Cubs Talk breaks down Kyle Hendricks and Ian Happ’s resurgences, Hector Neris’ status

the Chicago Cub suddenly remember it's legal for them to win multiple games in a row they beat the San Francisco Giants two out of three games there are plenty of great things to take away from that series including the Resurgence of Kyle Hendrick the sudden hitting surge of Ian hap and also we do have a few slightly negative things to bring up and one olympic sized feet per perfect for an NBC company on the eve of the Summer Olympics I am James Novo this is the latest edition of the Cubs Talk podcast I joined today by an esteemed panel that includes uh Mr Nate Poppin over there at NBC Sports Chicago and Peter Marzano in the Marzano cave somewhere in Chicago boys how are you doing today tremendous tremendous not too bad I am on Cloud9 right now I got to uh partake in my first ever Redline double head yesterday got to see the Cubs win that F4 mention game six to5 despite a Grand Slam by Jorge Solair by the way fun fact boys the last time the Cubs won two games in a season where they gave up a grand slam 2016 so clearly the Cubs are on Pace to win their second World Series in eight years I think we can uh cancel the rest of the P I'm being told Tony Gil is shouting in my ear we cannot cancel the rest of the podcast so let's go ahead and go to the list of topics here that we have today and we have to start of course with the professor the only man I would ever go to for summer school Kyle Hendrick absolutely phenomenal outing yesterday gave up one run struck out eight batters another thing I did not know was legally possible Kyle Hendrick striking out multiple batters in a game honestly really nice swing and Miss stuff uh four games this month guys henrix has pitched about 14 Innings he's given up eight hits one earned run and he has struck out 12 batters while cutting his ER by almost three full runs I got to I mean the question that we have to ask here is I know the Cubs have had a ton of different issues with their starting pitching rotation this season but Kyle Hendricks comes back into the rotation yesterday in the place of uh Ben Brown has a really solid game uh Nate I'm going to start with you what's it been the key at least for Kyle Hendrick's recent really strong pitching performances for the Cubs well I think you you sort of uh glossed over the the uh strikeout numbers obviously are very impressive and not sort of what we're used to seeing from him uh in in seasons of late but I think my biggest thing is the the gag g under home runs I mean he's been he'd been he'd given up what 11 home runs over his previous 36 Innings and he's not walking anyone either like three three walks to 12 strikeouts that'll play Anywhere uh and it doesn't seem like he's benefiting from a low babip that much over over his last uh what four four appearances four outings that one start uh opponent batting average is 163 the bad UPS 216 so it's not that you know drastic of a it's not like all of that opponent batting average being low is because of B batting average balls in play it's just that maybe he's just locating better maybe he's just tweaked he tweaks something maybe because of the the demotion to the pen or the re the reallocation to the pen I don't want to really call it it Theo motion it was just what the club needed at the time uh and now the club needs them back in the rotation and it could be for the foreseeable future because we don't know what the status of aen brown is we don't you know uh they don't really have a lot of other options in the miners that are like totally Major League ready right now um and then of course you had you had Kane Horton going on fraternity so it's like there's just a multiple things happening where it just worked out that hey K Hendricks you know stem stem this losing tide here get us a series win first one in what it seemed like it seems like a year but I know it's not a year yeah uh first first uh win in a series win in a three-game series in over a month for the Chicago Cubs so yeah you are right on the ball with that Peter I love something that Nate said which was kind of the indication that Hendrick is giving up fewer hard hit balls giving up fewer home runs of the five hardest hit balls he had yesterday on a day The Wind by the way was howling out at Wrigley Field only one of those went for a base hit I would posit that the fact that any contact he is allowing when he is allowing contact and giving up eight strikeouts uh he's just not allowing as hard of contact and even when it is it's usually being hit right at guys and frankly that's kind of what you want out of a guy like Kyle Hendricks you want his uh uh his placement of his pitches to be that good that he's giving up that weak contact and kind of letting that defense do the work behind him yeah definitely I mean look that pinpoint Precision has been how Kyle Hendricks has made his money in his name over the course of his career if we look back at his prime I mean it was I mean of course specifically his change up but really all of his pitches would be so immaculately located and I do think that's something that we've seen a bit this month from Kyle Hendrick obviously his outing yesterday and his first start back in the rotation was excellent and everything the Cubs needed I do I do find it fitting that for the second straight year he kind of has that coming out start against the San Francisco Giants this time he gets to do it at Wrigley Field which is nice but I also look back to that previous game