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Speaker 1: Welcome into Northside Territory. Foul Territory Networks Cubs Podcast. I'm

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Speaker 1: Sadi Charma with my partner Patrick Mooney. We are your

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Speaker 1: Cubs beat writers over at the Athletic. Patrick, the off

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Speaker 1: season is nearly over as far as you know, spring

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Speaker 1: training pitchers and catchers reporting. There's still a few players

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Speaker 1: out there available. Framber Valdez obviously signed. That's a big one,

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Speaker 1: probably the biggest name remaining that was remaining and a

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Speaker 1: surprise move. Theyre going to the Tigers and they have

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Speaker 1: a nice one two punch there of Beldez and Scooble

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Speaker 1: who won his ARB case. And that's just a you know,

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Speaker 1: a whole other story. But with the off season wrapping up,

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Speaker 1: nearing wrapping up, we will we're gonna do a little

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Speaker 1: off season grades here and kind of discuss how the

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Speaker 1: Cubs did and and kind of evaluate each unit. I

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Speaker 1: guess that how they upgraded or how they did as

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Speaker 1: far as building this team back up for another playoff run.

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Speaker 1: I mean, overall, Patrick, I'm just gonna start overall. I

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Speaker 1: think it's an a off season in the sense that

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Speaker 1: the Cubs had a plan, they had a path to

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Speaker 1: what they wanted to do. Whether you agree with each

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Speaker 1: player being the right player to add is debatable. You know,

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Speaker 1: I like these players that they added, the big names,

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Speaker 1: the players around the edges, whatever it is. But I

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Speaker 1: think these are the guys that they had been targeting,

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Speaker 1: and they executed their off season plan Alex Bregman, Edward

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Speaker 1: Cabrera building up this bullpen without you know, blowing out

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Speaker 1: the budget. Rebuilding the bullpen. It feels like an A

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Speaker 1: I don't think it's an A plus, and I'll get

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Speaker 1: into that, but but it's been a really good off

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Speaker 1: season and it's been a while, I feel like since

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Speaker 1: we've been able to say that.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think this off season largely resembled a Plan

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Speaker 2: A for the Cubs. That when you look at how

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Speaker 2: long they've coveted Cabrera and Bregman and how closely they

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Speaker 2: held to their bullpen philosophy, like this did not feel

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Speaker 2: like an off season where the Cubs were kind of

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Speaker 2: scrambling or furiously pivoting. Like this was kind of a logical,

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Speaker 2: you know, very Cubs way sort of off season and

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Speaker 2: this was not plans you know, C through Z. Like

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Speaker 2: these were like the big names that they had targeted

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Speaker 2: for a long time. Part of me still wants to

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Speaker 2: give them an incomplete because I don't think it's quite

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Speaker 2: over yet. We'll get into that throughout this show. I

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Speaker 2: don't think it's an A plus. I wouldn't even give

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Speaker 2: him an A either, because part of me still feels like,

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Speaker 2: while the budget is bigger, it's still not really comparable

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Speaker 2: to other peer franchises when you look at what, Okay,

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Speaker 2: the Dodgers are exceptional, but look what the Toronto Blue

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Speaker 2: Jays have done, how the Phillies have pushed their payroll

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Speaker 2: over the years, what both New York teams do. I

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Speaker 2: still feel like, while it's an improvement in terms of budget,

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Speaker 2: it's still not like overwhelming. It's you know, sort of

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Speaker 2: comparable to where it was ten years ago. Like you know,

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Speaker 2: I haven't seen you know, huge jumps. Its started more

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Speaker 2: just kind of getting back to where it had been,

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Speaker 2: so a very solid off season. I'd probably give it

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Speaker 2: more of like a B plus for those reasons. And

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Speaker 2: I still have, you know, some reservations about Edward Cabrera's health,

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Speaker 2: and I'm a little surprised that they didn't want a

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Speaker 2: little more certainty there.

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Speaker 3: And also.

