PCA and Caleb Kilian Power Chicago Cubs in Cactus League Opener over White Sox | CHGO Cubs Podcast

The Cubs are back! Christopher Morel, Pete Crow Armstrong, Matt Shaw and Caleb Kilian carry the Cubs in the 2024 Cactus League Opener! Ryan Herrera and Cody Delmendo brings the vibes and insights from Arizona. Join Luke Stuckmeyer and Kevin Wells for February 23rd edition of the CHGO Cubs Podcast. #VibeWithUs #springtraining

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Hey Chicago what do you say it’s the ch o Cubs podcast Cactus League action is underway and our chg Cub spring training coverage is presented by Blue Moon made brighter get Blue Moon delivered and see delivery options by visiting blue moon.com chto celebrate responsibly Blue Moon Brewing Company Golden Colorado the

Cubs are undefeated in 2024 an 8-1 win over the white socks in the first game and we are going four corners on this one Tavern style if you will chopping it up into squares Luke stuck Kevin Wells down in the corner Ryan Herrera and Cody delmendo basking in the

Sun of beautiful Mesa Arizona they were there they lived the experience they’re uh by the way staying at incredible hotel accommodations Cho spring training spring training hotel accommodations are provided by our friends at hila River Resort and Casino viqua it’s the place for Chicago Baseball fans to stay when

Visiting the Phoenix area so if you’re planning to head out and watch some of these Cactus Le games or if you’re traveling to the desert throughout the year call 1 1800 946 4452 or visit play.com that’s g.com all right from the hotel last night to the game

Today Cody has been a Vibe look at him the man’s got his tank top on he’s got his Shady Rays going how much fun did you have at your first ever Cactus League game Cody uh man all I can say is if you’ve never been out to Cub spring training in

Mesa Arizona you gotta do it at least once um I’m not saying that because our bosses sent me here uh I’m saying it because if I had paid the money it would be totally worth the the money uh I was hanging out at the club 400 uh tailgate

Before the game um it’s just like a bunch of other tents next to them everyone just like hanging out uh I met a lot of people who listen to our show um super nice people and then on top of that I mean just the game itself the the ballpark for spring training

Like Sloan Park is a beautiful Park man I was sitting on the lawn I met son I met I forgot his name and I feel really bad for forgetting his name considering he sat next to me on the lawn for like three and a half Innings uh but uh

He does another cups podcast and uh you know we chopped it up about the Cubs and just um he listened to our show too and um you it was just cool to meet other people out here that are you know di hards because people I think people who

Go to spring training are die hards unless they’re people who already live here in Arizona um checking out you know prospects checking out the current guys um and on top of it the weather’s beautiful uh sorry to to everyone back home who might be experienc oh yeah you

Did you did a beer bat by the way I I’m just going to assume it was Blue Moon and we’ll leave it absolutely absolutely there was all I’ve drank today is Blue Moon I that’s all I’ve drank today uh yeah now before you do the beard Cody

Before you the blue bat do you do you squeeze an orange do you do you take a bite of orange before you beer bat chug a blue moon oh we definitely you know like kind of squeezed the orange and then threw it in there it’s at the

Bottom that’s why you’re don’t see in that picture I had to take the picture myself it’s one of the the American flag in there because that that is Vibes I mean that picture alone if you’re on YouTube I mean that just describes today in general um it was a beautiful day at

The park a lot of people on the lawn um it wasn’t too hot or anything and for at the beginning of the game there was some clouds and then the the sun ended up coming out later like within like a you know the first or second inning but yeah

I mean it was a great Vibe at the park today whether you are high on the team or not just to see baseball back Morel hitting that home run um in his first debat um as a fan of of baseball as a fan of watching dudes hit homers it was one of

Those like man I missed that moment so uh yeah overall like for my first experience here at SLO Park uh I can’t say enough that if you never done it if you haven’t done spring training at least once you got to do it once I’m not

Saying you got to come out here every day or not every day but every year but just once come out here check it out SLO Parks it’s it’s awesome so uh credit to Cubs for at least uh being able to build great facilities for fans to enjoy a

Baseball game in it looked like a packed house too I mean the the the grass was full the stands I think they said 13 and a half or something like that almost 14,000 that’s Co no it really was packed today I kind of like I sat on the lawn

For about three and a half Innings and then I kind of walked around and I ended up seeing Uh Kevin Fiddler and Aldo sto who do the pin wheels and Ivy podcast for Sports mock I had a buddy I used to work with um from back in the day that

Was here with his wife like kind of like in a suite they had like three drinks and food apparently Justin steel was up in there uh before I or before I got up there but taking pictures and stuff with them um yeah and I just for the most

Part I kind of walked around they have like food trucks out here too like I kind of tried I had some ice cream Luke you’d be very you would have really liked it wow so yeah there’s a lot a lot of different food options um obviously have the normal ballpark stuff but the

Food trucks out here um obviously you can get the beer bats and you can do it more than just beer that like mixed Margaritas you can put in there too like yeah I mean again for spring training and the games don’t matter and you’re just excited that baseball’s back like

It it was fun to hang out with other CBS fans and enjoy the weather he’s really rubbing it in really rubbing it in right now I see Kevin Wells with a winter hat in one corner and Cody with a tank top and shades of the other right started

Snow here like about what an hour ago likeed morning this morning yeah Cody Cody didn’t bring a hoodie or anything this morning it was cold like not cold but it was chilly yeah um and he actually he’s like oh man I wish I would have brought a sweater um so he wasn’t

He wasn’t vibing the whole day was a little chilly this morning but I did tell and Cody Cody I told you this yesterday that um well you know I I know the weather’s really bad back there um the only person I don’t feel bad for is

Luke for trying to give me grief the other day because I was out here in the sun and it was 45 in sunny in back in Chicago and you’re talking about how it’s being 75 down here and I’m like karma karma for you too bad for everyone else I

