Postgame: Chicago Cubs season comes to a close in loss to Brewers in Game 5 of NLDS

Postgame: Chicago Cubs season comes to a close in loss to Brewers in Game 5 of NLDS

Well, that was the worst three hours of my life. Not really, but it was one of the worst like three hours of my life. Cubs lose. Season’s over. Uh, yeah. Let’s go. This is Wrigleyville Forever episode 33. A very, very, very, very sad edition of Wrigleyville Forever. Cubs season is over. 3-1 loss to the Brewers. Uh, it’s going to that one’s going to sting for a really long time. I could spin it already for you, but maybe I’ll just wait for later. Um, yeah, I’ll wait for later because this is we got a lot to talk out. I mean, not even really a lot to talk about, but to talk out. Cody Domo, Blake Cowl, who if you were on playbackyoutube here watching with us, um you would know that we are exhausted. That game was exhausting and um at least for me, it was exhausting. Uh a lot of that game for me reminded me of so many battles that these two teams have done over not even just this year, but years past. Even when the Brewers were good and the Cubs were bad, but the Cubs always found a way to just kind of freaking hang around and give me some delusional hope in some games. Like this game reminded me a lot of the games where the Cubs were not good and the Brewers were good. This season both teams were good. This season both teams were among the tops in baseball. Um, and so for me in the moment right now, the game just ended 15, 20 minutes ago. I am honestly m I do this a lot. I laugh through the pain a lot, Blake. And that’s that’s I’m laughing through the pain because I’m just so continuously reminded of just how annoying it is to play this stupid [ __ ] franchise that’s in Milwaukee. That’s it. You’re You’re muted. Great start. I Here’s where I stand. I talk a lot of [ __ ] online and I know I do. I just made my postgame video. If you follow me, go take a watch. The one thing about me though, and I think I’ve always been this way. I’m a I’m a very gracious loser. I I I’ve never seen myself as a sore loser. Maybe in due time that will change, but you tip your cap for this kind of thing. This these teams play 101 times and it’s 50 51 to 50. The home team won in every single game. And you know what? The Milwaukee Brewers took the division from us and that is what really in the end took the season. I’m not going to sit here and talk bad about the Brewers. They they didn’t barrel baseballs throughout the season. I thought that shoe would drop. I said I wanted this series. I even said if they’re going to beat us, they’re like if we out homer them, we got them. They had three solo home runs with two outs tonight. They beat us. They made our mistakes look like mistakes. Their stars outstar us. That’s a tip of the cap. I’m not going to sit here and and blame some external factors of the roof, the manager, the players, whatever it is. They beat us. I tip my cap. I would love to go on a big rant on why I feel like we got screwed, but I’m not going to because that’s just not what happened here tonight. Yeah. I don’t know if people are reading what I said wrong, but like I’m I’m not making excuses. I’m not, you know, saying that this and that is the reason the Cubs lost this game and it wasn’t the Brewers at all. Like my point of what I’m saying is of course the Brewers won this game when they were a bottom 10 team and slugging this year and then hit three homers tonight in a game five winner winner go home game. Like of course they would they would do that, you know, like like and that’s that’s my general thinking of when I think about the Milwaukee Brewers is like everything you think they won’t do, they’ll they’ll they’ll do because of whatever none of it makes sense. Andrew Vaughn doesn’t make sense, right? Yeah. I get none of it I This isn’t me taking any kind of credit from them. Like they are a good team. They’re the best team in baseball in terms of record all season for for a reason or not not all season but you know the last what since June 1st let’s just call it. I know that they struggled out the gates this year but you know they they overall were the the best team in baseball this year and and I think there’s just a lot of teams that just they just kind of figure it out and they always seem to figure it out. They there there’s always the people that and this included me in the past that would always say, “Well, in the playoffs they’re going to they’re going to fall apart.” And they almost did. You know, they they in many ways they should have swept the series. Maybe that’s me coping, but whatever. They the Cubs battled back in this series and and forced a game five and, you know, after game two, I guess, you know, that that’s all I could have hoped for really, you know. Yeah. But this Brewers team, man, like they they they like the Cubs match up well against them. They also match up well against the Cubs. They’re they’re very similar teams if you really think about it. Outside of the fact that the Cubs hit more homers than them, but they are very similar teams. And outside of, you know, their pitching staff is they’re they throw harder. But I think in terms of the type of players they have on their team, like it’s not that much different. Um, and that’s why the both both teams were, you know, the best in baseball this year. Top top five teams in baseball this year. And I will agree with you on this. Like when the Brewers took the division, like it did it did really like kind of like foreshadowed this because if the Cubs win the division, then this game was at Wrigley Field. Who knows what happens, but you know, maybe maybe the Cubs play better at Wrigley Field. Um there are still plenty of Cubs fans in Milwaukee. Um I felt like the Cubs, if you just talk about like defense, pitching, and all that outside of the offense, like they showed up and gave themselves a shot to win. They just couldn’t they they they they couldn’t hit when it mattered most. And then they also, you know, the the luck factor wasn’t there in terms of some of the batted balls they had. Yeah. And and that’s not to say too, that’s not to say too, and I know you didn’t mean it this way, but that’s not to say too that like the Cubs got unlucky. I mean, yeah, they batted up some balls, but again, like the Brewers made the mistakes look like the mistakes. Yeah. Well, anyone who says that there isn’t luck in baseball doesn’t know ball. Every team needs a little bit of luck along the way, man. For sure. For sure. You know what I mean? So, like, I’m not negating what I’m saying. Like, the Cubs hit a a handful of balls tonight that if they just carried one or two more feet, they would have been over the fence. And of course, William Contrus and Andrew Vaughn barely hit homers over the fence. Just barely. Of course they do. right? Like it’s game of inches, game of feet, whatever. I don’t really like it. It’s it’s a tough loss and like I said, it just kind of reminds me of a lot of really brutal losses that the Cubs have taken to the Brewers over the years because it the games are always so close and so every little thing gets magnified and into what went wrong and if you’re on the winning side, everything gets magnified into what went right and it comes down to who makes the most mistakes. The Cubs made the Cubs pitching staff made three bad pitches. I guess that’s the game because the offense outside of Seya hitting a homer and some baded ball luck that didn’t go their way, you know. Well, just that that’s to me this particular game at least that’s what it like that’s what it came down to a lot of it. Well, well, let’s talk about it. Let’s just get into it because I feel like now we’re kind of beating around the bush. This game’s on the offense. you scoring one run in elimination game. We just saw the Phillies what happen when you score one run. You make a mistake and you and your season’s over. The top of the six. Ashby’s in the game. You’ve seen Ashby. Now, this is the fourth time you’ve seen him this series. Busch beats one up the middle. Shout out Michael Bush, too, real quick. Hell of a series. That dude’s going to be a [ __ ] superstar in Major League Baseball. And the season just ended and I’m already thinking about how many bombs he’s gonna hit next year. I predict 40 plus. Not the point. You’re already on to predictions, huh? He beats one up the middle. Nico her gets hit with a ball immediately signals, hey, it’s my knee. Looks at Craig, starts sprinting down the first. He knows what’s up. You’re down one. It’s two on, no outs. Kyle Tucker’s at the play and it’s a 3-1. And Cody, we talked about in the playback. I’ve tweeted about it. I’ve made some very brash comments toward Kyle Tucker after game two because that’s when I thought the season was actually over. Yep. Luckily now, four days later, not luckily it’s over, but it is now. And I feel a little sense of vindication because he did have a decent series. Would you disagree with that? Do you think he had a great series? Because if I’m if I’m cutting him short, I want you to tell me. Uh he was good at he was good at home. He wasn’t good on the road. Okay. That’s like I I would say I would say that he showed up outside of this game at least. He showed up when it mattered most outside of this game this entire postseason. Sure. To me, he showed up and performed and and and helped them win games outside of this game. That’s what I would if you asked me to describe Kyle Tucker’s postseason in 2025 in one sentence, that’s what I would tell you. So, and and I love that response, but here’s how I sit. I say on the playback, and I’ll say it again for anyone who’s listening, didn’t watch with us. I told you I want a $450 million at bat. That’s all I want. I I don’t I don’t need a home run, Cody. I don’t even need a single. I need a $450 million at bat from a guy who’s going to ask for that this off season. And you get to three and one. Three and one hitters count. One pitch, one spot. If it’s there, you got to groove it. And you got 99 miles an hour down the middle. I can name off probably five guys that take that fast ball and put it in the bullpen. You are a You are a major league. And I get that this sport is not easy. I’ve I play at the high school. There’s a reason I didn’t play in college, man, because I just wasn’t good enough. Like I like I get it. I understand the game from that level. But I also understand at 3-1 if you get that pitch, you got to groove it. And if you don’t groove it, then you gotta fight. You gotta fight. And what did he whiffed on 99 miles an hour down the middle center cut. It’s a mistake. It’s a fast ball. You either you shorten your swing. You put the barrel to the ball. You get your hands inside and you put it in the bullpen. Juan Stoodto does it. Show does it. A lot of guys do it. Judge does it. Those guys do it. and Kyle Tucker didn’t. That’s that’s just cut and dry. And that’s why I’m that’s why I’m so frustrated with Kyle Tucker because I don’t think they’re going to resign him. And to be quite honest with you, I don’t even want to jump that far. You know what? I’m going to pull myself back here. I’m going to pull myself back here. This bat, this game, this game, 90 miles an hour down the middle, you whiffed on it. Then the pitch after you whiffed on that, too. The strike out. Worst possible case scenario. You could feel it in the air that that that inning was cooked. that that ain’t now Sasuki put a good swing on the ball and that’s some of that bad luck we talked about Indian and Hap he didn’t protect on with two strikes as we as we know and as we saw and and he deserves some of that blame too because as a veteran hitter you have to know you have to protect there but that innings on Kyle Tucker. I’m not sugar coating it. I I your stars have to star and when Andrew Vaughn is out starring a guy who’s going to go ask for 4 Andrew Vaughn got a mistake and sent it out of here. A home run in 27 of 30 parks 101 miles an hour off the bat and Kyle Tucker missed a fast ball. To me, Cody, that’s the difference in this game and that’s the reason why the Cub season’s over is because he missed a a center cut fast ball. Well, yeah, that’s true. And it’s that’s the reason because they weren’t able to generate any traffic on the bases in any of the other innings. Yeah. What what the eighth inning BCH walked Nico Nico uh grounded out or or no that’s when Nico hit the line drive to Caleb Durban like 105 miles per hour. And that’s part of my bad batted ball luck narrative that I’m pushing on this show. Uh, not to make excuses, but and I’m basically joking a little bit about that, but um but then after that, Tucker came up, he got he had a chance at redemption and then rolled over to second base, right? Yeah. Um, listen, everyone in this chat watching right now knows that I have I have never wavered on Kyle Tucker on