Pointless Exercise - A Desipio Podcast

The podcast finally concedes to the video age and not only can you see Andy, Oleg and Praz, but did you know the open and close have video? Well, now you do. They take a look at how the Cubs rank on offense and get some pretty good clues as to why they're so good. They lament Seiya and Busch not making the All-Star Game, but one of them has a brilliant idea about how to get Seiya there. They d...

It's time to take a look around baseball and tell the cold, hard, truth about whose season is already irredeemably in the crapper. David Brown joins the podcast to help decide what teams can be crossed off and can toss their players into the for sale bin. You might be surprised at the two teams who survived the axe, for now. They also go through Jim Bowden's handy list of players who are m...

The trade deadline is still five weeks away, but Oleg and Praz join the podcast to helpfully give Jed Hoyer a shopping list of players he should trade for. They also wonder just what the hell Nate Pearson's purpose is, recoil in horror at the stats from Porter Hodge's way too brief (and way too bad) rehab assignment. They say nasty things about the Cardinals, St. Louis and their awful stad...

With Dave Brown day to day, it's up to Andy to entertain you, but thankfully Jim Bowden and an insane trade proposal helps pass the time. What does Jimbo think Sandy Alcantara is worth? And how much more would it be if Sandy's ERA wasn't nearly a touchdown? Take a look at the rest of the NL Central and how well positioned the Cubs are, and then enjoy Rafael Devers completely sticking i...

It's early June, the Cubs are in first place by five games and so naturally, Andy asks Praz and Oleg if they have enough to win anything important. All of the hot topics are covered like Evan Longoria's connection to the World Series Cubs, Rey Ordonez crying in the dugout, Bob Brenly's hot takes on grand slams and diving for the bag at first, Andy's dog's Brant Brown moment, an...

Remember This Crap's tour around the diamond has reached shortstop. Huey is back to help talk about the greatest (and Larry Bowa) Cubs shortstops in history. As always, the guys go all the way back to the 19th century and work their way up to the modern day. The Cubs, of course, have one of the greatest shortstops in baseball history to their credit, and they have another Hall of Famer who owe...

After pondering when a new century actually starts, Andy and David Brown discuss the Cubs' All-Quarter Century team, and Andy explains his reasoning for so much Javy. They also wonder if the Corbin Burnes injury will turn the D'bags into sellers and if Zach Gallen is struggling or cooked. Where's Jac Caglianone going to play for the Royals? Why is cement falling on Dodgers fans? What&#...

Oleg, Praz and Andy discuss all of the hot topics, like: can you bat Petecrow and Busch back to back, is Seiya a star, does Jed already have a contract extension, why doesn't Tommy Hottovy get more crap, and would you rather have the Dodgers' offense or the Cubs'? Plus they assign a new nickname to Reese McGuire, make fun of Ian Happ, blame one team for the lack of pitching trade candidates, mock...

Matt Shaw is back and playing well, Cade Horton is looking good, Petecrow's on an MVP pace, Kyle Tucker is even better than we thought and Tom Loxas is here to talk about all of it. What could go wrong? Plus more announcer talk (groan, I know), what's up with the Bears these days and so much more.

The Cubs had a very thoughtful plan to fix Matt Shaw's leg kick. They apparently forgot to tell him about it until last Saturday. David Brown is here to talk about the Cubs third base situation, the Orioles firing Brandon Hyde and hiring Doug Mansolino's kid, Kyle Schwarber hitting bombs at an incredible rate, the Dodgers finding the guy with the perfect name for their pitching staff, Earl Weaver'...

It's the 400th Pointless Exercise Podcast! Either it's a huge hit, or we can't take a hint. What should the Cubs do with Cade Horton and Moises Ballesteros when Ian Happ and Shōta come back? Why was Pat treating Ron Coomer like a meterologist the other night? Do we need to chip in for Boog's healthcare? Will either paper do the hack All-Chicago team before this weekend's series...

Oleg and Praz join the podcast to discuss the arrivals of Cade Horton and Moises Ballesteros on the Cubs roster and discuss other great 22s and 25s in Cubs history. They talk about Cade's impressive debut against the Mets and try to figure out how to keep Moises on the roster long-term--before he even gets his first big league hit. I mean, how hard could it be for Michael Busch to relearn third ba...

