A (3:59)

Just as a reminder, Dan, the Milwaukee brewers have now won the NL Central three consecutive years. And the last two, they've been the first team to clinch a playoff spot. And that is a small market baseball team. And for fans to not hold Jed Hoyer and the Ricketts family and this organization to a high standard of making the playoffs every year. And the anomaly should be the year they miss because of things out of their control. But the standard and the norm should be making the playoffs for this baseball team in this division.

B (4:33)

Period. And when I talk about resources and I talk about money, very often the expectations, well, they have money to sign high priced free agents. Well, they did that with Kyle Tucker who is going to be back for this series. We don't know if he's going to be able to play the field or not. I think that may be a game time decision. And actually he hasn't played the field all that well this year. Even by his standards. It was sort of a down year for him. Defensively, it's his bat we need. But the, the Cubs have the resources, the prospect resources, the developmental resources. What I'm talking about when I talk about spending is capital S. It's not just doling out money in an off season to get a guy. It's affording all the tech for all their minor league teams. It's affording all the scouts, all the staffing, everything that they need to scout internationally to provide their prospects with every developmental opportunity. All the best medicine when they've got those resources, to make sure that they are consistently developing and building teams that should be expected to make the playoffs every single year.

A (5:44)

Well, let's be fair, though, because inside the walls of Wrigley Field, the Cubs just break even.

B (5:49)

Dan.

A (5:49)

So it's hard. Yes, it's hard.

B (5:53)

We put every dollar back into the team, and we really don't run this thing for a profit. Inside the tiny, tiny little.

A (6:01)

Inside the walls of Wrigley Field.

B (6:03)

Tiny walls of Wrigley Field. That might technically be true, but it's the outside. The outside of Wrigley Field where you are making money hand over fist over hand over fist and pulling in not just one wheelbarrow full of cash to use Crane Kenny's turn, but multiple wheelbarrows that can be just joy ridden around the halls of the offices at Gallagher Way.

A (6:29)

Bathe in it and lay in it.

B (6:30)

And sleep on it like Scrooge McDuck. Or like the guy at the end of Slumdog Millionaire saying Allahu Akbar, standing in the bathtub full of. That's probably not the image we wanted.

A (6:42)

No, it's not, but it's fine.

B (6:43)

Yeah. And probably nobody in the Cubs organization is going to be saying that, but that's okay. But the.

A (6:48)

They've.

B (6:48)

They've got the resources. Win the games. Cubs, go win the World Series. Go ahead. Have yourself have an October and a November. Go do it.

A (7:00)

Yeah, I just. Let's. Let's. Let's get to the Brewers. Let's get through San Diego and what their bullpen offers the. The Cubs. Let's get behind Matthew Boyd for this game one start. Well, let's, you know, let's see if Shota can limit those solo home runs in game two. And let's get on to the brewers and let's have some fun there, and let's get to whoever remains. Dodgers. Phillies. We'll see. Like, let's do it. Let's make a run.

B (7:25)

Let's get some run.

A (7:26)

Let's get some of those, too.

B (7:28)

Let's get some runs.

A (7:30)

Oh, boy. Any chance of bringing back Politically Incorrect Harry from the grave?

B (7:36)

Oh, sure.

A (7:37)

That one segment we got to do.

B (7:39)

I don't think I've ever seen you laugh like that.

A (7:41)

It was. It was well above my expectations.

B (7:44)

Politically Incorrect Harry.

A (7:45)

Yes.

B (7:46)

And we did that on the radio.

A (7:48)

That was Saturday night, my Saturday night show, Last call, and I talked you into coming on the show and doing. Doing Harry.

B (7:54)

I had a couple.

A (7:55)

I think you had more than a couple glasses of wine and we did Politically Incorrect Harry from the Grave, who had a crush on Dora the Explorer.

B (8:03)

No, I didn't want to do it. And you're like, come on.

A (8:06)

I'm like, I don't know.

B (8:07)

I've already. Fine, then you did it.

A (8:09)

And then Beth was like, you're never doing that again.

B (8:12)

She said, you may never work again. Eventually she was right for a little while. That's right. She was.

A (8:17)

She was premature.

B (8:19)

Eventually she was correct about that.

A (8:21)

She called your firing.

B (8:23)

Well, that's enough out of you, lunatic. You are fired. Matthew Boyd is getting the start for the Cubs and man, what. I don't know why this hasn't been discussed more in the last 24 hours and I'm shocked that I haven't seen more attention paid to this considering the stuff that has gotten attention here. And I know with everything going on in the world, things get missed now, but this really surprised me. So I want you to hear a lot of what he said at the press conference yesterday, particularly what happened near its conclusion. But Matthew Boyd has been a really significant player for the Cubs this year, especially boy to start this season after they lost Justin Steele and what it meant for him to be what he was exactly when they needed him to be. Now his total numbers on the year ended up kind of working. He was. He ended up at a 3.4 wins above replacement. So he was by far their most valuable pitcher. But it looked like he was going to be something spectacular. You know, Cy Young candidate.

A (9:40)

Yeah, that, that first half of the.

B (9:41)

Year All Star game.

A (9:42)

Yeah. Very, very steady in the second half. First half of the year. First half of the year was just spectacular.

B (9:48)

It's the innings load. It's the fact that Matthew Boyd, if anything to. To get to where he's gotten this season. Age 34 to go 180 innings. 179⅓ innings and finish with a ERA of 321. A fielder independent pitching of 3.65 and XFIP that's expected. Fielder, independent pitching of 4.22. Well done and a more than workmanlike year for a guy who never has had an ace profile who ended up effectively before Cade Horton's magical post All Star game run. They've had two aces this year.

A (10:27)

Yeah.

B (10:27)

Matthew Boyd took control early, handed the baton to Cade Horton while Shota Imanaga was a little bit up and down and other guys had their turns and the bullpen tried to kind of figure itself out. But it's A hell of a year for Matthew Boyd.