on if I want him on this team. But tonight, like, like I said, he didn’t show up tonight. He showed up in game four, and it wasn’t just because he hit one solo homer. He he was giving he gave them great at bats when they were at Wrigley. Game three, walked twice, had multiple hits. Um, and then in game three against the Padres’s in that elimination game, he was good in that, too. He was good in all the elimination games except for tonight. And that’s that’s why I said what I said. He showed up whenever they needed him to, except for tonight. I don’t I’m We have We have the next the rest of this month in probably November and half of December to talk about what Kyle Tucker is worth. What K like who should who should we sign resign Kyle Tucker? Dude, people have been asking me this question since the end of December of last year. I did my damn hardest to try and enjoy at least this one season from Kyle Tucker. And now that the season is over, we can we we can talk about it and we will. I don’t want to really talk about it in at ends on this particular episode because like this is just one game, but to go with what you’re saying, yeah, him missing that 99 mph fast right down the middle and then striking out on the very next pitch is probably when they lost the game. Say Suzuki the next at bat. Like that’s part like he I love that guy. He did he did everything in that at bat that he was supposed to do. What a season. What a postseason. Let’s talk about that briefly. Well, I just let me let me finish here. Yeah, go ahead. Like he like Sega hit that ball as hard as you could have asked him to. The process in that at bat was perfect. Like as a fan, this this goes into what I what I’m talking about like the luck factor. It it does matter some. like that ball was roped right into Jackson Cheerio’s glove. I’ll give him credit. He caught the ball. They went he tracked it down. But that ball was so close to being out. And so like that that was brutal. That was a brutal thing to watch. But perhaps perhaps if Tucker at least puts the ball and play that at bat before BCH is on third base and on that say a fly ball scores as a sack fly. So yeah. Yeah, that inning went down on is on Kyle Tucker and and Ian Hap like the amount of times as as a as a Ian Hap defender, the amount of times I’ve seen him take a pitch on the outside edge that’s borderline and get called on called out on strikes. I mean, you want me to complain about Ian Hap some? That is for sure like number one or number two on my complaints about Ian Hap over the course of the last 10 years watching him play baseball for the Cubs. And let’s just be honest about his entire postseason wasn’t very good outside of hitting that three-run homer in game four, which was huge. They wouldn’t have played in this game without him. But yeah, he didn’t have a good night. He didn’t have a good postseason. And that’s that’s fine. He’s not a star. We know he’s not a star. you needed your stars show up. Sea showed up like you said, but Tucker didn’t show up tonight. And um even, you know, Michael Bush walked, but and he had a he did hit a single off a lefty. Um but he’s been one of your best hitters in postseason. I thought it was a good matchup for him in in the very first at bat of the game against um what’s his name? Migill. And nothing in that at bat. I’m not I’m just I’m going all over the place now, but you get what I’m saying. Like Bush is a star and he they you score one run and there’s blame that goes across on everyone. But I think the most blame for sure in this one goes on Kyle Tucker. Yeah, that is what it is, man. Yeah, you you it’s like uh it’s like the quarterback in football, right? Like when things go right, you’re going to get a lot of that credit and when things go wrong, you’re going to get a lot of that blame. Um, I’m glad to at least like if I’m gonna spin zone this a little bit. You don’t have to spin zone. We’re only 19 minutes in. Well, I’ll say it this way. I guess I won’t even spin zone it, but I’ll say it. I think Craig Council managed his ass off this postseason. I think he made Mike Schill I think he managed circles around Mike Schil. And I even think in this series, I don’t want to say he outmanaged Pat Murphy because I think Pat Murphy’s good at what he does. for you to go down two zero and then to lose that lead and then like find the wherewithal to then be resilient and come back. That speaks a lot to what the Brewers locker room is and it speaks a lot to what Pat Murphy um preaches to those guys. I I do I do have to give them credit. Like I said, I I try to be like a somewhat decent loser. Um, but I think Craig Councel, I don’t want to say like earned his $8 million, but I will say you you see why you paid him $8 million because when the Cubs were ahead in this series, he attacked with the bullpin. He attacked with the matchups and he won every single matchup. Yeah. He couldn’t do that tonight. He never had a lead. and he and I think the flaws of this team and again I’m trying to I’m trying to keep this like as as as micro as possible in this game because we have all off season to talk about all the other [ __ ] Um but you did see in the end you did see the flaws of this team and why they’re now not playing anymore is because you didn’t have the starting pitching. You didn’t have Justin Steel and you didn’t have him for the whole season. You didn’t have Kate Horton when you thought you would have. I mean, we watched the 15 inning game last night. The Tigers had six innings of elite pitching from TKO. And even the Mariners had a starter that they could go to. If the Cubs had a starter they could turn to, maybe this game ends different. Maybe not. They only scored one run, so I’m not going to get all hellbent on that. But you saw what eventually kind of cooked this season um in terms of the pitching side. But again, that shows too what you need to do this offseason. Like, it’s not a secret. This Cubs team, if they want to get better, I think their offense is in a great spot. Even if they lost Kyle Tucker, I think Kyle Tucker is a great player. I think when he’s healthy, he’s great. He didn’t hit 45 home runs for you this year. He didn’t OPS a thousand. I’m not saying he’s easily replaceable, but you have some guys that are that are chomping at the bit to get those at bats. And do I think you can replace 22 home runs? I I absolutely think so. But right now it’s it for me I’m focusing on the pitching. You you went into this game saying Drew Pomerance who wasn’t on this team in spring training who was in AAA for the Mariners, hey can you get us two innings in elimination game or can you get us one inning? He gave up a home run. Hey Colin Ray, we paid you $5 million and everyone hated your signing. Can you go find us some innings? And he did and he pitched very well. Gave up a solo home run. I I I can’t be mad at what happened tonight from from a standpoint of was this organizational, was this Craig Counsel? No, we got beat. We got beat fair and effing fair. Yeah, fair. Yeah, there Craig Council in this game particularly like there’s nothing like that I feel like you can look at and blame him for. Um. Mhm. We all like everyone screamed at the clouds about wanting to see Colin Ray. Something that I never thought I would see in the year of our Lord 2025. And I said like they screamed at the clouds about wanting to see Colin Ray. The last week we finally got to see Colin Ray. He shoved it. Gave up the homer to Andrew Vaughn after getting two outs on two pitches. And that’s just how quick it can fall off. And that’s why I never really sat here and was like, “We need Colin Ray.” But he he did he he did deliver in this series overall for what you paid him for and what you expect out of someone like him. And giving up one solo homer in a game you lose three to one, it’s hard to be mad at a guy. So, um, you know, yeah, the I think this game in particular is is more impressive from Craig Council as a manager just because he did this. We this was going to be a bullpin game. Like we basically knew like there was a part of me that thought maybe they would throw Shodi Manag out there and they got him up a couple times, but then they never put him in. But this this was like largely a bullpen game and I thought he managed it well. I maybe here’s here’s my one knock. Maybe you shouldn’t have gone with Pomerance in the first inning. But yeah, I don’t really know. Maybe you just start Ray. Maybe you use someone. I I don’t know. I really don’t know. I don’t know either. But but the Brewers were facing that same issue tonight, too, you know, and they executed better. Misarowski was great. I I thought that if I I tweeted it. I said, “If they were gonna win, I thought we’d beat Misarowski around the bush.” And he showed up and he located it early and he found a groove. And I even told you, I said, “I want him out of the game because he’s found his groove.” And he has elite [ __ ] Like, he’s got good [ __ ] man. 103 miles an hour with a little bit of offspe stuff. If you can locate that, I mean, that’s Mason Miller type stuff. And up to this point in his career, he wasn’t able to do that consistently. And tonight, he was. That’s execution. That’s just execution. Yeah. Yeah. Miserowski I, you know, Seiya hit the homer off him. And that was probably the inning where if you were going to do anything off him, that was the inning that you should have because he was a little wild. Um, like we all like kind of figured he would be, but then it felt like after that inning, he just kind of locked in. And you know, that was kind of like the difference in the game in many ways. And if there were I just I’m not trying to say that they lost this game because of injuries, but it’s like what if you had Kate Horton or or Justin Steel? Like I think it’s very fair for Cubs fans to look at that and think like man what if we had that guy. I’m not saying that they would have won the game if they had them, but it it the fact that the Cubs basically did bullpen games this entire postseason. Like we would celebrate Matt Boyd and like on on Thursday and Jameson Tyion on Wednesday like throwing four innings. Like I understand this modern day of baseball is a lot different where you know you don’t want your starter to go three times through the order or whatever, but like I just I I just watched Terrick Scubel and George Kirby just [ __ ] battle it out last night. Yeah. And they each went like they definitely all went deeper in the game than any of the starters for the Cubs in the series or in the in the in the wild card series. You know what I mean? Yeah, Terrick Scubel is the best pitcher in baseball. But so that’s a bad example, but you get what I’m saying. Like I don’t know if Kate Horton would have been able to go out there and give you five, six innings, but I do know that he has better he had better stuff and he had been your best pitcher in the second half of the year. Who knows what if he was available if he could have been available for game five what he could have done. So, and and I’m not saying like pre like I’m saying pre-injjury, like if he if he would have just been healthy going to the playoffs, like how how would he have performed in this playoffs and how much it would have helped this team. But I guess it’s one of those whatifs that we’ll we’ll look at. But it does point to what you’re talking about and and what this team needs going into the off season. So, yeah, I don’t know. I I thought, you know, once you got into the later innings, the bullpen did its job. Theo Bar walking south cow uh uh what’s his name? Freelick on four pitches wasn’t good. But other than that, I felt like they all just did their job. Brad Keller comes in again. Good job. Yeah, bring back Brad Keller. I know it’s it’s so hard for me to like stay like carpartmentalized into this game when I want to talk about like just the macro now of like all right where do we go here like where’s the next part but I do want to talk just like briefly kind of in the macro but it relates to like what happened tonight of there’s been seasons that have ended in the past where it’s like [ __ ] like where do we go or like where do we where do we put this here’s the reality you know 2026 before the lockout. And if people are familiar with what’s going on with all that, I don’t think they’re going to play in 2027. That’s a whole different conversation. This organization is in a very, very healthy spot. And that’s why I think it’s really easy for me to kind of like I mean stomaching a an L like this is never easy. But when you know that your team’s in a good spot and you know that the that you’re organizationally sound and you know that you’re in a good spot like where your roster’s at, I think in a lot of ways I I can get over this a lot faster. Like I’m not happy about it. Don’t ever get me wrong. I’m never happy when the Cubs