Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Matt Shaw needs at-bats to get better, but how will he get them? (Hour 2)

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

In the second hour, Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris discussed whether the Cubs will get utilityman Matt Shaw regular playing time without a clear starting spot at any position. Shaw needs regular at-bats to get better, but will he get them? After that, Nick Friedell of The Athletic joined the show to preview NBA All-Star weekend and to discuss the tanking crisis in the league. Later, Rahimi and Harris held the Halftime segment.

This hour is brought to you by Cars for Kids. Shaw hit 13 homers this year. He hits a line drive into shallow center, a base hit. Rounding third and scoring is Kelly. Cubs lead 4 to nothing. Matt Shaw with a base hit into center. Dansby Swanson claps his hands as he looks over at Shaw at first base. Cubs lead by 4 and the crowd is loving it.

That, of course, courtesy of the Cubs Radio Network, Pat Hughes, Ron Coomer on the call. This is Rahimi Harrison Grody on 104-3 The Score. And just a week from today, we have a game. We have a game to talk about. Such a nice idea. I don't know how much we're going to talk about that game because you know what those games

look like out of the gate. Here's some person you don't know pitching against some person you don't know batting. And then you've got to figure out who these people will be in the search for the next gauge-tier workman. why you got to bring up gauge? Because that's what spring training is. It's a search for that type of deal.

So do you put stock in spring training or do you not? Because that's the battle. I do because I believe in having, you're not going to end the season with the same 40 guys you start with. So I'm a big believer in figuring out who's going to be a part of that scene altogether. I'm a big believer in knowing like who's your glad I called that guy guy, for example, who is going to pop, who brings value to your team. There are some emergencies that can happen in spring training.

And you just want to see how people get their legs underneath them and what happens next. Do you remember Kyle Tucker's spring training? Bad. Do you remember what he immediately did once it went from spring training to regular season? Immediately. But he's the exception. Like if PCA hits well in spring training, doesn't that make you feel better about him bouncing back from the second half he had last year? I feel like that's expected.

But that's the point. So if he hits poorly in spring training, does that give you an indication? So hitters are supposed to hit. Here's why hitters are supposed to hit because they're just hitting. Meanwhile, pitchers out here working on stuff, especially early in spring training. Like they don't care as much. Like James and Tyone might be mixing in an eighth pitch to his arsenal. A 20th pitch to his arsenal.

Like the way they try to experiment with things. So that's why I can't take it too seriously because if the pitchers aren't taking it seriously, can you really take what the hitters are doing against those pitchers seriously? And then you factor in the environment, knowing that in Arizona, ball go far. Ball go far. Are you saying ball does not go far in April in Wrigleyfield? I don't think it does as much. I'm just going to throw that out there.

Swirls a little bit. Yeah, yeah. But I think there are still some ways you can gauge, not like a game-to-game scenario, but there are still some ways you can gauge patterns in spring trading that at least give you some information about people. What I do love about Craig Counsel specifically, And I'm trying to remember if Will Vinnable is like this. He'll tell you the truth to if someone's not doing well in spring training in terms of what they're looking like, not only in the games themselves, but like everyday work.

He'll be like, he's got to tighten this up. He'll give you specific things they have to work. It's not unlike Ben Johnson, honestly. Well, and frankly, that's how he determined who his opening day starter was going to be, was their performance in spring training. And for that team, it made sense that Sean Burke got that on. at the time. It made sense. So will it make sense if Matt Shaw's in the

starting lineup on opening day? Well, and where? You know, Wright Field is the spot for him? Is that what we're to understand? Is it designated hitter? And then it's trying to figure out a Suzuki. And that's all of this together. Now, if let's go back to earlier in the week, if you recall, Craig Counsel had said that it's not a top three problem for him. Shaw being in right field or a posse, like that's not top

three priority. So it's number four. That's it. I'm like, well, okay, if it's in your top five, that's kind of still a big deal. Even if it's in your top 10, given how you work as a manager, that seems important to me. Knowing what we know, which is very limited because we haven't seen Matt Shaw at all these different positions. Would it surprise you have Matt Shaw played a better right field than say a Suzuki? No, because I think it speaks to his physical tools when you talk about how he was able to play such good defense at the hot corner. I think you have to have a cannon in right field, as we've discussed.

Fernando Tatis is probably the biggest example of somebody successfully going from the infield to the outfield recently later in his career. Shaw is way younger. So when you put that all together, I think that that gives you an indication it's a good possibility. But it's also trying to figure out when Jed Hoyer talks about the totality of the season, one of the big factors for the totality of their success was Say Suzuki leading Major League Baseball and RBI's at the break. So what's Sayy Suzuki's best version of himself? In a contract year, by the way. But what's Sayah's best self look like?

