Cubs Cards Cast

Dan and John go over the monumental trade deadline that saw the Cubs trade away their star players and start another rebuild. Meanwhile, the Cardinals do nothing as usual and seem to be satisfied with mediocrity.

Dan and John wonder who will get the first pink slip in St. Louis as the Cardinals lose 3 of 4 at home to Pittsburgh to continue a horrid June. Will it be the manager, the hitting coach, or someone in the front office?    

Dan and John talk about the Reds' stunning 4-game sweep of the Cardinals in St. Louis. The Cubs treaded water at the top of the division while the Cardinals slid into third place.

Dan and John discuss the upcoming tough stretch of games the Cubs and Cardinals face against West Coast opponents. The three best teams in the NL reside in the NL West and that's who the Cubs and Cardinals will be playing.

Dan and John discuss the first showdown series between the Cubs and Cardinals in 2021 and ponder whether the Cubs are truly contenders or destined to become sellers at mid-season.

Dan and John talk about the upcoming Cubs and Cardinals series in St. Louis ... John's continued pessimism about his team ... and the Stan Musial beer he found on a store shelf. 

Dan and John talk about the the Cardinals' hot streak and the Cubs cold spell as the Cardinals and Brewers put some distance between them and other teams in the NL Central.

Dan and John talk about the resurgent Cards and Cubs, both who went 4-2 after a sluggish start to 2021. Each team swept a series. The Cubs finally started hitting and the Cardinals finally started pitching. 

Dan and John talk about the collective slow starts of both the Cubs and Cardinals. They have lost 7 of 9 series so far -- not the start either team was looking for. Is there anything on the horizon to change this trend?

Dan and John talk about a lost weekend for the Cubs and Cardinals. The Cubs got bounced twice by the Pirates and the Cardinals got slapped around by the Brewers. It's a mediocre start for both teams in the NL Central.

Dan and John make their 2021 predictions in the NL Central as the MLB season prepares to begin on Thursday. Both Dan and John predict the same number of wins for the Cubs, but there are significant differences in how they view the Brewers and Cardinals.

Dan and John talk about fast approaching 2021 season in the first podcast of the year. The Cardinals picked up Nolan Arenado and not much else in the off-season. The Cubs cut their budget then loosened the purse strings later in the winter. Prediction sites aren't impressed with the Cardinals, Cubs, or the Brewers. Who will rise above expectations?

Dan and John talk about possible pick-ups in 2021 for their respective teams. Dan says George Springer would be ideal and John has LeMahieu in his sights. Both hosts are not confident their teams will be as aggressive as they should be.  

Dan and John talk about the extraordinarily fast exit from the playoffs of all 4 NL Central teams. Each one was shut out in the elimination game. The hosts give some early clues about what the Cubs and Cards need to do to improve in 2021.

Dan and John spend lots of time commenting on how futile most major league hitters have been during this Covid season. The Cubs are in the playoffs and the Cardinals have a solid chance to make it as the regular season winds down this weekend.

Dan and John talk about the last 10 games of the regular season in this bizarre virus season. Cubs are in and Cardinals need to finish strong to make the playoffs. Jason Heyward has been the big surprise for the first-place Cubs.

Dan and John resume their show with a look at the last three weeks of a wacky season. For the Cubs, it's tough opponents. For the Cardinals, it's double-headers galore.

Dan and John talk about the strangest Cubs-Cards series ever. A five-game, double double-header fest featuring Cardinals pitchers nobody's heard of, and Cubs being the road team at Wrigley Field. All in all, the Cubs took 3 of 5. 

Dan and John do a joint podcast with Ron and Pete from Team of Rivals podcast. Right before "air time," we all learned a new positive test result postponed tonight's Cubs-Cards matchup and threatens to wipe out the entire series. 

Dan and John talk about the opening of the weirdest season ever. But one thing seems normal about 2020 -- the Cardinals have trouble hitting and the Cubs' bullpen is a hot mess.

Dan and John talk about the resumption of MLB in the strangest season ever. Lots of questions, few answers. But both hosts are glad we are talking about Cubs and Cardinals and not Covid-19.

Dan and John decide, now that Spring Training is underway, that it is possible both the Cubs and Cards might be better than we think in 2020. The co-hosts project what might go right this year.

Dan and John come to the simultaneous realization that their respective favorite teams are probably done improving their squads during this off-season. What does this mean heading into spring training?

Dan and John discuss whether the Cardinals or Cubs can acquire Rockies' superstar Nolan Arenado, and, if not, what changes are still to be made heading into spring training next month.

Dan and John try to decipher the wildly different paths the Cardinals, Cubs and Brewers are taking in the off-season. Each team has a different financial model they are following that explains their actions or inactions.

Dan and John start discussions of what the Cards and Cubs will look like in 2020. Neither of them is overly optimistic that their team's FO will make dramatic improvements over the winter.

Dan and John talk mainly about the Cardinals' 5-game NLDS victory over the Atlanta Braves and the upcoming NLCS between St. Louis and the Washington Nationals. Both say the matchup is fairly even, with the Cardinals having a better balanced squad and the Nats the better stars. They also talk about the Cubs' managerial search.

Dan, John, and special guest Ben Rosario, a nationally known elite distance runner and coach and lifelong Cardinals fan, discuss the Cardinals exciting game 1 comeback win against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS opener in Atlanta. John, meanwhile, starts the off-season dialogue on why Joe Maddon was let go and what it means for the Cubs' future.

Dan and John talk about the dramatic last week of the season as the Cubs totally collapse and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014. The Cardinals and Brewers, meanwhile both make the playoffs and will decide the last weekend who wins the division and who is a wild card. For the Cubs, expect manager Joe Maddon to be let go and big changes to be made to the roster in the off-season.

