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Speaker 1: Because it shows like, hey, our stars are, you know,

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Speaker 1: not performing the way they want to, but we can

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Speaker 1: still win.

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Speaker 2: In that card.

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Speaker 3: Welcome into North Side Territory. Foul Territory Networks Cubs Podcast.

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Speaker 3: I'm Sahad Sharma with me, soon will be Patrick Mooney.

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Speaker 3: We have Katie Wu as our guests, the Athletics Cardinals

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Speaker 3: beat writer. Patrick and I are your Cubs beat writers

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Speaker 3: and we are covering the red hot Cubs apparently. And

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Speaker 3: that's why I'm recording this right now, because the Cubs

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Speaker 3: have just swept the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles came into

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Speaker 3: this series as the best team in the AL and

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Speaker 3: somehow the Cubs, who I think many had left for dead,

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Speaker 3: have turned it around here shut down that vaunted Orioles offense.

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Speaker 3: And I think that's the story right now. As good

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Speaker 3: as this Cub's offense has looked the last few days

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Speaker 3: at points during the Angels series, a nice eight nothing

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Speaker 3: win on Thursday, that's great. The offense needs to blow

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Speaker 3: teams out win games like they did this week. But

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Speaker 3: it's it's the pitching. It's been the pitching all season long.

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Speaker 3: Justin Steele is backing up last season's fifth place cy

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Speaker 3: Young season. He is he is an All Star level pitcher.

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Speaker 3: He's a cy Young caliber pitcher. I know he's not

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Speaker 3: on the All Star team, but that's only because he

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Speaker 3: was hurt. And it's looking more and more like that

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Speaker 3: blip was exactly that, a blip. After he returned from

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Speaker 3: the injured list, he is a dominant pitcher, showed him

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Speaker 3: and Naga is an All Star. And they have two

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Speaker 3: studs at the front of their rotation right now, which

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Speaker 3: is giving them life and keeping them in games. And

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Speaker 3: it seemed like it was being wasted in the first

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Speaker 3: few months of the season, and here we are. Theyre's

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Speaker 3: still not a five hundred. This isn't reason to celebrate,

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Speaker 3: but they have life because of a mediocre NL and

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Speaker 3: a dominant pitching staff right now. And I shouldn't ignore

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Speaker 3: Jamison ty On who has been brilliant as well multiple

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Speaker 3: pitchers with sub three e ras. We have Katie Wu

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Speaker 3: on to talk about this upcoming series that was recorded

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Speaker 3: earlier before the Cubs finished off the sweep against the Orioles.

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Speaker 3: We'll get to that soon. I just wanted to touch

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Speaker 3: on a couple of topics here. But you know, Michael

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Speaker 3: Bush is looking like a great brilliant trade by Jed

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Speaker 3: Hoyer and Carter Hawkins. They targeted a prospect that was blocked,

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Speaker 3: that was ready for the big leagues and blocked in

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Speaker 3: a great system in LA and they went after him.

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Speaker 3: We'll see if it was a hefty price. Zire Hope

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Speaker 3: and Jackson Ferris are young prospects at the lower levels.

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Speaker 3: What they're doing right now doesn't really matter because Michael

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Speaker 3: Bush has a fifty three OPS right now. He is

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Speaker 3: one of the Cub's hottest hitters. But the reality is

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Speaker 3: he's not their only hot hitter. Saya Suzuki is having

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Speaker 3: another you know, bounce back stretch here, really impressing. That's

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Speaker 3: a one forty one way to runs created plus for

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Speaker 3: Michael Bush. I mean, that's probably my guess is that's

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Speaker 3: going to be that's around top fifteen, top twenty in

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Speaker 3: all of baseball. That's you know what I'll tell you

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Speaker 3: right now, it's top eighteen, it's eighteenth in baseball, tied

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Speaker 3: for seventeenth actually with Brandon Neimo and Josh Smith. That's

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Speaker 3: that's the type of hitter you need leading your offense. Frankly,

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Speaker 3: if you don't have Aaron Judge or show Heyo Tani

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Speaker 3: this is this is kind of as good as it

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Speaker 3: gets at that level. Saya Suzuki had another great game

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Speaker 3: three for five with a triple and a double two

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Speaker 3: doubles Ian Halp. You know, not his best game, but

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Speaker 3: he's still They have three guys with ops over eight

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Speaker 3: hundred right now, and you know, you hope that Dansby

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Speaker 3: Swanson the game he had is a glimmer of things

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Speaker 3: to come. I feel like there were some balls that

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Speaker 3: he drove recently that he wasn't getting rewarded for. You

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Speaker 3: have to hope that that's that's you know, this is

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Speaker 3: him turning a corner. Let's touch on a couple other

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Speaker 3: news where the items here. Obviously Cody Bellinger out, I

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Speaker 3: believe what's happened. It's a it's a fractured left Let's

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Speaker 3: let's make sure. Since I was not in Baltimore, I

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Speaker 3: want to make sure what Patrick wrote. It's a fractured

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Speaker 3: left middle finger. It sounds like he's out through like

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Speaker 3: he's shut down through the All Star break and then

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Speaker 3: they are going to run some tests and like check

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Speaker 3: his range of motion in the finger. We don't really

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Speaker 3: have a timeline here. It's a blow. It obviously is,

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Speaker 3: but he was not. He wasn't dominating on offense. You

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Speaker 3: have to hope that these guys stay hot, and guys

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Speaker 3: like I mentioned, like Dan Sby Swanson, you have to

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Speaker 3: hope that the guys that are hot can kind of

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Speaker 3: stay hot. And then Dansby kind of gets going, gets

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Speaker 3: in a rhythm, Christopher Morrell gets in a rhythm. Other

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Speaker 3: players step up. Alexander Canario has been called up. I

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Speaker 3: think it's unfair to expect him to to light it up.

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Speaker 3: He's a you know, he's he's got a ton of power.

