Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Moisés Ballesteros finally arrives at Cubs camp following visa issue (Hour 2)

Episode Date: February 23, 2026

In the second hour, Leila Rahimi, Marshall Harris and Mark Grote discussed the latest Cubs storylines coming out of spring training, including designated hitter Moises Ballesteros arriving after being delayed due to a visa issue. They also discussed utilityman Matt Shaw's role. Later, they conducted the Halftime segment.

Rahimi Harris and Grotie. Middays 10 to 2 on 104 3, the score. Canisrell swings at that one in the dirt, swings and misses, catcher Herrera, throws it over to first for Nick Prado, and he is out. And that will end your ball game. The Cubs do not come back and get a win. They trail and lose to the Rangers by the score of 3 to 2. Matt Spiegel on the call. are underway with spring training in Mesa, Arizona.

And it was nice to hear our friend Matt Spiegel on the call. We were a little worried about whether or not his voice was going to be A-OK and spick and span. But he went out there and he did a great job. Rested up, much like the Cubs. Rested up. 0 in 3 this spring. You know who's 3 in 0 this spring? Yeah, your team.

White Sox. The Mighty White Sox. Go White Sox. What does it all mean? And now somebody will come up with a statistic that the White Sox. Sox were like 3 and 16 when they won the World Series in 2005. That's fine. 85 bears were winless before they won the Super Bowl.

To dash all your dreams. Why do I hear you saying that in Hawk Harrelson voice? Let me tell you about that. Let me tell you about 2005. Yeah, White Sox were three and O. You know, that's good. Let me tell you about Cliff Polite. A lot of people don't know about Cliff Polite.

I know about softball. But 16-inch softball. And while I don't put much stock into a spring training for veterans. How dare you? Or B. Spring training record. How dare you? What I do put some stock into is who needs spring training the most?

You know, like, for example, Mune Takamurokami, you want to get him as many spring training at bats as possible because he's got to go to Japan for the World Baseball Classic. We get more international competition, guys. That's a good thing. Team USA. Did you see George Springer, by the way? He took batting practice in the Team USA jersey after watching the game in the clubhouse

and he just wanted to celebrate America, even though he plays for, you know, Canada's team in baseball. Well, that's okay. Is there surfing in the Summer Olympics? Yes. Yeah. Has there been in the past?

I don't know. It was in Tahiti this past Olympiad. Oh, it was? Yeah, and then some whale decided to get in and have fun, and then they did a little breach. Oh. I don't know how many years they've been doing it. But yes, they've been doing so.

I heard them pre because they did the whole preview of L.A., what is it, 26? 28. Here it comes. We're in 26. Yeah. 28. Yes.

Flag, flag, flag football. Squash. here we go. LA, baby. Spread out all over the place, too, just the way they did. Just don't let Raygun break dance, and I'm pretty good.

Oh, man. And I liked it when they had Olympic baseball, by the way, but that's a story for another day. Unfortunately, part of, you know, that's the fun part of talking about the Olympics is discussing travel and learning about other countries' traditions with sports and similar to the World Baseball Classic.

Unfortunately, there's the other side of it. You know, the bureaucratic red tape that it sometimes takes, not just to play or compete for your country, but to do your job. And Moises Bay Estero's unfortunately had that issue. He managed to travel to Colombia from Venezuela. We know there is political unrest that is going on there amid visa issues that had delayed his arrival. Reportedly, the Cubs tried to get this going for him, this process, in January.

But unfortunately, he wasn't able to arrive until this past weekend. So on Sunday, Moises was ready and ready to get back to work. That begins the bigger discussion. Where does Moises Bios Starros bat as we try to figure out the jigsaw puzzle that is this Cubs light up and really positions on the field? How are they factoring him in? The thing that I took away from what was talked about, understand, Bios dearestero is still relatively young.

He's 22 years old. I think even though it was kind of a flash in the pants, situation, like he's going to be a rookie this year. He can win rookie of the year in the National League. That's how few actual plate appearances he had last season. And we know he's a DH. We know he's, in theory, a catcher, but that his catching was not up to par through the Cubs Lens, Craig Counseling Company. And so now he's going to get all this time behind the plate because Miguel Amaya's headed to the World Baseball Classic. And he's also going to get time at first base, which I thought was interesting. So now you're talking about a possible insurance policy.

