Why Would the Cubs Not Want To Be Competitive?| Fly the W Ep 113

In this segment, Crawly and Dustin recap a tough series against the Red Sox that saw Kyle Hendricks have a rough start on Friday and some sloppy defense and lack of offense that led to a series loss. you are listening to the fly the w670 podcast it's season two it's episode 53 why would the Cubs not want to be competitive don't forget to download review and most importantly subscribe to our podcast follow us on social slide w60 Twitter Instagram and of course on Facebook or email us at fly to w670 gmail.com I'm Crowley happy Sunday afternoon yeah I guess you could say if you're a cub fan or if you're sitting at Wrigley today it's not that happy no no not a great day to be out at Wrigley at all the uh Red Sox coming to town take two out of three from the northsiders but uh let's uh let's get out let's figure out how this all broke down you and I both predicted that the Cubs would win two uh three and that was before we knew that their three best pitchers we're gonna go in this one they can't move the uh starting pitching around a little bit from when we had uh previewed the series so let's get after you were at the game Friday night Kyle Hendricks on the mount for the cups yeah so like you said this is that we we talked about it the last show you wanted to come out of the break strong and this was going to be a tough matchup there's no doubt about it the Red Sox have been very hot lately and it was crap uh Kyle Hendricks versus Brian Bello Bello's been one of their better pitchers I was at the game the Cubs lose this one eight to three and I gotta tell you Dustin I hate Friday night games Friday belongs at 1 20. none of these night things it was a weird night it was awkward I wasn't a big fan of it uh Kyle Hendricks had his worst start since coming off the IL looked like he was throwing batting practice Hendricks won 4.2 Innings he gave up eight hits five runs he gave up four home runs Dustin something that's just uncharacteristic Kyle Henderson right Rafael Devers hit two home runs Adam Duvall Tristan Casas Justin Turner yuching they hit six home runs total so four from off of Hendricks and two off the bullpen Anthony K pitch 1.1 scoreless ending but lighter gave up two runs Assad gave up a run but you know Dustin the question that I walked away with as far as Kyle Hendricks is concerned is that it looked like they had this successful battery going on between um Kyle Hendricks and Miguel Amaya they were working really well together right the last time they worked together was on the fourth of July against the Brewers and Kyle gwent gave up two runs in six Innings okay against a very good Brewers team then on July 9th his next start against the Yankees it wasn't a Maya he was throwing to but Tucker Barnhart he gave up four runs in 5.2 innings in that start and then obviously he gave up you know five runs in this start so I'm not blaming Tucker Barnhart I just you you you guys have an opportunity on the Molly and hash show in the mornings to talk to Tommy hodavi you know one question that's Wednesday he'll be on he'll be on this Wednesday yes we will definitely ask about that right I want to know and let's bring it back to the show and figure out why they split up the battery because to me I thought that was a perfect battery it seemed like he really enjoyed throwing to Amaya it seemed like Amaya was learning a lot from Hendrix and then all of a sudden the last two starts you don't I mean look it's not like you're putting Tucker in there for his Bat right right right I mean when Tucker does get an RBI you got to win those games we know that but yeah he's not in there for offense that's for sure offensively speaking uh Cody Bellinger was really it for the Cubs Mike talkman had the RBI double at the bottom of the third belly hit a solo home run in the fourth and in the sixth the home run in the six went off my brother's hand hit me in the shoulder and the guy behind us got the Home Run ball so that just come on come on it tells you the kind of night we had Bellinger was two for four Morel was three for four and Tucker Barnard did have a good day offensively two for three uh whether the Cubs trade her belly and we're going to talk about that later but it looks like betting on himself on a one year deal is really going to pay off handsomely yeah he has been a red hot and Fuego on fire any other adjective you want to give again I think I've said it on the podcast I know I've said it on the mullion hall show if there was a guy that I would be interested in extending it would be Cody Bellinger but we'll get into that a little bit later so game two afternoon baseball at Wrigley Field Crowley just like you like it just like I like it Marcus strowman after the All-Star break on the hill yep Marcus strowman versus James Paxton uh the Cubs will win this one ten to four and so strowman remember he didn't make go to the all-star game he wanted to rest and relax and it looked like that really kind of paid off for him he went six Innings he gave up three hits one run one walk and three K's for those of you keeping track at home that was Marcus 15th quality start which leads all of MLB Julian Meriwether went one inning gave up two hits and two runs Michael Fulmer and Daniel Palencia each pitched an inning of shutout Ball but it was the offense it really really was you know just so impressive on this day against the Red Sox best pitcher James Paxton the offense hit him like a pinata [Laughter] but then the Red Sox fell apart the Cubs loaded the bases with no Ops in the third Nico hits one to shortstop Enrique Hernandez who bobbles the ball everyone's safe it makes it one nothing then Sega grounded out to third baseman Rafael Devers who stepped on Third and he's going for the double play so he steps down 30 he's going to throw it home um but it was a bad throw it got away from the catcher Amaya scores the Cubs are up to nothing hap would walk to load the bases and then Cody Bellinger unloaded the bases with a grand slam to make it a six nothing Cubs lead and then you put it on cruise control from there right and that was Bellinger's fifth home run in the last six games Paxton gave up more earned runs in the third inning than he had given up in any full start this season so Patrick wisdom added a two-run blast in the fourth his first since May 28th hopefully that gets him going and then Christopher Morrell Miguel Maya drovin runs and that's all and you know good for them Cubs didn't need it they won ten to four and that's exactly kind of where we thought this series would be going into Sunday right going into game three we both predicted that they would win two out of three um again we had the pitching uh order a little bit wrong wasn't completely set and what we uh info we had ended up not being good info so the Cubs used their three best pitchers in this series and Sunday it was All-Star Justin Steele yep Justin Steele versus cutter Crawford I love that name what a desire great name for a pitcher right right but this was just an absolute disaster offense pitching starting pitching Bullpen defense it was all atrocious uh they just couldn't do anything right Justin Steele gives up a home run to Rafael Devers it's your favorite it's a unicorn home run Justin only a home run in Wrigley Field in the basket in every other Park in MLB that would not have been a home run there was there was uh three home runs that weekend for for the for divers he was on our hot list we said look out and the guy still has remained red hot as he leaves Chicago thank God uh steel settled down and was doing well until the fifth inning to start off that inning Conor Wong hit a ground ball that deflected off the glove of Nico Horner he definitely should have had it um I don't know what's going on with scoring this year in baseball but it seems like the scores I mean I know there's such a thing as Hometown scoring but this is just ridiculous that was that was stupid I mean that was an air that's an error I mean it could have been it could have been an error on the Fielding crew uh maybe there was a rock that they just didn't get out of the way um Nico Horner makes that play um 999 times out of a thousand okay absolutely exact place that's an error that is an error absolutely and that should have been the first out of the inning the Red Sox will load the bases and score on a single by uh Rob Brent Snyder and the Cubs were down to nothing but steals was able to get Devers to strike out and Adam Deval to pop out so that would have been three outs Dustin right yep you left the bases loaded but it didn't happen it looked like Steel's gonna get out of it with minimal damage he had an O2 count on masataka Yoshida and he hits a grand slam and at that point the Cubs are down six nothing they're never going to be in it again they still went six Innings he gave up six runs on 10 hits gave up two home runs he also struck out six but you know look nine it's Crowley nine hits he didn't give up ten he only gave up nine nine official score gave him 10. but what ends up happening man is that like I said the one home run that would have been in a home run nowhere else and the air