Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Carlos Pena talks head-scratching ups and downs of Cubs' offense

Episode Date: July 6, 2026

Cubs lead, ninth inning the pitch, line drive, diving back and catched by Danesby Swanson. Sensational play. And the Cubs win the ball game. What a way to end the ball game. Well, we were asking about the catch of the game. We just got it right there. Great play by Danesby laying out to get that ball. And as we talked about it, right as we were going on in the air, you and I, the Cubs needed a win.

That they did. and Ron on the call. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104.3, the score looks a little bit better after the Cubs were able to survive St. Louis and get that win. Just one, though, out of a three-game set. So we go to our hotline, and that is where we find. Friend of the show, Carlos Pena, multi-year major league veteran. He's also an analyst for not just marquee sports, but MLB Network, gold glover, silver slugger. Carlos, thanks for joining us today. Thanks for having me, guys. truly a pleasure. Well, I kept saying placata, but we did not see enough of those. Your home run call during this past series. What did you observe out of the Cubs hitting plan?

You know, the car just came out with really good pitching. They were able to execute. And we can talk all about the fact that after that incredible road trip that the Cubs had, right, they come home and they sweep the San Diego Padres. And, you know, if you had to write it perfectly, you would say you carry that momentum into the next series. And then you may say, look, they had a day off. So maybe momentum was broken. How about just giving credit to a good ball club that came in and actually executed? You know, they got good pitching from their guys.

And that's all. You just have to chuck it up that way, put it aside, and then come back and try to get some wins. The Cubs were able to finish with a W, which was absolutely huge against the cards. Carlos, I got to ask you because you saw the offensive explosion firsthand and to see it just go dead like that. Look, I know there are ebbs and flows within a season, whether you're talking about wins and losses, whether you're talking about maybe the volatility of a bullpen situation. But does this remind you of anything that you've seen in the past from a team that had actually gone on to go to the playoffs and have success to have this many swings over the course of just over half a season? I mean, we've seen that before in baseball, right?

I mean, we talk about getting hot, getting cold, and usually that is just written off as, hey, that's the way the game of baseball goes. That is unacceptable. I got to say that, that is absolutely unacceptable. And a team that has gone pretty much all year sort of precisely like that. I mean, I was making a comment that this season has gone almost like a Broadway play where you have different types of acts. And the first act, everything was just going perfectly well for the Cubs.

They were on a record-breaking pace. And then here they hear, Lull, where things did not go according to plan for a while. That's act number two. Then you see act number three. They come back and there's this revival. They play very well on the road. They go to New York, which I don't care who you're playing against, going up against a mess and taking four over there.

in New York is absolutely huge for the confidence. And then coming back, six and one on the road trip, and then they sweep the pardis. This is act number three. Everything is okay. And now starting off, which was very interesting to see, after that incredible display of offense, right, that last game on Wednesday,

and then day off on Thursday, Friday, and now they just flipped the cards, right? The cards were flipped, and the cards score all those runs, and then the Cubs can't get their bats going. It makes you scratch your head. And you're like, what is going on? Why do we go on these EFSI flows?

Why do we get? Because EFSI flows is one thing. What the Cubs have done is a totally different thing, which is they've gone extremely hot and then gotten extremely cold. That is not sustainable. And everyone in the Cubs Clubhouse knows that. You know, you want consistency.

So that's something that they're trying to iron out. And the answer goes straight to, approach, strategy. How do we, what is our mentality for today? How are we attacking this picture today? And while I was there, they really did a good job of

getting those things in order and one through nine having good at bat. So that's what they have to get back to. Don't get too emotional with this. Because if you do, then you will be riding the way. And you do not want that. That identity, right?

That delivers because you're doing the right things without looking at the scourber. You know the scourber will take care of itself. Yeah, yeah, and I love the analogy to it being a drama play, and I have no idea what the final act is going to be. I would imagine that in that clubhouse, if those guys are being honest, it's been such a weird wild season that they, again, if being honest, they probably have no idea how it's going to end.