And my thought process as he starts, because remember, this is a guy who was trapped between countries in that he got to Columbia and was stuck there for a week and a half trying to get through his visa issues, but he, like, found a local stadium near his hotel to at least get some workouts in while he was waiting to see if he could get through. Is he going to be a guy that is definitely in the everyday lineup, or is there a chance he could not be on the major league roster to start the season? And that's the pickle here, guys, is trying to figure out who's at bats, really, when it comes to the jigsaw puzzle of Shaw, By Astaris, for example. Say, Suzuki, if you want, I want, say, in the hitting every day. But saying wants to play it in the outfield, as we know, the Cubs just added, by the way, to this mix, Michael Conforto, who was a big name of Mets fame. And somebody who the Cubs had wanted for a while, that was according to John Heyman at 1 a.m. this morning. just in case you wanted to go to sleep. So Conforto is supposedly in this mix as well when you talk about insurance policies.

So that's the whole puzzle of spring training to me. It's trying to figure out where Matt Shaw fits in, trying to figure out where Moiseseses-Biosteros fits in. When you hear that catcher in first base are part of Biosteros's responsibility, does that mean he's the third catcher? You know, like, for example, think about all the Cubs had to go through once Amaya went down last year. So how does this all fit together?

in a way that A, answers any questions, or B, what are the questions to begin with? Bia Starros just screams hitter. That's it. Like, not, do you guys see him playing more than 30 to 40 games at any position on a major league diamond this year? And I know what you're saying, that he's going to get the catcher thing. That does not sound like something that would actually happen. Yes, he's going to, with Amaya being gone, yes, he's going to get opportunities.

I would be shocked if we see Biosteroes at any time in a season in which the Cubs are expected to win, playing any real serious time at catcher at first base. God forbid the outfield, he just seems like one of them. And he can make a really nice major league career out of just being a hitter. So I rule him out when I think about defense. Say, Suzuki played, what, 30 to 32 games last year in the outfield at all last year? we know that Matt Shaw has never played the outfield. Conforto is a flyer, right?

We don't even know if he's going to make the team. So it's a no call right now. And I don't know that there's somebody who moves ahead of, I guess, Sayha, in terms of like playing the outfield. But we all know that that can be an adventure at times. What I love about it is that this feels like actual competition. You know, if you live by the words, Iron Sharp, iron, this seems like an opportunity for Craig Counsel to get a comprehensive look at the players on this team. Now, I know Sayas Suzuki is going to be spinning a chunk of what would be spring

training at the World Baseball Classic, but let's be honest, that's real competition these days. This World Baseball Classic is not like the original examples of what you had when you talked about international competition. The U.S. has been passed up. You could argue by Japan in terms of top of the top. And so I want to know what they gleam. from Moises Bios Stereos' and Matt Shaw's performances defensively more than anything else. That's what I want to know. That's probably my biggest question in Springtrain is, where are those two guys going to actually play when they're in the lineup?

Well, and also, is it like how you constructed your pitching setup for the playoffs where you're just like, okay, I know this guy's good at this part of the game at this time. I know he's good for about X amount of appearances or X. Is it that dire where you're having to try to make stuff work? Now, Bruce Levine was on with Zach Zademan and David Haw this morning, and he led us into where the Cubs want to fit by Astero's as far as the lineup is concerned. Well, Counsel said yesterday he will both play first base and catch during spring training. So they already know he can VH.

You don't have to practice that, right? Nobody practices being a DH. But he will get time at first base. With a mile away for a while for the WBC, he'll get plenty of time to catch. And so that is a good sign. He looks like he's in good condition. And it's really hard to tell.

This is not being funny. But because he has such a squat body, it's hard to tell exactly if he's underweight, if he's overweight. It's very difficult to say, but he looks like he's in good shape. He talked to us yesterday about the trip, which was crazy. Then he had to go to Colombia from Venezuela to get to the United States.