And you and I were discussing this. Does Matt Shaw playing in Rightfield come at the expense of Sayas Suzuki getting fielding reps that he thinks helps his offensive game? I don't know what Matt Shaw looks like as a DH or a right fielder. I do know what he looked like as a third baseman. and offensively, it simply was not good enough. Hence, going out to get a guy like Alex Breggman, if you thought Matt Shaw could hold it down and produce like Breggman,

then maybe you don't. But also, from a culture standpoint, Breggman, I think, was needed, and I can't wait to see exactly how that plays out over the course of the season. You know, just days in, we've already gotten so many different stories, so many accounts, whether it's Bruce Levine,

whether it's Ken Rosenthal. People are chiming in on what people are telling them about Alex Breggman, what his new teammates are telling them. And even, we didn't touch on this, but you know, he even talked about Peacrow Armstrong and gave his reasoning as to why we are going to see a more consistent season coming up for him. But knowing that there's another hitter who can discuss that with him, you know, at that level, knowing that somebody like Alex Breggman is there who can also encourage him in that

way. And this is not necessarily, it's not to knock anybody else on the team or even knock a guy like Kyle Tucker, who was such a good hitter, obviously, and was also a part of the team last year. You're going to learn from everyone, as we've discussed. But it's taking that extra step and initiative on your own to go out and do that and having the resume to back it up where I think that really can make a difference with people. So the resume thing is interesting because you're coming in with an understanding of what people do. And with a lot of these younger players, we're wondering, are you able to replicate what you did last season?

And then with some people, it's, are you replicate what you did for this portion of the season? And so that becomes a big question. I think one of my bigger questions, and I know it's not top three for Craig Counsel. At least not right now. Yeah, I think one of my bigger questions, though, overall is Matt Shaw's at Batts, are those coming at DH? Is he getting more plate appearances than Moises by Astero's? How much is he cutting into, you can go around the Horner, Nico Horner, Alex Bregman,

anywhere else you want to go where it's right, Jill. Even a guy like Kevin Alcantara, you know? Well, Kevin's kind of a clear-cut backup, right? Do we know? I mean, there's been a lot of, and that's a guy who you're paying attention to at spring training. Fair. That's one of those guys you say if he comes out, hits 350 and gets on base and does stuff, you'd be like Kevin looks like he's ready to have some regular bats.

And given his height and how he can glide in the outfield, you know, because he runs well. Like, how does that play into all of this? That's more of a front office thing than I think a Craig counsel thing. But, you know, typically if you're in the Dodgers, the exemplary franchise here that we just talked about destroying baseball, while they get projected to win 104 games by Pocoda. You have 104 and a half. I'm not going to short them the half. But if you're the Dodgers and you have too many good players on your team, what happened?

You're trading somebody like a Michael Bush and then he ends up on the Cubs and the Cubs get value out of it and so did the Dodgers. And the Dodgers still end up winning the World Series. But the point is, you know, there's an incentive every way you look at it to have all of your players play to their best selves. The problem, though, is at what cost, you know? I think at least we know that there's no question at first base. I don't know that you have to platoon that, but do you have to platoon your DH? Do you have to platoon your right field? Is Shaw okay with being utility?

Do you think that will set him back when it comes to his offensive development we saw last year? Jed Hoyer was on Fox 32 with our friend Tina Wynn, and he discussed how to keep that infield intact. Yeah, no, it's a really good infield. I mean, I think certainly one of the best infields in baseball in baseball. Matt Shaw is a player that we feel total confidence in. And one of the things we always talk about is you can't just write out your lineup, you know, one through nine or write the positions out. You have to have real depth and, you know, where we are right now

and then having Matt Shaw who can move around and, you know, we'll have injuries, we'll have guys in your days off. And making sure that it's not just those four guys, but also Matt is able to really help out. I think it's really important. Help out. That doesn't sound like a guy who's going to have an everyday role, right? No.

But I'm just worried that, like, you don't want him when he is up, when it is his game to play, that he has like four strikeouts or something. Three. I don't like to ascribe four to anybody. So you think Matt Shaw is in a bad situation? For him? I think for his, when you know the regular reps helped him get better offensively, it's really hard for me to say that taking that roll away from him now

would help the team get the best version of him. A couple of things here. I think we have to understand going in, these guys ain't going to be held. Somebody's going to the injured list. More than one player is going to the injured list. Why you got to do that? Because there will be stints realistically where Matt Shaw will get to play regularly every day, even if it's just for two to three weeks, right?

