We’re a little behind schedule today and that’s okay because yesterday was just a ridiculous day for sports and we’re playing a little catch up. Most notable on that list is the Monday Morning Cubs Show which is now available for download.
These are my behind the scenes show notes.
It would be nice if you subscribed to the show. I won’t twist your arm by any means but me and Mahoney have a good thing going. I also think he’s an underrated gem but again I won’t twist your arm.
Here’s the big shit from today:
- I think the Cubs are going to be okay without Justin Steele. It obviously blows that he’s out for the year but there’s plenty of options to replace his value and plenty of time to make a trade. There’s also a number of internal options that have been held back. We also saw Colin Rea pitch competently last night in his first start as a Cub. So while things could be a lot better, they could also be much worse. Justin Steele will be back next year, likely more healthy and better than now. It all works together while probably costing the Cubs 2-4 wins this season.
- The Cubs should win the division handily without Justin Steele
- A big problem though is you can’t lose another starting pitcher without declaring a major emergency. So we can handle one blow but certainly not two and that goes for any of the starting pitchers after Steele. From Shota to Jameson it would be cataclysmic regardless of the loss.
- Jed has everything at his disposal to replace Justin Steele but should only do so if he is willing to add more to make a deep October run. If we’re only trying to win the division, then I would try to solve the problem from within.
- I owe Ben Brown a big apology and I’ll talk about him more later. For now it’s worth pointing out that his breaking ball dictates his success. Yesterday he had it going at it’s peak potential, which then lets him make plenty of mistake with his fastball. That’s exactly what happened as the game went on and why he’s able to face the Dodgers 1-2-3 on three separate occasions. His offspeed was that dominant.
- But we can’t expect it every time out because that’s not natural. Almost no starting pitcher can bank on the dominance of one singular pitch for everything else to work. Kevin Gausman’s splitter comes to mind and that’s about it. So while I’m sorry for asking Ben Brown to leave the rotation, I’m not wrong in saying that I’m cautiously optimistic until he shows me he really owns that slider.
- All of that to say that I’m sorry to Ben Brown for sounding like a moron and an idiot.
- Other things:
- We gave the Dodgers their worse home loss in franchise history, which spans about 11,000 home games
- Would you rather Pete Crow Armstrong hits for power and strikes out, or hit the ball on the ground and steal bases? It’s an interesting argument as it pertains to his contract extension and also deserving of its own stand alone blog
- We believe the Kyle Tucker extension news even though Cubs insiders are denying it vehemently
- Owen Caissie can step up for Seiya if he ends up on the IL but we’d rather do that in June when Seiya gets hurt for real
- Wrigley is good during bad weather because you don’t have to wait in line. Like going to 6 Flags or Disney during a hurricane but the rides are still running. There’s obviously a trade off but it’s still severely underrated we think.
- THC beverages are for sale around Wrigley now and we talk about that
- Matt Shaw is probably not a big leaguer right now but there’s nothing else the Cubs can do about him and third base. We’re stuck with him as long as he is healthy.
I’ll circle back later today with more on PCA and Ben Brown. Just wanted to share the podcast because we spent this morning working on it.
Thank you to Upheld Technologies for sponsoring this week’s show.
Talk to Mahoney if you need any help IT stuff at work.