Have that’s what I said I feel bad for you I feel bad for you but Luke this is his karma for trying to give me grief for coming down there Arona to work when when when it was when it was in the 40s in Chicago in mid-February

That that’s the big part of it I do have to say I forgot to mention this but I forgot to mention that I accidentally ran into friend of the program Max Bane after the game um and we finally met in person for the first time and and

Chopped it up for a little bit so yeah was there an Embrace was there an Embrace there was there was there was the you know that meme going around the internet right now the of like the NBA player and then like the old lady who’s like making of Kevin Durant going in

With the with the hand you know like the hand gesture um that that was me and Max Bane to today after the game when I saw him uh walking up that sidewalk where all the media and the players are coming out of whenever they’re walking towards

SLO Park I actually caught him I was I was actually hanging out with the friend of the program Rich basterfield after the game just you know just talking cobs and nice you know the rest of the weekend and stuff like that and Max just kind of was walking up the sidewalk we

Didn’t even I didn’t even notice him and then next thing I know he’s like right there and I just yelled his name and you know he stopped and talked to us and then Alex Cohen who you guys were talking to before he went live he he

Showed up right after so we had like a group of five there just chopping it up for a few minutes uh before we I came on and did this so uh yeah it was cool again it was cool to like be around uh other people that we know through this

Industry and also you know just other Cubs fans and I will say if you if you really if you’re like an autograph person or if you just want to get pictures with players and stuff like this is the place to be man like there are so many players walking up the

Sidewalk to go to so Sloan Park before the game you know a lot of them were prospects but you know they turn out to be something big you get that picture now like in five years you can show that to your kid or whoever and be like hey remember remember when this happened

Like credit to me that’s the way I would think of it at least you know so it’s a really easy access to be able to get be able to talk to other players or meet other players honestly easier than Cubs con you don’t have to pay any money to

Be able to do it like it’s yeah is awesome Cody’s live from uh the rental vehicle so that’s what is this car volw Volkswagen I’m in the front seat passenger seat uh we only like uh Chevys and cdjr around here so OB you got a lemon uh we

Didn’t decide I’m pretty sure they just picked it full run eight 81 they beat the White Socks by the speaking of hanging out with people shout out to our new die hards today Rich Caleb and Ki we’re up to 84 this month hell yeah 84 uh and I’ll be honest with you after

Watching game one and it means nothing and you know you tell yourself spring training games mean nothing and Cactus League pitching means nothing but you watch today’s game and I’m thinking 84 wins that’s just an initial that’s not my prediction yet but that’s my first they might be better than I

Thought I liked what I I I maybe it was I was just a little amped up to see baseball when it started snowing I was like okay it’s still coming it’s still coming um let’s talk let’s talk about the offense first and then we’ll hit we’ll hit the

Pitching stuff in this in the second segment but like offensively morel’s home run obviously was the highlight I I I would have put Joe Joe Hudson as the as the headline of the podcast but nobody knows who he is okay so let’s just be honest five RBI like who the hell is

This guy when I was sitting on the wall I was definitely like who the hell is spring training invite catcher but right theh yeah no uh you know watching from my perch up in the Press Box um yeah he he had a I mean he had that one hit down

The line that pulled know who was playing third base for the socks but pulled him out and then that actually led to the P Crow Armstrong play scoring from second base going all the way home on yeah the ground ball to Third Base um yeah it was was a good day all around

For the Cubs offense obviously Matt Shaw two hits Morell you mentioned the Home Run um but then you have you know Jordan Wicks just getting out there right we’ll talk about him but just getting out there Caleb Killian looked good and was a two innings um maybe even better than

We or as good as we seen him in a while and again I know it’s only spring training but looking good is better than looking bad in spring training games um and yeah it just I’m happy it’s the start of baseball right games are starting spring training is here like officially here

Because you got games going on um and now you’re gonna start getting a lot of these guys in the games more of the guys GNA be in games like a Danby swans and ni Horner type will be in there um yeah it just every every game that goes by in

Spring training means we that much closer to opening day so great yeah I mean they they did score eight runs most of them off a washed 40-year-old so like take it with a gra take it with a grain of salt but the same time leg two-time Yeah I but I I do like

The fact that it was we got to see everybody in this game like it was almost like Craig counil was saying all right these are the names you give me that you say have guys that have a shot at some point I’m playing them all in

Game I’m playing them all in game number one uh like you said Shaw PCA PCA speed was so evident and and you hear Carter Hawkins and some of the other guys talk about him and it’s like listen they they plan on him him being around a long time

Um but it was gonna he’s gonna steal some games for you this year I hope so you know I I I mean I liked seeing the batting stance changed it was a little little bit different you know he’s worked on some things this offseason to

Try and you know hit lless and a handful of games at the end of the season he made some adjustments and he worked on stuff all winter and hopefully we start to see it play out in the Cactus League now he’ll face a lot of minor league

Pitching in Cactus League Play but still keep working on those things and I I don’t know I’m 5050 on him making the opening day roster but you know if he plays like he did today there there’s no denying the ener like the energy the guy brings to the diamond is just you

Almost want to calm him down a little bit did you see him slam his bat down after he got out on I forget what it was then he got hit by a pitch and he was super frustrated by that too I mean yeah charge the mound I thought he was gonna

Charge the mound for a second it was a breaking ball in the back I love it man this team needs a little bit of grit they got a lot of nice guys they need a little bit of grit that’s the intensity and the competitiveness that we we know

PCA has right even though you know we know the quote that he’s saying he’d love for belly to come back right he’d love for belly to come back how because why because he wants the Cubs to win and even it may cost him opportunities um

But he just wants the Cubs to win so when you’re seeing him out there in spring training games getting pissed um that’s part of that that intensity and that’s part of that competitive fire to see his team win so I yeah it’s great for the Cubs whether he’s up on opening

