Where Does Chicago Cubs Michael Busch RANK Among NL First Basemen? | CHGO Cubs Podcast

0:00Hey Chicago, what do you say? It's the CIT Show Cubs podcast on a Tuesday. So jump on in the chat and let's hang out. We're getting closer to spring training. So let's just say the mood is pretty high around here. What's up, everybody? I'm Joy Crustopolis Justin Roman in the house for Tuesdays with Roman and it also might be Monday Wednesday. I mean, I mean, we'll see what happens. I'm going to be here a lot more than just the weekly things I've done in the past. Like, congratulations. That's a different day, but you said spring training. I mean, like, it feels like spring training outside in Chicago right now. It is gorgeous out. I mean, I know we're like at like 50 something degrees, but the sun's out for me. It just feels like 80. I mean, I have my my sunglasses on and my sunroof open. I love that we're getting closer and closer to to good weather, but more importantly to Cubs baseball. It feels awesome outside and it's 39 degrees. I was having this conversation with my wife this morning. I'm not going to be a Midwest moron and throw out my jorts and throw it.

1:00I'm going to start running through the streets because it needs to get a little bit more. What's upstairs on the ones and twos? Go Cubs. Oh, I'm in a t-shirt. Yeah, it was hot out. It was hot in my apartment jacket though. No, I brought a jacket. Okay, that's what I'm saying, but yeah, no t-shirt inside. Of course, like, I wore this and then I wore a jacket as I was my part here in the West Loop and I walked and I'm like, I don't need a jacket. Like, I felt like I was like missed opportunity to not wear a jacket today because my car said 50 degrees, like, as I pulled up here. So it got warmer than when you obviously came. It's just like, life is a funny thing. What's up, Vince Presence? I could have you with this man. What's up, Becky? It's just like, I, because I lived, I lived in Southern California for 15 years. And I promise you that if it went down to like 50 degrees, everyone would be freezing. Yeah. But now that I've only been back, I'll be two years coming this May back here in Chicago where I'm born and bred now the 38 degrees. I'm like rock and roll. Like, are we going to the beach? Like, what are we doing? It's the perfect example of life is all about perspective because if we had 50 degrees in

2:00May, you're mad. Yeah. 50 degrees in January. People are. People are wearing shorts. I'm my, I'm my girl tonight. I mean, like, for real, like, that's, that's kind of the difference of like perspective. And that's life, I guess, right? So let's speaking of life, the life continues to turn for Zach Galen. New reports this morning, a couple of different people have been tweeting over the last 24 hours about where Zach Galen's going to land. It looks like he has some finalists and talks are heating up according to our guy this winter, Bob Nightingale, Sarah, if you have the tweet, he's, Zach Galen is now put his team. He's got some finalists here. Team showing the most interest per Bob Nightingale or the San Diego Padres, the Baltimore Orioles, the Chicago Cubs, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. So having said that, let's do our branded segment. Xfinity's big takeaway. That's right. It's Xfinity. This is the big takeaway presented by Xfinity. Imagine that shout out also to the Xfinity loft. Just down the hallway here at the CHO studios and shout out to the Xfinity Jurassic Park commercial during the Super Bowl. Oh, yeah, I liked it. That was cool. I liked it. So Justin, when you see those names on the list. Cubs are still in it. Still on that list. What is your big takeaway from that tweet? My big takeaway is that's the same guy that reported the Cubs signed him. Right. That's true.

3:21So, I mean, that was a weird thing where Bob Nightingale said the Cubs had signed Zach Galen and then Zach Galen was like, well, no, I was at my wedding or he was somewhere and I couldn't have been. So that was weird. But there's been a lot of smoke in this situation with the Cubs and Zach Galen. Here's where I'm at with obviously their finalists. Right. We don't need him. That's the thing is like if he signs with Baltimore, I'm not crying. Yeah. But the fact that that our obviously in on him and we want him in some capacity is very exciting. It really stacks to deck and our starting rotation if we do sign him. So again, it's not like do or die. I would love to sign Zach Galen. There's many reasons why I think he could be a bounce back candidate. But if I find out at the end of the show, we sign with Baltimore or the Padres, I'm not, I'm not heartbroken by it because I love our starting five currently. But Zach Galen does make that starting five even better. Look, we've been doing shows all winter long about the pitchers that we would like, um, possibly on the Cubs. And they haven't landed most of them. They got Edward Gerber.

4:21They got that deal done, which was great. Right. But like, let's just go through the list. Right. I think Dylan Seas was pretty high on both of our lists. Right. Um, I think, uh, when you talk about also, we're talking about Zach Galen right now. We're talking about Framber Valdez. Uh, we're talking about the pitcher. All those, all the guys ended up in the American League. They did is what I'm getting at. So this is like, if Zach Galen goes to the American League, I'm, I'm fine with it. Yeah, this is good news. Right. Like if you want to pitch for the Astros or whatever it is, the San Diego Padres one, it wouldn't make me upset. But again, that's something that I think that the Cubs simply just have to account for. Yeah. At some point this year, the Padres, it seems to make a lot of sense. Zach Galen and his family has made their home in Arizona. He's been pretty vocal, especially with pH and X, um, our, our cousin company that does a great job. They've got some tape with him saying he'd love to stay in Arizona. It doesn't look like it's in the cards for him to be a diamond back. So San Diego, Arizona, that's not that far of a trip. And San Diego is a beautiful city. It's pretty. I mean, it's my second favorite city of all time next to Chicago. So I understand why Bob would put that San Diego Padres, the first on the list.

5:29Um, I just would prefer of all these big name pictures. If they're going to sign places, I would just prefer them out of the American League and out of the Cubs here. Yeah. I mean, we, we've been linked to him for quite a while and we don't need him. So there, I, I, I don't know what to make of it. At first, when I first heard about us being linked to Zach Allen, I was just like, well, where is he going? I mean, obviously he's in the rotation, but who gets bumped? Who goes to the bullpen? Who doesn't make it like there's a lot of what ifs. If you sign Zach Allen, you know, um, I think we're in a great spot where it's like, we don't need this guy, but if his price falls to where Jets comfortable with and we can pounce on it, man, he really makes this rotation that much better. But, um, for me, not do it. Well, the only thing about Zach Allen and the reason why I keep continuously being interested in it is. I know that you don't feel this way, but there are a lot of Cubs fans out there. And I think we need to continuously encourage them throughout the season. I think there are a lot of Cubs fans out there that feel like that the Dodgers are unbeatable. That are this Thor, like, you know, Thanos, like they have all the Infinity Stones. Why even play the season, Justin, you know, why even do that? So to those people,