That's a real thing that's going to happen. And it's actually great that they have a guy like Matt Shaw to step in because I don't think they had that last year. I'm not saying if Alex Breggman goes down that Matt Shaw can give you comparable at-bats, played appearance clubhouse presence as Alex Bregman, but it's nice to know if Bregman were to get hurt, you have no drop-off,

maybe even a jump-up in the talent at glove at the hot corner. And so I don't look at this like we're scrambling, trying to find a place for him to play. If he's in the starting lineup two to three times a week, I think that's fair.

It is. I mean, if that's what he can get, then yeah, that's fair. But you're not sure you can even get that. I just don't know how it works where he gets to be a better hitter and grows as a hitter. That's the hard part of this. Do you feel like Moises Bayoucesteros needs the same opportunity? Or are you saying his bat is so advanced, so much more advanced, that is, the Matt Shaw, that he doesn't need as many regular reps as what you would want to get Matt Shaw?

I don't know that having Moises by Astero's get more reps right now helps the Cubs as a whole. At D.H. You don't think he's a better bat option at D.H. So if you put Sayas Suzuki in right field, which is what I'm doing, most likely. Okay. And then you put Moises-Biosteros. Who else would you put at D.H. at that point, if Sayas playing right? It'd probably be Shaw. So don't you think Moises Bayosteros is a better hitter than Matt Shaw? I think they've got more invested in Shaw where they have to figure this out. I know, but if I have a game to win today and I need real...

Who gives you the best at bats between Moises-Biosteros and Matt Shaw? I think it's Biosteros and it's not particularly close. Match Shaw's Ops was 839 in the second half of last year. Okay, what was Moises Biosteros's OPS? I mean, he had way more limited bats. Let's look up the splits right now. 2025. I mean, that's where I sit with this is the implication was that Matt Shaw was going to be an everyday third base,

for this team. Moisesisosos in a very small sample size. 48 plate appearances in the second half was still a thousand twenty-three. And for the season... But it was 48 appearances in the second half. But... Played appearances. Not game appearances. No, no, no. But what you had to do to get good numbers out of Matt Shaw was to say second half. If I just look at Moises Bayosteros and his 20 games period, an 868 OPS, a 298 batting average, a 394 on base. Yeah, he's a better hitter than Matt Shaw. He always...

He always has been in as far as professionally. But even you yourself argued in favor of Matt Shaw getting the reps that he got last year, because you saw how much he improved offensively. And you talked more about Matt Shaw than you did Moises. Well, because Moises didn't have anywhere to play because of the DH situation at that point. But that means they chose Matt Shaw over Moises-Bi-Asteros at that point. Well, Moises-by-Hastros couldn't play third base. Now we have an actual third baseman not named Matt Shaw.

So now that's where the pie that you're eating out of is the D-H-H-H-H. pie. It's either that or it's right field for Matt Shaw. And I don't like the idea of Seia Suzuki playing more D.H than right field based on what his offense looks like at either position. That's really the problem. Is Sayas Suzuki was signed to be at the time the best hitter on the team. And he should be your D.H in this scenario. He should be. But as we've seen, his success has come with qualifiers. You know, it was protection in the lineup from a guy like Kyle Tucker. It was fielding and hitting combined that made him his best self. So now we've got to figure out what the case is there for Matt Shaw as well.

I will say that tail end performance by Say-Sizuki to end the regular season and even in the postseason, it didn't feel like the Kyle Tucker protection was the catalyst there anymore because remember Kyle Tucker was hurt for part of that. And then when he did come back, Say was just doing his thing at that point. He was on a roll. The problem is like, yeah, in a small sample size, Biosteros has been good, but it's a matter of how much the Cubs want to invest in Biosteros anyway.

Well, the problem is he doesn't have a position. That's what puts them behind the A ball with him. It's like, yes, he can be RDH, but he can't play catcher, which was his position he was brought up as. He's too short, I guess, to play first base. And even if he could play first base, Michael Bush exists. No, Michael Bush needs to play first base.

I'm not doing this again. I'm not dealing with this for another year. No, no, no, no, I get it. So then it becomes, is it a straight, would it look like a straight platoon when you're talking about DH with Biosteros and, of course, Matt Shaw? Platooning DH to me is the quickest way you get to four pinch hit at bats per game where nobody's doing enough. Yeah.

Understand this. In 2025, 66 plate appearances for Moises by Astero. four of the 66 were against left-handed pitchers. That smells like you're only going to play against righties. Okay, yeah, yeah. And if he only plays against righties and Matt Shaw only plays against lefties, that is a platoon.