A (10:42)

So if I were to tell you, not knowing how the playoff picture developed, and if I were to say to you, all right, this year, Dan Justin Steele goes down for the. For the year, you lose Shota Imanaga for at least two months, and who ends up being your best pitcher of the year is Kate Horton. Yet he's injured and doesn't finish after the regular season, doesn't play.

B (11:05)

And your most valuable pitcher ends up being Matthew Boyd.

A (11:08)

So if I were to say that to you, what would you say their playoff chances would have been?

B (11:11)

I would say that maybe if everything else works out during 84 win team, perhaps looking at a. At a bottom wild card.

A (11:20)

Right? Yeah.

B (11:22)

Yeah. If everything else happen, if everything else breaks right.

A (11:24)

Yeah, you lose steel. Imanaga goes down and is up and down the whole year. Matthew Boyd is your star in the first half. Kate Horton ends up being your best pitcher on the staff and one of the best in baseball the second half.

B (11:37)

I would also ask a question, and I don't want to take the fun out of this, but. But I would also say, tell me, tell me what the Wrigley Run environment is. Oh, yeah, tell me which way the wind's blowing. Because a lot of the Cub stuff now is. It's in the vagaries of, is it a hitters park? Is it a pitcher's park?

A (11:54)

Right.

B (11:55)

And if you told me it's going to play like a pitcher's park, I would have said, okay, they. They still have a shot.

A (12:02)

Yeah. But just unbelievable. To recap the year and how quickly it's really gone. I mean, I remember sitting down to watch those games in Tokyo to start the season. It was like, all right, here we go. And now here we are. It's amazing. And Matthew Boyd named the game one starter.

B (12:16)

And it has been, you know, for me, that time has been concurrent with my time in the wilderness to emerge. Like, when that was all starting, I was, you know, I. Directionless and scared and nervous and ashamed and worried and, I don't know, walking around wandering the lakeshore like a lost soul. And it sort of makes me feel like I've come a long way too, in a really good way to be here. Like, holy shit, the playoffs are starting and it's fall and look at us, right?

A (12:53)

Yeah. If someone tells you back in March that you're gonna be part of a podcast network, a sports network, new with Hubbard Radio in Chicago, 312Sports, working with me back in March, you'd have been like, what?

B (13:08)

And in charge of it, too, right? Not just working there, running it like that. I'd be like, what? Oh, that's pretty cool. Yeah, that's awesome.

A (13:17)

All right, Matthew Boyd.

B (13:19)

Well, I don't want to get too emotional. We have some of the Matthew Boyd.

A (13:21)

Stuff that will come up as.

B (13:22)

I'm worried that I'm going to get there, too.

A (13:24)

It is like I have twice now.

B (13:26)

Yeah, I know, I know. That's why I wanted to get to it, because nobody's heard this stuff.

A (13:29)

All right, let's start with. With. With Matthew Boyd being named Game 1 starter for the Chicago Cubs and their 2025 play. When you're told you're going to start Game 1 of playoff series after, you know, coming back from the injuries and your whole year, I mean, what's that like for you, the emotion and what's.

B (13:44)

Your reaction when you hear that?

C (13:47)

Grateful. I mean, to get to get. It's something you dream of and get to do it, you know, at Wrigley, get to do it for the Cubs organization. It's something I don't take lightly, and it's an amazing honor. You know, I'm extremely grateful.

A (14:08)

One thing I want to point out and just give a kudos to Marquee Network is, hey, thanks for the good quality of the sound. Really appreciate that, because it's not. It's not always the case in town, so thank you.

B (14:19)

Now fix your sets and your lighting and your makeup and the hair and everything else, but thank you.

A (14:25)

Thanks for the good sound.

B (14:26)

Thanks for the great sound. But now, now fix everything else. Okay. Also, Matthew Boyd mentions that that trip to Tokyo that you invoked, he thinks set the tone for the entire season.

C (14:45)

I think those days that we had in Tokyo, those games we had in Tokyo really brought us close together. You know, we were. It was just us and our spouses in a foreign country for a week. And it led to a lot of good memories, led to a, you know, a lot of cohesiveness. And it set the tone through the year. And we, I mean, through every trial, you know, whether someone has gone down, through whether it's been a rough patch, our, you know, the mentality has stayed the same, the, the tone has stayed the same. And that's. That's huge. Over the course of, you know, 180 days plus, and definitely something that's special about our ball club.

A (15:25)

So that's cool. They had, that. They had that time together, just themselves, their spouses in a foreign country, and you're just there to play some baseball games. And it really seemed to set a tone for the season and the development of their chemistry and the relationships that they shared as a unit.

B (15:40)

He was also asked about this particular situation that he finds himself in in large part because of the injury to Cade Horton. So there was baseball's going to do stuff like this and we all knew who the pitcher of the second half was and he was asked about it.

A (16:01)

Jameson talked the other day about it being kind of your guys's turn to pick Kate up after he picked the rotation up early, early in the year.

B (16:08)

How do you kind of view that.

A (16:09)

Being without him and your guys job and kind of just where this staff is going into these playoffs?

C (16:14)

Yeah, I think when you look at the totality of 162 games, it's cliche, but it is a marathon, you know, and every game matters the same and you know, whether it was April, some of those games in March and going forward, like I think we've all had our points where, you know, we've done special things and Cade down the stretch has been the best pitcher in baseball. Like I feel like it's easy to say and the numbers back that up and it's a bummer that he's not going to be on the mound, you know, crossing the line with us in this time. But that's why there's 26 of us in there. That's why there's a 40 man roster. And just as Cade did when Steely went down and you know, we had some flux in the rotation and Cade stepped up and man has you know, gone above and beyond and just, you know, we have, we'll be all be doing our parts to get a W and 27 outs can come so many different ways and we're going to be prepared to do that, you know, but we do that collectively. It's not done individually and you know, I think that's, that's the makeup of this team and that's what essentially, I mean that that's what makes these, these runs special is it's never just about one guy, it's about the group. And you know, he's been the big, he's, he's been right there with us even when he hasn't been able pick up a baseball these last few days, he's still very much in it. So you know, but man, he's been special for us this year and it's our job to, you know, do this job.