6:38I think I wouldn't mind Zach Allen because all you want to do is just continuously add talent, overwhelm your roster and your team with talent. Now, if they don't sign Zach Allen, do I still feel like we're in a good position? Yeah, absolutely. But me and you are both, I think in lockstep that the Dodgers are definitely a beatable team. That's the only reason why I keep saying, you know, keep getting gallon, right? Like keep adding, adding, adding, um, and I think it's going to come down the next hour. So like, how surprised would you be if it is the Cubs at the end of the day? I would be, I would be more surprised if we did sign him than if we didn't again, because we don't need him. And I'm, I'm here. I'm, here's a whole other episode. If we signs that gallon, now what happens to the guy that gets bumped or is it a six man rotation or is it piggybacking? Like, there's a lot of what ifs if you signs that gallon. Now again, like we talked about yesterday, it's keeping Matt Shaw. It raises your floor, right? So signings that gallon, your floor got raised, yeah, heavily, but, um, a lot of what ifs and going back to the Dodgers, I believe we split the season with the Dodgers last year, I think, or at least very close, and don't forget the Dodgers were an inch away from losing the world series. So they are beatable, right?

7:47I mean, I know they're there, they're stacked, all those different things, but like they are beatable and over the course of 162, injuries happen, stars emerge, always different things could happen. And a lot of experts kind of have us in the power rankings. Top five, I mean, I've seen something have us number two, right behind the Dodgers. So, um, yes, Zach, I'm definitely makes us better, but I think our starting five right now is pretty damn good. Uh, we got Ron S on the chat. What's up, Ron? I wanted Verlander, but he just went to the Tigers. That's right. 43 year old Justin Verlander stands on one year, 13 million dollar deal with the team where he started his career with the Detroit Tigers 11 million of that deferred to 2030. So I guess that's the other, that's the other kind of leg, if you will, to this gallon situation of it doesn't seem like any of these, in my opinion, it doesn't seem like any of these teams necessarily have the room to fit the money financially, like a Zach gallon onto their team, or at least get him to the price that makes him happy and is okay with the team. So it feels like a lot of this is going to come down to what they're going to be willing to defer moving forward, and it would be incredibly fascinating.

8:56If the Chicago Cubs who have always blanched against deferrals, yeah, not only put deferrals in for Breggman, but also were put deferrals in for another player. Yeah. So it will be incredibly interesting. I'm with you that I don't think Zach gallon tips the scales one way or the other. I think there's still an essential favorites. Yeah. I still think they can make a lot of noise. Um, not only in the national league, but also at the trade deadline. Like the other part about this is I understand that losing out on Zach gallon. You go, okay, well, you know, we got all we got and let's roll, hopefully just some still stays healthy. There still is a world where the Cubs at the deadline could go out and possibly get a better picture than Zach gallon. Yeah. And a guy who you know at that time is having a gigantic season. Totally. So I mean, it provides a lot of options and flexibility. I just want to kind of give credit a little bit to Jed though that they're still pushing and looking to improve this team. I think that says a lot about what they want to accomplish this. And I got to take a one step further, give credit to Jed and the Rickets because he's not doing this if he doesn't have more money at his fingertips. Right.

9:58So like the obviously the Cubs are all in. I mean, I think in the past, you could make a case of they weren't all in at one foot in one foot out. Fine. I think everybody can agree the Cubs are all in for 2026. And I love that. You know, it's a good place to be from a fan standpoint. Um, Jay toffer has a comment there that I didn't, I didn't fact check this, but we have gallons favorite catcher. Obviously a great defense, but so I'm assuming he means that Carson Kelly. Well, Carson, Carson Kelly is a former diamond back. They do have a relationship. Cool. Um, and a great defense behind them. Yeah. Look, I mean, it's nice when you're just throwing ground balls to that Cubs infield, right? It feels pretty good. And we added pregnant another gold glove. I mean, our defense is five stars. I mean, it is top notch defense. Um, so, you know, if you, if you're going and you throw ground balls, man, I mean, uh, that is a nice defense to have behind you to help your numbers. Get better and better because who knows what opt-outs are coming out as if it things. So it could be a really, really good fit for gallon here. But I guess we'll see. Yeah. And the other part that I just keep thinking about when it comes to Zach gallon is look like this is a business.

11:02He has a family and he needs financial security that is going to help him support his family for years to come. When we're no longer talking about Zach gallon red on podcast. So I totally understand that. But I can't help but think just in like, what do you think he's weighing value wise? We're like, let's just pretend for a second that I'm bringing up arbitrary numbers. I don't know this for a fact. I'm just saying, let's say that the Padres are offering him $18 million a year. Right. And the Cubs are offering him $17 million a year. Right. But what the Cubs are telling Zach gallon about like, hey, I think we know how to fix you. Right. I think we know what to do with your fastball. I think we know how to kind of tamp down the home run bug. Get your curveball back to the way it was two years ago. And Zach gallons looking at everything that they're saying. He's like, man, I really think these guys can get me back to a high level. Yeah. But it's less money. Do you what what kind of decision do you make as a player saying, man, this situation over here could actually maybe get me back to the top of my game.

12:04Yeah. Well, maybe this situation over here is just strictly more money. This is why I would never be a Scott Boris client because I don't go to the highest bidder, right. There's other things that matter in that situation, family, fit, camaraderie, always everything. So like, you know, and also, let me tell you, as a millionaire, not me, I'm saying, as a baseball player, a millionaire, if you're making 18 million or 17 million, you're going to be just fine either way you go. You would think. But yeah, I will look at it more like this. I will look at it more like, do I want to sign with the Padres and know for a fact that I'm not winning that division because the Dodgers are loaded and stacked. They also were trying to cut costs this off season. There's a lot of uncertainty with that front office and the ownership group. Like, I don't really know what's going on in San Diego. Or do you want to come to Chicago again, a world class city and phenomenal defense. They're obviously all in already made a couple of the splashes. And, you know, I think that having that gold glove defense around you really could help his numbers.

13:05Again, I don't know what this country is going to look like. Maybe it's an opt-out through year one. Okay, fine. Have a phenomenal year with this phenomenal defense behind me. And also, by the way, probably dominate the NL Central. That's a better fit. And I know we're not offering, you know, two million compared to 18 million. I'm sure we're going to be close. So all things being equal, I just feel like the Cubs are a better fit for gallon. All that being said, if I find out he signs elsewhere, I will sleep totally fine tonight. If I find out he signs with us, I'll be thrilled in what some cocktails. Yeah, and I think you're bringing up, I think you're bringing up an underrated point that, that again, as fans, we don't think about a lot where the stability of ownership does mean something to a player, right? Where if you're saying, I'm going to sign up for this for whatever the number is two, three years. And the San Diego Padre is all of a sudden turned into an ownership group that is either sold off or has to be in divesting options and all of a sudden, well, hold on a second. I'm on the trade block. Wait, wait, hold on a second, where obviously the Cubs are franchised that are incredibly stable. There's this thing called Southwest Airlines that takes, I think, trips from Chicago to Arizona all the time so you could rack up the miles pretty easily.