where you know he filled in for Jordan Wicks after that injury against the St Louis Cardinals and that was a game where I I believe he pitched over four Innings it was four and a third or four and two thirds but he only had one strike out and to me that was looking at a lot of the Vintage Kyle Hendricks that we're used to seeing his change up was working I think another thing that's worth noting and this was something that we even talked about when he was really struggling early in the season is that the velocity is actually up on all of his pitches by a very slight amount this season I think now that he's been able to locate those pitches a bit better in the month of June we're starting to see the Kyle Hendrick that we're familiar with um I would caution that this is you know that we should write him in as you know being the Stellar Kyle Hendricks that we we've been used to seeing for the rest of the season but this is about as encouraging as it gets this was a guy that could not get his erra below double digits and as bad as a 7.46 erra is I mean when you look at how Gastly was at the beginning of the Season it really is quite remarkable how well he's played recently and it's good that he was just able to slide into that spot in rotation I think all of us were probably pretty nervous that he was going to in that first start back and you know he just shows how stoic and composed of an athlete he is and hopefully we see that continue and I I wouldn't just say hopefully I mean the Cubs really do need it they need every bit especially with how well the starting pitching has been to kind of no avail in the past month it's been really solid and it hasn't even resulted in a lot of one game so they really need that one component that has been consistent to stay that way even in the face of injuries and it is really encouraging to see what we've seen out of Hendrick so far in the month of June I did want to ask you Nate I I had kind of the same thought that Peter did after the performance against the Cardinals where yeah you came in they were not really planning on seeing you pitch on that day there's always kind of that Scouting Report component to it where you kind of take advantage of being able to throw that out the win wind window rather and kind of Ambush some guys I thought that he came in yesterday against the Giants and just executed his pitches in a really good way it was just mowing guys down especially early in the game and do some weak contact later I thought that seeing that kind of performance in both of those types of situations one without preparation and then with one with preparation I thought was really a heartening sign for Cubs fans especially with how Hendricks had pitched earlier in the season yeah I I agree especially considering the types of offenses that you're facing so if you really go into the numbers we're we you know we're over a third of the way through the season right now give or take and the Cubs offense and the Giants offense are pretty similar they've hit the same amount of home runs the Giants have scored more runs they have a higher batting average overall as a team the the Cardinals started out the season just drastically horrible on offense they've kind of rounded into form uh you know obviously uh they were they were up in second place in in the division for a little bit there and they've kind of come back uh to what we're kind of used to seeing from the Cardinals but they're they're not like you know a pushover by any means none of these none of these offenses that he's faced recently are uh so I mean that that could be be one thing that people may pull out and say oh it's a small sample size out of the bullpen yada yada the these are real hitters you know real Major League hitters with pedigrees and track records that he's facing here and yes the you could look at the Giants to say that they're little bit of a disappointment this season thus far but they're in the same pack as the Cubs overall in the NL and it's you know it it's just it's it's refreshing to see like like Peter said the bounceback coming against the Giants again and maybe it is a harbinger of more great things to come from uh from Hendrick I know uh Craig conil would would love and welcome that because like you guys said they they need every every last bullet they can get out of that starting pitching staff right now has to basically work out for them because the offense has just been uh lackluster to say the least uh throughout the season uh I know we're going to get into some of the bright spots of as as of late here uh but you know starting pitches has carried the way thus far and it kind of has to continue doing so uh hopefully we get healthier uh you know coming up here because you know the the old Steve Stone adage uh growing up listening to him on both sides of town and you know you can never have too much starting pitching it's always true every year uh you know you can blame the bullpen as much as you want but everything usually just comes back to starting pitching getting deeper in games and just making it a shorter path to uh Victory uh you know night in night out well and you really do have to kind of be hitting your stride here I know we had talked previously on the podcast about this particular stretch of games being a really important make or break type of thing for the Cubs because you had the Cardinals come in you just had the Giants come through these are teams like you said Nate that are kind of really close to the Cubs in the standings you have