B (17:50)

Now 27 outs can come in very different ways. That, that's a very Craig counseling way of very much Talking about it because that's, that's all a manager thinks about. It's not this guy or this is my seventh inning guy or especially now. Remember, remember, remember that the key leverage moment in the game can come in the third inning. It can come in the fifth inning. And it's that innate understanding that is going to inform the decisions that a good manager is going to make. You don't have time to screw around right now. This is not just a four game series in the middle of May that there's those 27 outs. You can get to 54 outs right now and you're done.

A (18:36)

Yeah.

B (18:37)

And you're good. You get, you're on the wrong side of those 54 outs. This thing in your home and all of that six months is just shut over, done that quick. That quick.

A (18:48)

I mean for, for, for one of these wildcard teams, it all, it all ends tomorrow evening.

B (18:53)

Correct. And the, the, the that sense of potential looming mortality as well as the sense of possibility for an open ended run here to win it all and be the last team standing is what makes heavy and a little emotional. So you can hear Matthew Boyd right now. This was what we were talking about saying that something came out of this press conference yesterday. We were like, wow, why are we hearing this? So you should. And this was Matthew Boyd. I'm not sure who the questioner is here. I thought it was Steve Greenberg from the Sun Times, but I'm not certain.

A (19:30)

Yeah, it wasn't. They didn't highlight the reporter, they just went to the question.

B (19:33)

But this was well done. And it's how a well asked question can lead to interesting, insightful, emotional things. As you can hear the way that Cubs starting pitcher Matthew Boyd answers it.

A (19:49)

You use the word dream.

C (19:51)

Dreams. And I wanted to actually ask you more about that.

B (19:54)

You know, you seem like a sentimental, thoughtful guy. Are you feeling all kinds of big things right now? Big conflicting feelings, you know.

C (20:04)

About what?

B (20:05)

You have this team this season, this opportunity, your career and all that.

C (20:10)

And managing that too.

B (20:12)

You know, I'm thinking of Rizzo and the glass case of emotion, you know.

C (20:16)

What are you feeling? I'm a sucker for this sort of thing, you know, like it's, it's cool. Like I'm funny man.

A (20:28)

Like.

C (20:31)

You think about, think about a career. Think about what a ridiculous build this is. Cool because it's cool for so many different reasons. Cool because you never know when the opportunity presents itself some. You know, I waited my first eight years to get the chance of a post season. Didn't really get to be a part of it. I mean on the field, you know, I only threw one out. You never know when the opportunity is going to come again to do it with, with the Cubs, to do it with this group. It will never be like this again. I mean we come back here, the personnel will not be the same. You know, it's a special group. It's a good group of guys and it's unique to this moment and that's it. To get to think that I would have got this opportunity knowing everything about like grandfather growing up here, you know, be in a cop. It's cool. And yeah, I mean it's cool stuff. He would be extremely happy. Man, I. You owe me one for making me cry up here now because it's like. Felt like I was a bull in a channel shop up until this. So you know, you got me going on that. But that's, that's the cool stuff. My grandfather grew up in Chicago. He grew up a Cubs fan. I think 2016 was one of the happiest days of his life. I get to be a Cub now. It's pretty cool.

B (22:18)

Oh, I hope he doesn't get his tits lit today.

A (22:22)

I know because like that was something awesome. I heard that. I listened to it last night. I listened to it to get on the train, just figured out what cuts wanted to get and then pulling it in today. I got emotional and teary eyed just listening to it, watching the video.

B (22:36)

I came around to watch it. I hadn't heard it. I wanted to watch it.

A (22:39)

It's really cool.

B (22:40)

It's so sweet. And this is my. I'm pict now that a listener. It's seven o' clock at night and somebody on the way like on the train, on the metro on the way home after, after sneaking out to watch the game at work. Cubs lose like 11 to three and he gives up like a three run home run. A 450 foot shot off the video board. Like I'm thinking like oh the. When we put ourselves in these little time machines here and just. Oh, you'd hate to hear that after the fact. Depending on what's going to happen, right? Baseball.

A (23:15)

No, I, you know, I'm. Hey, I'm hoping, I'm hoping grandpa John can. Can watch over his grandson here today. And so his grandfather passed away.

B (23:22)

I was just gonna find out.

A (23:24)

20, 19, okay, he passed away. But as. As you heard him say, he grew up here in Chicago, was a Cubs fan and the world series of 2016, you know, meant so much to him and you know can you imagine, you know, I know what it, what it meant for me and you know, being a, you know, in my 40s at the time when that, when they won the World Series. Imagine his grandfather tad bit older and probably gone through a lot more Cub seasons and misery and, and disappointment and to finally see it win and then to be able to come here and pitch for your grandfather's team. Not only that, but then you're the game one starter for your grandfather's team.

B (23:58)

In one of the best years you've had to be. Yeah, okay.

A (24:03)

Very, very cool.

B (24:04)

I'm rooting for him.

A (24:05)

Yeah, no, it's. If you weren't like, obviously I was, but now there's, there's, it's, it's a, it's a different feeling. It's more than just for me as a Cubs fan wanting the team to do well. I want Matthew Boyd to do well. Like I want him to be successful today. You know, even outside of, of me being a Cubs fan, I just, I want him to do well today.

