Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Cubs enter 2026 looking more 'big market' than they have in years (Hour 1)

Episode Date: March 26, 2026

Live from Slugger's, Leila Rahimi, Marshall Harris and Mark Grote opened their show by discussing how the Cubs enter 2026 looking more like a big-market team than they have in years. After that, they detailed how the depth of the Cubs' pitching staff is going to pay big dividends this season. Later, Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney joined the show to discuss the team's outlook and what's new at Wrigley Field this season.

The views and opinions of Laila Rahimi, Marshall Harris, and Mark Grotty should not be taken too seriously. Especially when they give advice. Do not take Marshall's analogies, literally. Especially when it comes to Russell Dorsey. The sports thoughts of Rahimi Harrison Grotie may change at any time. It's just sports. Gay, thanks. Bye.

Rahimi Harrison Grody, 10 to 2 on 1043, the score. Peacrow Armstrong reportedly six years, $115 million extension. this is significant for many reasons. It's not just the deal. It's not just necessarily the money itself. That kind of tells you where he is among his peers. But it's also the commitment the Cubs are making to him, trying to show him this is something that we wanted to do with you.

It's a commitment. George, first let me just say that I've never been with a guy who's so committed to commit. Not just a commitment for the Cubs, but a commitment for Pete Coral Armstrong that gets him, First of all, that first 100 million, as a guy who has already become a star at the major league level, we saw in the All-Star game, we saw what he did in the first half of last season. I've been saying, hey, Cubs, don't miss your window to get somewhat of a deal done with Pete Crow Armstrong. Sales is not hard.

Here's what I do. I make my pitch. Then I stare. Want me to stop? Buy something. That brings up the question appropriately. Who is next? and I am looking at you, Nico Horner.

If you recall, Marshall, I was pretty angry at the idea of trading Nico a while back for this reason. We know baseball teams are built when they're good defensively to be strong up the middle defensively. He is part of that. Give that man a nice three, four-year extension, pay him what he's worth, and to your point, Leila, they really do have Nico Horner at home. But will they let him out the house? No, no, no. I kidnapped a kid. You had to.

What other choice did you have? I could have pay for the pizza. No. Yeah. Happy baseball season. Lela Rahimi, Marshall Harris, Mark Grody,

midday's 10 a.m. to 2 on Chicago Sports Radio 104. 1.4.3. The score. We are already away. We are already clapping. We have a bar full of about, I'd say a few hundred,

People already. I've seen friends. I see people I recognize from the ballpark. We got championship belts and we are live. It is opening day. We have made it. Rahimi Harrison Grotie coming to you live today from Sluggers in Wrigleyville for our ultimate home opener broadcast. A friendly reminder that our friend Zach Zadman will be here for the official pregame show coming up at 1245. It is all brought to you by our friends with circus sports. sports betting the way it should be with no bet fees live in FM quality for the regular season. You know, I want to rewind, guys. I want to take us back to previously on Rahimi Harrison Grody. When our home was outside at Gallagher way, the sun was shining, the Brewers and the Cubs were locked in a divisional series,

and it ended differently than how we wanted it to. So now that PCA is locked down, now that we are putting the violence, out there for Nico. The Cubs are beginning a new season. And after a spring training that showed a lot of promise for some young guys, is this year going to be different from last year? And if so, how? You know what's funny about that is when you do the flashback to the last time we were talking about the Cubs here in Wrigleyville, it was about who's going to pitch because they don't have enough pitching, because all the pitching is either hurt, worn down, tired, out. I think the number one reason why this team will be better than last year's team is because they have a

better handle on their starting pitching situation. And that goes from Kate Horton, who of course missed the postseason last year and was not available in the moment in which they needed them most, but also the fact that Chaudeminaaga looks to be better than what we saw last time. They went out and got Edward Cabrera. Justin Steele is on the men and is expected to be back here in the first half of the season. You add all that up, Leila, and understand that there are other guys that they have now at AAA who can come help, the Javier sides of the world, Colin Ray is still here. I feel much better about their pitching situation to start this season than I certainly did at the end of last season. Right. When they ran out of gas and it's something that Jed Hoyer admitted that happened to this team for sure,

I think that another part of it and everything spot on is that the Cubs should be, will be properly motivated this year. They won a playoff series last year, which was good, but it wasn't good in the game. enough because you lost to the Milwaukee Brewers. Part of why the Cubs will also be properly motivated, you have three guys who are going to be playing for contracts next year, whether with the Cubs or somewhere else. Ian Hap, Nico Horner, Sayah Suzuki, all three of those guys. And let's face it, usually for whatever reason, whether it is outward or inward, in those scenarios, those players put up good numbers. And I don't know who is going to be back next year, but I think that's a big deal for the Cubs, and they got that taste, man.