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Speaker 3: I don't think he was dominating at Triple A or

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Speaker 3: anything like that, not recently. He's he can he can

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Speaker 3: get on fire, though he certainly has that capability. Nico

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Speaker 3: Horner has been looking better at the plate, Miles Master

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Speaker 3: Bone's looking a little comfortable. My guess is you may

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Speaker 3: see more Master Boney at third base and morel at

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Speaker 3: d H and then Canario will get some starts against lefties.

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Speaker 3: That makes That's what makes sense to me, and just

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Speaker 3: going along with how I've what I've observed from what

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Speaker 3: Craig Council does, so I think that's probably your expectation. There.

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Speaker 3: It is a blow. It absolute hurts. It's not ideal

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Speaker 3: to have Cody Bellinger on the IL. I just don't

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Speaker 3: think it's as big as a loss as it would

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Speaker 3: have been last year at this time. Frankly, he was

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Speaker 3: carrying the offense. Right now, other guys are carrying the offense,

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Speaker 3: an offense that's suddenly turned around. I think the little

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Speaker 3: more concerning, in my opinion, is kind of the status

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Speaker 3: quo for Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown. It sounds like

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Speaker 3: they've kind of plateaued in there comes back comebacks. Patrick

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Speaker 3: tweeted that Wicks, which is an oblique injury, and Ben

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Speaker 3: Brown are both still symptomatic and only at the stage

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Speaker 3: of playing catch. Councils quoted as saying it's going a

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Speaker 3: little slow right now. It sounds like Wicks the earliest

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Speaker 3: he'll be back is August. Ben Brown, this is kind

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Speaker 3: of what we've been hearing whenever I talked to him

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Speaker 3: in the clubhouse. It's kind of like playing catch a

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Speaker 3: bullpen here and there still kind of feeling things. You know,

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Speaker 3: you'd love to have one or both back in the rotation,

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Speaker 3: beef up the bullpen. You know that they'll have decisions

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Speaker 3: to make at some point when all these guys return.

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Speaker 3: We knew that going in they weren't going to be

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Speaker 3: back before the All Star break, So you hope that

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Speaker 3: there's some positive, positive momentum for Ben Brown during the

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Speaker 3: All Star break because I think his return it'll be

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Speaker 3: interesting to see how they use him, because I think

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Speaker 3: his return could really impact either the rotation or the bullpen.

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Speaker 3: If it's the rotation, it definitely either way. Wherever he returns,

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Speaker 3: it impacts a bullpen right because it's going to shift

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Speaker 3: things around. So I think that's a fascinating aspect here.

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Speaker 3: You want these pictures to get healthy. They still have

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Speaker 3: others that are getting healthy, like Julian Merriweather, Mark Lighter

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Speaker 3: Junior is back, Javier assad is expected to be back

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Speaker 3: this weekend. That's the last I heard, but it's still TBD.

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Speaker 3: We just got the probables for this weekend in Saint Louis,

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Speaker 3: Hendrix on Friday Day was nesky and TBD on Saturday.

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Speaker 3: That very well could be a sad. They could be

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Speaker 3: holding off just to be one hundred percent sure that

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Speaker 3: he's both healthy and that they get through Friday clean.

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Speaker 3: And it makes sense to bring back a sad because

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Speaker 3: he's probably going to be on some sort of pitch

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Speaker 3: limit tie on on Sunday to wrap up the unofficial

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Speaker 3: first half. Here, we'll see obviously a huge four game set.

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Speaker 3: It's going to be disgustingly humid, just like it was

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Speaker 3: in Baltimore. Their pitching has been great. You have to

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Speaker 3: hope that Hendricks bounce is back and at least keeps

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Speaker 3: them in the game, and the offense kind of gets

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Speaker 3: rolling again or continues to roll, because I do think

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Speaker 3: this is you know, you don't want I think you

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Speaker 3: can get away with a split here and it's all right,

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Speaker 3: it's not the end of the world. But after sweeping Baltimore,

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Speaker 3: I think you want more, right, you just do you

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Speaker 3: want to keep this momentum rolling. It's going to be

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Speaker 3: really hard to win four in three days. It just is.

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Speaker 3: I know Saint Louis just got swept in a double header,

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Speaker 3: but it's just hard to win those. Ultimately, it's not

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Speaker 3: it's not the easiest thing to do. It's it's sunny

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Speaker 3: gray on Friday. That's gonna be a tough game. They

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Speaker 3: beat Corbyn Burns on Wednesday, so it's not impossible. This

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Speaker 3: offense is feeling good looking good. Who knows what happens

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Speaker 3: Lance Layne Kyle Gibson on Saturday, Miles Michaelis on Sunday.

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Speaker 3: I'm very curious to see how they do what they

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Speaker 3: can do and if they can keep this rolling. Five

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Speaker 3: hundred at the break would be huge. Obviously that's the

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Speaker 3: best they can be. But if there are anywhere from

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Speaker 3: three to two games under, I think that's a huge win. Well,

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Speaker 3: I guess the best they can it's either four or

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Speaker 3: two games under, right, four or two, I think you

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Speaker 3: take it. I think you take it and you feel

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Speaker 3: good about where they're at. A split is acceptable, not

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Speaker 3: what you want, but it's acceptable and it puts you

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Speaker 3: in position to kind of get things rolling in the

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Speaker 3: second half. Hope they're healthier. Mike Talkman could be returning

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Speaker 3: soon in the second half. He's been basically in the

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Speaker 3: way Cody Bellinger has been playing. That's not like some

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Speaker 3: huge drop off from Cody Bellinger, Mike Talkman, it just isn't.

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Speaker 3: That's the reality of the way they've been playing. Obviously,

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Speaker 3: the ceilings higher with what Cody Bellinger can do, and

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Speaker 3: you know he stands out defensively at times, especially when

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Speaker 3: he's playing right field. But this this weekend is fascinating

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Speaker 3: and it feels weird to say that because four days

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Speaker 3: ago it was not the feeling anyone had, because it

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Speaker 3: didn't nobody. I don't think anybody expected things to turn

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Speaker 3: around in Baltimore against a team that's young and exciting

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Speaker 3: and looks, you know, poised to be aggressive at the

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Speaker 3: deadline and then makes him noise in October. We'll see

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Speaker 3: how the weekend goes. Let's get to Katie Wu she

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Speaker 3: is great as always and kind of see what to

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Speaker 3: expect this weekend and how the Cardinals have been doing. Katie,

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Speaker 3: thanks so much for joining us. Yeah, how are you doing.