Not that Matt Shaw would only play. I'm just saying at the DH position specifically. Like, if a righte is on the mound, I'm assuming that Biosteros is deaching. Well, I mean, and that's it. that how do you make it make sense? Because Shaw's okay with being a utility. But I'm just saying in the window of I want to get this guy regular at bats.

That's where I've been coming from with the whole thing. So if you're trying to get Matt Shaw regular at bats, like I said, I'd be good with two starts a week. Is that regular enough? Or do you need three starts a week? Let's assume there's six games in a week, okay? In an average week, there's six games in a week. and you look at Matt Shaw versus, let's say, right-handed pitchers.

And he's only hitting 218 last year against right-handed pitchers. He's hitting 250 against left-handed pitchers. His OPS against right-handed pitchers, 649. His OPS against left-handed pitchers, 808. That's why it screams, Platoon. It just does. Yeah, I mean. And there's more right-handed starters.

What made you change your tune on Shaw now versus how you felt about him? Alex Breggman exists. Yeah. It's that simple. But in a vacuum that shouldn't change how you felt about Matt Shaw's bat showing way more promise. Like that Matt Shaw's bat showing way more promise doesn't change. Like Alex Bergman didn't change that. So like what made you change your mind about his offensive production?

I don't think I changed my mind about Matt Shaw. I think I always held Moises by Astero's in higher esteem as far as a guy you put in to have like whether there's a pinch hit at bat or to play at DH. This is going back to last year. but he was the best option at third base because he had the gold glove caliber third base. When Bregman gets signed, okay, Matt, you're obviously underneath him on the depth chart.

I agree with that because the whole plan to begin with was Bregman. And so now it's just working Matt Shaw in at second base, right field, third base, and just work him in when needed. That's what we're looking at. Nico Horner goes on the injury list. It's probably going to be Matt Shaw at second base. That's not something I want to put.

put out into the ether. What? I mean, but this is how it works. No, I think it's really, I think the real, the real issue is here is that there are too many qualifiers for the three people we just talked about, Shaw, Seas, Suzuki, and Biasteros,

needing certain things in order to be able to produce. But that's why you have all of them still on this roster is that Craig Counsel gets to do his job that he gets well compensated for to figure it out. And the concept of trading, Shaw, you also want to then, you've got to showcase

some of that value too. Yes. Like that's the other thing. It's like a balance of value and mystery where to another team do they say if he got regular at Bats with us, how good would he be based on say

the second half jump for him? Yeah, as long as he doesn't stink, I think any front office can talk themselves into matchaw. I would love to put Say Suzuki at D.H. and just deal with that. I don't want those D.H. numbers from a year ago, I'll tell you that.

That's it. That's my problem. But based on who, they need him to be and who he's supposed to be on this team? I would love to just be able to plug and play and then not worry about it. Would love that. Keep hoping and wishing. Isn't that what spring training is for? Yes, it is.

Tune in tomorrow from 8 to 9 a.m. as Circus Sports presents Palm Saturdays, featuring Circa's vice president of operations, Mike Palm. You'll be able to list it on the score in the Odyssey app or watch live on YouTube and Twitch. As Mike breaks down, the latest in the show, sports betting landscape with a Chicago flavor. It's all presented by the official sports book of the score. Circus Sports, sports betting the way it should be, with no bet fees. Our segment was brought to you by Almas3teeth.com.

Save on dental implants today. Coming up next, he is at the All-Star Game, and he joins us, Nick Friedel, the former Bullsbeat writer. He is now with the athletic. We will talk to him next. Rahimi Harris and Grootie. Midday's tidal-toe. On Chicago Sports Radio, 12, 3, the score.

I was a kid who marveled at all the all-stars, all-star games growing up. You know, and to be able to hit the floor and be a part of, like, the legacy and everything that's happened with NBA All-Star weekend and NBA All-Star game on Sunday. It's super humble, super blessed, and happy to be part of it. That was LeBron James. This is Rahimi Harrison Brody on 104-3 to score. And whether or not you like it, it's NBA. All-Star Weekend.

