Pointless Exercise - A Desipio Podcast

Thirty-ish games into the season David Brown is here to talk about how things are going in baseball. Ted Turner's dead, the Reds' record makes no sense, the Cardinals are pretending to be good (they're not), the Giants are terrible, and nobody can beat the Cubs at Wrigley. The guys discuss Jason Benetti's rain delay variety show, just how bad the City Connects in Kansas City and Milwaukee are, and much, much more.

The Cubs got bad news on Justin Steele's rehab, and their relief pitching is so decimated that they have a Yacksel in the bullpen these days. But there's nothing wrong with the team that a heaping dose of Moises Ballesteros can't fix. Oleg and Praz are here to talk Cubs and MLB managerial changes, and the White Sox's Japanese version of Rob Deer, and other important stuff like Eddie Milner breaking up no hitters, and why Chan Ho Park was left in to give up two grand slams in one inning to Fernando Tatis Sr. 27 years ago. All that, and more.

It's a Recrap of sorts, as the Bears drafting a white defensive back necessitated an emergency podcast to break down the Dillon Thieneman pick. Let's go through The Beast to get a better idea of what the Bears are getting, even if some of it is kind of weird, overly personal, not important minutia. Plus, the Cubs have won nine in a row and they brought back another former Cubs great in a trade! And finally, some quick thoughts on the companion podcast to "The Immortals" that Rossy and Rizzo are doing. All that, and more.

Matt Shaw has proven unable to play any of the new positions the Cubs seem to want to make him play, so Oleg and Praz join the pod to come up with some options for him. They also solve the mystery of Steak DeBurgo, eventually find one really good comp for Cade Horton's recovery from a double dose of Tommy John Disease, figure out the real story of Ethan Roberts' "air vent" injury, we even find out here Brewers' pitcher Quinn Priester went shopping for his current injury. And, we do Jed's job and figure out how he should be shaping his roster. All this, and more.

The Cubs are off to an uneven start, could it be because all their guys are batting in the wrong spots? Apparently, there's no way to tell. Oleg and Praz join me to talk about the start to the season, the Cubs newly extended contracts and what comes next. They talk about how the lineup will change when Seiya comes back. Why Miguel Amaya should play more than carson Kelly. Andy's early take on the Anthony Rizzo - David Ross podcast, and more.

The Recrap is back, this time breaking down the Cubs opening day loss to the vaunted Nationals, and Sam Fels is back! We talk about the Cubs' weird batting order, another season of pretending that Ian Happ deserves to try hitting third, and ponder where Matt Boyd really slots into the rotation. In the middle of the pod, the Cubs break news with a six-year extension for Nico Hoerner.

The gang's all here as David Brown, Mike Donohue, Oleg and Praz join the podcast to preview the 2026 MLB season. We pick the playoff teams, tell you who is going to win the pennants and the World Series, and who is going to win all of the major awards. And because it's us, you know it's all going to come true. Except for all the stuff Andy said about the Mets.

The guys talk all things World Baseball Classic on the Cubs podcast this week, including why Petecrow deserved more fun teammates, why the biggest redasses on a team full of them might have been the USA coaching staff, and how awesome Daniel Palencia was in the entire tournament. They also discuss such pertinent topics as Seiya Suzuki's knee injury, great personal moments in orthodonture and little league (really), and how much the Cubs best hitter might find himself in the squat this year. They chat about how the ABS system might impact the value of pitch framing, how many scrub outfielders will make the opening day roster if Seiya goes on the injured list. They also are encouraged by Shōta's final spring start and figure out how the rotation will line up the start the season. All that, and more.

The Americans survived a World Baseball Classic indignity, and David Brown is here to discuss what Mark DeRosa didn't know and when he didn't know it, why every other team seems to have more fun than the US does, why the tournament is getting better and more fun, but Fox does their best to hide it. Plus, what goes into determining when the best time to call up rookies, what happened to Adley Rutschman. Why Randy Arozarena is right to be made at Big Dumper. Matt Shaw getting a crash course at first base after a crash course in the outfield. What goes into determining final cuts for every team, and more.

The Cubs pod with Oleg and Praz returns with a discussion of just what Michael Conforto says he does around here, discussion of the one or two spots on the roster that the Cubs have open. Then they take a look at all of the former Cubs bums on the Angels non roster invite list just for fun. But the bulk of the episode is a breezy look at the rosters for all of the teams in the World Baseball Classic. The funny names, a lot of "holy crap, remember this guy" and a look at some of the genuinely great players in this tournament, they break the Javy Baez news to Oleg, and project the semi-finalists. All that, and more.

