Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Tom Ricketts says good part out loud in setting World Series expectations for Cubs

Episode Date: February 17, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Mark Grote reacted to Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts setting World Series expectations for his club.

It's Layla and Mark Grody, but apparently we're having some issues with the microphone situation here. You get all set. Who's messing with the mics? You know who was just here a second ago? And it still sounds weird. Now it sounds like I'm actually on the radio. Do you have both mics on? Wait, hold on.

Hello? Okay, so you have... Wow. So you have the right mic pointed towards you, but the left mic is on. Right, but that's the mic that's actually... So this mic does not work? You know, you take a day off. What did you do?

How dare they do this on Michael Jordan's birthday? Gabe Ramirez. Gabe Ramirez was the one sitting here for the last five hours with David Haw. Those two. No, Gabe had issues with the mic too. Why are you trying to blame Gabe? Well, because they were trying to say I hate America. So I'm just, I'm playing the game.

You know what I'm saying? I love America. I mean, you refuse to watch the Olympics, and I remember you saying you hated America. That's because I have all the gold medals already. What do I need to watch the Olympics? I'm kidding. I have all the gold medals. Mark never said that.

This is Reilly Mears and Grotie on 104-3, the score. Sorry about our equipment. Yeah, you said it. Evergreen line. That's what she said. That's what at 65 outside yesterday. Everybody was happy. Brody and I did the right thing and took the day off.

So we're all fresh and rested. Just walking about the city. I think you and I were not on the same path, but just walking about the city yesterday. La La La La La La La La La La Laugh. Having a nice day in the city of Chicago. Frolicking about it. Earbuds.

Do you go earbuds or do you put the full cover headphones on when you're walking? What's your walking style? Do you have a backpack? I don't do the full cover of the headphones like these. I go with earbuds or like lately just to be ridiculous, corded headphones. Corded? Oh, corded headphones. Yeah, because they're kind of back.

And the sound quality is better. And if you lose them, they're not as pricey. So I like all of those scenarios You're talking about like these, like the Apple Correct That's what I'm using these days Because they keep losing the earbuds Well I have some extras

So if you need them let me know Really? Yeah Okay All right That's the whole point I save them and stuff For rainy days

Sick And yesterday it was not So we had a great time It was like being in You know The mythical forest In an old school Disney movie Like not the princesses ones

Like fox and hound or Robin Hood or something Okay Yeah That's the vibe It's a good vibe Yeah, it was a lovely day. So we thank you for joining us on this Tuesday. Marshall is out. He was here with Russ Dorsey yesterday. It is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104-3, the score. And there is big news at Cubs yesterday, big enough to where it deserves a couple of days of coverage.

Tom Ricketts spoke almost 24 hours ago. I want to say it was like 20 or so. We talk about the phrase saying the quiet part out loud and then we shake our heads and usually it's not what you want to hear. Not this time. Tom Rickett said the good part out loud. If you don't believe me, listen to what the Cubs owner had to say. Riggily was incredible in those playoff games last year. And it did remind you of some of those games back in 15 and 16 and somewhat 17 where we had just the kind of energy.

And obviously, we want to have those games every year. We obviously want to win the World Series every year. But for me, too, it's like it's just paying off all the loyal fans. who have come to so many games for so many years and given so much to the team to be able to pay them back with an incredible experience like what we saw on the playoffs last year that just means a lot to me personally and I want to do that every year touch down holy holy he said it he wants to go back to the world series he said the thing the playoffs reminded him of the feeling the feeling of knowing what it's like to win and when you spend

money and resources on your team and draft capital and whatever else to get good offensive players, not just pitching, not just the spine of the defense. It's like something was unlocked. It's like the Celine Dion video, Mark. It was all coming back to him now. There it is. And that's the part, too. I know that Tom Ricketts cares about the fans.

He's a fan-friendly owner. He likes to shake hands with the people in the stands. I've seen him doing. Everybody's probably seen him doing. But really, really, Tom Ricketts spent $228 million. this winter. He spent last winter trying to tell us why they're not cheap and why that you should understand what the plan is. This year they spent the money and he does look at this team just the way you and I do, Layla, at least speaking for myself, that this is a team that's kind of in must-win

mode, considering the division, considering Alex Bregman, considering the signing of Edward Cabrera, all the things that the Cubs have done who exists on their roster. it's must win time for the Cubs. It is. And we've said that a lot when it comes to, even last year, you remember we asked the question, are the Bears in win now mode? Guess what?

They were because they won. We just didn't know. Yeah. I didn't know. You know how I feel about this, but this you know. This you absolutely know. Win now.

And what was my pitch when it came to not just at the time, the idea of signing Kyle Tucker and also having that playoff. series here at Wrigley and it was so much fun and being able to beat the Padres even though the Padres had the firepower of one of the best bullpins ever created in the last millennium in baseball you know I mean since 2000 that was one of the best bullpins that we had seen probably like rivaling the Yankees bullpins back in the day it was that effective you know pricey pricey acquisitions when you consider their bullpen when you consider guys like Tatis Machado resigning them that all the resources they had acquired and still

It was the home team who took down that team in the best division. Somehow, some way. But you felt it. And you know, a lot of people have talked about the Cubs slogans. And I guess this is getting a lot of criticism because that's the slogan this year. I'm an everybody in girl. That was my favorite. Everybody in.

Everybody in was my favorite of the last several years of the Cubs. Everybody in. You have to see it as another one. But for me, I think I was in. when it came to selling that concept yet again. Like Jed Hoyer saying, this could be us, but you're playing. You feel this? You feel this playoff buzz?

