Monday Morning Cubs Show
A show every Monday morning about the Chicago Cubs from Carl and Mahoney.
Monday Morning Cubs Show
The 2026 Cubs Can't Waste Pete Crow-Armonstrong
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
A cycle can be a party trick, or it can be a signal flare. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s cycle at Wrigley Field sparks a bigger question for us: are the Chicago Cubs treating PCA like the engine of the team, or are they sleepwalking through the clearest franchise player moment they’ve had in years?
We start with the emotional reality of being a Cubs fan right now. One night you see 16 runs and think the offense is turning a corner. The next night the bullpen melts down and the whole week feels fragile. That swing is why we dig into the Cubs’ identity struggle, why “just add another bat” can be a distraction, and why the pitching staff, especially the late innings, decides the team’s ceiling. We also talk about the value of raw postgame honesty, but why quotes do not save you when the same leaks keep happening.
From there we get practical: Matt Shaw’s case for everyday reps, the roster math that makes Moises Ballesteros getting optioned make sense, and why a player like Justin Dean can matter when you only have a few bench spots to work with. We also put guardrails around the hope of injured arms returning, including Matthew Boyd, and explain why smaller moves like the Jaden Murray trade can quietly reveal how thin pitching depth really is. Finally, we preview the Mets series with a simple mindset: play clean, avoid late-inning disasters, and stack wins before Milwaukee.
Subscribe for more Cubs talk, share the show with a fellow fan, and leave a rating and review if you want us to keep building these Monday mornings. What’s your biggest priority right now: bullpen help, a starter, or lineup stability?
Thanks for tuning in!
- Carl & Mahoney
Birthdays, Anniversaries, And Perspective
SPEAKER_02And we're clear.
SPEAKER_00Good morning, good afternoon, and evening, Chicago Cubs fans, and welcome back to the Monday Morning Cubs Show. Today is Monday, June 22nd. It is your host, Carl, and I am happy to announce I'm joined by my close pal Mahoney. It's good to see you, my friend.
SPEAKER_02Carl, it is good to see you as well. What a whirlwind past week. You know, I'm at the trade show in New Orleans. Straight to the Palmer House in Chicago. How's about that for a nice little side side excursion? Uh go to the Palmer House for Chicago. Happy birthday to my mom. It was her 70th birthday. So we did a dinner. Listen to this, Carl. Dinner at Tefano's on Saturday. I put the family up at the Palmer House. At a real good rate, by the way. I got a real good discount rate. And from there, we go Father's Day to my parents' house with the kids. So we didn't have to drive back from the city. My parents live in the city. Back home. Had a beautiful Father's Day. Last but not least, happy anniversary to my beautiful wife, Katie Patates. Seven years in. I think we're going to do okay. And happy belated birthday to her, too, on this from the 17th of June. Had to get that out of the way off the top, Carl. Loaded week. A lot to celebrate about. And with the Cubs, I don't know. We're not really celebrating yet, but we're not really, you know, we're not celebrating anything. We're not. But I had to get off the celebratory tone right off the top, man.
SPEAKER_00I think this is our 116th episode. And if we're going to get this far along in the process, and we can't say off the top, happy birthday to the two most important women in Mahoney's life. Not to mention a happy anniversary, in addition to a Father's Day weekend. We want to talk about these are four pillar moments throughout the course of like the year, all sandwiched into one weekend. The fact we're sitting here on a Monday morning having a conversation, we survived it. Like we got through it. You got through it. You know, we're here, we're ready to talk some ball, I suppose. But like, man, congratulations to the women in your life. And this should be also be maybe just a step back for maniacs in general, right? And just say, like, if you do have a special woman or women, I have my mom and my wife just could not think of two better people to be alongside me in this journey. And I know there's a lot of maniacs out there that are a missing, a special someone, you know. Heart goes out to you guys. It's just one of these weird moments. I just want to acknowledge how important the women in my life are.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and same here, Carl. Couldn't do it without my mom. It was her 70th birthday. Um, it could have been a nicer time this weekend as well. And to all the maniacs out there, to you and yours, you know, I wish the same for. And and if not, and if you're searching for something, hey, you got me and Carl with you on Monday morning.
SPEAKER_00Amen to that. And I just preach patience, you know.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But it and for me and my one, we were friends forever. We were just friends. I was like, maybe we should go on a date sometime. She'd be like, I'd be interested in that, I guess. You know, now here, yeah, it's like 12 years later. That was like 12 years ago.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, dude. With Katie Patates, I met her on a softball field. I was the pitcher, she was the catcher. Hey, get that dirty thoughts out of your mind, maniacs. I was just pitching an actual ball and she was catching it. And then, yeah, friendship blossomed into love, and here we are.
SPEAKER_00So lucky, you know, again, just a couple lucky
A Weird Series And A Lucky Break
SPEAKER_00guys. Let's stay on this theme of lucky here, real quick, because I know this is the Monday morning Cubs show. You better believe the Chicago Cubs are lucky. We didn't see Dylan Sease yesterday, and we got written out of that. I mean, again, if we see him later in August, then we see him later in August. But just after having the bullpen blew the blow that game on Saturday, where you're sitting there, I mean, house money, we're gonna be four and one. Sure, whatever we drop that. If you told me we're gonna only take two or three from Colorado, but then followed up with two or three, four and two for that week, I would have taken in a heartbeat because you're looking at there's two pitching matchups from the Blue Jays. So, again, not to be long-winded, not to be long in the tooth off the top. We got a tight, good show here, but you better believe it should be in every single Cubs fan's head going into this New York series before we play the Bruce. We are very lucky that we got a day off, we got flights out to New York early, and most importantly, we did not see Dylan Cease on the mount.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, extremely important. Um, you know, kind of a strange series. You score 16 runs, the bullpen melts down, and then we get a rain out. And there's really no easy answers to take from this series, right? We don't know. It's another identity struggle because you see the 16 runs, Carson Kelly explodes, PCA is just doing what PCA does, and then the bullpen is also unfortunately doing what they do too. And you know, that I thought we were cruising to another win. Um, it it shifted the mood quite a bit when I was in the airport.