which led to four unearned runs it totally looked makes the line look different you know what I mean well the air you know an error helped the Cubs get going on uh Saturday and then this error helped the Red Sox get going on Sunday right the bullpen wasn't much better Rucker went 1.1 Innings gave up one hit two walks and three earned runs alzalai gave up two runs on two hits including a home run and then to add insult to injury to the fans it stuck it out Tucker Barnhart pitched the ninth so how embarrassing is that that's when you know it gets out of control but I mean I gotta say you know you just made that comment crawling it made me think about it again as I'm watching the game today and Tucker barnhart's out there throwing and I'm scheming mad I'm sure you were steaming mad as well and the amount of fans that were still there and that were cheering and standing as if the Cubs were going I mean the Cubs are either the greatest fans in the world or those people today were the biggest bunch of dopes I'm not rich quite sure because I think I would have walked out Crowley I would not have been hanging out anymore I mean I might have watched Tucker Barnhart pitch just for the I guess the laughter of it potentially but I wouldn't I would have been out of there after that I would have been out of there for the bottom of the ninth and they did they do they do go on and get some runs but that was just I I had I had to talk to you about the fans in that situation I was actually really surprised well there were you know obviously the Red Sox are very much like the Cubs they travel well there was a good contingency of Red Sox fans and I think at some point it's a sunny day in the bleachers and you had a bunch of beers and there's going to be some people that are just gonna just say well oh well might as well just laugh and whatever because that's all you can do at that point I mean right anymore there's nothing to get mad about right right it's done the offense did nothing against cutter but you know cutter was the weakest pitcher they faced all weekend and he dominated yeah nice game yep the Cubs only had one hit against him in six innings right he you know he he they walked four times they can't take advantage and they can't take advantage of that you can't take advantage of four walks that's also too they had two on and no outs in the first and did nothing Ian half pinned into an inning ending double play they had two on the no outs in the third and did nothing Morrell had into a double play they finally got a couple hits and runs in garbage time but they're never really into this game they hit into two double plays that we talked about they left seven men on base two for ten with runners in scoring position and that's really all you need to know very frustrating Crowley and one other thing in in hindsight's 2020 and Christopher Morrell has been doing a pretty nice job at the plate right he's he's a guy we're going to talk about later in the show but I just gosh him baton third and Bellinger batting like sixth or seventh it's like hmm like just I don't get it right it's bizarre and and here's the thing you know the Cubs really needed to make a statement this weekend and they did the statement they made is that they're the same inconsistent team they were in the first half maybe one day they're going to look like the greatest team and then the next day they look like like Bond Peters well the good news is that the Reds got brought back to earth right before the All-Star breaking right after the All-Stars Break by the Brewers who are now in first place so maybe this Red's phenomenon is going to be short-lived they had a like a three-week run and they were now back to being the Reds the point being though let's play this clip here because Marcus strowman was asked about the trade deadline and how it impacts him and Cody Bellinger this is what he had to say love to be here long term you know everyone's always putting this emphasis on oh we need to play good in seven days ten days and then we could be buyers but I actually don't believe in that this this division is wide open and then if you even look deeper than that as an organization why would you not want to be competitive for multiple years year after year after year belly's a guy who changed her lineup he's a guy who why would you want him to get away why would you want a guy like myself who goes out there and gives you quality starts in a league that's incredibly hard to do you know I mean it's incredibly hard to to say oh we're going to get this production out of this young guy we're gonna get this it's but it's hard you know and I know belly wants to stay you know I mean I know I would love to stay here but a lot of that's out of our control so at the end of the day it's a business so we have to treat it as such even though we have this this love for this fan base and and this organization it's hard to kind of separate it at times but yeah um I love being a cub I love everything about it but you know someone who's been through it before it's something you kind of have to distance yourself a bit because a lot of it's out of your control and no matter how much I love it I can wake up tomorrow and be gone so um it's tough but love everything about the city of Chicago and and this organization and no matter what happens I I would hope that they would be in um in the mix in the off season when it comes to my free agency yeah so a lot to unpack there Crowley lot was said in that clip um we all know that he likes being here he goes so far as staying he loves to be here um and it is very interesting I do think this division not only is winnable this year but I think it's going to be winnable in the future so that's where this becomes very interesting as far as you know sign ability I mean could could they potentially trademark a strowman and could strowman come back I love that I love that idea and I want to know how much is Bellinger enjoying playing for the Cubs now is he enjoying playing for the Cubs or is he enjoying that he bet on himself and he's going to get a massive payday because of it now hopefully it's with the Cubs but there are probably the two outside of shohei Otani the two most valuable trade pieces are Marcus strowman and Cody Bellinger right now so absolutely absolutely now now here's the issue that you know like I said a lot to unpack there with Bellinger here's what we know with Bellinger okay he is represented by Scott Boris and there is no way that Scott Boris ever lets his uh free agent sign uh after the trade deadline when you're after the trade deadline and you're doing really well then you go ahead and you get the free agency and let the best the highest bidder win okay that was even with Chris Bryant the same thing Chris Brown said I'd like to be a car but it didn't matter once he he was going to hit free agency and if the Cubs wanted him then the Cubs just had to be the highest bidder okay so Cody Bellinger is not signing an extension after the trade line deadline that will not happen now Marcus strowman said he's open to it okay and the one thing we did talk about is that strowman leads MLB in quality starts and you and I have seen it because we've seen young guys come up whether it was Hayden wesnisky whether it's Caleb Killian some of these guys come up and and you realize it is a lot harder than you you uh expect it to be and that's the the issue that we're facing here is you you have Marcus Stroman now he's 33. he wants a five-year deal he's going to be 38 when that Deal's done how is that going to look again he's not a big strong guy he's a guy that really relies on movement but he prepares himself well and so you know it's it's this issue of why and this is where strowman kind of you know really kind of perked my ear up why wouldn't you want to be competitive every year yeah right that's just it why would you not want to be competitive all the time in a division that is absolutely winnable right now you are the only major Market team you have more money than any of the other teams what are we doing here I mean are are we are we doing another sell-off I mean we're talking your number to sell off for year three years in a row three seasons in a row at this point in time you got to ask yourself how much more can you ask of the fan base because Dustin as you know with sports media in this type of business I mean Marquis their numbers are way down compared to what they were when we were talking about the Chris Bryans and the uh Rizzo and the bias deals and so you know if the Cubs really you know it's great that they spent some money this year but two of the signings that they made had not worked out really at all and you know if you're gonna sit there and give away one of the top hitters in the free agent market and one of the top pitchers who says he wants to be on your team how are you going to replace it I really need an answer from somebody well that's just it how how do you replace it you're not getting guys that are going to be on the roster next year for these two guys I don't think right you're not getting an everyday player in return for one of these two guys and if you are they're not going to be