Climbing The Ivy, A Chicago Cubs Podcast

The Chicago Cubs completed a very strange series in Pittsburgh this past weekend as the pitching was good and the offense was cold. Kind of the opposite of last week's show.Unfortunately, the big news today is Yu Darvish with more injury complications. Right now the Cubs have what looks like a playoff rotation set even without Darvish, but will his absence hurt the Cubs in the end? We will discuss on the show. As for the team, the schedule is coming down to the last 39 games of the regular season and the race is still fairly tight between the Cubs, Brewers and red-hot Cardinals. All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

The 2018 Chicago Cubs rollercoaster continues to go up and down. Some great wins coupled with some really awful losses as of late have been the battle for the NL Central remain tight. But hey, at least we have David Bote right??An unbelievably magical moment took place Sunday night at Wrigley Field that fan will likely never forget. David Bote’s walk-off slam was a historical accomplishment for the 25-year old rookie and we will discuss how it all played out. On a less-fun note, the starting pitching continues to struggle. The team is put in holes on a daily basis and these comeback wins are happening often because of the starters struggling. What is causing this and how can they turn it around? On paper the rotation is great, the execution has not been there. All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

Cubbies Crib editor Jake Misener joins Alex Patt to fill in for Adam. The Chicago Cubs start to the second half has not been terrible, but not great. Starting pitching has not been efficient as a whole while the offense has had its ups and downs. Notable slumps of Albert Almora and Addison Russell certainly not helping things, will they turn it around anytime soon? August 8th is a very historic date for the Chicago Cubs. Alex and Jake will go on a little bit of a journey through time to talk about this particular date. All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

The 2018 MLB deadline has passed! Join Alex Patt, Adam McGinnis, William Chase, Cody Delmendo, Matt Aung and J. Corey Francis on a roundtable adventure! Moves have been made and the status of many teams seems clear…while other may not be. Of course we will begin with the moves the Chicago Cubs have made including Cole Hamels and Brandon Kintzler.We then will move onto the rest of the league and see what moves were surprising and how they make a difference in the playoff race. Did the Brewers, Pirates and Cardinals make moves that directly impact the Cubs chances? There is certainly a lot of debate to be had here.All of this and MORE on Climbing the Ivy!

The second half of the season has begun, and just about a week in, the Chicago Cubs have had their ups and downs. Injuries to key players have made managing the roster a bit more difficult for Joe Maddon, and concerns are growing. How much should we worry about guys like Kris Bryant, Yu Darvish and Brandon Morrow? We will discuss that in the podcast. The 2018 trade deadline is coming up, and the Cubs are exploring moves. They have missed out on some guys, but may have others in mind. We will discuss several names that could provide solutions to filling holes on the roster. All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

One half of the season down, another to go. The Chicago Cubs had a memorable weekend in Washington D.C. with Kyle Schwarber’s HR Derby performance, Willson Contreras hitting a bomb in the All Star game and Javy Baez leading off for the NL. Now, it is time for the second half. They finished the first half 2.5 up on second place Milwaukee. Despite some inconsistencies and some nagging injuries to the team, they managed to finish right off the pace they were at in 2016. What is in store for the second half? What kind of moves will Theo Epstein make at the deadline? All that will be discussed and MORE on Climbing the Ivy!

The 2018 MLB All Star game will feature three Chicago Cubs: Willson Contreras, Javier Baez and Jon Lester. Both Contreras and Baez will be starters, thanks to the many Cubs fans who went online and voted. We will discuss their seasons so far from the first day to their journey to Washington D.C.Also being talked about tonight is their recent home stand which they went 7-1 as well as who may have been All Star snubs. Are there any Cubs that also deserve to be going to D.C.? Is there a player who we thought was going to be an All Star before the season and ended up not being worthy? All of this and more on the Cubbies Crib podcast!

It was just last week when there was much frustration over the Cubs, they had gotten swept by the Reds and were not doing a lot offensively. Fast forward a week, and now the everyone is talking about how many runs the offense is putting up. Chili Davis had a meeting with the hitters in Los Angeles, was it a key factor in turning things around? Among these hot hitters is Jason Heyward, who continues to impress at the plate. What is he doing differently? All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

Watching Chicago Cubs baseball the past week or so has not been fun. At all. They rolled into Great American Ballpark, only to be swept by the last place Reds and their offensive woes continued in game one of the Dodgers series in Los Angeles. Right now, everything has been going poorly. Cubs are looking to get back on track in Los Angeles or at least break the losing streak. How concerning is the recent play of the team? There are certainly a lot of factors involved, and we will discuss them on the show. We also discuss the recent injury issues that have certainly not helped the team in any way. This includes Kris Bryant, Brandon Morrow, Yu Darvish and Carl Edwards Jr. All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

The Chicago Cubs have had a tough schedule lately, playing the Brewers, Cardinals and the red-hot Dodgers. A lot of Cubs fans are discussing the offensive inconsistency of the team the past few weeks, and some may ask if Theo and company would start to really think about adding a bat to the lineup. Could the Cubs reach that point? Or is it just a rut that the hitters will get out of? This will be touched on in this episode.On the pitching side, Yu Darvish continues to work his way back from injury. Is the Cubs rotation doing enough without him? So far, they have. Especially Jon Lester who we will also touch on. All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

