Locked On Cubs - Daily Podcast On The Chicago Cubs

The Cubs finished out their sweep of the Miami Marlins on Wednesday, pounding starter Wei-Yin Chen and posting a 13-4 victory. Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Addison Russell all hit homers for Chicago, and the main arms in the bullpen got some major, must-needed rest. So the Cubs are now 8-5 in their last 13 games despite an awful offensive stretch, which puts them on pace for 100 wins. Next up on the schedule is the Chicago White Sox. I spent the second segment looking back on the Crosstown Classic. Despite how many might feel, the Cubs and Sox are not rivals in any sense of the word. Maybe the fans have a rivalry, but that doesn't even really exist outside Chicago. At any rate, I looked back on some stats from the historical, head-to-head matchup, a few key moments in the series, and Cubs franchise leaders versus the White Sox. Be sure to send your questions for Friday's mailbag podcast to @LockedOnCubs on Twitter or lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs beat the Marlins for the second straight day, running their record to 7-5 in their last 12 games. But wins and losses aren't the only thing we're here to talk about. Tom Loxas of Cubs Insider joins me in the second segment to go over those Manny Machado trade rumors. Would it make sense for either the Cubs or the Baltimore Orioles to work out a deal? If so, who would have to be involved? In the final segment, I did my brief rundown of the NL Central and updated the standings. Jose Quintana will take on the Marlins in the finale of the three-game series on Wednesday, with the Cubs looking for a three-game sweep. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @LockedOnCubs and email us any questions or comments at lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs are back in the win column, baby! Ian Happ hit two home runs, Kris Bryant crushed one, and Javy Baez hit a deep homer to center field in a 14-2 rout of the Miami Marlins. It really was exactly what the Cubs needed, with Kyle Hendricks tossing eight innings and giving the bullpen a much-needed day of rest. Jen-Ho Tseng will make his 2018 debut with the Cubs on Tuesday night against Miami. In the second segment, I looked at a piece that Patrick Mooney wrote for The Athletic on Adbert Alzolay, and I looked at what could be on the horizon for him (and the rest of the Cubs' bullpen) as the season moves along. There are some very good reasons to look to avoid burning out guys like Steve Cishek, and it has everything to do with October. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @LockedOnCubs and email any questions or comments to lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

That didn't go as planned. The Cubs lost all three in St. Louis over the weekend by a combined four runs, including two walk-off losses that they lead with less than three outs to go. That brings the losing streak to five games, and well, things aren't going very well for the Cubs right now. They can't hit, they can't score, and it's no fun to watch. But otherwise, things are great. In segment two, I vented the frustration on behalf of Cubs fans everywhere. This is off script, people. Not only did I point out the biggest problem, I pointed out the biggest things that Cubs fans love to blame that really aren't the problem at all. Finally, I looked around the NL Central, updated the unfortunate division standings, and looked ahead at the Marlins a bit. Be sure to follow the podcast on Twitter @LockedOnCubs and email us any questions or comments at lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's an off-day podcast, so I gathered questions from a Twitter AMA to entertain you. In the first segment, I jumped on some meatballs right down the middle. It's a little light-hearted, and a good way to kick things off. But in the second segment, I went at the really hard-hitting stuff. That includes a question about whether the Baltimore Orioles would actually be interested in a Manny Machado-for-Addison Russell type of deal. In the final segment, I looked at the one game from the NL Central on Thursday. The Cubs begin a series in St. Louis on Friday, with Jose Quintana facing Miles Mikolas. You can follow the podcast on Twitter @LockedOnCubs to take part in any future AMA's, and you can also email questions or comments to lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs lost against to the Rockies on Wednesday, dropping their three-game set and finishing the season series tied at 3-3. The offense failed them again, but this time the pitching was no better. On a day when the wind was blowing out, Rockies pitcher Tyler Anderson dominated while Yu Darvish couldn't keep fly balls to stay in the ballpark. The final score was 11-2, with solo homers from Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant accounting for all the Cubs' runs. I welcomed Kelly Wallace of Locked On Cubs back to the show to talk a little about Ian Happ in our second segment. Have the Cubs learned from their handling of Kyle Schwarber last year, and will they send Happ and his 46.1 K% down to Triple-A Iowa? I finished out by looking around the NL Central and updating the standings. You can follow us on Twitter @LockedOnCubs and email any questions or comments to lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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The Cubs are back in first place all on their own, which is where they belong. After winning four straight over the Brewers, the Cubs took Game 1 of a three-game home series with the Colorado Rockies. In the opening segment, I do a quick rundown of everything that has happened since last Friday. In the second segment, I opened talking about Adbert Alzolay and his excellent start at Triple-A Iowa on Monday evening. What could his role be in Chicago this season? After a few historical notes on Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant, I took a look around the NL Central. The Cubs' 7-1 record has meant a lot in relation to the Brewers, who are now one game back of the Cubs. A special thanks to Sean Sears of FanSided for taking the reigns for me on Friday. I was in Chicago doing a story on the Brewers for The Athletic, so I appreciate him picking up my slack. You can follow the podcast on Twitter @LockedOnCubs and email us any questions or comments to lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to Locked on Cubs, the daily podcast covering the Chicago Cubs as part of the Locked on Podcast Network.  