B (24:24)

You know the one guy in your group chat that hits a five leg parlay week one and doesn't shut up about it the rest of the season. Yeah, it's annoying, but it's annoying when it's not you. So make it you. Because of my bookie and my bookie makes it insanely easy to get in on the action with college ball, with NFL, with super contest, survivor pools. Hell, baseball, if you want to get in, there's a lot of baseball going on. If you think that you've got a little bit of information or a hunch that nobody else has, play it all, the spreads, the player props and in game lines you could want all under one roof. If you are new to my bookie, get in now and use our code. Any bet you choose up to $500 is fully covered and make your play. If it doesn't hit, you get it right back. When you opt in using your bet back bonus token, start your account, get your deposit in and then you're set. There's no better time to jump in, no better place to play. Football is back. Make some money with my bookie. Let me give you a list of names as I know there's some other baseball things we got to cover. I wanted to look at the schedule today too, just to know what we're going to be doing sort of watching all day. This four names that absolutely would terrify me as a Cubs fan going into this series. In no particular order, Jeremiah Estrada, Adrian Morijon, Robert Suarez, Mason, Miller, that's the high leverage, which now everything is high leverage. That's the high leverage. Padres bullpen and man, that's, that's hell coming to breakfast. It's, it's going to be tough because they can shorten games. When we start talking about leverage being early, you get leverage on a starter, you get out, you know, Dylan Cease on one of his bad days, go get him, right? Go get him before these guns start coming in. Because there's, there's, you don't want some of this smoke that's coming in late. And their ability to shorten some of these games gets kind of scary. And they know it. And they've got guys with one swing of the bat can start to put the game in their hands. So I think the series is a toss up. Home field advantage doesn't mean that much. And it means you got a chance to grab a ticket and go, but it doesn't, it really doesn't mean much as far as predictability of who wins this series.

A (26:49)

Historically it's two games. It's, you know, you have to win too. And that can happen so quickly. And all it takes is one, one bad inning to get yourself sent behind and you're looking at a, you know, oh, one deficit going in the game, too. It's good that they're at home. We looked at the, at the season splits between the, the Padres and Cubs. They played all six games in the regular season back in April and they went 3 and 3. The Cubs were 2 and 1 at home, they were 1 and 2 in San Diego. So the slight advantage being at home, but we also looked at some of the players and there are a couple players in the Cubs that have had better road splits than playing at Wrigley Field. Kyle Tucker being one of them. Peter Armstrong is a much different player at Wrigley Field than he was on the road. That's a positive thing offensively, but it's not even.

B (27:34)

That isn't necessarily predictive in one or two games.

A (27:37)

Yeah, exactly. That's the whole point. You can't predict anything in such a quick series, but it's just trying to look at any kind of angle you could to see where is the advantage. And it's just two really good ball teams and they have to come out and you have to pitch. You got to pick up the ball and you got to hit and you have to take advantage of mistakes. And when you get guys in scoring position, you can't, you can't go over. You've got to move guys Around. You have to do what it takes to get runs in in this quick series.

B (28:04)

I also am a little worried about the defensive Seiya Suzuki in right field. He's been fine, but he's also prone to the occasional really bad error that we've seen before, where generally he's okay, but sometimes when there's that weird first step on a fly ball, sometimes if it's hit hard at him, we've seen him whiff. We've seen the ball clank off his glove before. Or him just misread a ball.

A (28:37)

Yep.

B (28:37)

That can't happen now. That can't.

A (28:40)

No, not at all.

B (28:41)

We've seen it happen in the playoff chase before. We're like, what's going on out there? That cannot happen. And for those Cub fans of a certain age who don't want me to invoke Leon Durham against the Padres in the playoffs, get over it. It has no bearing. There's no ghosts out there. All of those, those demons were vanquished when they won the World Series. So I don't have to tell you about Leon Durham and Steve Garvey and everything else.

A (29:07)

Yeah, don't.

B (29:08)

But. But that. I'm just voicing a concern of mine. Like I say, Tucker hasn't been brilliant out there, but he's the best.

A (29:15)

He's better than Suzuki.

B (29:17)

I trust him more than I trust Suzuki.

A (29:19)

Yeah. But let's, you know. Yeah. Let's just say that he's going to have a good, good game in the outfield. A couple of games we can say.

B (29:25)

It doesn't mean it's going to happen.

A (29:28)

I also hope he brings those, those home run bats, too. That would be helpful.

B (29:31)

That'd be nice as well. If it's in the bats, you can hand them out to everybody and everybody hits home runs and then everything will be fine.

A (29:38)

Yeah.

B (29:38)

Makes it makes all of our lives easier. There were moves by the White Sox yesterday as well, a lot of them. They pretty much cashiered the entire coaching staff. Away with ye. Out you go, all of you. I see Sergio Santa's Triple A manager gone, too. This is. The Chris Getz purge is on. And whether or not this is Bannister and Barfield involved, I presume that it is, that this is the new White Sox front office saying, will Venable hire your guys, that there's going to be no holdovers, there's going to be no leftovers. Ethan Katz is out. Marcus Thames is out. Thames, Thames, go ahead, find your guys. And also wait for the other firings to happen before you Start hiring because I'd like to know what's available. Bob Melvin got let go. Bruce Bochy got let go. Well, they said, you know, mutually agreed, whatever that is. Conscious, unconscious.

A (30:34)

That's respect.

B (30:34)

Yeah, sure. And they've offered him another job in the organization. I thought that was a nicely handled situation. When you fire a guy with that kind of pedigree who led them to their first title. If you want to hire Bob Melvin as a, as a bench coach, I don't know that Venable would want to do that because you, obviously you're hiring a guy who could easily slide in and take that job. I don't know what Melvin wants to do. How old is he now? How old is Bob?

A (31:01)

Bob Melvin?

B (31:01)

Yeah. Is he pushing 70 yet or is he still like mid-60s? Because I always wonder with some of these guys when they would be more comfortable just not having the heat on him.

A (31:12)

He's 63.

B (31:13)

63.

A (31:14)

Young man.

