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Speaker 1: I would be stunned if like Jed, somehow like threads

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Speaker 1: is an needle and find some sort of like guy

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Speaker 1: that helps right now and next year and the year

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Speaker 1: after that.

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Speaker 2: Welcome into north Side Territory Foul Territory Networks Cubs Podcast.

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Speaker 2: I'm Sahadev Sharma with Patrick Mooney, where your Cubs beat

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Speaker 2: writers for The Athletic and the hosts of this podcast

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Speaker 2: which covers the reeling Cubs. Patrick, you were there, I

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Speaker 2: was off all week and you saw the Cubs collapse

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Speaker 2: out of the gate. They didn't They've gone two and four.

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Speaker 2: They needed to properly a minimum go four and two

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Speaker 2: for Jed to to reconsider here before what do we

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Speaker 2: five days before the deadline. But this is a team

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Speaker 2: that I mean, call what you want to. I know

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Speaker 2: Craig Council sees it more as a gray area, but

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Speaker 2: but this team isn't buying at minimum. There's no reason too.

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Speaker 2: There's that they've shown no indication of a team that

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Speaker 2: can compete. We've seen flashes, but frankly, it's not been

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Speaker 2: good enough.

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Speaker 3: There's a reason.

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Speaker 2: I think last time I was on, I said I'm

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Speaker 2: not you know, I'm intrigued, but I'm not buying in

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Speaker 2: on the offense because I believe it's now nine runs

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Speaker 2: in six games. I mean, completely unacceptable offensive performance, especially

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Speaker 2: with the way the pitching is performed.

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Speaker 1: I mean, the last Cubs game you covered, they hit

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Speaker 1: like six home runs, right, and that was the oh,

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Speaker 1: maybe this is the start of something. And even you know,

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Speaker 1: Nico Horner, who is an extremely self aware, intelligent individual,

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Speaker 1: was still talking about that road trip and he was like,

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Speaker 1: I know, like that was really meaningful for us. I'm

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Speaker 1: sure you guys are sick of hearing about it. And

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Speaker 1: it's like, yeah, like as as good as they looked

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Speaker 1: during that stretch heading into the break, they looked just

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Speaker 1: as bad coming out of it. Inside of you've seen

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Speaker 1: these games over and over this year. There was nothing

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Speaker 1: really new coming out, you know, losing both justin steel starts,

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Speaker 1: the first one stealed in pitch as well. I think

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Speaker 1: they were down five runs like a couple of innings

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Speaker 1: into the post All Star break stress. I mean, just unacceptable.

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Speaker 1: I think you see just how weak this lineup is.

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Speaker 1: You know, it doesn't matter how great the starting pitching is,

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Speaker 1: and you know the bullpen has finally come together, you know,

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Speaker 1: you're kind of, you know, wondering, like where was this

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Speaker 1: in April and May? But basically it's come together in

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Speaker 1: time to sell some guys move some guys at the

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Speaker 1: trade deadline. I think that even if we're a little better,

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Speaker 1: I think that scenario could have taken place. But at

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Speaker 1: this point there's no reason to keep it together. They

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Speaker 1: can't because we've documented over and over there's not a

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Speaker 1: lot of pieces to move. And you know, I think

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Speaker 1: just one thing, I'm glad you brought it up of

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Speaker 1: Craig Counsel's idea of that's a mistake to call it

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Speaker 1: this or that, Like, yeah, dude, in Milwaukee there was

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Speaker 1: a lot more gray area. Or like in Tampa Bay,

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Speaker 1: they're always simultaneously buying and selling. But Jet's twelve trade deadlines,

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Speaker 1: You and I have covered all of them. They've always

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Speaker 1: been buyers or sellers. Now there's various degrees to that,

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Speaker 1: but like, this is a front office that picks the lane.

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Speaker 1: The front office that is not like I don't know,

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Speaker 1: wildly creative with some of this stuff. Like they're very rational,

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Speaker 1: they're measured, they have their approach, so like maybe they

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Speaker 1: surprise all of us do something far outside the box.

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Speaker 1: But like if you've been paying attention to the cubs

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Speaker 1: of the trade deadline, you know how they operate very

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Speaker 1: very broadly. And so that was one thing where I

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Speaker 1: had to say, you know, Craig, that's a bad take.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I guess you can look at this

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Speaker 2: roster and say, there isn't much to sell, right it's

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Speaker 2: gonna be bullpen pieces. Maybe you know, we hear Jamison

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Speaker 2: Taian's name out there. I think it'd be mistake to

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Speaker 2: move guys from the rotation. I think I think you

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Speaker 2: try and keep as many pieces as you can that

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Speaker 2: can help in twenty twenty five unless you're getting bowled over.

