Club 1:20 Network - A Chicago Cubs Podcast Network

Two small-market teams. Two of baseball's lowest payrolls. One World Series matchup that might be sending Major League Baseball a message.

The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays have reached baseball's biggest stage without spending like the sport's biggest franchises.

So what do they know that everyone else doesn't?

In Episode 13 of The Margin, Nate examines how Milwaukee and Tampa Bay built winning organizations through player development, smart trades, fundamentals, and organizational identity.

And for Cubs fans, there's an uncomfortable question:

Did Chicago hire the wrong manager when it chose Craig Counsell over Pat Murphy?

We also explore whether money really buys championships, what this World Series means for baseball's looming labor battle, and why the greatest competitive advantage might not be how much an organization spends — but how little it wastes.

The baseball gods have spoken. And apparently, they've got a few thoughts about how this game should be played.

⚾ The Margin — Chasing Wins, Not Stats.

Part of the Club 1:20 Network.

#TheMargin #Club120 #ChicagoCubs #MilwaukeeBrewers #TampaBayRays #WorldSeries

Do you trust Jed Hoyer?

After 89 wins, another disappointing October, and a bullpen that drove Cubs fans absolutely insane... Neil's answer might surprise you.

Yes. He does.

Jed Hoyer has largely done what he said he would do. He's built competitive teams, made moves to improve them, and when those moves didn't work, he owned it.

That's accountability. That's leadership.

But here's the question...

Can Jed take the Cubs from GOOD to GREAT?

On Episode 13 of The Pulse, Neil explains why he still trusts Jed Hoyer, why the expectations in Chicago need to change, and what the Cubs must accomplish this offseason.

❤️ Check the Pulse: Trust and satisfaction aren't the same thing. Jed has earned the trust, but now it's time to raise the bar.

📈 Trending Up: Accountability. Why Jed deserves credit for owning his bullpen mistakes instead of making excuses.

📉 Trending Down: The status quo. Winning 90 games and simply making the playoffs can't be the finish line anymore.

👀 What I'm Watching: Fixing the bullpen, bringing back Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes, re-signing Seiya Suzuki, and making some tough decisions about Ian Happ and left field.

❤️ This week's Pulse: TRUST.

"The goalposts aren't moving because Jed failed. They're moving because he succeeded."

The Cubs have proven they can be good.

Now it's time to be great.

The Pulse — Beyond the Box Score.

The best position players in baseball. The worst pitching staff in baseball. One fundamentally flawed Chicago Cubs team.

The 2026 Cubs finished with 34.5 WAR from position players (1st in MLB) and just 3.6 WAR from pitching (30th). A staggering 30.9-WAR gap that defined their season.

In the season finale of The Margin, Nate breaks down the numbers behind Chicago's historically unbalanced roster, compares the Cubs to baseball's top contenders, and asks the question that matters most:

Were the Cubs built to win a World Series, or just built to survive themselves?

For six months, the Cubs found ways to win despite their pitching. October exposed the cost of Winning Anyway.

The final grade? F. Not for failure. For fundamentally flawed.

We are who we thought we were.

The Margin — Chasing Wins, Not Stats.

Part of the Club 1:20 Network.

#ChicagoCubs #TheMargin #Club120 #CubsPodcast #MLB

89 wins. A playoff appearance. A historic season from Pete Crow-Armstrong.

And just like that... it's over.

The Cubs went to San Diego needing two wins. They came home without one.

One run in two games. An offense that disappeared. And an ending that, unfortunately, none of us were all that surprised by.

So here's the question...

Was the 2026 Chicago Cubs season actually a success?

On Episode 12 of The Pulse, Neil looks back at a season that gave Cubs fans plenty to celebrate but ultimately left them wanting so much more.

📈 Trending Up: PCA's historic 40/40 season, Alex Bregman's incredible second half, and why Jed Hoyer deserves some credit for building an 89-win team.

📉 Trending Down: The offense vanishes in October, Craig Counsell adds another playoff series loss, and a bullpen that may have cost the Cubs home-field advantage.

👀 What I'm Watching: The offseason begins. Ian Happ or Seiya Suzuki? Who fixes the bullpen? What's next for Jed Hoyer? And could baseball's looming labor dispute threaten the 2027 season?

