting and the hollering and the bitching and the pissing and the moaning and stomping your feet and stuff. Uh, you know, there's times for it, but I just like that really is always putting me off. But there's just something about it was unavoidable. It was just pure instinct of I'm just sick and I'm tired of how lackadaisical and sad this team is played. Now, we'll get into it. So let's just kick off the show,

The Gift: 22 Straight Sub-500 Teams

SPEAKER_00

right? Intro here, just a couple good, bad, and ugly things. And basically, the tone we're gonna set for this show is the first good thing I'm gonna bring up. Our next 22 games, our next 22, not 22 of 25, not 22 of 30, not 22 games in June. I'm talking about 22 straight games in a row starting tomorrow, June 2nd, against teams that are presently below 500. You know, I know that's not how they cooked up the schedule with the Giants being as bad as they are. The the Blue Jays could easily be over 500 by the time you know we record this. The Mets have underperformed. You know, the A's are surprising, but any way you slice it, my friend. Next 22, all teams right now under 500.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and I like the fact that too, we're starting with some you know, teams outside of the division with the A's coming to town and San Francisco having to travel to Wrigley as well this week. So I like the way that things are shaping up to start out June and to start out that 22 games in a row of sub-500 team stretch. So that's I think uh gonna be a good spot for the type of baseball we're playing to be in and and for us fans to watch.

SPEAKER_00

100%, dude. 100% this is what we need.

SPEAKER_01

You know, it's a necessary thing right now. It is perfect timing for the way that we're playing consistent ball. You could ask for it.

SPEAKER_00

I mean, you just literally could you could ask for a better. I mean, I'd take 10 games in a row against teams under 500 right now. What's it 22 in a row? So, like, what does that mean? Obviously, though, the expectation, I'm not saying go 20 and 2, but just like it does reduce the risk of us going on another mega dumpster fire stretch. I think is kind of the positive, is it not negative? Now, do you have a good thing from this team?

SPEAKER_01

Um, yeah, you know, I was thinking about really one of the the good things while watching this team as a fan, and what I did enjoy seeing PCA hitting the piss out of the ball at 114 mile and a half miles per hour off the bat, hitting that bomb. But what I really loved was that asshole trying to throw the ball back and he couldn't. He hit some other fan in the head and he gets escorted out of the stadium, the ball bounces to a cub fan. So that's something I like to see just in St. Louis as from a broadcast perspective. But really, I think the best thing that I've seen collectively from the team would be beating pitchers like Paul Skeens and Chris Sale while we're playing pretty much, you know, horrendously inconsistent.

SPEAKER_00

Well, yeah, that I was gonna close on on that one. I'll go back to PCA. So let's just double up here. So here's just two good things. PCA, the team needs a superstar. Now, a lot of people expected it when Alex Bregman gets a $35 million contract. I don't know if he crosses over into the superstar threshold, at least from an expectation standpoint. $35 million, that's a lot of fucking money. That is so much change to get a guy who's the tick above average. My point, though, long-winded, we need a superstar. I'm not talking about say a Suzuki having a career year. I'm not talking about Ian Happ OPS 125 plus. I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about a bona fide world baseball classic starting center fielder superstar. And so the person to be that guy is Pete Crow Armstrong. And I have enjoyed uh the evolution throughout this season, how rapid it is, how quick he's adapted, uh the walk rate going down, people not happy. His rolling 15-game average is almost directly correlated with the Cubs' win-loss percentage. Uh, really interesting stuff to just declare as closely as you can say with PCA will go the Cubs throughout the rest of the season. Like is if he wants to be, not shouldn't say one, obviously once, but if he excels, I would imagine the team kind of follows. And to the extent that he's an average to below average player, to me, he's the biggest difference maker in the lineup. So hitting a 440 rocket in the tarp section, going four for five in a big primetime game, backing it up. You would just like to see as we get into this next stretch. Hopefully, the timing and the rhythm is there, but that would be a very good thing. That's he's by far the most important player on the team.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and uh just aside from him being polarizing, right? Because polarizing isn't necessarily what you're speaking of of being a superstar and contributing and having the you know, you go we go mentality. But what I like and what I'm thinking that Craig is seeing as well, the PCA uptick, you're starting to see him bat one occasionally here there, too. So, like, is his approach changing with you know just not chasing balls as much, or are they looking at that hard hit contact, his speed, and saying, hey, we have to put him at the top of the lineup, you know, at times where we could capitalize on this, or is that a long-term sustainable?

SPEAKER_00

You know, I don't know if he'll hit long term. I I have much stronger feeling that, and this is based on a quick interview or read or print or something from the athletic, and in Craig's quote about Pete was effectively that you know, we want him to be himself, and I want to encourage him to be himself, and his mouth has gotten him into some trouble, and he'll tell you that, and blah blah blah, and like, you know, but we're behind him, and he's the type of player with the spirit and the passion where like some guys just kind of need that chip. And Craig acknowledged the fact that when they travel, he's like a lot of set a lot is said to PCA, and very little of it is supportive, you know. It's a this is a guy who does get ragged on significantly harder than almost anybody in Major League Baseball, I would imagine.

SPEAKER_01

And it's it's funny how quick that turns because I swear he was the darling last year of the league. And a couple interviews, a couple comments to a couple fan bases, and now everyone is dogging PCA when they get a chance when they're on the road. And I mean, he's the easiest guy to do it, he's uh closest to the audience most of the time. He's your target, he's the guy that we just you know paid a decent contract to. Um, it's just funny how quick the script can flip, and where you're the Dennis Rodman of the team, you know, essentially. And then an odd comparison, but I think you know what I mean. Well, the guy that you hate to play, you know, hate to play but love to have on your team.

SPEAKER_00

Sure. I think that's well, the I was gonna take that to that's a different, yeah. I would I would kind of put PCA in that category. You know, to me, like Pete Rose is the face of a player you hate.

SPEAKER_01

That's much, yes, that's a much better analogy than Rodman.

SPEAKER_00

But but Rodman with basketball, too. I think what's interesting is the atypical superstardom within the context of like an NBA cultural framework here. Not trying to be like fucking Bill Simmons here on the ringer getting all deep philosophical, but when you think about your traditional NBA player and the time Rodman played, he was steps ahead uh in a number of aspects, whether it's branding himself, uh obviously being a tough guy, being in front of the PR and being a weirdo, and just being so completely atypical. And I think there is some relatability there with how atypical PCA is to MLB culture and how these guys keep their heads down and they don't say shit, they don't sit courtside, they don't hang out with NFL quarterbacks. The top level of MLB are like the top level of wealth in the United States within the respect of like these guys are in bunkers, you don't even know these guys exist, right? You're not gonna see fucking Bryce Harper in the wild, you know, you're not gonna see Shohei Otani fucking buying groceries or something. It just the PCA is a superstar really putting himself out there publicly, and this is a long intro, but I think it's important because we're gonna get into some of this stuff. The

PCA’s Rise And The Road Heat

SPEAKER_00

last thing, the last good thing I have, let's be quick with it. You brought it up. There are two games in the month of May. The Cubs won where they played like shit and they got dominated by two. Well, I mean, obviously, Chris Sale's a Hall of Famer. Paul Skeens doesn't get hurt, he's gonna be Hall of Famer, and we won those two games. Now, Jacob Mizarowski shoved it up our butt cheeks. Chris, uh Paul Skeens shoved up our butt cheeks, so did Chris Sale.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, we just but we won the game.