to be able to make hay in those games they are now three and three so far they've got the Mets for three games at Wrigley Field starting on Friday but then more importantly you've got those Road games looming against the Giants and the Brewers and those are also going to tell you a lot about where the Chago Cubs are right now and speaking of where they are right now they are currently eight and a half games out of first place in the central they are 36 and 39 on the season uh Peter one of those guys that uh Nate was kind of alluding to there was Ian haap a guy that you really were needing to see more out of if you look at his statistics this season his batting average and his on base percentage are right in line roughly with his career averages there so you're kind of you know that's what you're going to expect from me and hat but his slugging throughout the season has been significantly low lower than it has been during his career lately though and I know again we were just talking about small sample sizes this caveat cannot be overstated he's picked up two hits in each of his last five games and five of those have gone for extra bases and he's driven in eight RBI during that stretch and so Peter I'm kind of curious to get your take on the Resurgence of Ian haap what has been your reaction to kind of seeing that uh kind of turnaround from him and him really more importantly uh starting to drive the ball with more Authority rather than just kind of getting on base walks and singles yeah I mean look it couldn't have come at a better time and I know it hasn't completely translated into a ton of wins for the Cubs Gap but I feel like fre and half a lot of times all he needs is give him a weekend in Cincinnati or Pittsburgh and you know things will figure themselves out it is honestly wild how the guy is a Hall of Fame level player against those two teams and you know he is ties to both cities I guess it makes sense in that regard but it's you know seeing him really hit the ball well and recent days like you said driving the ball with authority he's always been a really solid opposite field hitter it was also really nice to see him get a home run from the right side of the plate I mean the power has been the big thing that has kind of lagged this year and to see that kind of come back in the last uh you know in the last week or so and with Dansby Swanson as well I mean Swanson of course hasn't really you know in this recent stretch hasn't really improved his average all that much but still I mean we've seen him slug a whole lot more and his average has still gone up you know around 20 to 25 points so obviously you want to see more out of him but for those two guys who you enter this year and those are two of your middle middle of the order hitters guys that you need to hit the ball out of the ballpark to be getting extra bases and extra base hits and now that we've seen that a bit more recently you know you start to see that maybe this could be the beginning of this offense figuring things out and starting to hit as you know we've had a very hot week in Chicago I know that'll probably be continuing for the next couple of months and that's you know of course a good opportunity for you know for these hitters but you know as we saw in this past week the hot weather doesn't always translate to the wind howling out you know towards Lake Michigan and you know there were a few games where it was quite the contrary for the Cub so you know you still have to you have to deal with every day being different you know you just can't take that as a given but you know I think with Ian ha specifically his play has always been excellent against the division I think as long as we continue to see that that progress happen on both sides of the plate you know you don't you never want to see too big of a discrepancy there you don't want somebody to you know essentially be you don't want to be making somebody's pinch hit move for them if you know there's too much of a discrepancy there between both sides of the plate and it's uh it's good to see him hitting recently but yeah the Cubs are just going to need every single bit of it and you know hopefully the same will come out of danu Swanson as well I definitely want your thoughts on Ian hap as well Nate but I also want to know on a scale of 1 to 10 how much did your jaw drop when he cracked that home run right-handed against the Giants on Monday night I would rate it about a seven out of ten on that scale yeah I'll go I'll go 7.3 uh to toor scale uh but uh no I mean to to Peter's point he always just seems to shine against Cincinnati and especially in Cincinnati uh like just looking at his at his career splits here uh I'm all for realignment because if you can get him playing Cleveland more often uh I'll I'll take that that Ops over a thousand any day but no I mean going into this season I feel like uh the the Cubs management sort of put a lot of eggs in the basket of Chris Morell at third base and and PCA and you know the the the messaging was they they want it to work out and it's more like they need it to work out and in the meantime when those guys aren't you know playing at their best because I know I morel's had his uh hot stretches and then he's had cold spells uh but when those guys aren't doing what you you know quote unquote want them to do or need them to do we haven't you know the the core hasn't exactly lived up to what you expected coming into the into the season especially not going out and adding another big bat you know and just and just sitting with hey we brought back Cody Bellinger you know here you go um so with with Michael Bush coming back to down down to earth from his hot start and and sort of where ha was during that time you know sort of stumbling out of the gate a little bit and you people it seems like every year on on on social media Cubs Twitter we go into this this uh period of Ian haap blah you know and a BN a bunch of fans just talk about Ian haap or whatever but at the end of the year every year you're gonna get the same stats on the back of the baseball card from this guy because he's consistent as as Peter lud do he he can pull he can hit the other way both sides of the plate power's gonna be there like not every game obviously but in big situations and clutch situations in his career he's just proven that he's one of the better players on this club and I I think I don't I don't know what year it's going to happen that that uh you know that that contingent of fans stops doubting inap but uh I I am not any in half doubter uh by any means I you know you know what you're going to get by the end of the season uh you know it's consistency and it's just great to see you know this this recent run like you said that the five games with two hits uh small sample size be damned uh I will I will take that any day of the week I like that we've talked about the need for the Cub star players to really kind of step up and play like their star players because I don't think there is another better example of that than Danby Swanson right now and I think that that's a guy you really need to start hitting the baseball well he's had home runs and back-to-back games and including yesterday I read a really nice piece today by Matty Lee in the Chicago Times about some uh tweaks that Dansby has tried to make to his swing this season uh doing a better job of sinking up his hips with his upper body when he's swinging been a lot of really weak contact that he's had throughout the year we saw that again in a recent stretch where he went six games without a hit but these last couple of games and then a few times I would say during the Cincinnati series as well you saw that sinking up happen and you saw the bats stay in the zone longer hitting more balls in the air to his pole side getting better contact to opposite field the home run yesterday was a good example of that Nate I'm going to throw this one to you I'm kind of curious your take I know this is if we want to talk about small sample size you can't get much smaller than two games and two home runs but if this is the kind of thing that Dansby Swanson is working on and we've seen him lock in at the plate before like he did at the beginning of last season for example that could be a great thing if Dansby Swanson can really start to do that to drive the ball with more Authority and to move up a little bit higher in the Cubs lineup and give them at least another guy that's going to be capable of driving in some runs well if you want to get really into the weeds uh I I believe it was Friday night that his wife mallerie Swanson scored the first goal of the red stars game so if you want to break it down into that he has two home runs since so we just need you we just need both uh sides of that family to keep producing and and maybe that's driving the driving force behind this but no I mean it's it's always been his Achilles eel has always been the strikeouts that that it's they start stacking on top of each other and then that's a lot of cubs fans that's all you see that's all you see is the danu Swanson strikeouts um but yeah he needs he needs to be one of the big Power bats uh on this team I I believe it it when when they signed Swanson I remember uh talking with David Kaplan and said you know the the scouts that he talked to the sourcers that he talked to around the league danc sponson can it you're you're a great team if Dan Swanson is one of your best players you're probably not a playoff team if Dan SW Dan Swanson is your best player um I don't think B danany Swanson is the best player on this team right now but they still sure as hell need him to uh produce like he did down in Atlanta uh I don't think you're you know you're always going to get get the consistent defense from a guy like that that works that hard uh but you know you you're going to have to live with the the the three strikeout games you're gonna have to live with the over four two strikeout games because that's just something that comes with the territory that's kind of who he is and then you're G to get the big three-run knock every once in a while uh but yeah I just I feel like he's one of the guys that you know when you talk about the core it it hasn't always worked out the way that they drew it up on paper when they when they brought him in um and and the consistency hasn't always been there so yeah maybe maybe you know that these last two two homers will get him uh off the schneid and kind of onto the right track and maybe uh further away from the Mendoza Line than than we have been throughout the season here yeah certainly we definitely need him moving away from that I think you're absolutely right when you say that you're willing to live with a couple of strikeouts a game if he's going to drive the ball with authority in those other moments it's kind of that classical uh power hitter Paradox where you'll accept you know 150 strikeouts so long as you hit 25 home runs like that's going to work out uh Peter is that some is that something you agree with or do you think that Dansby needs