❤️ This week's Pulse: UNSATISFIED.

The Cubs weren't a bad baseball team.

But they weren't good enough when it mattered.

Twelve episodes. Twelve emotions. One unforgettable roller coaster of a season.

The games are over. The offseason is here.

But the Pulse doesn't stop. It just changes.

The Pulse — Beyond the Box Score.

October feels different.

The baseball isn't.

The Cubs are officially playing postseason baseball, and every pitch suddenly feels heavier. A leadoff walk feels like a crisis. A runner on second feels like he's already headed home. One bad inning can change a game — and in October, one game can change a season.

So yeah...we're anxious.

But should the Cubs be?

For ten episodes of The Margin, we've spent the season breaking down exactly how this Cubs team wins — and how it loses.

The replacement-level arms disguised as depth.

The crooked innings.

The home runs.

The ability to stay attached through five.

The defense that has erased mistakes all season.

The bullpen asking Craig Counsell to somehow manufacture 27 outs.

October raises the stakes on all of it.

But none of it is new.

That's the Margin this week.

The Cubs don't need to become a different baseball team because the calendar says October. They need to recognize situations they've already lived through and play the next piece of baseball correctly.

Keep the inning small.

Get to five.

Catch the baseball.

Don't let one mistake invite friends.

And when the game gives you an opportunity to take it — don't miss it.

Because whether Game 1 ended with the Cubs celebrating or staring at elimination, the Game 2 assignment doesn't change.

Same game. Bigger moment.

We'll handle the anxiety.

They handle the baseball.

This is The Margin — Chasing Wins, Not Stats.

Subscribe for Cubs analysis throughout the postseason.

#ChicagoCubs #Cubs #CubsBaseball #MLBPlayoffs #MLBPostseason #PostseasonBaseball #CraigCounsell #PeteCrowArmstrong #PCA #TheMargin #ChasingWinsNotStats

The regular season is over.

The Cubs are in.

And now? Nothing else matters.

Chicago stumbled down the stretch, finished as the 5 seed, and now heads to San Diego for a best-of-three Wild Card series.

The assignment couldn't be simpler:

Win. Two. Games.

On Episode 11 of The Pulse, Neil talks about the anxiety of October baseball, why everything that happened over 162 games gets thrown out the window, and why he still believes this Cubs team can make some noise.

📈 Trending Up: Alex Bregman announces he's back with a 4-for-4, two-homer performance in the regular-season finale, while Pete Crow-Armstrong officially makes history by joining the 40/40 club.

📉 Trending Down: Caleb Thielbar and the bullpen remain terrifying heading into October. Plus, Neil asks an uncomfortable question: Does Tyrone Taylor give the Cubs a better chance to win right now than Ian Happ?

👀 What I'm Watching: Two wins. That's it. Go get 'em.

❤️ This week's Pulse: ANXIOUS.

Confident. Resilient. Connected. Enduring. Committed. Validated. Humbled. Chaotic. Broken. Hungry.

Every emotion brought us here.

Now the Pulse is racing.

Let's go win two damn baseball games.

The Pulse — Beyond the Box Score.

162 games gave us the answers.

Now October changes the questions.

On Episode 30 of Club 1:20, we're putting the regular season on trial, pulling out some receipts, and deciding exactly what success looks like for this Cubs team before the playoffs begin.

🏁 Pole Position – How much does securing the top Wild Card spot actually change the Cubs' October chances?

🧾 Receipts – What did we believe about the 2026 Cubs that 162 games proved completely wrong?

🪪 Identity Crisis – What does this team do well enough that we trust it to travel into October?

🎟️ Roster Invites – Are you building the postseason roster based on the last six months… or the next six games?

🎯 Topic of the Week – Defining Success – Before October starts, where exactly is the line between a successful Cubs season and a disappointing one?

No moving the goalposts once the playoffs begin.

The Cubs proved they belong in October.

Now what do they have to do with it?

🍺 Grab an Old Style, grab a bleacher seat, and join us for Season 2, Episode 30 of Club 1:20.