SPEAKER_00

We won those games. Yeah, and I think it's just a good thing to remember when we talk about how bad our starting pitching is, we get into trade deadline stuff, and especially when people complain about the playoffs. Now, these aren't playoff games, but they are major league baseball games. And a good example there is like even though the odds are completely stacked against us, and Paul Skeens completely outpitches Carl, we win that game. You know, we win the game. That's the way Major League Baseball works for sure, man. Nice little takeaway. While we play bad baseball, we did win two games in a 13-16 month against two, you know, one is a bona fide hall of famer, the other one without injury is a bona fide hall of famer.

SPEAKER_01

So on my calendar, Carl, I have those marked downs as L's. So to squeeze wins out is it's a blessing to for a you know from a baseball fan perspective, because those are the games that you almost just chalk up as a loss before you even lace them up, but that's why they play the

Sponsor Break: Thirsty Vaquero Summer Pick

SPEAKER_01

game.

SPEAKER_00

Hey, last really good thing I have here, probably my favorite thing, Thirsty Vaquero, a Mexican-style soda with a signature spicy finish. Let's all bite no rattle, got a ton of play at Memorial Day.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, I mean, do you think that Thirsty Vaquero might take over the Memorial Day and Labor Day holiday weekends with, I mean, even Fourth of July coming up. While it's a Mexican style soda, this thing is red, white, and blue baby, where you can go and get it on Amazon, get yourself a vigilante pack. That's going to be all three flavors of all nutbite, no rattle sensation, tickle in your taste buds. You will be the talk of the party. It's a fantastic beverage. It's nice when you're taking a little break from the booze. I like to have a thirsty vicero right now because you know what? I'm not drinking beers. I only like to drink three uh the thirsty V's. And that's what that I'm sticking to that for the month of June. And talk about a beverage where you just feel laid back. I feel social with it, you know. Everyone else is having a couple beers. Guess what? I'm having a mango muerte.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah. Hunter, I mean, I don't know how to say it any better than that. Um, I don't like to, you know, me, I don't like to get too, you know, too personal when it comes to talking about you know the Chicago Cup. It's purposes of Monday morning cub show. We're here to talk baseball, folks. Um, but I would be a liar if I if I told you guys I didn't lay six cubic yards of fucking mulch on Saturday. And there is some machinery I'm operating there. I had to use a chainsaw a little bit to cut down some of the stuff. And so, in a situation where normally, you know, that's a dozen light beers in a hot situation with the sunscreen and all that stuff. Uh, in this case, though, just the mango muertes and how easy they are to just reach in the cooler and stuff, and it's a nice balance, guys. Check it out. Obviously, summertime, you're gonna love it. Last thing I'll say about it, we brought a couple Thirsty Vacaros when we went to the third uh the Fridays game and just we're hanging out with some old beverage guys. We did a lineup preview, and then some old when I say old industry beverage guys were like, check this stuff out. They liked it. Some they're like, Can we get meetings? I'm like, production, they're in H, they're in all these stores in Texas, they're everywhere in Texas, they're in every Circle K. They're in H E B, they're in the number one grocery store in Texas. Chicago's their second market. I think we're the only people who talk about like digital partnership they have right now. They are exploding. So long would ad read over, check out Thirsty VK on Amazon.

SPEAKER_01

Please do. Yeah, Thirsty Vicky Arrow. Right now, the exclusive beverage sponsor of the Monday morning cub show. They allow us to do this, they allow us to do more, and they will allow us to do you know much more throughout the season as you guys continue to support them and support us.

SPEAKER_00

Could be a could be a could be a combo, could could find an alcohol to partner with, sir for for a drink of the summer. So keep your eyes peeled, you know. Like anybody gives a flying fuck. We have a couple about my drink of the summer. Like, hey, here's Carl's mango. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, hey, they might. It's that good.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

May Hangover And One-Run Losses

SPEAKER_00

Um, all right, we're gonna we just laid some positivity here. Now, the general consensus across Cubs Phantom, which I don't disagree with, is just what a classically terrible May, a lot of cracks in the foundation, a whole bunch of stuff to be disappointed about. So we just for purposes of keeping this train on the tracks, I have bad and then I have ugly. So here's just a couple, just generally speaking, bad things from my Vegas come down. Obviously, one losing a series to the Cardinals. Like we have a Sunday primetime game. I don't like four people in the booth, I don't like Rizzo on the call. I I thought Elder Pool Holse is just so unbelievably cold, and you gotta like pull a string on him to get him to talk, but just generally losing a series to the Cardinals, that just a bad taste, bad way to end a Sunday.

SPEAKER_01

No, I mean, and I had a new wicker. We got this free thing off the marketplace, you know, those wicker couches outdoor for the deck had been looking one forever. This thing was barely ever used. Outdoor setup, watching the game on peacock. Here we go. I'm excited to see a new broadcast with the cubbies involved, and then you just have a stinker like that. You know, it was just over, it was an ugly game, and just losing the series to the Cardinals is not the way that you wanted to end the month or end your weekend.

SPEAKER_00

No, and I mean, obviously, we get smoked by the Brewers. Uh, the first time we play them this season. This is the first time we played the Cardinals this season. We dropped the series against them. So then the other bad thing I have, obviously, then if we're gonna lose the series to the Cardinals, just the general week, three and four against division opponents coming out of this 10-game losing streak, it's so frustrating. So that's the second, just a general three and four overall week.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and you know, besides the fact I thought winning a series against the pirates was gonna kind of get us back on track, and all right, we're heading into St. Louis, big games, this is gonna be awesome, all night games, you know, against the arch. And it's just a stinker of a week. Like, I'm just happy it is a new month and we're turning the page because otherwise I'd be a little bit more perturbed, I think, at the way things are going. But the approach to this episode is a new approach, a new month. New week at the end of tunnel. 22 games ended up. 22. We already talked about the good, and I mean, this is the bad. I mean, besides me jumping the gun on Paul Skeens and Chris Sales thing on the outline earlier today. Um, yeah, it's a shitty week, Carl. I'm gonna put that in the bad too.

SPEAKER_00

You jump on the outline first.

SPEAKER_01

That was that was rough. Yeah, that was kind of rough. Just jumped right over while in midst of giving my bad. I squeezed in squeezed in on the outline. My eyes jumped.

