Locked On Cubs - Daily Podcast On The Chicago Cubs

Sean recaps the Cubs 9-0 loss to the Diamondbacks as Cole Hamels finally has a poor outing in a Cubs uniform, but after 30 straight games they finally get a day off Thursday. In the second segment, Sean talk about Pedro Strop possibly returning before the end of the season and then highlights an excellent article by NBC Sports Chicago analyst Doug Glanville on the Cubs being the favorite in the National League because of their ability to grind through a season and win games. And finally, Sean takes another look at the NL Central standings as the Brewers creep closer with only 10 games left in the season.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean recaps the Cubs 9-1 win over the Diamondbacks, which was fueled by Javier Baez and Daniel Murphy home runs, and then previews the series finale with the Diamondbacks featuring Cole Hamels against Robbie Ray. Later, we take a look at the Cubs potential postseason bullpen without Brandon Morrow, as the Cubs closer was shutdown for the season Tuesday afternoon. And finally, we run through the NL Central and Wild Card standings to finish out the show.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sean recaps the Cubs 5-1 win over the Diamondbacks as the offense finally breaks out and Kyle Hendricks has his best outing of the year. Later, he preview's Tuesday's game against Arizona and takes a look at the Cubs struggling offense and why things my finally starting to click at the plate. And he finishes the show taking a look at the NL Central and Wild Card standings.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs came into the their three-game set with the Brewers playing well, but they didn't play so well on Monday night. Cole Hamels had another solid game, but the offense couldn't hit Zach Davies in his return from the DL and several small errors doomed this game. The Cubs lost, 4-3. Sean Sears and I talked about that, today's game, and a crucial decision by Kris Bryant on the last play of the game. In the second segment, we talked more about Hamels vs. Davies and some comments from Hamels that were ... interesting. In the final segment, we talked about the NL Central and cast our unofficial NL MVP ballots.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On today’s show, we’ll quickly go over the weekend games and highlight the excellent pitching from Kyle Hendricks, Jon Lester, and Jose Quintana this weekend. In the second segment, we’ll preview this week’s series with the Brewers and talk a little about Javier Baez's season and why it’s so special. And finally, we’ll wrap the show taking a look at the NL Central and I have a few notes on new Cubs catcher Bobby Wilson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs had a short layover in Atlanta on their way to Philadelphia, and they picked up a win against the Braves. Mike Montgomery was excellent for the first few innings but ran out of gas in the fifth, giving up four earned runs in 4 1/3 innings with six strikeouts. The Cubs' bullpen -- even Brandon Kintzler! -- combined to shut the Braves down the rest of the way, and Chicago pulled off a 5-4 victory. Sean Sears and I talked about that in the first segment, then looked ahead at tonight's game against the Phillies. In the second segment, we talked about a variety of little topics: The Bobby Wilson trade, Kris Bryant, Terrence Gore, and Jason Heyward's hamstring injury. To finish things out, we talked about the NL Central and updated the standings. I even did some math to explain just how hot the Cardinals would have to finish the 2018 season to win the division. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs finished out a win in their suspended game from Tuesday, but lost the highly anticipated Jason Vargas and Alec Mills matchup. The Mets jumped on Mills early with a first inning grand slam and won the game, 10-3. Sean Sears and I talked about that, plus whether or not Mills might get another start. We also gave a quick Kris Bryant update in the first segment and reminisced about a special Cubs anniversary. In the second segment, we talked about Brandon Kintzler. Wow. He is pretty, pretty, pretty bad. But in addition, could there be one open bullpen spot for a potential postseason run? In the final segment, we updated the NL Central standings and talked about Josh Donaldson going on waivers.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs played the Mets last night, and the pitching matchup of Cole Hamels and Jacob deGrom did not disappoint. Unfortunately, rained washed out the 1-1 tie in the top of the 10th and caused the game to be suspended. The two teams will finish out the game today at 12:00 pm CST, with today's game to follow at 1:20 pm (or 45 minutes later). Sean Sears and I previewed the pitching matchup. In the second segment, we talked about Kris Bryant's rehab at Triple-A and pulled a few interesting quotes from Bryant via the Des Moines Register's Tommy Birch. In the final segment, we updated the standings (for now) and looked at the Brewers' woeful pitching situation. I finished things out by unfairly quizzing Sean about games from before he hit puberty.