They got that taste of winning for the first time in four years, getting back to the playoffs and winning a playoff series. Maybe this will be the year that the Cubs overtake the Brewers. And by the way, I love a packed sluggers at 10 o'clock in the morning. So cheers to everybody who is out here today. I got a lot of love for sluggers. This was the place. Shout out to the Devotny Sisters, who I grew up with this.

was our place. I know you're listening, Navatni Sisters. We would come here before the game and then after the game before I was ever even in this business. So a lot of love for sluggers and for all the people that came out here on behalf of 104-3 The Score. Thank all of you guys.

Thank you. Thank you. You guys rock. And Ari and David the Strauss Brothers are huge hosts and they always do a great job with us. This is quite fun for us in a yearly tradition. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043 The Score. And as Mark mentioned, We broadcast live from Sluggers in Wrigleyville.

Come by and register on site for your chance to win a triple play giveaway. It is courtesy of our friends at Live Nation. You could win tickets to the following concerts. You want to get here early for this. That's why I told you about it in our first segment of the show. Santana and the Doobie Brothers at Credit Union Amphitheater at June 13th. John Mellencamp at Credit Union One amphitheater on June 11th. And the Foo Fighters at Soldier Field on August 8th.

Where I sit with this is when we've seen how the front office has constructed this. We just heard Jed Hoyer on with Mullian Hall. We'll react to a little bit of what he had to say. We'll also bring you a lot of pregame today, whether it's Bruce Levine, working in the clubhouse, whether it's Craig Counsel. We know Jed Hoyer is going to address the media later today as well. But getting back to what this front office addressed, their actions backed up how they felt.

They knew that pitching was not where it needed. needed to be. And for Jed Wier to actually acknowledge that with Mully and Haugh earlier just now and say what we all thought, which was, again, if we're going back to this time last year, if we're going back to our time sitting outside of Gallagher Way and how the season ended, it was piecemilling the starting rotation together in a way that I think they didn't want to do. We know that for sure. We know that everybody seemed to be running on fumes. And that was definitely the case when you saw how the starting pitching had to be figured out and really piecemeal together. Edward Cabrera is a huge help in this.

We know Matthew Boyd is getting the start. A healthy Cade Horton is going to be so refreshing to see to start this season. It gives me a lot of reason to believe that this is a team that can outpace, even their pagoda projections from last year. Understanding, I think, the top to bottom, this NL Central is better as a whole than it has been the last couple of years. understand this. Only one division in the National League had three representatives make it to the playoffs and it was the NL Central. Let me go ahead and double down on that. I said that would happen last year.

It's going to happen again this year. And I think that's the biggest thing that people need to realize when they're watching the Cubs and understanding the Cubs team may be better, but other teams in the division may be better as well. I fully expect the Brewers to do Brewers things. And what I mean by that is, oh, Jack Centurio, he's out to start the season, right? Yeah, how about that? that breaking news this morning. I'm not buying into that stuff, Marshall. Don't feed my head

with that stuff. Or I'll make a ridiculous prediction right now. And just to bring you up to speed before you get to it, let's let him know. Breaking news when we have it here on the score, brought to you by Wildfire. Enjoy a delicious meal, wildfire restaurants with five Chicago land locations. Jackson Trurio is sent to

the injured list. He has a broken left hand. The estimation is mid to late April 4 return. It is the 10-day injured list. reportedly it occurred when he was playing for Venezuela and the World Baseball Classic on March 4th. I know we don't like to like injuries. That means you like injuries.

But, but. Say it, Leila. Does that, does that have a slower start? Does that make a slower start for the Brewers as they begin the year? They're playing the white song. Does Freddie Peralta and Caleb Durbin mean anything? Did Willie Adamas leaving ever mean anything? Did, uh...

Somebody go lock up Andrew Vaughn right now. Just shove him in a locker or something. Tell him he's not playing his former team today. Mark is on the right path here. Too long. Too long. Including today, we have far underestimated what the Milwaukee Brewers are capable of, whether they have their superstars or they don't have their superstars.

They have made prudent and shrewd moves to keep the pressure on the Cubs and to stay, frankly, on top of the Cubs. Regular season, postseason. Yes, Jackson Trurio being on the injured list is a big deal. but it's not a big enough deal from me like, oh, division's wrapped up, everything's good now. Because first of all, we know this is temporary. But second of all, we know that they have the types of players and the types of leaders in their organization, whether it's front office, whether it's the manager, that they're going to have their team ready to play day in, day out,

and be one of the better teams in the National League. And don't forget about the Cincinnati Reds. For real, don't forget about the Pittsburgh Pirates either. These are all up-and-coming teams. Now, I'm not saying they're going to be better than the Brewers of the Cubs. But I think they're going to take a chunk of the wins away from the division that make it, hey, Cubs run away. I don't see it happening.

