Locked On Cubs - Daily Podcast On The Chicago Cubs

The Cubs beat the Royals on Monday night, gaining a half-game in the standings over the idle Brewers. That's the good news, but the bad news is that they weren't able to get much going offensively against Jakob Junis. A home run in the sixth inning by Javy Báez broke a tie, and a strong effort from Cole Hamels allowed the Cubs to cruise to a 3-1 win. Sean Sears and I discussed the inconsistent offense in our first segment.

In the second segment, we looked at how the guys who have been carrying the team recently are the ones on the wrong side of 30. In our final segment, we chatted about the NL Central, updated the standings, and discussed some of our dream World Series matchups.

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The Cubs split with the San Diego Padres this weekend, and oh boy was that not fun. They were outscored 24-17 in the series and now head to Kansas City to take on the Royals -- who may in fact be the worst team in baseball right now. After talking about the Padres series and the fans in our mentions on Twitter in segment one, we moved on to Royals chat in our second segment.

We also talked a bit about Kris Bryant's injury and why it has us on edge before moving on to the final segment, where we looked around the NL Central. Good news! The Brewers will have to fend off the powerhouse Padres for the next three days. This certainly will go well for the Cubs!

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After my proclamation that the Cubs needed to go at least 5-2 over their seven game stretch against the San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals, they kicked things off by dropping the first game, 6-1. Sean Sears and I discussed that, today's game, and more in our first segment. Brandon Morrow picked up a baseball and threw some "pitches" yesterday, but not much else has changed on that front.

In segment two, we took Joe Maddon to task for a decision both of us find to be indefensible. How do you pull Mike Montgomery after 5 1/3 innings and 79 pitches if you let him bat in a crucial spot the inning prior? In the final segment, we looked around the NL Central and spent a few extra minutes bemoaning Thursday night's loss to the Padres. Can't the Cubs just start a run of consistent, good baseball? Please?

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The Cubs won in Pittsburgh last night, and Cole Hamels was impressive in his debut. Sean Sears and I talked about that game, why it was important, and why it's even more important that the Cubs perform well over the next week. In the second segment, we took a look at the MVP candidacy of Javier Báez. Where does he fall in the rankings? Who are the favorites, as of right now? 

In the final segment, we talked a little about the NL Central standings and discussed an MLB poll regarding the National League MVP race.

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The Cubs lost a frustrating game last night, with Addison Russell being called out at third base via replay. That took the potential tying run off the bases in the ninth inning, and the Cubs lost 5-4 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cole Hamels makes his Cubs debut tonight, but the even worse news is that the Cubs and Brewers are now tied in first place. Sean Sears and I play the wet blanket in our outlook on how the rest of the season could play out.

In the second segment, we talked about the good news of the day: The Brandon Kintzler trade and a positive injury update on Yu Darvish. In the final segment, we updated the standings and chatted about the upgrades the Brewers made to their roster. This could be a tough battle to the very end, and that's not good for the Cubs' World Series hopes.

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I'm back with Sean Sears for this Tuesday edition of Locked On Cubs, after both of us slept through our Monday recording time. We talked about the events of the weekend, including Kyle Hendricks' excellent start on Sunday, some Yu Darvish chatter, and the Cole Hamels deal. Was Alex Rodriguez off base with what he said about Darvish on ESPN Sunday night?

In the second segment, we looked at the rumors surrounding the Cubs at the trade deadline. They've been said to be looking for a controllable starting pitcher, but how realistic is that? About as realistic as trading for Bryce Harper -- who also happens to be available. In the final segment, we quickly updated the standings in the NL Central.

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Sean brings on fellow Locked On podcaster Matt Peck from Locked on Bulls who was at the Cubs epic walkoff win at Wrigley Field Thursday afternoon. In the second segment we discuss the impact newly acquired starter Cole Hamels could have on this Cubs rotation that is desperately in need of some help. And finally we preview the Friday’s game against the Cardinals and talk our daily look at the NL Central. 

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The good news, which we start with in our first segment, is that the Cubs beat the D-Backs behind a strong effort from Jon Lester on Wednesday. Sean Sears and I break down why the start from Lester was so encouraging, and we look ahead at the series finale with Tyler Chatwood on the mound. But in the second segment, we react in real-time to the news of the day: Kris Bryant is headed back to the disabled list.

In addition to Bryant talk, we chat about David Bote and possible trade targets that remain for the Cubs. Could they trade for a starter and a reliever from the same team? (We mention Seung-Hwan Oh as a possible target in the second segment, but later confirm that he was traded on Wednesday). In the final segment, we looked around the NL Central and updated the standings.

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The Cubs lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks yet again last night, this time being shut down by Clay Buchholz -- yes, him. Sean Sears and I break that down in the first segment and talk a little bit about what has truly ailed the Cubs, which is their starting pitching and the Kris Bryant shoulder injury mismanagement. 

In the second segment, we played around with trade proposals from the listeners via Twitter: "Who Say's No?" Without spoiling anything, most of these trades were a bit light on the Cubs' end of things. But still a lot of fun conversation! Sean and I finished out the third segment by talking about yesterday's action in the NL Central and updating the standings (apologies for the occasional audio problem, it gets better).

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The bad news is that Monday night's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks was over before the Cubs even came to the plate. But the good news, if you can call it that, is that Joe Maddon had a little fun with Anthony Rizzo -- who made his pitching debut in the ninth inning. Sean Sears and I looked back on what went wrong for the Cubs in the first segment.

In the second segment, we took a deeper dive into the phenomenon of position players pitching. Is it a good idea and could it expand even further? In the final segment, Sean and I looked at the NL Central and recapped a rough loss for the St. Louis Cardinals.

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