With regular host Ryan Davis out for the day, contributor Sean Sears fills in once again to preview the weekend series with the Milwaukee Brewers while looking back at Thursday's game. Segment 3 is a quick look around the rest of the NL Central.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apologies for the late and rushed podcast today. I'm hopping a train and heading for Chicago, where I'll be (hopefully) getting a story on Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers. In the meantime, let's talk about a Cubs loss to the Cleveland Indians. Kris Bryant sat out once again, but is that cause for concern? Not yet, but maybe soon. Jon Lester pitched well again, becoming the first Cub to get through seven innings as a starter this year. I went into the Ian Happ problem, how things might shake out when Ben Zobrist comes off the DL, and a few notes on Yu Darvish throwing to Willson Contreras. I finished out with a quick look at what happened in the NL Central on Wednesday, but had to cut the podcast short when my train arrived a few minutes early. Sean Sears of FanSided will be bringing you Friday's podcast. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @LockedOnCubs and email any questions or comments to lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs got another victory on Tuesday, improving to 11-9 and breaking the latest curse -- being .500 at every interval. Take that, 10-10! Kyle Schwarber was one of the big heroes of the win, clubbing two monster home runs to right field. Tyler Chatwood also chipped in, giving the Cubs six solid innings despite walking five batters. In the second segment, I went a bit deeper into Schwarber's very good numbers so far in 2018. Unfortunately, Addison Russell hasn't been quite so good. But you might be surprised to learn about some of his peripheral stats. Finally, I updated the NL Central standings and teased a piece that I'll be writing for a new publication this week. For those of you that have followed along, my Jordan Hicks piece for Sporting News is now live and can be read here. Be sure to follow us on Twitter @LockedOnCubs and email any questions or comments to lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the Cubs coming off (yet another) off day and Evan Altman coming off a long vacation, I thought it would be fun to have a chat with the Cubs Insider managing editor. Evan and I talked about the success of the bullpen to this point in the season, followed by a fun little game I invented specifically to make him look bad. In the final segment, Evan and I discussed some of the good and the bad of the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers, and which team we believe is the main challenger for the Cubs in the NL Central. As always, please be sure to follow us on Twitter @LockedOnCubs and email any questions or comments to lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs went into Colorado and took two out of three from the Rockies over the weekend, which is good! But Yu Darvish was stinky once again and Kris Bryant got hit in the face with a fastball, which is bad. At any rate, there is plenty of good stuff that happened since I last spoke to you. I did a quick recap of the last three games before taking a question from a listener on that weird situation on Sunday between Javier Baez and DJ LeMahieu. For my final segment, as always, I took a look around the NL Central and updated the current standings. The Brewers are on a tear, while the Cardinals just can't stop beating up on the poor Reds. The Pirates aren't doing so hot lately, having fallen out of first place. Be sure to send us any questions or comments to lockedoncubs@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter @LockedOnCubs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Cubs not only played a game on Thursday, but they won a game! They beat the St. Louis Cardinals by a score of 8-5, with Jon Lester getting the victory and pitching well. Only a bit of a rough seventh inning from Eddie Butler was a black mark on this one. Javier Baez and Jason Heyward both had a couple of hits. The Cubs will travel to Colorado to take on the Rockies for a weekend series, with Kyle Hendricks opposing Jon Gray on Friday night. In my second segment, I welcomed Kelly Wallace of Locked On Cubs to chat about Ian Happ vs. Albert Almora in the outfield, as well as the breakout season of Baez. To finish things up, I took a look around the NL Central and updated the current standings. You can follow the podcast on Twitter @LockedOnCubs and email us any questions or comments to lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With another slightly later release, I bring you Episode 53 of Locked On Cubs. This is not a drill, people; it appears as though the Cubs and Cardinals will actually play a game at 1:20 pm CST on Thursday. To start out the podcast, I chatted briefly about a story I was chasing at Wrigley Field on Tuesday and some of my interactions within the Cardinals clubhouse. Mike Maddux is an interesting dude. Next, I looked at Javier Baez batting in the second spot in the lineup for just the second time since 2014, and why he's having an outstanding season despite his deceptive .235 batting average. This is a major reach, but what if Baez were to actually reach the ceiling on his potential in 2018? I finished out the podcast, as always, by running down the action from Wednesday in the NL Central and I even added a brief look at the standings. You can follow the podcast on Twitter @LockedOnCubs and email us any questions or comments at lockedoncubs@gmail.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices