PCA is chasing history. The playoffs are getting closer. And the Cubs still have some things to figure out.

Season 2, Episode 28 of Club 1:20 is all about balancing the final weeks of the regular season with getting this team ready for October.

🔥 40/40 Watch – Can Pete Crow-Armstrong chase history without the Cubs losing sight of October?

💣 Homer Happy – The Cubs live by the home run AND die by the home run. Which one scares us more in October?

✏️ Fill in the Blank – The Cubs bullpen is __________.

🤔 Questions for Craig – Was “next man up” actually easier for Craig Counsell to manage than having everyone available?

🎃 Topic of the Week – October Additions – Which roles do the Cubs absolutely have to define before the end of the regular season?

🍺 Grab an Old Style, grab a bleacher seat, and settle in for Season 2, Episode 28 of Club 1:20.

👇 If the playoffs started tomorrow, what's the ONE role you don't think the Cubs have figured out?

#Cubs #ChicagoCubs #PeteCrowArmstrong #PCA #MLB #Club120 #CubsBaseball

What if the Cubs’ pitching problem isn’t nine innings long? What if it’s just one? All season, we’ve watched the same scene play out.

Leadoff walk. Single. Bad pitch. Blooper. Home run. Suddenly a manageable game becomes a crooked number — and the Cubs are trying to dig themselves out of a hole.

So this week on The Margin, we went through all 145 Cubs games through September 7 to find out just how much damage one bad inning has actually done.

The difference is staggering.

When Cubs pitching has allowed 3+ runs in a single inning, Chicago is 22–44. When they avoid that inning? 59–20. And 44 of the Cubs’ 64 losses — nearly 70% — have included at least one 3+ run inning.

But that's the obvious part. Teams that give up a bunch of runs tend to lose baseball games.

So we went deeper.

In 23 of those 44 losses, the opponent's biggest inning was at least as large as the Cubs' entire margin of defeat. In 36 of 44 — 82% — the opponent produced a bigger scoring inning than anything the Cubs offense could answer with.

That's where the October question gets interesting. The Cubs don't need nine innings of perfect pitching. They don't need every starter going seven.

They don't need every reliever to be unhittable. They need to recognize the moment when one run is becoming three. Limit the damage. Get the next guy. Keep the long ball small. Keep the game alive.

Because in October, you don't have to win all nine innings. You just can't lose one of them.

The Margin — Chasing Wins, Not Stats.

Subscribe to the Club 1:20 Network for weekly Cubs analysis that looks beyond the box score and searches for the margins that actually decide baseball games.

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October is getting closer. The Cubs are headed toward postseason baseball — but which warning signs should actually have us worried?

Season 2, Episode 27 of Club 1:20 is all about shifting from the 162-game marathon to getting this team ready to win in October.

🚨 Sound the Alarm – Of all the warning signs we've talked about this season, which one are we actually sounding the alarm on heading into October?

🏳️ September Surrender – Is winning the Central still worth chasing, or should everything be about getting healthy and ready for October?

⚾ Arms Race Audit – The Cubs have added five arms since the deadline. Did they solve the pitching problem... or just complicate it?

⏰ No More Tomorrows – Is it officially time for Craig Counsell to stop managing the marathon and start managing the game in front of him?

🏆 Topic of the Week – MVPete – Does Pete Crow-Armstrong need a huge September to win MVP, or does he simply need to avoid giving voters a reason to reconsider?

🍺 Grab an Old Style, grab a bleacher seat, and settle in for Season 2, Episode 27 of Club 1:20.

👇 What's the ONE Cubs weakness that worries you most heading into October?

#Cubs #ChicagoCubs #PeteCrowArmstrong #PCA #NLMVP #MLB #Club120 #CubsBaseball

The Chicago Cubs have a home run problem.

209 home runs allowed. Most in Major League Baseball.

Shota Imanaga has allowed 33. Jameson Taillon gave up 25 before being DFA'd. Colin Rea has allowed 20.

Opponents have homered against the Cubs in 110 games. They've hit 111 of them at Wrigley Field alone.

And somehow...

How?

Of the Cubs' 209 home runs allowed:

Those home runs have produced 334 of the Cubs' 601 total runs allowed — 55.6%.

But there's another number that might explain how they've survived:

And that brings us back to one of our core baseball philosophies:

The Cubs clearly aren't going to stop giving up home runs.

So maybe the path to October isn't eliminating them.

Maybe it's keeping the bases clean before they happen.

Because the pitch that leaves the yard might be the same, but there's a massive difference between that mistake making it 1–0 or 3–0.