The Chicago Cubs have been on a role lately, even when they are not really dominating opponents. Though many recent games have been close, the Cubs have been getting what is most important, wins. There is a long way to go, but we will discuss the importance of their current series with the Milwaukee Brewers and upcoming tilt with the St. Louis Cardinals.One of the main topics of conversation for this episode is the recent surge from Jason Heyward. His first two years as a Cub had been very disappointing with the bat, but this past week he has been on a tear. Is this just a hot stretch at the plate or a sign he is finally coming around? We will look in depth at what he has done and try to come up with answers.All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

The Chicago Cubs returned from a road trip in Pittsburgh and New York where they went 6-1. Now the team faces a tough June ahead as they face off with the Phillies, Brewers and Cardinals in the coming weeks. Has the recent good play of the team indicate they are hitting their stride for the long run? Alex, Adam along with guests Jake and Cody discuss. We also discuss the return of Jake Arrieta, who may not be pitching this series, but will still be present at Wrigley Field. Like Cubs history? There is some of that in this episode. All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

A lot of people are talking about Anthony Rizzo’s slide into home Monday afternoon. We will break it down and discuss the rules regarding the slide. Also talking about the Cubs position in the NL central as the race continues to be tight with the red-hot Brewers on a role. We will also discuss the injuries to Yu Darvish and now surprisingly Carl Edwards Jr. Will these injuries be harmful for the Cubs? Or can they overcome? All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

Manny Machado has been a hot topic in Chicago recently. Both the Cubs and White Sox have been linked to the Orioles All Star infielder as he may be traded this season before hitting free agency in the offseason. Do these talks make more people believe the Cubs would make a deal for him? Or is this getting a little silly at this point?Meanwhile the Cubs had an overall successful road trip last week before returning to Wrigley Field. The pitching staff did an overall good job on the road trip and has done well overall. However are walks a problem for the entire staff? We will analyze the pitching so far this season and look at the strengths and weaknesses. All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

The past week for the Chicago Cubs went from winning five in a row, to losing five in a row. Getting swept by the rival St. Louis Cardinals in gut-wrenching fashion may have been one of, if not the worst regular season series for the Cubs in a long time. Luckily Monday night the bats finally broke out, which is something that had not been done since their series in Cleveland. We will discuss the goods and bads of the past week and even offer some solutions to several problems.Some interesting rumors swirling around Manny Machado and the Cubs potential interest. Serious rumors or not, we will discuss them.Lastly, we will also go down memory lane to revisit the Kerry Wood 20 K game. 5/6/98 was already 20 years ago but the memories are still fresh in the minds of many Cubs fans. We welcome all who witnessed that game to call in and share their memories.

The Chicago Cubs took on the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies at Wrigley Field and had a winning home stand. Pitching was the main source of succes especially against Milwaukee. The offense however was pretty quiet overall and did not do much, but enough to win most of their games. Can the starting pitching find some consistency? Also with the weather warming up, the wind has started to blow out more and the offense will have to thrive on that going forward. There was an interesting interview with David Kaplan and Sammy Sosa that surfaced this morning and talked about some regrets of how things ended so sour with the team. Should he be brought back to Wrigley Field? It is a complicated situation no doubt.

Joe Maddon made some changes to his lineup near the end of the home stand by placing Albert Almora Jr. and Javier Baez at the top of the order. They immediately made the move pay off as they put on great performances in the Cardinals series finale and in Colorado. The offense did some great things in a very odd series against the Rockies, while the pitching had its ups and downs. Should we be worried about Yu Darvish?Of course we cannot have this show without talking about playing the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. The first time in that park since the night they won it all in 2016. All of this and more on the Cubbies Crib Podcast!

The Chicago Cubs finally returned to Wrigley Field last week to begin the first home stand of the season. Mother Nature was not very kind as several games had to be postponed. Alex and Adam along with special guest Erik Mauro, a writer for Cubbies Crib, will discuss the games which were played. Much emphasis will be put on the remarkable comeback win against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, and what it meant for the club and the fans who stuck around. We will also be talking about our weekly Twitter poll results as well as playing some fun games. All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

The Chicago Cubs took on the division rival Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park before coming home to Wrigley Field. A 3-1 series win in Milwaukee eased the minds of many fans, but still featured some frustrating moments with the bats. We will break down all of what happened against the Brewers. Then we will get to the changes at Wrigley Field, the winter-like weather and the home opener. All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!

The Chicago Cubs started their 2018 season in Miami and Cincinnati. While it did not go exactly how many fans expected, it is WAY too early to hit the panic button. The opening two series of the season will be broken down as we discuss their hitting, pitching and defensive performances. TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. Unfortunately we had to cut the show short due to the connection being lost. But most of what we wanted to say got in. All of this and more on Climbing the Ivy!