SPEAKER_00

I have stories of doing outlines with people before on shows where you're just like, How you can't get mad. How could you possibly be reading ahead? You I'm comfortable enough with to go, what the fuck's your problem?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, no, and that's I get it, and that's why I'm calling myself out.

SPEAKER_00

But here we are. Tell me now, ball or strike, this is ugly. Baller strike, this is bad, I guess. So, like, that's the question because so ball or strike, this is bad. Now, if it's a ball, it's because it's ugly. You know what I'm saying? There's no doubt that what I'm about to tell you is a negative here. Uh-huh. But in last week, we hung four losses. In three of those losses, we scored one fucking run. Baller strike, that's bad. Strike, that's awful.

SPEAKER_01

Well, is it a ball because it's ugly? By I mean, like a wild pitch into the stands ball. Is it bad or is it ugly, Mahoney? It's ugly, dude. That's ugly to me. Three losses.

SPEAKER_00

Where you hang one run. I mean, you can't even who you want to get mad at the bowpen, you want to get mad at starting pitching, you want to get mad at cred council, the hot dog vendors, the start times, peacock, fucking broadcast booth. You score one run. I mean, go home.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Just go home. There's no point in even showing up.

SPEAKER_00

And I get it, dude. I get it. It's Major League Baseball. That's what these guys are saying. Nico Warner would be like, it's it's a big list, dude. It's so hard. There's gonna be stretches. I mean, I mean, I get it, dude. You're telling me a thousand times over.

SPEAKER_01

I know, but that's one of the things that's so irritating as a baseball fan, though, because you just hear these guys so casual about it. We're kind of living dying on it, and but the the the shit outcomes, and then it's just so laxadaisical in the clubhouse, which is how they have to be. I know they have to be that way. I'm saying I just hate that aspect of the game.

SPEAKER_00

I'm trying to think of an analogy to football, and I feel like where you go, well, it's Major League Baseball, it's gonna happen. Uh football to me, that's like losing uh divisional game on the road that you're a heavy favorite, or not a heavy favorite, but like lose losing that divisional road games, you're like it's the NFL, you're not gonna win those fucking games, or you know, bad officiating in the fourth quarter. It's like, what are you gonna do? It's the NFL, like that's how they call it now, just weak sauce everywhere, you know. So I guess maybe for MLB, it's like that's it's MLB, dude. Like they're you're gonna get shut out, you're gonna score one run, you're gonna sit there and look like a little league team. Like, what are the equivalents for other sports? Like golf, I suppose. Who cares about a golfer the way you care about a fucking baseball team?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's it's a really tough parallel to draw to other competition.

SPEAKER_00

NBA is blowing a double-digit lead with three minutes left in the game. Like, if that's gonna it's the NBA. These guys, they these guys do that. All it happens all the time. So if you want to get mad, you know, but at the same time, like you should never blow a double-digit lead with three minutes left. Uh, just like you shouldn't go three out of seven games scoring one run. You know, like if you want me to point at the lineup, you know, we're gonna get into that. So some ugly stuff. We haven't won a fucking series, and I'm sorry, Lizard King. We haven't won a fucking series since May 6th against the Reds.

SPEAKER_01

The day after Cinco de Mayo. Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_00

Unbelievable. I don't remember May. I don't re what May 6th might as well have been May 6th might as well have been in 1946. You ain't kidding, Carl. So that's just so ugly. I mean, like, and and let me remind people that at the time of May 6, the Chicago Cubs were hit were in the midst of their second 10 game win streak uh of the season. So we're we're not talking about a bad team that has been.

SPEAKER_01

Rolling, where they were like rolling team.

SPEAKER_00

Rolling. Rolling, rolling. And now it's almost a month. It could be a month if we don't show up against the athletics without winning a series for a team that had won two separate 10 games. Oh that's so ugly.

SPEAKER_01

A total off. Comment that I had to a buddy I was over at on Saturday. I'm like, what the hell is the point of winning 10 games in a row if you're just gonna fucking lose 10 games in a row? And he's like, Yeah, you know, 500 baseball. I'm like, Yeah, that sucks.

SPEAKER_00

I would much rather win, lose, win, lose, win, lose for 20 in a row, yeah, and give me 10 and then take away 10. That's just I've never, I've never, I didn't know that was possible. I did not know that this feeling was possible.

SPEAKER_01

It's hard to process, it's because it might be it's something our brains have never had the the chance to comprehend.

SPEAKER_00

And why is each season bringing me new levels of I didn't know? Like we did this in 24. It's like I did not know the bullpen could just completely fall apart like that in June. Like, I just didn't know. Or last year, like in that second half, like I just did not know that a team could play that poorly in August until we're sitting here every fucking week doing the show twice, until you're in it. You're in it. You're like, I didn't know. You know, I mean, it's completely different when they sold off Rizzo and they were doing the rebuild in 21 and 22 and 23. It was different in 17 and 18 when you had already won the World Series and you're trying to get that spark out of your veteran club and all that stuff. These are just these seasons are just unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I mean, how many times is it like a first time in history that this has happened in a game or in a you know a stretch of games or two teams, the Cubs winning two, 10 in a row, whatever. There's it's there's so much historical context, and I know that happens in baseball, but when you're following it and you're like, now this makes sense on how I can't like you know make a point on this thing because it's never happened before.

SPEAKER_00

I wonder just how much that is with every fan base because baseball is just such a local specific thing, you know. And I I I would be curious, like last year and the Braves are terrible. We're Braves fans, like, no shit, of course we're terrible. Or are you like, well, we won 13 division titles in a row. So, you know, we're not conditioned to this. I don't know. There's there's a whole bunch of different ways for the maniacs that aren't necessarily Cubs fans, and we have a number of you guys out there, which I just appreciate you guys for showing up, but just like good baseball talk. You know, I'm just interested if you if you find these highs higher and these lows lower than like the average. I would say yes, they have to be.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I mean, because that's that's how I feel, and it seems to translate pretty much to the maniacs' feelings that I've met out there.

SPEAKER_00

Another ugly thing, obviously, we're gonna be positive about him when it comes up, ball or strike, but like this

Rotation In Crisis And Wicks Reality

SPEAKER_00

is ugly, dude. Ben Brown's our number one, and we are just decimated in the starting rotation. Like, that's great Ben Brown's merch, and we're gonna talk about him positively and and explain a little bit more. But like, you know, if you told me on June 1st that Ben Brown would be our number one, I know Matt Boyd made a triple A start and he'll be back.

SPEAKER_01

But like that's are you that excited about that? Are you that excited about that? Like, yes, I am that Matt Boyd's coming back, of course, that he's healthier, but the way it's been going this year, like I don't have a lot of faith that that's a long-term solution for until the end of the year.

SPEAKER_00

You don't have a lot of faith, you don't have a lot of it, Mo, you have no faith.