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Speaker 2: There were a lot of like closer swing and mis

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Speaker 2: type relievers that were out there, and they did not

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Speaker 2: grab for a multitude of reasons. I think if you

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Speaker 2: had gotten one of those, I might have tipped it

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Speaker 2: a little higher.

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Speaker 3: But like very good off season.

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Speaker 2: You know, our grades don't matter as much as like,

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Speaker 2: I think, this is a team with a legitimate chance

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Speaker 2: to compete for a World Series title, and I think that's.

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Speaker 3: Really all you can hope for, you know. A couple

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Speaker 3: of days before the Super.

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Speaker 1: Bowl, Yeah, I mean to get into you you touched

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Speaker 1: on something there that I think there's the the bullpen

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Speaker 1: as a unit. It was that that was a tall

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Speaker 1: task and coming into the off season, you know, I

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Speaker 1: think there's a little bit of like excitement on their

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Speaker 1: and for some of these people to like kind of

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Speaker 1: want to like start from a clean slate, you know,

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Speaker 1: see if they can find the next Brad Keller, like

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Speaker 1: enjoy the challenge, really dive into this, see what they

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Speaker 1: can do. We'll see if they pulled off, if any

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Speaker 1: of these smaller names they're going to turn into a

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Speaker 1: Brad Keller type or emerge as a really critical piece

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Speaker 1: of the bullpen. But they they spent thirty million dollars

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Speaker 1: and brought back Caleb thielbar added film Aton, Jacob Webb,

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Speaker 1: Hunter Harvey, the other lefty who I am blanking on

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Speaker 1: his name. I really need to get every Milner, Hoby Milner,

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Speaker 1: a lot of a lot of veteran, a lot of

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Speaker 1: experience added to the bullpen. Not a ton of money

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Speaker 1: spent to do that. But they didn't get that, no doubt. Closer.

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Speaker 1: They didn't get this guy that you trust to lock

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Speaker 1: down the ninth. Now, I'll give them this. They don't

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Speaker 1: like to spend fifteen plus million per year on guys

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Speaker 1: in the bullpen. They they kind of took a risk

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Speaker 1: the past two years, the previous two off seasons with

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Speaker 1: Naris and Presley trying to get veterans that could work

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Speaker 1: the back end that seemed like they were on the

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Speaker 1: downside of their careers and ended up being on the

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Speaker 1: downside of their careers. Those that didn't work in their favor.

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Speaker 1: So I appreciate that they at least went with guys

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Speaker 1: that you know, a lot of these guys are coming

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Speaker 1: off good seasons, good or very good seasons like a

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Speaker 1: Field Bar was great. Mayton was better than the like

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Speaker 1: it'd been in a while, well, not better than it

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Speaker 1: been in a while. Was always consistent, but the strikeouts jumped,

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Speaker 1: the velocity jumped, everything was jumping for him. It seems

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Speaker 1: like he's coming off a really good season. So I

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Speaker 1: appreciate that they found ways to bring those guys back

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Speaker 1: without breaking the bank. But not getting that dominant closer,

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Speaker 1: which is just not something they always do or even

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Speaker 1: someone that's that experience there. I think dings them a

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Speaker 1: little bit there. And it's still a really good job because,

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Speaker 1: like I said, they're losing so many guys. Keller, Pomerant,

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Speaker 1: field bar were all free agents and Kittridge was traded away.

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Speaker 1: So key part, like the entire bullpen, the part that

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Speaker 1: you everyone that you relied upon except for Daniel Palencia,

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Speaker 1: were free agents. They brought back one and rebuilt it good.

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Speaker 1: We'll see how good it is. I think they've done

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Speaker 1: a solid job. You know, you can't say it's an

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Speaker 1: a without getting that closer. I'd like Hunter Harvey. I

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Speaker 1: think Hunter Harvey could be a really good closer because

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Speaker 1: he's got the stuff. Is he going to be healthy?

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Speaker 1: Similar to what you were saying about Edward Cabrera, this

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Speaker 1: is a bigger injury risk than Edward Cabrera upside is clear.