SPEAKER_00So we'll just say seven and four in our last two weeks. You know, we were three and two this past week. And check my math, three and two is five games, and we were four and two the week before, which puts us at seven and two. Now going into that seven and two stretch, that's nine games. I thought we were three and six the stretch before that. So now if we were I'm now I'm losing my mind, seven and four in three and six adds up exactly to nine and nine.
SPEAKER_02Nine and ten. Too early for me to do mathematics, Carl, but yeah, I think that sounds about right.
SPEAKER_00We're seven and two over our last two weeks, Mahoney. We're seven and four over our last two weeks, Mahoney.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's a lot better than I thought it would have been, to be quite honest.
SPEAKER_00And I might have some of these games jumbled. First nine games of it, then the following stretch into it.
SPEAKER_02I mean, come on. This team wins two 10-game win streaks, we lose 10 games. How are you supposed to keep track of the past two weeks?
SPEAKER_007-4 over our last 11. Okay, how about this? We should take a step back. Here's what we're gonna do. We're gonna keep this nice and simple for the audience because my head's in a thousand places with this Cubs team. Like, I'm sure you've witnessed Friday episodes that we're gonna be positive. Monday in Las Vegas. I'm I'm ready to burn that entire resort to the ground, buddy. Like, put me in the federal max 20 23 hours a day in the 220 square foot cell room or whatever it is, you know, three hot squares. Like, that's how I was ready to go to that level of domestic terrorism based on how the Cubs performed. I'm in Vegas, but then I can spin around, I can say I'm positive, and then I can say look at the schedule, and then I can do this and this and this. Here's what I can do. I can promise that the preview show going into the Brewer Series this weekend will be the most comprehensive preview we've done on our posing team. And I can promise Mahoney's gonna be joining me.
SPEAKER_02Yes, I will be joining you from Door County, Wisconsin, bringing the gear.
SPEAKER_00In order for us to do that, however, we have to get through these next four games against the New York Mets, who are tragically awful, have lost the fan base, and New York is just wrapped up in the next if ever there was a time for us to just cruise in there and just take an easy breezy series. Now's
Nine Baller Strikes And Sponsor Talk
SPEAKER_00the time.
SPEAKER_02It is the time. And Carl, you know what also is the time? I did prepare uh a pretty straight storyline. I like what you guys did, you know, the the nine nine topics. I'm gonna run through them as we go through. We'll do baller strikes, kitten caboodle, and we'll shoot the shit from there. But I got a real basic, I got nine nine pitches coming your way.
SPEAKER_00Yes. And I would prefer to do nine baller strikes. So we have nine, you you have nine topics.
unknownCorrect.
SPEAKER_00And I'm like, hey, I'm not gonna play dumb like I don't know what these fucking topics are in the green screen room here, folks. All right. I know what's I know I have a general idea of where some of these topics are going. What I don't know is what the baller strikes are. Like, obviously, again, I know we're gonna talk about PC off the top. We talk about anything other than PC off the top. I'm gonna I'm gonna kill you, I'm gonna reach through the computer screen and I'm gonna strangle you to death, Mahoney. Wan make me okay. And furthermore, as spicy as that is, this show is presented by Thirsty Vaquero, Mexican-style soda with the signature spicy finish that's all bite, no rattle, comes in three bold flavors. Mahoney had eventually a vigil anti-sampler platter pack rolling through the refrigerators this weekend. One of the hottest items at the Father at a Father's Day getting. Like that, I know from firsthand experience myself, had a big golf outing Friday. The thirsty vaqueros were splashing ice, heavy handed, you name it. Like the time is now, I'm telling you. Also, cut the grass yesterday morning around 10 o'clock, earlier than people would recommend. But we had heavy waterfront coming in, and we have heavy waterfront coming in throughout the week. So I just had to make a decision on the go. It's it's I'm cutting this baby to two inches and three quarters. And you better believe Manual Muerte is riding shotgun with me while I'm doing that outdoor activity, Maui.
SPEAKER_02No, you ain't kidding, Carl. It's keeping you hydrated, it's keeping you satiated, it's pumping you full of some natural agave, organic agave. And I mean, that's gonna keep you eyes and clears, and it's gonna keep the lines pretty straight on your lawn if you got a mango muerte and toe.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And I do have mango muerte and toe. I always got a little mango muerte and toe. That that that that is actually becoming the officially the beverage of the summer because we talk about which three bold flavors do we like? Do we like a watermelon? Do we like a habanero? You know, do I like a mango muerte? Do I like a Lamon Ladrone? And honestly, I think mango muerte is starting to emerge.
SPEAKER_02100% love a mango muerte.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, it's just as it's as simple as that. Now, hey, fall could roll around, this could change, it could be watermelon, we could get a hot streak at the end of the first, like subject to change, mango muerte strike. It's a mango, mango muerte Monday strike, Carl. With that said, we got nine baller strikes. Um, the purpose of this exercise, Mahoney, obviously is to be insightful, obviously to get guys thinking about things. We are keeping this very high level. This should be basic. And the most important thing is it should be an easy exercise for maniacs. Like, I don't want to challenge people. We've done slug conversations before. We've gotten into weighted run, created plus, and et cetera, metrics and movements and all this stuff. This should be a high-level.
SPEAKER_02I don't want to say like this is more of a Mahoney episode, folks, where we're not going to be diving into numbers, okay? We're gonna try to make this conversational. I'm gonna do this 10,000-foot view, and we're gonna dive into the topics.
SPEAKER_00And I think that that's just the fair ball. I think that's I think that's exactly like how we should have said how I could have just said it. This is a this is a textbook Mahoney example. I I talked to him a little bit over the weekend. You know, my headspace isn't right here right now. Can you please just do me a solid? Give me nine great baller strikes.
PCA’s Cycle And Franchise Urgency
SPEAKER_00Mahoney, take it from here, my friend.
SPEAKER_02All right, Carl. Ball or strike. PCA cycle that's not just a Wrigley fun moment. It's another reminder. He's already become the engine of this team. And if the Cubs aren't building their identity around him now, they're wasting the clearest franchise player signal that they've had in years.
SPEAKER_00Goodness.
SPEAKER_02They're gonna be a little longer today, folks. No, well, I want to say loaded baller strikes.