Yeah, what happened, Bruce? Well, his visa had, his passport had run out. And he tried to, you know, with the, political things that are going on between the two countries here, he had a hard time getting a new passport. So, you know, your passport runs out. Then you have two things. You have to get your passport renewed and then get a visa. And this turned out to be extraordinarily difficult for him. They were talking, he said they were talking about bringing him in in January. And this is the difficulty he's had since that time trying to get into campus. You would, you would,

think of it. A young hitter who showed very well in the last part of the year and in the playoffs said you don't want him to get to camp early, you start working on his skills as a catcher. And they did. And he gave the Cubs credit for doing everything they could to get him there. It just didn't work out. So that was Bruce Levine on this morning with David Hahn, Zach Zadman. Now, Bruce is also very much on top of how he feels like the Cubs are going to use match. Shaw. So let's hold the thought because we're a little bit late to the segment because of Catherine Tappen joining us from Milan. And we will hear from Bruce on that and then also trying to figure out if a plan is a little bit more in place now that Biosteros is actually here. This is Rahimi

Harrison Grotie on 104. The score. Rahimi Harrison Grody. The great Kevin Harlan. I just pulled through the Taco Bell drive-through and I've got a couple of big nasty Supreme burritos right here waiting to be. You know, the first thing they ask you now, are you using the app? The app, no, I just want my burrito. I don't want to use an app. Bring a lot of mild sauce because I'm going to escort it all over the place. Put some hot sauce off on my burrito, baby.

Rahimi Harrison Grody, Midday's 10 a.m. to 2 on the score. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 1043, The Score. And Boisos by Astero's finally able to go to Cubs Camp. He's in Mesa and Craig Council said, that he would swing the back, quote, casually, end quote, over the next handful of days as he gently increases his workload. In the meantime, we try to figure out who's going to play where? Who's on first? What's on second?

I don't know. I don't know. I'm on third. I can't remember the other positions, but... Gross, you're the comedy guy. Yeah, I couldn't think of the next line. You guys took the two good lines. We're gatekeeping the good stuff. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I can't quote it past that right now.

But that's kind of how I feel like spring training is for the Cubs. Apparently, we're not the only ones. Listen to what Bruce Levine, our baseball reporter, had to say to Zach Zadman and David Hall this morning about the jigsaw puzzle that is trying to fit Matt Shaw and Moises by Astero's say Suzuki's bats in this lineup. Shaw is much more quiet. You know, watching him in backfields and then in the game yesterday,

He is not as much movement. He talked about keeping his head on the ball. You know, it seems like a simple process for us novices, but in reality, he just felt like when he's not hitting, he's jerking his head off of the ball. A common thing for hitters when they're off. Also, just less movement in the lower half, just a very brief step forward.

the bat speed guys is among the elite in baseball. So this guy should really hit. And I think he will now that he's open to accepting new ideas about his hitting. And, you know, we'll see. I mean, if there's not an injury, it'll probably be 400 bats for him, you know, somewhere between third, second, short. right field, you know, we don't know about injuries, but, you know, anything less than that, I think is something that's going to impede his progression as the employer.

I just don't think you make a 24-year-old guy into a utility guy. It doesn't make sense to me. I think, let me just say this. If he was the number three pick, right, and he wasn't touted, I think there would be consideration that he starts at AAA. Because there's really not a spot for him. You might go out and get yourself a veteran backup for the infield. You seem to have enough outfielders.

O'Contin needs to have a chance. He's running out of options here. Is he really a good player in your organization? Or is he somebody that they missed on? So let's be real about the situation. but because he's the number one, because he played third base and they pushed him off there to get Bregman, I think they're putting him in this super utility role and convincing us verbally that that's going to happen. You're going to have to show me it's going to work.

If that's the case, the Cubs should not place Matt Shaw's development ahead of winning. If he's not ready to face Major League pitching, he should be at Iowa. They should find a better alternative. They should not worry about developing a first-round draft pick. I didn't say he wasn't ready for major league pitching. I'm saying there's not a spot for him. I mean, where did he play? He is your guy that you pointed out could get 400 of bats moving between

right field second and third and D.H. And D.H. Yeah. So, I mean, again, you only see a limited amount of left-handed pitchers, starters. You know, Suzuki's going to be your starting right fielder. You have Alcantra, who's the second best defensive player. in the CUB organization behind PCA. So again, it's, you know, I'm not trying to push him out.

