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

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Speaker 1: Sadive Sharma with my partner Patrick Mooney. We are your

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Speaker 1: Cubs beat writers over at the Athletic. It is thanks

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Speaker 1: Giving week. Patrick, ready for a couple episodes this week

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Speaker 1: and it's a mailbag episode. As always, you guys delivered

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Speaker 1: with plenty of questions. We appreciate your interaction. Thank you

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Speaker 1: guys for always checking in and delivering the goods and

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Speaker 1: making sure we have plenty to talk about. Let's get

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Speaker 1: right into it. Kick it off with a regular Tyler

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Speaker 1: Dershel Tyler asked what is more likely for Jed to

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Speaker 1: do to acquire a top of the rotation picture throwing

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Speaker 1: out a contract they haven't done since Starvish we're selling

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Speaker 1: a significant part of the farm. I think it's a

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Speaker 1: good question, and I think of those two.

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Speaker 2: Throwing out a darbish contract or throwing out or trading

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Speaker 2: from the farm. I think i'd lean trading from the farm.

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Speaker 2: But you know, it also depends what you mean. They

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Speaker 2: can get a top of the rotation guy, perhaps without

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Speaker 2: getting out a darbage contract in the sense that Zach

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Speaker 2: Gallen could turn into a top of the rotation guy

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Speaker 2: because he's been that before. He probably wouldn't take a

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Speaker 2: darbish flight contract because of the year he's coming off

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Speaker 2: of and he has the qualifying opera attached to his name.

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Speaker 2: You know, you could look at a guy like Michael King.

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Speaker 2: From my understanding, his market is robust. He's he's meeting

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Speaker 2: with a lot of teams right now. The latest I

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Speaker 2: heard was the Cubs didn't have a meeting lined up yet.

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Speaker 2: That that was.

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Speaker 1: That's from a couple of days ago. That can change.

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Speaker 1: They can change quickly, and maybe they've already. Maybe they

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Speaker 1: have set up a meeting and had it since since

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Speaker 1: I say this. So he could get a pretty big deal.

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Speaker 1: I don't think it's gonna end up in the darbish territory.

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Speaker 1: So those are some names that you know have the

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Speaker 1: upside of a one and you're not thinking darvish like contract.

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Speaker 1: Dylan Cees, that's a darbish like contract, and that's a

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Speaker 1: deal that I think the Cubs would It would really

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Speaker 1: fit well for the Cubs, is how I would put it.

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Speaker 1: They need that strike out, they need that strike out rate,

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Speaker 1: they need that stuff that darbish that.

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Speaker 2: Dylan ces brings to the table.

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Speaker 1: He obviously as a Boris client, he's going to require

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Speaker 1: a big number. Both being a Boris client and and

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Speaker 1: you know the performance that he's delivered over the course

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Speaker 1: of his career, he's going to get a big number.

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Speaker 1: He's going to get a big contract. Trade wise, you know,

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Speaker 1: i'd lookout for the Marlins. That that was something the

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Speaker 1: Cubs touched on over the summer. They were aggressive trying

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Speaker 1: to get someone from that road. I heard a lot

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Speaker 1: of Edward caperer buzz. I wouldn't be surprised if we

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Speaker 1: hear more of that this winter, or just anyone from

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Speaker 1: that Marlin staff. I think the Cubs are going to

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Speaker 1: try and and and at least to entertain the idea

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Speaker 1: of making a deal with the Marlins either way. You know,

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Speaker 1: I think between the massive darbish contract or a trade,

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Speaker 1: I would I would go trade. But I also think that,

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Speaker 1: you know, I would not be surprised if they just

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Speaker 1: go a step below the massive darbish contract and go

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Speaker 1: and sign one of the quality free agents that's that's

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Speaker 1: available right now.

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Speaker 3: Good question, Tala, I'd say, obviously open to both. I

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Speaker 3: would lean more towards free agency, just because to me

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Speaker 3: it seems like there are more names out there and available,

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Speaker 3: fewer obstacles to go out and get that player. It's

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Speaker 3: it's only money, and the Cubs print money at Wrigley Field.

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Speaker 3: And I still think, you know, they have enough names

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Speaker 3: they like. Again, to me, the names are more intriguing

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Speaker 3: on the free agent market, you know, I go back

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Speaker 3: to last summer. Obviously, Joe Ryan and Mackenzie Gore are talented.