We left Andy alone in the podcast studio and he apparently has some thoughts, and he's going to make sure you get to hear them whether you want to or not. After giving a local radio host some begrudging credit on another pod, that guy proved unworthy with a panicked take on Petecrow, so now he must be mocked. A Cub pulled off a great scam by forcing the team to pay him while he recovers from a knee surgery they also have to pay for. And how can the Cubs of all teams not have enough guys who lean, or at least hit from, the right? Plus, a look at how easily duped some Bears reporters were by a bunch of hayseed politicians, and how the Bears might be able to trade DJ Moore but the odds of it actually benefitting the team are pretty slim. All that, and more.

The MLBPA lost a really dumb president for a really dumb reason, it seems only fitting that Matt Shaw is practicing in right field, the Cubs could use a real bench bat still and the Cubs are obsessed with Alex Bregman's intangibles. Oleg and Praz are on hand to talk it all over, as well as the Cubs newest bad promotional campaign, some great and some really odd ballpark giveaways. They give former Cubs great Ron Mahay some love, and say goodbye to Robert Duvall, uncover a secret baseball movie and Oleg and Andy bore Praz at the end with F1 talk.

For a team that is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year the Cubs haven't had that many regular first basemen in their history, and that's a very good thing. First base has been manned mostly by real Hall of Famers or Utility Tunnel of Famers for much of the team's existence. Andy and Mike D. are here to break them all down from Cap Anson to Frank Chance to Jolly Cholly Grimm to modern day heroes like Mark Grace, Derrek Lee, Anthony Rizzo and Frank Schwindel. Oh, don't worry, there are some bums to make fun of, too.

Oleg and Praz are here to discuss how good the current Cubs really are, and then get into a long discussion about their favorite Cubs. Derrek Lee was on MLB Network's morning show last week to list his favorites, and he did such a terrible job that the guys are here to set things straight.

The Cubs have done nice work since our last podcast, adding Edward Cabrera and Alex Bregman, but Oleg and Praz are here to discuss what else the Cubs should do. Praz has some first-hand accounts from Cubs Convention. Tyler Austin might not want to rent a place in town just yet. Kyle Tucker is a Dodger and owners are so upset they're going to demand a salary cap...for the 32nd year in a row. The Cubs had a 2016 reunion and have more plans to honor them during the season, and it could get weird. There are new Utility Tunnel of Famers. Marquee's cutting back on spring broadcasts to be cheap, and even more.

The Bears mounted another crazy comeback, highlighted by the most ridiculous Caleb pass of a season full of them, but they lost in OT to the Rams 20-17. Oleg joins Andy on the podcast to sift through the aftermath of the game and the season and look forward to a Bears future is actually really bright. They somehow get sidetracked into also talking about Timothy Busfield, The Andy Griffith Show, an Aunt Bea-Opie love grandchild, the Cubs Convention and much more.

The Cubs did stuff and picked an obvious, but rare for them, direction by trading an overrated prospect for an upside starting pitcher and then spent some of their "wheelbarrows of cash" on a real hitter. David Brown is here to discuss what the Cubs do with Nico Hoerner and Matt Shaw, where Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger and Boba Chette end up. How the Red Sox completely bungled the Bregman-Rafael Devers thing to an epic proportion (even for them). Scott Boras does not seem like a guy you want doing any electrical work on your home. And Dave reveals and explains his real-life MLB Hall of Fame ballot. And more.

What just happened? Oleg and Andy do a live pod in the afterglow of the most ridiculous Bears win in a season of them. They shocked the Packers with 25 fourth quarter points to complete an epic comeback and move on. Caleb Williams went into hero mode in the fourth quarter, the Bears defense finally showed up and it was chaotic and confusing and just the greatest thing ever. And...the Cubs signed Alex Bregman! We discuss it all and struggle to remember what happened when. What a night.

Oleg and Praz are here to predict where the remaining top free agents are likely headed (don't worry Jed, we only gave you one), and we play a fun game of "Is this a real Cubs Convention session?" We talk about the 2016 Cubs reunion, the boring podcast hosted at the convention (not this one), and we get really excited when we figure out who the two most likely new inductees into the Cubs' Utility Tunnel of Fame are until we realize who the second one most likely is. All that, plus NBC's hiring announcers for its baseball coverage.