anywhere near as good as as these guys are so it is something that we're going to have to keep our eye on all the way up until the last day of July though in all fairness it is a gamble because Cody Bellinger had is having a good season this year take a look what he did the last three years and it's been garbage so Scott Boris is going to ask for six seven years close to 100 you know how this all this is going to play out right so it's it's always this matches and the Yankees might be in right the Yankees might be in on him right and so when you look at this right here uh you know you're taking a gamble you know either a he's going to leave and be great and you're going to be like why were you so cheap and why didn't you sign into a long-term deal or B you assign them to a long-term deal and he's bad and then you're asking why is he playing every day well because you're paying him you know 20 30 you saw what happened with Hayward and so Bruce Levine did report that a lot of Al teams are also kicking the tires on strowman including the Blue Jays and the Astros I saw yeah so this is something we're gonna have to keep an eye on but this is why this weekend's so frustrating I know it was hard but this is this is the position the Cubs put themselves in by having the first half they did they don't have room for air and here we are in the second half losing the first series out of the gate with your best pitchers going not the greatest thing In this segment, Crawly interviews prospect expert Chicago stand up comedian and host of My Favorite Cub podcast Joe Kilgallon to discuss whether the Cubs should be buyers or sellers. you are listening to the fly the w670 podcast it's season two it's episode 53. why would the Cubs not want to be competitive in this segment Crawley interview Chicago comedian host of the new my favorite Cubs podcast with Lauren's home and a house of L Network to talk about if the Cubs should be buyers or sellers it's Joe kilgallon joining me now on the Fly the dubby of podcasts I have long time Cub fan and stand-up comedian podcast host the a true Entertainer here Joe kilgal and Joe how are you doing buddy I'm Greg Crawley thanks for having me on fly the W podcast big fan of you and everything that you do my man and I I'm glad we get to talk because you were actually in attendance at Wrigley Field today to see that catastrophe like it's still rolling around in the back of my head like what the hell was that yeah man I was part of the 37 000 strong um sadly I feel like close to 50 Red Sox fans I mean I like the Cubs Boston travels uh we clearly have the best fans in America but the Red Sox are close and yeah it was uh it was a catastrophe you're you're feeling like all right you know we got Wallop down Friday but then we did the walloping on Saturday and now we're gonna take the rubber match we got Justin Steele our Ace going it's gonna be wonderful and it just was an ugly game and the offense wasn't there the defense was bad I'm sure we're getting all that but as far as uh The Fan Experience that Wrigley it was a weird game too because I remember at the fourth inning looking over and being like it's still only one nothing but it feels like we're not in this game even though it was only one nothing the first few Innings and then you know the other shoe dropped and it dropped hard and then the ball started flying out of the ballpark and then we couldn't the defense was bad and there was just it all it all unfolded in a very ugly way at once right and I'm sitting there and they're putting in uh Edward alzalai in the middle of a blowout I'm like what what are they doing like like you know what's going on with this team yeah that I didn't get I mean I wasn't even gonna be I wasn't that upset with Justin Steele look I mean he got uh his final line was six earned runs in six Innings and I didn't do a double take on that because again there was some shoddy defense so I remember in my head being like were a couple of these unearned you know because when you're at the Ballpark you're in the midst of it and you're shouting and you're talking to people and you know you're trying to figure out what's what so sometimes you have to go back to the box score which I did after the game and I was like all right yeah he wasn't Sharp you know he pitched one in the All-Star Game you know sometimes that layoff gets people out of their Rhythm you know they're used to pitching every you know fourth fifth day and all that so I'm not gonna beat down Justin Steele too much even with six earn in six Innings that ballooned his era up to a whole 2.96. he's still great but the middle relief and bringing an advert in when he did was a little bit of a head scratcher I wasn't sure if there there was a need to get him some work I don't really understand that um and then you know Tucker Barnhart coming in there you know when you have your catcher pitching it's always one of those things where it's like you know you know you're trying to have some fun in a blowout as a fan so when we started to Rally a little bit it's like all right hey we're down 11 zip we've seen Weider it's Major League Baseball but there's been weirder come on let's do this and then you see Tucker you know trotting out to the mound and you're like all right well well you and I you have been many late night uh conversations about the direction of this team and that's kind of you and I have talked about spending prospects the whole works and and we're kind of getting close to that trading deadline you know we're about two weeks out from it and you know as from one cup fan to another I mean do you still feel in your heart of hearts that this team is worth investing in and there is an opportunity for them to not just make the playoff yeah let's just go make playoffs do you still think that they feel that there's an opportunity that this team can make the playoffs you know it's tough I mean I remember you know we talked a little bit the other day and I made a crack about Cubs spending but I feel like my context was taken out so I'm gonna give uh your listeners a little background on that uh I was on another podcast and I there was a Reds fan and a pirates fan on that and they were both talking about from their perspective like maybe hopefully we could get a new toy for Christmas they were talking like Tiny Tim some poor kid who just wanted a little thing and it just made me go man you guys shouldn't even be in the conversation with us because we're such a big Market I didn't mean we don't spend and we do and we obviously spend more way more than them I just meant that we are such a Titan compared to look I've been to Cincinnati Ben to Pittsburgh they're nice towns or a city that's what I think I was trying to say and I was the Lost in Translation a little bit on my own then you know I talk too much I make mistakes but as far as do I think this team can make the playoffs this year honestly man if we would have taken two out of three maybe I would have been drinking the Kool-Aid a little bit more I don't know if we can but in the same regard oh this division Carly this division is so not good I feel like 85 wins could really win this division and I don't know if I see a path for 85 presently but I still it still feels like a division where if you're six games back on September 1st you're still in it am I crazy for thinking that maybe um but as far as like being buyers and sellers I almost feel like soft by soft sell Soft Cell meaning like hey we had 55 conversations with strowman we had 55 conversations with Cody Bellinger and his you know agent the very famous Boris Scott Boris and we just don't see eye to eye we need to move them so we could get something we'll try to talk to them in the off season I could totally buy that as a fan and as someone who understands how the world works but in the same regard it'd be great if we kind because you can't sell every year especially going into an off season where you have shohei Matt Chapman and who else who else are the big free agents out there nobody it's a very weak class right so I just feel like I don't want to see a big sell off but in the same regard I'd be like fine if I found out like hey we traded you know this kind of 4a-ish guy for a really awesome reliever and someone else who we think might help us out both the last two months of these this year and maybe down the line and we also flipped Drew Smiley for someone and we dealt I don't you know another Tucker Barnhart whoever right you know what I mean sure then I'd be like all right fine we didn't sell the whole team off we didn't go For Broke either by trying to make a big splash that's for naught or the but then in the same regard like you know I'm reading the other day that San Diego might uh try to trade Soto granted Soto doesn't have much time but say the Cubs did make some weird move and got him I'd be like wow that's thinking outside the box I don't think it's gonna happen Cubs fans don't get crazy with me now but like you know what I mean it's one of those weird and weird spot where it's such a bad division any other year with the Cubs record I mean eight games back you'd immediately it wouldn't even mean we wouldn't even be