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Speaker 1: I like what they did. I think it's short of

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Speaker 1: an A. I think it's a B upgrading. I'm giving

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Speaker 1: them extra points there because of how much they lost

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Speaker 1: and they are able to build this bullpen that I

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Speaker 1: look at on paper and say that's a solid bullpen.

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Speaker 1: They did a good job without the closer. It's just

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Speaker 1: hard to without the no doubt closer. There's there's someone's

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Speaker 1: gonna close games, and someone will emerge and be really good,

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Speaker 1: and there's gonna be someone we're talking about three months

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Speaker 1: from now that's like, Wow, this guy's impressed, but we

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Speaker 1: don't know who that is yet, so it's really hard

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Speaker 1: to evaluate that at this point.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think.

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Speaker 2: It's also hard to evaluate kind of the position player

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Speaker 2: group and the rotation when there is this nagging sense

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Speaker 2: that the Cubs aren't quite done yet and maybe they

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Speaker 2: don't make.

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Speaker 3: A move at all, maybe more and more minor league

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Speaker 3: deals start to trickle in.

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Speaker 2: But I guess for our listeners, our understanding here on

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Speaker 2: Friday morning is that you know some of this, some

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Speaker 2: of these links is Zach Gallen have been overblown that

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Speaker 2: there's nothing there, not saying there's zero chance that it happens.

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Speaker 2: But you know, Zach, the Cubs are not the only

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Speaker 2: team looking for a good team deal, not the only

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Speaker 2: team that wants more pitching.

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Speaker 3: In February.

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Speaker 2: He's someone who's been on their radar a long time,

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Speaker 2: no doubt, But I think I would still be surprised

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Speaker 2: if it actually happened. The Cubs are once again trying

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Speaker 2: to be opportunistic. And then when you look at the

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Speaker 2: position player group slash shape of the pitching staff, the

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Speaker 2: other thing that's sort of out there is Mattshaw and

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Speaker 2: will they trade him? Will the Red Sox step up,

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Speaker 2: you know, to find a replacement for Alex Bregman, who's

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Speaker 2: obviously part of the Cubs now. And this, you know,

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Speaker 2: theoretical hypothetical trade. What would the Cubs get in return?

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Speaker 2: We think it's there'd be some sort of pitching component. Again,

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Speaker 2: most deals don't happen. Most stuff that's talked about never

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Speaker 2: sees lives day, never gets close to the finish line.

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Speaker 2: But these two front offices have a lot of connections.

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Speaker 2: They've they talk about players and roster needs a lot.

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Speaker 2: There are some potential matches there and so again this

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Speaker 2: is something like we haven't ruled out yet, like our

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Speaker 2: reporting has sort of said, yeah, those are possibilities, Like

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Speaker 2: the Cubs are always looking to stay active, but in

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Speaker 2: terms of something imminent realistic. You know, the Red Sox

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Speaker 2: being a team that pounds the table and just says,

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Speaker 2: screw it, let's get a deal done.

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Speaker 3: That's not really how they operate.

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Speaker 2: And you know, the Cubs are in a nice position

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Speaker 2: here where they can be picky and choosy.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. I wouldn't be surprised either way. You know, I

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Speaker 1: agree with what you said there, Like these trades are

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Speaker 1: hard to happen, Like moves in general, you bet against them.

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Speaker 1: Like when people say, like who you know if you

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Speaker 1: were betting on such and such, It's like, I just

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Speaker 1: would bet against the cub signing any of these guys

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Speaker 1: because like that's the likely that's how things work out.

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Speaker 1: Like there's a lot of other teams vying for these

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Speaker 1: players in this scenario. You kind of laid it out perfectly.