I'm just saying I believe in Matt Shaw, but I believe he's got a hit at 24. You know, is it a horrible thing if he went down to AAA and got ready in case somebody got injured there and he got all his advancing? That's all I'm saying. So here's where I sit with this. I think Bruce is spot on when it comes to because of his value to the organization. and his prospect pedigree, I do think that there is a responsibility

on the team's part to develop him. And I'm not saying that they should. I'm saying that it might be one that they put on themselves. The flip side, though, is, and this is an extreme comp, which is why it's not exactly the case. But you don't want this turning into him being Willie Castro,

you know? You don't want this turning into him being a utility guy who's helping give everybody else the day off. And I don't necessarily know that, sending him to AAA is the best idea either. I think they want to trade. If they put him in AAA, Marshall, they want to trade him because you just said it, Leila, prospect pedigree.

A utility player is not as valuable as a guy that you can call a first round prospect who is getting his work in AAA who did have value on the major league level. So if, and Bruce did not say this, I'm saying this, if they are to start him and leave him in the minor leagues, they're shopping this guy. Well, the other thing is, because first round pedigree says a lot. Remember, this guy was the 13th overall pick when he was drafted. He was a standout at Maryland, a standout nationally. And every level of baseball as a minor leaguer, he has hit.

He had an OPS over 1,000 when it came to the South Bend in the Midwest League, high A, in AA and AAA, an OPS over 929 and 24, that was his OPS, 929 and 24. Gets the chance at the big league level. This is the team obviously competing, has a horrible start. But a lot of players who have gone on to good all-star careers have a horrible start when they start. It just feels like he has less margin for error because of what the Cubs are deeming as a go-for it year this year. And with the years of control, which are insane. valuable more so than they've ever been, I think, in Major League Baseball, the years of

control, when you figure how teams are, I wouldn't say hoarding prospects, but how they are valuing them. And you consider that that 2027 piece being up in the air, the years of control being so critical, that's what makes this really, really tough. You don't want to waste one of those. You don't want to have him be stuck. You want her to have value because you placed value on him as well. You traded away Cam Smith, so that was your other massive name. So, so you're stuck. And when he said that, I'm like, Willie Castro is not the cop. That's not what I'm saying. It's extreme. But you don't want him to turn into, is the development balance with the utility concept enough to get the best use out of the talent you have? Or is it enough to even if the scenario is trade, are you

developing him enough to get a sufficient or acceptable trade value, knowing how many years you have with your top prospect? This, for me, guys, comes down to something maybe very simple as we discuss Matt Shaw's role on the 2026 Cubs here on Rahimi Harrison Grotty on 1043, the score. Is Matt Shaw going to go back to being a true pure hitter in the way that he was at every other level before he got to the big leagues last year? We heard Bruce in that interview when he was on with Mullian Hall talk about how his head had gotten more still.

The bat speed is still there. You're still getting the miles per hour off the bat. So can he hit or not? Can he hit or not? Because let me tell you something. Moises biosteros wanted me to tell you, if you can hit, they'll figure out. They'll figure out a place for you in their lineup. She's like Tommy Lestella.

Just get out of bed hitting 98 miles per hour. You saw him last year? No, I know. Even in the limited time. I know. And I look, Shaw, the Cubs did not want to have to have Matt Shaw start last year, or they would not have gone after Alex Bregman like they did last year. They did not want him to be their starting third baseman this year,

or they wouldn't have gone out and signed Alex Bregman. And then to all of a sudden put him into Utility Man Wasteland, that doesn't sound like a good idea for your prospects. So I'm sticking with that if he does start in the minors, this is a guy. And I think Spiegel, like, during Spiegel's report, didn't he say that, report that the Cubs had talked to the Red Sox. I want to make sure I get this right. So I'm not misquoting Spiegel, but talk to the Red Sox as it relates to Matthew Shaw. So it's already out there that the Cubs may have

already tried to shop him. So what better place to keep him secure and getting better than the minor leagues? Well, in addition to that, wasn't the conversation originally about Niko Horner? And they're like, while we have you on the phone. Yes. Can we discuss this as well? And to that point, here's my thing, if there's no baseball next year or limited baseball next year, the thing the Cubs have is they don't know whether or not

