Bp Wrigleycast - Chicago Cubs News

With Carlos and Joel away at ANTHROCON 2016, Ryan and Isaac take the reigns in discussing the Cubs recent slump. Later, they tackle the topic of relievers on the trade market, the Cubs needs, which of the All-Stars are truly deserving of their spot, and how awesome is Willson Contreras? Isaac has a short but sweet at-bat of the week and Ryan brings an interesting question of the week from the fans. Be sure to rate and review on iTunes and follow the podcast on Twitter @BPWrigleycast. 

The Cubs surprise everyone and trade for Chris Coghlan. With him and Almora now on the roster, how does playing time look moving forward? The guys touch a little bit on the draft (and the Cardinals' draft) as well as the whole "how long can they carry three catchers?" ordeal. What's up with that?Joel's 60 Seconds with a former Cub goes for some prose with Bryan LaHair. Ryan's Question of the week pitts Javy Baez against Addison Russell. Isaac's At Bat of the Week hopes Jason Heyward has finally reached a turning point.

Carlos makes his triumphant return as Ryan Davis slinks away to Summer Camp. Willson Contreras seems ready for the Big Leagues, but what about his defense? It's easy to say Joe Maddon is doing a great job when the team is winning games, but what is he missing? Isaac profiles some lefty relievers the Cubs might go after before the trade deadline.Joel keeps it in the current century with 60 Seconds with a Former Cub, tackling Carlos Zambrano. Isaac's At Bat of the Week should give you a better appreciation for Kris Bryant and this team in general. Enjoy it, fans!

The guys move on without Carlos this week, and lead off discussing the Cubs complete 180 degree turn. They've played well, but has it been a combination of better performance and poor competition? Next, a discussion about Javier Baez and what the Cubs might be trying to do with him. That leads into yet another talk about playing time, and the Jorge Soler and Tommy La Stella "problems". Joel harkens us back to the days of Larry Biittner, Ryan fields a hypothetical trade question, and Isaac finally has an at-bat of the week that's truly an at-bat! 

Julie DiCaro is our special guest, and she brings her view on the current Cubs slump to the table. We also talk Jason Heyward and whether players should be a little more careful early in the season to avoid injury. The Cubs are losing games but is that reason to panic or is this just baseball? The Cubs called up Matt Szczur and designated Neil Ramirez, essentially losing Ramirez so they could keep three catchers on the roster. Is that OK or was this a bad move?Isaac jumps into the podcast with some observations from Sunday night's game after writing the recap for it. Our Question of the Week is about Heyward moving down in the order. Joel goes all Corey Patterson on us in 60 Seconds with a Former Cub. And Isaac's AB of the Week is another PA of the Week. We may have to rename the segment...

The Cubs continue to play good baseball, but the guys zero in on Addison Russell and what could be a breakout season for the young shortstop. Jake Arrieta is great, but should the Cubs extend him while they have him? There are pros and there are cons. Heyward is still struggling, but is there reason to worry...yet? Joel debuts a new segment that ponders "What if?" And today they talk about what the biggest injury would be to this team.Isaac throws a curveball by doing a plate appearance of the week...sneaky guy.The question of the week comes from such a ridiculous person that it may actually be true.In 60 Seconds with a Former Cub, we revisit the tenure of one Mike Harkey.

The Cubs are absolutely dominating right now, and the guys remind listeners to enjoy it while they can—it's something special that you don't see every day. Ben Zobrist has been heating up lately, and the guys take a closer look at his recent run. A week ago Isaac complained that the bullpen wasn't being used per the plan, and over the past week Maddon flipped the switch and began following the plan, so, you're welcome. Also, some AAA players you may not be familiar with.60 Seconds with a Former Cub: Joel drops another instant classic with Pete LaCock. Get your giggle machine ready...Question of the Week: Ryan takes a question on Jason Heyward. Is there reason to panic yet?At Bat of the Week: It isn't Addison Russell, but Ryan Kalish with a well-deserved mention here. The guys close with some baseball memories in honor of Mother's Day. 