14:10United as well, man, as you know, we got not stops. I think at the end of the day, let's just leave it at this. I think Zach Allen wants to be an image league baseball uniform, like post-haste, maybe even like during this show. I mean, so the decision is coming. I would not be upset if it's the Cubs. I hope it would be in the National League if it's not the American. Oh, excuse me. Yeah, you're correct. And the American League, and then we'll just go from there. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. If it would, if it broke during our show, we have what 45 minutes left to be kind of cool. Sarah, you're watching it, right? Sarah, you're on it. Okay. Yeah, we'll refresh. Speaking of that, I'm going to refresh my phone while we take a break to hear from some of our wonderful partners. You're watching the C H show Cubs podcast. And that's right, Barb. Sarah is producing today. So everyone get in the chat. Let's have a great time. We'll be back in two minutes. Hey, Cubs fans, whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at bet 365. And right now, new customers can get up to $200 in bonus bets when you bet $5 win or lose. And look, with spring training right around the corner, maybe you want to dip your toe a little bit into some Cubs action, spring training, but also the black hawks, the bulls, they're in full swing right now.

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16:16And if you're feeling fancy and you want a quick bite, they've also got you covered. And if you don't want to leave the property, they also got you covered because you can stay in style at their luxury hotel. There's just steps away from what many call the Midwest best sports book. And if you're heading to maybe brewers, cubs this summer, Potawatomi Casino is the place to be. You can hit the sports book and then head straight out to the game. It's all right there and it's super convenient. Milwaukee's got a full winner lineup to have concerts, festival sports. You name it. So give yourself a mini VK at Potawatomi. It's the perfect home base for all of it. It's Potawatomi Casino Hotel, Milwaukee. Your win is waiting right now. So go check it out today. Coming back on the C H show Cubs podcast, Joey Christopoulos, Justin Roman, Sarah on the ones and twos. Got a lot of great regulars in the chat today. And for all those diehards and regulars and sickos out there, we got a little something coming for you. That's right. C H Joe road trip, spring training baby in Arizona presented by shady raise. I got to get my order. And I'm getting some multiple shades here because it's going to be sunny, wonderful and beautiful.

17:18It's March 5th through the 8th. So here's the deal. We're making it super easy for you. So if you're already going out there and you're making your own plans, that's great. You can still come hang out with this if you want to. It doesn't have to be all inclusive. We got some great Ola carte options. As in we're going to be going to Phoenix Suns, Chicago Bulls, that Thursday night, March 5th on Friday, a fantastic golf outing with Lance Briggs, Greg Braggs, a lot of the C H Joe Bears team, us C H Joe Cubs team, that night we're going to have a happy hour. Great Q&A and then Saturday Cubs baseball, wait, baby, the way Santa intended, also going to the game on Sunday as well. So make sure you get your tickets now, come hang out with us. We can't wait to high five everybody and have a great time. Justin Roadtrip, man, I love spring training. I haven't been since a long time, man. I haven't been since me and my family went every single year when I were when we were kids. And then once I played when I was like high school baseball, our opening week was during spring training. And we couldn't miss high school opening week, right?

18:20So I haven't been in a long time. I haven't been since whole whole camp park. So I'm so excited. I heard Sloan Park is amazing. Obviously the weather is awesome in Arizona. I mean, just our Thursday alone, we're talking off of segment here that our flights are like at 70, at 70 a month, Thursday, we're going to catch that Cubs game, you know, sun in the face, getting nice and crisp on a Thursday at Sloan Park. And then there's a bulls game that night. And I think there's an event that I mean, that's going to be a full action pack just Thursday. Yeah, we have, you know, me and you and Luke, three of three games, three Cubs games down there. You throw on the golf thing, a bunch of different, you know, dinners and meet and greet. It's going to be a lot of fun. So I do hope a lot of you guys and come down there. You know, again, it's all a car. That's the best part. You don't have to sign up for everything. You go to Arizona and do what you want to do with us. But I can't wait my first time in a long time. And I'm excited. Yeah. And look, I don't want to speak for Luke, but I'm going in anyways. I mean, he says, come on down. You can stay in this hotel room. You can use Luke's toothbrush. So nice of him. It's all inclusive. It's a home for sure.

19:21By the way, because like there's like some like, there's some sicknesses going around. And that poor family has had so much of it in the past like three months. So you may want to bring your own toothbrush, but he's still a fun guy to hang out with. For sure. Now he's going to wear his sandals in the shower, whatever you want. It's all good. You think you wear sandals in the shower? Is he the guy that does that? I don't know. I would hope not at a hotel. I do. Yeah. You do. Oh God. Yeah. I don't trust those people cleaning. I've never worn sandals in the shower. It's only, I'm only weird on like hotels with Airbnb's or like whatever. I get just I get a little weird about that. All right. And Barb and the chat saying lots of beer and music on the bus. I love the fact that she thinks that we're all just going to be on some cool like magic school bus that's just going to roll into town and the horn is going to sound like a CHTO. But oh, Joey. Actually, Barb has a good point here. They need to bring their gloves and play catch. I'm bringing my glove down to Arizona. You better bring your suitcase. Oh, that's a great idea to play catch with. I mean, you guys see every show I have a, I'm a baseball freak. I need to, I won't play catch down there for sure.

20:23So yeah, I'm going to further entice what's fun about Sloan Park is they have this huge open area that kind of doubles as a parking lot where a ton of people come and just hang out and tailgate and there's music playing and you can play catch and there's all sorts of stuff. A lot of activities to do around the ballpark and of course, inside the ballpark, the activity of Cubs winning baseball. That's what we like to see. Yes. Okay, Justin. Let's get to the headliner. All right. So I'll be honest, full disclosure, like I went to bed last night, thinking in my head, like how excited I was about Michael Bush, and I was like, maybe we should talk about that on the show tomorrow. And then I wake up in the morning and lo and behold, the top 10 lists of shredder and major league baseball, they come out with Michael Bush. And let's just say Michael Bush isn't as highly regarded as maybe he is here in Chicago. Let's talk it out through for right now. Sarah, do you have the first one, the top 10 list of the screen, the screen grab?

21:27Yeah, there we go. The top 10 shredder for space and list. Yeah, you got to keep scrolling a little bit down there, Justin, to get all the way down to Michael Bush at number nine. Obviously, a lot of household names on there, some all stars. This is across all major league baseball. But let's just start here. You know, how do you feel about where Michael Bush is? At least on that list across major league baseball. I saw a couple of the experts talking about this list and I forget the guy's name with the lead over there said that he had made his list and then he forgot about Michael Bush. And he had actually bumped somebody off to put Michael Bush on that list, Kangaroo Court. You know, initially I look at something like that and I look at like, you know, Rafael Devers, right? Great, great hitter. But I feel like he's a butcher in the field. You know, Michael Bush for me is turned himself into a really good hitter, you know? So his defense has been pretty elite. I think that I think when it's all said and done, he quite possibly could win a gold glove and I still don't think he's peaked from a standpoint of offensively either. Don't forget council was playing the matchups up until now and he says now he's not going

22:30to you're going to let the guy hit take every a bat because, you know, what's the best way to get better against left handed pitching? You face left handers, you know, so why not let Michael Bush do that? Because I still think Michael Bush up there, even against a lefty is better than our next best option. So I expect Michael Bush to have an even better season this year. I think you saw last year the power is raw, the power is real. And I think I'm a complete player standpoint. He is higher than nine. He should be higher than nine. I don't think he should be back to back with Wilson Contreras, that's for sure. But it is what it is. You know, I think maybe because the platoon situation may have held him back a little bit, give him a full season. And I think then going in the next year, you'll see Michael Bush is much higher on that list than he was this year. Yeah. The only part that I'm kind of tugging and pulling with just with that list specifically is that, look, Nick Kurtz on the Sacramento A's last year had a great season. Yeah. He's 22 years old. I believe he's got a bright future in career ahead of him.

23:31Hit four runs in a game, right? That was it. Yeah, he hit the four runs in a game. The only part about that list is they just, they seem more inclined. And to shoot him up the charts to number two and put him in a pretty lofty spot where it does feel like Michael Bush continuously has to earn it in that same way. Yeah. Now, Michael Bush is a little bit older. He's still 28 years old. These bots are literally enter his prime. And what we've seen with Michael Bush is I think that first season, I think people were cautiously optimistic and cautiously skeptical about who Michael Bush was as a player and as a hitter. And he kind of went through some ups and downs and peaks and valleys finished out the year. The best part about my first, the first season when Michael Bush for me was was that he just didn't, he was able to bounce back when things got tough. He would go through slumps, but he would always work his way out of that. Now, heading into last year, I think Moira was as expected of him and he delivered upon that promise. And not only that, but he, I think he delivered, he had a great first half.

24:33The batting average on the second half, no, went down a little bit, but still the power was there. He showed up in October. So I still think that his trajectory is pointing up totally. So if he's at nine on that list now, I get it that there's some household names, but I still think Michael Bush has a lot more to prove and apparently has more to show, majorly baseball at large. And I think he's going to earn that respect this year. Again, I still think a lot of it has to do with the way council used him. He really kind of used him as a heavy platoon partner, you know, and, and, you know, he's admitted like, hey, he is earned now every day at bats. So, you know, you know, the guys in that list, for the most part, every day players, I mean, those guys are taking every at bat that they can Michael Bush, I, my only thing about Michael Bush, I don't want to see this year is him betting lead off. I just, I don't want Michael Bush in a lead off spot. He's got power. He's a great hitter. I want him doing damage in like the three, four, five spot. Well, obviously, I'm not getting paid to make the lineup, but if it was me, he is not

25:33your lead off hitter anymore, I'm a big Nico Horner fan and lead off. But I want Michael Bush into three, four, five somewhere, you know, smashing baseballs in the basket. Yeah. He provided some power. And I think I think it was obscured a little bit by the concept that Michael Bush had a lot of lead off home runs. So you thought that he was getting it done from the lead off position. But no, you're right. I mean, he batted only 240 from the lead off position. He's by far the other one that he got the most run in. He hit cleanup last year in 41 games at an 843 OPS. So clearly, he has experience and he has success from that spot in the lineup. So I think that might be a place you can place him in. If you're asking yourself, maybe it's, I know we've been doing this a lot, but we're going to keep doing because it's fun. The lineup is super fun. But if it's like, if it's like Nico, say a Bergman Bush, it's a great start, PCA. I mean, you really, I'm a big fan of, I know this is Dorky, but I kind of like the left to righty lefty, righty situations, you know, so that would be, that would be like, for me, that would be Nico, you would split him up a little bit, right?

26:36So you would probably, that would maybe, but that would maybe bump Bush into the three hole, Bergman into the clean up spot and PCA into the five hole. And but then we're Suzuki for you to hitting two, and you're still going righty, right? Yeah. And again, I think we can have, I think we can have a great like debate on maybe Bergman's more of a two hitter. And say, uh, say it was driving and runs from the four hole last year too. So we've talked about Bergman kind of being the most professional at bat you have. So maybe he will maybe Nico, but so maybe those two guys top your lineup, going Nico and Bergman, and then you can alternate the power and you put Bush three, um, Suzuki for maybe PCA five. There's a different day we'll talk about lineup construction, but I'm saying that Michael Bush, I think is a prime to have an even bigger year. Don't forget, this is a former top prospect for the Dodgers. And um, he's still finding he's maybe old for a prospect or but like ultimately he's only had like one, one, maybe two years of like starting for a team, right?

27:36He was blocked in LA for a long time. So I don't hold the age against them. Now you're going to see what he gets, what he can do with every day at bats. And I'm hoping that this year with even more of bats because no more platoon, he's going to really kind of ascend even more. Yeah. And maybe to put a button on this top 10 conversation, uh, Michael ceramic friend of the show, also the children's book out right now and make sure you check that out posted a tweet this morning that said in regards to Michael Bush being ranked ninth in Majorly Baseball at the first base position across Majorly Baseball last year. Here are some of the rankings for Michael Bush of 3.6 F war, which ranks fourth among first baseman, 34 home runs last year ranked second one 44 WRC plus ranked second. We measure that stat a lot here on this show 87 RBI's tied for fifth 11.1 barrels per plate appearance. The second among first baseman in a 92.2 miles per hour exit velocity average sixth among first baseman. I think I saw his the same tweet. No, yeah. I think he ended it by saying like he was the ninth best hitter in all of baseball last

28:36year. Yeah. So it's like, what are we doing? Guys with great defense. Like, what are we doing here? It's like, okay. Sure he is. Yeah. Great. Yaddy or Diaz. All right. I see you. Yeah. But here in Chicago, we raise you a Michael Bush. Yeah. Speaking of that, let's take a break here on the C H Show Coast podcast on the other side of the break. See, oh, oh. Yeah. Evanston, scoaky area. All right. Cube you're thirst. I love where you're at there on the other side of the break. We are going to break down where does Michael Bush rank in the N O Central. We are ranking all of the first baseman the N O Central. Where does Michael Bush fall on that list? Let's find out in two minutes, but first some words from our wonderful partners here on the C H Show Coast podcast. Hey, Cups fans. I don't need to tell you. is here. It's been here for a while and it might not be going away for another month until at least baseball starts. But you got to ask yourself the question, has your homes heating this winter? Has it been up for the challenge? And if you have a flooding emergency, what do you do? You call four seasons, right? If you have an electrical emergency, you call four seasons. And if you need a new hot water tank and salt today, you call four seasons. So now is the time to schedule your four seasons

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31:50Here's what's great about it for out of state people because guess what? What is it? I'm not also a customer. I'm also a client or whatever it is. Like I'm also yeah. I was a die-hard subscription member living in California. Is this you by the way? So here's what's great about it, right? Is we have obviously if you go to all CHGO.com. We have a website with exclusive written content and I can promise you all of our guys on the beat have connections with the team. So when you're getting information, you're getting inside info that you're not going to read on Twitter or anyone else or someone else trying to make up stuff, whether it's Adam Johns, whether it's Adam Hogue, whether it's Will Gottlieb with the Bulls, Maria Terbassi and Jay Zewowski with the Blackhawks, whatever it is, Jared Willis who's on our baseball beat, Patrick Norton on our baseball beat, you get an exclusive written content to that. Also, you get a bunch of discounts on all of our merch, all of our t-shirts. So you can wear a bunch of Cubs gear with CHGO on it, wear it with pride. And then yeah, we're going to Arizona in three weeks. So you could always

32:52join us out there too as well. So that's a hopskipping away from the offer is by far with it. You get discounts on events as well. So even, I mean, we do events all all over the world. This is true. All over the world is true. You can, you get a, you get it like an exclusive discount code per diehard membership or whatever. And then you get a code for that. Yeah. So something to consider oh, beat your thirst from the Evanston area. I'm currently living off of Main Street. And then let's just go up. I think it was Jay Toffer too as well. Just spoke with council and we agreed. One Niko to Breckman three bush forces. Zuki five PCA six half seven by Astero eight Kelly nine or eight Kelly Amaya and nine Swanson. Pretty good. Sign me up, Justin. Yeah, pretty good. I think, I think for me, as I'm looking at that, I do love lefty, righty, lefty, righty. Maybe you bring Swanson up a little bit to split up the the happened PCA. But I mean, but then again, it's awesome. I mean, if council had that line up, I would be thrilled for sure. Yeah, the only

33:57thing about that lineup, when you, when you're going to see it all in order like that, you just have to ask yourself the question, if Niko Horner is not the lead off man, honestly, who is? You know what I mean? Like he's got no, not many people there fit that bill. I mean, we can run the Ian half thing back if you want to. And I had tossed out there not too long ago that I could see Breckman hit lead off on some days. Put together a really good bat. Dude gets on base. He's a pro. I don't see him being a lead off hit. Has he ever hit lead off before? I know he's hit two before. Yeah, I think I feel like two is his spot. I have a question for you. Do you think there's a world this year, next year, whatever, where PCA becomes lead off hitter? So they tried it a couple of times last year, right, especially in New York. And you hit a bomb. Yeah. Frankly, when things are going really good. You know, I could, I could see it. It's just what we ask from people in the lead off spot. And this is, and this is maybe a philosophical discussion that we can have just when I think about the lead off spot, I think about a guy that A first and foremost gets on base, right? You want that. But B,

35:00I want a guy to always work the count a little bit. I want the guys behind him to see some pitches. And I want the picture to at least throw his secondary stuff. If he isn't even going to flash that third pitch in the first step, that if possible, right? The other part about is you do like to have a guy with a little bit of speed, PCA checks that box. I just right now when we talk about him being this untamed horse. Yeah, he's crazy. I just want PCA to run free. Yeah. I feel like the lead off spot sometimes can get in your head a little bit of I got to be this way or I got to do this. That's why I mean, I like your thing of Nico at the top because Nico is such a pro. And some of his skill set already lends itself to what's being asked from the lead off spot. Even if he isn't drawing a lot of walks, everything you mentioned about what you want in a lead off hitter, you describe Nico Horner, right? To it's he you describe Nico Horner and also speed, right? So I just think with this team and this personnel, for me, I just put Nico as your lead off hitter, put Breggman at two and find Tinker all you want. But like, I think this is the kind of team,

36:03you know, because like back like the 84 Cubs, right? Not to go too far back, but like they had a line-up. It was a set lineup. You knew it was Dernier, you knew it was Sanbury, you knew it was Matthews. It was, I feel like this kind of team, you could really do that at least one through five. It could really be Nico, uh, Breggman, Bush, Suzuki, PCA. That's my top five. The rest Tinker final. But like, it could really be a set and forget a kind of situation, right? And even in 2016, when you knew that every single day Dexter Follower was going to be at the top of the lineup, you can move around different pieces. And then my final part on that is just when we talk about the bottom of the lineup, I'm a big believer of, if the bottom of the lineup can roll it back over to the top, yeah. I do like the idea of whether it is Nico Horner or whether it's Alex Breggman, someone that's contact oriented, at least at the top there. Yeah. When Matt Shaw gets a bass hit with that speed, with the way that he runs the basses, now you're kind of like really cooking. And next thing you know, when you're like, oh, well, coming up into the bottom of the inning is

37:04the bottom of our lineup. Next thing you know, you're like, oh, man, it's one out and there's runners on second and third. And here comes Bush, here comes Suzuki, here comes PCA, because those two little components from the nine to one kind of rolled it over really quickly. Yeah. So I mean, it's going to be fun to talk about and think, but yeah, I mean, as it stands right now, like Nico feels like the guy. Do you remember two years ago where it was like the bottom of our order just caught fire? I think it was a Maya, it was Swanson, maybe it was PCA back then, but like that was a perfect example of like, we, the bottom of our order carried us. I think it was two seasons ago. And so my point is that in that mock lineup that we showed, Dan's B Swanson and his 25 home runs is your number nine hitter. Life is good. Yes. Life is good. Yeah. No, a lot of options. And then of course, then you're kind of trying to hunt matchup in the middle there with happened by Astero's and who gives you the best opportunity to maybe hit the ball hard on a given day. Speaking of hitting the ball hard, we're continuing our Michael Bush conversation here on CHGO Cubs. So let's do it. We did it yesterday with the catchers. Let's rank the first basement in the NL central. Where does

38:09Michael Bush stack up against some of the other first basement in the NL central? We're going to go from six to one. We're going to go last on the list. And the first one, of course, just continuing the bit from yesterday. Cardinals don't care. Who cares? Don't care. Many, who do they have? It doesn't matter. They're in six. What's his name? Who is it? It's stucky. Okay. Who's it? Well, okay. It is Alex Burleson. And he is very talented and we'll place him at some point. But let's be honest, like the Cardinals are punting on this season. We will have several rants probably about how the Cubs need to win every single game against the Cardinals this year. But for the sake of this ranking right now, the Cardinals six at the bottom, like they should be in every category all season long. It makes me feel good. Number five, it's going to be a little bit of a split skis, but the guy that was the starter for the Reds last year Spencer steer. A guy who had a really impressive 2024. I got a guy who did not have a very impressive 2025 offensively, but Spencer steer pretty good on the defensive side. A guy that they're looking at perhaps as a bounce back, but certainly not like a

39:12sure thing. I have them at number five on the list. Yeah, I mean, I can't argue with that. I think I'm a fantasy baseball standpoint. I feel like he plays everywhere. So he's eligible, like all these positions, you know, but yeah, I mean first base. And also, I would never bet against the fact that the great American ballpark is a pretty hitter friendly. So offensively, he can really master. Right. And then you'll see there's six on here because I have two reds on there because I think they'll be both splitting time. Number four, I got Andrew Vaughn. Now, this is a guy who's almost a flip of Spencer steer, right? In 2024, absolutely awful. First part of 2025 with the white socks. I don't know what's worse than awful, but Andrew Vaughn managed to do it. And then somehow bounce back with the Milwaukee Brewers to hit 309 over the last couple of months. He's taking show to yard in the NLDS. And you look, I have him at number four because I think that he has been able to turn his career around in Milwaukee. I just sort of have my doubts just in that he's going to hit 309 again and be that menace that he was all season long for the Milwaukee

40:17Brewers. There's two ways of thinking about Andrew Vaughn. One is, you know, he has sucked for a year and a half. Okay. Yeah. And is he that guy? Or are we putting all the stock in the fact that he was great? And they found magic in the second half with him. But I can't put all my money on that either, right? So I don't think I even know, I'm trying to know that. I don't even think I even know who Andrew Vaughn is, right? Because he's been so bad. And then he was so good, but small sample when he was good. So yeah, for us fine, because I wouldn't be surprised if he was a, you know, a head of good year. I want to be surprised if you went back to sucking. I just don't know what he's going to be next year and obey, obey your thirst. You got a subscriber way to go, man, I promise you, you are not going to, you're not going to regret it. And if you ever come to the city of Chicago, I hope to shake your hand and give you a high five or watch some coach baseball with you. Or if I got to California, let's do the same. Doesn't matter to me. Moving on with our NL first baseman rankings list at number three. Now, to be honest, like if we were doing this for real, I think Alec Burleson definitely slots into probably the number three hole here for me.

41:23He's a Burleson, just like his last name, big guy, power guy, probably the only dude that's going to scare you in the cardinal slot up this year. I am going to go Ryan O'Hern on the Pittsburgh Pirates, newly acquired on the Pittsburgh Pirates. A guy left-hander, a guy that the Baltimore Orioles felt really good about for several years, got traded to San Diego last year, didn't really play up to his potential in Baltimore. But this guy is going to get a full run at first base, something that I don't think has really ever truly been afforded to him in his majorly career. And honestly, his splits are pretty good. He's going to hit you 272.75. He's going to pop you about 20 bombs, something that the Pirates haven't had that position in a long time. I gave him the edge slightly over Andrew Vaughn just because I think he's offensively just a little bit more talented. Yeah, I don't fear any pirate except Paul Schienz. Be honest with you guys. Sure. Because also he could be a great hitter, but if the lineup is bleak, you could pitch around him and there's just different things. So there is not a pirate in this world. It's short of Paul Schienz that scares me. But yeah, that's sure. Three. Sure. Yeah. And then number two,

42:25newly acquired AU Hennios Wars and Cincinnati Reds. Now, typically a third baseman, I think they are going to try and fit him in at first base, including DH. So I mean, if you just look at this list, as we're sort of steering towards Michael Bush being the number one, I've got AU Hennios Wars at number two because the guys, look, the guys at 25 bomb machine hit 49 last year. Yeah. I don't think anyone on that list provides that kind of power profile. Spencer Steer, I think, is a good defensive first baseman. The rest of that list though, doesn't really blow your hair back. And frankly, Michael Bush was average to slightly above average defensively. I have a lot more confidence in him personally this year, where I think that he can compete for a gold glove one day. So we'll see what happens. But when you put it together, you start to look at that list, Justin, Michael Bush is in only just number one. I mean, he's number one with a bullet, dude. Totally. What would they say in B96? He's number one by a mile. He's been on the charts. He's been on the charts for the third, fourth week in a row. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's not even close. And I don't feel like we're being homers in this situation. No list. I mean,

43:29you know, Suarez, I feel like he is going to be more about their basement DH site. But fine, put him at first base. I glove wise, there's no comparison between Suarez and Michael Bush at first base, right? Michael, Michael Bush has turned himself into a very good defensive first baseman. And offensively, I don't think we've seen his peak yet. And we've already seen some tremendous power. So, you know, council playing him every day. Him hopefully batting three, four or five somewhere in that and the power part of the order. I think that it's going to be a landslide that Michael Bush is the best first baseman in the central. Yeah. Before we move to our final topic, the last thing on Michael Bush is, and we will probably do this again on the show. But let's do it right now because it's fun. Sure. You know, what do you think his ceiling is, right? When you look at his season last year, pre-all star break, slash line 290, 375 on base percentage, that's awesome. Slugging percentage of 550 for a 925 OPS. Dude, that's Kyle Tucker stuff. Right. Like that is the elite of the elite type numbers. The good Kyle Tucker, not the bad guy.