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Speaker 3: I don't know if they're and maybe they would be

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Speaker 3: great fits in Chicago. I still don't think of them

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Speaker 3: as like, you know, kind of no doubt game one,

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Speaker 3: playoff starter, top of the rotation type guys. They could be,

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Speaker 3: they might be, you know, they're talented, but I just

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Speaker 3: don't think those names on the trademarket really stack up

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Speaker 3: to what is a pretty interesting free agent class.

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Speaker 4: All right, let's take a quick break and come back

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Speaker 4: and answer more questions. Krats.

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Speaker 4: You can't beat that, uh Patrick, I wanted to add

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Speaker 4: one thing to what you said about trades and things

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Speaker 4: like that, and just in general. We didn't hear anything

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Speaker 4: about Kyle Tucker until we were at the Winter Meetings,

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Speaker 4: isn't that right? Like that was it was like the

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Speaker 4: first or second day of the Winter Meetings we caught

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Speaker 4: wind of something. So it's like we could be we

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Speaker 4: could arrive in Orlando and hear something and suddenly, like

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Speaker 4: our perspective just completely changes. So I think it's important

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Speaker 4: for readers listeners to understand that, like, like, there are

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Speaker 4: things happening right now that we may not be fully

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Speaker 4: aware of. We're doing our best to keep in touch

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Speaker 4: with people and and and try to get a shakeout

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Speaker 4: as much info as we can. Uh, but but there

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Speaker 4: there's you know, sometimes it just has to be face

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Speaker 4: to face and you happen to hear something with someone

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Speaker 4: and suddenly you're you're you're chasing something that you did

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Speaker 4: not expect to be chasing. So uh. I think that's

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Speaker 4: especially true about trade because a lot of the questions

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Speaker 4: we ask, it's like we're asking questions about what we

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Speaker 4: assume is happening, or like are you interested in this

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Speaker 4: free agent or trades that may have been trying that

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Speaker 4: they try to consummate it at the deadline, and now

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Speaker 4: there's someone available that you just didn't expect to be available,

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Speaker 4: and suddenly we're not asking that question because nobody rarely

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Speaker 4: understood that this guy is on the market. So so

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Speaker 4: we just have to be prepared for whatever. And I

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Speaker 4: think that's especially true for trades. Next question is from

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Speaker 4: Jim S. Bullpen. Now with Matone plus Palencia, we have

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Speaker 4: two late inning relievers. It's a two bar question. Is

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Speaker 4: Porter Hodge a part of the twenty six pen and

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Speaker 4: Jed and Carter mentioned velocity, anyone out there fans should

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Speaker 4: keep an eye on. Look, first of all, we didn't

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Speaker 4: I don't think we've recorded since Matone signed. This is

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Speaker 4: a big addition. Like, first of all, the Cubs Jed

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Speaker 4: Hoyer is handed out a two year contract with an option.

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Speaker 4: I think we got terms this morning at the I think,

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Speaker 4: at least according to one report, I thought I saw

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Speaker 4: Hayman had two years, fourteen zero point five million. I

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Speaker 4: think there's some weird stuff going on with the with

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Speaker 4: the contract as far as it according to John Hayman,

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Speaker 4: Philmatone Cubs deal fourteen point five million, two years and

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Speaker 4: a club option. There's some incentives there, there's Yeah, not surprised.

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Speaker 4: It's it's a creative deal. That's that's pretty good for

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Speaker 4: a guy that made like two million last year. Really consistent.

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Speaker 4: Look his his strikeout He's not going to blow you

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Speaker 4: away with velocity, but they needed strikeouts and he he

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Speaker 4: has He does that, and he's also you know, he's

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Speaker 4: added the tike a couple takes of velocity as he's

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Speaker 4: aged that's that's kind of impressive quick answer. And Porter Hodge, Yeah,

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Speaker 4: I think you have to give him a shot. He's

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Speaker 4: got stuff you'll see. But you know, it's just it's

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Speaker 4: like with any young reliever. It's like Polentcia coming into

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Speaker 4: last year. He's got to prove it. He did it

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Speaker 4: in twenty four, now he's got to he did not.

