Oleg and Andy call to the bullpen and Mike D. steps over Kyle Hendricks to fill in for the birthday boy, Praz. The guys discuss whether the Cubs have demoted Kyle to the bullpen or is being put out to pasture, and they (or at least Andy) thinks with a little "growth" it might just work. They also try to make sense of the Cubs sending down Petecrow and not Nick Madrigal and just how long Nick's Roster Spot Hostage Crisis can go on. They also discuss what to do with Ian Happ, whether Cody Bellinger is playing his way back to free agency again, and most crucially, how can the third largest market in the nation foist Zach Zaidman and Matt Spiegel on us as our only play-by-play options. All that, and more.

Why are some of the best young pitchers limited to short stints in the minors instead of contributing what they can to the big league team? David Brown and Andy discuss that hot topic, plus can you fix your bullpen in May, why is that Paul Skenes mustache a thing, when are they finally going to get around to updating the requirements to get a win, create the team error and figure out how to make a safety base that isn't too weird looking for a big league diamond? Andy demands the Cubs bring up Cade Horton. They also discuss catchers creeping too close to hitters, which of the automated strike zone ideas is most likely to work and when can they start using it. They also discuss Boog Sciambi's appearance on Pablo Torres' podcast and why the things he claims the Cubs value in a player do not mesh with the current roster. All that, and more.

The guys kick around all of the important issues this week like, how long has Dansby Swanson's offensive slump been going on (a long time), who should be the Cubs fourth outfielder when Seiya Suzuki returns and why should it be Ian Happ, and what to do with Petecrow when Seiya's return happens. They also ponder just how well Nick Madrigal would need to hit to actually be worth a big league roster spot and what current big leaguer can be used as the minimum threshold for that? They kick around ideas for Cubs' closer and make the case why Cade Horton's pitch and innings limit are fine but they should be occurring in Chicago, not Des Moines. They also make fun of how bad the Cardinals are, check out the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and talk about the time the Chicago Blitz traded themselves to Arizona. All that, and more, like the intro music to The Fall Guy, Gil Thorp comics and other stuff.

The Athletic's Jon Greenberg comes on the pod to talk about the Bears ill-fated stadium press conference, his role in helping the Bears finally put their tortured quarterback history to the side, why Kevin Warren and George McCaskey would end up being the stars of Hard Knocks. They discuss how cool Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze are. Why it's savvy for Ryan Poles to become The Pat McAfee Show's favorite general manager. How the Flus' glow up actually makes you more confident in his ability to coach. What's going to dictate when Major League Baseball fixes the player name lettering on jerseys and much more.

Is the Twins new rally celebration an ecoLOGical diaster just waiting to happen? David Brown weighs on that meaty matter and other hot topics like Mike Trout's meniscus, revenge games, Jose Abreu's trip to Del Boca Vista, how are the Cubs surviving (mostly) their injuries and the Astros aren't, fun with batter's interference and why baseball's uniforms likely won't really be fixed anytime soon. And don't miss Andy's important news from his recent doctor's appointment! All that, and more.

Andy, Praz and Oleg discuss all the pertinent issues with the Cubs like the return of Matt Mervis, Nicky Two Strikes, Ian Happ's return to the lineup, Kyle Hendricks' phantom back injury and Boog's fascination with Mike Tauchman. But then they put their big throbbing brains together and come up with a series of initiatives that will toughen the Cubs up and forge them into a true championship contender. The ideas are brilliant and the Cubs can easily monetize them, which is all they care about. Then the podcast becomes probiotic talk as Andy discusses the very liquid reason why there was only one newsletter and no podcast last week, and if the good folks at Bucee's or Kefir are listening, there's a sponsorship opportunity in the offing, with the kind of appreciative testimonial that money just can't buy.

Oh, and the name they couldn't remember at the end? Barkevious Mingo. Don't Google him.

While the Cubs bullpen might be awful, Andy, Praz and Oleg decide to talk about what isn't...Seiya Suzuki. They do discuss the state of the Cubs bullpen, what's going on with the vaunted pitching infrastructure these days, how taking Christopher Morel out for defense all the time finally bit the Cubs in the ass, and they try to figure out what it is that Nick Madrigal is doing that supposedly helps a team. They bask in the afterglow of another fine Shōta Imanaga start and try to figure out what happened to that 8-0 lead on Monday night. Andy comes up with an inappropriate, but affectionate, nickname for Shōta. All that and more.

The gang moves into a fancy new studio and David Brown stops by to talk baseball. How are the Cubs ever going to know if Christopher Morel can get better at third if they keep yanking him out of games late, and when is it going to cost them to lose his bat in the process? What's life going to be like for the A's in Sacramento and what's the only way to make that move a positive? Joe Maddon talked about who else to blame in the Shohei mess, which got Andy talking about Shōgun and how everything he ever needed to know about translators he learned by watching that show. They also give some rash overreactions to the first week of the season and you'll get a truly terrible eclipse joke. But as a bonus, there's a great Bill Raftery story. All that, and more.

The whole Pointless Exercise team has assembled to do a mega preview of the upcoming baseball season. Join Andy, David Brown, both the Mike P's (Praz and Pusateri), Remember this Crap's Mike Donohue and the new guy, Oleg, as they make way too many predictions. They break down each division, use their big baseball brains to tell you who's going to the World Series and winning all the big awards. If you have a gambling problem like Shohei's former pal, Ippei, you're in luck, they also share their favorite prop bets.

Ready or not, baseball seasons starts in the wee hours of Wednesday morning so David Brown is here to talk about how Blake Snell signing with the Giants makes the wild card path tougher in the NL and what's up with Jordan Montgomery. They discuss the Dodgers just forgetting to find a shortstop and how Mookie Betts solves everything. How many other players would be willing to try switching positions on the fly. They talk about great moments in David Ross losing the DH, and the height of Joe Torre's pants. Were the Spring Breakout games anything but baseball's attempt to charge a full big league gate for a minor league spring game (which are usually free), and why was it impossible for the Cubs and White Sox to play it on a different day. They make fun of Jim Bowden's list of players due to break out, talk about old friend Yu Darvish who is making the opening day start for the Padres and much, much more.