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Speaker 2: Unless I know it is a seller's market, but we

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Speaker 2: also know that teams just are like you just described,

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Speaker 2: Carter and Jed is very rational. That's how majority of

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Speaker 2: the teams are. It doesn't seem like AJ Preller. First

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Speaker 2: of all, a J Preller doesn't have much to sell

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Speaker 2: right now, and it doesn't seem like he's going to

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Speaker 2: be the super crazy aggressive guy. And the Dodgers can

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Speaker 2: be aggressive. Baltimore is a team that you'd love for

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Speaker 2: them to be aggressive, but there's zero chance that they

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Speaker 2: will be that's just not how they behave. They've never

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Speaker 2: shown that. That front office is known for being very

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Speaker 2: calm and measured. They come from Houston where they never

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Speaker 2: made crazy, bold moves and and I would be very

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Speaker 2: surprised if they pay the type of price that is

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Speaker 2: needed to get like an under control starter or something

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Speaker 2: like that. They just don't do that. The prices should

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Speaker 2: be high, and teams just don't pay for them anymore.

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Speaker 2: They don't pay enough. The Dodgers are maybe one of

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Speaker 2: those teams that would so definitely listen if they they

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Speaker 2: come calling. But other than that, I just don't see it.

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Speaker 2: San Diego isn't it isn't giving up like Ethan Sallus

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Speaker 2: or those type of prospects right now.

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Speaker 3: So I'm not sure what they can do.

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Speaker 2: It's it's an it's a situation where they have to

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Speaker 2: start thinking about twenty five. But when Council says what

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Speaker 2: he says, I can I think I can see a

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Speaker 2: scenario where they're still fine in the second half, and

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Speaker 2: by that I mean yeah, yeah, largely the same team,

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Speaker 2: and where they tease you for a week or ten

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Speaker 2: days and say like huh maybe, but it's they're not

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Speaker 2: good enough.

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Speaker 3: They've the.

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Speaker 2: Issues have been exposed, and I think maybe that's for

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Speaker 2: the best. Uh, you didn't need a fake run like

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Speaker 2: last year. Last year, I thought, you know, they we've

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Speaker 2: said this before. I've said this a lot. They performed

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Speaker 2: better than the record, right for two or three months

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Speaker 2: or whatever it was. I always felt that way watching

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Speaker 2: the team. I was like, they're better than their record.

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Speaker 2: I've never really felt that way. This year, I've felt

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Speaker 2: like there's more talent here. I thought they'd be better,

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Speaker 2: but the way they're playing this is bad baseball. And

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Speaker 2: last year it was like, this is a better team

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Speaker 2: than the record suggests. I feel like they're not playing terribly.

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Speaker 2: So it was a different feeling, even if some of

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Speaker 2: the results early on were the same. And the big

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Speaker 2: issue was the bullpen last year being overused and then exposed.

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Speaker 2: This year, it's it's falls squarely on the offense. I

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Speaker 2: don't think you can point to yeah, yeah, you can

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Speaker 2: point to early issues with the bullpen, like you said,

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Speaker 2: but it's kind of come together.

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Speaker 3: I don't know what you know.

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Speaker 2: I would, you know, the guys, I would focus on

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Speaker 2: as far as trade deadline goes, and I did talk

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Speaker 2: to some people while I was on vacation and it

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Speaker 2: seemed like teams are hearing similarly. It's bullpen arms right,

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Speaker 2: and you know, Drew Smiley makes a lot of sense.

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Speaker 2: Expiring deal quietly does really well. Has has been moved

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Speaker 2: at deadlines before and helped teams win in the past.

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Speaker 2: I think a lefty reliever is always valuable, even if

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Speaker 2: he's not like a straight upfty specialist. Hector Nars makes sense.

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Speaker 2: He's he's finally looking good. I had a scout tell

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Speaker 2: me that the splitter looks pretty nasty. He left one

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Speaker 2: up yesterday and it got blooped. I think into the outfield.

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Speaker 2: You know that that was if you want to call

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Speaker 2: that a mistake, you can call it a mistake.

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Speaker 3: But the fastball does look hittable. It is hittable. But

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Speaker 3: he walks a tightrope and always has for his career.

