Ron Coomer tells us if the Cubs' pitching will be ready for October

0:00Hey, I arrived almost here. Are you ready? Just grabbing my shoes. That's what you said 10 minutes ago. I just wrapped a video call, uploading this giant file on my tablet, looking at my watch group and Nana's with the group chat, and of course, still lining up tonight's playlist on my phone. All at once? Yep, story of my life. That's why I switched to D-Mobile. They have the fastest 5G network. Okay, multitasker. I see you. Honestly, I never imagined I could do all this at once. It's awesome. Say no more, I'm totally switching. My post is taking way too long to upload. That's a sign you've got to get D-Mobile. So many reasons to join D-Mobile. Find yours at T-Mobile.com. Fastest based on analysis by Uclosepetextintelligence data of National Speed Score results in incorporating 5G download and upload speeds for the first half of 2026.

1:00Presented by T-Mobile, the official wireless partner of Odyssey Sports. With an awesome network and great savings, there's never been a better time to join T-Mobile. Visit your neighborhood store to make the switch today. Dynand Dynasty has all new red diamond cards and World Baseball Classic content in MLB the show 26. Collect your favorites and compete against the best. MLB the show 26 is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, XS, and Nintendo Switch. Reading E for everyone, officially licensed by MLB Playersing. Good morning, Cooom. How are you? Morning, David, Ruthie and Ruthie. Tell Ozzy I said hi when you say him later today. Old Oz, he is always playing against him, was always a trip. He had more energy than any five guys on a baseball field you could ever imagine. He's doing that. You had to tell him, oh my guy, no. But I can remember being an older player in the league

2:03and I'm standing on that second base taking the lead off. I've got one knee blown out. I'm going from base to base. He keeps trying to pick me off that second, finally I turn it around and start swearing at him. I'm like, what the hell are you doing? I can't go from here to there. Probably just last. We last, yeah. Totally. It was just Joe. Yeah, it was pretty funny. Great stuff, Cooom. So you come back after a road trip that was not kind. I think that series of Milwaukee might have been the toughest one of the year for the Cubs just because of when it happened and what happened. So now, how difficult is it for the Cubs to regroup? You've got the pirates here. You're instead of chasing the brewers. You're chasing the Phillies for the number one wild card spot that means a lot. It given Homefield advantage, Cooom. How would you assess the state of the Cubs psychologically and where they are as a baseball team? Well, I think that's a tough series. There's no doubt. You lose two games to walk off type plays where you're, you know, one game you're down to, one strike and a game's over and it didn't work out.

3:05So, you know, they're just, it's a tough series. And I think the one great thing about baseball players and baseball is no matter how tough that last series was, the players in the clubhouse will show up today and you have turned the page by now. You've had an off day. Yeah, was it brutal? Yes, but you know you have to turn the page and you got to move on. I just think, you know, in general, what the Cubs need is they need a good couple of wins in a row. And Pittsburgh, as you said, they just played great against the White Sox. So you need to have a good series. And then you need to have a couple guys in the bullpen do their job and just get the outs and then, you know, just kind of put the past in the past and play forward and keep looking at Philly. They've always been looking at Philly last two weeks, David. When you're eight games behind a team, you're really, you know, you're, that's a long way off that they even think you're looking at them. So I don't really think, you know, the Cubs had them in their sights. It was more wanting to have that wild card series,

4:09the first one at home. Ron, what's your confidence level that Shota can be the one to write the ship today and sort of set the tone for the series this weekend? I would say it's high, you know, Shota, but he's, this has been the time of year, Ruthie, where he's had some issues. Counts, he had a couple bad ones in a row and didn't have command of his pitches and his velocity was kind of turning down a little bit, which is not good for him. But then his last start was very good. And he had, I think he changed his arm angle a little bit to get the ball inside a little easier. At least that's what it looked like to me. I don't confirm that, but, you know, I just go by the hitter's eyes of what I see. And he had great command of a split, so he threw the ball much better. So I think he's got a good chance of pitching right here at Wrigley Field today and getting the team back in track. He's got a pitch deep in the game though. That's a big, you know, to go four or five innings makes it difficult on this bullpen.

5:11If he can go six or seven innings, that would be huge for the cops. Kumi, you know, I really value your wisdom on a night on basis and I'm a regular listener and it'll text you during the games and I'll distract you if you need to. That's all right. So after a day later, I want to take a deep breath and see if there's a different way of looking at this decision by Craig Council late in Wednesday night's game that I'm not seeing here. Because Carson Kelly a night earlier had just cleared the bases or hit a double in a big moment and I feel like he deserved the opportunity to try to do that again or come through in a big way in the ninth inning on Wednesday night instead because it was a right-hander on the mound who he had not gotten a hit off in seven previous abats in his career. Craig Council decides to go to a rookie. B.J. Murray puts a tough spot for a rookie with one major league hit that's an infield single. I didn't like it. I thought it was too much of a reliance on analytics and the lefty righty matchup and handedness