Nico Horner is going to be a Cubs pass this season. If he's not, Matthew Shaw is a very viable option at second base. It would seem. He's already played it in spring training. Here's the whole thing, like if he'd be a very valuable piece to this Major League roster, but we're looking at him as the player

as a former first round pick as a player who you can't call it on yet in terms of is he an everyday player. So it's really going to be interesting to see how they use. Like I've had my choice, like selfishly in a year in which we all kind of think the Cubs are going to win and get back into the playoffs. Yeah, keep them on the big league roster for this year. And we wouldn't be in this if the Cubs just come correct. Last off season with Alex Bregman, that's a lot of pressure off Matt Shaw.

If he's just starting the season in AAA last year where he had dominated the year before because you decided to not be third on who's trying to pay Alex Bregman a year. year go. Well, and also the clock that started. You know, that's not as much of an issue now with the new CBA, but it did start when they decided to bring him up. It wasn't a Chris Bryant situation when they were waiting

for the arbitrary deadline. You know, that's different. But now that he's up, I don't think sending him back down is the best idea either. But I agree with these guys. You know, I agree with the concept that David brought up and that Bruce was talking about. That doesn't mean that

your development comes at the price of a team who clearly out to, as Tom Rickett said, win World Series. Multiple. World Series. That would be... Series is. That would be at least one World Series. Beyond the 2026 season.

That's right. Hey, get back. Beyond the work stoppage. So I think they're trying to just be prepared for whatever lies ahead. But I don't know that relegating him to utility is the best use of everybody's time either. So it's not going to be the best thing for Shaw. Well, hold on. Is it relegated?

I don't know what Matt Shaw's mental makeup is because, let's be honest, he hasn't had a lot of adversity before last season in baseball. He had just been dominant in baseball. And so I wonder if he can overcome the idea of today, you play second base tomorrow, you come off the bench the next day you're in right field. I am intrigued and interested to see how he handles that as a player. But one thing he needs to do, regardless of where he is in the field is, not take his fielding to the plate with him and hit go back to hitting like you were hitting

before last season with the Cubs. And you know, you bring up Lestella, and you know what that reminded me of, Mark? The Chris Coglin, Lestella, somebody had to be in the minor leagues on a World Series team situation that the Cubs had in 2016. That was, that was tense. Yeah. Yeah, I know it was. And I thought Lestella, too, actually starting at third base against the Pittsburgh Pirates

because of his ability to hit 98 with movement. But yeah, I mean, the whole thing is, and somebody's texting here from the 3-1-2, can Shaw become Zobrist? Of course, that's the dream. But Zobrist becoming Zobrist was over many years before he became this, obviously, this super utility guy who was a made man, essentially.

He was a made man by the time he came to the Cubs and was able to play multiple positions. But that's the name that always pops up, of course. Alan Zobris did not have the career with the organization who drafted him. In the career? That was a, yes, Rome, yes. That was the Astros. You know, who's with the Astros system before he ended up going to Tampa.

Yeah, before he ended up coming here. Yeah. Also, 312 on the text line. Uh-huh. What you got? Might be time to option shot of the miners and let him learn how to stay out of triple plays on the basis. Yeah, what was that? It was not good.

I can tell you that. It's a triple play. You know what's really funny, too, is you know the first thing I think of, because I'm baseball old lady. How do you score that on your box score? You're keeping score at home. I was not keeping score at home of a spring trading game. I'm just going to get that out right now.

It started 9-6, right? I think I wrote it down. 9-6. Did you really? I did. I did write it down. So I have it here officially. Oh, good.

