This is Not a Rebuild

The gang discusses the stubborn refusal of the inevitable to actually happen. Cody Bellinger hasn't signed yet--with the Cubs, or anywhere else. So, they proceed with a discussion of the Héctor Neris signing and the team's increasingly satisfactory bullpen mix; the deep but less satisfying starting rotation; whether the front office envisions adding one more bat, or two; and then, at long...

The gang discusses the ongoing freeze and slog of the hot stove season, and the Cubs' not-quite-perplexing inactivity. They talk about third base, first base, a random Cub or two, and the Crazy Horse to an as-yet unreleased Mt. Brushmore.

The gang gets together to conduct the very serious business of analyzing the Cubs' first two substantial moves of the winter, and they undertake that duty with all the solemnity it demands. Imanaga banter. Busch badinage. More!

On the eve of the Cubs Convention, the gang gets together to wonder just how ugly things will get if the weekend comes before a big Cubs move. This one starts loopy and ends loopy, but have no fear: halfway through, DJ calls it wildly depressing.

The gang bemoans the Cubs' refusal to release DJ from his glass case of emotion, banter about the potential value of Patrick Wisdom, wonder what it would look like for the team to end up with a satisfactory offseason at this point, and then absolutely ACE a Random Cub of the Week. 2024 is off to a roaring start.

Shorthanded, denied big news, and with the Dodgers' acquisition of Yoshinobu Yamamoto hanging over them like a dark cloud, the gang stays chatty for the final 2023 episode of TINAR. It's about new Cubs coaches. It's about the future. It's about a labored Aaron Sorkin analogy. What's not to love? Happy holidays, everyone.

The Chicago Cubs are testing their fans' patience and threatening some of their sanity. In the latest episode of This is Not a Rebuild, the guys try to make sense of the team's approach to free agency, take turns ranting on subjects ranging from Eric Hosmer to the sustainability of any sector of our economy, and then close with a Random Cub of the Week!

The gang discusses the Chicago Bears, for some reason. Also, whether MLB players tend more strongly to be married with children than their counterparts of the same age in the broader population. Oh, and they chat a fair bit about Bo Bichette, Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, the Cardinals relentlessly signing old, mid pitchers, and other topics relevant to the Cubs' offseason.

Sure, we talk a little Shohei Ohtani on this show. We talk a little Patrick Wisdom and Nick Madrigal. We cover the Cubs offseason a little. But folks: this episode is all about moons. We did a two-round draft, the first in what will be an annual ritual. This is the important stuff. Please get involved. Todd desperately needs a new scouting director.

In what is not quite an emergency podcast, the gang gathers to celebrate and marvel at the hiring of Craig Counsell as the Cubs' manager for the next half-decade. Included: -How this went down, and why it was so wild -What this does for expectations around the rest of the offseason -Discussion of some of the contract estimates published this week by MLB Trade Rumors, and whether the Cubs make...

The guys reconvene after too long apart, to discuss the Chicago Cubs: -Losing Marcus Stroman to a contract option -Keeping Kyle Hendricks and Yan Gomes via club options for 2024 -Being tied to Juan Soto in trade rumors -Maybe really needing Shohei Ohtani, but having a tough fight ahead if they want him -Trying to land a front-of-the-rotation starter this winter, via free agency or trade Free agenc...

The gang convenes to discuss the Cubs' minimal news tidbits during this lull (for teams left out of the playoffs) in the baseball schedule. They go back and rehash their predictions for this season, made in late March, and reflect on the season that was through that lens. Also, they try and fail to figure out what the plural form of Nostradamus should be.

We gather, in this episode, to lay to rest the 2023 Cubs. Not every end of a season feels like a death in the family, but this one did. As we worked through it, though, we realized that (perhaps) it felt more like the digestible demise of an old family member, rather than the painful and violent loss that it might have seemed to be even a week ago. An interesting offseason looms, and we talked at...

We lead this week with a few special segments to get you smiling a bit, with baseball takes that run wider than the Cubs and come from new perspectives. Then, we get to the terrible part: trying to make sense and meaning out of this lousy September showing from a team that seemed poised for just the opposite. It's a complicated topic, and these are complicated times.

Woof. The Cubs went to Coors Field this week and... really did something. Or rather, they failed to do something they needed to do. We discuss that, but we also dig into the bright spots that still litter the landscape--the debut of Pete Crow-Armstrong, the continued competence of Jordan Wicks, and the fact that the rest of the Wild Card contenders are about as stuck in the mud at the moment as th...

With the Cubs having turned a corner and become contenders for more than just a Wild Card berth and quick exit, the gang is a little giddy. Discussion topics include, but are not limited to: -Jordan Wicks's excellent season, thrilling first few starts in MLB, and place in a potential playoff rotation -The remaking of the Cubs lineup into one about as fearsome as those of Atlanta or the Dodgers...

The Cubs have turned a corner. Real, earned playoff atmosphere is back at Wrigley Field, and the guys spent much of the latest show just talking about the many ways the team can reach October from here--as well as the unexpected, ultimately tantalizing chance that they might be able to further bolster the roster first. September is practically here. Enjoy.

As the Cubs prepare to square off with the Brewers in a series that could redirect (but no longer can singlehandedly define or ill-define) the season, the guys convene to take stock of the extraordinary path both teams have taken to this moment. Also included: how the Cubs will handle the free agency of both Cody Bellinger and Jeimer Candelario this winter; the bummer of the Shohei Ohtani news; an...

This episode begins on a somewhat dour note, as the guys discuss the various challenges the Cubs face and why it's hard to tell how much to believe that they can overcome them. Then, at the end, the guys all see and react to Christopher Morel Magic in real time. Enjoy. We sure did.

In the dramatic Season 2 Premiere, the guys kick around all the big things going on with the Chicago Cubs since the trade deadline. Suddenly, this crew can really hit, but their starting pitching isn't the rock-solid strength we all thought it to be two months ago. There are good performances coming from the bullpen, but it seems disorganized right now. The team has to play really well down th...

Episode 39 of This is Not a Rebuild is the one in which we acknowledge and confront most fully two things: 1. Each other, for we are live, half-drunk, and sitting around a table for the first time in podcast history; and 2. The fact that it really and truly is a rebuild. Much is discussed within, but especially the Cubs' difficult trade deadline decisions, the ups and downs of their first seve...

The Core Four talks about Sonny Gray's love of trees. They also get into Cubs stuff, including why the team seems to persistently be less than the sum of its parts; what chances remain that the team will become a buyer before the deadline; why Jed Hoyer is waiting so long to choose his path (could it be a canine conundrum?); and more. It's the Carlos Zambrano Episode, so gird your Gatorade...

The guys talk about Tom's first day at the SABR Convention; a long four-game series in Milwaukee; how the Cubs need to finish out the first half; what they can and must do if they fail to finish the first half strong; whether or not anyone still listens to this show; Ed Lynch, Scott Downs, Scott Chiasson, Mike Remlinger, and other pitchers; and more. Don't miss it.

What's wrong with Jameson Taillon? What players could save the suddenly spiraling (again!) 2023 Cubs? Would they be better off selling at the deadline, after all? Who's the best No. 36 in Cubs history? What trees have we already talked about, again? The answers to some of these questions, maybe, this week on This is Not a Rebuild.

This is still a Cubs podcast, and we do talk about the Cubs. But this is now also a Luis Arraez podcast, and we talk a lot about Luis Arraez. Is it a show within a show? Is it a meta project? Is it the wave of the future of baseball podcasts? No. But it's another fun episode of This is Not a Rebuild. Dig in!