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Speaker 1: I'm good, guys, just getting ready for one last Cardinals

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Speaker 1: cub series before the end of the first half where

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Speaker 1: it feels like these teams might be in a little

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Speaker 1: bit of different directions lately. But I'm sure we can

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Speaker 1: get into that, Katie.

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Speaker 3: Two double headers for the Cardinals in a span of

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Speaker 3: what is this four days? It's gonna be. I just

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Speaker 3: want to know, how's your mental health.

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Speaker 1: Well, I'm glad this is in a video podcast because

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Speaker 1: it's it's a grind, you guys, and you know this

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Speaker 1: just as well as I do the I feel like

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Speaker 1: the ten days before the All Star break feel like

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Speaker 1: an actual month, and just going on the Cardinals clubhouse,

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Speaker 1: everyone's on the same page. Just get through the next

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Speaker 1: four or five days and we have four days off

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Speaker 1: and then everything will be fine. But I feel like

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Speaker 1: I'm personally crawling to that finish line. Well.

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Speaker 4: It's funny because I think the last time we saw you, well,

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Speaker 4: obviously time is all blending together right now, but like

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Speaker 4: the Cardinals were toasts, the Cubs weren't quite toast.

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Speaker 3: And then the Cubs played way worse.

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Speaker 4: And I think I'd kind of circled this upcoming weekend

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Speaker 4: as like, all right, two sellers. There'll be lots of

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Speaker 4: scouts there to see, like, how have the Cardinals turned

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Speaker 4: it around? Obviously the standards in the National League are

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Speaker 4: a little bit lower, but like they're sort of legit.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, they're playing good baseball, and they're doing so most surprisingly,

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Speaker 1: in my opinion, without good or even really average seasons

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Speaker 1: from Paul Goldschmitt and Nolan Arnado. Right like, coming into

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Speaker 1: the season, every projection was virtually the Cardinals have to

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Speaker 1: have good seasons from those two otherwise they just simply

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Speaker 1: won't be good, and I think Goldschmiant and are not

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Speaker 1: would be the first to say that their seasons have

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Speaker 1: not been good. Yet. The Cardinals have found themselves like

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Speaker 1: one of baseball's best teams since the middle of May,

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Speaker 1: and I think that's kind of a twofold thing. One

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Speaker 1: they're pitching is so much better than last year. And

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Speaker 1: it's actually funny when you look at the stats, their

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Speaker 1: rotation array actually ranks like under league average in terms

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Speaker 1: of performance. But the bar was so low in twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty three that this new and improved rotation of Sunny Gray,

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Speaker 1: who has been exactly what this Cardinals team needed. Kyle Gibson,

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Speaker 1: I think one of their most underrated signings in baseball,

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Speaker 1: and then lanceln and Miles Michael is just kind of

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Speaker 1: figuring things out so much better. It's provided kind of

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Speaker 1: a as long as we're able to put together quality starts,

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Speaker 1: which more often than not, those four do. They have

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Speaker 1: the tools to hold on and win ball games. Now

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Speaker 1: they're not blowing teams out. I think the Cardinals have

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Speaker 1: the slimmest victory margin in the National League. They play

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Speaker 1: a lot of one run games. It's all in Marmal's

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Speaker 1: favorite things. He loves talking about it, how much he

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Speaker 1: loves those one run victories. But they're able to win

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Speaker 1: because they have a great bullpen and All Star closer Ryan Halsley,

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Speaker 1: the saves leader, and they've had some guys that were

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Speaker 1: originally projected to be pieces maybe that they'd call up

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Speaker 1: from Triple A from time to time, step up and perform.

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Speaker 1: And and me to me, in my opinion, that's Al Gurlson,

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Speaker 1: who went from maybe making the opening day roster to

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Speaker 1: their everyday number two hitter average close to two eighty five,

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Speaker 1: team leader, and RBIs had fifteen home runs already. They've

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Speaker 1: had just key guys step up that maybe they weren't projecting,

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Speaker 1: and they've overall just been able to play a much

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Speaker 1: more consistent brand of baseball. And again they're doing so

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Speaker 1: without Bolschman Arnado's consistent performance. And I think that's giving

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Speaker 1: the team a little bit more confidence in a weird

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Speaker 1: way because it shows like, hey, our stars are, you know,

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Speaker 1: not performing the way they want to, but we can

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Speaker 1: still win.

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Speaker 3: In that regard, Katie. Obviously, Wilson Contreras just came back.

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Speaker 3: He's a hot button topic in Chicago. Before we get

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Speaker 3: to him. This team is slowly getting healthier. I think

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Speaker 3: there's like I read that there may be more players

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Speaker 3: coming back. How much does like a guy like Tommy

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Speaker 3: Edmond matter. There's there's other players that are kind of

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Speaker 3: borderline coming back. How healthy are they about to get?

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Speaker 3: Is that is that realistic? Are these players coming back?

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Speaker 3: And how much of a difference would it make for them?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, getting Contrasts back obviously huge, and I'm sure we'll

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Speaker 1: talk about Wilson a little bit more. Lars Newbar was

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Speaker 1: activated on Monday. That was big for them too, just

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Speaker 1: because he's a regular staple guy. Tommy Edmund has been

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Speaker 1: kind of the big piece that's missing. He's been out

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Speaker 1: all year recovering from off season rist surgery. And you

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Speaker 1: guys know how risk surgery is, especially with hitters. It's

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Speaker 1: like notoriously finicky. So Tommy's had a lot of start

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Speaker 1: and go with his rehab. He's just began a rehab

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Speaker 1: assignment in Double A. It's going to be a lengthy

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Speaker 1: one though, So the Cardinals have maybe like an an

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Speaker 1: ideal target date of when he could return, but they're

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Speaker 1: not necessarily committing to it, just because Tommy's had so

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Speaker 1: many setbacks and because the injury itself is hard to predict.