talking about this crawly because the answer would be so obvious sell that'd be the answer but this division sucks and the question though you have to you know if they do sell that that's three years in a row Joe that's three sell-offs in a row and and at some point in time Marcus strollman he gave an interesting press conference today that we were talking about earlier where he's saying why wouldn't you want to be competitive every year and you know to me I was probably pretty I've been pretty patient with Jed and and and the plan and you have all this stuff but if you're telling me that this is going to be the third sell-off in a row I'm just you know who's where are you going to get the stud pitching from I mean we saw Caleb Killian we saw Hayden Wisniewski and they did okay but you know that's the thing with young pitchers they don't all catch on fire sometimes it takes a little bit more time Justin Steele took a little bit more time but if you're telling me three sell-offs in a row and you're gonna lose both like if you lose what I the thing that bothers me is I know that when you talk about Cody Bellinger Boris will not have his guy sign an extension before hitting the market that will not happen that's not going to happen but Marcus strowman has said a bajillion times I'm hey I'm really willing to talk I'm willing to extend I want to do it here he even said even if I go to free agency I hope the Cubs are there but you you want to be you have to you know for these type of guys you got to be playing with the big boys you can't just sit there and think you're going to get a HomeTown discount that's not going to happen this is probably strollman's last big contract for Bellinger he had to bounce back and he bet on himself and it looks like he made the right bet he's expecting a very big contract so the Cubs have to ask themselves what are they going to do and if they if they lose you know you don't want to lose the guys and not get anything but at the same time would either of those guys be something good to build around I mean I think so and you're right and I agree with everything you just said strowman I mean 32 so this would be his last big contract and he has been clear crystal clear that he wants to be here so I'm at the point as not just a Cubs fan but it's a sensible baseball fan and looking at what you're trying to build over here letting him go I I just don't see where that makes sense what you said about Bellinger yeah he's a Boris guy I think one time and Scott Boris is pretty illustrious and long career has one of his guys signed an extension I think that was Strasbourg once again that's one set of what how many guys so again you have a 0.003 chance of getting a Boris guy to extend so if they trade so if as a fan and is someone who understands business a little bit I like to thank at least the base the business of baseball if they were to trade Ballinger but extend strowman like in the same week I could be okay with that exactly 100 the same but if you lose both of them yeah like like okay so you know I don't know what Jameson taione is I don't know if this is just you know sometimes Cubs pitcher free agent pitchers their first year they struggle a little bit because Roman wasn't the stud last year John Lester took him about half a year to get going you know I don't know what you have in them I know Justin Steele's you know looks like he's still an All-Star again uh that should have been two earned runs today not six I agree you know that should have been an error on Nico Nico said it himself David Ross said it everyone knows that Nico makes that play 99 out of 100 times and that's why I had to look up in the Box course I remember being like that wasn't an error it was a weird thing but yeah you're right and there's no doubt that the Cubs have a lot of good pitching on the way when you talk about Ben Brown when you talk about Jordan Wicks when you talk about these guys and who knows maybe you see what happens with Miguel and Maya this year all you know he came back from the dead that guy was you know three years he didn't basically play baseball he's injured didn't do much and played only a couple games and now you're like oh this is something maybe Braylon Marquez is that same kind of sure story you don't know but that's you're you're hoping for a lot of things to break your way and that's the thing is that when it comes to you know a center fielder I think with PCA you got about as as much of a can't miss as possible when it comes to prospects Matt Mervis I think Matt Mervis can still have a really I looked at his numbers his numbers were no different than Anthony Rizzo's when he came up in San Diego he he had a really poor showing in San Diego Rizzo did and got sent back to the miners yeah and so I I I feel more comfortable about that but but the pitching like like I said when you have a guy strowman's leading MLB and quality starts and you know it's to me it's just there's there's there's I feel like that this is a pivotal moment right now for whatever Jed's rebuild is and if he decides to start selling I mean how long does Tom Ricketts keep doing this because this has been what now this is a while and like I said I I you know slid that in there on purpose I wanted the fans to realize I said yes I was part of the 37 000 people at Wrigley Field it was a Sunday afternoon 90 not 90 it was 85 Degrees Sunday 85 degree day in July should have had 40 000. right and thirty seven thousand look that's still a great crowd but 50 were Red Sox fans I feel like if I'm Tom Ricketts I'm thinking this used to be 40 000 easy and there has been a little bit we've seen a Crawley we know a lot of your season ticket holder we know tons of season ticket holders and they'll tell us I'm having trouble reselling some tickets that says something there's a lot I like about Chad there's a lot I like about the moves they've made and I'm a big Rossi guy too I know some people there's some stuff they'll make you scratch your head here or there but overall I still think there's some good there a lot of good there I but you do have to think to yourself you first of all aren't you getting annoyed with selling I'm sure from a from a trading standpoint it might be fun maybe I could steal another PCA and all that and I'm a big believer in PCA because he's got he's the type of guy that even if his Bat is slow to progress like early going and there's going to be some of that we got spoiled the last go-run where everyone came up hitting immediately that rarely happens we just got it all came together PCA is his glove is a two War a year right and he hits even League average he's going to be a four War player just because that glove is fantastic so I look at it this way there's it's a week for Asian class show has the prize right if you're not doing all you can to extend strowman because if I'm showing why would I go to a team that's selling off yet again it's just when it makes sense at his point of view he could go anywhere but there's really only about four or five markets they could afford his asking price he's going to be at least 500 million we're one of those markets Cubs Yankees Red Sox Dodgers maybe one or two other ones that could maybe be a dark horse but for the most part we're in that conversation why wouldn't you do all you can to show him hey we're serious Marcus strowman has made statement after statement I want to be here for the long time sign him he's asking for it even Ballinger which again we both just said two minutes ago you gotta train you gotta trade him but I think that dude is like hey I like hit here he clearly likes in Chicago he probably found a place where he could get his little funny cigarettes you know what we're talking about he's got it right across the street from the ballpark right across from the ballpark he's got his munchy spots all right he's a chill dude he's probably enjoying being here I could see him saying to Boris like hey like yeah I know you're the man with the plan who wants to give me as much money as possible but I really enjoy being here but again if they trade him I understand that the only way I wouldn't understand it is if they're not at least having the conversation I think that's what has been upsetting to us as Cubs fans a little bit because every now and then we hear stuff where it's like they haven't even talked to him like stroma made it seem like they haven't even picked up a phone and that was the thing that kind of would frustrate us a little bit because it's like listen I can understand making the move but I don't understand not calling him up talk to these people at least try because like you said uh PCA is still very young right he's in double A they don't like jumping double A to AAA or two majors too often I imagine he's gonna get promoted to Iowa very soon and even so the idea of him breaking with the big league team next year unlikely you sign a guy like Ballinger who again I don't think he's looking for seven years right it's his first Good Year in three seasons you could probably get him for a three to four year extension at not insane money but you know he's a plus glove in center field if PCA knocks on the door you move him over