SPEAKER_01

You have no there's no faith. I heard Craig say that you know he had made the triple A start, there's a chance of hiring him back at the rotation mid to next week, whatever it was. And I go, I don't really fucking give a shit right now, Craig. Like, that's kind of how I feel about the starting rotation as a whole, and not specific to Matt Brown, but even with the good news is like it doesn't move the needle for me.

SPEAKER_00

Did you grow up with a guy named Matt Brown?

SPEAKER_01

Oh god, Matthew Boyd, excuse me.

SPEAKER_00

So well, I mean, hey, if you wanted to combine two pitchers on the staff, here's a new segment for you. I would put those two together. You know, if I had to merge guys, listen, our starter pitch to merge guys, you know, whatever. Our started pitching so our started pitching so bad we shouldn't be doing a podcast. Like it's all it's almost like we should just hang the hang the fucking sign out the door. Sorry, we're closed until we have a started pitching staff.

SPEAKER_01

And then like the the injuries on like Cabrera, do you know much more? I haven't been able to find out much more beyond that blister, right? It's probably a bigger thing, but we don't know anything. And unless we do.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, the blister thing is weird, and I gotta know more about this stuff. I I had issues with blisters when I pitched, and they were in like here I am. I put listen, I was a division one reliever, I pitched in about 50 games, I had some big opportunities, I had some big moments, you know. I lettered twice. Uh, my experience is just so limited compared to anything in the professional ranks. I'm immediately discounted by the fact that I have no professional experience. I can tell you from personal experience, though, that blisters, uh, you know, as a pitcher, would be no different than like a long distance runner that has like you know, blisters on their feet and then just like sure, I can run. Uh, it's only gonna get worse until this heals, though. Like it only gets worse and it never gets better, and it completely fucks with your stuff. And I had blisters against college hitters that are bartenders. Like, I had issues, you know, where you're like pitching against guys that's honestly, you know, no offense to like Southern Illinois Carbondale, but like within the realm of baseball, like you guys suck, we suck, like we weren't that good, you know. I mean, there are good players.

SPEAKER_01

Well, yeah, so they predicated on grip. I mean, yeah, you have to actually hold the ball to in different ways to do different things, yeah, and you're rubbing it against that top epidural layer. It's gonna cause problems and it's not gonna heal over time. It just it just sucks, is what it does.

SPEAKER_00

He relies on the seams a lot, yeah. He uses the seams a lot. Um, you know, I just don't know how much of an issue this. I can tell you pitching in Miami is much different than pitching in Chicago early in the season. So yeah, dude, really different humidity.

SPEAKER_01

That dry, the dude, the the shift of the dry air, and especially when you know they turn off the humidifiers after a certain temperature kicks in. He's getting dryness he's never experienced before while he's in Miami. But speaking of, I mean starting rotation disaster, right? It's really not good from top to bottom. Aside from Ben Brown, we'll get to that. But like the Jordan Wicks train that has officially derailed. Uh, and from my eyes within this organization, some would say the tracks are mangled. Like it, there's no there is no rail yard capability for Jordan Wicks anymore. And it sucks to see somebody I wanted to work out, but there's no more runway for this guy.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, he just doesn't have the fastball command. So people get mad, call him a boss, say whatever. Uh he's a nice kid, you know, and I do like a competitive chip. Part of his bio background, which I've gotten from him personally, he's told me this. We went to the way he's part of a group. We went to the waste management together a couple years ago, and Jordan Wicks was part of this group that I was in. There's like eight of us walking around. So I'm talking to him, you know, bullshitting about this and that. And so I'm like, Kansas State's a really interesting, you know, like program because you guys have like no resources, right? He's like, Yeah, I'm like, did you know that going there? Because I I've heard stories of guys at Kansas State like practicing in the gymnasium and stuff. Like, that's crazy in the Big 12. He's like, Oh, dude, Kansas State had had nothing. Manhattan, Kansas has nothing to support the baseball program. Well, why the fuck would you go there? You know, who else were we recruiting you? Texas, LSU, Florida, whatever. How'd you end up at Kansas State? They essentially guaranteed me that I would be the Friday night starter in the recruiting process. And I wanted to go to a school that played in a top conference, Big 12s a top conference at the time where he went, played at a top conference, and I wanted to start on Friday nights immediately. Because start on Fridays is basically game, is has the CC, right? Game one NLDS, where you have your it's your clear number one. It's the clear, all the scouts are out. There's the big party, the games at 7 p.m. under the lights every Friday in college. And so Jordan Wicks intentionally sought out Kansas State because he knew he'd be able to pitch, not just at home, but on those road environments, and he'd be able to get the 90 to 100 innings under his belt. And that was the that was what he wanted as a competitor. And at the time I was like, I love that. I fucking love that that this guy wanted to go to a lesser program and compete. But then here's the alternative side, I would just ask you is like, what about what does it say about the guy who goes to LSU who knows he's got to earn that Friday job a little bit harder than the recruiting process of them saying, You're so good if you come here, you'll pitch on Fridays.

SPEAKER_01

If it works out for that guy at LSU, that's who I want 10 out of 10 times. Putting yourself in that situation against the grain, having to work for it uh with other absolute competitive beasts, other alphas. That's where you know, the steel sharpened steel. I'm not gonna go down that whole path, but it that's where you bring the really, really best out of the best, and yeah, it just goes without saying, I think.

SPEAKER_00

The competition, you know, the four, you know, whatever the fires forges of steel, whatever this all that shit, yeah, all of it, all that stuff. And so, why am I going so far back to like Jordan Wicks being a senior in high school and committing to Kansas State? Is because ultimately, as we reflect upon the guy's career as a cub, you're I think you're right. I don't think unless he has to start because we just literally have nobody else. The problem is the lack of fastball command, which is probably something that would have been developed more if he needed it at a Vanderbilt or an LSU or a Texas or one of those schools where he would have taken a smaller scholarship to have a lesser role right away. So you get a guy who slightly has his not great fastball commit. Now he has an amazing changeup, but he can't get to positions to throw this changeup with any level of consistency where you can get the swing and miss stuff because the fastball just isn't A, it's not it's not hard enough. So when you make mistakes, it's easier to hit. And and and B, he can't throw it to the spots he needs. So when he misses, he's either going to miss over the plate or he's gonna miss where it's not even competitive. And when I talk about competitive, when you're tracking pitches and you're in the batter's box, if I if a hitter can tell out of the hand it's not close, that's called a non-competitive pitch. You know, like you're not working the straight. You did that's easy, that's cupcake. Guys like Bregman, and I hate to go back, you know, Brad Bregman's been above average, but established veterans, they can tell a non-competitive pitch to these guys, gives them severe advantages in the at bat. You want to have compet each pitch you want to have make the hitter actively engaged with like ball or strike, swing or take.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Is this in my zone or not? And Jordan Wicks completely misses on that point alone. And if you're and that's where Ben Brown has missed before exactly, where it's like, dude, you just have so much non-competitive offerings that when you are in the zone, guys are fucking so ready to hit because they've just seen it and it's flat and it's over the plate and it looks like a fucking beach ball. And that's where Jordan Wicks unf unfortunately finds himself without the fastball command. And that closes us out, as we say, our starting pitching's a disaster, Mahoney.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it is, man. And there's just not a whole lot of light at the end of that tunnel for me at this very moment in time.