6:12and I think that Carson Kelly deserved better. But I know that it's a defensible position because of the splits against your rebate at that point. How did you see it and how would you explain it? I don't think I was a little surprised they pinched him for Kelly. I'll say that no matter who it was, he's one of your hitters to me that plays big and big situations. I've always thought that whether he's catching, I'm calling the game and making great calls by the plate or getting big hits like you did today before. The thing about, yeah, those are managers calls, right at the end of the game, you gotta make a call who you wanna go with and obviously counts when away from Kelly and to Murray is that was there another reason or were there other reasons why? Obviously the numbers show that Kelly

7:13hadn't gotten hit off the guy. So I think you could make a case either way to me or you're asking to roll the dice, David and say, okay, which one do you wanna go with? I think if they both failed, you could say, well, why didn't you go with the lefty? If he, you know, I mean, it's one of those things, you can, I don't know what to tell you. We had the benefit of the prize, I was a manager. Yeah, yeah, you do. So, you know, and I'll tell you what, Murray got a pitch to hit the last pitch. It was a breaking ball in the strike zone, down and in, he just swung over the top of it. So he did get a pitch to hit and that ended the game. But, you know, I always lead to, I'll say this, I always lead towards the guys that have done it a little bit, but, you know, I'm not managing either, you know, I'm just not so, to me, those are decisions that we don't get privy to all of the information that you know in the dugout. And that to me is the most important. Ron, how much better are the brewers than the Cubs?

8:14And should that make Cubs fans feel better or worse about what just happened in that series? All right, that's a good question. They're better than everybody right now. The record proves it. They're the best team in baseball. Record wise, they just are. They are a team that believes they can win every night. They are a team that does little things right to help win every night. And when you do all those things and you play unselfishly, you know, like how many times that they look to bump in that series and they, you know, got guys in motion, they hit behind them. So they do all those little things right. Here, this would be my take on that. If you look at those games that the Cubs have played over the last seven, five of them were right down to the last few pitches of the game, that could easily flip over and go the Cubs way in October.

9:17It just could. You get a couple guys pop up instead of ground a ball through the infield. So to me, I look at it and go, that's a really tough series. The big, the big thing that Milwaukee has over the Cubs is they've got three guys coming out of their bullpen that have really locked it down here in the last couple months and they're really good. And that's the big, that's the big difference I see, but could the Cubs find a little bit of that here, you know, in the next two weeks, three weeks and then find it knocked over? Yes. And if they do, that outcome could be totally different. You're so right. In just a few weeks. There's so much variance in the postseason, especially for a team that has been so wildly streaky as the Cubs win 10 in a row, lose 10 in a row. Breggman is a night and day between the first half and the second half. And you just don't know how that could shift, which clay homes and gozman combination are we gonna get? The one that shut down Milwaukee in Chicago or the one that melted down in the last two starts

10:18because I don't know if we can tell that and I don't know if there's any predictors, who it's just baseball. It drives you crazy, but it's irresistible, right? It is, it drives me nuts. It drives you crazy. Hey, all right, almost here. Are you ready? Just grabbing my shoes. That's what you said 10 minutes ago. I just wrapped a video call, uploading this giant file on my tablet, looking at my watch group and Nana's with the group chat and of course, still lining up tonight's playlist on my phone. All at once? Yep, story of my life. That's why I switched to D-Mobile. They have the fastest 5G network. Okay, multitasker. I see you. Honestly, I never imagined I could do all this at once. It's awesome. Say no more, I'm totally switching. My post is taking way too long to upload. That's a sign you've got to get D-Mobile. So many reasons to join D-Mobile. Find yours at T-Mobile.com.

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12:19So cool. In that context, you look at the bullpen and that's been the most disappointing aspect of this CUB season, I think, especially lately. Over the next two weeks, before we get to the postseason, do you expect Edward Cabrera and or Justin Steele to play a role in the bullpen coming out in relief in the next couple of weeks? Possibly, but I don't think Steele. To me, that's asking... We've all talked about this. And you and I probably have in the booth, you know, when we're just hanging out. I think that's asking an awful lot of Justin Steele or hoping an awful lot that he can participate at the end of a season in high leverage situations after not pitching basically for two years. That's what you're asking. To me, that's miraculous. If this is anything even remotely close to that happens, now will we see him pitch?

13:21Sure, maybe. And, you know, a blowout game here or there, that's quite possible if he gets activated. But to have him in a big role, I think that would be, it would be almost a miracle after not playing for two years. Cabrera, on the other hand, now that's a different story. I think if he gets back, you're gonna look at him probably going to the pen. It'll be less wear and tear on the blister on his finger than he's had issues with, you know, where he's not throwing 85 pitches, he'll throw 25 pitches and that might be better. I also think, David, that the Cubs are probably better set to play in October than they are right now. Because if you go with a three, even a four-man rotation, that puts another guy in your bullpen that the Cubs could use right now. You're exactly right. Gowsman against the Brewers in Chicago at Riggly last Thursday night was the guy that you remembered from, oh yeah, he puts in the World Series, that's a blue jank guy.

14:21Then he did what he did the other night. I don't know if there's any way to predict what will happen next. In that way, he reminded me of what Jamison Tyron was last year. Sometimes he was really solid and sometimes he was really a liability. I don't know if he can figure it out before the playoffs, but you're right because of that possibility, you can't rule the Cubs out. Same with Clay Holmes. Clay Holmes tomorrow could shut down the pirates and last time out, he couldn't get a Marlon's out. So I don't know what to expect from those two guys. Here's what I saw from Gowsman the other day. And this can happen to any pitcher at any time. When you lose command to your fastball, you're in trouble. And not out of the zone, in the zone. When you lose command to the middle of the plate over and over, you're gonna get hit. And that's what he did. He lost command of his pitches in the middle of the plate. He hung some splits, middle of the plate, inner half to hitters, and a good swings on the ball. If he pitches like he's capable of it, he has command, which we see him do a lot.

15:22Like you spoke about two outings ago, he's very tough to hit because he does the thing of, get inside on you with the fastball, and then the split becomes very effective. And then on occasion, he'll paint fastball away, and you're just, that's so far out of your thought process as a goodter, you just end up taking it. And you end up, you know, let's strike three. So if he's on with his fastball, he's really good. No pitcher is good when they don't have command of their fastball, and that's what we saw. Ron, I know, excuse me, Craig Council said that Dan Cv Swanson could return during the Brave Series. How big of a boost could that provide, especially when you look at this team defensively? And how much has his absence sort of made us all sort of re-appreciate what he does bring to the field? Yeah. I agree with you. I think whenever you have, you know, players that are really good players, and you miss them, you miss a lot of aspects,

16:23not just the game, you know, or what he's doing on the field like. I think, you know, Ramirez has done a very good job of subbing in as a rookie, and play great baseball, he's hitting close to 300. He's done very well. But there's no mistaking the defense that the Cubs get when you put Dan's Beat short and Nico back in second base. That is as elite as it gets. And then you put Pete and center field, the Cubs are the strongest defensive team up the middle in baseball. I would put them up against anybody, and they are very, very good. So I think you definitely get a boost, and if Dan's Beat comes back, and he's swinging the bat well, or at least good, he's a real threat to go deep, and that's another thing that will add to the Cubs. But his defense is, you know, it's elite. It really is. There's just, there's some other good short stops in the league, but, you know, would you say you'd take one over Dan's Beat and defense? I don't think so. Cume, Saturday is a great matchup.

17:23Clay Holmes for the Cubs, Paul Schienz for the Pirates. It's okay to look forward to that, right? Even though you hope that it's a game that Cubs can pull out, but Schienz versus Holmes, that's an October-like matchup between two guys who were really the aces of their staffs. I think that's the fun part of our game, David. I think when we play every day, you know, like, we're gonna have a few off days here in the next two weeks. It's like we're handed gold bars, getting some off days now. But that's the great thing about baseball. Is every week, if you're a good team, and all of a sudden you're playing some other teams that have some star players, that's the great thing about our game. Is you're gonna, you know, you're gonna watch today's game if you're a fan. But yet, in a vacuum mind, you're gonna go one of the elite pitchers in baseball is pitching on Saturday, and Cubs got a really good guy throwing, too. It's gonna be a fun game to watch. That's the great thing about being a fan in baseball. As you, we day after day,

18:23there's something that, you know, some star player that's either coming in, or you're gonna see him compete against Pete. I mean, that's the first of bad in the game for the Cubs. That's gonna be a great matchup, right? I mean, we're all gonna look forward to that spot on deep spacing schemes to start the game. That's gonna be fun. Great stuff, Cubs. Enjoy the weekend. Welcome back home. I hope you enjoyed your off day. Really appreciate your joints. Thanks, Cubs. Absolutely, David Ruthie. You're up great to talk to you, Ruthie. You too, it was all nice. I'll talk to you guys. You guys have a great weekend, guys. Ron Cubs, radio analyst here at the score, all around good guy. Good stuff. And I think he'll be having one eye on the Cubs Sunday and one eye on the Bears, because he is a Bears fan. Hey, all right, almost here. Are you ready? Just grabbing my shoes. That's what you said 10 minutes ago. I just wrapped the video call, uploading this giant file on my tablet, looking at my watch group and Nana's with the group chat, and of course, still lining up tonight's playlist on my phone. All at once?

19:23Yep, story of my life. That's why I switched to D-Mobile. They have the fastest 5G network. Okay, multi-tasker. I see you. Honestly, I never imagined I could do all this at once. It's awesome. Say no more, I'm totally switching. My post is taking way too long to upload. That's a sign you've got to get D-Mobile. So many reasons to join D-Mobile. Find yours at T-Mobile.com. Fastest based on analysis by Uglospeed Test Intelligence data of national speed score results in cooperating 5G download and upload speeds for the first half of 2026. Presented by T-Mobile, the official wireless partner of Odyssey Sports. With an awesome network and great savings, there's never been a better time to join T-Mobile. Visit your neighborhood store to make the switch today. Diamond Dynasty has all new red diamond cards and World Baseball Classic content in MLB The Show 26.

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