B (31:14)

He's young man. So he probably isn't ready for a bench coach job, but he's a really, really smart guy.

A (31:25)

All you can do is ask, right? You reach out, you talk to his agent and you see, take the temperature on it. And you never know. Maybe he's at a point where he just says, yeah, I would, I would feel comfortable settling into a role, helping a younger manager and helping a young ball team on the rise. You never know. He. And the worst that happens, he says, I'm not interested.

B (31:46)

He won a World Series doing that. Yes. With the Diamondbacks. And you wonder why Bob Brinley, who is the actual manager of the Diamondbacks, an actual World Series winning manager, never got another job.

A (32:00)

Right?

B (32:01)

Because everybody knew Bob Melvin was the actual manager of that team.

A (32:04)

That was our guy, though.

B (32:05)

I love Johnny Cakes.

A (32:07)

That was our guy.

B (32:07)

Yeah.

A (32:08)

He was the best.

B (32:09)

He's awesome.

A (32:10)

He was the absolute best.

B (32:10)

He still is. And he's still on tv. He's really good at his job. But I'd inquire if I were the White Sox.

A (32:18)

Yeah. And again. And the absolute worst thing that happens is not interested. You know, and you move on. You go from there. But to leave it unearthed is kinda. Is kinda silly. Kinda silly. Hey, you know, if you're looking for a tobacco free nicotine product, well, I have one for you. You need to visit our friends at Lucy. You can check them out online at Lucy Co. That's Lucy co. Lucy products are 100% pure nicotine. Always tobacco free. They come in pouches, gum and breakers. Now breakers are their pouches that have a burstable flavor capsule inside that you can crush anytime for an instant burst of hydration and flavor. Lucy products are available in some great flavors too. Mint, wintergreen, apple ice, mango berry, citrus espresso, apple cider, cinnamon and pomegranate. So there's definitely a flavor there for you. If you're looking for a tobacco free product that delivers that kick of nicotine you need for an extra boost in your day or something to help you take the edge off, Lucy products has what you need. Let's level up your nicotine routine with Lucy. Go to Lucy Co DBU and use promo code DBU to receive 20% off your first order. And Lucy does have a 30 day refund policy. If you do change your mind, you can even set yourself up with a subscription and have Lucy delivered straight to your door. So don't wait. Order your Lucy today. Whether it's gum pouches or breakers. Use promo code DBU for 20% off your first order. Go to Lucy Co DBUNow. And here comes the fine print. Lucy products are only for adults of legal age and every order is age verified. Warning. This product contains nicotine and nicotine is an addictive chemical.

B (33:49)

Sometimes the sports gods will present things in a way that is nice and convenient and this is one of those times where we can really dive into baseball playoffs. With the Bears going into the bi week, it's just, thank you for doing that. However that happened to set up, we don't have to say, oh, should we do Bears, should we do Cubs? What should we do? Knowing that the Bears have they'll be practicing as far as we know, but deciding that there isn't a game looming and that they're 2 and 2, we can set that aside for the moment. But there's still some lingering things going in here. And obviously today on forward progress, we're going to cover how they should be looking at the buy and how they should be prioritizing what should be done. Because a buy now is very, very different than a buy after week 11 or week 12 or week 13 as we've seen in the past, where you know a lot more about your team. And look, this is the start of the start for Ben Johnson and this regime. But one thing that's been lingering that really surprised me a little bit and I guess it shouldn't because we discussed it in the immediate post game when we went on on our post game forward progress. And that was what happened at halftime with his his testy interview that he did with CBS reporter Aditi Kinkabala. And I kind of smiled. I'm like, oh, check out the red ass on Ben. And he responded because he's like, well, she said that. Do you need to change what you're doing? I don't know. You think so? We're going to be just fine. Okay. All right. Well, he's not happy. And I didn't think too much about it.

A (35:40)

No, not at all.

B (35:41)

I just, I just. My thought at the time, and this is what we expressed on the show at the time so we can go back and play. What I said, I was, I laughed about it because this is a coach, a professional coach on the field whose team was bad at what at his specialty. Offense.

A (36:01)

Yep. Terrible first.

B (36:03)

He's the offense guy. They had a terrible first half. And she's grabbing him and saying, do you need to change what you're doing? I understand that these exchanges are perfunctory, that they are not necessarily designed to provide a great deal of information.

A (36:22)

They're dumb.

B (36:22)

We can debate whether or not they should. They shouldn't do them. I don't care. It's fine. And especially those of us who have spent a lot of time watching NBA and watching Craig Sager joust with Greg Popovich and knowing that Popovich always did it with kind of a wink. But I will say this. Coaches at all levels, present company included. Coaches at all levels can be dicks because they're. They give orders for a living or for what they're doing at the time. Coaches on the field can be dicks. And coaches whose teams are playing badly also cannot be the. Something less than perfectly nice in the moment. I don't think Ben Johnson's a bad guy. I think he. To take him at his word because we're going to play his explanation.

A (37:21)

Yeah.

B (37:22)

For how that, how that all happened to go.

A (37:26)

Yeah. It's just, you know, here's the thing.

B (37:27)

I just didn't think it was a two day story.

A (37:29)

It's not. And watching it when it happened at the time, it was enough of a reaction from a guy that it was kind of out of character.

B (37:38)

Right.

A (37:38)

That my 12 year old was like, wow, is he, is he mad? Yeah, he is mad. His team's playing terrible and he has an obligation to the NFL to do this stupid thing coming out of the locker room at halftime. And it's the. Why I think it's a waste is because it adds nothing of value to the broadcast. You learn nothing, you gain nothing. As a fan, there's nothing shared that is. That is important to hear from the coach. So he asked the question. He has to do it. You know, she asked the question. And he responds in a way that, you know that anyone watching goes, oh, yeah, he was pissed off.

B (38:10)

And I think there's no and.