SPEAKER_00

Hey, one last what we'll get there. There should be because we have 22 in a row against five teams 500 or less, and we've went out and have won games against Chris Ale and Paul Skeens in the last, you know, whatever, couple. Like, there's light at the end of the tunnel here.

SPEAKER_01

I'm just saying for from the starting rotation collectively, is that where I'm a little worried. So that's that was my point.

SPEAKER_00

We're getting we're boned hard there. Uh just hey, let this is the longest segment we've ever done, the history of the Monday Morning Cut show, but like it's been therapeutic, it's been cathartic. I have to get this off my chest. Yes. Okay.

Two Win Streaks And Still Fourth

SPEAKER_00

We are five games out of first place in the division. We are in fourth place. It is June 1st, and we have two separate 10-game win streaks in this team's belt. And we are five out in fourth place on June 1st, with two separate 10-game win streaks on our belt. That is the craziest thing I have ever said on this show. On in any show. That's absurd.

SPEAKER_01

It's absurd. And an asshole would say, Well, that speaks to the strength of the NL Central Division.

SPEAKER_00

No, man. Blow me.

SPEAKER_01

It's it's the roller coaster ride of crazy nonsense.

SPEAKER_00

I can't make any sense. I mean, I just cannot make sense of it. The streakiness, but that's the perfect way to explain. I mean, uh again, let me just repeat this. We had not won a series since May 6. We have two separate 10-game win streaks. We are five back in fourth place. It is June 1st. I the Cooper's town should be sending a guy to Wrigley Field for every game for the rest of the season because there is just history in the making here. Every time these guys take the field, it's something else is gonna happen.

SPEAKER_01

There's gonna be one of those, yeah, like just giant bins filled with baseballs and be like, these were the baseballs played at Wrigley the year 2026 when all that weird shit went down. Now the whole court's gonna be like a whole big, yeah. You know, like that gorilla glass, like it's like that, yeah, real thick five-inch thick, can't get in there.

SPEAKER_00

You go and you press the button, and like you know, someone comes on that Rob Manfred comes on the transponder. Yes. Hey fans, welcome to Hologram. Welcome to Cooperstown, New York. And today you are about to walk through the entire 2026 Cubs exhibit that now occupies our entire northeastern second floor wing. So, hey, let's get just some ball or strike here. I think we've got some momentum. I want to, we're working towards that. We have I hate May, okay? I hated the May. I hate everything. I hated it. That sucked, okay? I hated it. That that absolutely sucked. We have a June in front of us. We have 22 games in a row against a team, teams that are presently 500 or below. You know, we are the ones that have not played great baseball, but can play great baseball. You know, we have, I should say, we already have, but like we're the ones that should be showing up over these next 22. That's my expectation. Signed, sealed, and delivered.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's not like these juggernaut teams are coming and just beating the piss out of us. It feels that way, but it is to our to our players not executing, and now they can and pick up some of this ground, um, you know, within the division with the 22 games in a row of sub 500 baseball teams.

SPEAKER_00

All right, so let me ask this ball or strike. You have prepared six baller strikes.

SPEAKER_01

That's a strike, Carl, and I'm just gonna go. You're ready. Yeah.

Ball Or Strike: Dansby Is Broken

SPEAKER_01

Baller strike, Dansby is a bad baseball player.

SPEAKER_00

So I've been doing this thing lately when I talk about baseball, where I keep saying the phrase right now, you know, because I feel like I have to give all these qualifiers. Fair right now, he that's a strike. And it's it's such a strike down the middle of the plate that like I don't think that zone's changing anytime soon. What are you at 170 or something?

SPEAKER_01

It doesn't, it's a strike, and it does not look like right now, it's a strike. It does not look like he's very competitive in the batter's box whatsoever. And it doesn't seem like the pitcher thinks he's competitive either. So it's pretty, pretty awful. Um, you know, somebody had tweeted at me, it's it was somewhat funny, but I had to think about it like who squats more, Dansby or Mallory, before the knee injury. And I was actually thinking Mallory just because I mean that actually makes sense, and I'm not not doing shtick here, but you know, they were tweeting it as kind of an aside to Dansby, and that's not an aside, it's almost a count more of a compliment to his wife, but he is playing like dog shit, and it sucks to watch. It is I'm not gonna say any button specific, but looking at him when he's in the lineup, not when he's when he's up to bat and I'm watching, I expect absolutely nothing to happen.

SPEAKER_00

Oh, it's le right now. See, that's what I have to say. Right now, now there's times he's been super hot, whatever. Right now, this is this season, is the least amount of confidence I've had in a player uh since it had settled in that Jason Hayward sucked. And before then, you'd have to go back to you know, Cloy Hill was terrible, Naife Perez, Ronnie Sidano. I mean, guys that were in the lineup every day that were fundamentally terrible. And I don't even mean like could you believe they hit 210? I'm saying, like, are you watching this? Yeah, like this would be like watching an NFL game and the offensive line is just getting steamrolled every game. Like, you know, I don't need I watch that, I just watched them get run over. Like, that's how bad it's been.

SPEAKER_01

Your eyes see it, and like it's not uh an optical illusion. There's a fun noodle that they're holding as a bet instead of a bat. That's real. You know what I mean? Like, so your mind's not playing tricks on you, and that's what it looks like with Danzby.

SPEAKER_00

It just sucks in the history of statistics and baseball. The Genesis, the reason we keep statistics is for the purposes of understanding which player is good, which player is bad, who is better than who. It's for the purposes of tracking the performance throughout the course of the year. All right, baseball invented the the concept of of sports statistics as a function of decision making, right? It's pioneered by baseball. However, the reason the statistics exist is because it was hard to tell who are the good fucking players. You know, like is this guy better than this guy? Is that guy? Let me say this. How bad Danzby Swanson is, don't I don't need the numbers?

SPEAKER_01

I don't need any numbers whatsoever.

SPEAKER_00

The weighted on base. I don't need to know what his slug is right now. I don't need to know what his walk rate is right now because he's so fucking bad that you wouldn't you wouldn't even have to have that comment. The only reason you go to the statistics in this case is to compare guys under the concept of who's better than who. Fucking Dansby is dead last, period, end of story right now. Right now.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, hey Mahoney, someone's up to bat right now. Oh, who that guy? Don't worry, nothing's gonna happen.

