Away Games: A Chicago Cubs Podcast

After two separate 11 game losing streaks, the Cubs (somehow) won 7 straight games over the past week. We break down how it happened, how excited we should be, and which of the current Cubs should have a place in the team's immediate future. Friend of the pod Ken Schultz (Baseball Prospectus, Outsports) pinch hits for Kevin to join Adam this week before heading to Wrigley in his Rizzo jersey tonight. We also talk about Ken's emotions heading into the weekend series against San Francisco in which Kris Bryant will make his return to Wrigley.  Today's episode is brought to you by MANSCAPED™! Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code AWAYGAMES at Manscaped.com. Unlock your confidence and always use the right tools for the job with MANSCAPED™.

Today we are joined by Ethan Roberts, Cubs relief pitching prospect currently at triple-A Iowa. Ethan talks about only getting one scholarship offer out of high school, pitching an insane amount of innings as a closer in college, and when he found out his spin rate was something special. Follow him @EthanRoberts26 on Instagram and @EthanXXVI on Twitter! Follow us @AwayGamesPod everywhere. Today's episode is brought to you by MANSCAPED™! Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code AWAYGAMES at Manscaped.com. Unlock your confidence and always use the right tools for the job with MANSCAPED™. 

Wisdom just keeps hitting bombs, so we take a closer look at his place on the Cubs going forward on his birthday week (he’s 30, his mustache is from the ‘70s). We talk about some new Cubs seeing the field, Bote not seeing that damn ball, and Javy’s troubles with booing and morons in Queens. Today's episode is brought to you by MANSCAPED™! Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code AWAYGAMES at Manscaped.com. Unlock your confidence and always use the right tools for the job with MANSCAPED™. 

The Cubs broke their *home* losing streak with a genuinely fun walk-off win at Wrigley, and we talk about the Cubs current lineup, and how many of these guys we might actually see playing when the Cubs are winners again (next year, God-willing). Is Happ slowly coming back, and will he even get a contract this offseason? Is Schwindel the next Bryan LaHair or Joey Bats? How about an Ortega/Hermosillo platoon? This is actually what we’re talking about. Today's episode is brought to you by MANSCAPED™! Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code AWAYGAMES at Manscaped.com. Unlock your confidence and always use the right tools for the job with MANSCAPED™. 

So the Cubs lost 12 in a row, but now it’s #comebackszn because the winning streak is up to 2! We talk Michael Hermosillo & his great attitude, appreciating Kyle Hendricks, hope for Happ, and then we talk about a non-Cubs baseball trip we took (with Friend of the Pod Ken Schultz!) to see Coors Field, where the similarly bad Rockies beat the Padres two games in a row.  Today's episode is brought to you by MANSCAPED™! Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code AWAYGAMES at Manscaped.com. Unlock your confidence and always use the right tools for the job with MANSCAPED™. 

We find a few things to be interested in as this season tumbles down the stairs to a finish: Justin Steele’s debut as a starter, Rafael Ortega’s continued breakout and Patrick Wisdom’s power display, Manny Rodriguez’s closer potential…and I mean, you know the deal. That’s pretty much it. Kevin & Adam talk about what needs to happen this offseason (a lot) vs. what we think will actually happen (less) with a team that has no excuse not to get back to contending next year. But for now…give us those Steele starts!  Today's episode is brought to you by MANSCAPED™! Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with the code AWAYGAMES at Manscaped.com. Unlock your confidence and always use the right tools for the job with MANSCAPED™. 

If you don’t want to hear anger, frustration, and emotion about how this Cubs trade deadline went, you can skip to the next episode. Ken Schultz of Outsports & Baseball Prospectus joins Kevin and Adam to talk about the trading of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javy Baez, the failure to extend literally any of the Cubs greatest core, and the plan or lack thereof going forward. It was a hell of a run.

You may have heard: the Cubs traded some guys. They got a bunch of new guys back. Bleacher Nation writer Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) is here to talk to Kevin about all the new names, who he’s most excited about, when we can hope to see them at Wrigley, and where the Cubs farm system now ranks. Out: Rizzo, Bryant, Baez. In: PCA, Killian, Alcantara? It’s a deep dive, let’s try to have some fun. 

The deadline is Friday, 7/30, 4 p.m. Until then: we wait. Rumors about Rizzo and the Red Sox, Baez and the Mets, Kris Bryant and the Giants/Mets/Rays, and Kimbrel going everywhere. We talk about the return for Chafin and optimism on what Tepera and Kimbrel might return to the Cubs. We talk new Cubs Greg Deichmann and Daniel Palencia.