And in October, when one pitch can decide your season, can the Cubs keep living this close to the edge?

The Verdict: You can live with the long ball. It's the plus-ones that'll kill you.

Chasing Wins, Not Stats.

Subscribe for weekly Cubs analysis that looks beyond the box score to find the small things that actually decide baseball games.

#ChicagoCubs #Cubs #CubsBaseball #GoCubsGo #CubsNation #MLB #TheMargin #ShotaImanaga #WrigleyField #MLBPlayoffs #Baseball #ChicagoBaseball

The Cubs aren't finished.

But right now?

Something feels broken.

After another 2-4 week, the Cubs have lost the 5½-game cushion they once held over Philadelphia in the Wild Card race.

And the biggest concern is becoming pretty clear.

The bullpen.

The offense is scoring enough runs to win games. The Cubs are building leads. But too often lately, those leads haven't felt safe.

And with September here, that's a problem that needs to be fixed quickly.

Especially considering what's coming next...

Four games at Wrigley against the Milwaukee Brewers — the best team in baseball.

This week's Pulse: BROKEN.

📈 Trending Up — At this point, we might as well rename this the PCA Segment. Pete Crow-Armstrong went absolutely nuclear over the weekend, including a three-homer game Saturday and two more on Sunday. Plus, some love for deadline additions Clay Holmes and Kevin Gausman, and Ian Happ continues his longstanding tradition of tormenting the Cincinnati Reds.

📉 Trending Down — Shota Imanaga, Trent Thornton and Jacob Webb. With September here and the bullpen under the microscope, the Cubs need answers from their pitching staff quickly.

👀 What I'm Watching — There's only one answer this week. Cubs. Brewers. Four games. Wrigley Field. This might be the biggest series of the season.

⚾ Final Diagnosis — Broken doesn't mean finished. The Cubs still have the talent to turn this around. But it's time to stop telling us everything is okay.

Show us.

Four games against the best team in baseball seems like a pretty good place to start.

💬 Question of the Week:

Do you think the Cubs are broken right now?

And what do you need to see against Milwaukee this week to start feeling confident again?

Let me know in the comments.

The Pulse — Beyond the Box Score

Every week, we take a step back from the box scores and headlines to talk about what it all means, because the heartbeat of a baseball season is always changing.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

#ThePulse #Club120 #ChicagoCubs #Cubs #MLB #PeteCrowArmstrong #CubsBaseball

September is almost here — and suddenly the Cubs aren't just thinking playoffs. They're looking at the NL Central.

Season 2, Episode 26 of Club 1:20 breaks down PCA's surging MVP campaign, some old-school baseball gamesmanship, bullpen concerns, a power-hitting offense, and what it'll take to steal the division.

🏎️ Pace Car Pete – PCA received 29 of 37 first-place votes in the latest MVP poll, up from just 11 a month ago. Is the MVP officially his to lose?

👀 Flash'ing Signs – Where's the line between stealing signs and simply recognizing what the other team is giving away?

🚨 Busted Bullpen – Is the Cubs bullpen just slumping... or are we finally seeing what it really is?

💥 Doing Damage – Is this August power surge just a hot streak, or has the Cubs offense actually evolved?

🏴‍☠️ Topic of the Week – Central Coup – What has to happen over the final month for the Cubs to steal the NL Central?

🍺 Grab an Old Style, grab a bleacher seat, and settle in for Season 2, Episode 26 of Club 1:20.

👇 Has PCA become the NL MVP favorite — and can the Cubs take the Central?

#Cubs #ChicagoCubs #PeteCrowArmstrong #PCA #NLMVP #MLB #Club120 #CubsBaseball

What if the most important number for the 2026 Chicago Cubs isn't ERA, WAR or runs scored?

What if it's simply five innings?

Through 132 games, the Cubs are 74-25 when they're leading, tied or down just one run after five innings. That's a .747 winning percentage.

But when they're down two or more after five?

That's not a gradual decline. That's a cliff.

In Episode 7 of The Margin, Nate looks at the number that may simplify the chaos of this entire Cubs season and completely change the way we should evaluate their pitching staff heading toward October.

The Cubs don't need every starter to dominate. They don't need seven shutout innings. They may not even need to be winning when the starter's job is done.

Keep the game alive long enough for Craig Counsell to open the matchup book. Let the defense steal outs. Let PCA steal runs. Let the bullpen navigate the late innings. And give an unpredictable Cubs offense enough time to turn the game into something it can win.