Oh, you did. Okay. But I would like to hear your recollection of this. Well, I don't. Was it the shortstop or the second base when you threw? That's all I need a. fielder so it was nine so say it's just listed as a single on mlb.com four three six five wait wait no no but it started with nine it was fly ball to right field

okay so that's that's that's nine oh yeah no no he was a single say a single fly ball to right field it's not an out oh single is not an out so then i got that it's a newer type of thing no here here's what it says though here's here's why this is so wheels off say Suzuki singles on a fly ball to Redfield or Zhang Holi. Sayas Suzuki flies into a triple play. Second baseman Luis Arayes to first baseman Raphael Devers to shortstop Willie Adamas. So that's 4-3-6 to third baseman, Matt Chapman, 5. Matt Shaw out at third, 5 unassisted, Alex Bregman out at third.

Sayas-Sizuqi out at first, three out. But hold on. Why is it not 9-4-365? Because the single, he is the first person to touch the ball. But that's not an out, though. It doesn't need to be an out. Somebody has to touch the ball first. It's like if I...

Technically, you flew into a triple play. If I hit the ball to you as the pitcher, it goes off of you, and then the second basement throws it to first, that's scored as one four three. You see what I'm saying? I guess. If it hits you, if you touch the ball. Right, right. Like, that's...

The second baseball is cutting off, right? A single is a single. Yes, single is a single. So how is that an out? How is it not... How is that an out? I don't like that. That was at the first.

No, I'm saying everybody who touches the ball, though, right? On a play with out. I see what you're saying. Yeah. But I have it down as 4365. Is that what you have it down as? No, because it's MLB.com and I'm just reading. So is it 9, 4, 3.

Well, because it says flies into a triple play, which is akin to what Marshall is saying. And by the way, this, this discussion of baseball minutia from a failed play that ended up being a triple play. Can I just tell you all? This is what I'm here for. I love it all. I needed this. I needed to know how to score a fake game on a play that was clearly a player error. And that's what resulted in some sort of triple play.

I enjoyed the triple play, especially when I realized, oh, they don't, Matt Schault doesn't know. And then Alex Bergman kind of looks at him like, Scottie doesn't know. Yeah, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. Did you see the way they looked at each other? Like, why are you coming off the bag? Ope, oh, we didn't want you to have to be a part of this kind of thing this early on in your cubdom. but hey, and they were even asked them on it afterwards. Exactly.

Exactly. If you're going to have, that's what I would say about spring training. And even like preseason NFL, get all your bad plays out of, I want to see errors. I want to see bad triple plays. I want to see guys being late. All that, like get it all out of your system before the season starts. So good. Also, you know who was a part of it because you're asking yourself, well, wait, isn't there, say, somebody who helps on the coaching staff at

third base to kind of like tell the runners when to go and when not to go, Quentin Berry was turned the other way. Like, I'm like, we're three days into this and I have to ask what Quentin Berry was doing. We went through this way too many times last year. The third base coach cannot be the story multiple times in a year. How many games did that cost them? Three to five? May more?

You're going to go the over. I mean, go ahead. No, I can't say over five. That's outrageous. But it was. When you consider Kyle. Tucker is a five war player. That's a good question.

What is the limit for times that you want to hear about the base coaches in a consequential way throughout a season? That's one. That's one, Quentin Berry. Where do you set the over under though? Two, three? Like, where, how many errors is a third base coach allowed to make during a season? Just turn your body and not your head.

And then you've got angles on both. Oh, yeah. Like what? Don't do it. Don't become wave and, Wendell Kim. That's the last, the previous third base coach to Quentin Barry back in the day that I can remember

being way too much of consequence. I just can't believe I'm here again. Already. Coming up next on Rahimi Harrison Grotie, it's halftime. I have a story for you two that is taken over the internet. I think we can identify with him. That's next.

What time is it? This is halftime on Rahimi Harrison Grotie. Do you know what they don't have half time in? Hockey. Their periods. Intermissions for everyone. And we got to celebrate the men's hockey team winning the gold medal.

Shout out to the women as well. A team that I covered for two Olympiad. It's fun to watch. And it was a fun moment. And thanks to Catherine Tappen for joining us in Milan. What horrible luck for Catherine Tappan. Catherine, there's a blizzard back in New York. Sorry.