Reload, rebuild…something’s coming. We talk about the reality of Cubs ownership, the numbers behind what they have *actually* spent since they took over (against the money they’ve made), and what we should expect from this team at the trade deadline and beyond. We also talk about the fun you can still have watching your favorite team in a non-playoff year, and the two great comebacks vs. the D-backs and Cardinals this week.

Kris Bryant and Craig Kimbrel represented the Cubs at this year’s all-star game, and while we love Kimbrel’s return to dominance, we focus on KB: his handling of a terrible Joe Buck interview, his excellence on and off and all around the baseball field, and why he should maybe be the Cubs first priority to extend. We also take a look back at our pre-season predictions and see how we — and the Cubs — have done so far.

Okay. So, 11 losses in a row (10 when we recorded this). That wasn’t great. Let’s talk about how a .500ish team is exactly what this front office put together, and while we’ve had extreme good and bad, our favorite team is where they belong. Barring a miracle, this week was the week the Cubs became sellers. We take stock of what’s gone right, and look back at the turning point of this season (cough, 7-0 lead, cough), and the turning points of this era — the greatest era in Cubs history. Twitter: @awaygamespod

So, 80 games in, halfway through the year, it’s time for a roster report card. In: Joc, Arrieta, Williams, Duffy, Marisnick, Sogard. Out: Darvish, Caratini, Schwarber, Lester. The Cubs are in 2nd, five games back of the Brewers, and it seems like this roster is what it looked like at the beginning of the year. Let’s talk about the positives AND the negatives, and what we think we’ll see going forward.

Everyone is taking their pants off this week because umpires have begun #StickyGate2021. We talk about that, the benching of Javy Baez, the return of the Kyle Hendricks we know, the starters the Cubs could target at the deadline, and the insanity of learning that Juliana Zobrist found a way to be worse than her music. What a week!

Adam reports on being IN the Mets PA booth with Howard Cosell’s grandson, and he & Kevin talk about the sweep of St. Louis, trying to survive de Grom & the Mets, how much longer Heyward and Sogard can be getting starts, and just a *little* about the bummers of Heyward and Rizzo’s vaccine comments this week. Twitter & Instagram @awaygamespod

Friend of the pod Ken Schultz (Outsports, Baseball Prospectus) pinch hits for Kevin to join Adam on this week's pod! We talk Patrick Wisdom's unbelievable run, Adbert's injury, a strong Zach Davies start and weathering this west coast trip. We also preview today's Arrieta/Darvish matchup and talk about the upcoming Cubs/Cardinals series at a full capacity Wrigley, featuring the Cubs' new unis. Follow us at @awaygamespod on Twitter/Instagram and give us a 5 start rating on iTunes if you're digging the show! 

Sarah Spain (writer, TV/radio host, Chicago Red Stars owner, expert beer thrower) joins Adam and Kevin for a fun talk: throwing beers to Jake Arrieta during the parade, joining the Chicago Red Stars ownership group, wanting to like the players we root for, how she went from comedy to sports, and what it means to her to have a voice and a platform as a woman in sports media. We also talk a little about Eddie Murphy and our favorite SNL casts. Follow Sarah everywhere, listen to her “That’s What She Said” podcast, and for real, go check out a Chicago Red Stars game. She’ll probably throw you a beer (seriously).

It’s June, and the Cubs are in first. Let’s talk about the massive amount of injuries, but more about the guys who have filled in for those injuries and helped push the team to the top of the central: Wisdom, Nance, Thompson, and of course, the mainstays who should be forever-stays, Bryant and Javy. 

Adam returns from St. Louis after seeing the Cubs take 2 of 3 from the Cardinals, and we talk about a really good run from a team that looks like it wants to contend. Injuries suck - Nico Hoerner is hurt (after Matt Duffy, Jake Marisnick, Jason Heyward, Jason Adam, Justin Steele) and we talk about who might replace him, the Cubs 40-man roster crunch, and the seemingly sustainable success of this bullpen. It’s been a fun Cubs month, and we preview a difficult June schedule. Follow @awaygamespod everywhere!

Duncan Robinson was a 2016 draft pick by the Cubs, a pitcher out of Dartmouth, who  pitched (and succeeded!) at every level in the Cubs system up through Major League Spring Training. He recently decided to end his playing career to go to law school, but he sat down to talk with us about his experience in the Cubs system, and it’s a really interesting, detailed story. Topics: the help Kyle Hendricks gives to young pitchers; how a pitcher uses the Cubs IVY app to create a scouting report; finding out Theo Epstein is watching you warm up in college; how teams talk to players before the draft; the first day in a big league clubhouse; working Uber and retail while also rehabbing from Tommy John as a minor leaguer; and the politics of baseball. Follow Duncan on instagram @duncan_and_donuts and on twitter @Duncan_Robiso