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Speaker 2: The one guy I'm curious about now, if they move Smiley,

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Speaker 2: do they also move lighter? And then if they do

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Speaker 2: move lighter, how does counsel tell us that they're still

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Speaker 2: trying to You know that it wasn't a straight cell right,

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Speaker 2: because now you don't have anybody coming out of your

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Speaker 2: bullpen that's supposed to be that you can use for

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Speaker 2: lefty pockets. You've downgraded your bullpen significantly. I wrote this

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Speaker 2: when before he came off the deadline, before he came

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Speaker 2: off the eye l those bad numbers that you were

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Speaker 2: looking at, they're not as bad as how he was pitching.

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Speaker 2: He was pitching well. He had a lot of bad life,

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Speaker 2: and now you're seeing just a little break and feeling

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Speaker 2: one hundred percent. He's a nasty reliever. He's a really

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Speaker 2: good reliever. I believe he's under control for two more

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Speaker 2: years beyond this. Is he even our bell? Was he

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Speaker 2: even our ur Bell.

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Speaker 1: Has an ARB deal? I think it would be that

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Speaker 1: he's thirty three years old, he's a guy they had

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Speaker 1: signed to multiple minor league deals, and that there are

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Speaker 1: gonna be really good teams that are like, I want

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Speaker 1: that guy for that matchup in that inning against that opponent.

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Speaker 1: I think that would be the Just get back to

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Speaker 1: how this front office views relievers is very, very interchangeable,

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Speaker 1: and I realize that's kind of an industry sort of standard,

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Speaker 1: but the Cubs do seem to take it to an

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Speaker 1: extreme at times.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I look at his numbers. The era

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Speaker 2: is the only thing that looks bad. He gets a

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Speaker 2: ton of ground balls, he gets a ton of strikeouts,

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Speaker 2: he doesn't walk too many.

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Speaker 3: I mean, this.

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Speaker 2: Guy's a really good reliever. If you can get a

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Speaker 2: really good prospect for him, I guess it makes sense.

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Speaker 2: But it's that would be for me, the clearest indication

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Speaker 2: that it's just solely focused on twenty five. And we

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Speaker 2: can hear Craig Council say all he wants about don't

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Speaker 2: look at it black and white, and and I agree

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Speaker 2: to an extent, I don't think you can look at

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Speaker 2: I think there's no other way to look at it.

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Speaker 3: Because Luke Little's out for the season.

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Speaker 2: You know these if Drew Smiley's gone, you don't have

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Speaker 2: anybody in your bullpen that you use for lefty pockets.

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Speaker 3: That's not a team that can compete.

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Speaker 2: That's not a team that can that you look at

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Speaker 2: and say like, oh, I get it, I see how

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Speaker 2: you can do both here. But because he's so valuable,

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Speaker 2: you're right, he's thirty three. You don't know when he's

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Speaker 2: got two more years after this, twenty five and twenty six.

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Speaker 2: He's a leader in the bullpen along with Nerris. So

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Speaker 2: you can lose veterans, but it's probably worth seeing what

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Speaker 2: younger guys can do, and then you're going to have

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Speaker 2: to backfill in the off season. The off season, we'll

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Speaker 2: dig into it, but then reliever to get out lefties,

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Speaker 2: power bat beefing up the bench. I know, yes, you know,

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Speaker 2: I think that's that's a huge thing. And then probably

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Speaker 2: number one is you have to get a catcher.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and I go back to actually twenty twenty two

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Speaker 1: when the Cubs went thirty nine thirty one after the

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Speaker 1: All Star break, and if you remember, that is when

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Speaker 1: they traded away David Robertson, Chris Martin. Yeah, Michael Givens, So,

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Speaker 1: like can you had a couple young pitchers pop up,

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Speaker 1: and I get what counsel is saying, and like you

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Speaker 1: and I both talked to him enough that, like I

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Speaker 1: get his general point, but like sitting in the interview

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Speaker 1: room saying it's a mistake to you know, write this

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Speaker 1: or that just didn't really sit well with me because

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Speaker 1: clearly you're either like increasing your oughts to make the

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Speaker 1: playoffs or you're decreasing your oughts to make the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: And clearly by not acquiring more rental players, which we understand,

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Speaker 1: I would say, of watching this team for this long,

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Speaker 1: you know, the way the schedule is set up too.

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Speaker 1: I mean, we're past that one hundred game mark at

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Speaker 1: this point. It's not like there's half a season to go.

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Speaker 1: I know, the All Star Game was just last week,

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Speaker 1: but we're like pretty deep into this at this point,

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Speaker 1: and I get not want to sink more into this group,

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Speaker 1: But like you know, I would be stunned if like

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Speaker 1: Jets somehow like Threads is a needle and find some

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Speaker 1: sort of like you know guy that helps right now

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Speaker 1: and next year and the year after that. It just hasn't.