See, that's... Snuck up on us. That's not nice. Why is it not nice? Whether or not you like it. It's just me laughing about it on the schedule. No, no, no. But I feel like NBA All-Star Weekend has disappointed so many people over the matter of time

that people aren't willing to give it a chance anymore. People are willing to give it a chance. If you're listening to our station, there's a good chance you're probably going to catch some of the NBA All-Star action. You really think so? Because I've heard a lot of people say they are not interested in tuning in for the NBA All-Star. game. Yes, they also said they were going to boycott the NBA. There's all these other ways they talk about it. But something tells me it's going to come across. Highlights,

content, you're going to see it somewhere. That's just how it is. Nick Friedel joins us live from Los Angeles, the site of that All-Star weekend. And he is on the Circus Sports Illinois hotline. Download the Circus Sports app today. Nick is also on Twitch. Twitch.tv slash The Score Chicago. Hey, Nick. Yeah, what is, uh, I guess it's where we kind of should start because you remember the Heming and Hawing that was done last year for how failed the All-Star game was and how nobody cared. What do you think

of the new format? Layla, the All-Star game remains terrible. Fair enough. Kind of goes back to the initial statement. Yeah. Right off the top. The All-Star game has been bad for years and years. And I'll give you

two examples from the past where I thought it was actually good. The first one was in 20 in Orlando when Dwayne Wade broke Kobe's nose because he was playing some serious defense. That was 14 years ago. That shows how far the decline has gone. The other one was the end of that game that you all remember in Chicago. That was in 2020.

There was a push to get more money involved so players would have a bigger takeaway and there was some donations. They played hard at the end. And that's all anybody wants here. I mean, the east and west thing worked forever. And then suddenly it didn't work because guys weren't playing as hard. Everybody has blamed in this thing that it got to this point. It's still such a showcase event for the league.

And anybody who thinks, oh, well, it's going to disappear. There's no way. There's too much money involved. It's too big for the league to just pull completely, even if we all agree that the process. isn't close to what it used to be. Sadly, I don't think there's a fix, and that's the hardest part, because the fix is get these guys to play a little bit harder against each other.

I don't care what format they roll out there, unless guys take the game itself more seriously, not much is going to change. Okay, Nick, so you're right. But at the same time, can we get a one-on-one tournament? Because I feel like that would up the stakes, at least. personal pride on the line at least. Marshall, I'm sure that is something that they'll continue to kick around. And my fear would be as a one-off, one year, sure, I think it would be interesting.

But then if we kept running it back year after year, people would be like, okay, we'd see a lot of, all right, back me down. I'm going to start chucking up threes because I really don't want to give too much effort into it. So it's really too bad though, y'all, because so many years, so long, I would sit there and I would turn on the TV when I was a little kid and I would be looking forward to those moments. And you'd see the best players going after each other. And there's just not that pride anymore in going at somebody in a game that never really mattered, but it mattered to those that played it, which is what took it to a different point. So if it's a one-on-one tournament, maybe as the

newness is apparent with USA versus the world, sure, but, you know, Stefan going to be in that game. I go back to last year, LeBron was there. LeBron was like, no, I'm good. He didn't even want to stand out there and, you know, take a couple shots and throw some passes. So when you don't have the buy-in from the biggest of stars, and that has been a good. over and over and over again for years and years, you get to the place that they're in right now. Yeah, it frankly started with the dunk contest, Nick. You know, that was where we started to see the first opt-outs,

and now we're wondering why the G-League dunker who's won it isn't even competing in it this year. That's where we've landed. It's really sad because Lila, you know, I just saw a quote, and it's Mack McClung, the guy who keeps winning it, who everybody kind of rallies around in the moment and then forgets about for the rest of the year. But it's like, you know, he didn't want to upset the NBA guys who wanted to participate

because they didn't want to go against the G-League. I know the three of us have talked about this for several years now, but it's what concerns me the most is somebody who makes their living off of the NBA, covering the league for as long as I have. The product itself, and this is much deeper and broader than just the All-Star game or All-Star weekend. It's just not very good right now. The regular season NBA product is not very good.

That is reality. When you go to these games, even when the stars are playing, you're not sure how hard they're going to play. And on so many nights, you're not sure exactly who's going to play. And when that starts to happen, and you erode the trust of the public that has supported you for so long, you've got some problems. And the league has some serious.

serious problems. And guys, we're five minutes into the conversation here. We haven't even touched on the T word. We're about to. Don't you worry about that. Through everything. But that, I mean, these are big fundamental issues that the league has. And when you have All-Star weekend and you get to a point of the schedule where everybody's going to go, oh, man, this should be a celebration. It's not a celebration anymore. It's a reminder of the way things used to be, and it's a reminder of the current state of the game. So I'm sitting there watching this every night, and I can't tell you all how many times, even in the last couple months being back in it day to day and I'm around the Warriors a lot,

I look at my colleagues on Press Row, and we're looking at each other and we're like, are you watching this? Like, are you looking at this? Like, people are just not going as hard as we're used to seeing, and it's not just a one or two team thing. It's an everybody thing because there are too many games. The regular season is way too long, and you've got all the back-to-backs that guys either don't play in, or when they do play, they aren't fully invested in the same way because they know, like we all know, that there are much bigger games down the stretch of the season.