44:32Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The Kyle Tucker that we wanted to give $500 million to. Yeah. Yeah. King Tuck, not King Suck. You know what I mean? Postall star break though. Like a lot of the Cubs offense kind of took a downturn, 223 batting average, 299 OBP, not good at all, but a 487 slug because if we remember in September, he didn't have a great batting average, but an 82 at bats, six doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 14 RBI's, 14 runs scored, 12 walks, that amazing series against the Cardinals. And he carried it over into the playoffs. He cut his case down. His strikeouts from 2024. It's 162 to last year at 139. So let's just wrap it up like this. Like what is the ceiling for you? And I saw someone say, could Michael Bush hit 40 home runs? Yes. Do you think that's a possibility? I really do a thousand percent. I want to add to the fact that you said, you know, his first half versus second half, I think we all saw the regression of Bush, PCA, because you're missing a good Kyle Tucker.

45:36And so I think the Cubs also realized that as well, which is why I'm sure they went out to get Alex Bregman. You're hoping Alex Bregman will be there consistently because we saw in the first half what this entire lineup looks like with a good solid professional hitter. And hopefully, you know, clicking on all cylinders. So, you know, it's not a coincidence that when Tucker went down, you know, PCA progressed and Bush progressed. I think Suzuki did well. It's not a coincidence, you know, like there's just one less guy to share the pie with. So hopefully Bregman stays healthy, consistent all year long. And now you're going to see more of the first half of the PCAs and the Bushes and the Suzuki's than the second half. So to answer your question, yeah, I think that Michael Bush 40 home runs is definitely in the room of possibility. I think that, I mean, shoot, last year, I want to say PCA and Suzuki were both on that pace to possibly 40 home runs. So I think Michael Bush has more power than both of those guys. So given full at bats, left of your ride, he doesn't matter. I think that I'm not predicting how it 40 home runs, but he has the potential to do so. Yes. I'm right there with you. I just, I think the world of Michael Bush,

46:42it's all sitting out there for him. A for him is the player to make a ton of money. And B to become like a true cornerstone future piece for the Cubs, where it is PCA, Bregman, Michael Bush, like that trio, you're all of a sudden you're like, man, that's something that we can really work with. And I'm not trying to exclude anybody. I'm just trying to think about just that the headliners and maybe like the guys on the poster that national people would understand. Right. And I look, man, I, I just think it's, it's sitting out there for him. And each year he's continues to impress me with how he incrementally keeps getting better. The playoffs did not shake him. The brewers specifically were scared of him where they tried to have that lefty as the opener and Craig took the bait, taking Bush out of the lineup. And Justin Turner got two played appearances that I'll never really understand why he did, even though he's singled in one of them. And I just the admin, I think it's sitting out there where the guy can have a 30 home run season, 100 RBIs. And let's see if he puts it together. Now I'm not asking for 290. I certainly don't want

47:46to 23. But if you're in the 26270 with that OBP at around 35 36% and that slugging percentage over 48 close to 500. I mean, that is a legitimate all start. And I promise you that will get him higher up in those MLB rankings of top first baseman in the game. And my, my thought process of the, you know, said it and forget it. Having Nico, Greg Min, Bush. And oh, yeah. Suzuki's bat can be elite betting behind you. That's all that that's that's surrounding cast right there will only make Michael Bush better. Yeah. So it's all about health. It's all about hopefully council pushing the right buttons and setting the right lineup. But for me, that four right there, Michael Bush will thrive in that spot. Let's get to our final topic here and see it. Show Cubs. Great chat today. Thank you, everyone, for joining in. If you haven't yet, please like the video. Please subscribe to the channel. Okay, Justin. Here we go. It is a Chicago. What if does your Chicago Cubs edition? Sir, if you can throw up the graphic really quick, there was a tweet about Chris Bryant spring training starts from Bob Nightingale and Rocky's first

48:47baseman, Chris Bryant goes in the 60 day I L and he'll be out. At least the first 57 games in the season. Brian who played only 11 games last season has played it only 170 games in the first four years of his seven year 182 million dollar contract. Now here in Chicago, we also love Chris Bryant. But this is a sad, sad case for a guy that had the brightest future possible. So Chicago, what if Justin, what is a bigger Chicago sports? What if to you the career of Chris Bryant or the career of Mark prior? For me, there would be without question, the career of Chris Bryant. We only have a small sample size of Mark prior being dominant. Maybe a year and a half we kind of talked about, right? We have we have Chris Bryant. I mean, the guy was what? It wasn't he like the the cows player of the year, minorly player of the year, rookie of the year MVP and four consecutive seasons. I think that's the first player to ever do that. If I recall correctly, I mean, his

49:48trajectory was Hall of Fame, you know, we helped break the curse in 2016. You know, don't forget, had a great 2017 as well. And I'll see us for the cubbies. Um, he was man, he was he was there, you know, but he was our build a statue, Cubs Hall of Famer to see how far this poor guy has fallen. And I've met him before a really good friend of mine was his high school baseball coach. So he he still talks them all time by all accounts. One of the most stand up great people in the world. No drugs, no alcohol, no smell. I mean, like just a good dude, the misfortune of that poor guy has had and his body failing him is a very, very sad tale. But I think for me, no question. Chris Bryant is the is the bigger disappointment, if you will. Well, what's so tragic about both of them? And this is why this is what makes sports funny, right? Is that when Chris Bryant was coming out of college and he was a high prospect pick for the Chicago Cubs, they said that he had the perfect power swing.

50:54Yep. When Mark prior, also from the West Coast was drafted super early, and he was a prize prospect of the Chicago Cubs, they said he had the perfect mechanics. Wasn't it like that? Like that? Yeah, the perfect, the perfect throwing motion. Now, obviously, his bio mechanics and other things have evolved over time. We began to realize that he was leading so far with his front chest that his arm was doing all the work and he actually had terrible mechanics. But at the time, that was that was the mark on both of them and neither of them could stay healthy with the word perfect mechanics and whatever it was that made their skill important. I tend to lean with you with this Chris Bryant thing because one, obviously, guy won a world series. So he actually was able to he was able to taste the elite heights of his skill for a little bit longer than Mark prior. I will tell you though, because I'm just we're having fun and I'm going to play a little devil's advocate. When Mark prior in 2003 was right in rolling and then that August in September, that year when he won 18 games at the ERA sub under 2.5, he was an automatic win. Yeah. I mean,

52:01I can think on at least in a Cubs uniform on one hand, guys that took the mound that I said, we're we're winning today. Jay Carrietta. Jay Carrietta. Greg Maddox. Mark prior. I mean, I felt good about Kerry Wood, but he wasn't and I didn't feel like he was an auto win, right? Like, maybe Kate Horton in the second half last year. Maybe some stretch from Kyle Hendricks, right? Like maybe Rick Sutcliffe before my time. Maybe he deserves to be in that list. But when Mark prior took the mound in 2003, there were few better in the game and it was lights out game over. And the dude was pitching complete games going deep in the playoffs. So I'm with you that I think Chris Bryant is the greater what if because he had the rookie of the year, the MVP. And frankly, I think the Cubs wanted to pay him and I think Chris Bryant wanted to be paid by the Cubs. They just disagreed on the amount. And he could have if he had stayed healthy. I mean, dude, we're talking statue. We're talking maybe another MVP multiple all stars could have been a hall of famer. You know, with Mark prior, we saw one season. I think that there was more of a

