Chicago Cubs stack up NICELY with World Series teams

Chicago Cubs stack up NICELY with World Series teams

How do the Cubs stack up with the two teams in the World Series? I’ll tell you about it next. You are Locked On Cubs, your daily Chicago Cubs podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. You are Locked On Cubs, part of the Locked On Network. Your team every day. I’m Matt Cozy. I’m a lifelong fan taking my passion into discussion with you on all things Cubs. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. All right, some show updates here at the top. Uh this off season, Sam and I will be together the three days to open up the week. Uh Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. And then I will be solo Thursdays. Sam will be solo on Fridays. And on the next episode, Sam actually won’t be solo because he will be, drum roll please, he will be joined by Justin Steel. Cubs pitcher. Uh so together three days a week, a solo episode each and that will be for for most if not all of the off season. On today’s episode, news and notes, including the announcement of the silver slugger finalist, grading the catcher position for the Cubs in 2025, highlighted by Carson Kelly. And we start with evaluating the Cubs this season in direct comparison to the World Series teams. The Blue Jays and Dodgers open up the World Series on Friday. And while the Cubs were eliminated in the NLDS, they stack up pretty well with the final two teams remaining. And we’re going to go into every phase of this great game that we love. And we’re going to start with offense where the Cubs finished fifth in all of baseball. Fifth in baseball. on runs scored behind only the Yankees, Dodgers, Brew, Brewers, and Blue Jays. So, familiar company just right away. All three teams in the top five. And I have more numbers, okay? Because the Cubs no doubt had their ups and downs this year offensively, but Jed Hoyer pointed out last week that the Cubs are not more extreme than other teams, and he’s right. They’re not more extreme than the other teams. I I did my homework and I I I think there’s something to be learned right here because we get so caught up in the daily rhythm of the season and that is the rhythm of the season. It’s a day-to-day sport. There’s only one off day a week usually. But the big picture is that the Cubs offense was great in 2025 and it didn’t do anything the Blue Jays or the Dodgers or any of the other top teams didn’t do either. So, let’s get to it. For example, the Cubs scored only 106 runs in August, ranking a lowly 27th in all of baseball for that uh 28, 29, 30 game period. Okay, that’s not a good ranking. They were they were bad in August. Uh they they started their slide a little bit in July. uh bad in August, started September that way, then got better. Um but man, that’s a bad month. Well, uh guess what? The Dodgers were worse one of the months. 28th in run scoring in July. Third to last. Did you hear criticism about their offense? No. You hear criticism about their bullpen. I mean, not anymore, but you did in the regular season. I never heard about the Dodgers offense. Not one time. What about the Blue Jays, Matt? Well, remember the Cubs ranked 27th in August in baseball and runs. How about to open the year in March, April? Blue Jays did not get off to a roaring start. They were 26th in runs in March and April. There’s going to be struggles. I think what we’ve learned over the years of doing this show and covering a team on a daily basis, there’s going to be the month pocket where you’re bad. But the good teams and the great teams especially recover from that and it really ends up being a blip on the radar. What becomes a problem if there’s a two-month pocket, which if you pull some together, the Cubs had that actually and they still won 92 games. So, let’s keep going. Starting rotation erra Cubs were eighth in baseball. They finished in the top eight in the starting rotation and that was without Justin Steel. Uh that was with a rookie in Cade Horton. That was with a project and I think I don’t know if he would admit it or not, but we said it right or wrongly in Matthew Boyd. That was with the ups and downs of Shoda, ups and downs of Tyion, even though he was excellent down the stretch, including the postseason. That was with Colin Ray, who signed with the Cubs as a swing man. He didn’t know he was going to start that many games. They finished eighth. Dodgers, this shouldn’t be a surprise. Snell, Yamamoto, Glasnau, Otani, others. fifth fifth in baseball and starters erra. Blue Jays all the way down in 20th and they’re four wins away from a World Series championship. Bullpen erra Cubs 11th. They ranked the best uh here in bullpen RRA. They also ranked the best in the next category out of the out of the three teams. bullpen RA Cubs 11th, Blue Jays 16th, Dodgers 21st. And you know, we’ve seen both teams, especially uh the Blue Jays in game that game seven use starters in the bullpen. You know, that’s an interesting strategy for the postseason. And finally, defensive run saved. Cubs second, Dodgers third, Blue Jays fourth. Very symmetrical there. Uh Cubs first. No, Cubs second or Cubs first? Cubs second, Rangers were first. Uh so 2, three, four right there. Cubs, Dodgers, Blue Jays, respectively. Um what are my takeaways from this? Well, the Cubs in 2025 had 92 wins like we’ve talked about. Made their first postseason appearance in a full year since 2018. Posted their first postseason series win since 2017. One win away from the Final Four. Five wins away from advancing to the World Series. They aren’t too far away. They’re just not from having a really, really special season. And that goes without some caveats. Not to, you know, including the postseason when you add Horton’s absence. Um but but hopefully this helps to to prove really the closeness and connection of these teams and how the Cubs do stack up and and really they they stack up nicely. A couple more notes here on the three teams. Cubs went five and five this year combined against them. Uh played the Dodgers. we remember this to open the entire baseball season with the two games in in Japan at 5:00 a.m. Central Standard Time. Uh they later finished the season series winners of four of seven. Kind of an odd number of games there. I mean it is an odd number but uh then they lost two out of three to the Blue Jays. Notable players who have played for the Cubs, Blue Jays, and Dodgers, Justin Turner. Most recently, Darwin Barney, Cesar Turus, Fred McGriff, Reed Johnson, Ted Lily. Our trivia answer from last week, Henry Blanco, Hank White, and pretty cool that Darwin Barney only played for these three teams in his eightyear career. Coming up next, we get to a position that completely transformed uh from one season to the next. That’s behind the plate. We review Cubs catchers highlighted by Carson Kelly next. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and you get $300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. All right, some local flavor here. The Bears are six and a half point underdogs against the Ravens this weekend. the status of Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson still very much in doubt when that gets finalized. I wonder if if that line moves at all. And I saw this earlier today as the Bulls open their season. Overunder total for the Bulls this year. 33 and a half. O. So what are you waiting for? Visit fanduel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Today’s episode is brought to you by Rouette. Let’s be real. Making excuses doesn’t solve anything. We’ve all heard them before. It’s just stress. I’m tired. It happens to everyone sometimes. But when it comes to performance, sometimes your body just needs a little extra support. And that’s where Rouette comes in. rouette.com offers fast acting doctor prescribed treatments for ED designed to help you stop making excuses and start making moves. Rouette makes it to get started. You just connect with a boardcertified doctor, 100% online, no awkward waiting rooms, no inperson appointments, and if prescribed, your treatment ships discreetly straight to your door. The process is fast, simple, and private. It’s all handled by real doctors. Visit rougeette.com rugg.comlockonmlb to get 15% off your first order. rouette.com/locktonmlb. And don’t forget to use our code locked onmlb so that they know we sent you. Rouette. Stop making excuses and start making moves. Shout out to the everydayers. And you can become a locked down Cubs every day or by joining us for every episode throughout the week. In 111 games, Carson Kelly slashed 249, 333, 428 with 17 home runs and 13 doubles. A really nice season, his best season in years. I should also mention OPS of 761. Defensively, he shined as well handling pitchers. Uh more on that in a couple minutes. Last week he was named a gold glove finalist. That’d be awesome if he won. And uh what a turnaround this was for Kelly who was okay in 2024 as a backup for both the Tigers and Rangers. Got traded at the deadline uh that year. and then the year before in 23 played only 50 games getting released by the Diamondbacks and then signing and barely playing uh with the Tigers to finish that year. And uh he started off hot too. Like really it was pull to pull, you know, like any player, he had some cold stretches, but Carson Kelly’s first 20 games this year, he hit 361 with an on base of 500 to go along with eight homers. He had eight homers in 20 games. uh highlights during that 20 game span. He hit for the cycle in March against the A’s and then in April he had two count them two two homer games against the Dodgers and then his former team that released him the Diamondbacks. That must have been pretty sweet for him. Uh yeah, just um you know, for a team that the catching position for the most part in 23 and 24 was an automatic out. Uh this is this is a towards the top of the list of why they won 92 games. And it helps to list the offensive numbers, but it was defensively controlling, you know, helping to control the run game, even though I I’ve always believed uh that’s more on the pitcher. Um but the catcher no doubt contributes to that fielding their position. Uh um calling the game, right? Calling the pitches. Uh at least helping being a part of that, being in the pitching meetings with Tommy Havi and the Cubs pitching infrastructure. So, uh it was it was big time. And the reason why this group will get such a high grade is because it wasn’t just him. Carson Kelly was also Reese Maguire. Where did he come from? Uh he had nine home runs in 44 games, including hitting two, count them two, in his first uh very first game with the Cubs. I looking back on notes today, I didn’t realize that was his first game. I thought maybe it was like his second or his third. Uh but Reese Maguire in that comeback win over the Reds on that Sunday in May hit two homers, ended up with nine in just 44 games. And Miguel Amaya hit 281 in 28 games as he missed almost the entire year uh with two major injuries. And Kelly and Amaya do figure to be the duo behind the plate in 2026. said, “I wonder if still on the team, Moises Bayister does get some time uh at catcher, maybe against a tough righty, right, with Kelly and Amaya both being right-handed hitters. Maybe Mo Baller could get a start a week even against a righty, no matter the matchup. And one of the reasons why I know he’s not as advanced in his catching skills and you read the scouting reports, he’s a DH. He’s a DH. maybe he could play first in a pinch, catcher in a pinch, but I do wonder if, you know, some of the some of the newaged metrics, the ABS system, I wonder if that could somehow help by Seros. And again, I’m not advocating that he splits time with those guys. But even once a week, once every 10 games, maybe that’s a fair measuring stick there. Um would would be nice. But uh uh Miguel Amaya that huge huge home run against the the Dodgers in April um you know when you put together the list of the top games of the year that’s that’s a top three game top two and and many fans would have it number one I think uh we’ll see where Marquee puts it when they start running games uh in November and December uh like they typically do. I don’t know if they’re going to do that this year. I’m sure they will. Uh then the other element here is when they’re when they’re behind the plate. All three of these guys played well defensively. They handled the staff well. They called pitches well. I have here erra samples of the five main starters this year. And I didn’t manipulate here. I I really made sure, you know, to pair catchers with with pitchers that had an adequate amount of starts with that catcher. And uh it’s it’s so good, you know, it’s it’s uh really I it’s fun to look back on this stuff. I I know a couple weeks ago, almost two weeks ago now, was hard. Um but it was it was a good year. And you know to finish eighth in baseball and starting rotation erra you know that’s the catchers are they’re they’re a big part of that. Uh Matthew Boyd this year with Carson Kelly 316 erra Kade Horton with Reese Maguire 183 Shoda with Amaya. How about that pairing? 318, right? Significantly lower than his season RA, right? More than a half a run. Uh Jameson Tyion, excuse me, Jameson Tyion. I get emotional about uh the team that I love, Jameson Tyion, 359 with Carson Kelly. And man, Carson Kelly again, this time with Colin Ray, who had a three uh 1-1 ERA with uh uh the Cubs vet veteran backs stop, who is signed for one more year, then there’s an option for 2027. Amaya under control for more years. Rhys Maguire is arbitration eligible, but uh with with Kelly, with Amaya, with Bayisteros, uh I do think Rhys Maguire is a pretty clear candidate to be non-tendered next month. Though the Cubs have a lot of 40man roster space to begin with, just with so many free agents departing. Uh so we’ll see. We’ll see. Maybe they try to keep them till the winter meetings or so or or something like that. Uh this group is an A. 95% would be my my percentage there. And uh yeah, they they really really infused and and injected uh you know the unexpected into the team. You know what what would be a reason why you would have a a good year, even a special year at times, the catchers just go off and and that’s exactly what they did. Coming up next, Silver Slugger finalists, Arizona Fall League updates on a few prospects, and a couple other news and notes as well. Stay tuned. Today’s episode is brought to you by Prize Pick, the daily fantasy app where making the right call can actually pay off. You and I make decisions every day, but on Prize Picks, being right means cashing in. With football back prize picks is the simplest and fastest way to get in on the action. Just pick more or less on two to six player projections and you can turn your takes into real prizes all in less than 60 seconds. When you play prize picks, it’s going to be such a fun way to stay locked in for this football season. It’s quick, easy. It’s going to be your favorite way to follow along. And you could pick Josh Allen more or less passing yards. You could pick Saquon Barkley, more or less, rushing touchdowns, and a whole lot more. Download the Prize Picks app today and use code locked on MLB to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code locked on MLB for $50 in lineups after your first $5 play. Prize picks. It’s good to be right. Make sure you’re subscribed to Locked On Cubs on your preferred audio platform or YouTube. That way you don’t miss any of the great Cubs content we’ve got for you. Next subscriber milestone for this uh program, 17,000. Shout out to Chris Bryant. Silver Slugger finalist released on Wednesday. Nicoer, Pete Crow Armstrong, and Kyle Tucker. All uh really good representatives there. Michael Bush was not named a finalist, so he must be fourth then because the three finalists for first base in the National League are Pete Alonzo, Freddy Freeman, and Matt Olsen. All four of these guys numbers are pretty close together. Um, so I’m not, you know, too distraught about it, but uh, you would have liked to have seen Bush in there get rewarded for his work. Uh, the only thing that that I’m hung up on, and it could be the really the main crux of the argument for Bush, is that he was second in the NL for first base in slugging, and Olsen was fifth. Uh, so I know Matt Olsen had a higher batting average, but uh, some of these these more power categories, home run, slug, WRC plus as well, runs created, uh, goes in Bush’s favor. So, yeah, I mean, you could make a case that that was a snub for sure. A few prospect updates here. Arizona Fall League, they play the fall league in in November, almost all the way to Thanksgiving. Um pretty pretty wild there. All the fields there in Arizona getting used the stadiums uh for spring for spring training. Uh catching prospect Owen Ayers is nine for 27 with two homers, more walks than strikeouts in eight games. In seven games, third base prospect Cole Matthysse is seven for 21. You might remember he got drafted a couple years ago. He was a two-way player in college. he was a lead at it. There was murmurss. There was rumblings that he wanted to try something like that everyday position player and maybe as a reliever out of out of the pen on the pitching side, but he’s been uh mainly infield DH so far in the miners. Couple other hitters for the Cubs and Howard, remember him? Drafted uh Chicago uh born and raised. uh he’s three for 20 and Logan Potit, a catcher, another catcher, is two for 10. Uh on the mound, the Cubs have five pitchers in the AFL, so they have nine players total, which seems like more than usual. I don’t I don’t remember exactly, but it just sounds higher than than most years. The five pitchers in the AFL for the Cubs, Thomas Magnus, Luis Martinez Gomez, Coan Moreno, Matthew Peters, and JP Wheat. And Moreno hasn’t allowed a run in his seven innings uh so far. All right, a couple other notes here as uh uh before uh we we sign off. uh 2025 MLB postseason uh TV viewership is the highest it’s been in 15 years. Um that is a a really encouraging sign. A couple weeks ago MLB finalized some of its uh actually I need to double check that. Is that just my imagination? I I know they were in negotiations for next year. Um, no, it did it did get finalized. MLB media rights came up. They signed deals through 2028 so they could be aligned with Fox whose deal runs out after 28. They they of course have the World Series. You can start watching that Friday. Dodgers Blue Jays. Um but across all the platforms right from the wild card through game seven the other day of the ALCS uh postseason ratings for baseball way way up and they’re the highest they’ve been in uh 15 years. So that’s that’s really really good. Uh right now the one bit I I remember about the media rights deals that NBC ended up getting Sunday Night Baseball. And so now NBC’s positioning itself to have Sunday night sports. Would that be all 12 months? I I think so. Unless I’m I’m missing something in the calendar. Uh but between NFL, NBA, MLB, NBC is going to have sports on Sunday. And uh when the NBA and NFL is on, Sunday Night Baseball will be on Peacock. Uh but it will be on NBC uh the network uh you know at least a few times there uh in the summer. And finally on this day on this day in o on October 22nd 2016 the Cubs defeated the Dodgers for the National League pennant. 11 days later the Cubs won the World Series. This is Locked on Cubs part of the Lockdown podcast network your team every day. for your second listen. Find the locked on MLB game night show. Every game, every night until a World Series champion is crowned. Get local analysis on a national scale. Find MLB Game Night on Locked on MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. All right, Sam will be back on Friday to close out another great week here on Lockdown Cubs. I’m Matt Cozy and this is hot on Cubs. Go Cubs.

Find out why the Cubs compare really well with both the Blue Jays and Dodgers as the World Series begins. Plus: Carson Kelly had a big impact for the Cubs this season and more.

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