SPEAKER_00

Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing swinging, swinging through flat fastballs over the middle of the plate, swinging through them. I mean, not even close. Uh, and unfortunately, he is a psychopath. And so it's gonna be it's harder for psychopaths to come out of slumps, it's harder for psychopaths to get into slumps, it's harder for them to get out of slumps. That's because the nature of the psychopath is different than the fucking casual guy. And Dansby, as it goes to baseball, is a psychopath. Chinese finger trap. The deeper he gets, the harder, you know. The hard what is it? You've done it.

SPEAKER_01

Harder to pull out. Yep. That was man. When I was a kid, those were bad news at a carnival for me because I was getting stuck every time. As I shuffle my note cards, we're just gonna hope that the psychopath Dansby pulls out of it. Carl, ball or strike.

Ball Or Strike: Ben Brown As Ace

SPEAKER_01

Ben Brown is our staff ace.

SPEAKER_00

That's a strike. That is a strike. He has been very good. He's been very good. And hopefully, uh, you know, it continues, is the first and most important thing. Is hopefully he has the built the foundation to build off of his success, which is the next step in this evolution. It's not just having the success. We said this when he was in the bullpen, he looks good. Hopefully, it can continue as he gets bigger opportunities and he doesn't start to lose himself on the mount. So now that he's had success in the rotation, now he's going deeper into games, big games, you know, we need him.

SPEAKER_01

We need him deep into games, six inning pitches and beyond. That was one of my concerns, you know. Coming out even to start, he was pitch at four, but having that ability to have him go into deep games and be effective is a is a huge factor. I do think it's a strike right now, staff ace. And if he's not necessarily an ace, that's kind of a tough word to throw around. He's absolutely the most important player amongst the entire pitching staff, uh, maybe uh across the team as a whole. He's our most important guy.

SPEAKER_00

It's almost like I'm gonna take what I said about Dansby in the stats, and then it's like let we apply it to Ben and the opposite, because I don't think people truly appreciate. I mean, like, I'm one of them, he's a sub two ERA. You know, as a starter, he has he's given up zero, zero, three, one, one. He's punching out at least six every time he takes the mound. Like he's he's Ben legit a sub two ERA. Is a guy who I didn't even want to talk about being on the roster, much less on the roster, much less in the organization.

SPEAKER_01

I don't even reacclimate. We're being reacclimated into like the world of Ben Brown. If you had a picture. Or took the same people, Mahoney and Carl, and say we talked to ourselves, our other video screen six months ago, we would be like, wait, Ben, that's a ball or strike. Ben Brown's the staff ace. And we would have laughed ourselves off the screen or out of the room, whatever it may be. So it's it's a tough job. We're still trying to, you know, know what it's like to see clearly with Ben Brown being effective.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, and I want to go back to a couple things. First is the conversation we had with Alex Cohen preseason, where he had identified as him having the best stuff in the organization. That no matter, you know, say what you want about him, he is a guy that Scott, you still just drool over. And then to combine this, I want to go back to the Jordan Wicks conversation for a second here, because what's what has been so historically frustrating about Ben, both as a fan and then with inside the game, you know, the executives, the coaches, the people that are charged with developing you and and winning baseball games and all that stuff through your individual progress. The frustrating thing with Ben Brown is that he's so talented, he can he has the room through his talent to make several mistakes a game. I mean, he can he can his ball is so hard and spins so much, and there's so there's so much natural action to his his ball that, like, buddy, you can make mistakes over the plate. So don't be afraid to be competitive in the strike zone because your stuff is that good. But everybody knows that, except for Ben Brown. Like everybody who's coaching him and watching him is like, dude, you just be more aggressive, just be more aggressive, be more aggressive, please. And then when you see him nitpicking the strike zone and then resulting in uncompetitive pitches and falling behind 2-0-3-1 with his fucking eyes closed. I mean, like, before you even get in the box, just make it 2-0 against him. That's how it was. Yeah, for sure. So now he's in a position where he can't throw a breaking ball, which is his best pitch, and it's he's not being aggressive. And so the development, and I'm just going back to Jordan Wicks, we're like, Jordan Wicks would never, no coach would ever tell Jordan Wicks, hey, you have the stuff to be aggressive in the strike zone. What they're telling Jordan Wicks is you have to master your mechanics and you have to master your forcing fastball. You have to master your fastball, you have to master the ability to move it in, out like a Mark Burley. If you're gonna pitch and be successful in this league, Ben Brown's a complete different. If you're gonna be successful in this league, it's gonna be because you're aggressive in the strike zone. You're so naturally gifted and talented. I've talked a lot of shit about him. And with that, I will say it has been a delight to see his progress and improvement. I didn't think it would happen. We kind of sketched out if he is gonna be a good player, what is gonna have to happen? A severe set of urgent standards, either getting shipped out to another team, DFA'd, something where he just finds himself sitting there one day going, enough is enough. I have to, I have to be the fucking guy. I gotta go out there and attack the strike zone. And all I've seen so far in the stretch is a guy who's attacking the strike zone and who just feels like he belongs here. And so now the next question is not today, you're not pitching, we're off. How do you feel about yourself? And how are you getting ready for your next start? When you take the next, are you take are you taking the mound in the right mindset down this path of like consistency and being aggressive? Or do you get cocky? That's a threat now. Yeah, do you do you get a little hmm? I got some juice under me. We'll find out who Ben Brown is. You know, you were gonna, it's just a fun thing to follow right now, but he's certainly proved me wrong, no doubt about it. I should open that anytime I talk about Ben Brown, he has completely proven me wrong.

SPEAKER_01

Honestly, though, Carl, and I'll leave I'll I'll tie the Ben Brown knot up here at the end, but looking back, it was wasn't so much like we were rooting against Ben Brown or anything, it was always much he needed to develop that other pitch, and then he wasn't. So it was us almost being disappointed in the you know potential that you knew that he had and how you explained it to me. And really, lastly, no one's happier than the Monday morning cub show and the maniacs that he did find that pitch and he's seen the success that he is. So, you know, nicely said.

SPEAKER_00

No, I mean, yeah, I think it's but Maudi, I can have enough, you know, I couldn't have enough good things to say about the man Ben Brown, uh, and the ball, I should say the ball player, the maturity of the ball player that you're seeing. You know, it's really it's really been awesome. And the tactical thing I just want to add here, because let's say we got what do we got, another 15 minutes here?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, another 15 minutes. We're running about 48 right now.

SPEAKER_00

Okay, so like tactically, the the important thing is that Ben Brown is throwing the sinker, you know, like lat where has been an experiment.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, 20 to 25 percent of the time, I think.