I'm not just saying this because Ryan Porth is here and he's our immediate supervisor. Ryan Pardth is here. But have you seen the swath, the range of wins that are projected for the Reds? They very well could, based on projection, challenge the Brewers for first or second, however you look at it behind the Cubs. And yeah, that's right. I said it. I still think the Cubs are the team to beat in this division. I still believe that. But when it comes to the swath and the range there, it's like a 10-game swing that it could be.

Brewers Pocoda projects are about 82 wins, but you have to do the thing. It's kind of like Tom Ezzo's teams in the tournament. Whatever you think they're going to do, you add around, and that's how I feel about the Brewers. You have to add at least four or five wins to that projection because that's how it's been. even though we talk about them in the threat, I think it is a good thing for the Cubs because no matter how you look at this, it has set a tone.

Craig Counsel is saying that he wants his teams to be 91 teams when you put that number on it and when you have a team breathing down your necks or a team looking down at you from the top of the standings in the case of the Burrers, then you understand what the standard has to be and what the expectation is. And there was no better example of doing that

than how they had to respond with the moves they made. after that NLDS? I think it was eye-opening for ownership. Ownership to understand, oh, this is what it looks like. This is a great reminder of what it can look like if we do the proper investment into our ball club. And so you go back to a year ago, Leila, and they didn't get Alex Breggman.

They weren't even runner-up in the Alex Breggman sweepstakes to go out and get him, I think, was the biggest step they took this off season to saying, we're going to operate a little differently. than we have in the past. This is more big market than anything we've seen the Cubs do in many, many years. And I love that Bregman is here,

what he brings, and it's very not on the other end of the skill from what a Kyle Tucker is, but the impact has already been felt before a regular season game has been played. Here is something, too, to think about for the Cubs and the beginning of this season with

Jackson Turyo down for Milwaukee. The Cubs have the capability to get off to a fast start this season. They open up, obviously, against this Nationals team, which is not a team that is interested in winning this year. The evidence can be the fact that they have Cade Cavali as their opening day starter, who has had, what, 11 career starts in his life, the guy that was a first round pick for Washington, star cross career, 27 years old. So you start with Washington. Then you are home against the Angels, another team that is not necessarily interested in

winning this year. You are at Cleveland. Mystery with them. You are at Tampa Bay after that and then home against the Pittsburgh Pirates. That is a favorable beginning to your schedule, unlike last year where you started in Japan, right? That was last year, right? Yeah, that was last year. Against the mighty L.A. Dodgers. This is an opportunity for the Cubs to really start fast. I hate, hate, and I know like, you get hit over the head with the, it's only April, don't worry about it. It's the first part of the season. No, no, no. Get out to a fast start. Establish a lead in the division and keep it. No, nuts to that. I completely agree. Every game will give you some answers to questions you have in a 162. I don't care. And I will react to all of them as I see him. And Mark, I completely agree

with that thought. The other part of it is it's money in the bank. When you don't necessarily know when Justin Steele is coming back, when you hear Jed Weir say stuff like, we've got to look at this as a 10-man rotation and he mentions guys that we wanted to see and call in Ray. What's going to happen with Ben Brown? I completely agree with you. Are there some opportunities to give those guys some reps? And that's not to disrespect the competition, but it's to try to help people who could play bigger roles when you expect this team to be in the playoffs and also play that September stretch and not run out of gas like they did last year. And the beginning is important, Mark, mainly because you have an opportunity here because of who they're playing

to kind of fill things out if you're Craig Counsel, both from a pitching standpoint because we know the wizardry, let's be honest, the wizardry that man did with the bullpen last year. When you look at who was in the bullpen at the start of the season, who was in the bullpen at the end of the season, and what those guys as a group were able to accomplish through the ups and downs, which every bullpen has, and the turnover on the roster in that position,

but also with this lineup, Because I really think Craig Counsel, even though he knows the guys he's going to have available to him every day, is still trying to tinker a little bit and figure out where does Alex Bregman fit in best with this team as a new player. Where does Moises by Astero's now in everyday-D-H fit in? How are you going to work Matt Shaw in? Sayas Suzuki's hurt. How can I take the time where Sayas Suzuki is getting whole and healthy? And I don't want to see Sayas Suzuki on the field, by the way, until he is 100% healthy because it's the start of the season.