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Speaker 4: He was really rough in twenty five, really inconsistent, showed

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Speaker 4: flashes of that guy he was. But I mean, this

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Speaker 4: is this is the life of a reliever. You just

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Speaker 4: don't know, especially young ones. We don't know. Like, yes,

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Speaker 4: you you should. I understand feeling good about Palencia, but

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Speaker 4: I wouldn't guarantee anything. And then yeah, they're they're looking

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Speaker 4: at a lot of relievers. Patrick, are there. What are

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Speaker 4: some names that that you're hearing?

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Speaker 3: Well, the first name I'm hearing is Phil Mayton's nickname,

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Speaker 3: which I can't.

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Speaker 4: Believe you did not you know add it on my mind?

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Speaker 3: Did not get into that of that. It is spin rate,

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Speaker 3: which is what our buddy Jesse Rodgers likes to call

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Speaker 3: you when you start nerding out pitching. So I am

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Speaker 3: looking forward to spin rate going to the next level.

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Speaker 4: There.

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Speaker 3: I had one name, Ryan Helsley, former Cardinals closer. The

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Speaker 3: Cubs are among pretty wide or large group of teams

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Speaker 3: expressing interest at this point. And you had another one.

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Speaker 3: You just told me this before we started recording. I

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Speaker 3: hadn't heard that one, but it's another interesting one.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, Ryan Stanek, who I believe signed with the Mets

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Speaker 4: last year. They were interested in him last year. Vlo guy.

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Speaker 4: You know, he's got good stuff and and these these

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Speaker 4: guys can turn into studs. You just never know. I

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Speaker 4: would say there's a long list of relievers that they're

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Speaker 4: looking at. I think Hellsley is probably for now the

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Speaker 4: name that we've heard that's that. Yeah, that's most interesting,

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Speaker 4: that has a chance to you know, has experienced closing,

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Speaker 4: has been dominant and and kind of fits their mold,

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Speaker 4: wouldn't you say, of like this guy was a stud

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Speaker 4: and then had a you know, had a down second

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Speaker 4: half of the season. But I think there's enough interest.

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Speaker 4: I think our friend Katie Wu just had an article.

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Speaker 4: He's getting a ton of interest. I think he believes

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Speaker 4: it sounds like he believes he has an idea of

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Speaker 4: what went wrong and can fix that. I guarantee you

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Speaker 4: the Cubs have ideas for him as well. This is

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Speaker 4: pretty typical of the Cubs, and then we'll see if

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Speaker 4: they can get a deal done with him. I'd be

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Speaker 4: you know, if there's that much interest. Maybe not. But

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Speaker 4: also we don't know what the Cubs are offering, how

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Speaker 4: badly they want him, what they see him as. They

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Speaker 4: clearly are working hard to get another you know, liver

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Speaker 4: with stuff, and I think they'd like to get someone

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Speaker 4: with experience and success in the past, that you know,

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Speaker 4: that has closing experience. It seems like it's always like

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Speaker 4: part of their plan when when they're going after relievers. Patrick,

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Speaker 4: let's take one more quick break and come back and

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Speaker 4: answer one more question.

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Speaker 5: Head to Ridge dot com slash foul to get up

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Speaker 5: to forty seven percent off your order. This is by

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Speaker 5: far the biggest discount they've given all year. That's Ridge

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Speaker 5: dot Com slash foul for up to forty seven percent

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Speaker 5: off your order during their biggest sale of the year.

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Speaker 5: After your purchase, they'll ask you where you heard about Ridge.

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Speaker 5: Tell them foul Territory.

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Speaker 4: Sent you Patrick. One name that I should have mentioned

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Speaker 4: in that last answer is just bringing back Brad Keller.

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Speaker 4: I think that's still a possibility. Yeah, yeah, Yeah. They

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Speaker 4: love Brad Keller. I think they'd love to have him back.

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Speaker 4: I think he really enjoyed his time in Chicago. Now

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Speaker 4: it's just a question of what are the offerers out

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Speaker 4: there and can the Cubs strike a deal with him?

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Speaker 4: I think, But I think if you look at the

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Speaker 4: idea that yeah, maybe they're willing to spend a little bit.