SPEAKER_00I want to say off the top, that's a ridiculously good baller strike. That's probably your best baller strike in the history of the show. Now, there's times I want a quick pitch and catch from you. Yeah, but if you're telling me we just have nine baller strikes and you're giving me it like this, load it. Do you mind just taking that one from the top so I can enjoy it again and then give you a great answer?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, Carl, ball or strike, PCA cycle, not just a fun Wrigley moment. There's another reminder that he's become the engine of the team. And if the Cubs are not building their identity around him now, they are wasting the clearest franchise player signal they've had in years.
SPEAKER_00Baby, that is that's that's such a great strike. And um, I mean, it's a strike because the the the two-parter here, yes, the cycle's not just a fun reminder. We talked about this briefly. Like the fact that there's been almost a near-identical amount of cycles and no hitters in major league baseball really speaks to the statistical significance of a cycle that I do not think was readily available, like when that cycle originally happened. If you pulled average baseball fans, am I wrong on that?
SPEAKER_02No, not at all. And when that cycle happened, he continued then the next day he's reaching base, I think, five times. He homers again on Saturday. Yeah, it's just non-stop with PCA right now, cornerstone. And I mean, my expectations I feel like are almost being blown again, like when he had the success last year at the you know, all-star clip MVP talk, he's getting right back to that. And if he he can do that, wow. But now, why isn't the rest of the team, you know, finding their levels the way PCA is exploding out of the water?
SPEAKER_00We'll get to that hopefully in another ball or strike. There's three things I want to get here. Can I do these things in one minute? The first is if the cubs don't build their identity around him, is you know, like they're wasting that. And the answer to that is strike, so it's two part. I like talking about the cycle, but the idea of the Cubs wasting a season where Pete has been this good is makes me nauseous because the superstar there, he's obviously in that tier one, and you need that tier one to play in October and have success. That just bona fides. We have it, it's there. Uh, the second thing we've talked about adjustments before. So when Pete came in, he was trying to adjust to the fact he's in major league baseball and he wants to thrive and hit for power. So that first year where he played 120 games or something, you see a guy struggle a little bit and just kind of get his bearings down. And then it's in his first full season where he's the starting center fielder, which is last year, where he really breaks out, and then the league adjusts and he falls apart. And that's where I'm coming back to what we've talked on this show. You show the league who you are, the league is then going to adjust, then you have an opportunity to readjust. But it's a small window, right? It's 500, 600 play appearances because then you really start getting in your head, and so like if you apply that timeline and you put Pete Crow Armstrong into it, I'm telling you, this is like that readjustment phase, and you can see how high a ceiling gets to you know goes. Last thing, and this is just a quick little opportunity for us to share because I was texting with you about how funny this is.
SPEAKER_02After Pete got picked off after the cycle, you mean you know the everybody's making jokes, and it's just the ball's up for auction, the pickoff ball is up for auction.
SPEAKER_00It's so funny. So I thought, who better to ask about this? The next day I reached out to Alex Cohen. This all off-record stuff, so I'm not like posting text messages or anything about how funny it is. But you better believe because when we interviewed him, he talked about how awkward it is when you're calling the no-hitter and you don't know it's the no-hitter and you're going to JD. And so we had a nice time talking to Alex about like when you're in the booth and these historical moments happen. What's going through your head? Are you thinking and engineering how to talk about it? He's like, Yeah, well, I mean, like you want to, you're you know, of course you're paying to the attention to the historical moment. And I know as I'm saying this, we're going well over a minute, but I just think this is a funny story because he brought it up on our preseason interview in the no-hitter that he like, wait a second, they just took the hit off the board, so now I'm calling a no-hitter, and you're always thinking to yourself, when I get this moment, how would I call it? Well, Pete leads the game off with a home run, then he hits a triple, then he hits a double. You better believe AC sitting in the chair, right? Now, this isn't stuff you're gonna know. I'm I'm reaching out to him, being like, Hey, based on our conversation, like I would imagine you were ready for the cycle. How much did the pick-off personally bother you after you've spent the last two hours going, fuck PCA's getting it for the cycle, hits for the cycle? Place is going bananas, this is your moment. Get some good tapes, some good calls, all this shit. Five seconds later, picked off. You know, the the LOLs, the crying fit, just the back and forth, the interesting insight from the announcer's perspective, where he's like, That game was one of the most fun games I've ever called. What a crazy moment! Like, even as he's making history, he continues to make more histories, is just basically the genesis of like, of course, it's so P, it's so PCA to be that good and then just give us a little bit of moment, a little bit as big cat called it, red meat for the internet to chew on. So, but but but the biggest takeaway, and I'm sorry to do the sidebar on the personal story as we're trying to get this show you know moving and rolling here. You agree, right? Like, when you have a superstar this good, what's the comparison? When the Blackhawks were wasting the final years of Patrick Kane, right? Is that a good example? You have somebody so much better, and they're just wasting Patrick Kane. I don't know if the Bears have an example where you just like maybe the years they just completely wasted that defense where it's like you need that to win a championship, right? You need a guy like Patrick Kane to win a championship. We all agree you need Pete Crow Armstrong to win a championship, and the fact that he's doing it in center field, um, that there it there has to be maximum urgency. Strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, Mahoney.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's a strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, Carl.
SPEAKER_00Um, hey, great ball or strike to start. I do like a little bit longer two-parter for me to think about. So if this is the tone, then
Offense Questions And Bullpen Alarm Bells
SPEAKER_00keep it rolling, my friend.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, this is the tone. On to number two here ball or strike, Carl. The Cubs offense does have enough firepower that complaining about needing another bat is starting to feel like a little misdirection. The team ceiling is going to be decided whether by the front office fixes the pitching staff, not whether they add one more league average hitter, ball or strike.
SPEAKER_00This is it's probably it's it's a pen like right now.