to be potentially focusing a little bit less on the power stroke and just making sure that he's kind of driving the ball with authority to all Fields I mean look I I I feel like with the way this lineup is designed that he kind of needs to be one of the power bats and I think recently with how he has started to slug the ball more even though his average in that stretch isn't exactly fantastic I mean if that's the kind of production that you're getting out of Dansby Swanson this year you know I'll take I'll take 230 with an increased amount of homers all day over 255 with decreased power so I think you do live with that obviously you know you'd like to see more you know that this is guy that's capable of hitting in the 275 to 280 range and still giving you that power I know that that's not going to happen this season but if if you're able to get the power Resurgence I think that's what the Cubs need because that's been one of the biggest holes on this team this year and I mean that of course doesn't just apply to him I mean it's been something that has affected the roster you know really at every corner Michael Bush of course had the big surge at the beginning of the year and you know hasn't really had that big home run spells since then Christopher Morell you know is has hit home runs in in stretches it seems you know niik horer doesn't really have a ton of power we haven't really SE seen him break out with that yet haven't really seen Miguel Amaya have a big Power swing Cody P Cody Bellinger and SE Suzuki have you know both had injuries and also haven't hit a ton of homers like we know that they're capable of so that that does seem to be the whole in the lineup at this point and I do think that that is something you live with and General in baseball with the way the game is today I think it's something you have to live with I mean home runs are of course what's prioritized by a lot of teams across the league and I think you know I mean look at Kyle schwarber he's the perfect example and in a guy that this team of course infamously let go for nothing but you know the Phillies have made their decision the past couple years that 200 strikeouts is worth 45 to 50 homers and and I would agree with that assessment as well the Cubs don't have a player like that you can't exactly play games with that hypothetical but I think in in Swanson's case if he does become more of a strictly Slugger this year I don't think that that's a bad thing for the Cubs with where they are because they they need the extra Basit they need the slug in because they haven't really gotten it consistently from from anywhere so far this season you mean to tell me that small ball isn't the key to winning games for the Cubs but you could knock me over with a feather after saying that I will also say there is a lot of validity to the a that power is the best solution to facing power pitching which you see all over the big leagues now and so I do think that the Cubs if they want to put a little bit more of a premium on power whether that's at the deadline or just with the way they're kind of approaching counts in these games I think you guys are both right online with that you did mention kind of the injuries that guys like Bellinger and Suzuki have had Swanson also has dealt with injuries Nico Herer has dealt with injuries in fact I'd even venture to say the Common Thread through the Cub season very closely resembles sutures by doctor because literally that has been the impact on every single area of this team and you could probably I'd argue that the biggest area that that's impacted has been their Bullpen because they've just churned through pitchers throughout this season and really left craig council with some very limited options and the one that you always are going to come back to is Hector nerys in the closing role um I don't have to tell Cub fans this they already undoubtedly know it he has not been super great as of late he has blown two saves in his last three appearances has given up seven earned runs and three home runs in his last three appearances Craig Council has said he has no intention whatsoever at this point at least of demoting Hector nerys from that closer role but if suddenly he decides tomorrow against the Mets you know we're GNA go ahead and actually go a different direction with the closing job on this team who do you think he can give the ball to I think your best option for it at this point with is on the B is on the right now and Ben brown but outside of that of course Peter is there anybody in this Bullpen that you would sit there and think to yourself could potentially be the closer for this team that's not named Hector nerys yeah I mean that's what's really tough because you just you stare at the names in the bullpen and none of them are really jumping out to you as somebody that could be a potential closer I mean I've said numerous times and I agree with that assessment that injuries have impacted the bullpen more than any other part of this team I think Julian Maryweather is a big part of that guy that I think would have gotten a chance in this role as I've said on this podcast before and you know his injuries of course have prevented that um I think the Forgotten injury too is against the Almani a guy that never really got to take off with this team in April and has been injured since then he's another guy that probably would get a flyer in that position I mean we've gotten to the point where we saw Colton Brewer in that role in this past week I think with just how the