lose. Everyone just wants the team to win. But you just have you have all the right guys. Like you have you still have all the right guys. Like even if Kyle Tucker were to walk and and I think he will. I don’t think the Cubs are going to resign him. I don’t think they’re going to even throw the money at him, but you still have all the right guys. Seas Suzuki took a huge step this season with all the home runs. Like he’s still a streaky guy, but he showed like what happens when when you when you don’t have to play him in the field every day. He showed what happens when you have some other bigger bats in the lineup that teams have to worry about. I’m like, if PCA can take a step and Shaw can take a step and these other things can happen. Like things can break your way. Nico her incredible season, Mr. Reliable. I mean, every time he was up tonight, it was like, all right, like the rally starting. Like, here it is. Like, Nico’s up the bat. Like, let’s go, you know? And we saw Moises Bisteros get a pinch hit. And even though I don’t think he had a good at bat, like there’s a reason Craig Council gave him the at bat is because he knows what he can do. And like I’ve watched that dude take batting practice now like in person a few times and every time I’m just amazed by what that dude does to manipulate his hands to go to all fields with all the power. Like that’s another guy Owen Casey like he’s going to get his chance. So I’m not here to preach to you and tell you to just like buy back into this team immediately if you need to take the time to cope. And I do too. Like dude that’s why we watch sports. Like coping is just part of it. Um we’re coping until the Bears beat the Commanders on Monday night. Yeah, why not? I wanted to watch the Bear I want to watch the Bears Cubs double header and that’s going to suck. But you know what, man? We’re hate watching now. It It sucks so bad that I now have to like I now have to root for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Yeah. But I’m not I’m not going to root for the I’m not going to root for the Brewers. I I will say this. I’m I’m happy for some of their fans. Like I’ve I’ve been acquainted with a few of those accounts online who are just like like me and you. They’re fans. They love their team. The Brewers have had no success. And guess what? They got us tonight. Sports are sports. I’m not gonna ever fight someone in the stands over this [ __ ] It’s never that serious. I’m never going to send someone a death threat. It’s just never that serious. So, for the next three hours, I’m going to be happy for those people that I’ve been lucky enough to become acquainted with and and hope that they enjoy their time. But then after that, it’s Dodgers and four, man. biggest Dodgers in port. Yeah, there’s actually a Dodgers fan in our YouTube chat who’s just like trolling and just being the biggest like dick for no reason. And it’s just like, dude, you realize we’re going to be rooting for your team in the NLCS. Like, read the room, brother. Read the room. It’s going to end up being Japan verse Canada, dude. It’s going to be Blue Jays and Dodgers for the for the World Series. I guess we’ll see. Two big championship series. We hope at least. Um, yeah. I mean, to kind of bring it back into the game instead of, you know, stuff from the off season and and things to be happy about like or not happy about, but just to hang your your hat on. um you know I when I think about losing this game so much of me and I think I’m always going to be chasing this feeling because this particular year gave me so much happiness. Yeah. But I and I’m not talking about this year. I’m what I’m about to say you’ll understand what I’m about to say. Um, I’ve been chasing the feeling of that I had in 2015 for so long and when they beat the Padres’s and it being like the year that Rhino passed and they beat the Padres’s and Rhino and the Cubs lost in ‘ 84 to the Padres’s and like you know if they would have won this game they would have won this series um three three games to two and like backwards that’s 23 and it’s just like all these things. You know, I when I think back to this season, it it won’t feel like what 2015 was cuz 2015 like that team legitimately no one thought was going to be good. That team was like, you know, I guess in many ways like this year’s Brewers team because the Brewers were projected to win like 80 games and in 2015 the Cubs were projected to win like 80 games and then they won like 98 or whatever, 97. this year’s Cubs team. I guess you can say they outperform expectations because they won 92 and Pakakota had them at 91. Um there was a lot that I loved about this year’s team. Um they they reminded me of how fun it can be to watch baseball in the summer. PCA having a 3030 season and like truly truly com like completely blowing my mind at just how good he can be one day and even was in the MVP race for what three four months then you know like all those guys that you mentioned like there was there were a lot of things about this season that I’ll remember and like be happy that I um you know got to experience but maybe this is part of my coping but it’s a fun year. Maybe this is part of my coping but I I this team had no shot against the Dodgers in my opinion. It would have been fun like I I honestly I disagree. I disagree. Respect. I I honestly would have treated beating the Brewers as like my World Series and largely just so then I could go online and just be the biggest insufferable [ __ ] to Brewers fans for an entire year. But now I don’t get to do that. So it’s just like like I I wouldn’t say the season was completely lost or anything because of that. In many ways, it’s it it is incredibly impressive that this roster got to game five of the NLDS with all the injuries that they had with, you know, I guess their their their best players not even really performing at their best in the postseason even, right? like it. I think in time when fans kind of, you know, as time goes on and people just kind of start to, you know, get excited about the off seasonason and how the Cubs can improve the team, people will view this season, not exactly like 2015, but like maybe like a poor man’s version of 2015 because no one thought this team was going to go win the World Series this year. We all like as the season progressed, we all like, well, there’s no team that like sticks out above the rest of them. Like maybe the Cubs could do it. The Cubs didn’t build a World Series winning team. And that’s honestly what gives me hope about the future because if this isn’t a World Series team and they and they know that, then they can like there’s still there’s still room to go up. There’s still ways to improve. And so that’s if there if there is a legit like again coping uh cope or um you know something to give yourself a little bit of optimism going forward. Like I think that’s legit. Like anyone who said that this was a World Series or bus season is just because Kyle Tucker’s on this team. That’s it. And and and and we’re going to find out what happens with that. And I’ll follow it and we’ll talk about it plenty. I know. But yeah, I I just think that the season in many ways played out exactly how I wanted it to go. I I entered the season just wanting to make the playoffs and if the stars aligned, win win win a playoff series. I thought winning a playoff series was was the ceiling of this team going into March. Sure, you get match up with the Brewers. Me and you both thought they match up well against them. They took them five games and they lost by two runs in the final game. I I don’t think we’re wrong about what we said. They just didn’t roll our way. So, man, that happened. That’s sports. I mean, that’s sports. Yeah. So, we’ll see what happens. We’ll see what happens in the off season and we’ll see if uh you know we’ll see how things play out the rest of this postseason that you know maybe we’ll look back and be like well kind of glad we didn’t have to play the Dodgers. I mean I don’t know it’s tough to say because you always want to roll to the next round. Um well yeah I’m not sitting here saying that like I didn’t want to go have an opportunity. I’m not saying that. But I am saying that like based off where this roster is right now in terms of injuries and whatnot. Sure, Kate Horton could have came back and faced the Dodgers, but like we don’t know what he would have been like coming off the injury. I know it wasn’t an arm injury, but you know, the guy hadn’t pitched in almost, you know, almost a month. You know, it’s just there’s a lot of a lot a lot a lot a lot of factors. And if the Cubs want to, you know, be going to NLCS and and and playing for championships, like we all know they got they got to do more than what they did. There’s so many things went right for this team this year that like didn’t happen in years past. And I can go I can just list names of guys that proves that. But I could also list games that happened, you know, that that like things could have totally flipped if if a certain scenario didn’t happen in terms of, you know, maybe a a long losing streak or or whatever. You know, like even the last like week of the year, people were afraid they’re going to fall out of the four out of the top wild card spot because they it felt like they were like crawling to the end, you know, but yeah, because they had so many things go right in terms of individual performance from certain guys, like they just found a way to like get in at that top wild card spot. But if but if in my opinion if they had signed another starting pitcher in the off season and probably didn’t sustain some injuries and especially Kyle Tucker not getting hurt. Maybe they maybe they were able to hold on to the division then. But we’re never going to know. We’ll never know. But like I said, you know, you look at these other teams that are in the playoffs this year. I mean, the Brewers are have now become just a household name for the postseason. you know, they’re they’re there every year. The the New York Yankees, they’re there every year. The Houston Astros, they weren’t in it this year, but but they were in years past. Getting the opportunity, I mean, today was so much fun up until the point they lost. And up until the point where I was like, “All right, well, we’re kind of screwed.” Just to feel the feelings of the last two weeks is what makes this this kind of stuff worth it, man. Like there’s a like you want to live and die with every pitch when it doesn’t go your way. Yeah. You feel dead inside. I feel dead inside right now. I I’m trying to I’m trying to like talk to whoever’s listening this and just say like it’s going to be okay. It will. The sun comes up same time tomorrow. Unfortunately, the Cubs won’t be playing tomorrow. A lot of NFL, but no Cubs. Um but this season was again was just like a revival of like I think this fandom in a lot of ways. Like you you you got rid of that postseason drought. You got rid of that postseason series loss streak. Like you want a ser you want a postseason series. Like the wild card series counts. They beat a good team in the wild card series, man. Like they took down the Padres’s. The Padres’s have the Padres’s have been in the postseason a lot in the last few years. They took them down. Like if you’re looking at the Padres fans, they’re probably like, “Well, we just allocate all these money, all this money to all these guys and we’ve made all these big trades and we have no like where do we turn?” And when I look at the Cubs, it’s like they learned from their mistakes of of 2018 and beyond. They’ve learned from their mistakes of maybe putting all their chips in a few baskets and now it’s more dispersed. Like it doesn’t mean I’m happy that they didn’t go out and make a big move last postseason or last trade deadline. Like that that’s for me what started turning the season downturn, but I didn’t go as far as to say of why are we even playing the postseason? They’re not going to win at all. There’s only one fan base in the Major League Baseball that gets to say they win it all. There’s there’s only one every season. And luckily for me and you, we’ve got to seen one. We’ve we’ve got to experience one of them. We’ve got to exper that we don’t deserve another one. We definitely do. I hope we get to experience 10 more of them. But this wasn’t our year. And everyone kind of knew it wasn’t our year. And now that it’s happened, you have to live with it. It’s and you know if we if this series loss would have been to the Phillies or the Dodgers or anyone not named the Milwaukee Brewers or the St. Louis Cardinals, this conversation would feel a lot easier. Yeah. But you know what? It came to one of your now biggest rivals because that clip of of Yuribe closing it out and then doing the phone down thing right at Craig Counsel. I don’t get that by the way. Like I think that’s like