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Speaker 1: Boston's not super aggressive, They're very methodical with the way

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Speaker 1: they go about business. These two teams do line up well,

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Speaker 1: I think with their needs. It's not perfect, but I

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Speaker 1: think there's some interesting permutations I guess of potential deals

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Speaker 1: that could make. And that's why you just can't rule

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Speaker 1: it out. How what type of value can the Cubs

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Speaker 1: get for Matt Shaw. I think, you know, outside value

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Speaker 1: may be different than what like a model says, what

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Speaker 1: scouts are saying. I do think Matt Shaw is pretty

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Speaker 1: valuable with his second half, with his Gold Glove finalist,

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Speaker 1: with his versatility, and with his upside on offense, Like

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Speaker 1: he just he was a that prospect. He was a

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Speaker 1: bat first prospect and he proved to be a pretty

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Speaker 1: good glove too. So he's a valuable player. But he

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Speaker 1: could be a really valuable player for the Cubs. I

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Speaker 1: think it's an interesting decision that they have to make,

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Speaker 1: and if they're bowled over by an offer, I think

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Speaker 1: you have to consider it and probably do it. I

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Speaker 1: just don't know if Boston's going to be that aggressor

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Speaker 1: to get it done, which is part of the reason

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Speaker 1: why when I look at like whether it's the position

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Speaker 1: player group, mostly the bench, it's like, I don't know

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Speaker 1: what this looks like yet, I don't think that's done.

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Speaker 1: When we talk like what you said about Zach Gallen,

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Speaker 1: you know, I just don't like I'd be surprised at

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Speaker 1: this point, if the Cubs planned Zach Gallon, it doesn't

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Speaker 1: seem like they're, you know, he's going to fall in

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Speaker 1: their lap. I think I think it just makes sense

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Speaker 1: for him to go elsewhere. Frankly, like guaranteed spot in

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Speaker 1: the in the rotation. I mean, I assume if the

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Speaker 1: Cubs land him, it's a guaranteed spot in the rotation.

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Speaker 1: But still it's just an odd fit when there should

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Speaker 1: be other teams being willing to sign him and he's

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Speaker 1: got that QO attached to him, it's like he's probably

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Speaker 1: gonna want an opt out pretty early. Like just doesn't

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Speaker 1: make sense for the Cubs to give him an opt

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Speaker 1: out early, like in my mind, and you know, I

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Speaker 1: don't know what who everyone who all his suitors are.

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Speaker 1: I still think Arizona just makes the most sense. Go

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Speaker 1: back to Arizona. Don't worry about that qualifying offer they get.

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Speaker 1: They're the ones that can give you that one year

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Speaker 1: deal or opt out without worrying about it too much.

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Speaker 1: We'll see, we'll see where that goes. But it's the

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Speaker 1: bench that I think, it's just that's a complete, incomplete

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Speaker 1: like that's that's incomplete to me. I don't know where

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Speaker 1: that stands right now, it's Tyler Austin, whoever's the backup catcher.

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Speaker 1: Between Amaya and Carson Kelly. I think that's going to

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Speaker 1: start off being pretty split. I know, obviously Carson Kelly

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Speaker 1: got the bulk of the starts last year. That was

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Speaker 1: out of necessity. I don't think they want, like Craig

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Speaker 1: Council doesn't want to have Carson Kelly starting one hundred

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Speaker 1: and twenty games unless Miguelimya proves to be just like

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Speaker 1: not good, like he's not like the injuries have have

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Speaker 1: led to him struggling. I don't think that's the case

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Speaker 1: that I don't think these are long term issues. So

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Speaker 1: I expect that to be pretty split. And then and

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Speaker 1: then you're talking about Matt Shaw and then one of

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Speaker 1: these outfielders that they've picked up right now, Dylan Carlson

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Speaker 1: Chas McCormick, So it's we don't know who's going to

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Speaker 1: be there, and if they make a big move and

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Speaker 1: if they get an outfielder from Boston in a trade

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Speaker 1: for Matt Shaw and then push Saya Suzuki to DH

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Speaker 1: and then and then Moses Bias Terrist to what triple

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Speaker 1: A the bench. I don't know like what so I

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Speaker 1: just don't know what the bench looks like. It's still

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Speaker 1: an incomplete and I can tell you this, Jed Hoyer

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Speaker 1: wants more depth. This is from talking to people. This

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Speaker 1: is starting to sound a lot like theo Epstein before

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Speaker 1: twenty sixteen. An obsession with depth and obsession with what

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Speaker 1: can go wrong? How do we account for it? How

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Speaker 1: do we make sure that the slightest thing that could

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Speaker 1: go awry is covered for.