A (38:11)

But. But that was the end of it because his team played like shit. So of course he's mad. I'd be mad. I was mad. I'm a fan.

B (38:17)

There's no good way to ask the question. No, because even if she said, how are you going to change what you're doing? Most coaches aren't going to say, well, instead of using an isolation block, what we're going to do is use an imbalanced and try to really stretch the right.

A (38:33)

It's never going to happen.

B (38:34)

Right. You're not, you're not going to get an answer. He's going to say, we've got to play harder. We got to be more situationally aware. We can't be jumping off sides and false starting. So there's no good way to do it. It wasn't his best look. He knew it wasn't his best look. But all of the high dudgeon over this about how he's a coach, man.

A (38:54)

Right.

B (38:54)

Like, I'm not. I also. Look, I have, I do have a question, but let's play his explanation first. And Ben, you know, if you care.

A (39:02)

To address this, I know there's been some buzz about your halftime exchange. Can you relay what.

B (39:09)

How you interpreted that.

C (39:10)

That conversation?

D (39:13)

Yeah. You know, in the moment, I honestly, I didn't think too much of it. I'm kind of in. In game mode. But then when. When I look back at it, you know, I am a little bit disappointed with what that looks like. You know, I didn't hear very well, and that's not an excuse, but when I thought I heard that it was not a question, but that I needed to make some changes, I didn't take that very well. So I'll do a better job with those going forward.

B (39:43)

Okay.

A (39:43)

That's funny. I didn't hear very well.

B (39:47)

Well, he didn't.

A (39:48)

I mean, I know, I know. It's. That's, again, that's another, Another point to it. It's a very, very loud environment.

B (39:54)

Yeah, I get it. I also wonder. I think it's fair to ask about the power dynamic. It's one thing if he's standing there looking down at someone, if there's a taller interviewer, like if that's Stacey Dales or if that's. I don't, I don't know how tall Evan Washburn is. But I'm just saying, like, that idea of seeing him sort of imperiously.

A (40:20)

Yeah.

B (40:20)

Staring under the bill of his cap and. You think so?

A (40:25)

Well, and even take it just a step further. I mean, you mentioned Evan Washburn there. But even if it's. If it's just a dude, any dude.

B (40:33)

Is It's Jay Feely or something?

A (40:35)

If it's any guy. Is it. Is. Is it. Is it this much of a. Of a point of contention?

B (40:40)

I don't know. He got mad, and because of the inherent power dynamic.

A (40:45)

Yeah.

B (40:45)

I think that that makes it look worse. Yeah. But either way, it's over. My point being, as we. As we spend this budget, you're doing what you said you shouldn't do. Okay. Yeah, you're right.

A (40:58)

But.

B (40:59)

Of course we are. But I just. I was a little surprised that it had the legs that it had because of something on Twitter. But again, of all people, I should know that Twitter gets magnified beyond what it. What it means.

A (41:11)

Yeah. I mean, he was a coach with his team underperforming, and he was pissed off about it and got asked a question about changing. He claims he didn't hear really what she said and saying that it wasn't a question, but more that you need to change. And he's probably like, yeah, you're goddamn right, we need to change.

B (41:24)

We need to change.

A (41:25)

We're bad now.

B (41:26)

We're gonna change. We're gonna stop being bad.

A (41:28)

Yes. That's a start, right?

B (41:31)

He could have answered that way. He said, yes, I have this terrific idea for a change. It's. Rather than being bad at football, I told them, stop being bad. Be good at football.

A (41:41)

We'll see what happens.

B (41:42)

Yeah. But then he comes off like a jerk, too.

A (41:44)

Right.

B (41:44)

If he's waiting. Doubly sarcastic about it. Hell no. I love what we're doing.

A (41:49)

I think it was.

B (41:50)

I think. I think what we're doing is great. See all those points we have on the board.

A (41:54)

And again, it just shows what we know of him in these short few months of having him as a head coach, that it just seemed out of character for Ben Johnson. That's all it was. And that's all it was.

B (42:04)

But that's why I found the Gregg Popovich stuff to be high comedy. Like, there's. He was working at a level. He was. He was. He was turning the idea of the halftime interview inside out.

A (42:19)

Yeah.

B (42:20)

He was doing a parody of a halftime interview. And we know now after the fact, that he and Craig Sager were very close and that they Understood what was going on there. But that was brilliant satire that Pop was doing because even though as gruff and difficult as he is, Pop is brilliant, and he thinks about a lot of stuff, and he knows the. That was high absurdist comedy, what Pop used to do. So if you actually go back and watch a supercut of some of that stuff. Yeah, he knew. Everybody knew what was going on with that. Wow. What's wrong with that guy? Nothing. What's wrong is the format, and that's. What he's showing you is, like, making you understand how silly it was.

A (43:09)

Because it's. It's really silly. They're. They're all. There's These in game interviews are all really, really silly. It's. It's pointless. The. The football coach out of halftime is probably my least favorite and the least. Has the least amount of significance or purpose for fan watching a game. Yeah.

B (43:24)

And I vacillate on the baseball player miked up.

A (43:28)

Yeah.

B (43:29)

Sometimes it's.

A (43:29)

Sometimes it's really good.

B (43:30)

It's awesome.

A (43:31)

Yeah. It depends on the player, and it depends what their role is in that day and what, you know. Yeah, that. That can be really good. That I'm okay with because that really can't add something to a broadcast.

B (43:42)

I was okay until Cody Bellinger misjudged a fly ball in center field because he was talking to the broadcasters.

A (43:48)

That's an issue.

B (43:49)

Cody. What? Oh, okay.

A (43:52)

There's a ball.

B (43:52)

Yeah, ball. Get it.

A (43:54)

No, that. That. That's a problem. I like it when they're in the. In the dugout. Like, you don't need to be on the field. I like. You know, I like an extended interview with someone in the dugout. That's fun. That adds a different element and adds something to the broadcast itself. Yeah.