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Speaker 1: It's not really what this marketplace is any anymore. Like,

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Speaker 1: like you said, there aren't teams that like back the

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Speaker 1: truck up. And I think I'm glad you brought up

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Speaker 1: tie On because that's probably what I'll write for like

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Speaker 1: the off day of you know, okay, you trade him

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Speaker 1: for what, like is this piece gonna help you next year?

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Speaker 1: Like I don't think you need another, you know, a

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Speaker 1: ball outfielder, right, You don't need like some double a

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Speaker 1: guy who's gonna need who might not be a capable

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Speaker 1: major league player like another four years from now. And

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Speaker 1: you know, teams that are in it aren't looking to

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Speaker 1: subtract guys that can help right now and if you

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Speaker 1: get rid of Tyon, just look at all the injuries

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Speaker 1: that comes out on the pitching side this year, Like

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Speaker 1: are you really gonna trust name a young pitcher to

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Speaker 1: absorb the like thirty starts that Tyon's shown he is

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Speaker 1: due year after year after year. Or you sign a

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Speaker 1: free agent and then then with the cost of inflation,

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Speaker 1: like it's gonna be more than the deal that tie

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Speaker 1: Own sign. It's going to obviously be for more years

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Speaker 1: than two. If it's a guy that you that you

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Speaker 1: trust in the industry high he values and like we

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Speaker 1: both know, like Tywn's a grown up, Like he's a professional,

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Speaker 1: and he's someone who's been pretty honest about like this

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Speaker 1: isn't good enough, And I don't know that subtracting that

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Speaker 1: is a great idea. Obviously you know he's not. And

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Speaker 1: this goes back to the kind of cost of acquisition,

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Speaker 1: Like he's probably not going to start the first game

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Speaker 1: of a playoff series for a team. So I can

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Speaker 1: see like both sides of that of you know, if

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Speaker 1: you're the Cubs, why hang on to him if he's

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Speaker 1: not like that guy? Or if you're the acquiring team,

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Speaker 1: what are we going to give up for a guy

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Speaker 1: who might be start game three or game four, or

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Speaker 1: be like a two times through the order guy in

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Speaker 1: a playoff game. But that, to me, I think that's

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Speaker 1: the player that will define this trade deadline for the Cubs.

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Speaker 1: Like if he stays, it's like, okay, there is a

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Speaker 1: more reasonable path of you know, staying in it, going

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Speaker 1: back at it again in twenty twenty five. But if

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Speaker 1: he moves, I think that will be the one where

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Speaker 1: you'd feel it in the clubhouse. You'd be taking away

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Speaker 1: from council like a real piece, not just kind of

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Speaker 1: a bullpen guy here or there. Like that would be

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Speaker 1: a significant subtraction that I think would be very revealing.

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Speaker 3: Yeah right, and then then we don't debate the.

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Speaker 2: You know what area yeah yeah, yeah, yeah. But also

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Speaker 2: they have to listen on everything, right that this isn't

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Speaker 2: working when it doesn't, when it goes to this extent

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Speaker 2: where it's just like nothing, nothing seems like it's going right.

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Speaker 2: As far as uh, the one loss record, I think

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Speaker 2: you have to listen to try and figure out can

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Speaker 2: you improve your team there are you know, I've seen

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Speaker 2: stuff about how Baltimore is willing to give up some

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Speaker 2: of their uh, some of their current players on the

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Speaker 2: roster right to to open up space for younger players.

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Speaker 3: I get that.

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Speaker 2: I don't think that works so much for the Cubs,

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Speaker 2: But maybe the Cubs need to think creatively and see

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Speaker 2: if guys are willing to move, you know, uh, take

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Speaker 2: down their trade deadlines, or or wave their trade deadline.

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Speaker 3: Trade deadlines.

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Speaker 2: Trade Uh, no trade, no trade clauses. Sorry, I'm recovering

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Speaker 2: from a cold and my brain is clearly clearly not

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Speaker 2: functioning at one hundred percent.

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Speaker 3: But I don't know.

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Speaker 2: We just talked about there, you know, I don't know

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Speaker 2: if they have that in them, if if they're going

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Speaker 2: to be able to swing a move that that kind

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Speaker 2: of surprises us all.

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Speaker 3: If anything, I think they make the.

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Speaker 2: Smaller moves now and look to really reload and and

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Speaker 2: change things up for twenty twenty five in the off season.

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Speaker 2: One thing I think we all know for sure, right

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Speaker 2: and fans may not be one hundred percent clear on this,

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Speaker 2: but they have to that they intend on taking a

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Speaker 2: step forward in twenty twenty five. There's no debate about that.