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Speaker 3: No doubt?

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Speaker 2: And we've heard various names they've discussed, and some of

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Speaker 2: them are it's almost a little too all over the

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Speaker 2: place to sort of like pin down of like this

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Speaker 2: is the guy, because they do already have a lot

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Speaker 2: of versatile pieces, Like is Matchhaw that's super sub Is

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Speaker 2: he a trade chip? Is he, you know, a starting

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Speaker 2: infielder once someone gets injured, are they gonna need him

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Speaker 2: in the outfield if say it gets hurt for whatever reason.

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Speaker 2: They're just a lot of moving pieces here, and I

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Speaker 2: do think it will all make sense whenever that player

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Speaker 2: is signed again. They don't feel like they have to

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Speaker 2: do something, but I think they very much want to

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Speaker 2: do something here to just upgrade the overall strength of

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Speaker 2: the position. Player group and just to give a manager

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Speaker 2: who's pretty good with this stuff, you know, more options

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Speaker 2: for matchups and rest and recognizing that they were extremely

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Speaker 2: fortunate last year in terms of injuries position players basically

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Speaker 2: outside of Kyle Tucker, the one guy they had for

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Speaker 2: one year. But that's a separate podcast there. And so oh,

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Speaker 2: I think you kind of look up here in February

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Speaker 2: and it's funny how if you were making offseason predictions

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Speaker 2: in November, you would have circled Edward Cabrera as the

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Speaker 2: guy they would probably want to trade for. And Alex

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Speaker 2: Bregman there was this long history of like concrete offer

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Speaker 2: made to him last year to where he'd say, oh,

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Speaker 2: this guy still fits. And we spent a lot of

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Speaker 2: time on Matt Shaw here, but like Alex Bregman is

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Speaker 2: the man, like he is like the central piece here

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Speaker 2: for this next era of Cubs baseball, ever it is,

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Speaker 2: He's going to be a huge factor, a major force.

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Speaker 1: Yeah. I think if like when I think about the

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Speaker 1: lineup and what my expectations were coming into the off

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Speaker 1: season and what they did, I know it's just replace

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Speaker 1: Like in some eyes, it's just replacing Tucker or Bregman

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Speaker 1: with Tucker, Tucker with Bregmant that's what. That's how that goes,

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Speaker 1: replacing Kyle Tucker with Alex Bregman and and some people

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Speaker 1: may even see that as a downgrade. I guess overall, offensively, look,

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Speaker 1: I get that. I think overall what they've done to

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Speaker 1: the lineup is kept it pretty steady. I'm high on

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Speaker 1: some of these young guys. Like if Biasters is going

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Speaker 1: to be in this starting lineup, if this is what

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Speaker 1: the lineup, the starting lineup is, I think he's gonna

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Speaker 1: hit and I think he's gonna hit a lot, and

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Speaker 1: I think he's gonna have a really good full I

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Speaker 1: don't know if I think he's still technically rookie, whether

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Speaker 1: or not whatever he is his first full season, I

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Speaker 1: think it's going to be really good. Uh. I think

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Speaker 1: Michael Bush showed us what he could be uh PCA.

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Speaker 1: I'm still a little wondering what exactly he is.

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Speaker 3: Such a.

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Speaker 1: Like and it's not and it's not that that like.

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Speaker 1: I think he can definitely be an average bat. I

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Speaker 1: think he kind of. I just wonder how volatile he

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Speaker 1: is and what and what you know, Kenny have that

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Speaker 1: high again, like, does is that like how it's like,

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Speaker 1: maybe it'll be up and down, but are those highs

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Speaker 1: gonna be you know, two three months long? Like that

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Speaker 1: that high was like that was an extended period of

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Speaker 1: we were talking about m v P uh and it

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Speaker 1: and it wasn't and we weren't being hyperbolic.

