Cubs Cards Cast

Dan and John talk about the roller coaster NL Central, where the Cardinals, left for dead a week ago, revive their fortunes, and the Cubs, seemingly inevitable division winners, show signs of trouble ahead. What seems certain is there are lots of twists, turns, and dips ahead this summer for the Cubs, Cards and Brewers.

Dan and John talk about the Cardinals horrible stretch of baseball, where losing and bad defense has become commonplace. Will the FO make dramatic moves or is this the plight of the 2018 team? Meanwhile, the Cubs are holding steady and playing solid baseball but are there issues with the pitching going forward?

A special treat this week. Dan and John are guests on the Team of Rivals podcast, another Cubs-Cardinals rivalry podcast. We are posting the podcast on the eve of a big showdown series this weekend at Busch Stadium in steamy St. Louis. Thanks to Ron and Pete for inviting us to their show!

Dan steers the podcast solo in a shortened edition as he recaps an eventful week in Cardinals Nation. Young phenom Alex Reyes is out for the season again with a lat injury and Redbird legend Red Schoendienst passes away. Meanwhile, team flounders in early games in soft part of the schedule.

Dan and John talk about each of their favorite teams obvious weakness so far in 2018 -- for the Cubs it is starting pitching and the Cards have a leaky bullpen. How each team goes about its repair business might decide the NL Central. And then there's the Milwaukee Brewers, who are sailing along in first place.

Dan and John discuss the intriguing possibilities both the Cubs and Cardinals will escape their relative mediocrity this season. For the Cubs, it might be a Manny Machado trade, or a resurgence of their starting pitching. For the Cardinals, it is the return of Alex Reyes. 

Dan and John talk about the NL Central at the quarter-pole of the season. The Cubs are worried about their starting pitching, particularly Yu Darvish, whose nickname could be "75 and sunny," referring to his lack of resilience.  The Cardinals are perplexed by their struggling offense. Both teams have bullpen concerns. And the Pirates and Brewers are surprising everyone.

Dan and John talk about the Cardinals sweep of the Cubs at Busch Stadium last weekend, the injuries and illnesses of Carlos Martinez, Yadier Molina and Yu Darvish and speculate on whether either team will trade for Manny Machado.

Dan and John talk about upcoming showdown series between the Cubs and Cardinals in St. Louis this weekend as well as the early-season troubles of Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish and the possibility of either team trading for rental superstar Manny Machado.

Dan and John discuss their teams' strong weeks and they also delve into head injuries to Kris Bryant, Tommy Pham and how they reacted quite differently. They also talk about whether Yu Darvish is mentally tough.