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Len & Lee: Quintana's Way Up [Listen] Jul 14, 2017

Show notes

Trade deadline activity exploded in our fair city when the White Sox sent ace Jose Quintana to the Cubs for four minor leaguers, including their top prospect (#8 overall), and their top pitching prospect. Besides being a top-10 pitcher, Quintana is under a very team-friendly contract that is controllable through 2020. In a nice turn of circumstance, that's about the year the Sox are projected to bring their now formidable farm system up to the majors to begin their run of contention. That's also the year a lot of the studs on the Cubs big team today will be up for new contracts, which perfectly demonstrates where each team is today and what each front office has achieved. The Cubs (who, we might remind some people, won the World Series last year) are built to win for the next few years. The White Sox are building for the future. Acquiring Quintana will be a boon for a rotation that's been struggling, and really, is there such a thing as too much pitching?

Len & Lin: All Stars Taking An OFFICIAL Break [Listen] Jul 10, 2017

Show notes

Lin has proven prescient with his choice of this season's Len & Lin theme song from Twin Peaks, "Keep It Together". The Cubs are two games under .500, the worst record at the All Star break by a World Series championship team that won 100+ games the year before. It's a tough thing to figure out, given how stacked with talent this team is. It could be fatigue from the long playoff runs the last two years, but Len notes that this was the best defensive club last year and it's struggling mightily this year. With the long layoff from baseball here at the break and the how the Cubs got shellacked by the Pirates going into it, Lin's going to take some time this week in a darkened room listening to sad records. After all, it only matches the sad record the Cubs have earned thus far this season.

Len & Lin: Brewers Hand Cubs A Cold One [Listen] Jul 07, 2017

Show notes

If yesterday's hot weather tilt at Wrigley were an actual little league game as the score might suggest, one would have to reconsider taking the team out for ice cream following the drubbing the Cubs received at the hands of the first-place Milwaukee Brewers. A 7-run third inning basically put the game out of reach for the Cubs, who saw Kyle Schwarber return from a stint in triple-A ball to find his swing. He wound up 0-4 at the dish with two strikeouts.

The All-Star break can't seem to come soon enough, as the Cubs seem to be experiencing a championship hangover. They're the first World Series champions in MLB history to see zero of their previous year's All-Stars return to the mid-summer classic, with closer Wade Davis being the token Cub making the trip to Miami. Kris Bryant also becomes the first reigning MVP to not make the All-Star roster, which could be a good thing. It'll allow him time to rest up and fully recover from the ankle he sprained last week.

Len & Lin: Cubs Could Be at Crossroads [Listen] Jun 30, 2017

Show notes

A big mid-season test for the Cubs came via the 4-game Washington series over this past week. Well, a couple of big tests, as it turns out. The most obvious was being pitted against a dangerous Nationals team that was playing really good baseball, and doing it while a good portion of the team's core was either on the DL or working through things in the minors. And then some apparent intra-squad friction reared its head when now-former Cub catcher Miguel Montero lamented Jake Arrieta's deliberate delivery to the plate as the Nats tied a club record for stolen bases. The two insisted the row was no big deal and that they hashed things out privately, but going 0-31 in catching base runners stealing this year for a backup catcher, albeit with last year's postseason heroics, became too much for the Cubs front office to bear. And with that, none of last season's three catchers on the Opening Day roster for the World Series champion Chicago Cubs are with the team. That shouldn't remain so for long, with Kyle Schwarber looking better already down in triple-A ball. Following the return of Addison Russell, the Cubs can look forward to getting Schwarber back along with the injured Jason Heyward and Ben Zobrist sometime soon. But, it wouldn't be the Cubs without Kris Bryant accidentally stepping on third base fielding a routine pop up and spraining his ankle in doing so. He's day to day, like we all are. After all, that's Cub.

Len & Lin: Addison Added to List of Walking Wounded [Listen] Jun 26, 2017

Show notes

Addison Russell's woes have been revealed to be caused by shoulder discomfort. Ultimately, that's a good thing, as it provides an explanation for why he's had a tough time at second. Injuries and underperformance have taken a toll on the Cubs, with Jason Heyward, Kyle Hendricks and Ben Zobrist taking recent trips to the DL and Kyle Schwarber working on his swing in triple-A. Things won't get any easier as they open up a four-game set in Washington, DC against a Nationals team that is firing on all cylinders.

Len & Lin: Bombing Schwarber Sent Down to Sort It Out [Listen] Jun 23, 2017

Show notes

Well, the Cubs have continued their streaky ways in Miami, where they were held to two hits the other night, and then exploded for eleven runs the next. Part of that inconsistency has been World Series hero Kyle Schwarber, who spent the entire 2016 season on the DL after blowing out his knee in the outfield in game three, surprrised everyone when he came off the DL in time for the World Series and proceeded to bat north of .400 after seeing basically no major league pitching that year. This season saw manager Joe Maddon start Schwarber in the leadoff position, and then drop him down to six in the lineup, with much the same result. The line of thinking is that having Kyle down in triple-A ball will allow him to get away from the sellout crowds of Wrigley and focus on simply putting his bat in order. By all accounts, he took the news of his temporary demotion very well. It just remains to be seen not if, but when he gets things right and is able to rejoin the big club.

Len & Lin: Rizzo a Tony Leadoff Hitter [Listen] Jun 19, 2017

Show notes

Well, this whole Anthony Rizzo as leadoff hitter sure has borne fruit. Leadoff homeruns in his first two games, followed by a walk. He's been having himself the best stretch of his career, which really says something given how prolific he's been at the plate. Anthony's from Miami, so Len really hopes he's voted as the starting National League first baseman in the All Star game at Marlin's Park, a tall order given the field. The starting pitching has also held up of late, which makes everything surrounding it better. The Cubs are home for three games against the Padres and then it's off to the road until the Fourth of July.

Len & Lin: Cubs Playing Whack-A-Mole with Issues [Listen] Jun 16, 2017

Show notes

The Cubs have tinkered with the lineup by batting Anthony Rizzo at the top of the order; they've moved some of their versatile players around, and just when you think they've got a handle on those problems, the bullpen blows a lead and the game. Meanwhile, the Cubs took a bunch of pitchers in the draft, and with the trade deadline on the horizon, Theo and company might make a move for more arms. They'll need to think about that with what appears to be Arrieta's impending free agency and John Lackey not getting any younger.

Chef Rick Bayless Stops By to Announce 93XRT & Supreme Lobster's Rockin' Lobster Bash [Listen] Jun 13, 2017

Show notes

Lin welcomed in Chef Rick Bayless to congratulate him on another slew of awards and announce the 2017 WXRT & Supreme Lobster's Rockin' Lobster Bash, taking place August 30th at Uptown's Aragon Ballroom. A bigger venue. A bigger event. The biggest chefs serving the best lobster and cocktails you'll have all year for the price.

Len & Lin: Streaky Cubs Hit the Road [Listen] Jun 12, 2017

Show notes

The Cubs hit the road for 17 of their next 20 games, beginning with a swing out to New York to face the Mets and then the division rival Pirates. Both teams are under .500, but then again, the Cubs have hovered right around that mark themselves. They've been especially streaky of late, and managed to avoid a sweep at the hands of the NL-leading Colorado Rockies by salvaging the series finale. A lot of Cubs have been slumping of late, but seem like they could be turning it around. The season's still relatively young, and as Len Kasper reminds us: there are no must-wins at this point in the season.

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