It's time again to talk baseball with David Brown, and in this scintillating episode we discuss how the D'bags won the Paul Goldschmidt seven years after the fact! (Kind of.) Why math and common sense tells you that if the Cubs don't call Cade Horton up to make some Shōta replacement starts right now they might miss their window for the whole season. Is the Javier Baez rejuvenation a real thing? H...

An intrepid reader searched for Neifi Perez the other day and was horrified and amused at what they found. They shared the results with Andy and in this podcast you'll get a dramatic retelling of the events surrounding Neifi and the rosin bag. Plus, Dansby's fixed! Well, at least his offense. A prospect pervert has the completely wrong take on Alex Cohen's "talents," we look...

Craig Counsell clearly read the newsletter and listened to the podcast and came to the conclusion that dropping Dansby Swanson in the order was a good idea. Oleg, Praz and Andy discuss reordering things, Shōta dodging a major injury (though with the Cubs you never know), how this hot start is different than last year's hot start and more fun with Petecrow Armstrong. Praz talks about the Cubs t...

With the NFL Draft going on, Andy and Dave look back at when the Kansas City Royals just kept drafting Hall of Fame football players. Plus, fun with official scoring, when is a save a win, what happens when you try to send your Rule V "star" to the minors, why was it legal for a double-A player to hit the ball twice with one swing, gender reveals do not belong in the batter's box, wh...

The Cubs are trying to bolster their bullpen with Drew Pomeranz? Hey, nobody's gotten a hit off of him in four years! Bruce Levine says that Jed's out looking for a starter and a "lock down" reliever and that would be great if this was November of last year when he should have been trying to the same damned thing. We look back at the crazy Friday win over the D'bags and two e...

Matt Shaw is taking his leg kick on the road to Iowa, the great Vidal Brujan has returned, the Cubs are going to have to find a way without Justin Steele for a while and half the lineup is struggling. And yet, the Cubs are in first place. Oleg and Praz are on hand to talk about all of it. What's the future hold for Tater Workman, is it in Chicago or Detroit or Erie, Pennslvania and do we have...

You get teased with a big celebrity guest, but it falls through, so instead you'll have to settle for Andy talking about upcoming books on the 2003 and 2016 Cubs, a pathetic plea for more paid newsletter subscribers and then actual sports talk about Justin Steele's elbow, Kyle Tucker cooling off and only leading the NL in six statistical categories, Petecrow being productive without really...

David Brown joins the pod to talk about a really weird early season baseball stat, jump to conclusions based on small sample sizes and run differentials, Vlad Guerrero Jr's big new deal, the Cubs chances of keeping Kyle Tucker, why torpedo bats aren't for everyone and the Pirates stepping in a big pile of iced tea and vodka. All that, and more.

As the Cubs prepare for opening day 3.0 let's take a look at how things are going through the season's first nine games. The bullpen stinks, Big Jimmy Taillon's no great shakes, but most everything else is pretty good. Kyle Tucker's awesome, the catchers are playing out of their minds, Dansby and Petecrow are catching everything in sight and Shōta's still great. Seiya had to wa...

Carson Kelly has joined an elite group of Cubs hitters...OK, well, he's certainly joined a group of Cubs hitters...who have hit for a cycle. Oleg and Praz are here to talk about every Cubs cycle in history, why the bullpen still blows, how the Garbage Family That Owns The Cubs™ suck this time, why Kikè Hernandez is apparently more popular than every Cubs player and how MLB can fix their TV problem...

It's opening day 2.0 and the Cubs still aren't playing when the sun's out. Oh well, everything can't be perfect. Let's take a look at some big keys to the season like Matt Shaw being good, Petecrow taking the next step and Michael Busch hopefully proving he's more than just a guy. Let's discuss what Jed said to our good friend Jon Greenberg about his future and Kyle Tuc...

Opening Day part deux is on the way and David Brown is on hand to discuss all of the important things you need to hear before the season restarts anew. Did the Cubs feel any shame losing two games in Tokyo to a third of the Dodgers' best players? Why did the Dodgers make Mookie Betts fly halfway around the world twice when things were spewing out of him at both ends? Did anybody have to try to...

Worlds collide as both Pointless Exercise baseball podcasts join forces to preview the 2025 season. David Brown, Oleg, Praz and Andy sit around and yak about who's going to the playoffs, who's going to be MVP, Rookie of the Year, Cy Young and Manager of the Year. No tangent is too wild to stray off on and somehow amidst all the serious baseball talk they discuss choosing one award by firing the le...