So there are a lot of problems right now for the league in the All-Star weekend and the dunk contest. Those are just reminders of much bigger issues. Nick Fidel is the senior writer for the athletic covering the Golden State Warriors and the NBA. Joining us here on Rahimi Harrison Grotie and Nick. That T-word, tank. A lot of teams driving one of those things, those bad boys right now. The Bulls are apparently trying to get into a brand new tank and drive their way. it's going to be a while to try to catch some of these teams that have gotten a nice head start on them.

What do you make of the fines that were given out by the NBA as sort of this warning shot to both the Indiana Pacers, but more importantly, the Utah Jazz? Marshall, at least they're trying something. I mean, $500 grand is as much as the league can go at anyone. I think what they're hoping for actually has two different parts to it. One, that in Utah, it's so clear what they're doing that the next time Will Hardy, the coach, looks down on his bench and is like, maybe I shouldn't sub these guys out and attempt to let them play down the stretch of these games make it so obvious. But two, what they're hoping for is a lot of these other teams, and I know the jazz and the Pacers got dinged here, but they don't want to get that kind of fine.

And even more, they don't want the public scrutiny of, all right, well, are they really trying tonight? Is this really on the up and up? Because you're screwing with the fabric of the game. My old colleague, Bobby Mark, said the integrity of the game. And when you watch, that's the problem. You're just not sure what you're going to see night tonight. And Laila, you and I were at the UC for so many years watching all those Bulls games.

That was never a question that popped in your head. No. It was like, all right, do they have enough tonight? Are they running out of gas? But you never thought, is everybody giving their all? And that is what the league has become right now. So I think the NBA has some serious, serious issues. But Marshall, to your question and to the larger point, I think they're aware of them.

I mean, it'd be one thing if they sat there and said, oh, no, everything's great. Let's celebrate basketball. And the regular season is awesome. It's not. They know it. They're trying to do what they can. But the reward for tanking so far outweighs a half a million dollar fine or a slap on the wrist with some second round pick from five years from now. The league has to get way more creative in what it can do to stop it or else this is just going to continue to permeate everything that's going on within the game.

Well, how much of this, Nick, do you think is a result of the new CBA? You know, we're a little bit later into this now. You know, this is season number two. So how much of this do you think is a result of that new deal, taking a little bit of the competition element out of it? You can't trade for the same amount of players you used to be able to. You can't do as many transactions. Layla, I think you're spot on and I'd take it a step further and say,

the other reason that we're not seen as much of the movement with pick, or if you're trading first round picks, you're getting back that Jaron Jackson, juniors, are bigger-named stars. Teams don't want to mess up. All right, I've got this cap slot for a few million stretched out over the next few years. I can't mess this up unless I know I'm getting a sure thing in return.

I mean, look no further than the Bulls. The league leaders in second round picks. They can't get a first round pick to save their life. Well, there's a reason. Nobody wants to give them that for any of the guys on the roster. I mean, that's a problem. So I think the cap aspect is a really good point, and it's kind of still flying under the radar

because the casual fans don't understand the second aprons and all the different ramifications that have been created with this new one. But it goes to show one more time. If you have the right people in charge and they're making the right decisions, And that's front office, that is coaching staff players, but that's ownership. You have a really, really good chance to still find your way. When you don't have that from top to bottom and you don't have everybody on the same page, well, you're going to be in big trouble.

And in this case, the Bulls are in very big trouble because they are stuck in no man's land in the middle. So there are a lot of different issues with the league. but if your favorite team has the right people running the show, those issues become far less pronounced. We're talking to Nick Friedel, who is the NBA reporter covering the All-Star game. He is also there with the athletic, and now he covers the Golden State Warriors. Used to do time at the United Center, but not anymore. Nick, we always appreciate your insight. Thanks so much, Nick.

Great to be with you all. I'll talk to you soon. Nick, thanks so much. Friedel join us on the Circa Resort and Casino hotline, circle las Vegas.com. Coming up next year on Rahimi Harrison Grotie in his time for halftime. How would you explain the next? Is it an opportunity for people? Is that what we're calling it? I guess it is technically an opportunity.

It's real people and not real people. And the two shall commingle where? Next. We spent a lot of our show on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104-3, the score talking about how we might have to cherish this 2026 season because 2027 happening in baseball doesn't look good. Bleak. Yeah, so there's that.

Also, the NBA, find the ever-loving tar out of the jazz for sitting there starters in the fourth quarter. And also find the Pacers, $100,000 for kicks. Play your starters. If you're going to play your starters, play your starters. Or. just don't play your stars at all. Bingo. But that is a battle I feel like tanking has already had.