But I want to pick it up where you talked about individual approach, because that's what the Cubs have been having to. obsess over as far as offense is concerned. It does appear that PCA, he's good. He's good. His individual approach all of a sudden is fantastic. Dansby Swanson's individual approach has gotten way better, and I feel like it still needs to kick in consistently.

But that brings me to Alex Bregman. What about his individual approach, and do you think that his hot streak could be right around the corner? And I say this, knowing that he had a big RBI double in the first inning yesterday. Yeah, those are good signs. When we see a hitter, you know, squirb a ball up, you know that the confidence is going to immediately increase. But the idea is not to have, be dependent on, let's say, the results, even though we're all, you know, we're all human here. You know, when we have a good game, immediately our confidence goes up.

But the next question needs to be immediately, why. And then the very next one, how? because if I dominate those two, if I understand why good contact happens, and I understand how did I accomplish that good contact, then you are able to then say, how am I going to continue to repeat this? And this is the problem, because remember, I play for many years. So I've been, I've been in that baddest box, and I've been that guy that was streaky. And now after retiring and going into studying and analyzing baseball. The point is this, we cannot sit there.

I mean, you could invest like this. You know, sort of like, I'm going to invest in this product. I'm going to just let it ride throughout the year. And I know that the price of the stock is going to go up and down. And at the end, I'm going to have a good solid, I don't know, 7% return. I'm happy with that. Well, as a baseball player, you can't. Because then this.

up and down can happen where you are going to be hot for a week and then cold for two. You have to go take the battle to them. So this is about analyzing what does the pitcher do? So instead of me waiting for the pitch that I like to hit, what about that pitch? It never throws me that pitch. Then I'm not hitting that weekend? You know, that is unacceptable, right? I mean, and I know that you'll be like, oh, come on, that's obvious.

No, I have to tell you that many times as hitters, we sit in the spot that we're comfortable, and we just wait and wait until we get the pitch that we want. And sometimes you do not get it. So it's more about, okay, I have this pitcher on the mound. What does he throw? What does he like to throw? Is he pitching inside?

Is he elevating? Oh, I don't like to hit the high pitch. Sorry, buddy. Like, you, that's what's on the menu today. it's high fastball. So either you go for it or you're not eating. That's the special. You know, I'm sorry.

I know you want your ribby steak, and you know, your ribbyes, but today there is no ribbyby. Today you're going to have to, you know, you're going to have to eat some burgers and fries because that's all that there is on the menu. Hamburger helper. By the way, your analogies, Carlos, are just so good. We got a guy on the show in Marshall Harris who thinks he's got the best analogies. I'm filling every analogy he's given us right now.

You are on your game, sir. He's with him. I'm following, especially anything related to food, I'm with you 110%. You get me, right? Yes. We're getting you. Carlos joins us. Are you that guy that goes to the restaurant and tries to order off the menu?

Of course. And then the waiter is like, hey, buddy, can you order from the menu? This is what we got to me. No, no. But what you're saying, Carlos, is exactly how the Cubs and their hitting approach maybe is playing out this season is they're out here with pitches on the mount, and they're trying to order off the menu. If the pitcher's not giving you what you want to eat,

you better figure out what to do with what's in your cabinet, make something out of what's left over. And what's the market price. That's what I want to know. I want the good stuff. And it is what they were serving. Like, for example, go back to Friday's game and Palantes, 17 to one ball game.

They're hunting fastball, Carlos. And you get a fastball maybe in the first pitch of the at bat and everything else was off speeder breaking. Yeah. And mind you, we always talk about being. early enough to hit the fastball and helping you with the off speed, right? That is sort of one of those staples principles that as a hitter you have to understand. If you are worried about being laid on the fastball, the off speed is going to bite you

because you are going to be on rush mode and you are going to be panicking. And as soon as something looks like the fastball, you will chase the off speed on the dirt. Fine. But if you're not going to see any fastballs in the zone, I'm okay because I've also understood that, then you have to sit off speed. Because this guy is going to give it to you. You just sit off speed.

If you have to sit slider, sit slider all day long until you get it. Because you know you will. You're not guessing. And you're not going, you're certainly not going up the menu. You know they have that in the menu. So you will be able to get your slider. It's all matter of getting in the strike zone, get it a little high enough, and then you go after being on time for it.