a thing when he picked up the phone. I I I really don’t get Isn’t the original clip of council picking up the phone as William Contrarus or whoever it was hitting Homer or something like that? Whatever it is, I I really don’t get like it’s kind of like if you break up with your ex and then you just talk about your ex and say how much you’re like over them but you bring them up all the time. Like it kind of doesn’t make sense to me. And again, I think Pat Murphy’s good at his job so be happy with what you have. Like if someone offers you a pay raise, I mean I’ve switched jobs before. When you get a pay raise you usually take it. Um neither here nor there. Um neither here nor there, but um I I just think that this season as a whole, I know we’ll have more like offseason discussions, but I think we just had so much fun this year, man. It’s sad that it’s over because this these this the team, the personnel, it’s never the same, you know? It’s never the same guys. Like this bullpen is going to look so different next year, you know? I hope they bring back a decent amount of these guys, you know. I hope Brad Keller is back. I think they just really found something special with him. I think he’s like third I think he’s mid30s though. So like he’s toward the end of his Caleb Theobbar’s 38. I mean, how much does he actually have left in the tank? But found guys like Daniel Palencia where it’s like you could roll Daniel Pencio next year in a closer role and like I feel good about it because he was so good before he got hurt. So it’s a fun it’s a fun season, man. It sucks how it ends, but again it’s because of who you lost to, not how it ended. Yeah, I think that’s a good way to to say it for sure. Um, yeah. I think anyone who disagrees with what me and you just said and like kind of like a overarching look of this team, like I just don’t if you disagree with with that with thinking that this team wasn’t fun to watch this year, like I just I either think you’re casual or you’re someone who has World Series or bus expectations every single year. And it’s like the only team in baseball legitimately that can actually say this is the Dodgers based off everything that they do. Like the Yankees haven’t won a World Series in over 20 years. Okay, that no team has gone back to back since the Yankees in like what the late 90s or whatever. And maybe the Dodgers go back to back to break that streak this year. But sports are supposed to like there’s supposed to be storylines part along the way that make sports fun. Like in many ways, sports is like soap operas for dudes. And so like if you were a fan and you didn’t and you didn’t like this team, like I think there for sure August was incredibly frustrating. August was incredibly frustrating. But if you look back on the season and you feel like that you just didn’t like this team, it’s just kind of like did you watch or did you just show up in September? You know what I mean? Like so that that’s just my opinion on that. So, we’ll we’ll do like a full like, you know, season recap and stuff and I and I want to listen to Jed Hoyer talk about like do his season uh presser and stuff and we’ll we’ll do a full episode on that and maybe it’ll be a little bit of a longer episode or maybe we’ll break it up. I I don’t know. But I just, you know, we’re just doing therapy right now and like Mhm. it just sucks that this team lost tonight and I’m sad and this will probably be ranked in my top five of worst losses of my life. Um, but I can confidently say that this team gave it everything they had. I I do think that like they they grinded out as much as they could out of this team and now for me going into this off seasonason it’s just like how do you take the next step and yeah there’s a lot of questions about who’s going to be on this team right now in terms of bullpen and Tucker and you know you got guys coming up under contract or their contracts coming up after 2026 and you got the potential lockout in 2027. understand all of these things. But a lot of teams, a lot of organizations would like to be in the Cub situation right now, I think. So, yeah, we’ll go we’ll we’ll take it day by day this off seasonason and hope and get delusional at some point. Again, I know me. There’s if there’s anything that I know about myself, it there will be a time where I will believe again. So, yeah. Yeah. I’m seeing now the uh man [ __ ] This hurts, dude. Mhm. Brewers are taking their team picture and they just bust out the L flag. Did they really? Oh, I hate it. I hate it. Does that push my little brother narrative? Like my like doesn’t that make that more about the Cubs than them winning? Yeah, in a lot of ways. For sure. Like is like that that that pushes back that pushes doubt all by like little brother syndrome that they that that organization has. There’s a reason that White Sox fans like all of White Sox Twitter was rooting for the Brewers tonight. Like they’re both fan bases are just so similar. I don’t even like hate the White Socks, but like like why is why are White Sox fans rooting for a team in Wisconsin? And then why are the Brewers making it all about the Cubs in their team photo celebrating them going to the NLCS? Like it it they’re both so similar. It it it’s I don’t get it. I don’t get it. But you know what? If the Cubs would have won that game, then you know, I I would have you know, the first tweet I would have sent was playoff series wins uh as Cubs manager for Craig Council to Pat Murphy as Brewers manager zero. you know, that would have been my first tweet after the Cubs won, after I tweeted like the meme, of course. But, um, yeah. Yeah. I don’t have much to fight back with. I just hope this is the bulletin material that just starts something special, man. I hope so. There’s a way like the Cubs are seeing this like if they if they care, you know, like they they’ll remember this. Yeah. I I I mean you when it was over I saw Nico her. I saw PCA. I mean no one no one ran for the for the tunnel. They all sat there and watched it. Um I know it’s become kind of like corny over the years like Stefon Diggs kind of started that but you know it’s you got to feel it. It sucks but again I don’t know whatever. Well at the end of the day they won the game. the Brewers won the game and they can do whatever the [ __ ] they want and that they they earned that right and I I’ll you know I will end this show basically with just a I think they are a team that