North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast

Only in Wrigleyville. A Cubs-Cardinals Fog Game, with neighborhood fireworks going off on the Fourth of July, became another chapter to this unpredictable season. The one constant, though, has been Pete Crow-Armstrong as the center of attention. There was no mystery or suspense around who would be the Cubs’ All-Star representative. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney expla...

As a heat wave descended upon Chicago, the Cubs turned their games at Wrigley Field into batting practice, setting off some offensive fireworks before the Fourth of July. After questions about whether he should be benched, Swanson has responded with a red-hot stretch. Bregman hasn’t really heated up yet, but he’s in the news for a lack-of-hustle moment and a thumbs-down gesture. And oh...

Big show announcement: Jon Lester, a three-time World Series champion, will be making regular appearances as a special guest analyst on North Side Territory. In his debut episode with The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney, Lester talks about the 10-year reunion tour for his 2016 teammates, what made that championship club so special and how it compares to this year’s squad....

In front of three sellout crowds filled with Cubs fans, Craig Counsell’s team cut into the Brewers’ division lead with a gutsy performance. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney give you behind-the-scenes perspectives from the visiting clubhouse in Milwaukee as well as field-level insights. What do you think of the manager and the front office now? Why does David Peter...

The Cubs had to do something, given the state of their pitching staff. The David Peterson deal is far from a blockbuster move, but it makes a lot of sense for this team right now. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney explain the direction that Jed Hoyer’s front office is taking, assess the rest of the National League field and identify the trade chips the Cubs will have at...

Amid an onslaught of pitching injuries, Jed Hoyer’s front office made a deal with the Mets out of desperation, hoping a change of scenery and an elite defense can help a one-time All-Star get back on track. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney break down the Peterson trade from multiple angles, including what the Cubs gave up, where they’re trending as the trade deadl...

Nearing the halfway point of the 162-game schedule, the Cubs, at times, have looked both like a World Series contender and a club that should be broken apart at the trade deadline. Those extremes have still left the Cubs in a decent position to make the playoffs, though the margin for error is much smaller now and winning the division appears to be a remote possibility. To put everything in contex...

Nearing the halfway point of an up-and-down season, the Cubs are searching for answers, and the fans have plenty of questions about the team’s direction. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney are back with another mailbag episode that gets into the idea of Matt Shaw as a trade chip, how Jed Hoyer’s front office is trying to fix the pitching pipeline, Craig Counsell&rsq...

Amid the deep slump that has impacted almost the entire lineup, the calls for the Cubs to bench their $177 million shortstop are getting louder. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney examine the entire Swanson situation, beginning with the votes of confidence from the manager and the front office. Why are the Cubs so committed to their current defensive alignment? How long will th...

Here we go again. The Cubs are dealing with yet another rash of pitching injuries. Did getting pushed in the World Baseball Classic lead to Palencia’s choppy season? Why hasn’t Cabrera delivered on the promise the Cubs saw when they made that trade with the Marlins? And will Steele have enough runway to be an impactful pitcher this year? The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick...

Signing Alex Bregman and trading for Edward Cabrera were well-received moves by Chicago’s front office, designed to level up the Cubs from a wild-card team to a World Series contender. It hasn’t worked out that way, at least not yet. How does Bregman get out of this slump? What is Cabrera working on with the team’s pitching coaches? Where do the Cubs go from here? The Athletic&rs...

It's a crossover! Patrick Mooney joins Splash Hit Territory host FP Santangelo to preview the weekend series with the San Francisco Giants. The guys discuss perspectives on both clubs, the incredible Giants comeback against the Nationals and how Pete Crow-Armstrong plays with fire. Use our code for 10% off your next order of MLB tickets on SeatGeek*: seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/TERRITORY10 Sponsored...

There’s no sugarcoating it. The big-name free agent signed to a five-year, $175 million contract hasn’t lived up to expectations, and his underperformance is dragging down the entire team. Bregman’s offense isn’t the only issue for the Cubs right now, but the All-Star third baseman stood at his Wrigley Field locker late Sunday night and blamed himself for the team-wide slum...

After the giddiness during the Cubs’ two 10-games winning streaks, the entire tone of this campaign has changed dramatically. It’s reflected in the latest batch of questions for Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney, Chicago-based writers for The Athletic. At a time when the Brewers are a small-market machine, Cubs fans want answers on the organization’s process, the team’s ide...

It’s not a great marketing slogan for Wrigley Field, but Cubs manager Craig Counsell perfectly summed up the experience of watching this offense fail to deliver in clutch situations: “It makes you sit in discomfort.” With Cubs fans getting restless, The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney open their notebooks to share information on why Counsell is mostly sticking...

After expectations soared with two separate 10-game winning streaks early in the season, the Cubs crashed in May, falling out of first place and erasing nearly all of their cushion with a 10-game losing streak. June represents a new opportunity with a softer stretch in the schedule and starting pitchers potentially getting healthy. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney break down...

It’s a long season, but one-third of the way through a 162-game schedule is a good time to reassess, especially given the extremes of the club’s performance. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney give their takes, based on information from their travels, and conversations on the field and in the clubhouse. What’s the secret to the Brewers’ success? How will...

The 10-game losing streak is finally over. To put these wild swings of the season into context, listen to The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney, who share field-level insights and clubhouse observations from their reporting. How are the Cubs reacting to these ups and downs? At this point, when should the club be counting on Steele to return? (Because the latest update did not soun...

An extreme downturn has made those two 10-game winning streaks feel like ancient history. Even if it’s not quite time to panic, it’s fair to wonder how good this team really is, and question how the club is going to get out of this rut. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney have some ideas, based on their reporting from inside the clubhouse. After reshuffling the lineu...

Once again, the Brewers showed they are a superior team, dominating a three-game sweep at Wrigley Field from start to finish. As the Cubs try to regroup, The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney explain how they flipped from the hottest team in baseball to a club that looks completely discombobulated. Are the Brewers really that good? Shouldn’t Alex Bregman be better than this?...

PCA looks like he needs a break. After his vulgar exchange with a White Sox fan on the South Side went viral, the Gold Glove center fielder has committed two glaring errors, physical mistakes that he believes comes from a place of being mentally distracted. The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney share their reporting from inside the Wrigley Field clubhouse, explaining what’s...

The PCA Show came to the South Side, which generated an electric atmosphere for the latest installment of the crosstown rivalry. In winning that three-game series, the White Sox showed off their young talent and exposed some areas of concern for the Cubs. Crow-Armstrong always plays with emotion, and the All-Star center fielder complimented the White Sox for the team they’re building, but th...

Do the Cubs have enough top prospects in their farm system to make a blockbuster deal this summer? The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney are back with another primer on the trade deadline, bringing you the names to know and explaining the concepts that guide Chicago’s front office. Does Kevin Alcántara have a future at Wrigley Field? Could Pedro Ramírez be a ke...

Ahead of another crosstown series on the South Side, The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney empty their notebooks in Chicago. How has Brown evolved to the point where he might actually become that top-of-the-rotation starter the club previously envisioned? What do the Cubs see in the recently signed Hendriks, a former All-Star closer for the White Sox? And is this version of the Wh...

Chicago’s front office does not expect to execute a major trade in May. But that process of scouting players, gathering information and reading the markets never really stops. And the Cubs have both a roster that can compete for a World Series title and a multitude of pitching injuries. For an overview of where things stand – and where this could be heading in the summer – The At...