Nor Easter? You're just going to get, I think it is a Noreaster. Oh, stick. You're just going to have to stay in Milan another day. Grody just wanted to say Noreaster for the record. Layla gets mad at me for doing that because of how serious thing. I know. She's like, Grody, this is on and off.

You don't get excited about Nor Easter's. And I'm like, there's death and destruction. He likes the word, though. I get it. It's got an apostrophe. It's a unique word. We don't get them here. So it's apparently good.

Be thankful. We just get our butts kicked all winter. Yeah. And the winter was like, hey, did you see that a 60-degree day? psych, here's snow on Saturday night. And that's why everybody's walking around sick all the time in this city because of the varying weather and whatnot. I'm enjoying winter in Chicago this year. I will admit that because I see what's happening other places.

At least we know how to deal with snow and basic things. Here's the thing. All the people are like, you know, they'll text in, oh, it's 80 where I am. And I'm like, yeah, but what is it in August? No, thank you. Like if it's 80 in January, I don't want to be around that place in August. Like Arizona? At least.

Arizona. I mean, the temperature in Phoenix. got up to like 118 or something wild. That's not cool, man. I wish I were kidding, but there's real problems there. So needless to say, I'm used to this weather. I get it. I'm in snugly boots today, and I keep wiggling my toes, and it makes me happy.

Okay, so speaking of snuggle, have you guys seen the, it like gives me sadness, the pictures of Punch, the abandoned seven-month-old Japanese macaw monkey who has been carrying around a monkey IKEA toy everywhere. The stuffed orangutang, yes, I've seen him with his toy. I didn't know it was a stuffed orangutang. I knew it was from IKEA. Yes, a stuffed orangutang,

separated from his mother at birth. And yeah, they decided to put a camera on it and now everybody shares that pain. And so Punch is his name and he was abandoned by his mom and bullied by other monkeys. Like, as if things aren't bad enough in your family, then your friends

don't like you either. Yikes. He was born last July at Ishikawa Zoo in Japan, and he has drawn international attention after they gave him a stuffed orangutang toy when he was abandoned. Without maternal guidance to help him integrate, punches turn into the toy for comfort. And he does, he like drags this gigantic toy relative to his size everywhere. Like a little child with their stuffed animal toy or your dog with their favorite stuffed animal toy or cat. I know cats have some as well. And every picture just has me so upset, like a rationally sad,

punch. You know what it is? He has what I call DP eyes. Those are commonly referred to as Disney Princess eyes. I have never heard

this, but I am listening. They are over-exaggerated in the animation and in children and even like children of animals, young puppies, whatever,

the eyes become like the focal point to a almost exaggerated degree. And so you lock in and you feel the sadness. You feel whatever. The happiness, the sadness,

the laughter of a baby. There's a reason that hits you a little different than a fully formed adult in whatever species we're talking about. So dogs, when they give you the puppy dog eyes, do you know what that is? That's them also showing more of the whites of their eyes, and that's how they're able to convey emotion. Ooh, they getcha. Stupid tricks, aren't they? They've been getting him for years. Yeah, well, cats do this thing where it's like, between, it's half purr, half meow. I forget what they call it. Like a trill sound, which apparently is to, like, like, you know, like, to get the same effect out of a human

that a human would get out of a baby, out of a human baby. So that's what it's like evolved to be. And it is, it's tough. It's tough. We really do work for cats. And you fold every time, don't you? Every time.

With that, when Dave, the cat does the trill, I'm like, all right, I'll get up. What do you, what would you like to play? What would you like to play today? Even, even the captions of the story in the Guardian about Punch, Punch sits alone in a fake tree Okay, stop it. You're making me sad.

It's upsetting. Really upsetting. Did you see when Punch tried to play with one of the other monkeys and then the mother of said monkey came over and basically dragged him around like, A punch, no, not leave my baby alone. She didn't want to be ostracized from the group for letting her child play with the child who was bullied. He's from the wrong side of the tracks. He's by himself just because his mom abandoned him doesn't mean that you should too.

Is now usually what happens to the loner? Like a family sees a loaner and he's like, I don't want you hang around that boy. It's all supposed to be for survival. But they're at a zoo. They're going to survive. Yeah. They're going to be treated pretty well.