to first base no problem Mervis could DH like there's leeway now there's more options with the DH internationally than there has been before wait wait Joe are you telling me that the DH can be played by somebody that's not a backup catcher I know right or a guy that has um Megabus miles between Des Moines and Chicago that's just a greyhound Megabus isn't a thing anymore but Greyhound points is what I should have said I mean my God you it'd be nice if we didn't have look I like young solid hitter good catcher he should not hit the words DH next to his name in a lineup some of these guys like talkman has been very solid he's kind of surprised a lot of cubs fans like he's been a guy where you're like yes this is what a fourth outfielder should be good defense showing the bat a little bit kind of like a Chris Coughlin not that long ago but he should not have the words DH next to his name either it should be a guy who freaking puts fear into the picture and that's to me that's where I sit here and I am frustrated beyond belief is is I don't think that there is that guy on the Cubs that anybody fears there's nobody you know like when you said sometimes you you're looking in a roster and you're just looking it's like who on the Cub scares you who is who's the boogeyman that you're like oh man we got to be careful don't put anyone out in front of this guy because this guy can really get it's not nobody it's nobody yeah no it's true there really isn't anybody and I was talking about the friend today at the game and he said Belcher started real hot but what happened I'm like oh he missed a month and he he follows baseball a little bit but not that great and I was like I said the Cubs offense this going into this season I knew I was gonna like their starting pitching bullpens are always a mystery year to year but we had done a good job the last few years of you know putting together a really nice Bullpen you know you know there might be a couple hiccups along the way but by the end of the year you're like yeah that was a solid unit offensively I looked at this team and I thought look I like Nico I I love I like hap like Dansby say I still have some stuff to prove but I remember thinking to myself if we could get 2019 Bellinger if we could get I kept saying if we could get this version of each one of these guys then we could have something but you can't have that many ifs going into a lineup you know like if this guy could do this if that it's just not you need that one staple that one guy in that middle that you just know the back of his baseball card is going to be the same year after year after year and we had that first stretch and we just don't have that now and it is funny because you look at the history of the Cubs even when they were bad they still have that one guy in the Middle where you're like that guy is going to put some damage on the baseball whether it was the 90s with Samberg and Dawson or Sosa those years and all that stuff there was always that one guy that we know was there to sell tickets but still put the fear in right now we have so many complimentary pieces that if we could just add that one guy that guy who's parentally and the Silver Slugger MVP conversation then then we're talking about some here then we could go back to being um you know the the big sticks of the NL Central like we should be and and the thing I feel like really kind of kills us right here is that you were hoping Ian's to have that last year was just the beginning of him taking that next step I don't feel he has I said say a Suzuki you know first year in in in uh you know playing in the states I said you know give him a little leeway I thought that this year he was going to come out remember how big and excited we were at uh spring training and got us all jacked up and we're like oh this guy's gonna hit like 30 40 home runs and like he's like on Pace for like 16 it's like those are your corner spots you're looking at all your corner spots at first and and right and left and third and you have no power from anywhere there's nowhere to generate power yeah there is I mean you're right yeah Saya came into spring training like he was on the Marvel diet I mean he looked like an Avenger he looked awesome and we're thinking all right this is the guy and they're still like you know he's shown flashes but but he just hasn't put it all together for any kind of stretch to make me confident him at all and Ian um is there really a guy who I'm like this guy should be batting second because even last year as an All-Star and he'll get he had an awesome season last year as an All-Stars Gold Glove Love Field there his power still wasn't there I think he only finished with like 17-18 home runs so his power dip but he was still getting on base at a good clip and he still gets on base pretty good now but just the I just don't know where his slugging went so I almost want to see him batting second right now put Ballinger Swanson third when he's back hitting by the way I did see Dansby Swanson in batting practice today I gotta imagine he's gonna be back very soon because he was hitting some shots that's some good news Cubs fans I think swans will be back very soon you know that's the thing is if you're you must have got in pretty early to catch him you know do an MVP huh yeah it was um incredibly early it was like 11 like just right when the gates opened he was just finishing up and he's easy to tell because he wasn't wearing his hat so he had those locks guys oh yeah fantastic hair that Dansby Swanson you wonder if he's got like a shampoo conditioner deal something like that you know like a head and shoulders he would be a perfect Head and Shoulders guy I know their NFL players were doing some commercials for them for a while but swansby should definitely be on that and I know his wife's got some wonderful hair so if they have children those are gonna be some athletes right there as we all know she's a professional soccer player the Cubs should draft one of those kids soon just you know last round pick just to get the family involved but he was he was out there he's wearing the baby blue I think he likes wearing that baby blue long sleeve shirt that you'd wear under a city connect Jersey and Clara is dead he was out there so hopefully he's gonna be back soon and Nico's he's been an awesome shortstop it just was I don't know it wasn't his day uh but that was the thing you're right we're talking about those corner pieces where you're supposed to be getting the power the power is not there and left uh the power's not there and right and it's really you know Third Base been a revolving door a little bit I mean Christopher morale I'm very happy with the way he's been like you know I don't have a lot to complain about with morale he'll go through his yeah morel's a guy that's going to have a week where it's like yeah he was two for 18 this week with you know 12 strikeouts that's just how he is as a player but I think at the end of the season his Ops is around 900 right now at the end of the year if he's around 8 50 that's a successful year I think he's I think he's really coming to his own as a hitter but yeah he's gonna have weeks or two and and look there are guys who are printing All-Stars that are gonna have weeks where they look like crap for a week that's just how it goes but I definitely like what I see out of him I just don't know what his position is going to be have you guys if you made a decision if you were in charge of the Cubs where would you put him I I wonder if you know boy I was talking like maybe you know you move Nico to Third and and and you keep dancing being short and you keep uh Morel at second is probably it's some sort of shift like that but he's got to play second I think that's really that or DH and yeah he looks way more comfortable at second he's got better athleticism Third Base I just don't know if his he's a little slow to react or just his arm isn't his can I don't know what it is you're right he doesn't look comfortable third he looks more natural at second base and even though you you know typically want some power Third Base as long as you're getting that power somewhere else who cares like you know so you're taking his power bet from third and putting it to Second and switching with Nico I don't really care about that that's like dumb old school baseboards like you gotta have power at the corners I'm like no you need power I don't care where you get it from at this point you just need it and I know Morel is going to finish the year with close to 30 home runs I think he's got like 17 now I think um yeah maybe he'll get like 26 27 but either way the power's there um I like I like his energy I like the way he Sparks him but I really at the end of the day you look at that lineup and you're like ah it needs shohei Otani it needs just that one guy that you could just pencil in 35 home runs you know 880 Ops 900 Ops 140 you know weighted runs created plus like you just need that one guy that's gonna be there and I just don't and that guy's not knocking the door you can't put that on any of the minor Leaguers just yet you just can't now Christopher Murrell is one of my favorite Cubs and speaking of which you have a new podcast coming out I know you do a lot of podcasts but you know being a cub show tell us about this new Cub podcast you have oh thank you it's also with a fellow a score affiliate um I guess I would call him him an affiliate he's kind of a big deal at the score Lawrence Holmes has a podcast Network called the house of L and Lawrence and I met years and years ago and I've been a guest on his radio show several times throughout the last few years he hits me up saying hey I got an idea for a podcast called my favorite Cub where I want to have you you know monthly podcasts which was great for me because being a comedian and a father of two I don't have as much spare time as I used to have and basically he wanted me to interview famous Cubs fans or Cubs fans of some sort of notoriety to ask them who their favorite Cub was that way it's a podcast where you could go back and listen to previous episodes you know and you run a great podcast here and it's awesome but I know like hey I was out of town last week I'm not going to go back too far because I already know what happened that's the thing with a sports podcast is it's so up to the minute that if you miss a few episodes you're really not going to go back you're just going to catch up present day so we've done two episodes one with professional wrestler Cole Cabana who's a great wrestler he was with WWE he's with aew now which is a big thing they're on TNT on Wednesday nights and his favorite was Ryan Sandberg classic then I had stand-up comedian Mike bridenstein who has been on the Eric Andre show has done a bunch of stuff for Comedy Central hilarious dude and his favorite player was Andre Dawson and they both told some really phenomenal stories uh cold Commander told the story about how he used to call into the score and he remembered calling into the score when the Cubs got Steve bouchelle he was like yeah he's gonna be the guy Steve bouchelle's gonna be the guy that ends the third base curse remember because for a while it was like we haven't had anyone since Ron Santo at the hot corner and it made me laugh because Steve bouchelle long time Cubs fans will know he had a classic early 90s mullet oh yeah and then Brian Stein talked about meeting Andre Dawson you know being a long time spring training guy sometimes famous Cubs historic Cubs will uh do autograph signings they'll just announce hey this guy's sending autographs over here go say hello and he was at the game and didn't know him but he heard Hunter Dawson signing autographs over there he froze he froze like out of a movie and his wife had to tell Andre tossen what to sign like Andre said what do you want me to sign and he was so like shell shocked that he met his hero that he just pointed at the baseball and I'm just like yeah yeah signed the baseball but what do you want it to say pointed again and finally his wife was like can you just write to Mike because he was just such a child being like Oh my God I'm meeting Andre Dawson he wanted to say hey I wish you would have gotten a hold of Eric Shaw and really punch him in the face because I hated that guy growing up like he wanted to just relive all the late 80s Cubs early 90s Cubs talk with Andre Dawson and it's a really good listen so if you're a Die Hard Cubs fan you want to hear about other people's favorite Cubs check out my favorite cub and it's available wherever you listen to podcasts and the house developers type in House of Val you'll find it absolutely and where can people find you on social media because you're still a good Twitter follower man I still love it when you come out there thanks man you know I really wish um I I still do cubs content on there and I'm hoping to dial it up a little bit more the last month or so it just things got tough with me but I still like to do my Cubs reviews I am on Twitter at Joe kilgallon I also um Instagram I'll share some stuff here there but Twitter's mostly where I talk about the Cubs I'm also on threads the new thing I've tweeted once or twice about the Cubs there but that's still news but anyway Twitter and if you like stand-up comedy and you want to check out my stamp comedy just YouTube My Name type in Joe kilgallon k-i-l-g-a-l-l-o-n and I've got like hours of stand-up comedy content it is not safe to watch in front of your children so please don't do that and it's rated R but I think you'll enjoy it nonetheless and and not only that I've gone and I've seen your stand up and my wife's a big fan of your stand-up we saw we went out to see in Arizona during spring training we had a blast we're super excited because you are going to be the MC for the Club 400 party that will not suck with Joe Madden on August 17th so if you have not got your tickets I I got to talk to our friend Stuart and see if they're sold out yet I got a feeling they're pretty close gotta be but but but Joe is going to be emceeing it and you've done these events both for the Cubs and for Club 400 in the past so it's going to be awesome I'm so excited for that and I don't know if you've admitted on air but you did such a smart job with trying to get him to do what Joe Manson have you talked about this not no not too much all right I won't talk about it but I'll just say this this is another incentive for your listeners to support Club 400 uh usually they have the guest of honor sign something and Carly had a great idea for something for Joe Madden to sign I'll just leave it at that and Joanne's gonna do it and I can't thank you enough because it was a genius idea on your end I actually saw we talked a little bit it's it's a game seven scorecard and I just saw the first mock-up of it and not only is it the scorecard but it has a really cool backing too it's the first ever exclusive Club 400 event you can't get it anywhere other than going to this party so you'll see me there you'll see Joe there and more importantly you'll see Joe Maddon Bobby dernier uh Jody Davis and then who knows who that is Ron Coomer I mean it's just gonna be a blast so Joe I'm looking forward to it I'm looking forward to catching the game with you soon Buddy can't wait can't wait for all that stuff love you Carly thanks bud take care In this segment, Dustin and Crawly look at the newly released 2024 Cubs schedule, discuss whether Joe Girardi stays with Marquee Network or take the Northwestern University baseball coaching job, update the injury outlook for Nick Madrigal and Dansby Swanson, and preview the upcoming series against the Nationals. this is the fly the w670 podcast it's episode 53 of season number two why would the Cubs not want to be competitive Crowley that's the question we're gonna have to keep asking ourselves as we start the third segment of the podcast let's take a look at the standings right now yeah it's uh like you said it looks like Cincinnati is finally cooling off the Brewers pull off the sweep and they are in first place at 52 and 42 7-3 in their last 10 four game winning streak and on the flip side Cincinnati's 50 and 44. they're five and five in their last ten and on a four-game losing streak and then you have the Cubs eight games back 43 and 49 Pittsburgh at 41 and 52 and then St Louis in the basement at 40 and 53 and so I don't know if you saw this uh Dustin St Louis making the announcement that we are for sale we have players for sale so I don't gosh I can't ever remember really much many times in my life that uh St Louis is having a fire sale but supposedly not the first baseman and not the third baseman they're gonna sell everybody except for those two guys and they're looking to sell all their pitching off from what I read this morning really because I'm just trying to figure out what you really want if you don't if you're not talking if you're not talking the first and third baseman you know I mean those are the guys that are going to be they might be thinking they might be thinking the same thing Crowley long term like this division is winnable so you make a couple of you make a couple of key moves but again you know if they were to let that first baseman and that third baseman walk out the door they're in for a long long rebuild which I'm all for for them sure no problem all right the other news Crowley and I don't know that this is breaking news but it's definitely something we have to to mention I guess but the Cubs have agreed to terms with seven players from the draft including the first rounder Matt Shaw yeah so you got Matt Shaw the fifth round the sixth round the eighth round ninth tenth and 18th round six of the first ten top 10 picks of science so you know it's just a process that you kind of want to go through and you don't want to kind of lose these guys we've seen that happen before and on other teams so uh good start right away now I've been you know I'm not the only one a lot of people have been impressed with all the reporting that's been going on at 670 score with the situation at Northwestern University um we know about the football coach is gone and now the head baseball coach is gone and John morosi is reporting that Joe Girardi is on the radar for that recently uh head baseball coach opening that just came up now Crowley I did not get catch as much of the games on television this week and I was on the app I did watch today and I did not have you heard anything like it has it been brought up on Marquis if Joe Girardi was even would even did they even talk Northwestern did you see anything like that I heard nothing about Northwestern no I did not but everyone knows Joseph I just think no disrespect to Northwestern I just think that Joe Girardi's way too qualified to be the head coach of Northwestern baseball unless it's just something that he sees as a calling and he likes to be here he wants to be back home but that would also take him off a marquee right and then he has to kind of make that decision on what he wants to do so just interesting that his name's popping up this is now the second time that his name has popped up with a head baseball coach opening but obviously this being totally different his alma mater and being where he grew up uh you know and where his family's roots are right now I think that's he might pause and really have to give that some thought you know what I mean right and I know something that gets you excited every single year middle of last week I think right after we recorded the first podcast uh MLB announced the 2024 baseball schedule I gotta tell you Dustin nothing makes you know me man I I got so excited because it's like you get to plan and you get to think and not saying that this year's over but you know I I like kind of seeing what's going to happen in the future so for me uh that that is that's really where I'm kind of like you know just looking at it now there are some bizarre little uh hiccups in this schedule that I looked at and you know they don't play I'll I know they're doing this whole 30 team thing but you don't go the first month without really playing a divisional opponent they're gonna open up um on March 28th against the Rangers okay so that's going to be the Rangers home opener and then they're going to have their Wrigley home opener is going to be April 1st April Fool's Day um against the Rockies now the thing that kind of interested me here is that when they play that opening Series against Texas Texas a dome stadium but but they still have that day off that next day off do you know what I'm saying it doesn't make any I don't get that at all like right and then and then for the first time that I can remember in a long time the Cubs have their opening Series uh April first second and third but they don't have the next day off to me the understanding of that next day off is if God forbid you know Chicago weather in April you never know what you're gonna get that if that if the game gets you know knocked out because of weather you got you know you can go the next day but they're not doing that so I thought that was interesting but there is no division opponents that the Cubs play Central Division opponents in April that's just crazy it just doesn't I mean it doesn't make I mean I I hate that you would open the play interleague I think that's awful I mean everybody should open in my opinion everybody should be opening with division games where it makes sense okay you get gotta get the you know Cincinnati should be opening the Cubs could be at the Reds that would be okay you know um the Cubs could be at the Brewers the Brewers should be home because they've got the dome roof right or you could be down in St Louis because they usually their weather has kind of cleared out usually by then so you could you could get the Reds the Brewers and the Cardinals hosting and one team at each one that that's my opinion I I think it's absolute crap that you start interleague with interleague play it's bad for the Rangers too it's bad for everybody I do like the idea that everybody is opening on March 28th that's the part I don't get March 28th everybody is playing baseball you I'll bet right now when we're doing uh season three episode whatever there's gonna be gonna be a ton of cancellations that first day all right let's keep moving Crowley um let's keep going they do have a couple interesting road trips you know people may want to kind of check out uh they have a series against Seattle we saw that at the All-Star Game it looked like a great place to go they got a series against the Red Sox in April as well um one thing fantastic April in Boston um you know and then the one thing that's really kind of interesting is you take a look in uh you're going to see a couple old friends come back for the first time you're going to have Javi Baez coming back to Chicago for the very first time this time as a d as a uh Detroit Tiger yep right and you're going to have Anthony Rizzo coming for the first time back so that Series against the Tigers is going to be in August so I'm sure that's going to be a hot ticket to you know to see Javi and and you know there's a lot of good memories there so and then that Yankee series is going to be uh in September right right it's September 6th okay yeah NFL the NFL will be here by then again um also speaking of Anthony Rizzo unbelievable stat he's he's got the longest streak of like not having a home run or something crazy his Like Home Run numbers are just so so bad right now right so you know the only thing is is you take a look there's a lot of things he does offer as well and when you look at the Cubs they have their since Anthony Rizzle left their combined war is zero at first base yeah so first base is an issue yeah first base is definitely an issue what's usually not an issue Crowley is shortstop but we did see an error today that uh led to a big inning and Dansby Swanson we've seen him batting we've seen him taking uh we've seen him taking grounders but he's uh still not a hundred percent so he's still not on the big league roster at this moment the active roster anyway right there was a little issue when it came to running full speed so he's still not 100 percent um some good news Nick magical could go on a rehab assignment uh by the time the Cubs Go on their next road trip which would be against St Louis uh and he won't need that many at bats before returning remember magical was looking good at third he was pretty hot when he left today this was interesting news the Cubs have reacquired catcher PJ Higgins from the D-backs uh Higgins was on the Cubs for since 2015 and he had he had some moments as he as he played with the Cubs but what does that say to you what what message is that to you what do you think that is their catcher and AAA Dom Nunez got injured so I mean you wonder about that but at the same time you also maybe wonder if one of I would say tucker Barnhart if there's a contender kicking the tires on Tucker Barnhart we talked about selling buying our sellers there's different there's what we call the hot the Hard Sell the you know and the Soft Cell and all that stuff if you're maybe just selling a couple pieces like Tucker Barnhart is not going to be part of your future you know if you want to kind of I don't know about Kyle Hendricks you know he may be someone that you would sell but it's not like he would be completely you know Irreplaceable so maybe Tucker might be and John Gomes has had a really nice Year too so teams might want to look at him for leadership I I think with Gomes I think the Cubs are going to stick with him next year as well and I think it's going to be the Gomes Amaya and they're going to split up the time all right another guy that isn't going to be with the Cubs is Rowan Wick released by the Iowa Cubs my guess is that that it was Roland Wick's agent or people that asked if he could have his release and the Cubs granted him uh he played he appeared in 146 games with the Cubs over four seasons but injuries really derail this career and he's never really been able to get it back on track good luck to Rowan Wick whatever is next for him all right Crowley uh Monday night Nationals in town one of the worst teams in baseball so hopefully this is a uh an opportunity for the Cubs to uh sweep get fat whatever you want to say but this is not a good Nationals team that's coming into town yeah we saw the Nationals um and that was at the end of April beginning of may they went on this road trip that was a disaster they got swept by the Marlins and they lost three of four to the Nationals uh Drew Smiley won game one pitching seven Innings of one run ball I missed that true Smiley Dansby Swanson went three for five with a home run a double and had two RBIs the Cubs won it five to one in the second game Hayden wesnisky threw six Innings of one run Ball but Keegan Thompson gave up three runs in relief and the Cubs lost four to one Marcus strowman if you remember at the beginning of the Season got no run support that's what happened against Washington um he went six Innings of one-run ball but the Nationals won two to one and then in the finale Jameson tyon only went three Innings and gave up three runs the Cubs game Cubs came back and they had to tie it up but then Alex call hit a walk-off Homer off Brad Boxberger and the Nationals took three of four in that series early on in the season yeah it was a long time ago it feels like but uh this is a team that is not playing well at all won't even recognize half the names let's uh talk a little