Brett and Michael are back for the sixty-seventh episode of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast (Presented by Ankin Law)! And after weeks of frustration, the mood is noticeably better. The Cubs have won back-to-back series and five of their last seven games, creating at least some optimism that the worst stretch of the season may finally be behind them.

The offense remains a fascinating discussion point. The Cubs' struggles with runners in scoring position haven't disappeared, but the guys dig into why the issue feels so pronounced. The Cubs have actually done a great job creating offensive opportunities, which has only magnified their inability to cash them in consistently.

They also discuss why the trade deadline outlook remains complicated. If the Cubs want to address the offense, where exactly would a new bat play? Pitching, on the other hand, feels like a much cleaner problem to solve, making rotation help a natural focus as the deadline approaches.

Elsewhere, the guys examine encouraging signs from Matt Shaw, whose increased bat speed and improved play since returning may point to some early-season circumstances that held him back. They also discuss Craig Counsell's handling of Ben Brown, the importance of protecting an injury-thinned rotation, and where Moisés Ballesteros fits into the Cubs' plans moving forward.

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Brett and Michael are back for the sixty-sixth episode of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast (Presented by Ankin Law)! And, frankly, they're not happy.

The Cubs are on the verge of being swept by the Rockies and have now gone 10 straight series without a series win, a stunning stretch for a team that once looked like one of the best clubs in baseball. The guys discuss how quickly things have unraveled, why the current version of the Cubs feels stuck in neutral, and what has to change before this season slips away completely.

With the trade deadline approaching, the conversation naturally shifts toward the front office. If this skid continues, what kind of decisions will the Cubs have to make? Are they still buyers? Could they pivot into something more complicated? And if the organization decides bigger changes are necessary, which players could become trade candidates and what sort of return might be available?

It's a frustrated but honest discussion about where the Cubs stand, how they got here, and what the next few weeks could mean for the direction of the season.

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Brett and Michael are back for the sixty-fifth episode of the Bleacher Nation Cubs Podcast (Presented by Ankin Law)! The season is far from over, but there’s no denying the trend line has been pointing in the wrong direction lately. It’s now been a full month since the Cubs last won a series, and the guys discuss how a team that once looked like one of baseball’s best has found itself stuck in neutral.

With 62 games in the books and 100 still to play, there’s plenty of time to turn things around. But the early success created enormous expectations, making this extended stretch of mediocrity all the more frustrating. Brett and Michael explore whether the Cubs have lost something that once made them dangerous—and whether the team currently has a clear identity at all.

They also discuss the repeated failures in key offensive moments. Time and again, the Cubs have found themselves with runners in scoring position late in games, only to come up empty. Those missed opportunities have become a defining theme of the past month.

The conversation eventually gets philosophical, touching on concepts like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs as a way to think about team building, confidence, and performance. What are the foundational elements this team is missing right now, and how do they get back to playing winning baseball?

And then there’s Seiya Suzuki, who is enduring the deepest slump of his Cubs career. Despite remaining in the heart of the lineup, the results simply haven't been there. The guys discuss whether Suzuki's struggles are purely a slump, part of a larger offensive issue, or potentially indicative of broader age-related decline among several key Cubs hitters.

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