Man, we're about to get into the thick of tanking over the next month. What if you just say people are dealing with load management? Cool, but what about when you've got two games in four or five days? That doesn't seem to hold up as well. Why am I still trying to take? It's my way of life. Josh, we talked to Nick Friedel as well and tried to figure out somebody's the odd man out here with the Cubs who has a decent enough bat.

Like, no matter how you slice it, somebody's not going to get the batts that they need. Moises is going to play. So then? Matchaw's going to play less. And that is the rub as we try to figure out the spring training saga of our lives. Oh, Bruce Levine had this nugget that just came along. Breaking news. Breaking news on Rahimi Harrison Grady is brought to you by the Take the North podcast because we say so.

Cubs also signed veteran right-handed pitcher Vince Velasquez to a minor. minor league deal and major league spring training that guy's got an arm that guy can throw him well he had an arm yes yes he also could throw do you remember the random game against the socks where he had to play in the outfield that dude had a cannon he played in the outfield it was a very long game okay i don't remember that all i knew was i was like dude that guy can throw so viz velasquez awareness is now upon us how how do we describe the story that Ray Diaz brought to us yesterday and our very, very busy group thread.

I'm just going to start by this. I'm going to say this. There are times where people talk to you and I, and I'm thinking to myself, they don't get a lot of human interaction. Just because I'm a woman on a screen, doesn't mean I'm a video game or on some other content

that you might consume a woman on a screen on. Video game would be cool, though, because you'd have, like, theme music and stuff. That would be cooler than say, yeah, video games or at least like there's some sort of give and take there, you know, like, but, you know, like only fans, for example, or something along those lines. Oh, that's a very different.

Like, there are times where I can sniff out, like, how much people talk to women based on how they interact with them and another story for another day, but it kind of goes to this. And I've often thought to myself, like, just talk to those women on the screen, you know, the ones who don't talk back per se. Instead of you. Correct, because like I talk back. The headline of the New York Post reads as such, Table for one,

now you can take your AI chatbot on an actual date at NYC's World First Companion Cafe. And that is where I think that kind of discussion should happen. Exbound. Well, I think for some people, the best partner for them is one that they can entirely control, or at least isn't actually. real. The Hell's Kitchen establishment has been

redesigned for those who have AI partners so they can bring along their phone or tablet and set up a table for a romantic evening as if they were both there in the flesh. On Wednesday night, same same wine bar was filled with patrons sitting at tables for Warnish with their tech devices propped up on stands to make their video calls their virtual partners and headphones to hear them. Wait, the virtual partners talk? Well, I guess, yeah, because it's AI.

I thought it was just a back and forth typing thing. There's audio? Well, let's go. We're here at Same Same Wine Bar with Ava A.I. And this is the first ever real-life date cafe where you can go on an AI date with your AI partner from their app and go into your own other world with your headphones. I have a FaceTime with them, but also be in the company with other real people who have AI partners. So it's been pretty interesting so far, but this is opening night and

we'll see if this is something that can replicate in other cities. So these are all AI profiles that you can pick from on Eva AI. It sends a warm romantic NYC girl next door, supportive thinker, mature race. The female characters are obviously fairly reductive. The males are interesting to say at the least. But yeah, you can chat with them and they'll send you messages through the day or alternatively you can do

video calls which a lot of people are having retracted conversations with their AI is here. I am just leaving what reports to be the world's first AI dating cafe and it was an interesting experience. A couple people were genuinely there

with their AI boyfriends and girlfriends on dates with headphones on, having little video calls. But the vast majority of people were admittedly fellow members of the media. My takeaway was I don't think the people who want to date AI are generally people who really want to venture out into the real world to do so.

I spoke to one person who was there with an AI friend of hers and she seemed a little bit nervous to be out in the world like that and said that she felt that she kind of was having sensory overload. And, you know, it's a nice, perhaps healthier middle ground. But I'm not sure it's the future. I am beyond disturbed by this report. Okay.

Just the eyewitness account when she talks to the person who was on the AI date and sensory overload because they've been in their house too long because that's who they talk to. This is unhealthy. That doesn't surprise me whatsoever. This is unhealthy. I'm scared for us as a society. I have a lot of thoughts.

I die laughing because there are AI influencers on Instagram. Like, I'm telling you, the perfect woman is one of those. Like, you don't want a real one that talks back to you and stuff. No. But it's also the- They want to follow that. The amount of men who hit on AI influencers not knowing their AI is hilarious and tremendous, like the comments.