So you're absolutely right. Palanta did a great job of that. You know, here, I'm going to show you this, but then you'll never see it again. Yeah. And now if you are just on the fastball, the off speed is going to get you. You know, one thing that's worth pointing out is that sometimes we think about off speed sliders and we say, wow, that slider moved a lot or the sweeper was going right to left, you know, violently.

And that's why we as hitters miss it. In reality, the reason why we miss those off-speed pitches, number one reason is because they look like fastballs, but they're not. So we swing at those knowing or thinking that it is a fastball, and it's not a fastball. So deception is the number one reason why we swing and miss and look bad on off-speed pitches.

So sitting on them solves that problem, but you've got to have the data. And certainly, you know, you saw that that's precisely what the plan was against the Cubs on Friday. Well, Carlos, I think it might have been multiple days. I feel like that was a pitching staff plan. Like when you look at the pitch selection day by day out of the starters, it was a fastball to open, but then you got very few in the at-bat.

There were a couple times where hitters saw maybe two fastballs in the at-bat. But they had to really hunt for those because otherwise it was going to be off-speed after that fastball establisher. Did you just say hunt? Yes. Wow. That's a great word for him. I probably got it from you because we work together in Houston and at MLB. I'm going to give you credit for that.

Good. I feel, you know what? It permeates into the industry. That's the idea. That is the right word. And that's the right mentality. Right. When you sit there and you hunt pitches, now you're intentional about it. You are not going out there reacting, which is, which is, I know that when we go through the ranks, right, college baseball, little league, you know. you're talking to young hitters, you tell, you know, the very easy one-liner is don't think so much. Sit fastball, you know, look for your fastball, and then react to everything else. Sounds great, but you also have to, you know, that has to come with a caveat or the disclaimer. Like, if you do this, these are your weaknesses.

This is what you will be susceptible to. If there's a pitcher there that's very deceptive, you are going to chase some off-speed pitches. you know, if you are really hunting for the fastball. And that could be okay. You'd be like, you know what? I understand. I'm going for it. When I get my fastball, I hit a line or so more.

And if it's an off speed, then I battle. Then I react. Then I try to lay off of it or react to it by adjusting to it. But hunting a pitch is totally different. Now instead of being reactive, you're being proactive. You're taking action. That's the mentality of a hitter. I know what I'm looking for.

I know the location that I'm hunting. And I know which pitches I may be susceptible to. And I'm okay with that. I'll risk that. I'll take that risk. But when I get my pitch, because I know it's on the menu, I'm going to make sure I have a nice meal. We are talking to Carlos Pena here on Rahimi Harrison Grody,

a 14-year Major League Baseball veteran, of course, an All-Star First Baseman. He does analyst work for both Marquis Sports Network and MLB Network. And because you got a big bag of tricks that you carry with you everywhere, I got to ask you about this All-Star game and the selection process. I think it needs an overhaul process. You see a lot of Blue Jays out there. The Cubs have one player. The White Sox only have one player.

Do you think it's time for us to revamp how we select All-Stars? We need to tear it down and build it back up. That's what I believe. I mean, there's no way that when you look at PCA, and he's nowhere near the top, on voting, you know, voting. And he is, arguably, the best player in all of baseball, because it's so crazy to me how, you know, you have analysts that they praise war.

Like, oh, wow, war is everything. You know, you're a super analyst, you're a sycametrician, and war matters to you. And then all of a sudden it doesn't, you know, and I know that the civil nutrition is another one's voting. Those are the guys that will probably vote for PCA because they realize how much value he brings to the table in all aspects of the game. but you know fans sometimes talk about that as being the you know they have septed war as being the sign of a great player but then when it times a vote they are not showing up and voting for a guy like

PCA to me it's absolutely broken it's not even fair so the best players are the ones that are supposed to go to the also game not the most popular ones at the end of the day it's not about having the best social media team that that's the those are the guys that go to the All-Star game. That is absolutely bogus to me. It needs to be who the best player at their position is. And that may be just the computer choosing. I'm fine with that. Whoever is the best player needs to start, period. Personally, I have beef with that because they did it to me in my career. And nowadays, we didn't have the technology, or let's say, it wasn't as rampant As it is right now, we're talking about war.