We also dig into the Cubs' strange offensive profile: 18 games scoring 10+ runs, the boom-or-bust question, crooked innings, October pitching, and why the difference between being down one and down two might define this team's championship chances.

Five innings. Stay within one. Stay in the fight.

The Margin — Chasing Wins, Not Stats.

Subscribe for new episodes of The Margin and weekly Chicago Cubs analysis as we chase the wins, decisions and tiny advantages that ultimately decide a baseball season.

Two walk-off wins.

Two walk-off losses.

A shutout.

A 19-run explosion.

And a West Coast road trip that completely destroyed my sleep schedule.

Welcome to another perfectly normal week of Cubs baseball.

The Cubs went 3-3 this week, but the record doesn't even begin to explain what it felt like watching these games.

This was an emotional roller coaster.

❤️ This week's Pulse: Chaotic.

❤️ Check the Pulse — The Cubs are now 3-5 without Dansby Swanson. Are we starting to realize just how important he is to this team?

📈 Pulse Up — Pete Crow-Armstrong does ridiculous Pete Crow-Armstrong things AGAIN: .360, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 6 runs, 4 walks and 2 stolen bases. Plus, Nico Hoerner deserves some love for stepping over to shortstop and continuing to produce.

📉 Pulse Down — Javier Assad gets sent back to Iowa again, the back end of the bullpen gets walked off twice in Seattle, and I've officially had enough of Pacific Time.

👀 What I'm Watching — Life without Dansby continues, while Daniel Palencia and Ben Brown are expected to rejoin the Cubs in Arizona. As the pitching staff gets healthier, who earns Craig Counsell's trust for the stretch run?

⚾ Final Diagnosis — I need to stop waiting for this to get comfortable. It's not going to. We're approaching September, the games matter, and every night finds a new way to screw with our emotions.

But maybe that's the point.

This is what we wanted.

Meaningful Cubs baseball.

And right now, we're feeling just about everything.

💬 Question of the Week:

Are you enjoying the chaos—or is this team driving you absolutely insane?

And how concerned are you about the Cubs' 3-5 record without Dansby?

Let me know in the comments.

The Pulse goes beyond the box score to talk about the highs, the lows, and everything in between.

Because the heartbeat of a baseball season is always changing.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

#ThePulse #Club120 #ChicagoCubs #Cubs #MLB #PeteCrowArmstrong #NicoHoerner #CubsBaseball

The Cubs have given us plenty of reasons to believe. Now it's time to prove they're ready for the stretch run.

Season 2, Episode 25 of Club 1:20 looks at PCA's rise, roster decisions, injuries, a crowded pitching staff, and what we need to see from the Cubs out west.

⭐ PCA & Pals – Has Pete Crow-Armstrong become the superstar at the center of a championship-caliber team?

🚌 Flexing on Javy – The Cubs keep calling on Javier Assad to get them out of jams... then sending him right back to Iowa. Is he being punished for being useful?

🤕 Dinged Up Dansby – Can the Cubs survive their first real lineup injury without Dansby Swanson?

🔀 Surviving the Shuffle – The Cubs finally have pitching options. Now which arms actually deserve the innings?

🌙 Topic of the Week – Cubs After Dark – Crosstown champs. Now it's time to head west. What do we need to see to believe this team is ready for the stretch run?

🍺 Grab an Old Style, grab a bleacher seat, and settle in for Season 2, Episode 25 of Club 1:20.

👇 What ONE thing do you need to see from the Cubs out west?

#Cubs #ChicagoCubs #PeteCrowArmstrong #PCA #MLB #Club120 #CubsBaseball

The Chicago Cubs are 73–53 and 20 games over .500.

But where did those 20 games actually come from?

Break apart the Cubs’ record and something jumps off the page: Chicago is 36–16 against the NL East and NL West. Exactly 20 games over .500.

And these aren’t empty wins. The Cubs are an incredible 25–4 against the Mets, Phillies, Dodgers, Padres and Diamondbacks, including six series sweeps.

All season, these have been the trial runs. The measuring-stick series against teams the Cubs could very well see again in October. And they keep passing the test.

But there’s one contradiction they still have to solve: 19–17 against the NL Central.

In Episode 6 of The Margin, we follow the wins, put the Cubs’ success against the National League’s playoff hopefuls under the microscope, and ask what all of it actually tells us about this team’s chances in October.

Because the Cubs have spent five months proving they can compete with the National League’s best. Now go win the division.

⚾ THE MARGIN Chasing Wins, Not Stats.

Subscribe for weekly Chicago Cubs analysis, baseball philosophy and the numbers hiding inside the wins.

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