Day or not like he’s that’s gonna be great for this team for that Clubhouse on the field whatever that’s gonna be great for this team yeah how about the Outfield defense too just from all three of those guys rotating in and out like Al had a nice play it was awesome I all

Those guys played great in the Outfield even some of the routine plays the team on the other side of the ball from you has trouble with some of those routine plays to to see young guys come up and just communication was there couple feeling out the wall making sure making

Plays on the warning track I mean all that was prevalent between all three of those guys today Canario PCA and alcantra so that was my Pi away the PCA uh I mean and think in the first inning Andrew vaugh hit one to the warning track and PCA chased it down made it

Look like a can of corn I mean the defense has always been there man I don’t think anyone’s worried about PCA and the defense so uh you know I think you know I’m reading the chat and um you know everyone’s saying you know Jesse Chavez is the one pitching and all this

Stuff and it’s like well first off he’s working on something anyway it’s not like he’s out there trying to get hitters out that’s one thing but also like second thing is like if they’re not Hitting off Jesse Chavez then what do we think anyway so it brings me back to the point of

It’s spring training so just be happy that you saw some success from some guys today and stop bitching boom roasted all right move on thank you I’ve I’ve seen a lot of people upset with Carter Hawkins making fun of pca’s blue hair saying it looked terrible in the

Broadcast I just thought it was a good day for like guys that are trying to prove something man like I I people try to read into things too much and it’s just like dude it’s their first spring training game like what I’m glad they hit off Jesse Chavez like if they’re not

Then like maybe like maybe we have something to complain about but either way it’s like it’s not like Jesse Chavez is out there trying to get outs anyway he’s out there working on whatever he was working on you know he’s a 40y old journey man that’s what I said earlier

That you know obviously the results don’t really matter but it’s better to look good than to look bad in these games so like at least that’s a positive is they looked good in whatever the situation was also Luke what what did you say about Carter Hawkins making fun of

PC broadcast made fun of pca’s blue hair multiple times saying it looks terrible basically and I’ve seen people on social media here in the chat like multiple people are like man why did he have to do it twice that wasn’t right he was Mak blue hair I think people need to

Stop getting so upset about anything the the dumbest things these guys are it’s it’s they’re G the GM and their top prospect they obviously have a good relationship so he’s goingon to make fun of his blue hair like this isn’t the Yankees you can wear whatever color hair you want you

Can have whatever bling you want you can have whatever facial hair you want it’s cool spring training it’s it’s fun you know let him let him live let him be a 20 he’s what 21 years old yes let them go crazy come on team was fun they’d all

Get blue hair for spring oh yeah why not not to like not and I’m not trying to like tell people how to fan or whatever like if y’all want to complain for the sake of complaining like thanks for being here I guess but I’m just like

Trying to give you like the like just the like just step outside of it for like it’s again it’s the first spring training game I’m not sitting here like defending like how this offseason is G I think a lot of the continued like bitching is just from the fact that

Bellinger still hasn’t signed and we still don’t know what this team is like I I get it right but when we’re talk we’re talking about young dudes like trying to prove that they can you know be Major Leaguers like I don’t know man like I think there’s

Just a time and place for certain complaints there’s nothing to complain about the guys that we’re talking about today and there’s honestly really nothing to complain about the Cubs in general today in terms of how this game went and how you know certain guys shine you know like there’s other guys we

Haven’t even mentioned you know the Morell Homer like outside of that he also fielded two ground balls at third base and threw to first base cleanly like I know it’s just two ground balls and they were pretty routine but like isn’t that what we basically want Morell

To do is to feel routine ground balls cleanly like I’m not asking right I’m not asking him to turn into Nolan Aeron a I’m asking him to just be competent at third so like I think if you just look at those little things the things that you should be

Looking at for spring training you know like the morel storyline and like PCA and like the differences stance looks here compar compared to like last year and like you know the success of him and Shaw and you know other dudes that you know haven’t mentioned yet like that

That’s all you can really I guess kind of look at and try and get excited or you know whatever about that that’s the way I look at spring training and how I’ve always looked at spring training like the results really just don’t matter at the end of the day yeah and

Council uh during the broadcast he was miked up uh for one of the Innings and he basically talked about Morel and he said listen we don’t have to make a decision about his everyday position by opening day we we don’t there’s no date where we

Have to say this is the amount of time he’s like we’re gonna give we just have decided by the way what I was saying for the last year is exactly what they’re doing give the kid one spot you’re overload not everybody is Ben zist let him focus on

The defense at one position they finally decided on third base strictly Third Base the rest of the spring and how long that goes maybe it goes into the season maybe it goes a month into the season maybe it goes two months into the season if he does well we guarantee it’ll

Continue there for a long time but I I like to see how it plays out one other thing that struck me was yeah what’s that go ahead oh sorry I was gonna say I was just gonna add on to that um you know I think people forget that like just because you’re starting

Or whatever you have your position on opening day like that there’s you know there’s 15 161 more of those games after that um and not all starting nine not all five starters are going to be those guys so yeah with Mel makes a whole lot of sense that they’re like we’re not

Looking at the end of spring training as the deadline for Christopher morale to prove he could play Third Base right like if Nick madal is the starting third baseman I know our chat’s gonna hate it on opening day our chat’s gonna hate it but that doesn’t mean like a couple

Weeks in the future morale can’t be the starting third baseman at or a month in the future two months in the future right like we’ll see but um you know talking to Craig counil about it the other day what just about what he’s kind of looking to see out of morel right now

And he basically just said like just just just getting the Reps getting the Reps doing the work putting in the work U the most important thing right now is reps because you’re just going to get a bunch of feedback and a bunch of feedback and you know where that leads

To none of us know you know we we we won’t be able to know until we get to that point if he has done it or hasn’t um but to counil to morale like right now just getting him a bunch of reps every day focusing on third base and