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Speaker 4: I think Keller would be one of those names that

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Speaker 4: you just keep on the radar, the market could get

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Speaker 4: out of hand for him and out of the Cub's

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Speaker 4: range of what they want to do. Uh, but certainly

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Speaker 4: don't cross him off the list. It sounds like both

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Speaker 4: sides would like to do that if possible. You know,

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Speaker 4: like I said, we just don't know what the market

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Speaker 4: will hold. Okay, hat Monk has a question about kind

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Speaker 4: of sticking with vets and it has and you know

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Speaker 4: it still has to do with pictures, he says. I

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Speaker 4: don't know Council ever actually said this, but he has

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Speaker 4: been quotes as Council says, you never know when a

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Speaker 4: slumping player is going to break out of it, so

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Speaker 4: you kind of stick with him. He's stuck with sayah,

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Speaker 4: Tucker hap, why don't pictures get the same? And like

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Speaker 4: the pictures he named, I thought were a little odd

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Speaker 4: because he named Presley Merriweather and showeda look. Merriweather wasn't

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Speaker 4: really like Merriweather was injury related. He just didn't have stuff.

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Speaker 4: Patrick Wyn. I'm gonna let you answer this real quickly

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Speaker 4: because my dog really wants to go outside right now,

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Speaker 4: so I'm gonna let her out and then and then

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Speaker 4: I'll come back and answer.

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Speaker 3: Sounds good yeah, I think we have for different versions

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Speaker 3: of counsel saying that, and he is, at his core

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Speaker 3: a very patient, deliberate person who has, you know, a

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Speaker 3: lot of experience and empathy, willing to willingness to let

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Speaker 3: players and pictures work through things. I would say that,

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Speaker 3: you know, counsel has been pretty good or pretty patient

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Speaker 3: in this area. You know, I'm thinking of Daniel Palencia,

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Speaker 3: kind of trusting the process with him and him finally

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Speaker 3: turning the corner. The opportunities given to a picture such

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Speaker 3: as Brad Keller, you know, who was released by what

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Speaker 3: would become the worst baseball team of all time, the

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Speaker 3: twenty twenty four White Sox. And I think you've heard

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Speaker 3: the way the front office talks about counsel. It's a

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Speaker 3: lot of appreciation for him, not kind of clinging to

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Speaker 3: the idea of, oh I don't trust him. It's like, no,

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Speaker 3: he he looks at the data, he absorbs the scouting reports,

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Speaker 3: he trusts his eyes, He communicates with his coaches. I

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Speaker 3: would just say, in general, I mean the pitching staff

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Speaker 3: by and large did a really good job last year.

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Speaker 3: They were solving problems in real time. You had young

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Speaker 3: players take steps forward, you had old aging guys kind

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Speaker 3: of revived their careers. So i'd imagine, you know, that's

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Speaker 3: sounds not going to change. I mean, Creig Counsel has

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Speaker 3: been doing this a long enough time that he will

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Speaker 3: obviously evolve and make tweaks, but he is at his

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Speaker 3: core a pretty patient guy.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean the idea that he doesn't do that

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Speaker 4: for pictures, I think he did do it for Presley,

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Speaker 4: Like Presley got a really long leash. If you remember

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Speaker 4: Presley had that was it against the Giants that that

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Speaker 4: tent that extra inning like disaster, and he came back

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Speaker 4: out there soon after. I mean, I think he got

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Speaker 4: a little bit of time off after that, but I

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Speaker 4: think he came back out there and was used. That

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Speaker 4: wasn't the end of his time with the Cubs. He

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Speaker 4: got used a lot more and eventually his time ended it.

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Speaker 4: And like a lot of this stuff is like you

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Speaker 4: can see it with the stuff like Presley's stuff, wasn't

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Speaker 4: there showed a Managa had a pretty long leash. Yeah,

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Speaker 4: I mean, he he pitched regularly until the playoffs and

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Speaker 4: Winter Go Home game. He wasn't gonna put him out

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Speaker 4: there after what he showed the previous time. He was

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Speaker 4: out there. I mean, that's win or go home, that's

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Speaker 4: the playoffs, and showed his stuff was degraded like his

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Speaker 4: his stuff was down a tick or two at that point.

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Speaker 4: And the I mean, so much of pitching is stuff

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Speaker 4: like you can see it, like you can measure these

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Speaker 4: things really easily. With hitting, sometimes it's a little less. Uh,

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Speaker 4: you know, there are less measurables, and it's more about

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Speaker 4: fewer measurables and more about like, Okay, well he's taking

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Speaker 4: good swings, he's swinging at the right pitches. He's not chasing.