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Speaker 2: Uh.

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Speaker 1: It was the best case scenario for a couple of months,

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Speaker 1: and then it was kind of like ooh, this is

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Speaker 1: rough for a couple of months. So I just don't know.

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Speaker 1: Maybe that's just who he is. And I've said this before.

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Speaker 1: Maybe that's the type of player is sometimes when when

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Speaker 1: you chase and when you don't take walks, that is

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Speaker 1: the reality. He doesn't strike out a ton, He's not

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Speaker 1: like this extreme like thirty thirty five percent strikeout got

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Speaker 1: I And like sometimes something like diving into his numbers

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Speaker 1: just confuses me more. It's just this weird outlier type

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Speaker 1: of player where it's like, well, this should lead to

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Speaker 1: more success. He's he's not chasing as much, and then

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Speaker 1: it doesn't lead to success and it doesn't make sense,

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Speaker 1: it doesn't add up. But I like this.

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Speaker 3: I think that's why part of why Bregman is here.

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Speaker 2: Yes, I think like the you asked jed about this

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Speaker 2: at the press conference, and you know, what did the

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Speaker 2: model say and what did your kind of like you know,

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Speaker 2: gut say. And I think Bregman is going to have

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Speaker 2: a major influence on not just Pete and not just

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Speaker 2: players on the in the major league clubhouse. I think

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Speaker 2: this is you know, for the Cubs to knowledge how

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Speaker 2: important his intangibles are. I think says a lot. This

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Speaker 2: is not like you know, some old school baseball operation,

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Speaker 2: you know, romanticizing you know, his his voice in the clubhouse,

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Speaker 2: Like this is a very you know, bottom line analytical,

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Speaker 2: modern front office that it really seems to go out

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Speaker 2: of its way to acknowledge any of that stuff even exists.

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Speaker 2: And then they give this guy one hundred and seventy

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Speaker 2: five million dollars like it's that's real.

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Speaker 3: I mean, that's real enough.

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Speaker 2: That's what I really will get into this in another episode,

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Speaker 2: but like, I'm curious to see just the Bregmant effect

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Speaker 2: in general and on Keith specifically.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think the I like this lineup. I'm not

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Speaker 1: sure if they like statistically like runs wise, they'll be

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Speaker 1: top five, but I think it's a top ten offense

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Speaker 1: and I think it has the potential to just maybe

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Speaker 1: be more consistent. I don't know, we'll see. I really

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Speaker 1: like the Bregman edition, and like I said, I like

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Speaker 1: Biastero's rotation. Wise, I'm super high on Caate Horton. I

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Speaker 1: think I've made that clear since the end of the season.

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Speaker 1: Like I think it goes to another level. Edward Kaberr.

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Speaker 1: I like him a lot, and I do think the

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Speaker 1: Cubs do a really good job of maximizing their pitching talent.

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Speaker 1: At times, it is all about health with him, that's

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Speaker 1: all that's gonna matter. I think if he's on the

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Speaker 1: if he's on the field, and if he's pitching and healthy.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes these guys pitch through things and it's just like, oh,

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Speaker 1: it doesn't look as good. I think he's going to

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Speaker 1: be pretty nasty for them. So I'm high on this.

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Speaker 1: I really like adding guys like that to make justin steel,

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Speaker 1: like just just take your time, man, and when you're

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Speaker 1: ready to come, there'll be a spot waiting for you.

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Speaker 1: We'll see how they figure that out and kind of,

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Speaker 1: you know, whatever they do because they have six starters

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Speaker 1: at that point. But this, this this rotation has depth.

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Speaker 1: We'll see if they continue to make moves, what type

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Speaker 1: of additions they can make, but there's but there's depth here.

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Speaker 1: I like this group a lot. I think that's another

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Speaker 1: area where I feel like they did what they wanted

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Speaker 1: to do. Obviously showed it coming back on the QO.