The Bears often don't start well, but they rarely finish poorly, and in the final regular season game of they year they nearly got their act together at the perfect time. In the end, the walk-off loss to the Lions means nothing, except that the team they play next week isn't even as good as Detroit. The RECRAP brought to you by Victor Auto Wreckers, Andy's books on the Cubs, and the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular, delves into Caleb's meaningless pursuit of 4,000 yards, the reason the defense plays the way it does, three smart things that Tom Brady said, the last time the Bears won a playoff game against a winning team, the Sun-Times' nonsensical profile of Jeff Joniak, why Pro Football Focus sucks, Andy's new Chuggo podcast idea and much, much more.

Brought to you by a very reputable lawyer, my books and the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular, it's another exciting episode of the RECRAP. The Bears lost a thriller to the 49ers when they ran out of time on the final drive (which honestly, happens in every game to somebody). The offense was great and fun, the defense was bad and frustrating. Brock Purdy's a prick, Christian McCaffrey's hurt again, and I just hope Luther Burden's OK. Plus, there's a great idea for a reality show where George McCaskey picks one lucky Bear to drive to road games in his Camry. All that, and more.

The Cubs are building their new bullpen out of hunks of the old Rangers' one, probably because the Rangers' was better than theirs last year. Oleg and Praz are here to talk about it, and to hear and old friend recount the last seconds of the Bears' OT win over the Packers, just for the hell of it. The guys discuss the Cubs bullpen strategy, try to figure out where the offense is going to come from and how badly Kyle Tucker's market would have to collapse for Jed to give him a call. They also talk starting pitching, Mugs Halas' exhumation and autopsy (seriously), why Chicago fans reflexively focus on how things could go wrong, and more.

I was so excited about the coolest ending to a Bears-Packers game ever, that I went live with the RECRAP. But I was smart enough to also record it for posterity. It's brought to you by the two greatest advertisers we've ever had, and my books. The Bears turned what looked like yet another frustrating loss to the Packers into something incredibly cool, incredibly fun and fairly unbelievable. You'll hear about the great Jahdae Walker, how Cairo Santos saved the day, DJ Moore being a badass and Caleb uncorking a throw for all time. All that, and more. Enjoy this one. It's impossible not to.

The RECRAP of the Bears' 10th win of the season, 31-3 over the Browns, is brought to you by Miller Lite, Dick Butkus' horoscope, the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular, Cairo Santos wearing a stocking cap under his helmet, and the books "The Immortals" and "Great Until It Wasn't" available now on Amazon. On a very cold day, the Bears had no problem kicking the Browns' asses all over Soldier(s) Field. It sets up the big rematch Saturday night against the Packers, but we take some time to enjoy a big day from DJ Moore, D'Andre Swift, the Bears' defense and a throw from Caleb that only Caleb could make.

The Cubs are busy finishing second on all of the players they want us to think they're after. Sure they are. Oleg and Praz are here to discuss Matt Shaw's future, Moises Ballesteros as the full time DH, whether Alex Bregman makes sense, what kind of pitchers the Cubs should target for the rotation and bullpen, and how the Cubs could finally give their manager a useful bench.

Do a lot of things really happen every year at baseball's winter meetings or do we just think it because we remember anything that happens in the weeks that follow as happening at the meetings? David Brown is here to talk about that, plus Kyle Schwarber, Zac Gallen, Cody Bellinger, Edward Cabrera, Bo Bichette and more. The guys incorrectly predict where Pete Alonso would sign, they propose an alternate spelling for MacKenzie Gore, make fun of all the Roch's in baseball these days, and Dave is not swayed by Andy's new pinch runner rule. All that, and more.

The RECRAP of the Bears loss to the Packers is brought to you by Walter Payton's bus pass, the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular and my books, "The Immortals" and "Great Until It Wasn't" available on paperback, hardcover and Kindle. The first half of the game looked like the same old shit, but the second half did not. The Bears fell just short, but for most of the final 30 minutes they beat the shit out of the Packers. Green Bay can act like nothing's changed, but they know what's coming.

Everybody said the Bears hadn't beaten anybody, and apparently, they took that personally, so when they went to Philadelphia to play the "somebodies" who just happen to be the defending Super Bowl champions, the Bears beat the shit out of them. The RECRAP of the Bears 24-15 pounding of the Eagles is brought to you by Buick of Chicagoland, the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular and the brand new books "The Immortals" and "Great Until It Wasn't." The Bears ran the ball all over the Eagles for three hours and it was glorious. And the much maligned defense, reinforced by the returns of Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon didn't let the Eagles do much of anything. It was a sight to behold. Let's bask in the memory.