bullpen has performed recently and how the individuals have performed you know I'd be inclined to least see what maybe you would get out of Tyson Miller but that's also tough because he's been so incredibly effective uh in that middle to late inning relief role that he's had so far with the team and he's been the bullpen most effective reliever in that role so far I think that was something that you could have said about Mark lier Jr you know maybe two weeks ago and he's really hit a rough patch uh recently after being seemingly the only Cubs Bullpen pitcher to avoid it up until that point so that is the tough the tough situation that the Cubs are in just really isn't a clear solution here I agree with you James I think Ben Brown has the stuff in in just the Poise to be a closer in the big leagues not that I don't think he has that same amount of pedigree to be a starter but I think he absolutely has the stuff in the velocity to be a knockdown ninth inning pitcher but you know that's of course not an option right now so I I really don't know where you go I mean I think I think like I said I think Miller's maybe your best chance but it might also just be a closer by committee situation until you're a to get one of those guys back and give them a chance I mean you got to look at what Tyson Miller's been able to do since he was acquired he's appeared in 13 games only giving up runs in two of them did give up an earned run yesterday but that was the Jorge Solair Grand Slam wasn't exactly put into the best of uh situations there he has six strikeouts two walks his last eight Innings zra is 2.05 on the season I would certainly give Tyson Miller a look in that role over Hector nerys at least until can get some of the effectiveness back that he's shown in previous stops Nate would you go with Miller or is there somebody else that would potentially jump out to you as an option right now yeah I mean I think you ride the hot hand with with Miller like you said not exactly a great situation he was put in there uh with with Solair at the point I think uh one one name that uh that Peter mentioned Colton Brewer he's the only option other option right right now that even has any quote unquote experience in the minors 24 care career saves in the minor so he has done it before just not at this level uh and you know but when you when you look at the career numbers nerys is the obvious answer overall he just needs to get right uh and I like I I think I've said it maybe maybe even like two months ago on this pod that Ben Brown for me for my money would be uh the best option at closer because you know especially if this injury turns into something that they feel like doesn't allow him to to stack up Innings the way that they maybe thought they wanted him to coming into the season and I the the diagnosis or the words that were chosen by Tri Cil were a little cryptic and a little odd using the word benign I'm not exactly sure what uh what we're talking about here not like almost like not even not even like joking like just um when you use that word it's it just you know it brings up other uh things that usually don't amount to arm injuries or hand injuries but um yeah in a perfect world it's it's Ben brown or maybe you ride the hot hand with Miller uh but it's just a war of attrition uh right now for this Bullpen and it kind it kind of feels like it has been since opening day it's just one thing after another after another and you just have to keep hitting reload and oh what what's the other option what's the next move that the that's the big the biggest uh part of the job that I do not envy uh Jed Hoyer Carter Hawkins uh about because to to constantly have to keep thinking what's next waiting for the other shoe to drop every day uh with this Bullpen um but hey with the Mets coming to town maybe Grimace would be the uh option because they finally lost and their winning streak with Grimace is over so uh maybe they could share uh share the love here and uh and maybe the the big purple guy can uh save a couple games I don't know he'd be better than right now Chicago why on Earth wouldn't Grimace be willing to throw out a first pitch here and give the Cubs a little bit of that rub I demand to know the answer to that question maybe the Hamburglar I don't know just to by the way uh Grimace a taste bud according to McDonald's I know a lot of people have like been like speculating about what Grimace is that's apparently what he is so you know what I'm glad we can bring that knowledge to Cub fans here on the Cub Talk podcast I did want to you something you mentioned Nate the um kind of cryptic remarks by Craig Council about Ben Brown did throw for the first time since he landed on the iil he said it was something that created symptoms that that's kind of going away not assist they called it a lesion moving forward Ben is going to continue baseball activities and as tolerated kind of go forward he's not symptom free but the initial diagnosis is not something where operating under right now which is good news that is like the I don't even know like how to begin parsing those remarks and so instead of trying to do that I'm going to take this podcast in an abruptly different direction a more fun Direction I will say I was at as I mentioned was at the Cubs game yesterday one of the hottest Cubs games I have ever attended I was out in the bleachers the sun was quite potent throughout the game uh to say it blunt but there was an even crazier individual than myself that was around the friendly confines yesterday