Dan and John talk about last night's dramatic Cardinals victory over the Cubs at Wrigley Field. After the Cards blew a 4-1 lead, Matt Carpenter's 10th inning homer off Craig Kimbrel was the difference. The Cardinals lead the division by 3 games over the Brewers and 4 over the Cubs with 9 games remaining. Six more games remain between the Cubs and Cardinals.

Dan and John both lack confidence in their respective teams as they head toward the last two weeks of the season. Dan says despite the Cardinals' 4-game lead, their schedule is brutal. John, meanwhile, says his team is brutal. A four-game showdown looms next weekend at Wrigley.

Dan and John do a shortened edition discussing the Brewers' dramatic series victory over the Cubs in Milwaukee that give that team life and extended the Cardinals' NL Central lead to 4.5 games. With only 20 games remaining, the time is now for the Cubs to take advantage of a softer schedule to climb back in the division race.

Dan and John talk about about the tight race in the NL Central as the Cardinals pull in front with a surge and the Cubs answer to stay close. In the next 10 days, the Cubs and Brewers meet 7 times. For the defending champion Brewers, it is make or break time.

Dan and John talk about the Cardinals and Cubs hot streaks since the All-Star break and how the NL Central is becoming a two-team rather than a three-team race. At least for now. Both co-hosts acknowledge the Brewers have time to turn it around. Meanwhile, the Cubs and Cardinals 7 remaining head-to-head games loom large.

Dan and John talk about the rollercoaster Cubs and Cardinals, trading alternate hot and cold streaks as the NL Central race remains in a dead heat. The co-hosts also try to explain the inexplicable Cubs' home-road splits and the titanic grand slam by Bryce Harper that cemented a Phillies sweep and made the Drudge Report.

Dan and John talk about the Cubs best week of the season, going 6-1 while their chief rival Cardinals were 0-5 on a disastrous West Coast trip. Now, the Cards schedule turns more favorable while the Cubs hit the road. If the Cards can't trim the lead, the race may be over in the NL Central.

Dan and John talk about the most eventful week of the season to date. The Cubs lose showdown series' to the Brewers and Cardinals on the road but make the most trade deadline moves compared to their rivals. The Cardinals, meanwhile, stand pat as fans howl at the front office for its inaction.

Dan and John discuss the most crucial juncture of the season so far, as the red-hot Cardinals catch the Cubs at the top of NL Central. The Cubs, Cardinals and Brewers play each other in the next 10 days as each team tries to improve itself at the trade deadline this week.

Dan and John talk about the promising starts both the Cubs and Cardinals had after the All-Star break. What was a five-team race in the NL Central is back to a three-team competition as clubs look to bolster their rosters at the upcoming trade deadline.

Dan and John talk about the 2nd half the season, which starts today, amid heavy trade talk for both teams. For the Cubs, it is go for broke with a closing window of opportunity. For the Cardinals, it is escaping a four-year cycle of mediocrity. 

As MLB nears the All-Star break, only 3.5 games separate the first and last place teams in the NL Central. In other words, nobody's in and nobody's out at mid-season. This creates more excitement in more places but anxiety is rampant in Chicago and St. Louis, where fans were expecting better results by now.

Dan and John talk about the dramatic changes in the bullpens of their respective teams -- the Cubs add Craig Kimbrel just as the Cardinals lose Jordan Hicks to season-ending surgery. Certainly looks more optimistic at the moment in Chicago than St. Louis, but the season is only half over and many more twists and turns remain.

Dan and John talk about the continued stalemate in the NL Central, with the Cubs, Cards and Brewers within 3 games of each other. John, however, believes the Cubs are about to take off with the addition of pitcher Adbert Alzolay. Dan has some proposed roster moves for the Cardinals to shake them out of their mediocrity. 

Dan and John talk about the Cubs sweep of the Cardinals at Wrigley Field and the Cardinals' continued struggles. Both agree now that the hockey season is over, STL fans are about to turn up the heat on the Cardinals' struggling front office.

Dan and John preview the third Cubs-Cards series this year -- a three gamer at Wrigley. Both previous series were swept by the home team, including last weekend's Cards' sweep at Busch Stadium. For the record, Cards fan Dan is predicting a Cubs sweep. The "trip" reference is Stanley Cup related, as St. Louis is more interested in hockey than baseball at the moment.

Dan and John talk about the Cardinals' continued struggles, particularly with starting pitching. Dan says he'd rather watch hockey right now. John is happy with the Cubs pitching and says he doesn't want the team to sign Craig Kimbrel. Both co-hosts express their admiration of Manny Trillo.

Dan and John discuss the Cubs relatively good stretch and the Cardinals slump while weighing in (negatively) on the news that the Cubs-Cards will be playing 3 games next year in London in July. What is the point of depriving Illinois and Missouri of three games of the best rivalry in baseball?

Dan and John discuss an eventful week: Cubs sweep Cardinals and Addison Russell returns to the fold. Also, the resurgent Milwaukee Brewers head to Wrigley for another NL Central showdown. 

Dan and John talk about the first head-to-head meeting of the Cubs and Cardinals -- a three-game set at Wrigley Field starting today. Both teams are red-hot and occupy first and second places in the NL Central. The anticipation level is high and so is the pre-game trash talk. 

Dan and John talk about the shifting NL Central, where the Cardinals and Cubs have reasserted themselves for now at the top while the Brewers take a step back. Is this the new realignment or just a temporary situation?

Dan and John talk about the Cubs sweep of Miami this week and the Cardinals' Yelich problem. The upshot is that the NL Central race is tightening up, with all except the Reds within shouting distance of first place.