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Speaker 1: But talking to President of Baseball Operations John Azlock, he

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Speaker 1: did say that he wants to see what his club

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Speaker 1: looks like when healthy. Ideally that's before the trade deadline,

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Speaker 1: so he's better educated on what decisions he needs to make.

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Speaker 1: But Tommy Edmond is their big piece. Someone else coming

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Speaker 1: back you think of, maybe like Steven Mattz, that's just

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Speaker 1: kind of like a bonus. Maybe you know, maybe Steven

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Speaker 1: will be healthy. We'll see, But right now, it seems

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Speaker 1: like all eyes are on Tommy Evan see what he

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Speaker 1: can do to bolster that club. The Cardinals from the

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Speaker 1: right side, especially against left handed starters, has not been

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Speaker 1: good offensively, so they'd like to see Tommy come back

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Speaker 1: and perform a little bit. If not, I think the

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Speaker 1: Cardinals could go out there and get like a right

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Speaker 1: handed bat for a rental for the end of the year.

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Speaker 4: I think it was Wilson's first trip back to Wrigley

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Speaker 4: Field when he got scapegoaded there for some last year

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Speaker 4: for some general issues with the pitching staff, Like obviously

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Speaker 4: we saw it was really hard to watch his injury

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Speaker 4: trying to steal strike there like, how is he doing

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Speaker 4: and how is he sort of fitting in in the

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Speaker 4: second year in Saint Louis.

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Speaker 1: Remember twenty twenty three, How fun that was when the

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Speaker 1: Cardinals were like, hey, here's our starting catcher that we

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Speaker 1: just signed for like a franchise record deal. He's going

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Speaker 1: to go back to Wriggly and oh, by the way,

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Speaker 1: not catching. We don't know when he's gonna catch again,

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Speaker 1: but no, he's not going to do it. That was

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Speaker 1: really fun. That was a really cooler for everyone. People

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Speaker 1: really enjoyed that. And then of course the injury was

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Speaker 1: brutal too, especially because his April I mean to me,

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Speaker 1: he was an early look for a potential All Star.

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Speaker 1: He had a high nine fifty ops. He was virtually

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Speaker 1: the only person in the lineup actually hitting the baseball

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Speaker 1: out of the infield. And then you think of it,

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Speaker 1: Wilson means to this club, and he's a fan favorite

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Speaker 1: for sure. Fans love his passion. You guys might find

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Speaker 1: this shocking, but the Cardinals aren't really like a very

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Speaker 1: outgoing celebratory group, right cart wheels at their base, So

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Speaker 1: to see that kind of fire from one player, it's different, Like,

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Speaker 1: you guys know this Cubs fans down this Wilson conturious.

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Speaker 1: His passion is just different and there's a reason why

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Speaker 1: all the opposing teams hate him and hismates love him

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Speaker 1: because he does stuff like that. And so he's been

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Speaker 1: in really well at the clubhouse. He more so just

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Speaker 1: brings a consistent bat and he brings this energy that

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Speaker 1: the club needs because they don't have a lot of

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Speaker 1: outgoing celebratory personalities. And that's okay. You know, if you're

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Speaker 1: not comfortable doing it, don't try to force yourself into

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Speaker 1: something you're not. But the guys, especially knowing what Wilson

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Speaker 1: went through last year, his pitchers especially have really rallied

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Speaker 1: behind him, and he's a strong voice in that clubhouse.

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Speaker 1: So while year two did not get off to the

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Speaker 1: start that he wanted in terms of injury, he's absolutely

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Speaker 1: made a home in Saint Louis, and I think both

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Speaker 1: the fans and the clubhouse really respect him and have

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Speaker 1: his back.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, it's I'm looking at his numbers and knowing what

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Speaker 3: Cubs fans are getting from their catchers. Offensively, even if

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Speaker 3: you know even you can say whatever you want about

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Speaker 3: Wilson's defense and what he does behind the plate, what

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Speaker 3: you can measure what you can't measure. All that stuff

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Speaker 3: thrown up the window. His offenses is amazing and listen,

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Speaker 3: we're not going to rehash all the reasons why he's

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Speaker 3: not a CUB, but it's clear impact on offense. And

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Speaker 3: I always said this at the time, if he wanted

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Speaker 3: to come back as a DH that would have been

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Speaker 3: worthwhile because he's that talented. Offensively aircrats here from FT.

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Speaker 2: team going to get?

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Speaker 3: So?

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Speaker 1: So?

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Speaker 3: You said that these two teams we're we're heading in

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Speaker 3: opposite directions, and then that's absolutely absolutely true. But the

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Speaker 3: Cubs of one, five of six, the NL is so

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Speaker 3: bad that that they're actually somehow still in this I don't.

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Speaker 3: I still like have to triple check, triple check the

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Speaker 3: standings to make sure it's not a fever dream, uh,

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Speaker 3: because it makes no sense. But the Cubs fans are

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Speaker 3: going to want to know, like can they get back

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Speaker 3: in this for real? This weekend, especially pitching is going

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Speaker 3: to be tough for both sides I think to get through.