Did anybody talk to the mom and like let her know? I don't know if conversations were had. Was there a parent teacher coprored? How intelligent are they? Pretty intelligent. Very. Well, and I mean, and the Blackhawks bless them and curse them at the same time. What did the Blackhawks do?

Posted a picture of Punch with the orangutan toy and said, us waiting for hockey to return this morning. I thought you were going to say us waiting for playoffs to resume. Oh yeah, there's that as well. Playoffs. Yeah. We're not to the point of playoffs yet. Also, a lot of people are saying that punch

is the new Moodang. You know, Moodang was the obstinate baby hippo, the baby pygmy hippo. Oh, yeah, I do remember that. Moodang, I really looked up to because Moodang was just about Moodang and Moodang things. Moodang. Moodang did not care for what anybody wanted

Moudang to do. Yeah, like, Moudang is living the best life. Like, I'm not getting out of this water. I like the water. I'm going to hit you in the head. I'm going to hit you in the leg with my head. I'm going to chop on your leg, bite you, even though I have no teeth.

Because I'm going to do what I want because I'm Moudang. Have you seen Moodang, Rody? I have not. Oh, and the Department of Just a Baby. Oh, yeah? Moodang is up there. It's worth a Google. Just a baby.

I'll check that. Just a baby. Just a baby. Just a baby. But, yeah, the pictures, I just can't get over the sad pictures. of punch and the Blackhawks trying to tug at my heartstrings did not help matters this morning. So if you don't

know about punch and you see all these pictures of this poor little monkey with this giant IKEA toy. May I take an opportunity to wish a happy birthday shout-out really quickly? You had to ask us for permission. If I may. If I may, if I may, if I may, a happy birthday to

my dear baby niece, Madeline. Happy birthday to Madeline. Happy 14th birthday. We're going to You want her choice? You want to know her choice for dinner tonight? I got to hear this. Texas Roadhouse.

Hell yeah. Let's go, Madeline. With the rolls? With the rolls? We are going to the roadhouse today. That was her choice? That's her choice. I went to Texas Roadhouse with my friend for Christmas.

How deep into the burbs are you going to hit a Texas Roadhouse? Yeah, I'm not sure. Oh, I think it's countryside. Countryside. Countryside. Okay. Okay. Look out countryside.

Some restaurants do not exist in the city like. Yeah, I don't think there's a Texas Roadhouse. house in the in the maybe there is there's always one of everything that you don't like there's probably a red lobster that we don't know about in downtown chicago somewhere let me issue the edicts right now because i don't like it when people gate keep stuff and that includes commonly celebrated food chains if somebody were to pay the freight and have the olive garden rent here or they were to have the you know there used to be that hop and cheesecake factory in the grand lux cafe if they were to put some sort of texs road house

in the city, people would, A, try to go ironically, B, pretend that the food isn't good when it is, and then C, that place would be packed. Yeah. Is the cheesecake factory gone, the one by Water Tower? I thought it was. Is it? I don't know. You're right about Grand Lux.

Somebody please report. Yeah, I used to love going to Grand Lucks. It was a great go-to. I celebrate my basicness. Well, and they are both, by the way, same company own both of those restaurants. Grand Lucks and Cheesecake Factory is open right now. It's still okay.

It's still good to go. Okay. I'm the one who abandoned the Cheesecake Factory. Like punches my. You've abandoned your cheesecake factory. Michigan and Chestnut. Sometimes there's too many options. But sometimes when there's too many options,

well, oh, you're saying too many options at cheesecake. But all of it. Yes. We have a cheesecake factory menu of restaurants in the city. Yes, it's a lot. There is some disparagement going on on our Twitch chat about Texas Roadhouse. I'm just not here to yuck anybody's yum. Okay?

That's really what it comes down to. Yeah, it's a perfect place. Sometimes you just got to have the best. basics in Texas Roadhouse is that. So I'm looking forward to it. Yes. Cam Ran Santo, which is an amazing Twitter name. You're right. Punch is just a baby. It's just a little thing. I just, I hate that for him. Okay, coming up next is five on it. And we haven't gotten to pressing combine talk yet, but we have pressing combine talk next. He's just a baby.