bit about the probables yep we got Drew Smiley so um with Mr Smiley it's one of those things that like we said it's just been um he's been struggling lately and and that's kind of just the the best way to say it and you're hoping that this is how you want to kind of see how these guys respond from the break to me especially looking at Smiley and looking at tyon uh how are these guys gonna do well we talked about the fact that uh you know lately Smiley hasn't been giving you Innings and he's been giving you up about four runs so he's really taxing the bullpen against the Yankees he got foreign runs in four Innings against Milwaukee he went 3.2 Innings and gave up three runs and Philadelphia he went 3.2 inning and gave up seven runs so this guy has been on The Struggle Bus [Laughter] a struggle bus I haven't heard that one before good that's a good that's a good one Carly that's a new one for me yeah and so he's gonna be going up against Mackenzie Gore um he lost the game against the Cubs the last when he played them you know he went four Innings gave up four and uh foreign runs uh but in his last three starts you know you're looking at him he hasn't gone very deep at all and so he only pitched uh in 1.1 Innings and gave up a hit against Cincinnati on 7-6 on 7-1 he went 2.2 Innings and gave up seven earned runs against the Phillies and then against San Diego he went five innings and gave up uh one earned run which isn't bad but he's he's obviously struggled a little bit yeah just a little bit let's move into game number two and I'm really excited about this one Carly this one's got you excited all righty well the question you want to ask is you all remember what uh Jameson tyon did before he went on break uh to the Yankees you know he absolutely dominated the Yankees clearly his best start is era almost went down a full run on that one and so is are we going to see more of that or are we going to see more of the uh taione that struggled most of the season so against the Yankees eight Innings one hit against Cleveland he went five innings gave up four earned runs to start before that and then against Phillies uh he went five innings and gave up five runs again so man we need to see the guy that absolutely took apart the Yankees and if he can do that again that would be great but just that would be excellent Crawley keep in mind that right after the after uh talion did that the Yankees fired their hitting coach so yeah yeah that's never a good sign when when when that happens no no Sean Casey got that job so we'll see how he does in that role um haven't paid much attention to how the Yankees have done out of the break because I'm worried about the cups yep and so they're going to go up against uh Patrick Corbin will be the starter then for uh the Nationals there's a name I know I recognize that name Crowley well you know and and he did face off against the Cubs previously so um you know the thing about Corbin is he's a veteran pitcher and he's a guy that that really kind of knows what he's doing and so you're you're looking at the start and you're saying to yourself all right what what do we have here with this guy you know and and is he someone that you can absolutely beat yes you could beat him but it's I just don't know what Cub's offense I'm going to see day to day and that's what has me worried is is that we looked at the game today against the Red Sox and said to ourselves um you know you know it looks like they just changed the problems now that I'm looking at it looks like Trevor Williams is going and so Trevor Williams I don't know that name Crowley yeah you do he was on the Cubs okay wow he was on the Cubs remember on Marquee they used to always show his dad his dad would be at all the games and they'd always show them he was probably oh okay yes he was part of the uh Javi Baez trade to get Pete Crow Armstrong yes and so taking a look here with uh Trevor Williams you don't have again this is not a guy that you should lose to but I remember they lost to him when they went out there in uh earlier in the year he went 5.1 Innings and gave up zero and runs against the Cubs last time against St Louis he went 2.2 Innings gave up one earned run against Texas he went six Innings and gave up four earned runs against Philadelphia he went five innings and gave three earned runs but uh you know he's one of those guys that you know he's not a really good pitcher but he dominated the Cubs last time they faced him so let's see what happens this time around let's see that's all we can do let's see let's see what happens this time around I've got I've got high hopes for this series and then game number three we've got Kyle Hendricks back out there he's got to bounce back yeah and again I I am literally going to be waiting and trying to listen to Tommy Habibi I want to know what's going on with the battery with Hendrix and Amaya um and this one right here that is Hendrix versus the legendary pitcher TBD so uh Kyle Kyle Hendricks at this point his last start against Boston which I got to watch 4.2 Innings he gave up five earned runs a lot of solo home runs going out of there against the Yankees he won five point two innings game of 10 hits four earned runs so those are the two Barnhart starts and then we talked about the Milwaukee starting when six Innings gave up one earned run when he pitched to Amaya so my get my guess right now and I'm just guessing because uh I saw what the probables were earlier so my guess is something happened to Corbin and they've kind of had to shift around a little bit so we don't know um who who Washington is going to throw for that third game so uh we'll hopefully get some more information on that later and and see oh see okay so it looks like I see it right now he was placed on paternity leave ah there you go well congratulations to him all right Crawley hot not let's get into it we know who's hot for the Cubs that that I know you you know who's that all right so Cody Bellinger with a with a you know Cody Bellinger it could not be hotter four for eleven with three home runs six RBIs slash and uh 364 417 1.102 Christopher morels in one of his hotter streaks he's five for 12 with two RBIs he's slashing 417 462 417 so those are who is hot for the Cubs oh no who's not I also know who's not yeah oh it is absolutely killing you is these are the two guys that are usually in the middle of your order right right this is the guys he's supposed to strike three and fourth they were batting three and fourth for most of the season in the last 11 at Batson had has two hits no home runs no RBIs he's slashing 182 250 182 did you see him yesterday throw I mean today throw his helmet kick his Bat he after a strikeout I mean he is mentally not in a good place no she's still throwing guys out but he's not able to hit the ball say a Suzuki one for his last 12 no home runs no RBIs batting .083 uh one five four on base and 0.083 slugging so your cleanup hitter is slugging .083 that is bad bad that not good that is not good all right let's get to the uh Nationals who who should Cub fans be paying attention to when it comes to hot Nationals the guy I'm most concerned with is Dominic Smith first baseman three for his last ten he has two RBIs slashing 300 462 600 also keep an eye out on CJ Abrams shortstop he's hitting six for his last 13 with one home run and One RBI he's slashing um CJ slash m462-462-923 so those are the guys you kind of want to be looking out for and who do they not have to worry about ill the model Vargas that name's ring a bell does not short stuff for the Cubs it was an absolute disaster he got df8 I want to say it was last year um but he was two for his last 12 slashing 167 231 250. so the fact that they've had to literally you know get ill tomorrow Vargas and then actually give him at bats just tells you where they are and then center fielder Alex call is one for his last 11 but he does have an RBI in two uh one a home run and two RBIs he's slashing .091.167.364 All Right Carly let's do some predicting you want to go first or second yeah I got the Cubs taking two out of three uh you know this is just a really bad Nationals team and if you can't take two out of three Dustin then I just say pack it up you're done get out the brooms Crowley Cubs are going to use a sweep they're gonna sweep they need to sweep they're gonna sweep so you got them two out of three I gotta sweep that's a wrap don't forget to listen download review And subscribe to the fly the W podcast follow us on the socials Facebook book Instagram and of course you can email us fly the w670 gmail.com and now you can watch us Crowley on YouTube by subscribing to the 670 The Score YouTube channel Crowley have a great uh start to your week and we'll pick it back up after the Cubs sweep the Nationals and then we'll be there you know win or lose we'll be cheering so let's go Cubs hey guys it's Crawley thanks for watching if you enjoyed this video please don't forget to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel for more content like this if you want to see more of our videos be sure to check out our playlist and let us know what you think in the 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