SPEAKER_02I don't well, you see the huge 16 run games, Carson Kelly exploded, PCA's doing PCA things, but the offense essentially was clicking the entire game. It's a tough question.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, gun to my head, it's like no, not with Shaw, not with Shaw coming back. It seems like they're gonna be a little bit more intentional about defensive positioning and giving guys days off, which will I'll read into assuming there's a Moises Biasteros question in here. Got one coming up in three. Okay, so just so just sticking generally on the lineup, like would I rather have them go put a league average bat in here or better bat? And the answer is no, because I don't, it's like you can't go play second, you can't go play short. Those are positions we could use bad upgrades. I could use a major league average bat at third base. His name's Matt Shaw, you know, right now it's Bregman. Um, but at the same time, you can't replace those guys. So I guess by technicality, it's a strike. It's one of those ninth inning lollipop strikes. It would never be a strike otherwise, but it's a strike because a position players throwing it. We got to get on to the next ball or strike. Like, like we are adding some bullpen arms, and that's nice, but we are still a couple, you know, we're a couple exits on the on the road trip away from that starting pitcher detour.
SPEAKER_02All right. No, perfectly said, Carl. And then you mentioned the bullpen. On to the next one here, if you don't mind. I'm just gonna ball or strike right away. Baller strike, Carl. The bullpen is not a minor flaw, it is the most obvious way the season's gonna collapse. So if the Cubs are gonna try to patch it casually instead of attacking aggressively, they're choosing roster caution over a real playoff pushball or strike.
SPEAKER_00Um, if they're patching it casually, like it seems right now. Again, we have to qualify everything we're saying is like right now, right now. But we are just a week, two weeks away from where you should see activity. We're already adding a couple guys, like we just picked up some lefty from Houston with a 7.42 ERA. Okay, fine. Like, take the ERA out of it, change the uniform, see if he clicks with the culture. You're already in the big leagues, but I think the overall point is that the bullpen's the most obvious problem. And to me, that's a strike. Everything else is like sure, the offense struggles, I can still count on at least a certain level of at bat. The offense struggles, I can count on defense. You know, at least the pitching staff isn't great at all under any set of circumstances, but I can count on our starters more than I can on our bullpen, even though the collection sucks. Like if I have to pick one over the other, I'm going starters, which then by process of elimination would say our bullpen is by far our biggest problem. But we got problems.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, no, problems are across the board. I mean, Palencia now is on the injury list with the right elbow issue. It's just not gonna stop, man. So what else can we do here? It's late innings are always looking shaky. We had what's his ass Webb. I don't think he's gonna be seeing too many high leverage situations coming up in the near future. you know, based off of recent history. So yeah, it is not a minor flaw. I have to agree. That's an absolute strike. It needs to be addressed. And the thing is about bullpen, what are you going to do? I mean, you I think you're you're guessing a lot of the time and hoping that one of these guys that you're taking flyers on works out. And then maybe you can go out and get, you know, some somebody who's really hitting their stride midseason.
SPEAKER_00So let me ask you this you brought up Webb. He blew it and he was terrible. And where do you stand on this Mahoney? He was pretty direct in the postgame. And I've celebrated Bregman for being direct in the postgame. But hearing Webb in the postgame where he's like I just didn't fucking have it today. I let the team down. He dropped a couple F-words now do you like that from a reliever?
SPEAKER_02I mean I what else are you going to say? You know, as a relief pitcher who blew a game you just didn't have it today. Um yeah I guess I do like it. I like the honesty. I like the gun you know gumption if he's you know dropping F bombs that's fine. Speaking of which I really got a cool my my son dropped a hard F in the lobby of the Palmer house. But no yeah it's I I like it. It's better than you know somebody just kind of like being oh I don't know well yeah whatever just lost the game.
SPEAKER_00Yeah it made me think because I really liked Bregman's tone and what I'm talking about is Bregman in postgame he plays well in Colorado they interviewed him we've talked about it on a show and Bregman's approach was such stone cold about you know hey offense broke out today you guys nine runs you hit a home run blah blah blah and he's like we're not good right now and I made a big point about how I like that. Now if he was like dropping F bombs to the extent that Webb was I think that's where I would cut the line and be like buddy I mean I you can't be showing that as an everyday position player. I'm asking you because I think this is a good differentiator is a reliever who's like in the midst of blowing something or you're having a bad time or you're a veteran reliever free agent who's exactly who Webb is you came in here to do a role and you're not doing it and the team's failing that's where I'm totally fine with you standing in front of the microphone and showing that raw emotion but for Cubs fans that want to see it from like Ian Hap after a game or they want to hear it from so like I do think there's a small crew of people that can give you those sound bites and they're either a starting pitcher like Justin Steele or a reliever that has been around the league for a while that we brought in to do a job that isn't doing his job.
SPEAKER_02Yeah and the fair ball given that he doesn't he's not going to see time every single day there's not eight other guys in a lineup around him so when you're bitching and complaining I think that the relievers could get like a little bit of a longer leash to be like oh fuck you know so I give him I give him some uh some grace there and I think we're at the point where there's enough tape on who's in the bullpen for them to know more about trusting guys in situations and stuff.
SPEAKER_00So while the bullpen has been trash has been our biggest weakness this is usually the time of the season for all major league teams not just the Cubs all major league teams have a just a better feel for who is who and who can deliver where and so I would hope that the Cubs can take advantage of where they're at in the calendar with the tape that they have on the guys bringing people in and you're seeing it doesn't take much to bring in other arms from other organizations. You know a double A first baseman that'll never sniff the big leagues with the Cubs. Sure go ahead you can absolutely take them Astros you want to knock your socks off. We need help right now we need guys that can go on the big league mound right now even if they're not
Matt Shaw’s Everyday Case
SPEAKER_00sure things I just need to see different looks.
SPEAKER_02So that's where I'm at with the bullpen 10-4 Carl next pitch I got a one sentence ball or strike for you all right ball or strike Matt Shaw should be in the lineup every day until he proves he cannot handle it.
SPEAKER_00So that is a person yeah I think yeah I think that for me is a strike that's a personal one other people are going to call it a ball you know I think it's a strike for me there's a couple reasons for it. One thing there are you saying till he proves he can't handle it. So do you mean more physically like injury standpoint or do you mean just adjustment standpoint?
SPEAKER_02Yeah mostly injury standpoint the back's a tricky thing you know we haven't really seen Mac Shaw get every day at you know at bats and in in field play. So that's just one thing I think you're going to have to look at given that he's been such you know he's been spotty has had some injury issues how can he handle that physically and mentally you know if he gets actual action you know five six games a week yeah this is where I'm at with Sean is like you know we've talked we've joked that the league or the team is kicking him around and not really giving him any respect and and asking a lot of him especially in bringing in Bregman relegating him to utility position and we're not talking about a guy that came up as a sixth rounder that you didn't know about.