We're talking about, you know, all the saber metrics, you know. But so I do have a personal wound, you know, that I feel like I got snobbed, you know, a couple times. So it's very important to be fair to the players. And let me tell you, I don't care what no one says. Because about this. Hey, man, it doesn't really matter. It's just kind of like an honorary thing.

I'm saying you understand that there may be a player that never gets to say, I'm an all-star or I was an all-star. Because once you're an all-star, you can say for the rest of your life, all-star Carlos Pena. Yeah. Even if it's just one all-star mean. Yeah.

Right. Or 10. You know, when you have 10, you can say 10-time All-Star. Right. But you can say All-Star for the rest of your life, even to your grandkids. Do you don't think that matters to a ball player?

Of course it does. Well, think about that also from the perspective of a contract. Like, come on, you know, agents and teams now understand. that that doesn't really matter for negotiations. Okay, can you look up in the dictionary or an encyclopedia or in Google nowadays? What cognitive bias means? You know, get, you know, there is, we're human. There is cognitive bias.

I can take that to the negotiation and say, I am an all-star. Okay, I was an all-star last year. All right. So my worth needs to be this. You know, it could be used as a bargaining chip. And yet you're taking that away from a player just because he didn't have a good social media account. or, you know, you didn't have that many followers in Instagram. That is wrong.

Because it literally means money, right? I mean, that's what. It really does. That's why there's no real pushback. Yeah. I want to say this about the industry. I understand that you want the most popular players present during the Bidsummer Classic. I get it because this is a business.

Major League is a business. You want fans to tune in. You want TV deals. You want to make sure that you have the right partnerships in place, commercial partnerships in place, because it brings revenue to MLB, right? That is very important. However, there needs to be a better way because some of these players, oh, this is a young player. No one knows him. And he comes from a market that no one knows about, you know.

So what? You are snubbing a guy that deserves to be an all-star. So that needs to be changing. even if the first guys, the ones that start, they're not fan vote. The fan vote, if you won the fan vote, it needs to be maybe a third tier type of voting where you come and you come off the bench.

Yeah. The fans can vote for them, but the starters need to be selected. You know, there needs to be justice as far as that's concerned. Carlos, this has been a wonderful conversation. It always is. We thank you so much for taking the time. Thanks, Carlos.

Thank you for having me, guys. enjoy whatever. We'll close to the next time. Yes, sir. And when you go to the restaurant, get whatever you want, okay? Don't let anybody tell you what to do. Order off the menu, Carlos. No, no, market, be like our producer, Ray Diaz.

Talk to Ray, our producer. He goes market price. Whenever we travel with him, he's a market price guy. It's all about the secret menu. Treat every option as if you're at the N&L Burger. That's what I said. I'm not letting anybody tell Carlos what to order. Thank you, as always, Carlos.

This has been a great. Thank you for having me. Thanks, man. That is Carlos Pena. If you want more of his work, you can check it out. of course on MLB Network, Markey Sports. He is at Pena Carlos 23 on X. And keep listening to this show for your chance to win two tickets to the Blue Cross

Shield performance stage on Tuesday, August 4th, when Ian Hap joins us, Rahimi Harrison Grody for a live chalk talk during the 12 p.m. hour with lunch provided by wildfire. Wow, it's almost like that promo wrote itself after that segment. We get to talk about hitting and more and have lunch. I'm hungry now. Thanks. Thanks, Lila. Me too. There's a story that has been ongoing. When we say developing a story that we continue to track, sometimes it's not always that developing. This is not one of those stories. We're getting news within the hour regarding what's going to happen tonight. Flo Balligan, the star of Team USA. Originally get the red card. He was suspended for the next game as the procedure typically goes. Developments last night that he is now allowed to play, but there's more appeals as we understand going on. The president has spoken. talking about this, so we'll bring you the latest and just have the conversation. Should he be playing

tonight? Let's discuss next.