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Speaker 3: Uh with does does yesterday? Does Wednesday's doubleheader impact this

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Speaker 3: weekend at all? For the Cardinals? What do they have

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Speaker 3: stacked up? What? What? What can this offense that the

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Speaker 3: Cubs hope is turning around expect?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, the more I think about it, the more this

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Speaker 1: is a huge weekend for Chicago, just thinking about where

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Speaker 1: they are in the standings, the recent run they've been on,

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Speaker 1: and just how much is at stake because this division

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Speaker 1: and just National League, I guess, is borderline mediocre, so

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Speaker 1: you can be under five hundred and still be well

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Speaker 1: in it. So then Jed Hoyer has a really difficult

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Speaker 1: decision to make. But I do think for Saint Louis,

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Speaker 1: their doubleheader on Wednesday made things more difficult for their

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Speaker 1: two game series against the Royals, which they lost both games,

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Speaker 1: but it actually set them up for success heading into

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Speaker 1: the weekend because they gave all four of their veteran

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Speaker 1: starters Sunny Gray, Lancelin, Kyle Gibson, Miles Michaelis an extra

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Speaker 1: day of breast, and they structured them so those four

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Speaker 1: will pitch the four games over the weekend. Then of

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Speaker 1: course I'll get a twenty seventh man that will most

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Speaker 1: likely be bullpen help. So they feel like they're in

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Speaker 1: a good spot because like I said earlier, those guys

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Speaker 1: are really consistent in notching quality starts, and this offense

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Speaker 1: looks a little bit better than how it did in

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Speaker 1: April and May. Cubs and Cardinals had very similar offensive

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Speaker 1: performances in the first two months. I felt like when

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Speaker 1: I first saw the Cubs play against the Cardinals, I

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Speaker 1: was like, I don't know which team is which. This

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Speaker 1: looks exactly like what I've watched Saint Louis do for

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Speaker 1: the first six weeks. But I do think that Saint

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Speaker 1: Louis set up in a really strong side from their

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Speaker 1: pitching side. It's going to be again, what do they

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Speaker 1: get from the offense, But if Saint Louis has a

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Speaker 1: lead in the seventh, they feel really confident about that,

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Speaker 1: even if it's just one run, because they have such

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Speaker 1: a strong bullpen. So that's kind of where they feel

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Speaker 1: they're confident because they were able to reset their pitching.

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Speaker 1: Didn't work out well for them in Kansas City. But

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Speaker 1: they do feel much more and better or much better

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Speaker 1: about their odds going into the weekend against the Cubs.

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Speaker 4: Kenny, how much pressure is this front off as the Cardinals'

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Speaker 4: front office under to like deliver at the trade deadline?

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Speaker 1: I feel, you know, it's a good question, because I

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Speaker 1: feel like a normal front office would feel a ton

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Speaker 1: of pressure. Being twenty five hundred last year disappoint and

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Speaker 1: I Obviously the Cardinals front office is under pressure, but

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Speaker 1: like John Mozelak is just simply not going to acknowledge

430
00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:10,520
Speaker 1: that he's facing significant heats. I think that's common sense,

431
00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:12,159
Speaker 1: but he's going to offerate under the like, you know,

432
00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:15,879
Speaker 1: things are fine, we're under control, We're in a good spot.

433
00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:20,399
Speaker 1: But yeah, there's considerable pressure because when you are the

434
00:23:20,400 --> 00:23:23,000
Speaker 1: Saint Louis Cardinals, and I know Cubs fans are so

435
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:25,280
Speaker 1: tired of this. I get it. You teut yourself as

436
00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:29,080
Speaker 1: a winning franchise and you know the Cardinal way and

437
00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:32,320
Speaker 1: all this rich history. You need to back that up

438
00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:34,679
Speaker 1: with your actions. And you're allowed to have one bad season,

439
00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:38,240
Speaker 1: of course, like the first losing season in fifteen years

440
00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:41,920
Speaker 1: in Saint Louis. Okay, yeah, that's allowed. But you can't

441
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,680
Speaker 1: keep writing the coattails of your past success if you're

442
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:48,120
Speaker 1: not doing anything to improve the current future of your squat.

443
00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:50,399
Speaker 1: And I do think the Cardinals are facing kind of

444
00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,040
Speaker 1: an inflection point this season. That's why things felt so

445
00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:55,200
Speaker 1: dire in May when they were like nine games under

446
00:23:55,240 --> 00:23:57,639
Speaker 1: five hundred, and I thought everyone's going to lose their jobs,

447
00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:00,800
Speaker 1: and they turned it around. Now I think it's on

448
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:03,960
Speaker 1: the front office to ensure that they're not just like playoffs,

449
00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:06,960
Speaker 1: like they're in contention to be a playoff team, that

450
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,399
Speaker 1: they're a playoff caliber team. I'm not saying that the

451
00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:11,760
Speaker 1: front office has to go out and make them the

452
00:24:11,760 --> 00:24:15,000
Speaker 1: Cardinals match the Phillies, but there are clear weaknesses for

453
00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:17,720
Speaker 1: this squad. You have a division that's very winnable and

454
00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:20,920
Speaker 1: postseason berths that are very attainable. Why not give you

455
00:24:21,400 --> 00:24:24,160
Speaker 1: your team the best chance not to make the postseason,

456
00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 1: but to put in a significant performance. Like we all know,

457
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,040
Speaker 1: with expanded playoffs, you get in no one knows what

458
00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,520
Speaker 1: can happen. I understand some front offices reluctancy to go

459
00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:35,600
Speaker 1: all in because of the randomness of this expanded playoff format,

460
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:37,639
Speaker 1: but the Cardinals have had a lot to lose. They

461
00:24:37,680 --> 00:24:40,160
Speaker 1: haven't won a playoff season since or a playoff series

462
00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:44,080
Speaker 1: since twenty twenty. I've never covered a playoff win. I've

463
00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:47,359
Speaker 1: heard their fun wouldn't know, so I do think there

464
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:49,920
Speaker 1: is pressure when you think about how bad they were

465
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,600
Speaker 1: last year and the inflection point of the season. Saint

466
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:55,919
Speaker 1: Louis fans are annoyed, they're upset, they're frustrated. So a

467
00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:58,080
Speaker 1: good trade deadline a goal a long way, and ensuring

468
00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:01,000
Speaker 1: that fans are confident about the team, but more importantly,

469
00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:03,480
Speaker 1: that the organization is common about this team going forward.

470
00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:08,000
Speaker 3: Well. As far as covering playoff wins, It's been a while,

471
00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:10,320
Speaker 3: but I can tell you this. Once you do it,

472
00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:15,160
Speaker 3: and do it a deep run'll that that November GM meetings

473
00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:17,840
Speaker 3: that we meet it, You'll you'll be you say, you're

474
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:21,600
Speaker 3: drained right now. If you cover a deep run, you'll

475
00:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,560
Speaker 3: be going insane at the GM meetings. If you have

476
00:25:24,640 --> 00:25:26,719
Speaker 3: to go, you'll be like, why am I here? I

477
00:25:26,760 --> 00:25:30,120
Speaker 3: haven't slept for a month straight? What is happening right now?