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Speaker 1: It wasn't exactly like probably wasn't what they expected exactly,

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Speaker 1: but it works for them, and we'll see how good

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Speaker 1: of a season he can have. I expect him to

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Speaker 1: look better than those final months and maybe not. Twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty four showed up, but I don't think it'll be

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Speaker 1: September of twenty five showed it.

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Speaker 3: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: I think lastly, when you look up and down the

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Speaker 2: rest of the National League Central, off the top of

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Speaker 2: my head, would the rest of these teams, if you

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Speaker 2: were grading them, fall in.

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Speaker 3: The range between like C and F. I mean, I don't.

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Speaker 2: I think the Pirates have done stuff, and they've been

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Speaker 2: linked to players, don't know if they've done enough. And

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Speaker 2: I think we've seen how fragile young pitching can be.

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Speaker 2: I also think they don't have no one, not just

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Speaker 2: the Pirates. I don't think anyone else in this division

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Speaker 2: has the runway the Cubs.

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Speaker 3: Do this year in terms of just.

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Speaker 2: A solid roster, an established manager, a front office that

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Speaker 2: is stable, resources for the trade deadline, like all of

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Speaker 2: the kind of the muscle memory from making the playoffs

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Speaker 2: last year. I just have a hard time seeing everything

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Speaker 2: going sideways for the Cubs. I just think their margin

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Speaker 2: for error compared to the rest of the division is

408
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Speaker 2: so much bigger. Like the Brewers always outperform these expectations,

409
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Speaker 2: but a certain can you keep trading away all star

410
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Speaker 2: pitchers and not feel it does that kind of nudge

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Speaker 2: them in a certain direction. If they're around five hundred

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Speaker 2: in June, the Reds are the Reds, and we've just

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Speaker 2: seen the full retreat of the Cardinals and that is

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Speaker 2: odd in Chicago kind of watching that from afar. But

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Speaker 2: I think the rest the rest of the Midwest was very,

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Speaker 2: very unimpressive this offseason, and I think, you know, Cubs

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Speaker 2: fans should rightly feel pretty good about where their team

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Speaker 2: is at right now.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, they they're They probably enter the season as a

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Speaker 1: division favorite. Like you said, the Brewers are always there.

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Speaker 1: I don't care who they lose. They will see if

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Speaker 1: they can, you know, say resilient once again. But I'm

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Speaker 1: not counting them out. Maybe one of the pirates or

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Speaker 1: the Reds kind of pops this year. I don't trust

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Speaker 1: those offenses. Those pitching staffs are really scary. Uh. And

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Speaker 1: and the Cardinals, like you said, they're they're in full

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Speaker 1: rebuild right now. They've they've shown what they're doing. They're

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Speaker 1: they're selling everyone off and and probably is what was

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Speaker 1: needed for them. I don't think fans love it, but

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Speaker 1: it's uh, you know, it's kind of what what they're

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Speaker 1: doing at the moment, and it gives the Cubs a

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Speaker 1: big advantage. And I think ultimately this is a team

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Speaker 1: that's built to win the world have a chance. It's

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Speaker 1: the big bad Dodgers sitting there as the huge favorites

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Speaker 1: as always, but the Cubs have a chance and that's

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Speaker 1: I think what fans are always asking for. So we'll

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Speaker 1: see where this is. But that's the off season is over.

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Speaker 1: This is where where the Cubs sit. They finally, you know,

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Speaker 1: had a you know, a really impressive off season. We'll

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Speaker 1: get into spring training heading out there soon, and uh

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Speaker 1: see what this season brings. I think it will be

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Speaker 1: a fun spring and like you said, we'll talk about

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Speaker 1: some of that in our next episode. Thanks so much

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Speaker 1: much for listening. This is North side territory. Make sure

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Speaker 1: to subscribe to the YouTube channel, subscribe, rate and review,

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00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,760
Speaker 1: and all those other platforms. Subscribe to The Athletic, where

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Speaker 1: Patrick and I are on top of all things cubs.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening everyone,