SPEAKER_00We're talking about one of the most accomplished college baseball players uh of all time whose slug was off the charts the second half of last year and they drafted very high and he's so good he can't play minor league baseball he's just way too good to see whatever you're doing at triple A. I'll guarantee you he would hit 380 plus at triple A with a 700 plus slug doubles like you wouldn't believe because he's such a great hitter. And so where I'm going to come into this and say I think Shaw improves as he plays and I've only seen him improve with more playing time my gut instinct is that I do want to see him in the lineup every day especially if say has got knee injuries totally man words out of my mouth you know he seems to be a clutch player too and I don't even like that word but what what let's do this Matt Shaw doesn't shy away from a big moment does he he hasn't I mean even just walk off walk you know in the PCA cycle game um you know he hit that he hit a dinger against the blown game in Toronto he doesn't seem to shy away at all he's been in those clutch positions and and has done well so there's no reason I see why not can I offer up an analogy to maniacs like it it's Monday we're going to word people got to do stuff and like Shaw would be a guy who you work with that uh maybe outside of work you you don't necessarily spend time with right like he but he works for the company and he he's done a he does a fine job you ask him to do something he does it now I don't know what maniacs do exactly you could be in sales you could be an electrician uh you could be a roofer you could be an accountant you could work a white collar job you could be a customer service I mean there's a thousand different career paths but I just want you to think about working somewhere and a guy comes in and he works really hard and for the most part keeps his head down and they just keep asking him to do different stuff and he's doing different stuff and he's doing well uh but other people are getting it are are getting better opportunities because they're already on bigger paychecks you need to justify it in the budget. You need to say yeah of course the director of sales is going to take credit for this sales job etc when Matt Shaw's one who called it set it up ran the meeting did the PowerPoints did the follow-ups wrote the emails somebody else is going to be taking credit for it and so that's kind of the analogy I see with Shaw and like I would guess it I'm I'm like an outside consultant looking at it being like this Shaw guy's got management material written all over him like I would have Shaw play every day I feel like he gets better.
SPEAKER_02I feel like the more you've asked him I feel like even though he's only been here two years you keep putting all this responsibility on his plate hasn't he done enough to get more wait this guy's played three four positions if I'm just looking at a paper with no name at the top I'm looking at these numbers yeah I don't understand why is this guy the one who's in the director role exactly yeah from that consultant perspective that's that's fantastic.
SPEAKER_00Now in the same respect though we also do know and and maybe we don't I know some maniacs do know this are older I'm 39 I know Mahony's over 40 so like we have these experiences we do know the most successful and and that doesn't mean the richest or whatever the guys who are just the most who are the most competent who are the best at what they do know the ins and outs of the process in which in which they work they they know everything about it. So like the guy who started the company who know who bought the first machine knows how to fix the machine he knows how to use the machine he knows how to sell the clients you know we're gonna come over and pave your road not only is he gonna sell the paving he knows how to bond the contract he knows how to get the insurance on the deal he knows how to hire the guys to do the fucking paving job he knows everything that has to go into the paving job because he's done all of it. So when you get to that certain point you're in charge of the boss and again I'm just using paving as an example I think any any work you've ever done if you're an accountant salesperson that all applies to this my point with Schauzer sure make him go play right field have him spend a season at third base where he finishes top and go glove voting send him down to triple A with a bad back make him pinch hit make him play second base pinch run there's come a gonna come a point in time where he's an everyday regular cornerstone player and I think all these experiences are going to add up to it where yeah the pressure doesn't get to him he's gonna be that competent just professional who wants to get after it wants to win baseball games that's how I feel about him not to get too long-winded about him because I know there's some some people don't like him but just purely as a baseball player just like purely as a guy who's gonna show up and soft house softwash my house this weekend the only thing I fucking care about is how good at softwashing my house is he. And when it comes to the Google reviews 4.9 and 277 with all this stuff and reviews for the neighborhood if this guy shows up and he's got a sticker on his truck I don't like am I going to tell this guy to get the fuck off my property no I'm gonna say thank you for showing up here's the contract please wash the fucking house just want to see a good job done and that's it dude and I start saying if I sent this guy home do you know how insane that would be and then I gotta go find somebody else in a new quote now you're sending yourself just just because you didn't like a sticker get over it guys. Come on we got bigger fish to fry. So just your local alderman and get your garbage cans replaced. Yeah 100% man is there anything on Shaw you want to add like you know I don't I'm just going on about it. And I think that's a good question because for lineup stability I just I think he's a guy who could hit seven play right just pencil him in and let him do his thing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah no and I mean
Ballesteros Sent Down And Bench Math
SPEAKER_02the thing about Shaw is it does allow that flexibility and if you look at my next ball or strike really a reason why Shaw's getting play time is because Moises Ballisteros was option um you know because of the say his knee issue etc so ball or strike Carl sending Ballisteros down was the right move even if he's still one of the better long-term bats in the work yeah see he's just gonna go down to triple A and hit 400 but he's gonna play five games and it'll be interesting if they have him catch.
SPEAKER_00He cannot play another position if you're like maybe he'll play left or left field or first base or something whatever. Like that's crazy. And he would get more time if he could catch but you can't trust him to catch in Tomo it's hey whatever it's just a game it's a like one missed pitch is a ru could be a run. You know the amount of effort that goes into keeping runs off the board it's so critical to have an experienced catcher back there. And this was the this was the problem I shouldn't say problem this is the risk when you name a 22 23 year old as your starting BH without defensive or speed or any tool other than the hit tool well if you're gonna have a hit tool you got to hit second or third in the lineup. You can't you know and they they won't do that Bragman hit second in the lineup you know Nico Horner's got to hit second in the line that whole May existence is just not you know uh is moving away from Moises from the second and the third spot now getting rid of him puts him into triple A. If something happens to one of the catchers can he be a backup catcher he probably is in that situation now. If there's an injury you know Conforto's still on the team even though Conforto's you know it it it's on how about this I have to I have to take a step back from my personal attachment to Moises and say it is the right move for the organization especially if Matt Shaw is going to be this good this utility and it does seem like we're gonna have to start sitting guys like Swanson Nico et cetera for for a game for two games etc.