478
00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:32,520
Speaker 3: Especially if it's in like Vegas or something like that.

479
00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:38,520
Speaker 3: It's miserable. But I'm curious back to the actual Cardinals.

480
00:25:38,880 --> 00:25:42,199
Speaker 3: So you talked about Goldschmidt and Aeronato not performing up

481
00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:45,479
Speaker 3: to what we expect them to be. Is there are

482
00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:47,720
Speaker 3: there any signs of them coming out of it? Is

483
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:50,440
Speaker 3: either one do you feel confident either one of them

484
00:25:50,880 --> 00:25:53,320
Speaker 3: can can kind of get out of this rut, or

485
00:25:53,359 --> 00:25:56,000
Speaker 3: is this just the natural aging process kind of catching

486
00:25:56,080 --> 00:25:56,480
Speaker 3: up to them.

487
00:25:56,520 --> 00:25:58,880
Speaker 1: Perhaps, Yeah, that's a good question. I think it's something

488
00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:01,280
Speaker 1: that the Cardinals are asking themselves and if there are

489
00:26:01,280 --> 00:26:04,080
Speaker 1: two people on the team that have earned the right

490
00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:07,399
Speaker 1: for an extended trust or trial period based on their careers,

491
00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:11,040
Speaker 1: it's obviously Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arnatto, and no one's

492
00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:13,000
Speaker 1: doubting their work ethic or their hustle. I mean, I

493
00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,280
Speaker 1: see them show up at the ballpark first thing every day.

494
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:18,320
Speaker 1: Goldschmid's out there taking early VP at one o'clock at

495
00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,200
Speaker 1: like one hundred degrees in Saint Louis. I'm like, come on, man,

496
00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:25,439
Speaker 1: I know you're tired. So it's it's difficult because they

497
00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:28,000
Speaker 1: are the cornerstones at the club. The organization pledged like

498
00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:30,840
Speaker 1: sixty million dollars to them this year, and they're the

499
00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:33,720
Speaker 1: two most respected people in the clubhouse. But in terms

500
00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:35,479
Speaker 1: of what you're seeing from they're bad at ball metrics

501
00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:37,920
Speaker 1: and their overall quality of a bats. Arnatto looks a

502
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,720
Speaker 1: little bit better. Gold Schmidt kind of like bits and pieces.

503
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:44,120
Speaker 1: I think in Nolan's case specifically, this is the guy

504
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:46,760
Speaker 1: that's played through some aches and pains, has like explicitly

505
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:48,800
Speaker 1: said he does not feel good. It sucks to play hurt.

506
00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:50,840
Speaker 1: He's looking to just go into the All Star break

507
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,160
Speaker 1: and reset. I think Golschwit's going to take that same

508
00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:56,680
Speaker 1: mentality too. I will say this in DC last week,

509
00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,840
Speaker 1: Olie Marmal, the manager, was sitting talking to reporters and

510
00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:02,800
Speaker 1: he was like, write this down. These two guys are

511
00:27:02,880 --> 00:27:05,000
Speaker 1: going to help us win ball games in the second half.

512
00:27:05,280 --> 00:27:07,919
Speaker 1: So there's a lot of trust, there's a lot of

513
00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:10,480
Speaker 1: respect for those two. Obviously it's going to come down

514
00:27:10,480 --> 00:27:13,040
Speaker 1: to what they can do at the plate. But right now,

515
00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:17,040
Speaker 1: that of all metricstone suggests a huge turnaround, but it's baseball.

516
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:19,760
Speaker 1: Things can change. Just a disappointing first half of both

517
00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:20,200
Speaker 1: of those two.

518
00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,320
Speaker 4: Hey, we love reading your coverage in the Athletic. I

519
00:27:25,480 --> 00:27:31,080
Speaker 4: liked your Mosailla impersonation and that definitely comes across in

520
00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:36,080
Speaker 4: your coverage. And like, I'm just wondering if I don't know,

521
00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:43,040
Speaker 4: Cardinals have great players who are aging maybe rapidly, a

522
00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:47,159
Speaker 4: manager who's given an extension, but it wasn't some like

523
00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:49,679
Speaker 4: huge commitment, and it's not like he has like a

524
00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:54,119
Speaker 4: ton of like experience at the major league level. You

525
00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:57,520
Speaker 4: alluded to, like kind of the fatigue with the front

526
00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:00,480
Speaker 4: office or maybe the model, like where is this or

527
00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,160
Speaker 4: like what if they don't make it to October. Explain

528
00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,520
Speaker 4: kind of that well you put well, that inflection point

529
00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:09,800
Speaker 4: that they're nearing, kind of like the reckoning that the

530
00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:12,119
Speaker 4: Cubs had talked about kind of towards the end of

531
00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:13,040
Speaker 4: Theo's turn.

532
00:28:13,840 --> 00:28:17,440
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think this organization knows where it's going after,

533
00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:19,879
Speaker 1: you know, things turn south, they don't make the playoffs.

534
00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:22,960
Speaker 1: I mean, Moe is under contract through the twenty twenty

535
00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:25,320
Speaker 1: five season. He's said that he plans on stepping down

536
00:28:25,400 --> 00:28:28,879
Speaker 1: and we're sending some of his responsibilities taking a step

537
00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:29,600
Speaker 1: away after that.

538
00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:29,880
Speaker 3: Now.

539
00:28:29,880 --> 00:28:32,719
Speaker 1: He also said that coming into twenty twenty three, so

540
00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:34,439
Speaker 1: we will see because he's still here, and you know,

541
00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:36,800
Speaker 1: I'm not like taking a shot at him by yeah,

542
00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:40,840
Speaker 1: curersics for himself. But the Cardinals have a lot to address,

543
00:28:40,920 --> 00:28:43,160
Speaker 1: not just with their current roster, which is a little

544
00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:47,320
Speaker 1: bit on the older side, they also have an outdated

545
00:28:47,320 --> 00:28:49,920
Speaker 1: model and player development. They're drafting in the top ten

546
00:28:50,080 --> 00:28:52,680
Speaker 1: this Sunday for the first time since nineteen ninety eight.