53:03track record or proof of concept of Chris Bryant. Don't forget that, you know, Mark prior carried us to one and LCS. Chris Bryant helped carry us to three in a row, 15, 16, 17. And he was still good in 18 and 19. And he just wasn't the same guy. I think that was what was sad and maybe about the what if with Chris Bryant was that the injuries and even the small ones really brought down his offensive production. And I maintained to this day when he got that shoulder injury and he opted not to have surgery because he wanted to stay out there and help the team, which I believe was in 17 or 18. I think he changed his swing when he crashed into a Giles. Yeah. And I think it. Well, no, I'm talking about I'm talking about KB. I'm saying when KB hurt his shoulder, the trajectory on his swing, that launch angle, I don't think he could whip it as hard as he could. And I think it's sacked his power. But again, another parallel with prior runs into Brian Giles. Yeah. He's doing towel drills for the next two years. And he just can never get back out there. And he can never get back to the height that taste and that potential of what

54:07he was in 2003. It's one of the great cubs, what ifs of all time. The only thing about Chris Bryant is Chris Bryant got a world series ring out of it, which takes the what if it takes the sting out of the one a little bit, a little bit more. And you said it was before your time. I actually am 84 cubs is why that's why I made that hard cup fan out that he might fall in love with him. Barb brings up a very good point. You got to put with sucklif on that list. Rick sucklif went 16 and one after he got traded to the cubs that year that says automatic as and by the way, he won game one of the NLCS and pitch to jam and a 13 nothing game and also hit a home run that game too. Rick sucklif, I think goes on that list that 84 version of sucklif. But yeah, I mean, you know, Mark prior, we thought for a long time, Kerrywood and Mark prior, we just we had it, man. I remember the sports illustrated cover, the flammable guy's suit. It was I had a frame to my room, you know, what what could have been, you know, but but Chris Bryant, like I said, you know, from going college player of the year, Martin, Martinly player of the year, rookie of the year MVP four years in a row. That dude's trajectory was Hall of Famer statue. And, you know, I've talked about on

55:14this show before. And I'll say it again, I was very disappointed in him and Scott Boris when they signed with Colorado. For me, that just showed it was all about the money because Colorado was never going to win anything in that division. And so I do feel bad and sad that he is over there, kind of rotting away. I think he signs with the Cubs, you know, it's a different reality, right? Maybe maybe just maybe it's a healthy version of Chris Bryant. And then we all feel differently about it. We'll never know. But I always hated that he signed with Colorado. I fought with the same guy who knows him very well. And I was like, dude, he's going there to like, you know, professionally die. And it's kind of what happened. And that's and that's what's funny about the Chicago, what if with Chris Bryant, it isn't so much about would he have stayed healthy and become a Hall of Famer and had a statue next to Sandberg on Gallagher way. It's also if they had signed him to a 220 something million dollar deal. And then he had this degenerative back issue and all these other maladies for years and years. And all the goodwill that he had built in this town

56:19might have been sucked away and evaporated. And it might might would have gotten frankly kind of dark, right? Of like we're he's he would have become the worst contract in Cubs history. Yeah, thousand percent after becoming one of the greatest heroes in Cubs history. That was a percent. I mean, what's the phrase in the dark night, right? You live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Yeah. That's what would have happened to Chris Bryant. So there's two different kinds of what ifs there. And financially we're way more flexible because we didn't sign him to that 200 million dollar deal. If it was off, I mean, listen, Kaplan says it was offered. My guy swears from Chris Bryant himself that it was never offered. I think it's somewhere in the middle there that maybe was offered to his agent, but not to him. Okay, whatever. But I mean, the Cubs did dodge a bullet, but it doesn't make any less sad. I hate seeing Chris Bryant kind of just, you know, I hate that stat that he's in four years. He played a hundred and seventy gets that's man. That's sad. Yeah, Chicago. What ifs Chris Bryant versus Mark prior? We'll never know, but they're certainly fun to talk about. That's for sure. And yeah, look with Chris Bryant. I just hope with Chris Bryant. I

57:23just hope that I want him to just come back. And even if he just comes back and he's like a DH, like, you know what I mean? Just a dude that just can get some the box and just I don't know, man, hit some bombs. And it's not looking good. I wouldn't be surprised if he never swings a professional bat again. I just think that he's not going to retire because you got to be stupid to do that because of the money and everything. But I just, I don't know. He's got a serious, serious thing going on. I wouldn't be surprised if he never swings a professional bat again. You know, it's just unfortunate because all this drama and then he didn't come to the Cubs convention. And people said it was because of this. So because like, I just feel like he's such a nice guy that something happened. We're like, it just, just drama follows him. And I do hate that because by all accounts from what I hear. And again, I met him a few times just a total stand-up guy, nice guy. It just didn't work out for him. Yeah. It's, I, I feel for him. I'm glad he got paid. And I root for Chris Bryant. But man, that is just, it's, it's a tough road. And you have to ask yourself the question like, you know, he wants to be a baseball player for his life. He doesn't

58:25want to rehab an entry for his life. And I mean, and that's like the life that he has to lead right now is just rehabbing entries and going step by step. And baseball is all he knows. Like we're not going to go pick up a different crap. You know, like he's not even, he, he, this guy was like, he was like, boy wonder from day one of his life. You know, like he was groomed to be a baseball player. That, that's a tough pill to swallow and not, and not giving that up. It's a, you know, it's like a money ball. You're all told that we're not going to play one day. You know, it's like, when is that time? And unfortunately, it seems like it's coming pretty close. Well, speaking of time, we got to get out of here. This is C H O Cubs podcast on the Tuesday. We are back tomorrow. Luke stuck my back in studio. Shout out to Mama Stuck Meyer. Yeah. Get well. We're all thinking about her today. Make sure you like this video. Subscribe to our channel. Shout out to Sarah on the ones and twos. Shout out Justin Roman. Shout out C H O underscore Cubs on Twitter. So how's that? Garland? Hopefully we're going to sign here soon. We'll see you in a second on an emergency pod. If he signs, we're on that. We're going to sign off for today. Thank you so much, everyone tuning in. As Luke would say, whatever you do today, make sure you fly the W.