Doing that and and you know he’s got things to work on for sure but like the more he can do that um whether it’s footwork or the arm the arm path arm stroke whatever like being able to just take constant reps every single day is is just where they’re at right now

They’re not looking to see that Morel by next week has improved in like this area specifically right it’s just keep getting them reps keep getting reps keep getting him comfortable at that spot and and see where that takes him an underrated part of that home run that he

Hit too that I don’t want to go overlooked here was that was on a three count and I know it’s the first game of spring training in a game that doesn’t matter but that’s a call coming from Council like hey man guy on base half

Lead off single swing away man let a rip let’s try like that’s a real game scenario at some point down the line that this game doesn’t matter so if he swings and misses whatever but a 3-oh home run I mean giving him the green light that could be you know a hint of

What’s to come Council might want to be aggressive with certain guys at the plate like Morell he’s insisted a lot of trust in him and what he said so far we’ll see if that Rings true the rest of the Cactus League and into the regular

Season but you’re right I mean this is a it’s a game by- game basis for Morel just get a little bit better every day and make the routine plays and he’s gonna do it with a smile but I was going to say you know one of the other things

That struck me outside of the obvious guys you wanted to see play today you know you want you wanted to see shaan and at bat you wanted to see Morel at third you wanted to see PCA how he would do in his first game uh but it was still

It was also fun to see Owen Casey get in it bad and then and then it was fun to see just how athletic Alca looks you know what I mean like you see him chased down that one ball in the Outfield it was not really an easy play especially

In the sun in Arizona it was fun to see that and I was reminded when Brennan Davis came to the plate I am not going to count him out in his career yet I’m still not going to do it now they’ve told him you’re not going

You are not going to be on no matter what happens you could have the perfect spring training you’re not on the opening day roster we want you to go to prove that you can be healthy play here go to Triple A have a great start and then maybe something magical happens

We’ll call you up but Craig Council told him flat out you’re not on them you’re not on the opening day roster but that doesn’t mean you’re not part of the future and you look at the guy and you think about what he was before this weird back thing and it’s

Like man other guys have had hiccups trying to get to the majors I’m I’m not going to rule out that he could still be a force in the majors he uh he looks healthy let’s put it that way so that’s a good start yeah I mean I I haven’t

Necessarily given up on him it’s just more about like it it’s like the Cubs off season it’s like compl incomplete like he’s just been hurt right like he’s had injury back like setbacks related to injuries has he has not done anything that shows that he’s not good at baseball uh so yeah I

Mean you know if you you want to you you guys want to talk about dudes who have to like kind of show out this spring and show that they’re at least um healthy I he’s right at the top of the list right like yeah I’m not saying I don’t know

How he fits into this team if he’s shows he’s healthy and then goes to Iowa and hits really well for a month or two whatever gets a chance I don’t I don’t know how he fits in this roster I assume you know Ryan says it everyone else uh

Like Jed says it a lot like baseball is gonna baseball like it always seems to work itself out like perhaps you know there’s an injury and somehow some way you know he’s called upon to come up and be some sort of you know spark um I

Think for him it’s just all about being healthy I mean this guy was a top 20 b uh a top 20 Prospect in baseball a few years ago he was the guy we were all talking about when Cho Cubs launched we were when we knew that that 2022 season

Wasn’t going to be very good like he was the only thing that we were like clamoring for that was when when is Brennan Davis gonna get brought up like that was the question so like it’s not that I’ve ever given up on him it’s just

More about can he can he find a way to get on the field man like that’s that’s kind of the thing for me so yeah he’s got to climb the ladder because like he’s got four or five guys in front of him now yeah you know I mean he’s got to

Climb the ladder which is not gonna be easy right so I mean good it’s good to see that he’s healthy in Camp um I know our friend Kyle from the setup man tweeted uh or posted on his YouTube channel uh some content of him you know taking some you know live BP looked

Healthy swing looked good um yeah I mean I’m again it’s it’s one of those things where I’m not like banking on it but like as far as like just as a human being like yeah I’m rooting for the guy the guy was on the cusp of being a major

Leager and you know a crazy injury happened to him so yeah of course I’m rooting for him to you know make that comeback story that we can all talk about from five years and be like remember that yeah yeah totally uh all right so don’t forget our our spring

Training coverage presented by Blue Moon made brighter get Blue Moon delivered and see delivery options by visiting blue moon.com Joe celebrate responsibly Blue Moon Brewing Company Golden Colorado and our hotel accommodations at spring training provided by our friends at hila River Resort and Casino viqua the place

For Chicago Baseball fans to stay while visiting the Phoenix area if you’re planning ah Head West and check out Cactus League games like Cody and Ryan uh maybe you’re just going to the desert throughout the year call 1800 946 4452 or visit play heila that’s g.com uh we’re going to tell you about

Some really cool takeover plans don’t buy your individual game tickets just yet because we’ve got some big games and big dates to announce for you here coming up in just a minute we’re going to talk about uh the pitching performances out in the first game as

The Cubs beat the white socks 8 to one um but first want to tell you about our friends at Ray Chevrolet they’re sharing their best offers all month long with their Auto Show Sales Event make your way to Ray Chevrolet on Route 12 in Fox

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One and Cody’s out there basking in the sun still and in his rental car and Ryan’s hiding in the shade because it was a lot of sunshine today we do want to tell you here’s the exciting news even if you can’t get out there right now to

Arizona you can come hang with the chto crew we’ve already got it three takeovers scheduled this year three takeovers already scheduled now remember takeovers we buy a group of tickets die hards get 20% off these tickets the deal is great but 20% off for die hard so you

Want to sign up for that die hard membership just for this alone then of course with Die Hard membership you also get the free shirt you get access to all of Ryan’s articles all year long you get the Die Hard card you get 20% off all of