SPEAKER_00

So throwing that like consistently, and that's a pitch you can be aggressive in the strike zone with because it has so much action, you know. So, like that's a you can make a mistake with that pitch. That's okay. You know, and I go back to this example all the time. Go watch Major League batting practice. Okay, best hitters in the world getting it fed right down Broadway will hit fly balls. The best hitters in the world getting it fed right down Broadway will hit a ground ball to where the shortstop plays. Well, you're there to get you're there to hit your line drives back up in the middle, send one off the basket, all that shit. The batting practice coach can go get outs because it's baseball and it's fucking hard. Now, say the batting practice coach is Ben Brown and it's a 98 mile an hour two two seam sinker over the middle of the plate. The stuff is so good. Yeah, you know, it just plays, it just freaking plays. And then the the second tactical thing is he's shown a changeup and that will grow with confidence. Its usage right now is around 10%. At the end of the year, I bet it's trending up towards 15% because that's a pure confidence pitch for him. And the more he gets ahead with strike one and the more success he has as a starting pitcher, the more success he's gonna have to reach in the bag and really throw the fucking change up. And the changeup is like that's like throwing the ball over the middle of the field, the NFL. Like, you can't do that unless you have fucking malls. You can't do that unless you can read a defense. There's no fucking way you can do that unless you're prepared and you're on time with your fucking receivers if you want to get over the middle of the field. There ain't no way you can throw a change up in Major League Baseball unless you're fucking on top of your shit. There's nobody out there who's got like wild, he's he walks a ton of people and he's fucking erratic and all this shit, but he's got a great change. The great change is like the last piece to fit. And so just keep that part of your Ben Brown story throughout 2026. Let's keep it rolling, my friend.

SPEAKER_01

I'm gonna keep an eye on it and know the maniacs are too. Ball

Ball Or Strike: Bregman’s Price Tag

SPEAKER_01

or strike, Carl. Alex Bregman is worth less than 35 million. Yeah, I mean, that's gotta be. I think that's a strike, Moni. I think it is too, and we alluded to it a little bit earlier. Um, I I know you set the stage for Bregman's not gonna have like, you know, 30 homers and he's not gonna be this big power guy, but what he does behind the scenes, and some of the stuff I hope he's doing behind the scenes is translating to that value, you know, that he is attributing to himself per year. Because um I know he's hitting the ball well right now, but I haven't seen it yet, like any of that like superstar machismo, and I don't think that that's what we're gonna see with his type of personality, but I just want to see more consistency out of Alex Bregman, and um, yeah, I don't know if he is is worth quite that $35 million at a you know five-year clip.

SPEAKER_00

He's on pace for his worst full season of his career, and there you go. So that's a strike. That's a strike. I mean, there's something there about Alex Bregman. Was the you know, was he the first guy to get Jed to defer money to get Tom to say you can defer money on a big contract?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, what is that worth?

SPEAKER_00

Like that's that now that's worth a lot to me because that's gonna play in the future. He broke down a barrier for the Cubs. I mean, when you talk about stuff behind the scenes, I'm sorry, I'm giggling here. Just there's so many funny things like, yeah, but I guess Bregman did this. Sure, if you want to say 35 million, what's the net present value with the deferrals?

SPEAKER_01

Maybe it's actually broke the barrier, you know.

SPEAKER_00

It's dis it's disappointing because you know 35 million dollars is so much money. If you told me, you know, five years ago we're gonna spend $35 million a year on a player, you're just like Spotify superstar, superstar, you know, like a superstar is Fernando Tatis Jr. A superstar. I don't care what his numbers are. Go back to the argument I made. Machismo, yeah. Don't give jazz guys awesome. Aaron Judge, awesome, Bobby Witt Jr., awesome, superstars. Juan Soto, superstar. I mean, just like 35 million, you're like, hmm, superstar. 35 million dollars won't get you 81 fucking games of Kyle Tucker. Yeah, no shit. So is he worth it? It's like, you know, is is he worth that's a strike? Because right now he's got like a 106 OPS plus, we're paying him 35 million, but like maybe we're just at that crossroads in baseball where guys are just so utterly expensive. Because I I just go back to Dansby, 27 and a half million dollars to be the worst hitter in Major League Baseball. And I've sucked that guy's dick harder than anybody has on any platform ever about how important he is and all that stuff. And it's like the same thing when we talk about pitching. Doesn't matter if you can't throw your fastball, buddy. It don't matter if you can't hit the if you can't make contact, I don't give a Ray Ordonia's fucking, you know, Android Simmons can go play short. I don't give a fuck. What next one? Come on, let's keep it rolling.

SPEAKER_01

Baller strike, all right, baller strike PCA trending up hard, hard, hard, hard strike.

SPEAKER_00

That's the key word. Hard. He's not just trending up, he's trending up hard, key strike.

SPEAKER_01

So that's a strike. I mentioned earlier that home run Saturday was hit hard, 114.6 miles an hour off the bat. That was absolutely pissed rocket. The bat drop was awesome. Happened in St. Louis, it was awesome. While they're chanting, overrated. But looking at the last, you know, 10 games or so, he is he's absolutely trending up. And like you'd mentioned earlier in the episode, we kind of need a superstar in PCA, him being that superstar to have this team really accelerate and have that whole you go we go mentality to strike on PCA.

SPEAKER_00

It is a strike. And I I want to take it a step further. Craig Coxel is obviously charged with the development of these guys at the major league level. Now, there's an argument or conversation to be had that there's no development at the major league because it's the big leagues, but there it's like you develop when you get in who you are when you leave, completely different ball players. And obviously, in PCA's career, Craig Counsel has been charged with his major league development, etc. And there's something in my mind with under this relationship between Craig and PCA where Craig loved losing to I bet Craig loved that PCA was hidden eight and nine throughout that 10-game losing streak. I bet Craig fucking loved it. Because if Craig's individual if if you're from the perspective individually developing each player, you can't develop a team.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, no, like some kung fu master seeing someone fail over and over again, and just their mouth is watering because he's just like he's just salivating at the idea of this guy because he knows every time PC, all right.

SPEAKER_00

Now we've lost six in a row. PCA thinks he's coming to the ballpark today, and he's gonna be the we gotta get it going, baby. We look we can't score a fucking run. And PCA is showing up, and it's like, now you're hitting nine tonight, buddy. Actually, you're hitting eight, Dansby's hitting nine. Yeah, and and for him to go through like a 10-game losing streak, I can see Pete taking it personally and being like, How can I get a chance? I gotta get I gotta get this going. I gotta, I'm not I can't do it from the eighth spot. And Craig's sitting there just like you said, Mr. Miyagi, yeah, just little puppet master here playing with PCA's emotions, and then boom, one day PCA shows up and he's like, Hey, you're hitting lead. I want you to be yourself. I don't care talk all the shit you get fined by the White Sox, or you get fined by Major League Baseball for talking shit to the fucking there's definitely something to that, man.

SPEAKER_01

And there's there, I mean, the with just Craig's lineups, how they're all over the place, there's absolutely some of that mental play at hand. Uh, and that makes so much sense with with PCA's story over the past month.