I don't need him lingering through anything, Kyle Tucker style from last year. But how does Matt Shaw fit in on a weekly basis in terms of how many of bats he's going to get, and where is he going to get those plate appearances? Well, yeah, and you mentioned the bullpen every year, of course, except for a couple of staples like

Daniel Polencia and Caleb Thielbar. Then you got guys like Hunter Harvey and Holby Milner and Phil Naton. That's always interesting to see how managers deal with their bullpen early in the season relative to what it ends up looking like later on in the season. So I'm looking forward to seeing how Craig Counsel

administers that. I was wondering when we were going to get the first Caleb Thielbar mention. There was. All right, at 1018 on March 26th, we have a Caleb Thielbar mentioned. He was one of the better relievers for the team last year, though. Let's be honest. Wasn't he the opener for a few games too? Even in the

playoffs, was it? No. Yeah. He served as an opener. He was multi-use in the most wide way that you can think of how many different ways can you use a guy. Caleb Thilbar starting game. He's pitching towards the end of games. He's pitching in the middle of games. Whatever you need them. I did not think that we would talk about Caleb Thielbar needing to start a game.

But that's how much I think we understand what the Cubs had to do last season as they prepare for this one. And we are live with you for it here in 104. The score, this is Rahimi Harrison Grotie. As we mentioned, broadcasting live from Sluggers this morning. come out and hang out with us before the game. We are very much looking forward to it. That is Marshall Harris, Mark Grody. I'm Layla Rahimi here with you on Rahimi Harrison Grotie.

On this Thursday, Brie Diaz and Tyler Bueberbaugh are our producers. Connor O'Donnell is here, manning our Twitch chat and Twitch stream. C.S. Henderson is also here on the ones and twos. And back at the studio, we have Tyler Bueberbaugh helping out Brandon Friar, Jacob Stutz, Max Curtis, and Colby Westerland and Sean Sears today. Hey, Sean had a little bit of a vacation. So welcome back, Sean Sears. I'm sure he's got his Cubs gear on.

This is a full team, and we are here to join you all day today. 312, 6444, 67 is our number. And coming up next, we expect a visit from our friend Ron Coomer. Because guess what we used to do at Wrigley last year when we were here? We'd interview Coombe before games. Good luck. So we'll talk to Ron Coomer, and we'll also prepare you for this season opener on opening day here on the score.

Rahimi Harris and Grooty. Midday's tidal two on Chicago Sports Radio. Last year, I would have gotten really worked up about this. But this year, I feel like, you know, I'm really just focused on the process. Like, just, it really is all about getting ready for opening day. Like, I can take a lot of good out of what I did today. Obviously, the results were pretty bad, but it is what it is. Yeah, so just get ready for the next one.

Hello from opening day here live from Slugger's Bar. This is Rahimi Harrison Grody on 1043, the score. We've got a crowd who's already ready. They want the game to start soon. We're here with you until it does. Zach Zayman has pregame coming up at 1245. In the meantime, that was Cade Horton, who is getting the start. scheduled on Saturday. That was last week on the change of his work from last spring training

to this year where he we know has made leaps and bounds. We expect to talk to Ron Coomer in just a few minutes. It's one of those touch and go type of days. And in the meantime, guys, we got ourselves a lineup today. It is out early. Michael Bush is leading off playing at first base. Shocker. I feel like, I feel like that was the consensus. I wanted Nico Horner to lead off, but got the righty, Kate on the mound. You guys win. Regman, batting second. He's at third base, of course, Ian Hap, batting third and left. Peacroar Armstrong is batting cleanup. He's in center. Nico Horner is next. Then it is Carson Kelly, Moises by Asteros, at D.H. Danesby Swanson, batting eighth, and then in right field.

It is Matt Shaw. Batting ninth. Can we just take a moment and acknowledge the growth of Craig counsel and the fact that I was worried that he was going to throw Michael Comforto out there in right field on opening day but he said no Matt Shaw young man I understand that there is a right hander on the mound in Cade Cabali it does not matter you are my guy go to right field hold it down take your lumps and hopefully give the opposing pitcher Kay Covelli and whoever follows him some lumps as well Michael Conforto squeaked on to this roster let's face it he was to me he was never a slam dunk to even be here, considering the bad year he had last year with the Dodgers. And he may not even be here when Seya Suzuki returns depending on what they are thinking about

with the lefty situation. So I think I was a little bit more confident than you that Matt Shaw would be the guy to get out there. But yeah, I love, I do love Michael Bush leading off against the inexperienced, right-handed pitcher. Kate Cavali, get that thunder going right away at the top of the order. You want to see a lot of Alex Bregman. I don't know if Ian Haap is going to continue to live in the three hole throughout this season. We'll see if he's in one of his fast starts