The Cubs keep winning despite some of the team's big offensive names coming up short. But Tommy LaStella and Matt Szczur had a nice week. We touch on Jorge Soler again and the perpetual mystery of whether or not he'll be a big leaguer. Miguel Montero gets hurt and Willson Contreras doesn't come up, which makes sense. We also talk about Adam Warren, John Lackey, and the plan to pull pitchers early. Whatever happened with that? Oh and was Dusty Baker really that bad? Judging from the analogies we all draw...yes. But we still like him.Isaac talked to Albert Almora about confidence and the role it plays in the game, which was fascinating.Then Joel goes into 60 Seconds with a Former Cub and breaks out his thesaurus to describe the zaftig Hector Villanueva. Ryan's got the Question of the Week on who the Cubs's best player has been so far.Isaac breaks down a great at bat by his idol Addison Russell in At Bat of the Week.

Our special guest this week is Sarah Spain, and we discuss the importance of a good start for a team with such high expectations, as well as Joe Maddon, Jake Arrieta, Kris Bryant, and much more. Jake Arrieta threw another no-hitter and no one is that surprised...talk about high expectations.Ryan has our question of the week on Rizzo hitting homeruns, Joel can't quite match last week's 60 Seconds with a Former Cub, but he gives it a shot with Bill Madlock, and Isaac has our At Bat of the Week with a Jason Hammel at bat.

With the Cubs off to a good start, the guys break down how it's happened despite some very unimpressive offensive stats (other than Dexter Fowler). Taking pitches has definitely helped, but pretty amazing to be off to this kind of start when so many players are around the Mendoza line. The Cardinals are coming! Wouldn't anyone in their right mind want the Cubs roster over the Cardinals roster? The guys discuss. Also, Javy Baez is back on the team and they discuss the benefits of having him vs trading him.For 60 Seconds with a former Cub, Joel drops some serious A-material on Bob Tewksbury and the guys can't stop laughing. Well done, Joel. Ryan has the question of the week and Isaac covers the at bat of the week. Can you guess which one he picked? It's an easy one...

Special guest and Editor in Chief of Baseball Prospectus Wrigleyville joins the team to break down the Kyle Schwarber injury and whether or not the front office needs to adjust so early in the season. The Cubs are 5-1 so far and the offense is clicking, the bullpen is solid, and things are looking good. Also, Rian shares something that surprised him when entering a big-league clubhouse for the first time.For the 60 Seconds with a Former Cub segment, Joel stalks Steve Trout and almost gets him to open up. Ryan takes a question from a listener about other positions Kris Bryant might play, and Isaac debuts the At Bat of the Week with an Anthony Rizzo number.

The guys talk about their most important questions of the season as game one wraps up WHILE THEY RECORD. Can the bullpen really keep it together this season? Will the Cubs win the NL Central? Will they have to trade away any prospects to reinforce the team? Will all the young players improve or is that asking too much. Lots of questions but we have answers!Joel brings Nomar back for 60 Seconds with a former Cub and his horrifying groin injury. Ryan's got the Question of the Week and it's about a six-man rotation. And Isaac hits up the final Stat of the Week segment to make way for At Bat of the Week.Then everyone gives their predictions for the NL Central. After that, the Cubs wrap up the win as the guys wrap up episode 9 and all is well in the world. Cubs win.

We are one week away from real baseball, so the crew invited Cat Garcia (@TheBaseballGirl) from BP Wrigleyville and BP Southside to help with the team previews. Cat covers the rebuilding Reds, Joel discusses the slightly-ahead-of-the-Reds-but-also-rebuilding Brewers, Isaac fills us in on why the Pirates could afford a relatively quiet offseason, Ryan has the Cardinals #devilmagic, and Carlos touches on the Cubs and their depth.After delving into the NL Central, Joel takes us back in time for our 60 Days with a Former Cub segment with Lee Smith. The question of the week is about potential trade targets and Isaac takes us through Win Probability Added for our stat of the week.