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Speaker 2: What you see now, and I agree with you Patrick,

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Speaker 2: you you trade tie on It looks really bad for

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty five. But that just means that they're they

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Speaker 2: have more work cut out for them in the offseason

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Speaker 2: because they cannot go into twenty twenty five saying like

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Speaker 2: this roster is a step back, but we're we're looking

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Speaker 2: to the future. We're you know, we're we're gonna be

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Speaker 2: better in twenty six and twenty seven. That's when we

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Speaker 2: really expect things to to shine in on the north side.

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Speaker 2: Anything like that is that.

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Speaker 3: That's that's a death now for Jed Hoyer and the

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Speaker 3: front office.

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Speaker 2: Like you're you're begging for change then, like Tom Ricketts.

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Speaker 3: Say what you will, but he's not.

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Speaker 2: I can't imagine that he's going to be much more patient,

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Speaker 2: uh with with this group right like they have they

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Speaker 2: likely have another year, but beyond that, you know, they

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Speaker 2: have to show real progress and that has to come

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Speaker 2: in the form of a team in the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and things can change, you know, so quickly too.

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Speaker 1: Of the tie on trade idea, like as kind of

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Speaker 1: game planning this out, Like Max Freed was a name

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Speaker 1: that was mentioned of, like, oh, this is a guy

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Speaker 1: you know that you know, keep an eye on him.

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Speaker 1: It's again he's out with forearm issue, now, you know

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Speaker 1: what I mean? So it's like, it's great to think

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Speaker 1: about this is in a mailbag episode that be coming

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Speaker 1: out soon, Like Corbyn Burns his name edge, Like sure,

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Speaker 1: great relationship with Craig counsel, but you know he hired

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Speaker 1: Scott Boris, and Scott Boris, I'm assuming we'll be looking

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Speaker 1: at Derret Coles deal, Steven Strasser, so like stuff that

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Speaker 1: the Cubs have just not historically done and will this

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Speaker 1: season shake them out of it? Yes, to that extent,

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Speaker 1: I think it'd be disingenuous for us to be like, oh, yeah,

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Speaker 1: they're going to sign Corbyn Burns and Wan Sota, you

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Speaker 1: know what I mean. Like, it's just this has fundamentally

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Speaker 1: shaken like what they thought about this team, and I

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Speaker 1: think we'll see, you know, a reckoning of sorts, to

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Speaker 1: use a theophrase, like coming out of this year. It's

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Speaker 1: hard to imagine the roster staying intact, the coaching staff

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Speaker 1: saying intact, the front office kind of going along on

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Speaker 1: the same path. Like I think everything is kind of

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Speaker 1: up for grabs here, and that's why this trade deadline,

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Speaker 1: even though the Cubs don't have great pieces to sell

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Speaker 1: and they're not going to be adding, it's still is

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Speaker 1: very much like a front and center event that will,

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Speaker 1: you know, show us a lot about where this team

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Speaker 1: is at.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, at Corbyn Burns is going to be thirty in October. Patrick, Yeah,

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Speaker 2: this front office spending the money that it's going to

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Speaker 2: take to get Corbyn Burns at age thirty.

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Speaker 3: I don't see that.

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Speaker 2: Like there's there're definitely pictures on the market that that

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Speaker 2: I think they should be interested in, especially if they

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Speaker 2: move a pitcher. I think offense, we all know it

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Speaker 2: should be the primary focus. You know, bulking up the

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Speaker 2: the bullpen is always is always a need.

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Speaker 3: But yeah, come on, thirty year old Corbyn Burns makes sense.

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Speaker 2: I just don't see this front office ponying up the

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Speaker 2: cash to get that Scott Boris contract done.

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Speaker 1: And I think you made a good point about the bench.

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Speaker 1: And I think sometimes like people focus too much on

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Speaker 1: like that one number eight hitter against you know, one

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Speaker 1: late inning at bat, But in terms of the overall

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Speaker 1: talent level of this team, I think that's a fair

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Speaker 1: criticism of just looking at you know, Ian Happens having

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Speaker 1: a really good season. He's a really good major league player,

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Speaker 1: Like is he a cleanup hitter like he was yesterday?

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Speaker 1: I just don't think on a true World Series caliber team,

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Speaker 1: I don't think he's batting cleanup. I mean, if you're

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Speaker 1: one of those like game planning analysts or scouts from

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Speaker 1: the other team looking at the Cubs, I mean, are

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Speaker 1: you just kind of like half paying attention once you

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Speaker 1: get past one or two three names. I mean, the

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Speaker 1: middle to the bottom of that lineup is just not

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Speaker 1: at all imposing. And part of that is Dansby Swanson.