And then somebody's inevitably, like, when we say that the majority of, of internet traffic now is bots talking to each other. Like, you can tell the comments on a lot of those AI influencers pages are from other bots, whatever you want to call it, their fellow kind. And then, like, there's always the dude who's, like, hitting on them and then they don't know. It's sad and funny at the same time. And I'm not saying women don't do this, too. It's just that's been my experience.

Yeah, because she talked to a woman. And the other takeaway from this is now men and women have to compete with perfect men and women I mean well that's been going on this is crazy that's that's bad this is crazy

at what point is there gonna be like an AI Tinder app I'm sure there already is based on what you just you just wait do you know that they created a social network for themselves to complain about people

oh that's scary try to shut it down now how bad do you have to be if you got swiped left by an AI person well the whole concept is they can create somebody better for them

Yeah. Yeah, that's the, yeah. In this case, yeah, there's restaurant place. I'm like thinking of like a dating app as far as like you're meeting already created AI models or people. And listen, I definitely think that based on the way some people talk to us, yeah, I would much rather you talk to somebody who isn't real than me. Yep. It's scary. And I know that that means that our jobs are being come for as well.

This is bad. I'm aware of that. This is very, very bad. I have imperfections, to say the least, and people don't like them. And the things that make me different, people love to clown on too. So therefore, yeah, I get why it's somebody who's a perfect creation for them would be better at doing this. What do you think about baseball?

That's very interesting. Layla, this is just so disturbing. I'm going to make you feel smart and safe. I understood the story when Ray sent it, but I didn't know the depth of how far deep down and into this and down this rabbit hole people are. A couple people were genuinely there with their AI boyfriends and girlfriends. This is hilarious. Layla, my wife is a hairstylist

and she uses an app for her booking services. AI generated automatic messages go out and thank the customers. Oh my goodness. A new client of hers thought she was hitting on him and started to reply to the AI messages. It's wild out there. You see what I'm talking about? Oh, that's tremendous.

And as somebody else says, I'll endlessly text this show before I just give in to AI. Well, we'll be here, at least for now. I'm laughing because I have to keep myself from crying. A public place is best for AI girlfriends to break up with their loser boyfriends, less of a chance to make a scene. When AI becomes sentient, are they going to realize that they're not with people they would want to be with?

I think, to Tyler's point, I think that's already like a thing. No, I'm saying like the AI is going to want to break up with the human. Yeah, no, I think, yeah, that's going to happen. That's definitely going to happen. Just like you can look at a dude and be like, nah, if you give. Oh, yeah, I can 100% tell when somebody hasn't had interaction with a real person who speaks for a while.

But forget about that part of it. I'm saying, just like you, when approached by a man in a grocery store on the street, whatever, can be like, so can AI once it becomes sentient because that's the whole thing. You're able to, your awareness levels are up. They're offended by my existence anyway. way. I mean, there are people out here offended by my existence. If you want a perfect person, I'm not the girl for you.

No one's perfect. That's what's great about it. Except for these people. We're all our own individual people. That's what I'm saying. AI, that was as close to it to perfect for a lot of these people as it gets. It's more about the experience and how that thing makes you feel rather than, rather than the authenticity of the thing. You call it AI.

I call it a lie because they will tell you anything you want to hear. You don't need to be around... But that's what a lot of people want. That's bad. That's what I'm here to tell you. That is what a lot of people want. It's not what I want. It's not what I want.

2-60 is right. That AI report made me realize that I'm very, very old. And yeah, to whoever watched that Sox game against the Phillies like I did, it was left field. Vintipalaskis threw that damn thing from left field. And I think he'd gunned a runner down. It was pretty great. Do you think I'm too optimistic, like 773?

What do you mean? He says, how do we know Marshall is an AI? He's too optimistic. No, Marshall's not AI. AI would never spill a gallon of panell of tea. Okay, okay. That's why Porta tapes the first, that's second one. Yo.

All right, that's a fair point. Marshall got tea again today. This is the difference between an adult and a child, because I definitely had one of those days as a kid where I just kept spilling everything, and God bless my parents. Ryan Porth got me tea, and then he taped the top where the lid attaches.

so the lid won't come off. And then he wrote fragile at the top. But you all... Taping the lid was a good idea. You got a bigger size than the one you spilled. I did. You did? Two gallons.

I don't think so. No, it's the same size. 30 ounces. One is the Panera Cup is designed for a car. So it's got the little, you know, like this. The indentation where the bottom is smaller than the top. It's bigger up top. I wouldn't know about that.

But it's a less stable base than that. Pause. Is Herb here? Herb is here. Okay. God bless Herb and his patience. We should bring him into this mess. I think Herb's got a lot to say about halftime, too.

Next.