or one of the slow starts. You just never know with him, but I like that too against the righty. PCA you're, they are look, I love what they're doing with Pete Carr Armstrong. They continue with their actions to tell us and everybody that they believe

more in what they saw in the first half of the season than the second half of the season for this guy because they gave him the contract and now they're saying go ahead you hit fourth go ahead and slug all you want kid well and i think that that's that's a big part of this that's where i thought he would end up batting in this lineup but there was a quote jed hoyer gave to the athletic our friends sahad of sharma and patrick mooney talking about how he felt PCA had dealt with what happened last year and that the hot start combined with his youth was a lot to put on him and those expectations he think affected him. So because of that, I wouldn't be surprised

if we see a different version of him because that's what the general manager thinks he's going to see. You know, the other part of this, too, is as we heard Jed Hoyer talk to Mully and Haw about what I mentioned earlier, just how much the pitching wearing down at the end of the season really affected them. Let's go back and listen to what Jed told Mully and Ha this morning. I would say that we're going to constantly monitor his strength and fatigue. And if we get to a place where we feel like he's wearing down or needs a break, we can find a way to do that. And really with all of our guys,

you want to be able to give them extra days when you can. You want to make sure that they stay fresh. You know, last year, you know, we were worn down in the rotation. There was no question. You know, by the last series against the Brewers, even both teams really were kind of out of starting pitching for the most part, and it was bullpen days, and that was a real challenge. And I think it would have been a real challenge for us had we moved forward.

Honestly, once you got to the seven-game series, you can't do that as much. And so, you know, that was something we talked about about this winter, and, you know, you want to make sure that you keep those guys fresh and keep those guys healthy. And, you know, my hope is certainly that, you know, the guys like Colin Ray and Ben Brown and, you know, getting Jordan Wicks healthy and, you know, Javier aside, and potentially Jackson Wiggins at some point, and all these guys are going to play a role in doing that.

It's not a five-man rotation. It's really 10, and I think we have to think that way. Just listening to Jed Hoyer go through the actual names, they sound so much better armed for this season than they did. Yeah, pun intended, very much intended. They sound so much better armed this season heading in and understanding everyone's role, knowing that they're going to have reinforcements at some point,

whether it be from AAA, whether it be Justin Steele, they've got more to come. And even Ben Brown, like being on this roster in the role that he's on where he can pitch an inning in a third and inning in two thirds if he's called upon, I like how this sets up to possibly have them in a six-man rotation halfway through the season, if need be. I love the fact that he was able to just admit at the end of that. We were worn down. We all saw it.

The Cubs, unfortunately, after beating the Padres and what, was a fantastically energizing Riggly Field Hello series and then they just ran out of gas at the end. So yeah, the way they're looking at it with the 10-man road, we're going to see other guys than these five men to start the season. And I love that they have that kind of depth.

I also love, and I know this goes kind of against conserving, that one would expect that the kid gloves are going to be off just a little bit for Kate Horton this year, where last year it was very strict with Cade Horton, whereas this year he's going to get the benefit of the doubt once he gets going this season. Yeah, that was a big part of last year, was trying to figure out if he was going to throw more than 80 pitches in an outing. And that was something that they were, they said that it wasn't a concern.

They said he wasn't on a pitch count, but it was pretty apparent. So what if he was? He was. It was the right thing to do. I don't think the Cubs need to be defensive about that. No, and he was coming off of a college season, where, as we know, when you play for those college world series teams, for example, there are miles that are put on the arm.

And we see it too many times. That's not a secret. So when it comes to Kate Horton, especially after just what he saw, and how he just improved as the season continued, giving up only three earned runs and four starts the month of September, when you have that kind of caliber of reliability for him, that combined with Edward Cabrera, you've got to be way more encouraged about this.

that I think we previously were. Marshall, this never goes out of style to say, so I just have to say it. Kate Horton, 118-plus innings pitched at 2670. Yeah, I understand that. And what I'm aiming for, this, you said 118, I was going to say, 180 is what I'm aiming for this year. Okay.

Can you get 180 innings out of Kate Horton? I feel like if you do that, you're in good shape, because that means he's probably made 30-plus starts, and he's gone six innings. in a lot of them. Let's also consider this. When we hear Jed Hoyer say that, it gives me a little more calm when it comes to how Javier Assad

was sent back to AAA and how there's an understanding that they're going to try to keep him stretched out to stay in that starters mode. I believe him when I say that this is truly going to be considered like a 9-10 man rotation, considered, or at least operated.