#Cubs #ChicagoCubs #Club120 #CubsBaseball #MLBPlayoffs

For 156 games, a win is a win.

Opening Day. A random Tuesday in June. A huge series in August. They all go into the same column.

But with six games left, the value of one game has changed.

The Chicago Cubs have already punched their ticket to October. Now they're fighting the Padres and Phillies for Wild Card positioning — and the right to host the entire Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field.

That sounds like an obvious prize.

Until you look at the numbers.

Since MLB introduced the current Wild Card format, the higher-seeded home teams have gone just 4–12 in Wild Card Series and 13–24 in individual games at home. In the exact No. 4 vs. No. 5 matchup the Cubs are fighting over? 4–4. A coin flip.

So Episode 10 of The Margin asks a different question:

Because Craig Counsell has three currencies left:

Alex Bregman's freak injury is a brutal reminder of just how fragile health can be. The rotation needs to be lined up. The bullpen needs bullets available. And Game 1 of the Wild Card Series matters a hell of a lot more than making Game 162 look pretty.

So yes — go get Wrigley.

Keep San Diego out of Petco. Avoid Philadelphia's launching pad. Pack Clark and Addison for Game 1.

But don't spend Tuesday trying to win Sunday.

Being ready to play for it matters more.

Watch what Craig spends.

Watch what he protects.

And watch what every win actually buys.

Because the value of one game isn't simply whether you won it.

It's what that win costs you — and what you still have left when October starts.

THE MARGIN — Chasing Wins, Not Stats.

Subscribe to the Club 120 Network for weekly Cubs analysis as we chase the margins that actually decide baseball games.

The last time we checked the Pulse, the Cubs felt broken.

Three weeks later?

The Chicago Cubs are going to the playoffs.

But making October isn't enough anymore.

The Cubs are battling the Padres for the top Wild Card spot, Dansby Swanson is finally back, Pete Crow-Armstrong is just TWO stolen bases away from an incredible 40-40 season, and the race is on to bring playoff baseball back to Wrigley Field.

❤️ This week's Pulse: HUNGRY.

On this episode:

📈 Trending Up: Stop me if you've heard this before... Pete Crow-Armstrong. PCA now has 45 home runs and 38 stolen bases as he closes in on 40-40. Plus, Dansby is back and Pedro Ramírez reminds everyone he's ready when his number is called.

📉 Trending Down: Almost three weeks later, the bullpen is STILL broken. And just as the Cubs get Dansby back, Alex Bregman gets hit in the face by a foul ball and is expected to miss time at the worst possible point in the season.

👀 What I'm Watching: How do the Cubs finish? Getting into October was step one. Now it's about getting hot and securing the top Wild Card spot. And for the time being, the Brewers hate-watch has officially been suspended.

Welcome to the hate-watch, San Diego.

⚾ Final Diagnosis: Three weeks ago, I said broken doesn't mean finished.

They weren't finished.

We're in. That's worth celebrating.

But now that we've got a seat at the table...

I want the whole damn meal.

🎙️ The Pulse — Beyond the Box Score

10 games left. Magic number 10.

The Cubs have spent an entire season putting themselves in this position. Now it's time to finish the job.

Season 2, Episode 29 of Club 1:20 looks at PCA's historic season, the Cubs' tendency to create their own problems, whether resilience is actually a skill, and what this team is still missing heading into October.

📏 Measuring Greatness – Forget MVP for a minute. Where does Pete Crow-Armstrong's 2026 rank among the greatest individual seasons in Cubs history?

🤦 Making Their Own Mess – Do the Cubs create more of their own problems than their opponents create for them?

🔥 Mental Marshmallows – Is responding to adversity actually a skill, or just something we assign to teams after they win?

🧩 Missing Link – You CAN'T say bullpen. What's the one thing the Cubs are still missing heading into October?

🔢 Topic of the Week – Magic #'s – 10 games left. Magic number 10. Do the Cubs clinch this thing on their own terms, or do they need somebody else to finish the job?

🍺 Grab an Old Style, grab a bleacher seat, and settle in for Season 2, Episode 29 of Club 1:20.

👇 How many of the final 10 do the Cubs win?

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