Jed's back to rebuilding his bullpen and his first spare part is actually more accomplished than the guys he normally drags off the scrap heap. Praz and Oleg drop by to talk about the bullpen, about the Cardinals trade of Sonny Gray and whether they'll also try to move Willson Contreras. The guys find an interesting new home for Pete Alonso and think the Marlins being pressured to add payroll would make a Sandy Alcantara trade easier for them, not harder. They also try to guess which Cub will settle for one of Jed's extensions. And they come up with a ridiculous new pinch runner rule. All that, and more.

The RECRAP of the Bears gritty 31-28 win over the Steelers is brought to you by Mr. Submarine (twice), the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular and the brand new books "The Immortals" and "Great Until It Wasn't." The Bears played a game without any of their starting linebackers and quickly were down to none of their projected starting cornerbacks, and somehow they did more than enough to beat Pissburgh. DJ Moore had a big game, Caleb Williams threw three touchdown passes and the Bears head to their Black Friday game with Philly alone in first place in the NFC North. What a world.

The Bears apparently think they need to let other teams get a fourth quarter lead before they can actually come back and win it, but for now, who cares? It's working. The RECRAP of the Bears' 19-17 walkoff win over the Vikings is brought to you by Mr. Submarine, the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular and the award-winning, best selling book on the 2016 Cubs titled "The Immortals." Ben Johnson's doing a great job, but he nearly got a little too geniusy late in the game. Cairo Santos is the most accurate kicker in Bears' history but even he misses once and a while. And the Bears' defense isn't good, but it is opportunistic, but trying to hang it on them to close it out is unwise. What is that shit on JJ McCarthy's face. Why does he remind us of Tom Brady cloning his dog, and much more.

The offseason is underway. Shōta might be on the way out, the Cubs are being connected to free agents the aren't likely to actually try to sign, and Oleg and Praz are here to talk about what Jed's plan is, and why that plan sucks. And, Praz wants to make the case that it's the Brewers now, not the Cardinals who are the Cubs' biggest rivals. As you can imagine, we have some thoughts. All that, and more.

For more than three quarters the Bears looked incapable of beating a pretty lousy Giants team, but when the Giants eschewed two chances to try to make it a 14 point game Caleb Williams decided he'd seen enough of this shit. It's the RECRAP brought to you by a Marc Trestman reference from "30 Rock", the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular and my new book, "The Immortals" which goes on sale Friday, November 14. Come for a breakdown of why what Daboll did should have worked, stay for my Ray Ray McCloud III breakdown. But if Olamide Zaccheus asks to borrow your phone to listen, don't throw it to him. He'll drop it.

The Bears offense was great, especially in the second half, and the defense was so bad that Chauncey CJ Gardner-Johnson has become a big part of trying to make it work, but in the end of a crazy game that felt like a gut punch loss, the Bears made the last big play and won it by the very un-Bears like score of 47-42. Colston Loveland had a huge day and the game winning play, Kyle Monangai ran wild in his first chance to be the lead back, and for all of Adam Archuleta's bitching, Caleb Williams had a game unlike any NFL player, ever. The RECRAP, brought to you by Todd Green Toyota of Springfield, and the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular breaks it all down.

Things are getting World Seri-ous (clever), and David Brown is back to talk about it. But we also get into some really important stuff, like how to fix the now passive four finger intentional walk into something fun and exciting! Does anybody need that? Of course not, but it'll be fun. Does Dave Roberts know what he's doing? Why are the Blue Jays pinch runners all so slow? How tired did Shohei really get from getting walked nine times in game three and how did it affect his pitching? When will he pitch again? So many questions. Better listen for the answers.

Are the Cubs the best run professional franchise in town? Oleg and Praz are here to discuss that, and what the Cubs offseason look realistically is. Will they go after Dylan Cease or somebody better? What happens to Kyle Tucker's market if the Dodgers don't swoop in with a luxurious basket of deferred cash? If the Cubs DFA'd Ian Happ would any team take his contract? Why wouldn't the Cubs pick up Shōta's option? And why don't the Cubs do a better job of honoring players who played for them before 1969? All that, and more.

The Bears four game losing streak is over, and it's not completely due to their mysterious clock management, but it's not NOT completely due to that. Today's RECRAP is brought to you by Mr. Submarine and the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular. The defense is running out of players, the offense forgot to run the ball for a very long time and the Bears are really, really good at self sabotage. But how are you supposed to beat a team QB'd by the grandson and son of Cubs' all-time greats?