B (44:07)

One thing that's been really bad are the NBA mic'd Up segments where they. Oh, I didn't know they do that. But they take out anything good. And it's always like, let's hear what Steve Kerr had to say. And it's the very end of the huddle, and he's like, all right, let's be smart out there. Come on, man. Okay, that's. That's not the good part.

A (44:27)

Yeah. Because especially a guy like Steve Kerr, he has a lot to say and offer and share.

B (44:32)

Yes. And he's funny.

A (44:33)

Yes.

B (44:35)

Thanks to protein bar and kitchen for being part of the team. You heard Matty mention that this morning when he stopped by, he had. What was it called? The Wrigley Peeled.

A (44:42)

Wrigley peeled in honor of Our Cubs playoff run.

B (44:44)

Now we talk about the shakes, the smoothies, and all the cool stuff they do. But the great thing about protein bar and kitchen, it is what you want, when you want it. And high protein salads, wraps and bowls, no matter what your diet is. Are you vegetarian? Are you vegan? Are you going just high protein and you want to double up on stuff, they can do what you want. I was talking to my daughter about this. She's like, oh. I said, what did you get at protein bar? She's like, oh, I got the this, but without the this and add this. I said, well, doesn't that bother people when you have this difficult? She goes, no, everybody does that. Everybody's order is like that. And they serve craveable, satisfying flavors. And it's designed for all day power. Whether you want to have a scramble bowl for breakfast, a burrito for lunch, and then come in and have one of those fantastic Mexican creations that they had for dinner. There's Asian style stuff. The Korean bowl sounds unbelievable. They call it steak and Seoul. S E O U L seared steak, kimchi, pickled red onion, baby spinach, brown rice, Korean dressing, and what they call their bitchin sauce. So it's got a bit of a kick to it. And protein bar is Everywhere. You need 15 Chicagoland locations, including up in Northbrook and in Oakbrook. So you can download the app. You can become a protein bar and kitchen VIP and get all kinds of rewards. So do it. I've got some credits loaded onto my app, and my favorite is the Caesar salad. It's perfect. It is filling, but it just feels clean and yummy.

A (46:24)

Well, I went the other day and I got my PB and J. This was a couple days ago. And I also grabbed a chicken Caesar wrap. And I asked really nicely. I'm like, hey, do you think you could throw. Do a chicken Caesar wrap? I know we're at breakfast time, but could you do that for me? Because it's my lunch and I'm not gonna have time to get back before lunch and catch the train. And so they were nice enough to do it for me, which was great. So I got my breakfast shake, my. My protein shake, and then I got a chicken Caesar wrap. There's a.

B (46:49)

You can text me.

A (46:51)

I could text you and say, hey, want me to bring something in? That's probably. I probably could do that.

B (46:56)

I could.

A (46:57)

I could ask you because. Yeah, because I get there and you're. You're here too. I could bring something for you.

B (47:02)

Yeah, you could have just texted me.

A (47:03)

I could text you anytime, right? And be like, hey, should I bring something for you? Like, maybe I'll stop off and get one of their new salmon bowls for you off their fall menu, which I think, I think you would really enjoy.

B (47:12)

Ooh.

A (47:13)

So I'll do that. I got the Mexicali breakfast burrito. I tried that, too. Oh, my God, this stuff is just so good. I love starting the day off, though, with a protein shake. It's just. It's a really good way. I don't feel too full, but I feel full and I feel like I have energy and I'm good to go. That's why I love doing it. So check out protein bar and kitchen telling you they're good peoples and it's good food and it's zero bad choices. I love that little slogan. They have zero bad choices.

B (47:38)

When we are discussing what the Bears are doing in the bye week, there's big picture stuff, there's small picture stuff, and I do think that we'll get into it on forward progress about balancing what is important for this year's team and what is important for the Ben Johnson regime looking forward in the decisions that they make. So something that Johnson also was asked about that I want you to hear is about their problematic running game and what I think is a problematic. Yesterday you said, when we were asked about, like the final touchdown, you said it was kind of hard to discern.

A (48:10)

In the moment why you ran the.

B (48:12)

Ball with Swift after he had, you know, struggled throughout the game.

A (48:15)

Now that you've had time to look.

B (48:16)

Back at the tape, can you, I.

A (48:18)

Guess, put your finger on why that.

B (48:20)

Was a decision ultimately?

D (48:22)

Well, yeah, I don't think our running struggles were reflection of DeAndre Swift. I think he's a guy that continues to run the ball very hard even though the yards per carry aren't where any of us want it to be. Right now he's as frustrated as anybody right now. He's. He's very prideful in what he can do and what he brings to the table. And I don't feel like everybody on offense yet is pulling their weight. And that's. Myself included. There's a number of things from yesterday's game I have to do a better job of. There's a couple calls I was getting in late. There's a couple things that the coaching staff, myself, we could have coached up better to give us a better chance there. And then there were some things just execution wise that we knew what we were going to do. But the techniques, the fundamentals they just. We didn't adhere to them when we needed to. And so when you look at it as a whole, it was. It was just a. It was a mess, man. I am very. I'm just not proud of what we put on tape. I think it's a reflection of myself. I always take it personally. I just. I saw us getting better the first three weeks and in a lot of ways on offense. And then this. This was just a little bit of a step back for us. And so, like I said, the bye week's coming at a good time, and we're really going to be able to take a good look at ourselves and do a little soul searching. It's always good when you play that poorly and yet you're still able to come away with a win. And so I think our guys are going to be able to bounce back from this.

B (49:55)

Good answer.