Our merch all year long but 20% off things like this the first one is coming June 4th that’s a cross town game against the white socks okay so a White Socks game on June 4th we be having a takeover uh the link with those uh ticket availabilities and buying to uh

Join us at the Takeover those are coming soon probably by the end of the tonight or certainly by the end of the weekend uh so keep an eye out for that we’ll be putting them out on social media for you uh we’re also going to do a takeover this will be fun in

Milwaukee Wrigley North a 310 game June 29th against the Brewers you know the basically taking over the whole stadium and then on September 6th against the Mets at Wrigley Field that is a 120 game against the Mets we know for a fact those are three takeovers that we will

Have this season so if you’re thinking about buying tickets individually to those games hold off why not sit with chg and and hang out with all the die hards and the sickos uh that’ll be having fun at that game Cody’s gonna be part of we’re gonna have a lot of Friday

Games too right where we’re just gonna have Hangouts before the game1 120s you and Braggs kind of meeting up yeah kissing babies yeah yeah so like I don’t know if we have like a full like explanation of it fully uh but I know that me and CIO Bear’s uh

Meatball Greg brgs he’s also a Die Hard CBS fan he’s been on the show before he went on this wild ass Otani rant whatever um he I’m allowing him to come hang out with me in the bleachers every Friday home game this year and we’re going to do like meetups at

Murphy’s uh you know around you probably around 10: am they start I think that’s right around the time the bar actually open so we were going to open the bar and basically shut down the bar after the game obviously don’t let the facts

Get in the way of a good story um but uh either way it it’s more of a you know come hang out uh just like Cubs fans and hanging out with other Cubs fans and you if you’re a fan of the show and it sometimes we’ll have giveaways giving

Out tickets um sometimes we’ll give we’ll probably be giving away shirts stuff like that too um and but overall me and brags every Friday home game so I think there’s like 14 of them this year will be hanging out and left field but we’ll be doing like pregame meetups at

Murphy’s um I’m sure there’ll be more details for for that whole thing to come I’ve kind of like kind of said a little bit about this in past shows but like um that’s kind of the thing we have to come up with a name so

If you have a good name for this stuck you’re really good with the name stuff so if you have I’ll think about it I am thinking for the the Brewers takeover that we should tailgate and have Subway sandwiches for bu I agree I’m looking forward to the the takeovers this year

The takeovers this year are awesome we get to go to Milwaukee for the first like this I believe it’s the first time Craig Council goes back to Milwaukee yeah the first series and then we get to do a takeover for the first game that Anthony Rizzo comes back to

Wrigley like we we need to work on the T-shirt right now for the Takeover yeah we took Craig we took Craig we took Craig we took that would be a good shirt going to Milwaukee going to Milwaukee for tailgate man I don’t know if you I’m sure some of you guys have

Done this before it’s a blast they went to college up there so that’s all that’s all the Cubs games I saw for four years I went to every single game up there tailgating is a blast the fans are nice people too they are fun they’re fun to

Hang out with they got good food it’s a great place to watch a game so that’s going to be great I’m not going to miss that one um I can’t wait all right let’s talk pitching because uh there were some good performances Jordan Wicks was the

Starter today uh Ryan had a chance to talk to him right after the game specifically about Council correct Ryan is that who he was talking about there there was a bit about Council yeah yeah all right should we should we play that clip first and then and then we’ll get

To the his performance on the mound but let’s hear what he had to say about his his new manager Kel mentioned that you guys are having conversations about like essentially when you get stuck how do you get unstuck what what have you taken from those yeah is it just to keep you

Know take a deep breath and almost kind of reset you know that’s a big thing that I’ve tried to work on this off season you know is um when the game starts to speed up a little bit when the game you know they start to get Runners

On and stuff like that how do you reset what are your um you know mechanisms to go to and so you know that’s something I’m kind of playing with in spring training you know okay I’m going to try a few things and and just kind of go

From there what kind of advantages it to have he was on the other side for that last game and be able to pick his brain there yeah it’s nice because you know you can see kind of from a manager that has faced you you know hey this is what

You know we tried to do against you and so it’s good always good to have that information as a as a pitcher because then you can you know you can always store that and you know game plans are going to be relatively the same you know

When other teams try to attack me and so you know just having a guy who’s who’s done it on my side now is is awesome so he went an inning and two3 gave up the one- earned run um and you know he’s he’s getting a whole new set of eyes to

Kind of help him through this process process of becoming an a a solid major league pitcher right like we saw we saw the potential at the end of last season now it’s a matter of he’s in that he’s in that battle for a fifth starter and maybe there’s some names we didn’t

Expect we’ll get to some of those in a second but he did nothing to hurt his chances today that’s for sure no I don’t think so and and about the console stuff like that is a benefit obviously is like you you now have a guy who faced you on

Your last start of the season who can give you Insight on not just what he saw in that game but what he did to prepare for you um in that St what him and their Scouts had seen and uh while they were on the Brewers and obviously bringing

That here and giving him that Insight so yeah it is a huge Advantage for him um Wix is we’ve talked about it multiple times now like he’s a guy that’s very much in that fifth starter uh battle right and outside of the fact that you know they’re not only going to have five

Starters for the whole season we know that um it is still uh maybe like a badge of honor for guys to make the opening day roster right I think that Jordan Wix would wear that as a badge of honor so it is for sure something that

He wants um but yeah it’s it’s at this point he talked about it today it was they had a a little plan to kind of just show a little bit of everything um see a little bit of the spin on the on the slider that he wanted that he was going

In wanting to see which he said he did um you know he uh was at one in two third Innings about 40 pitches something like that um and and I think the biggest thing was uh outside of seeing some of the or accomplishing some of the things he wanted to accomplished was just

Getting back on the mound um you know facing Oppo opposing hitters for the first time in months right since September 30th I think was the last time he pitched in a major league game so um you know all that’s all that’s good for for Jordan and um as he again the