And I think that that is important too. And frankly, that should be the plan. Like if you have a a good enough pitching staff that should be part of the intended plan it is a tradition here at rigley we we love talking to him every single game when we got the chance to be out here ron kumer is here yet again it is great to see ron kummer how are you good to see you hugging with the headset on is very dangerous and there's a good chance you hurt somebody so i try to be try to be considerate that We're getting the headset on Ron Coomer right now.

And the reason he is joining us mid-segment here is because, Coom, you just got done talking to Craig Counsel. Happy opening day, number one. And then number two, you've got to tell us what the conversation was like. Very entertaining. Hold on, let me get here. Well, it's you. You, sir, are entertain.

You are an entertainer. You know better than that, Mark. Hold on a second. Hold on. You just crushed me, man. Oh, did I? He turned it up the Pat Hughes volumes on me right there. There we go.

There, you know. There, that's me. Okay, now we're better. Ron has to use his Cubs World Series ring hand to adjust the volume here. Yeah, we'd like to get another one, not being greedy, but that would be good, right? Now, Ron, when you say entertaining, it's so funny because I feel like Craig Counsel has evolved season to season to season, where I'm not going to say he's loosened up, but he just seems more with it now than he did, like, season one, where it was kind of hard, cold fast.

I'm here. Yes, I was the manager of the Brewers. Now I'm with the Cubs. And now it feels like, yes, this is the guy, and he's been here for a couple of seasons to kind of cement himself. Well, that's a tough one. Because I've known quite a long time since we were kids, you know, 18, 19, 20 when he was in Notre Dame. But, you know, when you come into a city like Chicago from Milwaukee, there's a lot that goes into being the manager of a team when you just get thrust in. So you're trying to figure out everyone's name, not only just.

your players, but people working in the organization. So there's a lot going in to it. But I think now the comfort level, to your point, is probably a good way to describe it, that he's comfortable here. He knows everything is, the systems are in place. He knows what he's got. So, you know, you're probably right.

But we saw some of that the first year. It just didn't quite come out the way everybody might like. Yeah. First of all, you look great. Did you lose some weight? You know, Pat, right? When did you get in? When did you get in?

When did you get in? Yeah, you do look sharp. You smell great. The hair's on the water. It's a shower, you know, opening day. We got a shower. And you actually use soap today. Yeah, a little extra deodor.

It's all good. It's all good. I know you always talk to Craig about the lineup. I don't want to give too much away from the interview. Oh, that's all right. Yeah, it's okay. When Zach Zavin begins his. I just found out what it was in the booth.

So you know, okay. So what do you think? I mean, going up against the writer, the righty Cavali, Michael Bush at the top, Bregman, Hap, Armstrong, Horner, Kelly, Bistero, Swanson, Shaw, and, of course, Boyd pitching. It looks like a pretty good opening day lineup. It's a really good opening day lineup, Mark. When you look at this club, offensively, you know, it's a very good lineup up and down. The thing I like most about it is diversity of how everybody kind of fit. right? There's a lot of different pieces. There's power, there's speed, there's contact, there's, you know, there's some swinging miss in there, but that also comes with the power.

But they're athletic. When you look up and down that lineup, you know, you're looking at a really athletic lineup, and we saw that in spring training. We saw guys running around the field and doing pretty good. So I really like the Cubs lineup. When you have a dance, be hit in eighth. I think that's pretty good, a 25 home run guy last year. So there's some real positives to this lineup. Well, and to see Matt Sean Wrightfield, we gave it a little bit of conversation

earlier, Kuhm. Go ahead, right? Let him, if he's been getting reps, why not let him, especially learning this ballpark and a day like this when the weather is really a potential factor? If he's going to have to do this, then he might as well start on opening day. Yeah, we were

laughing walking in. Boog and I were walking in from the parkland. ran into Tom Rickett's our owner and said we're going to get all four seasons in one day on opening day and we just might you know so um mattie's going to get the full metal jacket of right field and rigley field today um it'll be 70 and it's going to be 40 before he's done playing so he'll get the whole yeah he'll get the whole package today well in the chicago my favorite part about this lineup is my guy who i'm i'm campaigning day one actually it was a negative one moises by esteros rookie of the year talk let's go

So the man can hit, and I know he doesn't have a position in the field to play every day, but if he's going to be in this lineup more days than not, let's say 140 plus, I like his chances to prove in the middle of a lineup with, as you mentioned, all these good hitters and athletes for him to have opportunities to do big things. No, he can hit. There's no doubt. He's one of those guys when you watch him in spring every day, you know, even in batting practice, there's a flow to his swing and an ability to be on time with a leg kick. So leg kick is really a difficult thing, but if you can do it and master it, it's great.