a gentleman by the name of Ronnie do who has made a name for himself on Tik Tok as someone who is really really really good at chugging beer the first time I ever saw him was when he was dressed up as Mr Larsson from Happy Gilmore the construction operator who had the uh construction helmet and Happy Gilmore put a nail into his head um he drank 18 beers and ate 18 hot dogs playing 18 holes of golf in a feat of Herculean strength and fortitude give him all the credit in the world he was at it again yesterday on a rooftop during the Cubs game I'm sure you guys have all heard of the 999 challenge you drink nine beers and eat nine hot dogs and nine innings of baseball this is mere Child's Play for a person like Ronnie Deutsch he actually downed the nine beers and nine hot dogs in a mere four innings for those of you willing to see that video on Tik Tok it's r n n y d oi t c h on Tik Tok but Peter I'm going to start this with you how many beers and hot dogs do you think you could down over a nine-inning baseball game yeah I mean that that challenge was far beyond my capability I mean I I I'll first preface this by saying I haven't eaten meat for six years so it would have to be the uh the Beyond adapation and even then I don't think I could clear um two or three of either I'm just I'm not built for that but it but it sounds like you know for those who are familiar with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia it sounds like he's built for the uh the Boss Hog Wade bogs airplane beer challenge that's that's something else I'm I'm not part of that get him get him the T-shirt what about you Nate how many do you think you could uh take down uh so I'm I'm pretty confident in my in my hot dog uh eating prowess I especially if I hadn't eaten uh breakfast that day so that that would take care of both lunch and dinner so that'll be a good efficient day uh but the beer would be tough uh especially in four Innings I don't know how he did that in four Innings that's that's the craziest part to me is doing nine beers in nine innings is enough because most games are shorter nowadays like you don't have the four hour 10minute games at Wrigley as as much anymore with Arie Harris uh directing uh so I so I don't I don't know how the hell someone does n nine full beers in in four Innings I could maybe five in five in nine innings I think would be my my limit especially with that many hot dogs I I was gonna say could you do five beers and five hot dogs I could do I think I'd still be pretty confident in in in getting the nine hot dogs because because I I have a better appetite for for that than I do you know the the the beer takes up a lot of space in the stomach so that that would be tough I I I think I could do six and six I do intend at some point I I am a you know a really a realist at heart I'm willing to do what it takes to kind of get the answer to a question like this I do intend on trying it at some point this season I will report back my results I am going to put my over under at five and a half on both beers and hot dogs I think I could get six of each I do not think there is any way I'd be able to do nine and nine but you never know until you try it and so I think that ultimately we're going to be you know experimenting with that a little bit but and also I do have one followup question before we move on to the last topic of this podcast what kind of beer do you think you would be able to drink that much of it can't be anything like too overly heavy I do think I could probably knock out something like a bush light or even an old style but what would be the uh drink of choice for a Nate Poppin uh champagne velvet by Upland I think they're Indianapolis based that's one of the favorite uh favorite loggers uh I could I think I could could crush a couple of those but but again it would just be the volume would just be too much especially just over that amount of time over four Innings is oh geez of course Nate's gonna go with you know his like you know FR frw beer you want some gray pan light though as well Peter what would you go with man I mean I'm with you James I think for something like that it would need to be something you know quite light and also I cold I would go more in the in the bush light Miller Light Direction not that I would be drinking that in any other circumstance but I think for the 999 challenge I think that's the only way you could go and and be efficient in any way the 999 challenge for the Cubs Talk podcast coming to an episode near you um One More Time gonna switch gears to definitely something a little bit more somber this week unfortunately we as a baseball loving Community lost one of the true greats and one of the great men that has ever been associated with this game Willie May has passed away earlier this week um obviously forever connected to the San Francisco Giants so I thought it was apropo that the Giants were in town for that they're also playing at rickwood field down in Burmingham Alabama where Willie Mays did play uh games very early in his baseball career and so just a lot of really heartfelt tributes we've seen around the baseball world did want to get a couple of Statistics out there Wrigley Field one of only two MLB ballparks that's still standing where Willie Mays played Major League Baseball games check this out guys the second most home runs that Willie Mays hit against any team or the 92 he collected against the Chicago Cubs the 266 RBI he had against the Cubs his most against any MLB team and then get this statline 1,515 