SPEAKER_02Well and then seeing that Justin Dean come up as well kind of looked like a spark right he can pinch run he's fast he's got good D you know his first MLB hit was that three run triple so I think you got to take a look at those type of players as well at this juncture in the season to see you know who you'll need in the postseason in those weird moments when you need an actual pinch runner who's fast.
SPEAKER_00Yeah I would say good call on Justin Dean I would be hesitant to reach it all this way to the postseason but that is what postseason roster looks like just to take a look at them you know at this level that's all I meant. Now a critical thing here is we're just keeping this high level going into the med series is that you keep four guys on the bench and one of them's a catcher. So then you have three guys on the bench and obviously one's got to be an eye somebody who can play the outfield obviously somebody's you know going to be the infielder. And so for the Cubs like as long as a Maya's healthy you know Bayesteros isn't gonna be that catcher on the bench yeah that makes it just real difficult like Pedro Ramirez is going to occupy one of those four spots uh the catcher is going to occupy one of those four spots. Conforto probably depending so they that's like where it gets you is like is Conforto's bat that much better than Dean's and the answer is yes. The answer is unequivocally yes. But Conforto can't run and he's at best an average defender probably a below average defender and he can't throw so what you need Conforto to do is to carry like a 520 slow I know we weren't going to get into this but he has to be able to crush right handed pitching and so if there is an the Justin Dean roster spot is that fast electric pinch runner guy that's filling in for Moises by Ros and what I would like to draw context back to is again there's four roster spots that are non-starters okay one of them is going to be the backup catcher whether it's Kelly or a Maya so now we're working with three spots on the bench because there's 13 arms so you have three bench spots can Fordo 15 Pedro Ramirez now agree we need an infielder in one of those backup spots 10 for strike. Okay. Now we're mixing Michael or we're mixing Matt Shaw in here where someone could say hey a typical bench has five guys but the way the Cubs mix it was say a Suzuki and Matt Shaw etc so you're really for purposes of making a decision about who's on the bench to start the day that you can guarantee there's going to be somebody on the bench it really just comes down to the Justin Dean role and the Michael Conforto role and so as long as Michael Conforto is going to hit right handed pitching well he's gonna have a spot on the team justin dean is going to be do you do you thrive in the big league atmosphere can you steal bases can you play multiple positions can you get in the box and make contact without striking out or popping up you know like there's just in the that spot is wide open that spot has been for Nicky Lopez but moving Biasteros down is really just a reflection of the fact everything Justin Dean does well is stuff Moises Biasteros grades out on the very bottom of the scouting scale. So it's a huge difference in roster replacement and we'll see the impact
Boyd’s Return, Trades, And Thin Depth
SPEAKER_00that it takes because obviously Biasteros wasn't getting the top of the order reps.
SPEAKER_02Carl moving on pitch six ball or strike Matthew Boyd can help but treating his return like a real solution is dangerous thinking. If the Cubs are counting on injured pitchers coming back cleanly to solve their depth problems they're gambling with the season instead of managing it ball or strike. Yeah that's a strike I mean that's in line with kind of like where we were at that's what I've been saying I'm I'm worried about Matthew Boyd coming back when he was supposed to come back last week he didn't and then that gives me more concern about this injury stuff and how much can we actually rely on him moving forward. Do you have the numbers did he make did I thought that he made he did yes so he made a a warning start I think at triple A this past week and I don't know if it was in Iowa I thought I I honestly thought I thought I thought it was triple A. Yeah you know what he worked four scoreless at seven strikeouts and a rehab Simon in high A South Bend not AAA high end south bend they wanted to keep him close just over that Indiana border and that was on June 20th because if it was triple A then people are already Cubs Twitter would be going bananas they'd have we need him back Boyd's coming back I I'm I have to coach myself into the requisite excitement for Matthew Boyd's comeback because I always see him as a guy who needs to be a hundred percent like I don't see him as a guy who can like tweak his back tweak an elbow hurt a shoulder then come he's been hurt so many times like I just feel like this is a guy come out of the box has to be just looped up ready to go. Yeah no and I mean it this matters because we we need starting pitching as much as possible but yeah is Matthew Boyd going to be able to be the best Matthew Boyd he can be right like who's to say he's gonna be better than Javier Sad. Right exactly and then also before I did the research on this I didn't know it was high right and I'm thinking triple A oh hell yeah dude Matthew Boyd's just he's dealing he's ready to go so we'll see but I think that from the ball or strike perspective yeah that's a that's a a strike as it is dangerous thinking to have him coming back as a as a big deal like the he's not the savior at this point. Hopefully he can be but we'll know that in two months if he hasn't lost a start.
SPEAKER_00Yeah that's if the key word as I understand it they're gambling with the season instead of managing are you gambling on counting on Mampoy that's a big gamble but he's good he's been reliable as a cub and and again I may I make the comment is who's to say he's better than Javier Sad I mean he is better than Javier Asad provided that he can execute yeah like you can execute it you got to be healthy to execute you got it you know so it's again we're working on the same thing got to be healthy got to execute etc etc etc so that's a question mark I got another one for you here ball or strike we alluded to this earlier the Jaden Murray trade is less about Murray's the big Jaden Murray trade we're always gonna look back at that one ball or strike the Jaden Murray trade is less about Murray specifically and that it's more about the Cubs admitting their pitching depth is too thin. Yeah you just have to go get somebody who's like major league can get on a major league mound has been on a major league mound you know uh we're out of it in our system.
SPEAKER_02You just know that you need more arms and you gotta go get them.
SPEAKER_00We've used anybody who can pitch in the major leagues and we've stretched it far past that there's guys who have no business being on a major league mound that have competed for the Cubs this year because of the combination of injuries and lack of performance but but those are two big combinations are the injuries and lack of performance and I should be clear here saying some guy doesn't belong on a major league mound is just emotionless fact. It has nothing to do with the person the character if anything their tremendous success for getting there so many few do so so few that want to get to that mound ever come close to like a ball much I know you don't say that sort of thing lightly and I know the maniacs know that too anyone's even sniffed the big leagues has your respect.