they could they they will probably give the Dodgers a really good run largely because they didn’t lose to the Dodgers this year. They didn’t. Yeah. And I didn’t I know postseason’s a lot different. It feels like the Dodgers are starting to play their best ball of the year. Maybe it doesn’t matter, but I it you know how much it sickens me that I’m going to root for the team that like, you know, defers contracts so they can just have like the most star players in the league compared to the team that has a lower payroll than like three4s of the league. Like you it pains me that I’m going to do that, but like I don’t want the Brewers to go to the World Series, man. So it just it’s it I don’t know what’s worse, this feeling or the fact that I’m going to actually do that. Yeah, it sucks. It sucks. I I ain’t got much else, man. I ain’t got much else. Um yeah, I guess I’ll finish with this. Thanks for everyone who listened a lot this year. We’ll definitely have more. we’ll have more of like a I don’t know, man. We’ll we’ll see what happens. Usually this time of year, I need to take a break from social media. So, once we get a once we get a firm schedule down, we’ll see. But thanks for listening. I mean, there’s a reason why why we do this and uh means a lot to me. Means a lot for Cody for you to give uh give me a shot to to work with you. So, yeah, it’s always a good feeling. Yeah. I’ll close with saying that remember when we went into the postseason and at the end of that one episode I said that like no matter what the Cubs did like it was going to be bittersweet for me because of where I was before this. Yeah. Um, I’ll just be honest and say that if the Cubs had gone to the World Series this year and won it, like it it it would have been a weird happiness, like a a a feeling that I just don’t know if if I would have been able to just been fully happy. Of course, I would have been happy, but there would have been this small part of me that was like really annoyed about the situ the scenario or thei situation. Let’s be honest, like I shouldn’t be sitting here doing this right now with you. As much as I am happy to be doing this with you in this moment right now. Yeah. And doing this show, like in my opinion, I shouldn’t be sitting here doing this. And um like I said in that one episode, like it’s bittersweet, but I am happy that the that that we had people who who followed and came and and and watched this or listen to this content. And it does mean an incredibly amount of it means a lot to me that that we were able to do this and and and some people care. and we’ll just keep growing and and we’ll see what happens as this thing goes into the offseason and and for next year. I have a lot of ideas of what I want to do for next year. The this this first 33 episodes was always just like let’s just do let’s just do shows and stuff and like you know have try to have fun with it considering my life has been turned upside down. But um next year like I really do want to like kind of take it up a notch and and do you know have different segments and and and do a lot more with this more than just coming on YouTube and [ __ ] talking for an hour you know. So um yeah that said like we will be doing shows this off season and and I like I’m this YouTube channel isn’t going to be shut down until March and we we’ll be here. So, um, yeah, I I do appreciate y’all for for sticking around and and and being supporters of us, and I’m happy to always help Blake with what he wants to do and and be a part of and stuff. He’s he’s been um nothing but a great teammate doing this. So, um, thank you. It sounds like a [ __ ] funeral, but I mean, it is basically a funeral. In a lot of ways, it is. Yeah. But the the the the point is though is that like we’re sitting here on a Saturday night at 11 PM. We got a large amount of people watching us right now and it’s like there there there are people who give a [ __ ] about what we have to say and that means a lot and I just want to emphasize that to the people. So yeah, shout everyone that says things in public too. I was at a line today. Some guy came up to me his name was Brock. He’s like, “Are you this guy?” And showed me the profile picture. He’s like, “Dude, you and Cody, man, great pod. Keep grinding.” So, like that that [ __ ] means a lot, man. Yeah. If you see me in public, if you see Cody in public, Yeah. say what’s up. We’re human. I I love the support and I love, you know, I love all you guys. So, yeah. Keep keep supporting. It’s awesome. All right. Well, um Jed Hoyer will talk to the media at some point and I assume that it will be on Monday. We’ll I will figure that out and I our next show will be probably after that or you know maybe we can do a little bit more in depth of just a season recap. Maybe go through some of the high points and the low points and maybe really dive into like what like what this team really needs going into the off season. Um, I I I would say our next episode will probably be on like Tuesday or Wednesday just because the Bears are on Monday and um you know, we just need a little bit of time. So, uh, if you want to join our Discord this offseason for all the offseason content and you know when all the shows are and stuff, the link is in the description down below if you want to become what we call a sicko. Um, and yeah, you can subscribe to the channel that turn the notifications on too. Whatever you guys want to do would appreciate it. But um 55 minutes in, I appreciate you all for hanging out with us. Hit that like button on your way out. Subscribe on the audio or here on YouTube will be much appreciated. Um just like the flags fly forever, Wrigleyville is forever. Just uh 2025 Cubs. They are dead though. Um, we’ll see you for offseason content coming up. Appreciate y’all support. Goodbye.

The Chicago Cubs’ postseason run comes to a disappointing end as they fall to the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 in Game 5 of the NLDS. In a hard-fought series that went the distance, the Cubs couldn’t generate enough offense to back their pitching and were ultimately outplayed by a red-hot Brewers team.

Cody and Blake break down the key moments of Game 5, what went wrong for the Cubs, standout performances from both sides, and what this loss means heading into the offseason. From missed opportunities to clutch moments by Milwaukee, we cover it all.

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