Results don’t really matter he only went one and two thirds with us by Design um but as continues to go and and probably makes a few more starts here in Cactus League um you know we’re going to be be keeping a watchful eye on him and what

He can know where he where he lands in this rotation battle he’s got success up in the zone too I think that the first inning the first two batters he faced he you know focused on a lot of the sliders outside really painted the edges but

Then when he ran into Andrew vau and a couple noteworthy hitters he got into some trouble got down in the count early and gave up some loud outs in the solo home run but I I still think that Jord I I I like the way he threw in the first

Inning but you’re right it’s the first start in a long time he only had a few starts last year this is nothing to read into right away he just really needs to home he doesn’t have the Velocity so he’s got to hone in on owning the upper

Part of the Zone because that’s where he had the majority of his success in punchouts last year all I can say is that hopefully that uh that error he had hopefully that’s you know that’s getting the uh getting the uh you know oiled up oiled machine he’s getting oiled right now

Right like the what he like I it was like a dribbler back to him and he just was he was unable to make the play right I kind of kind of foggy on remembering on what yeah he fumbled it he fumbled it about five feet front of the mound or so

Yeah like that’s what spring training is for like it’s not like he’s known for being like Matt Garza back in the day Cubs Legend uh but you know like I from where I was sitting in the right right field lawn like you know it was cool to

See him strike out the first batter of the year of the spring right so um it’s like kind of the same thing about what I was saying about the hitters and stuff like it’s just there’s nothing to really take from it it just good to see him

Come out of there healthy looked like he was trying to work on certain things and uh you know go to the next one we’ll see him in a handful of days right yeah we have the quote board uh from Ryan that Ryan got after the game where he said

For me it’s just focusing on how I can sharpen myself and be the best version of myself heading into the season wherever that is it is but for me I can only worry about myself and do the best job I can for me whatever happens happens it’s a good way to approach it

You know and that’s kind of what he was saying at um Cubs convention to us it doesn’t mean he’s not Uber competitive he is you know he’s he’s ready to go um and I I think he’s you know unless something goes wrong I I do believe it

His uh it might not be his to lose but I would say he’s the front runner in it could wesneski have a great spring and impact that maybe could another guy impact that well I mean yesterday we were talking about and I Ryan I know you

Got to head out to to write some articles so whenever you have to do that feel free to uh jump off but you did you want to say something quick y there he goes that was close record D too at it anyways I was saying yesterday I don’t

Know if Cody was listening to this this part of the podcast yesterday but when we were on I asked who would or will benefit the most from a Big Spring and we kind of went through the list of guys and at the end I was like you know what what about Caleb

Killian like his stock is plummeting after the last couple years like he’s got to turn this around I never would have guessed after one day of Cactus League action that I would have said did you see Caleb Killian out there he was pumping 96 97 98 no walks a

Couple of strikeouts yeah wait a second that’s the guy that they were trying to trade for when they made the Chris Bryant deal that’s a different pitcher than I’ve seen before and I know it’s just a catch Le game and it’s totally different but that was really good to

See he don’t count Caleb Killian out of anything just yet either yeah I mean listen I’m not I’m not going to flipflop here be just for like Cubs bias but like you know it is one appearance but yeah listen if there’s anyone that needs a Big Spring

Like a like you know you know I always like this this last month I’ve like emphasized like to to have your expectations tempered in the spring because Hayden wineski was so Electric in the spring last year and then you know we saw the you know the ups and

Downs that he had as a starter and then you you know I think overall I think we all felt pretty disappointed about his 2023 season in general so you know for someone like Caleb Killian though it’s a lot different like he’s like he’s like Brennan Davis

In a way too like yeah I’m surprised no you’re 100% right like I’m surprised that the Cubs have held on to him as long as they have because it just feels like they’re not both fully believe Believers of him like it I can’t even say he was bad last year because he made

Like two appearances like and and in both appearances he wasn’t good right so like sure he wasn’t good last year but you got two appearances it shows that the Cubs didn’t at least from our our view it showed that the Cubs weren’t a believer in him anymore but he’s here and

So again I I’m not I’m not saying that you shouldn’t get shouldn’t get excited about I’m not saying that you that that you should should get excited I’m just saying that like for someone like him just like Brennan Davis like showing that you’re a healthy and B you know

Doing things that maybe teams are holding against you or the Cubs were holding against you or was on The Scouting Report that you know was not good against you like don’t walk guys okay great like that was a big issue with him he walks a ton of dudes right

Um so for me I don’t for pitchers are different because like again like we’ve seen guys have great Springs and then go to the majors and you know not but but for him like he needs it to keep his career alive with the Cubs at

Least I mean I feel like he has the stuff that maybe if he got DFA a team would pick him up and you know maybe try and figure it out but with the Cubs at least like if he’s gonna be anything like he needs a huge spring like him and

Brennan Davis both are probably near the top of that list of you know out there with something to prove prove that they’re still valuable prospects that they that they can be something and you know Brandon Davis his issue was Health Killian is just I don’t I don’t I don’t

Even know how to explain Killian like again it was like one or two appearances like and they weren’t good at all like they didn’t had control problems he had command he had command problems which which is something you can work on and potentially fixing an offseason I mean

You’re throwing 96 97 98 listen if you don’t believe in Killian that’s okay if you don’t believe that Brennan Davis is going to make it back that’s okay what I’m saying is root for both guys specifically this spring because they’re still parts of the Chicago Cubs organization and whether

They make it with the Cubs or not they still could increase their trade value if that’s rebuild that trade value if that’s what ends up being the way they benefit the Cubs but there’s still a way for them to be productive members of the Cubs organization whether comes in a