SPEAKER_02So we understand.
SPEAKER_00But if you're gonna tell me that those guys should be on this they can go play for somebody over the luxury tax and like bringing up some of the guys we have from triple A Iowa so then just applying that to the Jaden Murray trade like you know I don't know this guy from a hole in the wall I hate a reliever that throws 95 you know like I just I just hate I hate a reliever that throws 95 but he's an undersized 6'1 190 guy you know not much of a background that like not any real notable uh success but here's what he is he's different um you know and he's Not he's not Tyler Ferguson. He's a little bit of a strikeout guy in the minor leagues. Great, like great for him. Is he different than what we have? Like what we have is 95 with average breaking stuff. So this guy's, you know, I don't want to get too too heavy and say it's about 50% forcing fastball. That is every bit of major league average. I mean, it could it couldn't be more like major league average from how much he uses it to how hard he throws it to how much it moves to how much it looks. Like if you had to check boxes and be like, this is what major league average, this is how hard it is. This is major league average, this is where it's located. This is major league average, this is how much it spins. This is major league average, this is where it's this is how much it fucking late breaks. And Jaden Murray would be the poster boy of all that stuff for the forcing fastball, including how often you throw it. He does have a sweeper that can be a swing and miss pitch. I think he's got terrible command. I don't think he knows where it's going on. But Mahoney, the question, if I understand correctly, is that it's not even about Jaden Murray. No, it's not the fact that the Cubs are admitting the pitching depth is too thin. And so, like, guys, it our bullpen's so bad that we just had to bring in quite literally the most average profile, and he could just be the baseline to just like how bad is our bad. Here's the most average reliever on paper that we could possibly trade for without giving up a prospect. That's Jaden Murray.
SPEAKER_02That's about as a down of a middle strike. If I if I'm taking what you're saying, that the Cubs thinking that their pitching depth is too thin.
SPEAKER_00Hey, good on you for including the Jaden Murray trade in this, and good on you for like, because that is we've been sitting here waiting for a trade. I don't give a shit the guy is. I shouldn't say sucks because he could be effective with the Cubs, change the scenery, etc. But I will applaud you because that is a move. People have been asking where the moves. Here's a move. Jade Murray.
SPEAKER_02We can't be talking about the trade market and then all of a sudden just brush something under the rug because it's not a player that we love and
Too Talented To Quit, Too Flawed To Trust
SPEAKER_02is not going to pop the headlines. Carl, I got another for you. Ball or strike. The Cubs are too talented to fall apart, but too flawed to trust.
SPEAKER_00That's been my mental health state. Has yours been any different?
SPEAKER_02No, not at all. And was looking at the team when they're falling apart, when they're not, you know, during those horrible stretches, it's like, what are we watching? Then they hang 16, like they were doing earlier in the year. Crooked numbers. We know what they can do. So it's a very confusing team, but we know the flaws. So it's a strike because we know the pitching's hurt. We know the bullpen's untrustworthy. We know the lineup isn't very consistent. So it's unfortunately we are very talented, um, but it is a very flawed team at this juncture in the season. So I have to say that that's a strike.
SPEAKER_00It is the strike. They're too tan. Now, but the point is, are they too talented to fall apart? What's falling apart? I I we talked uh Cody Del Mendo came on the show on Friday. He was like, as long as they're over 500, and of course, I respect everybody's opinion. You got an opinion, you watch the team, you care. That's great. That's what keeps you in. I just go back, luxury tax, Pete Crow Armstrong, suit superstar, Peter Armstrong, one of the best players. Infield on paper, Bragman, Swanee, Horner, Bush on paper. Like that's a baseball guy's wet dream. Ian Hap, 10-year vet. You know, there's so much match on nothing. Play anywhere, productive, treat them like shit, productive. Make the make the guy's life as hard as possible, productive. Chad Hoyer, $230 million to spend. You know, so what is falling apart? Falling apart for me is claw clawing at that last playoff spot. He's like, you're like, you're in the hunt, you're chasing, you're fending guys off. Like even last year, even though they fell apart, I don't know if I ever got to the point where I was mentally like, we're not even gonna make the playoffs. It was just like now we have to host San Diego, and that was bad. So that's falling apart to me. Are we too talented to get to that point? I don't know. I don't know, but we are way too we are way too flawed to trust, and this team is pissing me off. And it reminds me of being in a relationship in college or high school or whatever. Whenever you're in that phase where it's like, man, this is awesome. This is awesome. First two months, awesome, right? Then what happens? Red flag one, yeah, red flag two.
SPEAKER_02Somebody says, like, what low in a movie, and you're like, What did she just say? Yeah. Loud in a movie theater.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Or she gets, you know, she gets kicked out of college, and then she's fucking blaming it on her roommates, or she's you know, I mean, there's just like red flags, dude, or it's it's just like craziness. It's like, you know, you have a good date, and then you wake up the next day to like eight text messages, you're like, this is this isn't headed where I thought it would, and like it only gets worse and more intense, is the way I would explain the 2026 Cubs. So now I'm still looking at this. Is it is it too flawed to trust? Like, yeah, absolutely way too flawed to trust. Uh, you know, is it is she too hot for me to ignore this stuff? Like, I don't think so. I don't there's a limit.
SPEAKER_02Not too hot where you're like, yeah, you're like worried about other dudes gonna be getting in there. Who else is she talking to? It's nothing like that, but yeah, it the it's like inconsistent, you don't feel safe in the relationship.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it's just it's like this is not anything. This is this is going bad. Uh like I'm suspecting, you know, whether it's like drug problems or you talk to your ex-boyfriend much less. Let's like you talk to your ex-boyfriend too much, like you shouldn't talk to him at all. Right. I could go down. I could I could go down.
SPEAKER_02We're waiting for the lease to end. Wait, you live with him?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, he's cool. He's cool, he works late. Like, yeah, but it is. Um, again, we're we're the tone of the show could be much different if we if Dylan C's pitch against us on Sunday, but I kind of I kind of like where we're at here. Like, you know, this is this is this is it is what it is to beat the Mets. We we don't have to pitch great because they're not great. You have to avoid Juan Soto. They're not great, they're gonna make mistakes, their bullpen's not good, they don't have starting pitching, and their defense is far below average. So, like, we just need to score the four three. If we play the meds, how many times would we play him? Three or four times. I think we play him four times. So if we play the Mets four times and we score 15 runs, we should win, we should win three of those four games. That's my take on that. So, anyways, what else we got, Mahoney? Let's keep this baby tight under an hour.