plate appearances in his career for the Cubs slash 319 390 611 guys he had an Ops of 1.0 in his career against the Chicago Cubs in a not insignificant number of played appearances just absolutely dominated the northsiders and firmly cemented himself as one of the all-time greatest baseball players our condolences of course to Willie Ma's family the Giants organization anybody that knew and loved him I know a lot of Baseball fans really devastated by the news uh definitely up there for me in terms of one of the guys that I really wish I could have gotten the opportunity to see play um Nate I'm going to throw this question to you um your thoughts on wiie May's passing and then also is there a player that kind of comes to mind that you wish that you had been alive to see play this game does this have to be non-cb or I would prefer it to be non-cb but I did not specify so you say whomever you want so uh I'm gonna go pitcher first Bob fer uh because he was throwing 90 whenever everybody else was throwing 75 uh maybe 80 uh and then uh I think for position player I'd go Roberto CL oh yeah that's a that's an absolutely fantastic answer and definitely uh my position player for sure like I would have loved to have seen him play um there's so many guys you can think of over the years like the Mickey mantel of the world Etc that I would have just loved I would have loved to have seen if he actually could hit a baseball 565 ft like I want to see the kind of power that that dude had um for a pitcher I'd probably still I'd say Sandy kofax I just think that that guy had such incredible electric stuff just dominated over such a short period of time the statistics he was able to put up absolutely remarkable unquestionably one of the best uh pitchers to ever throw a baseball and just really unfortunate his career came to an end the way that it did so early I really wish I could have seen Sandy kofax pitch Peter who were the uh players that you wish you would have been able to see play yeah I mean endless endless choices here I mean for a pitcher I'm going to go with a different person named Bob and you know even though this is a Cubs podcast I have to mention Bob Gibson especially looking at that absolutely incredible 1968 season that he had one of the greatest players to ever play the game certainly you know a top pitcher of all time and one of the most impressive single Seasons that we've ever been able to see I think just that level of sheer dominance would be just truly a sight to behold and it's uh it's crazy that that year he didn't even you know end up winning the World Series it was an outstanding pitcher on the other side and Denny mcquean leading the Detroit Tigers to that so it's it's wild to look back on that and for position player uh I'm gonna go with a guy whose final season was just one year before I was born had such an incredible career and I'm hopping over to the American League here but I gotta go with Kirby Pucket a guy that you know was hitting 300 throughout his entire career a two-time world champion just an absolutely incredible player everything you know all the videos I've seen of him have been incredible but to be able to see somebody that was you know just that dominating at the plate live that much of a part of his team uh you know while it was happening would be incredible you know I was the first season I remember watching was 2001 so I did get to see the tail end of Tony Gwen and Cal Ripken Jr but going back to you know somebody like that that was the face of the franchise and then of course just had a really unfortunate end to his career and unfortunately later on his life uh just an incredible baseball player and uh and for Willie Mays I mean I think arguably the greatest to ever do it it's a it's hard to argue with anybody who says that I mean baseball would not be anywhere where it is without him and uh you know very sad to see him go and know lived a very impactful and full life and uh you know gay baseball everything and it's appreciated by every fan of this wonderful game that you know we have that we make a big part of our Lives absolutely right Peter and you just you kind of felt the power of Willie Mays at Wrigley yesterday with the the really nice moment of silence before the game uh the Cubs actually will be the first team the Giants will face in San Francisco uh at home after the death of Willie Mays I know they'll undoubtedly have a really you know touching poignant ceremony for a guy who was really the face of that franchise and really solidified their standing in the Bay Area after they moved out there in the 1950s and just had an extraordinary impact on baseball in so many ways again we express our condolences for everybody connected to Willie Mays and we just thought it'd be appropriate to pay a little bit of tribute to someone who had such a meaningful and massive impact on the game of baseball Peter Nate really thrilled you guys were able to join on tonight and have a really you know fun podcast about a team that actually won a couple of games this week and maybe showed some flashes of what we need them to show as they head into a really critical stretch of games against the Mets the Giants and the Brewers uh really love talking to both you we will talk to you guys next week on the Cubs Talk podcast congrats you finished the video if you want to build on that success download the NBC Sports Chicago app it's got highlights exclusive insights and push alerts tailored to you everything you need to be a real Chicago sports fan download it now