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Speaker 4: Ian Happ doesn't chase that much. And and that that

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Speaker 4: slash line that you're providing over a fifty one game span,

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Speaker 4: My guess is if you take his left handed bats

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Speaker 4: out of that, in that stretch, he was doing really

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Speaker 4: well or not left handed his at bats against the

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Speaker 4: lefties right, so his left handed at bats were probably

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Speaker 4: pretty good. And and if you're slumping and you're at

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Speaker 4: a three zero seven on base percentage, like that's I mean,

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Speaker 4: that's not good, but that's that's good for a slump.

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Speaker 4: If that's like your down moment, uh, And I get

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Speaker 4: I get it. Perhaps just going to forever be someone

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Speaker 4: that fans pick on.

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Speaker 1: Uh.

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Speaker 4: And when it comes to Sayer Tucker, Look, he was

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Speaker 4: absolutely right to stick with Saya. Sayah showed us in

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Speaker 4: the playoffs. Uh. And then Tucker is is a star,

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Speaker 4: like you have to stick with him. Eventually they they

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Speaker 4: gave him that mental break that was what you know,

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Speaker 4: half mental, half physical, whatever you want to call it, right,

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Speaker 4: and he went on a one week tear before the

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Speaker 4: calf injury happened. Uh. So I think there's reasons why

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Speaker 4: you stick with veterans. Assuming it's not like, uh, they're

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Speaker 4: they're forty years old and their batspeed look like they

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Speaker 4: they're they're slumping so terribly that it's like they're just

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Speaker 4: too old. Now, I think there there are different reasons

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Speaker 4: to look at these things. And like Ian Hap is consistent,

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Speaker 4: Like I know he's maddening to fans, but like every

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Speaker 4: year he's going to put up very similar numbers. Kyle

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Speaker 4: Tucker is a star. Saya Suzuki broke out this season

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Speaker 4: power wise, had a couple of months slump with the

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Speaker 4: power and then and then it came out right when

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Speaker 4: when everyone needed it to, like the last week of

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Speaker 4: the season and into the playoffs. So you know, I

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Speaker 4: think I think for the most part, you can you

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Speaker 4: can look at every part of a team, tear it

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Speaker 4: apart and say like this is this is a problem,

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Speaker 4: this is this is UH. This team, this part of

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Speaker 4: the team is struggling. You have to make changes. You

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Speaker 4: could you could say that for any part of a team.

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Speaker 4: I think making changes suddenly is UH is not always

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Speaker 4: the right answer. And and sometimes like young players, especially

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Speaker 4: like who are you turning to? And and you can

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Speaker 4: make the argument that when they did get Biasteros extended time,

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Speaker 4: he did the job. So you know, that's the counter

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Speaker 4: to what we're saying, is they they gave Biasterais an

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Speaker 4: extended look because Tucker was hurt, right, that was when

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Speaker 4: Tucker got the half injury and he hit, So that's

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Speaker 4: the counter to that. It doesn't always work, But there

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Speaker 4: were multiple youngsters and they got the right one going

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Speaker 4: at the right time. So you know, it's it's not

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Speaker 4: a perfect science, but I understand, Like, I don't think

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Speaker 4: council Over is overly reliant on his veterans or stubborn

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Speaker 4: or pulls guys too quickly. I think he's got a

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Speaker 4: pretty good balance and a pretty good feel for it all.

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Speaker 3: I think it's a good kind of wrap up questions

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Speaker 3: just on the pitching side to get back to like

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Speaker 3: Craig Counsel is going to have to make this work,

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Speaker 3: like whatever the Cubs do. I think there's going to

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Speaker 3: once again be kind of onus on him to get

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Speaker 3: these pieces together with his coaching staff, and that how

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Speaker 3: he does that or how he's shown he he likes

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Speaker 3: to go about it is with a pretty open mind.

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Speaker 4: Absolutely all right, this is north Side Territory. Make sure

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Speaker 4: to rate, review, subscribe, Make sure to subscribe to the

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Speaker 4: YouTube channel and subscribe to the Athletic where Patrick and

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Speaker 4: Iron top of all Cubs. Thanks so much for listening,

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Speaker 4: and everyone make sure to enjoy your Thanksgiving week. We'll

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Speaker 4: be back with one more episode this week's thanks for

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Speaker 4: listening this week, Thanks for listening to everyone. Take care

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Speaker 4: of