Hector Rondon has some pretty miserable Spring Training numbers, but should fans be concerned? How would the pen hold up if someone else had to step up and close games? Word on the street (or at least Rick Sutcliffe's street) is Kyle Schwarber will be catching Jason Hamel on the regular. Wasn't this inevitable in a way?It may not be Cubs news, but the guys chime in on Adam Laroche and his decision to retire rather than stop bringing his son to games EVERY SINGLE DAY.Before we fire Isaac, he brings you the stat of the week (WHIP) and Joel revisits the days of El Pulpo in our 60 Seconds with a Former Cub segment.Ryan, in the meantime, has surprising results from a Twitter poll.

We’re getting closer and closer to real baseball, but for now let’s discuss Baseball Prospectus’ Top Ten prospects for the Cubs. We go deep on Dylan Cease, Jemier Candelario, and a scratch the surface on a few other guys. Kyle Hendricks is apparently a lock in the rotation. Ryan regales us with stories of his trip to Arizona and we talk a teeny bit about the Brewers and former Cub Matt Garza.In our main segment we muse on what might get in the way of the Cubs making it to the World Series this year, and Carlos gives a very unsatisfying answer. In our 60 Seconds with a Former Cub, segment, Joel takes us back to the days of Bill Mueller.And for our Stat of the Week, Isaac walks us through the publicly available information behind WARP.

Spring training games are underway! Small sample sizes be damned! We review the first two games and chat about Javier Baez's versatility, Pierce Johnson's chances of pitching at Wrigley in 2016, and Kyle Hendricks' expectations. Then we go around and each of us picks our top players that might surprise in 2016. Joel takes us back to the Hee-Seop Choi era in the 60 seconds with a former Cub segment, and Isaac walks us through Fair Run Average in our stat of the week. Ryan tackles a Matt Szczur question from a listener and Isaac almost makes it to the end of this one before getting fired. Again.

Dexter Fowler shocks the world and comes back to Chicago. We take a look at the repercussions on other players of his return as well as the return on the Chris Coghlan trade. Does this mean the final bat off the bench is now decided? We go around the table and pick out which player worries us the most in terms of how a bad performance would impact the team going into 2016. Then Joel tells us what Michael Barrett has been up to in our 60 seconds with a former Cub segment. The stat of the week is ISO and Joel makes a bad Vanilla Ice joke. The question of the week asks who will lead off: Fowler or Heyward?

Spring Training is here! We take a look at some storylines to watch out for, including how much playing time Chris Coghlan will get this season. Can Heyward cut it in CF? We take a look at some comparables as well as the Cubs strategy of signing 153 relievers to fill one open spot in the bullpen. We'll also go around the room to fill in the blank: "The Cubs will be awesome if ________ has a good year." Also, Isaac professes his undying love for Addison Russell.Isaac talks about FIP for the stat of the week and Ryan takes our first ever fan question.And thank you to the Drive-By Truckers for allowing us to use their track for the intro and outtro on the podcast!

PECOTA projections are out! Curious how the Cubs fared according to our robot overlords? We take an in-depth look at players like Jason Heyward, Jon Lester, and Addisson Russell to find out where we agree and where we agree to disagree. We'll also take a look at which players might take a step back in 2016 after everything going so well last year (sorry Jake!).For Stat of the Week, Isaac covers BABIP and Joel tackles old-time Cub George Mitterwald in our 60 Seconds with a Former Cub segment. 

Some of the writers behind BP Wrigleyville get together to talk about the Chicago Cubs. In this debut episode, we take a look at the Cub prospects that made the Baseball Prospectus Top 101 prospect list and what that means for the system. Believe it or not, Dexter Fowler is still a free agent, and Matt Murton is back with the club after his stint in Japan.For the stat of the week, Isaac Bennett takes a look at Baserunning Runs and the surprising player who is on top of the leaderboard.