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 On episode 134 of Locked On Cubs, Sean Sears brings on fellow NBC Sports Chicago writer Tony Andracki to the show to get his thoughts on the Cubs 7-4 win over the Mets. The two preview tonight's match-up featuring Cole Hamels for the Cubs and potential NL Cy Young candidate Jacob deGrom for the Mets. Later, Tony and Sean preview what the Cubs postseason could potentially look like and take a look at how Kris Bryant finds his way back to the Cubs roster. Finally, we wrap up the show by taking a look at the NL Central standings.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs swept the Reds in a four-game series at home for the first time since 1945. That seems noteworthy. Sean Sears and I discussed what went well in their last few games, including a lot about the pitching. Alec Mills was outstanding in his first big league start, and the Cubs are going to give him another shot in the rotation. In the second segment, we gave some injury updates on Kris Bryant, Brandon Morrow, and others. The Cubs could be in really good shape once September starts, if all goes as planned. Later in the second segment, we talked about a handful of pitching prospects that have really stepped up and played well this year in the minors. So much so, that dare I say the Cubs have more pitching prospect depth than positional depth? In the final segment, we updated the standings and issued a minor correction from a previous podcast.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs got a complete game performance from Cole Hamels in their 7-1 win over the Reds on Thursday night. I went solo on this episode of Locked On Cubs to talk about that, Javy Báez's big homer, and much more. I recapped the game in the first segment before looking ahead to today's matchup and reminiscing about great Cubs mid-season deals of the past. In the second segment, I looked at that great Báez homer and had some fun with audio of great and memorable home runs of Wrigley Field history. In the final segment, I briefly looked at the NL Central standings and the important games Friday night. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's mostly good news for today's episode of Locked On Cubs! The Cubs won 8-2 over the Tigers on Wednesday night, getting a solid start from Jon Lester and three home runs from the offense -- two of which happened with runners on base. Sean Sears and I talked about that before previewing tonight's game against the Cincinnati Reds. After the Reds the Cubs will play the Mets next week, but could this stretch be tougher than it appears? In the second segment, we discussed a few items of note from Jed Hoyer's recent appearance on 670 The Score in Chicago, a little about Duane Underwood, and answered a question from a listener. In the final segment we discussed the NL Central, Brandon Morrow falling into the Springfield Myster Spot, and just about anything else that popped into our heads. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

First things first, the Cubs lost again on Tuesday night -- their third in a row. The offense hit a solo homer, as per usual, and Kyle Hendricks tossed a solid seven innings in the 2-1 Tigers win. Sean Sears and I talked about that in the first segment before breaking down the big news: Daniel Murphy is now a Cub. For baseball reasons, there is a lot to be happy about with this trade. For other reasons, there is a lot to be unhappy about. We went in depth on both. In the second segment, we talked about the expected but still disappointing news on Yu Darvish being shut down for the rest of the year. In addition, we pontificated on who may be starting in Mike Montgomery's spot on Friday against the Reds -- maybe Montgomery, himself? In the final segment, we looked at the NL Central standings and expressed our inherent fear of the Cardinals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Monday was the Cubs' last off-day for a while, so today's podcast is another question and answer type of thing. Sean Sears took this one on his own, first looking at tonight's pitching matchup with the Tigers. Kyle Hendricks is on the mound for the Cubs against veteran right-hander Jordan Zimmermann. From there, Sean fielded questions about Yu Darvish and what a miracle return might look like, the trade value of Addison Russell, and what the team's Achilles heel might be in the postseason (should they qualify). Thanks for the great questions, everyone! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs split with the Pittsburgh Pirates over the weekend, and really that's the good news. The offense mustered just one run in each game, and the Cubs won the first two games of the series 1-0. Sean Sears and I talked about the series and we previewed tomorrow's game against the Detroit Tigers in the first segment. In the second segment, we went over the bad news on Yu Darvish and talked about what options the Cubs may have remaining. Later, we discussed Addison Russell's injury and why the Cubs are so reluctant to use the 10-day DL. In the final segment, we did a rundown of the NL Central and talked briefly about how the Cubs will fill Mike Montgomery's shoes in his next rotation turn now that he's on the disabled list. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices