The Cubs Podcast returns with the suddenly red hot Cubs (they've won four of five!) taking on those pesky Brewers. Praz fills us in on getting tossed from the bleachers for (get this) being too negative about the team. If that was really a thing, nobody would have been allowed out there for most of the 90s. Should the team take the players' oven mitts away? Why are they bunting? Ever? Is giving Kyle Tucker a timeout really going to help. Is Owen Caissie the greatest player ever? What playoff seed should the Cubs be shooting for with the division seemingly out of reach? They even take a break in the middle of the podcast to watch an old "You Make The Call" which takes an unexpected twist, and you'll never guess what Johnny Bench could do with the entire Cubs starting rotation. I mean, you really can't guess it. All that, and more.

Things are pretty bad for the Cubs these days. They've lost 17 straight games when they have trailed at any point, they have lost seven games to the Brewers in the standings since August 1 and haven't gained a single game on them on any day since July 30. Kyle Tucker's so desperate to turn his awful slump around that he's (gasp!) taking batting practice? Petecrow's struggling. Ian Happ just sucks. Michael Busch is only good ten games a year. It's a pretty sad situation. So let's take a look at how they got there, what two fallacies Jed Hoyer keeps hiding behind (they don't have to be stacked very high to hide him), and why it's risky to bring Owen Caissie up, and not just because he probably blows. All that, and more.

The longest running franchise in the history of crap podcasting returns with Andy and Mike D. breaking down 150 years of great, good, and awful Cubs' second basemen. Do you know who Ross Barnes is? Of course you don't, but you are about to. From Ryne Sandberg to Mike Tyson, from Glenn Beckert to Jiggs Parrott, from Rogers Hornsby to Rey Sanchez and so many others, enjoy a century and a half of Cubs second sackers. You know, they've had some pretty damned good ones.

Jed Hoyer make a few solid moves at the deadline but botched any chance of fixing the Cubs biggest pitching problem, and so his Cubs find themselves staring up at the Brewers and their pocket pancake loving manager Mat Purphy...or Pat Murphy, whatever. Oleg and Praz are here to talk about it, and we provide a much better name than "pocket pancake." We discuss if there are any Brewers position players who would start on the Cubs, and give Praz some bad news about Justin Turner. We also learn that Turner and Petecrow did a very nice thing for some Japanese newlyweds they met in Tokyo back in March. We make fun of Thumbo and complain about how Marquee fails to cover key moments in games, and how the Cubs came so close to flawlessly pulling off their weekend of tributes to Ryne Sandberg only to completely fuck up the thing they promoted the most. All that, and more.

With the trade deadline mere tens of hours away (is that a thing?) David Brown and Andy discuss the risks of showcasing players you are trying to trade in the final games before the deadline, the costs of trading for rental players, trying to win and sell at the same time, and the varied personalities of GMs and how that affects trades. They also discuss Jed Hoyer's new contract, the chicken and egg of sports betting scandals and the passing of Cubs icon Ryne Sandberg.

The Cubs fell out of first place for the first time since April and who was there to catch them? Not us. Oleg and Praz join the podcast to talk about possible Cubs trade targets, why Rich Hill sucks, Andy feeling bad about agreeing with Adam Wainwright, why the DH rule changed so MLB could kiss Shohei's ass, lemonade stand scams, Tom House, towel drills, trading the Carjacker, MLB TV rights, James Acaster on Taskmaster and much, much more. 

We keep talking about who the Cubs should trade for, but what kind of trade currency do they actually have? Plus, how Nico and Happ make an imperfect leadoff platoon. A brief history lesson on the real curse of the Bears, and a few bobblehead stories. Really. All that, and more.

The Home Run Derby included a homer robbery, a dad hitting his son and measurement controversies, so David Brown is here to break it all down. The guys also discuss Pat McAfee completely botching the pitchers and starters press conference when a reporter dared to ask a real question. They also talk about the first round of the MLB Draft and how the son of a former big leaguer went first overall but it wasn't the one everybody thought would, plus the Cubs drafted a kid with his throwing arm in a sling. Plus, MLB's TV plans and much more.

The podcast finally concedes to the video age and not only can you see Andy, Oleg and Praz, but did you know the open and close have video? Well, now you do. They take a look at how the Cubs rank on offense and get some pretty good clues as to why they're so good. They lament Seiya and Busch not making the All-Star Game, but one of them has a brilliant idea about how to get Seiya there. They discuss possible trades, British comedies and much, more.

Check out this not all AI created rundown of episode.

00:00Holy crap, look at that open!

02:11Discussion on MLB Trades and Player Movement

04:53Cubs' Performance and Statistics

07:41Analysis of Cubs' Offensive Strategies

10:25Cubs' Defensive Strengths and Pitching Staff

13:26All-Star Selections and Player Snubs

16:22Closing Thoughts and Future Predictions

43:28The All-Star Game Anecdote

45:39Catcher Performance Analysis

48:28The Catcher Position Dynamics

52:23Trade Deadline Speculations

57:08Pitching Strategies and Future Prospects

01:03:04British Comedy and Cultural References

It's time to take a look around baseball and tell the cold, hard, truth about whose season is already irredeemably in the crapper. David Brown joins the podcast to help decide what teams can be crossed off and can toss their players into the for sale bin. You might be surprised at the two teams who survived the axe, for now. They also go through Jim Bowden's handy list of players who are most likely to be traded (the Cubs can use them all!), some of which makes sense. Maybe. Dave gives a few first-hand observations about the Dodgers, what Mookie says is wrong with Mookie's swing, Shohei's cute little on deck stool and more. Then they try to take Rob Manfred's sad little outreacharound to the lowest paid players, seriously. All that, and more.