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Speaker 1: Part of that is Cody Bellinger being injured. But even

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Speaker 1: when he's healthy, he has not been the slugging, dynamic

401
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Speaker 1: presence that the Cups had hoped for. You know, this

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Speaker 1: was the I think Jet called the worst baseball on offense,

403
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Speaker 1: worst offense in baseball for two months. Like it's really hard,

404
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Speaker 1: and I'm sure you've had these conversations with scouts as

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Speaker 1: well of just like you know, you don't look at

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Speaker 1: this and be like, well, this is like a truly

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Speaker 1: terrible team. Like the pitching has just been so good,

408
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Speaker 1: particularly in the rotation, and the bullpen is like organized

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Speaker 1: now and they seem to have their act together on

410
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Speaker 1: that side, but just when the offense is I think

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Speaker 1: Council used words like quiet like, you know, no pressure

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Speaker 1: like all. That's like all those descriptors have applied to

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Speaker 1: so many games this year that it's just hard to

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Speaker 1: take it. Take them seriously.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, And the reality is offense is down all across

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Speaker 2: the league. Right, every team is looking for offense at

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Speaker 2: the deadline, but what they have are one, two or

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Speaker 2: three like absolute rocks in their lineup. Right, So the

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Speaker 2: teams like the seventh through nine for most teams, aren't pretty.

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Speaker 2: You look at the Brewers and and while their offense

421
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Speaker 2: is down from where it was early in the season,

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Speaker 2: there's no.

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Speaker 3: Like absolute dead spots.

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Speaker 2: That's that's kind of the difference to right, Like I

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Speaker 2: don't like especially without Yelich. Now the Brewers aren't like

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Speaker 2: this terrifying offense, but there's no really easy spots. The

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Speaker 2: Cubs seven through nine, six through nine, there's with Dansby

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Speaker 2: Swanson not hitting, there's just too many easy spots in

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Speaker 2: their lineup, right. And when I say that, it's not

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Speaker 2: like they're seven hundred ops. Guys, they're struggling. Some of

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Speaker 2: them are struggling to get to six hundred ops. That's

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Speaker 2: that's not that's the that's the issue. It's not that

433
00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:59,320
Speaker 2: they're not. It's not that they're just like eh guys,

434
00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,439
Speaker 2: they're they're bad offensive players. And the bench is you know,

435
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:08,120
Speaker 2: I like Miles Master Bonie's defense, I like his versatility.

436
00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:12,479
Speaker 2: I think he's a quality player. He's not hitting Dansby

437
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,879
Speaker 2: Swanson plays elite defense. He's missing pitches down the middle

438
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:20,280
Speaker 2: and can't can't hit heaters when challenged like this is

439
00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:23,760
Speaker 2: this is a problem. Miguel Amaya is on a hot

440
00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:29,199
Speaker 2: stretch and is up to it's not it's still not

441
00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:29,720
Speaker 2: good enough.

442
00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:33,760
Speaker 1: He is five nine five ops at this point.

443
00:25:34,359 --> 00:25:37,840
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, seventy two. He's he's worse than he's got

444
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:39,919
Speaker 2: a seventy two way to resigrate a plus. Okay, Daisy

445
00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:44,160
Speaker 2: Swanson's at eighty, Patrick Wisdom one of your power bench

446
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:47,919
Speaker 2: guys eighty seven, like Christopher Morrell is in a horrific slump.

447
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:51,679
Speaker 2: Ninety three. Nico Horner's at ninety eight. You know, like

448
00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:55,199
Speaker 2: Nico Horner doesn't crush the ball. He's usually around one hundred.

449
00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:58,640
Speaker 2: He's not having a terrible season. But you need more

450
00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:01,159
Speaker 2: pop in the lineup. You need where you need more

451
00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:04,359
Speaker 2: production in the lineup. It can't be like you know,

452
00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:06,800
Speaker 2: I thought, sayas Auzuki would take a leap this year.

453
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:09,399
Speaker 2: He's kind of the same player. He was a very

454
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:12,760
Speaker 2: good player, but not the guy you build around. Michael

455
00:26:12,760 --> 00:26:16,639
Speaker 2: Bush is a very nice addition, very good player. Like

456
00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:19,040
Speaker 2: it's nice to have Michael Bush, say, as Azuki and

457
00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:21,879
Speaker 2: Ian half, you need a star in this lineup that

458
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,760
Speaker 2: that's a step above all three of those guys and

459
00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:26,679
Speaker 2: make it makes it a little simpler and then just

460
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:28,080
Speaker 2: pat it with some depth.