SPEAKER_02Here we go. Last but not least, Carl, ball or strike. The Cubs should be thinking wild card first and division title second.
SPEAKER_00So I don't know what that I'm gonna say ball because we have to play the Brewers this weekend. That's it. That's the only reason I'm saying ball. Like too soon. Haven't had enough division games. We just have to play him. Now, the problem is Mizorowski is like Bob Feller. Mizorowski is as good as any pitcher has like ever been.
SPEAKER_02What happened to that control thing where he would lose control and throw a bunch of balls and he'd have a high pitch count early on? That's gone. He's just throwing 103 down the middle or touching the corners with it.
SPEAKER_00Well, like, why why doesn't the cigarette give you the same buzz it used to? Yeah, your tolerance. Because you've had a lot of them. Why is Jacob Mizerowski's ball not throwing, like, why is he not spiking it off the backstop? Because he's throwing a lot of them. So he's a terrifying person because he has no muscle, no facial hair, and he is has pure enjoyment for the game. You watch him strike somebody out, smile on that guy's face, he's just goofball. You can't make that shit up how much he enjoys it. And the other thing is he's learning how dominant he is. So, like, most of these guys take them out and they're like, I'm the man, I've always been the man. Jacob Mizorowski's taking them out and being like, my hope I pitch well against these Philadelphia Phillies thing. Where like everybody's taking them out and being like, I'm the man, I don't care about the Phillies, I'm the man, I'm worried about my stuff, my pride. Jacob Mizerowski's out there, like talking to the country, like, hey, what do you want to throw this guy next?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, man. Hey, gee golly shucks. We'll talk a lot more about Mizorowski in that Milwaukee Breweries preview. So if we're lining up, we have the Mets first. We're going to City Field. We got Shoda Eminaga versus Kone Senga or Kodai Senga, I think to start. Tomorrow we'll have Cabrera going. Wednesday Asad. Uh very winnable series, as far as I'm concerned. We got do you have a prediction for this week or this series specifically?
SPEAKER_00Well, I I mean, I think I said if if they if the Cubs can muster 15 runs in these four games, they should win three of them. Um, you know, we don't we're kind of running into this is an interesting pitching setup because Eamon Aga versus Sega is a huge advantage. The problem with Sang is he's pitched so bad that then it makes me nervous he's gonna pitch well. But like, you know, that that that's that major league baseball thing where like if you see an NFL team get blown out by 40 points back to back weeks, like you can guarantee week three they're gonna play a close game because the NFL like teams just don't that just doesn't happen. So like I don't know if Sang is in that territory, he's been absolutely awful this year. Like he can't make it out of uh he can't make it out of innings, and that's because he's putting almost two guys on base per inning. So like even though people might be soft on Imanaga, that's it, that's that's kind of shit. That's kind of like a good matchup for the Cubs. Edward Cabrera versus Noah McLean. Noah McLean has had like hit or miss stuff. That that's that's pure coin flip city. Like Eddie Cabrera has not been good at all. We don't have a bullpen to back him up either. So like now we're setting the series up where it would be nice if Shoda Imanaga made it in the sixth inning, or if Shoda wanted to do that thing where he goes seven innings, or if the offense wants to score seven runs so Shoda could pitch seven innings, that would be fucking awesome. I think Javier Sad versus Shawmanai's a huge advantage for us. Um, any reason why Ben Brown wouldn't be listed against Freddie Peralta is because they might be saving Ben Brown Friday against Mizarrowski, might be giving him extra off day. Could be. Freddie Peralta's got a tryout though for the Chicago Cubs because we are in the market to trade for somebody. Freddie Peralta's in that second tier of starting pitchers. Obviously, he's not a terrible school bowl. I wouldn't say he's as good as Logan Webb is right now. He hasn't been that good. But Freddie Peralta probably wants to get the fuck out of New York because he's not doing his free agency situation any better. He's obviously on the move and he's been heavily linked to the Chicago Cubs since it was announced in May that the that the Mets are would be trending towards sellers. So uh again, the important thing to remember about the Mets, they're not very good defensively. They can really only hurt you with Juan Soto. They don't run the bases very hard, they're sloppy, they're slow, they don't, they just they're everything that we liked about the 2026 Cubs, the Mets do the complete opposite. So there's just kind of report. Uh, not that that's you know, more important than your ball or strike, Mahoney, which I thoroughly enjoyed today. The Cubs should be thick and wild card in the division. It's too early, so I'm gonna call that one a ball, but I'm gonna give you strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike, strike on the ball or strike because I love the substance in the preparation.
SPEAKER_02Well, hey, I appreciate that, Carl. Uh, you know, we didn't have a normal series this week. We had the 16 runs, there was a bullpen, gut punch, and then we got a lucky rain out, so we didn't see cease. But now this job we have here is simple. Go to New York, don't leak games, turn some of this chaos into momentum, and let's move forward.
SPEAKER_00Well said, Mahoney.
Mets Series Mindset And Closing
SPEAKER_00I don't have anything else to add other than if you enjoy the show. It's great if you could review it. You could leave five stars on Spotify, you could leave five stars on Apple, you could write a review on Apple, you could jump into this Spotify comment section where Mahoney lives, and he's happy. We're along with me as well, and we're happy to continue the banter of the Monday morning cub show. We will be back. I believe, based on the schedule, stay with me here, folks. I believe, based on the schedule, Mahoney and I will have the Friday episode out, uh, either a late Thursday night after the Matt's game or early first thing Friday. It'll be a heavy scouting report on the Brew. It'll be a little bit of mailbag, but mostly here's where we're at with the Brewers, here's what they look like. It'll be heavy on who the Brewers are, and probably a little bit less about the Cubs than with the mailbag. Not too long-winded, just trying to do the best I can for an outro teeing us up for the next next show, Mahoney.
SPEAKER_02All right, guys. Maniacs, have a great rest of your Monday, a great week. We got the Mets, and let's roll.