If you can't, it can be very difficult to hit that way. He's mastered it and it just comes natural. He is as good a hitter as you're going to find in a rookie. And I expect him to hit for power. He's going to spray the ball around the field. He's going to give the opposing team fits all year long. no doubt. Well, we thank you so much for being able to come on. We are looking forward to your conversation with Craig Council. We'll be able to hear that during the pregame, Ron. Yeah. Well,

we won't. Happy opening day. Happy opening day. It's very cool. It's becoming tradition, right? This is becoming tradition. Well, we know you're good luck. So, thank you for bringing that to us today. Very good. Great to see you guys. You're the best. Ron Coomer. We are happy to have him. He is, of course, a part of the broadcast, the Cubs radio analyst. He played eight seasons with the Twins Cubs, Yankees and Dodgers, and he is a former All-Star, and you can hear him on our Cubs radio broadcast. It is opening day at Wrigley Field. Cubs hosting the Nationals to begin the new season. Pre-game coverage is coming up at 1245.

First pitches at 120 and crystal clear FM quality on 1043, the score in the Northwestern Medicine Cubs Radio Network. We are expecting a visit from Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney next. Lela Rahimi, Marshall Harris, Mark Grody, Rahimi Harrison Grody on 1043, The Score. This is Rahimi Harris and Grotie, and we are coming to you live today from Sluggers in Wrigleyville. The crowd is big for our ultimate home opener broadcast. Zach Naidman is here for the official pregame show at 1245,

and it's all brought to you by our friends with Circa Sports, sports betting the way it should be with no bet fees. We are happy to bring in the Cubs president of baseball operations live with us here from Sluggers. Crane, Kenny. Crain, thank you for joining us today. It's great to be here again. Yeah. I know there's big news that just happened with Marquis. For example, getting on Hulu.

I saw that news come out a few days ago. What can you tell people about where to find Marquis this season? Yeah, so, you know, the world has been changing. And I think every year we sit together and we talk about how media has changed. And it typically has been not great news, right? It's been shrinking platform, reduced cable home. and that means reduced resources for us to put on the field. This is good news.

So Hulu picked us up. We were on Hulu when we initially launched in 2020. They dropped all their RSNs, but they selectively picked just marquee to bring back this year. So we're the only new RSS that was picked up by Hulu. So if you're a Hulu live TV subscriber, meaning you're getting your cable television via Hulu, just like some use YouTube, we're now on it.

And that's, you know, it's a credit to one, distribution team with Sinclair. Second, you know, the club last year captured everyone's imagination. The energy from last October kind of spilled into the offseason, and they wanted to pick us up. So that's really good news. The other thing we had Amazon now is essentially a broker. So if you're on Amazon Prime, there's a toggle for you to pick up our D to C product. So if you want to buy, if you don't have the Cubs and you want to buy them, you can do it directly

through Marquis Stream for 1999 a month, or you can do it through Amazon. on now. So, like, a lot of ways, in a lot of ways, what happened last year was really good for our business, and it was really good for Marquis. I feel like we're picking up where we left off, because we were just talking about the fact that we did a show Gallagher Way, playoffs, and of course it comes to an end because all seasons do come to an end. But how have you, from a business standpoint, been able to leverage the excitement and the success of last year's team into what we're seeing and what we're unveiling today on opening day? Yeah, it, it, it, It had immediate benefits.

Like the season ended, of course, as you point out, like it didn't end the way we wanted it to. But, you know, the energy, and you were there. So the energy in the Padre Series and then into the Brewer Series, I think it reminded a lot of people about, yeah, this is the epicenter of sports and fun and energy and post-game excitement in Wrigleyville. And so our corporate partners, many of them doubled down. We have Avian as a new big partner. Southwest came in as a new big partner.

and a whole group of others. And honestly, you know, the Breggman deal happened in part because of what happened last fall. So if you look at the Breggman deal, there's been a lot of focus on the deferrals. But we all, well, we also rolled over all of the, I would say, surplus from 25 into 26. And so if you think about the Breggman deal, you know, which was large. And for us, the first big deferral deal, it, It basically used resources from 25 that was a surplus, obviously projections for 26, and then into the out years. So there were a whole series of benefits that resulted from last year.

And, you know, we sit in a pretty good spot. We'll have an all-time high payroll this year for the club in history. Sales are good. And, you know, we'll have a real exciting season. That's encouraging now that is encouraging into the future, when obviously there will be decisions that will have to be made on free agents next year. But you use the word unveiling.

Love opening day. What are we doing today? Who's doing the anthem, throwing out the first pitches, who's doing the stretch? Is there anything, any secrets that you could reveal to us about opening day today at Riverfield? Well, I'll reveal one, which I think is pretty fun. So Riz is going to throw out the first pitch.