Trade or whether it comes in actually playing on the field for the Cub somay maybe Killian’s a bullpen guy you know maybe maybe that’s what he should be a t inning guy just like we saw today sure 90 96 97 98 I could use that in the bullpen yeah absolutely who could every

Team could use that yeah what does JED always say what do we hear him say almost every single offseason since he took over can never have enough pitching Caleb Killian if he’s a guy that you can use as an opener down the road if you

Want to use him as a spot starter if you’re really beat up in the starting rotation I still think right now he’s probably if you’re looking at the depth chart of the starting rotation he’s probably the third or fourth guy off the bench still probably your eighth or

Ninth guy but guess what that’s that’s positive if you got a guy who can throw 99 the thing that he needs to work on in spring training Luke you nailed it it’s just the walks control the walks you don’t need to be a six seven inning guy

It’s the command and this is the perfect place to do it I do think he’s playing for you’re right though Cody he’s playing for his Cubs life at this moment in time because he sees the guys behind him he sees the guys in front of him

It’s a daunting task to kind of Mount that so go out do it Young fella go out and do it I mean you it’s it’s it’s your time to do it now because last year was was rough in a lot of ways yeah and by the way bayy horn and Porter hodj Cody

Looked pretty good too they like kidding I’ve been waiting to see them they they look good yeah I mean I’ve always said more about sarcasm but if your name is Porter Hodge that’s a Elite baseball pitcher name I’ve never had any doubt the guy’s going to be something I don’t

Know what but he’s gonna be something then and that I that’s that’s Del metrics for you guys if you really want to talk about Del metric that’s Del metrics but on a serious yeah oh yeah well I’m rooting for bayy horn because a he was part of

The Ryan a parat trade and I would love to see a White Sox Prospect be good for the Cubs considering I continuously even five years later have to hear about Dylan CE and ELO Jimenez even though they haven’t won jack [ __ ] with those guys but I digress um so yeah no I mean

Listen I one of the thing one of the complaints I had last year about whether it was David Ross or the front office I don’t really know who to blame in this because it’s not like David Ross is deciding who’s on the roster um but like

The like that we didn’t see a lot of young guys get opportunities right and um you know bayy horn for sure was a guy that I thought that we might have seen last year and we didn’t Porter hod not necessarily on that list but bayy horn

Was someone that I was curious to why we never saw at all last year so maybe I’m maybe I’m missed something on that uh I’m sure the chat will correct me on that because they clearly know more than I do um but uh you know I you know with

This quote unquote youth movement like this is the year to see some of these uh relievers I’m not back anything I said related to the Bellinger stuff but when you talk about the pitching they have a ton of young pitching and a ton of you know High upside in the pitching

Department whether people want to agree with that or not like that’s what the Cubs believe at least so um yeah that’s why Council was hired right like to use all of that and to find those guys because there’s so much of it you don’t want to get buried you don’t want to get

Caught in the situation where you’re bringing up Luke little too late you know you’re so beat up and you bring up a fresh arm and you’re competing for a division title and you completely blow it because you’re out of arms and you’re out of talent th this is

What council was brought in for exactly yeah so I again like I’m I’m optimistic that some of these guys can make a little bit more of an impact from the pitching side at least I’m I’m definitely a lot more optimistic about the Cubs pitching as a whole than I am

The offense the offense definitely has to prove it a little bit more for me um considering where this roster sits right now but those guys you just mentioned Luke like yeah I’ve been high on those guys for years I’ve just been waiting for them to get the opportunity Nan says Clint Frasier and

Heral looked good yeah it’s just it’s just league and it’s just the first game but let the vies forget about rapael Ortega too Let The Vibes simmer for a night just for one night Let The Vibes simmer it’s okay uhga played for the socks today that’s right he did forget

About Legend Cubs Legend uh speaking of Vibes how about prize picks yeah baby prize picks largest daily fantasy sports platform in North America easiest most exciting way to play DFS it’s easy against the numbers and it’s just you against the numbers which is the best part instead of battling thousands of

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Made easy if you guys haven’t heard we’re super excited to have blue moon uh sponsoring our Cub spring training coverage here at chgo you can get your blue moon delivered and see delivery options by visiting blue mooon beer.com chgo make sure you celebrate responsibly out there like Cody did today Blue Moon

Brewing Company Golden Colorado Cody did the beer bat if you haven’t heard the first Blue Moon beer bat chug was taken down by Cody delmendo in the Arizona desert today he sucked down a good Blue Moon a little squeeze of orange in the bottom of it no timing because it’s

Spring training we didn’t time the thing and it’s chill he’s just chilling in the desert right now so that won’t be the that’s not the first Blue Moon he had of the trip and it’s not going to be the last Blue Moon he has on this trip

In fact tonight might be a blue moon night in Arizona I’m suggesting Cody if you’re looking for a recommendation again I’m telling you the old town Tortilla Factory in Old Scottsdale good Mexican food good place me and Ryan keep getting recommended to go to Oldtown in Scottdale so go to the tortilla old

Tortilla Factory good place and then yeah I’ll add it to take down the blue moons we were debating yesterday when you were on the airplane how many of those cases of free Blue Moon that we had at the office you were able to fit into your carry-on

Item uh well one might say I fit all eight one might say I didn’t bring any at all I’ll just let y’all you know Wonder know we don’t know all right I did I did have a couple blue moons on the flight though so maybe maybe perhaps

I snuck a few in the in the old carryon I’ve never tried has anybody ever tried to bring a beer onto a plane no beer I’ve never tried it like if you I’m clearly kidding because like TSA wouldn’t allow that and it would blow up in your suitcase at 30,000 feet

Probably get your clothes all wet yeah right but um you know there’s B like you can go to the bar once you get through TSA and like get a beer and take it on the plane I believe that like that’s allowed believe you can do that I’ve taken food

That I bought you know oh yeah that I’ve done I think alcohol’s fine so I think I just I love blue moon man I all this all this the Beautiful the beautiful upper little thing we have up in the corner there it’s just tempting me I got to do