The World Series looms, so David Brown returns for a second straight week to talk about the great ALCS, Shohei doing crazy things in the NLCS and whether or not John Smoltz has always sucked this much. Andy brags about nailing his managerial opening predictions of Albert Pujols to the Angels and Nick Hundley to the Giants, and then the guys talk about the people who actually did get those jobs, including the fascinating Giants hire of college coach Tony Vitello (which became official right after they stopped recording, of course). They also talk about Dave Roberts' comments about the Dodgers continuing to ruin baseball, and who actually is ruining it. All that, and more.

The Bears ran the ball well and kept taking it away from the Saints to win their fourth in a row. They also ran some innovative center-QB exchanges which reminded the RECRAP of an old high school trick play. The RECRAP is brought to you by 1-800-Collect and the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular.

One LCS is in full swing and the other is headed for a crashing halt, so it's time for David Brown to stop by and talk some baseball. Where is the supposed spunky Brewers' offense, how did the Cubs blow it, are the Dodgers inevitable, and how evenly matched are the Jays and Mariners? We also discuss which of the free agent Kyles will be more in demand, try to break down all of the options in the Shōta decision, discuss David Ross' managerial prospects and much more.

The Bears made some key mistakes, the refs made a few more, but in the end Jayden Daniels just decided the ball wasn't worth hanging onto and the Bears capitalized with a game winning drive that was capped off by a kicker who looks an awful lot like Cubs' backup catcher Reese McGuire. The Bears ran the ball and mostly stopped the run and gutted out what ended up being a really fun, satisfying win in a place they were humiliated last year. The RECRAP is brought to you by New Coke and the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular.

A Cubs' season that started with such promise but basically flamed out at the All-Star Break met its ultimate demise at the hands of the Brewers in the first real round of the playoffs? Oleg and Praz are here for a supersized edition of the RECRAP brought to you by R. Bernard Funeral Services and the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular. We look back a frustrating game five, say goodbye to one outfielder and wish we could say goodbye to another, and we keep saying we aren't going to talk about the offseason, and then talk about the offseason.

The Cubs are back up off the mat and have forced a game five in the NLDS. Oleg and Praz are on hand to talk about Ian Happ, who apparently did something, Matt Boyd and the boys who showed a lot of spunk in giving Milwaukee a chance for an epic playoff choke. It's the RECRAP brought to you by Empire Carpet and the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular.

The Cubs staved off elimination and broke a historic streak of postseason run scoring futility (though they may have immediately started a new one) with a 4-3 win over the Brewers in game three of the 2025 NLDS. Oleg and Praz are on the scene to talk about the game, look forward to game four and if you didn' t get overly excited about the win, they have decided you will if they win again in game four.

The Cubs jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead on the Brewers and spent the rest of the game in the fetal position waiting for Milwaukee to stop kicking them. Andy and Oleg handle the postgame duties and try to imagine a scenario where the Cubs finally start putting up a fight.

Sponsored by Murph's Union 76 and the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular, the RECAP tackles the Cubs wet turd of a performance in Milwaukee to open the NLDS. But, just like you'd do with a real one, you just flush it and move on. Oleg and Praz are here to wonder why the Cubs started Matt Boyd on short rest, instead of saving him for game two on extra rest which would also have allowed them to pitch Shōta with an extra day in game three. Hey, at the least the game was lopsided enough for Ian Happ to actually homer.

The podcast gets off to the same kind of shaky start that Brad Keller had in the ninth, but both ended strong with the Cubs finally winning an elimination game against the San Diego Padres. Join Andy, Oleg and Praz as they break down the game and series winner, on the RECRAP brought to you buy Binny's in 2016 somehow, and of course, the Pat Benkowski Sports Spectacular.

The Cubs became the first time in Wild Card round history to win the first game of a series at home and not sweep by winning the second. Well, at least no team that won the first game has ever lost the series. Yet. Gulp. Oleg and Praz are here to handle a very special RECRAP postgame.

The Cubs did a lot of unique things in game one of their Wild Card series with the Padres. They won for the first time in the postseason in eight years, they scored a run for the first time in 18 postseason innings, and they scored more than one run in an inning for the first time in 55 playoff innings. Oleg and I hopped on to do a instant reaction RECRAP podcast and somebody joined us from right in front of Wrigley Field. No, not a pantless bear. Well, not that we know of.

The Cubs and Padres have met in the playoffs before, and while Mike and Andy covered it in their epic three hour Remember This Crap on the 1984 Cubs, how about a chance to prep for this year's matchup by listening to just the portion about the NLCS? And if you haven't heard the full version, pack a lunch and check it out sometime.