547
00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:57,160
Speaker 1: It's a very long time and there's significant pressure to

548
00:28:57,160 --> 00:28:59,000
Speaker 1: make sure they get that pick right, and there's also

549
00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:01,400
Speaker 1: pressure to make sure they have the development internally to

550
00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:04,480
Speaker 1: make sure their minor league systems continue to prosper and

551
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:06,840
Speaker 1: I think that's part of the reason why Hein Bloom

552
00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:09,080
Speaker 1: was brought in to help with player development. I mean,

553
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:11,080
Speaker 1: the Cardinals used to set the standard and how to

554
00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:14,880
Speaker 1: develop players and you know, draft homegrown talent, not even

555
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:17,280
Speaker 1: from the top ranks but middle of the pack and

556
00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,120
Speaker 1: turn out everyday players. And it's been a while since

557
00:29:20,120 --> 00:29:23,920
Speaker 1: the Cardinals consistently did that. I do think overall the

558
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,880
Speaker 1: organization is a little outdated and I think that really

559
00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:29,080
Speaker 1: caught up to them in twenty twenty three when everything

560
00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:31,520
Speaker 1: that could have gone wrong did go wrong and then

561
00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:35,520
Speaker 1: some so winning in twenty twenty four fixes the temporary

562
00:29:35,560 --> 00:29:39,320
Speaker 1: problem of rebounding from a horrible season and trying to

563
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:41,000
Speaker 1: get the team back on track. But I think the

564
00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:44,560
Speaker 1: bigger answers the Cardinals have to have to see regardless

565
00:29:44,600 --> 00:29:47,560
Speaker 1: of how they finish the twenty twenty four season, it's internally,

566
00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:49,920
Speaker 1: it's with their player development. It's you know, what kind

567
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:51,920
Speaker 1: of advancements can they make with the front office. What's

568
00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:54,880
Speaker 1: it going to look like when Slash if most steps away,

569
00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:56,840
Speaker 1: And those are things that can't be answered over the

570
00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,080
Speaker 1: course of you know, one to two months You're looking

571
00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:02,600
Speaker 1: at a serious orgganization rehaul, and I'm not quite sure

572
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:04,440
Speaker 1: they know which direction to go about just yet.

573
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,800
Speaker 3: Uh, Katie, this is my last question, but it just

574
00:30:08,920 --> 00:30:12,280
Speaker 3: you just made me think about this. I think Jordan

575
00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:16,080
Speaker 3: Walker's really struggling in Triple A. I did not expect

576
00:30:16,640 --> 00:30:19,000
Speaker 3: listen the struggles in the Majors. It's normal for a

577
00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:22,280
Speaker 3: kid his age. I get that what's happening there is

578
00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:25,880
Speaker 3: there is there Are they trying to change something? And

579
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,960
Speaker 3: this is the part of the process where he's he's struggling,

580
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,240
Speaker 3: I believe, if I'm remembering correctly, I get I get

581
00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:33,720
Speaker 3: guys mixed up. But I think he he hits the

582
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:35,760
Speaker 3: ball hard and he was hitting it on the ground

583
00:30:35,840 --> 00:30:37,480
Speaker 3: too much. So are they are they trying to change

584
00:30:37,480 --> 00:30:40,120
Speaker 3: contact point? Are they changing something or is this just

585
00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:44,240
Speaker 3: a kid going through it right now? And uh possibly,

586
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,880
Speaker 3: you know, who knows what type of future he has.

587
00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:48,960
Speaker 3: But what are they working on with him?

588
00:30:49,600 --> 00:30:52,120
Speaker 1: Yeah, that those are the exact two things that they

589
00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:53,600
Speaker 1: want to work on. They like that he hits the

590
00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:55,600
Speaker 1: ball hard. They don't like that he hits the ball

591
00:30:55,640 --> 00:30:59,080
Speaker 1: on the ground so consistently. And it's unfortunate because when

592
00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:01,400
Speaker 1: I mean you drive around but stadium there are Jordan

593
00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:03,920
Speaker 1: Walker posters all over the place like he was burly

594
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,800
Speaker 1: expected to be. It's sad, actually every time I see it,

595
00:31:06,920 --> 00:31:08,280
Speaker 1: like it's like bry By the parking lot too. I

596
00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:13,160
Speaker 1: see it every day. Nice guy too, seriously so nice.

597
00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:17,720
Speaker 1: But they were like firmly expecting Jordan to be like

598
00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:21,800
Speaker 1: their supplementary power. Like you had Contrarasts Arnott, al Goldschmidt

599
00:31:21,960 --> 00:31:24,840
Speaker 1: and then Jordan Walker, Lars new Marnolan Gorman. He was

600
00:31:24,880 --> 00:31:27,560
Speaker 1: expected to be an everyday guy. Even if his defense

601
00:31:27,600 --> 00:31:30,760
Speaker 1: in the outfield was not necessarily the best. They believed

602
00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:32,080
Speaker 1: you had the bad skills to make up for it.

603
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:34,280
Speaker 1: And spring training he did not look good at spring

604
00:31:34,320 --> 00:31:38,320
Speaker 1: training though then in April got progressively worse where he

605
00:31:38,440 --> 00:31:40,720
Speaker 1: was missing on virtually every slider down and a way,

606
00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,960
Speaker 1: and opposing pictures just kept hammering that spot. So he

607
00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:46,680
Speaker 1: just was completely lost. And the hope was when they

608
00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:49,080
Speaker 1: oftened him in April, it would be a little bit.