We love it. Will he then sit in the bleachers after that? No, he's going to sit. I think he's going to sit with his family. But the boy, was that a heck of a day last year? One of my favorites. Yeah, but Riz, we called him and asked if he'd do the honor of throwing the first pitch out.

And he was, you know, it's interesting, these guys that, you know, they're not old in any way. Like, they're not my age for sure. But as they are aging, we had the reunion, the 2016 reunion in January, and almost every player made it back. And it was interesting to see players now with children. You know, Riz now has a child. Albert Elmora has a wife and a child.

Like seeing the young, I mean, in my view, the 16 club is full of young kids. Yeah. And now they're married and have children and they have families. And so I think for Riz to bring his family back and be able to share this experience with them is really cool. So Riz on the first pitch. We've got our legends, our Hall of Fame legends doing the stretch. Great. And we'll be thinking of Rino when we do that.

But, yeah, the usual fun on opening day. And if the weather holds out, you know, our fans will be able to enjoy it. And somehow Matt Spiegel will be doing singing. Yeah. Next week. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you know, Speegs for all the grief you guys give him, he's got a heck of a voice.

Who was? Yeah. He is a singer. I mean, I got to give it to him, and he can belt it. Like, and yeah, so that'll be fun next week. Yeah, I think Lauren said he was going to be like one of the pips in the background, just background dancing. We do want to ask you, too, this is our time where fans, if they have any questions about what's either coming up or wiggly or what they need to know this year,

this is their information, they're frequently asked questions, what they want to know. So what do you want to tell people about either what to expect to the ballpark this year, whether it's events, what you guys have going on or if there are any changes as far as admission and things of that nature? Not a lot of changes. I mean, we've had, we replaced all the seats in the upper deck this year. So there are some creature comforts. The video boards have all new tiles. You'll see the video will be bolder and brighter.

We're kind of doing the work we'll need for the All-Star game. So we got the All-Star game in 27. We made a big capital push this off-season to get ready for 27. So you'll see some things that are a little bit different. On the event side, you know, we start with our 10th anniversary for the 2016 team. That's in July. That's July the 19th. And so we're bringing all the guys back who aren't playing.

So Javi's still playing. KB still playing. You know, Schwabie still playing. So we'll miss those guys, which is why we did the January event. The January event allowed all those who were still playing, Chapman still playing. They all came back, which was really fun. So for those who are not still playing, we'll bring them back

and really give the fans a bigger chance to spend time with those players. So that's in July. In August, at the end of August, we've got our 150th anniversary, which I don't want to take too much time on a history lesson, but we were one of the founding teams. National League began in 1876 with 18. only one still plays in the market in which it started and that's your team the Cubs. William Holbert started the National League and he was the owner of the Cubs at the time.

Albert Spalding wrote the Constitution. He was our star pitcher that year. By the way, started 50 games. Now they pitched underhand back in 1876. So 50 starts does it look and I think of the 50 starts, I think he completed like 46 of them. So we're really going to celebrate. the 150th. It's the birth of our national path time and it happened here. Now it happened down in Chinatown which is where the stadium was but it happened in Chicago so we're going to celebrate the heck out of that.

Our Cubs for your cure game is in May that date's about to be announced so Lail and I were talking about it. Danny again is going to really dive in. Year one we raised a million dollars for cancer research year two we raised two million so we like the trajectory

there. So Danny comes back from New York we're going to spend a a whole 24 hours with him on the air with you all, and then we'll do the blowout in the ballpark and raise a lot of money to do some good. So there's a ton. All the concerts are coming back. We've got our first comedy show, John Mullaney in July.

Right. Our local friend who went to Ignatius. I saw him in spring training. He's going to work in a bunch of Chicago angles. So Saturday Night Live Alam, big-time comedian, local guy. Got a Netflix show? Yeah. So we'll do our first comedy show, which we've never done before.

So, you know, the usual. list of events. We've got golf coming back. One big college event we haven't announced yet that will be announced soon that will be an amazing day. It's actually two days in the ballpark. That'll come up soon. Can't break that news. But as usual,

Wrigley Field's going to have a lot of fun things going on. Well, Krain, thank you so much. We always appreciate the time, the previews, and really the news and notes. So yeah, great to hear about the playoff budget rolling in to help the Alex Bregman signing. Good news about Mark Kean-Hulu and all the events at the ballpark. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much, guys. Thank you. Enjoy your day. Great. Thanks again. Coming up next here on Rahimi Harris and Grady, we'd ask this question amongst ourselves. The PCA extension really birthed the idea. What front office move do you think is going to have the biggest effect on the Cubs season this year?

We'll discuss it next.