SPEAKER_00

I want to get to the in I think his play will continue to improve. I think the the weather will get, I think he's settling in. I think he's been through some, you know, a couple bumps early. I I like the trajectory. I want to go ahead and make again make the core life. Maybe I should tweet this out. I probably won't, but there is a correlation between his rolling 15-game OPS and the Chicago Cubs win-loss record. If you match up the charts and all that shit, like the graph of the Cubs win percentage. Team goes as PCA goes. No easier way to say that. Hey, I have one more thing before I turn it over to you for your corner for the outro.

The Plan: Survive And Cash In

SPEAKER_00

Just the last, like, like I'm just gonna summarize this because I got the outline in front of me. Like, our pitching setup is absolutely terrible. All right, we don't even need a baller strike this. It just to start a pitching setup is hopeless. We got to clench our butt cheeks, wait till Matt Boyd gets back, grind through the next 22 games. Just just just grind through them. Just I don't care if Colin Ray's got a pitch in 11 of these 22 games. I don't care if Jordan Wicks has to make another start. I don't care if Ben Brown's our number one for the next 22. I don't, I don't care. I don't care. What I care about is we have 22 in a row that at the present moment are against teams that are below, not at below 500 in Major League Baseball. Opportunity for us to take advantage for the lineup to get going, for the pitching staff to get a little bit of a rhythm. That's all I want to say. That's I I went nuts last week, lost my fucking mind, sat through a three and four week off day today. We have 22 in a row against teams that are at or below or are below 500.

SPEAKER_01

Last thing about yeah, no, Carl, I appreciate it. And I mean, I don't I fit in a lot of what I had to say kind of throughout the show, but we just really this team is gonna need bigger hits and bigger moments. I know everyone in the media, and this is a true thing, like the the wrist is a problem, leaving guys on base over and over. And when you have big names up to bat, not getting the big hit driving wins. I mean, when you're losing games, that's when it's glaring. That's when you see guys that are being driven in, whatever. We need bigger hits, man. That that's also what it comes down to. The starting rotation while it is in disarray. Like Carl said, we got 22 games against some lesser opponents throughout the league, but they're all professional baseball teams. And the only way that we're gonna win is if we score runs. And you know, we walked into St. Louis, I think, needing that momentum. We left with a great Ben Brown start, uh a great PCA game, and a lost series. So now is the time. It's a new month, new stretch. Let's get it going, let's get it rolling. We need you offense.

SPEAKER_00

And at the end of these 22 games is like four in Milwaukee. Right. So that's why I've isolated these two. Like we have no divisional games coming up, we just have A's, Rockies, Giants, Rockies, Giants, Mets, Blue Jays. I mean, we got we got a bunch of teams that we should uh over a 22-game stretch, the we should outperform, we should play better, we should execute better, we should just be a better team. We should. That's just the way it is over these next 22. At the end of those 22 games, I'm willing to get back into the let's talk about the division. Because right now, as I said, five out in fourth place with two 10-game win streaks. I don't, I can't even, I can't even talk about the division right now.

SPEAKER_01

I can't even want to talk about the Cardinals being right there. Like that was it. Makes me upsetting enough for the over the weekend for me. And I did not, I'm not bringing that into this Monday, and I won't. It's the last day of school. I'm going to the preschool post-party right after this recording. I can't wait. I'm not bringing that energy to my kids' preschool.

SPEAKER_00

What are you nuts? Can't do that. Hey, let's end on this.

Sorry, Charlie: A’s Threat Nick Kurtz

SPEAKER_00

I just want to because we were at the Cubs game like I uh Friday against the Astros, and it was nice to run into some maniacs and talk ball. And yeah, very cool. So, you know, shout out to I think it's Steve. I think Charlie's another guy we talked about. Charlie for sure. And so this last nugget I have is specifically for Charlie, because I was like, hey, if there's something, you know, and I should have done more of this. Maybe I'll do this for Friday episodes with more scouting reports on other teams. And he was like, just get, you know, like a heads up on the other team when they come to town. Because like, I don't know. I'm not following this shit. So just like a heads up on like, you know, if if there's something to watch, or if there's something unique about the opposition, um, you know, before the series starts, I I'm always interested in like the unique things about the other teams we're playing. So I should have done a segment on this for the A's and prepared it. I didn't. I'm sorry, Charlie.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, hey, the A's, they're moving to Vegas right now. I believe they're playing out of Sacramento, Charlie. They got this one kid who's an up and coming son of a gun, and he is tough. You know who I'm talking about, but I don't have a speech, right?

SPEAKER_00

I know you are. I went to Wake Forest. His name is Nicholas Kurtz, and that's what I wanted to say. So this segment is called Sorry, Charlie. You know, I'm on that's great. But from now on, the Scouting Report segment, sorry, Charlie. Uh, just for the a sorry, Charlie, I wish I had more, but Nick Kurtz is very an interesting player because he's got such power. However, he's only got eight, nine, whatever it is, 10 home, eight home runs this year, nine home runs. You know, Murakami on the White Sox got like 20, 25. Like the lead, he's way behind the league leader, and he's known as a power hitter. And what's really interesting about this guy, he's so young. Came up in the big leagues last year, so so inexperienced on the back of the baseball card. His on base percentage this year is like 170 points higher than his batting average. Okay, his on base percentage this year is like 435. His on base percentage this year is like Joey Votto-esque. And he's doing that without like if he had 20 homers and a 430-something OBP, then it's like, well, this guy hits 20 fucking these guys, guys is slugging the shit. He's not really driving the ball as as well as maybe he should on paper, or he has historically, or he will in his career. But the fact he's not doing that and he's getting on base at like a Joey Votto clip at his prime is unbelievable. And I cannot wait to watch this guy play. I uh like when you talk about the A's right now, it's like you get to see Nick Curz play for three games. Like, you lucky that's how I feel. He's so good, generational uh approach, presence, professional college development, like just an awesome, awesome baseball player. So the Cubs play against him this weekend. I'm pumped about that, or this week, I should say, but not excited enough to downplay the fact. 22 in a row against teams that are presently under 500 on the time of recording, June 1st. So let's let's take advantage of it so that when we do get to the time we're comfortable to talk about the division again, we're rolling.

SPEAKER_01

I want to be rolling. You just took the words out of my mouth, Carl. Be rolling.

SPEAKER_00

So they this is a Monday morning cub

Outro And How To Support

SPEAKER_00

show. Follow Mahoney at Monday Morning Mahoney on Twitter. Uh, also a subscribe, leave a review that helps with sponsors, helps discover the show. Send it to your buddies. If you guys, you know, if you guys like the Cubs or if you guys just you're in a good mood, send it out to the group chat. People love a group chat on Mondays. People Monday lunchtime is the lit that's why the group chat was invented in the first place. Monday lunchtime.

SPEAKER_01

Yep, schedule your text for Monday, for Monday at lunch. Great to see you, maniacs in the wild.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, always a pleasure, guys. Again, leave a review. Right? Yes, please. Until next time, go cubs. We're still working on the outro, guys. We'll have it tight for you next time. Peace. That was good.