609
00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:50,520
Speaker 1: It wasn't gonna be like a quick go on a

610
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:52,360
Speaker 1: heater in Memphis and we'll call you back up. It

611
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:54,160
Speaker 1: was you'd have some issues you need to work through

612
00:31:54,160 --> 00:31:56,440
Speaker 1: with your swing. You want to get your line drive

613
00:31:56,520 --> 00:32:00,680
Speaker 1: right up, your h the ground ball right down, elevation

614
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:05,200
Speaker 1: launch angle, and the same problems still accompanied in triple

615
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:08,160
Speaker 1: A when the pitching is much less competitive. I mean,

616
00:32:08,200 --> 00:32:11,040
Speaker 1: Walker has an ops under seven hundred in Memphis right now,

617
00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,120
Speaker 1: So now it's looking like a complete swing rehaul, where

618
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:16,160
Speaker 1: you know he's had been close to consideration and being

619
00:32:16,200 --> 00:32:18,720
Speaker 1: called up in the second half unless something wild happens

620
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,640
Speaker 1: and it's disappointing because it's essentially a lost year for Jordan.

621
00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,440
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's I mean, prospects in general, right top twenty

622
00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:31,600
Speaker 3: guy suddenly turning into a sub seven hundred guy in

623
00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:34,120
Speaker 3: triple A is just very very odd to see. It's

624
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:37,360
Speaker 3: not unheard of, but it happens. But especially with the Cardinals,

625
00:32:37,360 --> 00:32:40,719
Speaker 3: it's very odd to see. Cubs fans are probably shocked

626
00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:43,760
Speaker 3: because every every random guy that's called up seems to

627
00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:46,960
Speaker 3: crush the Cubs. Katie, thanks so thanks so much for

628
00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:50,360
Speaker 3: joining us. I've said this about our previous guests, but

629
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:54,080
Speaker 3: the Athletic is lucky to have so many young, brilliant writers,

630
00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:57,720
Speaker 3: and you're among the standouts. There's a reason you're you're

631
00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:01,880
Speaker 3: working with Will and Patrick to to gather information ahead

632
00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,680
Speaker 3: of the trade deadline, like you've you stand out among

633
00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:09,760
Speaker 3: the ability to make connections and really talk to people.

634
00:33:09,800 --> 00:33:12,080
Speaker 3: You understand what this business is about. You understand what

635
00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:14,800
Speaker 3: our jobs are about, and it's it's becoming rare. It's

636
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:18,160
Speaker 3: not becoming rare. It's always rare with young, young writers

637
00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:20,160
Speaker 3: we need. It takes a while for people to figure

638
00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:22,040
Speaker 3: it out. You figured it out so quickly in the

639
00:33:22,040 --> 00:33:24,840
Speaker 3: middle of a pandemic too. Uh, let's not forget that

640
00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:28,240
Speaker 3: that's when you started. So just I want to say,

641
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:31,560
Speaker 3: I'm always impressed by your work, how quickly you've turned

642
00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:34,520
Speaker 3: into a standout beat writer on a really tough beat.

643
00:33:35,240 --> 00:33:36,800
Speaker 3: Thanks so much for joining us, Katie.

644
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:38,880
Speaker 1: That was so nice. Guys, thank you. You know I learned

645
00:33:38,880 --> 00:33:41,200
Speaker 1: from the best to included. It's nice to have so

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00:33:41,280 --> 00:33:44,040
Speaker 1: many awesome and amazing coworkers that I read every day.

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00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,080
Speaker 1: Makes me better. Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing at

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00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:50,160
Speaker 1: least one of you this weekend. It should be it

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00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:52,600
Speaker 1: should be fun. But my one complaint is I'm once

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00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:56,760
Speaker 1: again not seeing Showda four games. I still don't get

651
00:33:56,800 --> 00:33:58,680
Speaker 1: to see him. I'm tired of it.

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00:34:00,640 --> 00:34:02,920
Speaker 4: I'm on the show to plan. I need some extra rest.

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00:34:03,040 --> 00:34:06,080
Speaker 4: So the hotday problem this weekend.

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00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:09,680
Speaker 3: Thanks so much, Katie. Thanks guys, thanks so much for

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00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:13,360
Speaker 3: listening to Northside Territory. Thanks to Katie Wu, our great

656
00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:16,680
Speaker 3: Cardinals beat writer at The Athletic for coming on the show,

657
00:34:17,560 --> 00:34:21,319
Speaker 3: always informative and helping us out know what's going on

658
00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:25,879
Speaker 3: in Saint Louis with the Cardinals. A huge series here

659
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,719
Speaker 3: this weekend for the Cubs if they can really, you know,

660
00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:33,040
Speaker 3: make some noise and get back in this thing. Thanks

661
00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:36,520
Speaker 3: to all of you for listening. Make sure to rate, review, subscribe,

662
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:38,840
Speaker 3: do all those things that you do for podcasts. Spread

663
00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:41,560
Speaker 3: the word if you can. We want as many Cubs

664
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:44,239
Speaker 3: fans listening as possible. Even if you're just a baseball fan,

665
00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:47,560
Speaker 3: we want you listening. Make sure to subscribe to The Athletic,

666
00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:50,640
Speaker 3: read Patrick and my work. We are on top of

667
00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:55,520
Speaker 3: this suddenly red hot Cubs team that you know. If

668
00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:57,319
Speaker 3: they're getting back in it, will be on top of it.

669
00:34:57,400 --> 00:34:59,480
Speaker 3: If they're selling at the deadline, we'll be on top

670
00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:03,319
Speaker 3: of it. Whatever happens, we will be there for you

671
00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:07,120
Speaker 3: and making sure you're as informed as possible. Thanks to Patrick,

672
00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:10,879
Speaker 3: who is likely flying back from Baltimore, if not already home,

673
00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:14,080
Speaker 3: and while you're listening this, I'm probably driving out to

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00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:17,160
Speaker 3: Saint Louis, so wish me luck in the heat. I'm

675
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:19,600
Speaker 3: not looking forward to that, but maybe the Cubs make

676
00:35:19,640 --> 00:35:23,839
Speaker 3: it interesting and fun to be out there, and I'll

677
00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:26,120
Speaker 3: have a fun four games to cover in three days.

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00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:28,200
Speaker 3: Thanks for listening, everyone, take it