461
00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:32,080
Speaker 3: Uh. I think we'll talk about this a lot more.

462
00:26:32,280 --> 00:26:34,199
Speaker 2: We're gonna have to and we're gonna probably have to

463
00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:38,320
Speaker 2: dig into it in the second half. But Dansby Swanson

464
00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:40,920
Speaker 2: and his offense, it can't. It can't be the same

465
00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:43,280
Speaker 2: next year. It can't. And they have to figure out,

466
00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:46,920
Speaker 2: like what's going on there is this lingering knee issues?

467
00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:52,080
Speaker 2: Is this just confidence and and and.

468
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:53,719
Speaker 3: Uh, mechanics? What is it?

469
00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,280
Speaker 2: Like what's going on at the plate? And can it

470
00:26:56,359 --> 00:27:01,280
Speaker 2: be fixed for next year? Otherwise that's that's a major issue, right,

471
00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:04,840
Speaker 2: like five more years on the deal. Listen, elite defender

472
00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,400
Speaker 2: at shortstop. This isn't Jason Hayward because elite defense at

473
00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:11,080
Speaker 2: right field doesn't impact the game like elite defense at

474
00:27:11,119 --> 00:27:15,159
Speaker 2: shortstop right, he's still an elite defender, but it cannot

475
00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:17,240
Speaker 2: be this bad a ninety five way to run screen.

476
00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:18,680
Speaker 3: If he had the same way to run screen.

477
00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:21,800
Speaker 2: Plus as as Nico, it wouldn't be as as awful.

478
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:24,359
Speaker 2: It just wouldn't be as big of a problem. People

479
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,040
Speaker 2: would still be complaining, I'm sure, but it wouldn't be

480
00:27:27,119 --> 00:27:29,679
Speaker 2: as awful. Like that's a that's still a really valuable player.

481
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:31,760
Speaker 2: I just don't know what you do there. I don't

482
00:27:31,800 --> 00:27:34,600
Speaker 2: know what the solution is, but it has to change

483
00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,760
Speaker 2: for next year. It can't be the same because that's

484
00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:40,800
Speaker 2: just one more spot in the lineup that's too easy

485
00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,200
Speaker 2: to get out. You have to address the other issues.

486
00:27:43,200 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 3: Of course. You have to address catcher.

487
00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:46,920
Speaker 2: You have to address the bench, you have to address

488
00:27:47,040 --> 00:27:51,480
Speaker 2: figure out what's going on at third base. But Dansby

489
00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:53,960
Speaker 2: Swanson is there. He's going to be your shortstop. So

490
00:27:54,080 --> 00:27:55,680
Speaker 2: you've got to figure out how to fix that. You

491
00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:58,520
Speaker 2: got to figure out what the off season plan is

492
00:27:58,560 --> 00:28:00,600
Speaker 2: for him and how he gets back to being just

493
00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:02,560
Speaker 2: at least an average offensive player.

494
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:06,720
Speaker 1: Yeah, and you'll you'll be in Kansas City. I'll be

495
00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:09,800
Speaker 1: in Cincinnati at some point during this trip. It's possible

496
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:14,520
Speaker 1: that Cody Bellinger will be activated. That is another one

497
00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:20,200
Speaker 1: where look, is he gonna opt in to next year?

498
00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:23,240
Speaker 1: Is he gonna be a thirty million dollar player? I

499
00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:26,639
Speaker 1: think you like having him on your team. There's a

500
00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:29,320
Speaker 1: lot he brings to the table, but it's not exactly

501
00:28:29,359 --> 00:28:32,359
Speaker 1: what they hope for. And maybe this is kind of

502
00:28:32,359 --> 00:28:37,520
Speaker 1: a weird year with injuries or whatever. I mean, he's

503
00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:40,920
Speaker 1: had several over the course of his career, so that

504
00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:44,600
Speaker 1: couldn't have been like a total shock. And you know,

505
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:46,239
Speaker 1: some of its freak stuff. You know, get hit by

506
00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:49,280
Speaker 1: a ninety seven mile hour fastball like in your hand,

507
00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:51,920
Speaker 1: like yeah, you're gonna wind up on the injured list.

