The other 15 percent take center stage as the wheel of crap lands on 1983. Lee Elia stood up for his team said a lot of really profane but accurate things and ended up getting fired a few months later, Leon Durham was the only All-Star on the club, Chuck Rainey almost threw a no-hitter, Fergie forgot how to throw the ball to first base, the Cubs played a five game series in Pissburgh and lost them all, and their interim manager had first managed in 1947. The guys play six degrees of Craig Lefferts, find out who wrote the opening theme to This Week in Baseball (you won't believe the tie-in on that one) and they talk about Ted Williams hitting ropes off a pre-teen kid. 

Bally Sports' David Brown is back from field trips to St. Louis and Washington and he has important food-related things to report. The guys talk about a fantasy football league that doesn't seem like that fun to be in and  and they take a look at every team and with well more than 100 games left to go just how many still have realistic playoff chances. Not so fast, White Sox. How has the extra playoff spot affected how teams will treat the trade deadline? Why do players on bad teams still do rehab appearances in the minors?  All that and more on this week's Pointless Exercise baseball podcast.

The Athletic's Jon Greenberg swings by to talk about Marquee's fiasco with The Reporters and the guys talk about all of the other things Marquee needs to do to fix things, including giving Cole Wright hazard pay for doing an hour pre and postgame for all of these awful Cubs games. How's Jed Hoyer's don't-call-it-a-rebuild going? When is Jason Benetti going to go national full-time and then what happens to our old pal Len Kasper? What is Marquee Plus and why is it a thing? Where has Ryan Dempster been and why did he have to come back? What does Pat Hughes really do during the fifth inning? And much, much, more.

The Cubs are ready to unveil the Fergie Jenkins statue, and the guys get so distracted by the fact the new "statue row" has two empty podiums that they spend the hour trying to figure out which players the Cubs are going to immortalize next. They're pretty sure the next one is guaranteed to be Ryne Sandberg, but then who gets the other spot? Many players are considered from several eras and a lot of time is spent on a guy the Garbage Family That Owns The Cubs™ has spent a lot of time ostracizing. So kick back and enjoy as they discuss what criteria the Cubs are likely to use, what they should use and how they can both this whole thing. 

The baseball podcast with David Brown is back and this week the guys discuss important baseball topics like why does Rick Sutcliffe think the Cubs are good enough to add players? Should the Cubs trade Willson Contreras? Why is it so much better when the Cubs bring up guys like Brandon Hughes and Christopher Morel instead of 30 year old non-prospects? Why do teams wait so long to sell? If the Nationals are really going to trade Juan Soto first, why would they do that? And second, why would they do that? When is it appropriate to interview players parents during games? Why is Max Scherzer so mean to ceremonial first pitch throwers? Is the Pacific Coast League really a thing again? You get your weekly Honus Wagner anecdote and more. 

Some platforms had technical difficulties with the original post of this podcast. So here it is again. Not everyone had problems with the original, so that one also remains posted.

The Cubs went back to the playoffs for a second straight year, and won just as many postseason games as they did the year before. But this was a 97 win team with a Japanese star in right field, a Cardinals retread in center, and a rookie of the year catcher. It was the 2008 Cubs and until their Canadian prop comic game one playoff starter walked seven Dodgers, things were going pretty good. The guys take a look back at a season where the Cubs had a lot of All-Stars, made a huge trade that included a future MVP, and a guy who fell into a dumpster, and should be more fondly remembered than they are.

The Cubs went back to the playoffs for a second straight year, and won just as many postseason games as they did the year before. But this was a 97 win team with a Japanese star in right field, a Cardinals retread in center, and a rookie of the year catcher. It was the 2008 Cubs and until their Canadian prop comic game one playoff starter walked seven Dodgers, things were going pretty good. The guys take a look back at a season where the Cubs had a lot of All-Stars, made a huge trade that included a future MVP, and a guy who fell into a dumpster, and should be more fondly remembered than they are.

The red-hot Cubs won their second series of the season and fifth game in 20 attempts (yikes). Andy and Dave talk about Ildemaro Vargas' wild day in the field, Frank Schwindel's fortuitous flat tire, and some unfortunate (and a few convenient) injuries. They also talk about the crazy Angels-Rays game that featured lots of trophies, an outfielder pitching, a guy homering from the wrong side of the plate and oh yeah, a no-hitter. They discuss unwritten rules, why they exist, why they are so dumb and who thought of them in the first place, and they suggest a few of their own. They give their thoughts on Brunch with Benetti on Peacock, writers who celebrate players earning their pensions, and in his role as official Cubs ambassador to the White Sox, one of the guys makes a very benevolent trade offer to help fill the Sox gaping void at second base.

The Bears drafted some players and so it's time for a spring edition of the Bears Podcast with Mike Pusateri. The guys take a look at the Bears picks, their strategy of not doing much to fix the offense, but how they did draft Velvet Jones. They also talk about the free agents the team has signed and discussed if the Bears really seem invested in Justin Fields. And then, it's time to talk TV. So they dig into Better Call Saul (and recommend a great podcast), Bob Odenkirk's book, Robert Evans' audiobook and the Paramount Plus series The Offer, Brian Cox's book, WeCrashed, The Dropout, The Staircase, Severance, Central Park, We Own This Town, F1 Drive to Survive, The Great Pottery Throwdown and more.

The season is nearing the tenth pole (that's not a thing) and so it's a good time to check in on the Cubs insistence on hitting everything on the ground, what's going on with the ball, what's the sticky stuff in the rosin bags these days, why are people still freaking out about Joe Maddon like he hasn't been doing this stuff forever, Javy's giant thumb, Aaron Boone intentionally walking a guy with 2,999 hits, April trades, guys getting struck by lightning and crushed by satellite dishes, great moments in Beloit Snappers history, quirky uniform stuff and former Bears receiver Roy Williams. 

Now, THAT's a podcast.