A (49:56)

Yeah, it was a good answer. I love his honesty. I love how he talks really transparently about how bad his team was at times and how it's messy and ugly. And I like that because we see that. And it's not very often you hear a head coach talk in the same terms that fans do, you know? And one thing. And we talk about his honesty and one thing, he said something here in that cut that he said now multiple times. And it's about the difficulty of him getting calls in. And we thought at first it was him covering for Caleb, that Caleb was having a hard time getting calls out of the huddle and that he said early in the season, oh, I had a hard time getting calls in. And so now that he. It's like a third or fourth time he said it. And I think he's just. He's being honest. And I want to know why he's having trouble.

B (50:42)

Fix it.

A (50:43)

Whatever. What's the issue that you're having a hard time getting calls in?

B (50:46)

What I would like to know is, did you ever have that problem in Detroit? And if you did, how did you fix it?

A (50:51)

Right?

B (50:51)

And if you didn't, what can you do to the system?

A (50:54)

If you didn't fix it or didn't have the problem.

B (50:58)

We'Re not gonna fix it.

A (50:59)

We're not gonna fix it.

B (51:00)

If you didn't have the problem right, or you did fix it, how can you do that here? How can you. What. What is best practice for doing some of that stuff and just fix. That should not be a problem, right?

A (51:11)

Cause if that. Those are good questions to follow through with it. And the point being, though, why are you still having Issues four games in. Like, like, it seems like if there really is an issue, that there should be an easy solution to it. Oh, it's a headset.

B (51:25)

Sometimes on the road you get a different system and sometimes, believe it or not, teams say they don't, but they might not give you the best working equipment.

A (51:33)

Okay, well, I did go back through and check and see when he said that after which games were they road games, were they home? Was it Monday Night Football? Like, if that's a problem for you as the head coach, what are we doing to solve this? Because that seems like to me, in my logical brain, an easy fix.

B (51:48)

Before we finish up, I just wanted to update you on the Heisman Trophy odds. Now, I, as a Heisman voter am not allowed to wager for obvious reasons. But remember, it's before the season and the names were in some particular order. Arch Manning, Garrett Nussmeier, lsu, Kate Clubnik from Clemson. Well, things have changed tremendously. We've got a couple of guys go from off the board into the top 10 in Joey Aguilar and Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss, who has coming out party against Tulane, who is just unbelievable that.

A (52:28)

What about Diego Pavia?

B (52:29)

That's the guy was going to bring up. Diego Pavia. Your guy started the season at 125 to 1. He's now at 15 to 1.

A (52:39)

Let's go.

B (52:40)

So depending on when you bet him, you could probably cash a ticket, but there's probably a buyout there.

A (52:46)

Yeah, right, buddy. I, I have him at. On my bookie at. I don't even want to tell you what it was.

B (52:53)

Well, this is what I'm wondering.

A (52:54)

Okay, let me, let me pull it up here.

B (52:56)

I'm wondering. This is what I'm. Because you did you, you put your money or what we think is real money. We were not really sure because you got thousands in your account that seemingly showed up there.

A (53:07)

Let me pull it up here.

B (53:08)

But I'm wondering when you get an alert that says, hey, would you like to sell this out for pennies on the dollar, you might have that opportunity. So just so you know, the favorite right now is a guy we talked about yesterday, Dante Moore, who is at plus 750, not a freshman by the way, sophomore and had been elsewhere. Transfer Carson beck is at 9 to 1, Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State and Ty Simpson are at 10 to 1. And then it's Mendoza of Indiana, Aguilar of Tennessee, Marcel Reed of Texas A and M and Diego Pavia, Trinidad chambliss, all at 15 to 1. So your guy still hanging?

A (53:48)

I'm trying to pull it up here.

B (53:50)

Okay, well, I got a bet. While you're looking, I'm going to mention that if you're waiting for Sunday to start betting, you're missing half the fun and half the money. Because college football is already cooking upsets, blowouts, wild covers and Heisman odds. My bookie lets you hit it all with game lines, player props, and more. It's everything you need before the pros even kick off. When Sunday rolls around, you're already up. My bookie's got it all under one roof. Win big on the NFL super contest and survivor pools. If you're new to my bookie, what are you waiting for? We have a code for you. The letters of this show, D, B, U. And any bet you choose up to $500 is fully covered. So make your play. If it doesn't hit, you get it right back when you opt in using the beta back bonus token. My bookies where betters win together. Bragging's good. Cashing in is better. Handing me your phone.

A (54:38)

That's my open ticket.

B (54:40)

Oh, and you got a. That's your cash out right now. Yeah, that's my open for almost $7,000.

A (54:46)

Yeah, that's my open ticket. Look what it pays, though.

B (54:50)

$101,000. But again, I can't really opine and I can't obviously want. Because I don't want to. I really can't say anything. I can't wager. I can't aggrandize.

A (55:08)

No. But clearly I got in early on the Diego Pavia.

B (55:11)

You clearly did.

A (55:12)

Heisman pick.

B (55:12)

And that's why.

A (55:15)

Let's go.

B (55:15)

That's why I did what I did on Aman Ross St. Brown.

A (55:19)

That was a great. That was a really smart pick.

B (55:21)

I did that for offensive player.

A (55:22)

Offensive player of the year. Yeah.

B (55:24)

What was he, 15 to 1?

A (55:24)

Yeah, 15 1. Which I think is really good number for him.

B (55:27)

Right. That's crazy. So there you go. Yeah, that's. That's a lot of money to be sitting there right now. You might want to. I don't know.

A (55:35)

I'm right it out, man. That's my guy. I believe in him.

B (55:38)

There you go.

A (55:38)

My doors, they're going all the way.

B (55:40)

That's Dan Bernstein, unfiltered for this Tuesday and we thank you for tuning in. So make sure that you subscribe and you like and you set your alerts and everything that one does, whether it's via YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, however you get such things. Today's episode has been brought to you in partnership with my bookie. And we'll talk to you tomorrow.

A (56:06)

Dan Bernstein. Unfiltered.

B (56:08)

Unfiltered. On three.

A (56:09)

One, two, sports.