508
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:59,280
Speaker 1: But just a really weird mix and just the I

509
00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:03,120
Speaker 1: think this year is all so exposed, like how close

510
00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:06,120
Speaker 1: are any of these hitters in the upper levels. I

511
00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:10,800
Speaker 1: think that has been I think the not saying none

512
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:15,480
Speaker 1: of these guys will impact the team eventually, but clearly

513
00:29:15,520 --> 00:29:19,720
Speaker 1: there was not you know, a Kyle Schwarber walking through

514
00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:22,760
Speaker 1: the door the way he did in twenty fifteen, or

515
00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:28,080
Speaker 1: even Ian Happen twenty seventeen, you know, the way he

516
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:33,080
Speaker 1: impacted that group, Like when you have the worst offense

517
00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:36,120
Speaker 1: in baseball by your own admission, and there isn't really

518
00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:40,800
Speaker 1: a lot bubbling up. It's not a good sign for

519
00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:44,680
Speaker 1: like where things are going, and that I think will

520
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,880
Speaker 1: be interesting too of how some of the playing time

521
00:29:48,640 --> 00:29:55,520
Speaker 1: is redistributed in August in September, are they going to

522
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:57,600
Speaker 1: give any of these guys run? Like have they even

523
00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:04,560
Speaker 1: earned it? And also this enormous gap between Iowa and

524
00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:07,480
Speaker 1: the majors, like have they closed? Is their way to

525
00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:11,040
Speaker 1: close any of that at all? And so that's why

526
00:30:11,400 --> 00:30:14,440
Speaker 1: I don't counsel we'll have the same reaction on his

527
00:30:14,520 --> 00:30:17,000
Speaker 1: face no matter what happens at the trade deadline. But

528
00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:20,680
Speaker 1: I do think it'd be really interesting to hear kind

529
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:22,800
Speaker 1: of what he has to say and about just how

530
00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:25,160
Speaker 1: healthy or not this organization really is.

531
00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, Patrick will have one more podcast, I believe, before

532
00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:32,720
Speaker 2: the deadline, and then the one after that should be

533
00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:36,200
Speaker 2: right after it. We'll have a little clear right obviously,

534
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:39,080
Speaker 2: we'll know what's going on. Probably by the time we

535
00:30:39,480 --> 00:30:42,600
Speaker 2: talked to the listeners again. There will be at least

536
00:30:42,600 --> 00:30:44,680
Speaker 2: I would assume there's going to be a move this weekend,

537
00:30:44,840 --> 00:30:46,720
Speaker 2: like you don't do them all on the thirtieth. Maybe

538
00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:51,120
Speaker 2: I'm wrong, but there's a good chance there'll be a

539
00:30:51,160 --> 00:30:55,080
Speaker 2: move consummated either the next time we talk to you

540
00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:56,040
Speaker 2: here soon after that.

541
00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:59,200
Speaker 3: But this team needs to shake things up.

542
00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:04,080
Speaker 2: It needs to look different, and unfortunately we're already talking

543
00:31:04,120 --> 00:31:08,440
Speaker 2: about twenty twenty five and what to expect for that,

544
00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:10,160
Speaker 2: but not what.

545
00:31:10,040 --> 00:31:12,240
Speaker 3: We expected to be talking about at this time.

546
00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:15,400
Speaker 2: But it's been three months of this now, it's been

547
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:18,520
Speaker 2: three months of us talking about this, of them going

548
00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:21,480
Speaker 2: in the wrong direction. They did this to themselves. The

549
00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:24,480
Speaker 2: offense fell apart. This is the team that was built.

550
00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:27,000
Speaker 2: It was a team that won eighty three games last

551
00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:29,480
Speaker 2: year and should have taken a step forward to really

552
00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,680
Speaker 2: good additions, and somehow it's a worse team. It's a

553
00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:36,120
Speaker 2: very very odd way to see it unfold, but it's

554
00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:38,520
Speaker 2: what happened, and it's the reality Jed and Carter face,

555
00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:40,240
Speaker 2: and that they've got to figure out a way to

556
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:43,400
Speaker 2: fix it. We'll be back at you early next week,

557
00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:47,280
Speaker 2: plenty of trade talk and then probably trade analysis to do.

558
00:31:48,360 --> 00:31:50,800
Speaker 3: Thanks for listening. This is Northside Territory.

559
00:31:51,360 --> 00:31:54,280
Speaker 2: Make sure to subscribe, rate and review on your favorite

560
00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:55,440
Speaker 2: platforms there and.

561
00:31:55,720 --> 00:32:00,240
Speaker 3: Then give us love. If you would, please subscribe to

562
00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:03,760
Speaker 3: the athletic and keep on listening. Thanks for listening, Take

563
00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:05,040
Speaker 3: care everyone,