Hawks tonight we got about four or five cold ones sitting in the fridge for me later after this so I’m excited we end up can we can we Ro the show I gotta get to my blue moons yeah uh WP up Cody what do you got planned for the whole weekend

Because now the sun’s down it’s going to cool off in the desert you’re going to have to put on at Le flannel over the tank top tonight because it’s gonna get cool I know you didn’t bring a a heavy jacket well this is a good segue into

The Super Chat from Fernando who says did anyone talk to Lisa today and that is the one thing that I have not done I’ve been on the search for Lisa if you’re on X or Twitter whatever you call it like there’s this account from some lady named Lisa who says that she heard

That Bellinger that the Cub signed Bellinger and she came online to find out if if she signed or if he signed with the Cubs and so I’ve been on the hunt for Lisa all day I mean I every lady I saw at the Ballpark today if they

Looked like the girl in the picture on it in that on that account I was asking is your name Lisa didn’t meet any Lisa today unfortunately but yeah so the the hunt continues tomorrow gotta find the source uh if if this is just you know this news just isn’t is is just being

Held back you know what I mean so um yeah I mean the rest of the weekend I mean we’re going me and Ryan are going to the game tomorrow we’re going to the game Sunday we’re going to the game Monday we’re going to the game Tuesday I

Mean that’s part of the plans um gonna try and find some time to go to a gym that’s in the in the in the resort right I’m gonna I gotta hit the pool otherwise it’s the curls like this you know one at a time one Cur at a time gota gota

I haven’t had a I haven’t had a blue moon in a couple hours so I got to get another one before have you checked out the pool at uh heer River Resort yet no because when we got okay so when I arrived to Arizona yesterday I took an

Uber straight to SLO park because Ryan was here and it’s cheaper for the Uber if I just come to SLO Park than to get it all the way to the hotel so then after Ryan’s done with his like video updates that we’ve been putting out on Twitter we decide to go to waterburger

And you made yeah and that’s where I had my dinner and and was it oh uh yeah it’s good I’d eat it again but I had like a grilled chicken sandwich Ryan was giving me all kinds of slander because I didn’t have like the patty melt or just like the

Actual Water Burger yeah I don’t know patty melt I wanted something so that’s what it I’m gonna I’m gonna get like one of these I’m gonna get one of those two before the end the weekend it’s like going to KFC and getting a pork chop come on okay I don’t need your slander

You okay sorry go ahead anyway uh yeah and then after that we went to Jesse Freeman from pH andx Diamondbacks we went to his house and we were there and honestly for three hours we were talking we were having Hall of Fame talk for three hours at Jesse

Freeman’s house how or why I don’t know but either way we were there Hall of Fame I’m glad in the snow it was like crazy debates on who should be in the Hall of Fame all this stuff and it all led to us not getting back to the hotel until like

Midnight I didn’t check into the hotel until midnight and then we had to record the video that we put out on social media today about how what we’re excited about for this game so I honestly didn’t get to bed till like 1:30 this morning I’m running on like four hours of sleep

Well we’ll get you some sleep at that beautiful hotel ears uh Craig says they have pork chops at KFC Craig don’t let the facts get in the way of a good story come on come on Tracy says where are Corey and Brendan Corey and Brendan are off tonight because Corey’s brother is

Getting married this weekend and Brennan was still working and wasn’t able to join us tonight so we filled in for him they’ll be back next Friday don’t worry Cory and Brennan will be there with uh Cubs related for you and uh you know something happens with B we got two

Boots on the ground actually we got four boots on the ground technically yeah I was going to ask you guys I know you’ve talked about it at nauseum just give me a quick Vibe check on that what are you thinking still happening or no yes or no

Give me a yes or no I think yes I think it’s still happening I still think it’s happening and I think it’s happening actually uh tomorrow the 24th okay happen tomorrow right 22424 his number Cub’s been waiting for they’ve been saving it for tomorrow he’s gonna come in Immaculate Vibes I have

Actual facts fcts Ryan told me that he saw Jed on the phone yesterday so oh well he was on the phone then home with someone this is what we’re paying Ryan to cover in Arizona watch J on the phone that’s Insider stuff right there the phone yesterday Jesus he also was

Brea report that Jed was breathing yesterday it’s day 146 of Cody beler free agency man like I don’t I don’t have anything anymore we wait but like let me tell you man like I’ll feel a lot better about this team with Binger than I will without him so I’m not saying

That you got to do whatever it takes to get him but I just I don’t understand the people who think they don’t need them I I don’t see this team having success without him so I’ve been on that hill all offseason I ain’t leaving it if

They if they don’t end up getting him you know at this point you know the only Pro out of is we get to see some of these young guys get a real opportunity to play and that’ll be the only real thing I’m excited about this year and

Honestly it’s a shame coming off the year from last year but knowing me I will you know I’ll find my own little way to enjoy it because I am who I am you’ll put on a brave face and you left fi and you’ll be

Fine Michael stop all I can do is put on a brave a brave face yes don’t forget to sign up if you’re out there and you’re not a Die Hard sign up to be a Die Hard Ryan is working on some uh hot stuff for you right now all the Die Hard articles

Make sure you follow them all weekend long Cody will have the Social Media stuff running all weekend the content machine will be churning all weekend in Arizona and again if something big happens with Bellinger we will break in with it um thanks to our friends at uh blue moon

For uh sponsoring our spring training coverage good friends at Blue Moon they hooked us up look at that there’s the bug right in the corner those are our people Cody’s goingon to uh thank them five six maybe seven times tonight he tilts back full moon with an orange to

Celebrate that the Cubs are undefeated and the white socks are winless have a great weekend thanks for checking out the chj Cubs podcast until Monday or maybe sooner thanks and fly the [Applause] we all like the May