You feel this excitement. Everybody talking about the Cubs. And it was so well-timed because it was during the Bears' buy week. So all the attention was focused at Wrigley. You know, John Summit plays the show. Wrigley's packed. Everybody's cheering. Like, I will never forget when James and Tyone got that strikeout to end the first inning,

how everybody's on their feet just screaming. And it was great. Did it all work? What do you mean? To have Tom Ricketts to motivate him to spend and do all of what he's doing. Did it work? He got another taste. He got another taste of, like, it was almost like, remember what it feels like?

Wasn't that long ago that the Cubs were winning playoff series. So got a little taste. And it's also must win not just because of the payroll that the Cubs have, which is, or at least the spending, was second highest in Major League Baseball. It's also the fact that, God, I know I'm not the one who should be talking about the division being weak because I'm the one that assumed the Cubs are going to win the division in May last year over the Brewers. But again, again, like for instance, I'll let Pocoda do it. Pocoda picking the Cubs to win the division by 10 games over the Brewers.

If you need fan graphs, this is, this tells you everything you need to know about the division. They're picking the Cubs to win by four games over the Pittsburgh Pirates in the division. That tells you where things are with the division, that there's one team that everybody is confident about, and that is the Chicago Cubs. Reds get a little bit of love. It's a must-win year for the Chicago Cubs. Well, I will get into, I think, some of the particulars as to why the brewers who have been the standard bearer in the division. Bearer.

Bear. And why they are not picked as aggressively. Now, Pocoda does give the brewers respect. And if there's one thing Milwaukee did do last year, it was, what was the favorite phrase in the front office for a while, which was outperform expectations? There's no doubt about that. When you decide to win 21 games in a row, yeah, for the career? For the career? No, that is the Milwaukee Brewers in a sentence right there.

They do it. That's what they've done. Since 2018, I feel like, that has been the case. And when Christian Eilich ripped off that MVP quality season, it was the only one challenging Harvey bias at the time. I think that's when they started this run. And, you know, unfortunately, that coincides with the Cubs dynasty or the team that was supposed to be built for a dynasty, the offense being broken. That was kind of the end of that, that 2016 arc. So it's so nice to be sitting here talking to you today about how the playoffs and everything else seem to

unlock that competitive spending and that competitive spirit for Tom Ricketts and the Cubs this year. Yeah. And the Bears comp is good, too, because it's like, I don't know if it actually was the loudest, one of the loudest it's been at Wrigley Field this year relative to the 15, 16, and 17, and all playoff years that the Cubs have had. But it sure seems like the accounts that we've gotten, it's like never before. And I have a hard time with that just because I was there for every single game in 15, 16,

and 7 doing pre-imposed. He was there. I was there. A lot of you people weren't there, but I was there. I was there for some. You were there a lot? Yeah. I got to fill in it at NBC Sport Chicago quite a bit.

I was there. I believe you might have, hmm. We might have met in the club's clubhouse at one point in time. I think we did. As professional reports, hi, I'm Mark Grody from the score. I'm Lailer Amy from. Wait, what was it then? At the time, it was Comcast Sportsnet.

Yes. Marshall and I worked together at Comcast SportsNet in Philly and that I came here. I remember it because I think it was shortly there after. You're like, oh, you're like, I got to get you on the air or something like that. And we did like a one-on-one interview that aired, I think, on one of the shows that you guys do over there. I think it was when I was hosting, there was bases loaded, and then there was baseball night in Chicago. So it was probably one of those. You had two shows.

And poor Mark, yeah, they were nice to me there. We got to do a lot of shows. That's nice. And then poor Mark Grody had to find people to interview in the newly renovated clubhouse where there were all these hiding spots. Oh, yeah. And that was not easy. the part that people don't know about, like, of course, as the pre and post game show host, you are attached to the team and you have many benefits, including being lucky enough to travel

with the team. But it's not like anybody is setting up those interviews on the day-to-day basis. Every day, you've got to get one of those interviews from one of the players. It's not like somebody's doing that work for you. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104-3, The Score. And we get to talk about the good part. Tom Rickett spent. The only other team that spent more money, than the Cubs this past season in Free Agency was not the Dodgers actually, don't worry, they're up there. But it was the Blue Jays,

who were two strikes away from beating the Dodgers in Game 7 of the World Series. And for everybody who wanted him to do that, he's done it. Now, there are some staffos in the plan. You know, we'll get to those in a little bit. Also, I'm laughing at everybody chiming out on our text line.

Like, for example, the question, 224, who is the sideways man behind Ricketts? Needs to be a meme. That is Dennis Kahn. Colitin, his PR guy. The omnipresent, Dennis, Dennis. Shout out to Dennis Colt. He's a good man. We saw Dennis the night, Marshall and I saying the stretch.

I don't know if you were called, then we saw Dennis. So, yeah, that's who that is. So just so you guys are aware. And then, yeah, 7-73, you're right. Dansby stole that Padre Series. That's where defense combined with enough offense and pitching. When you've got all three phases, if you will, that's where that can come into play. And it would be a good thing.

All three phases is not just for the Bears. That's true. Good bringing to bears. That's true. Because that's what I was thinking about too, the comp to the Cubs and the bear like with the way the hunger. Like we always talk about what a great sports town. This is the hunger. The the voracious appetite of Chicago sports fan I feel like is like at a 10 right now.

And I don't know exactly why. Bears playoffs. But no, but even like because we had the testimonials of it being the loudest people that ever heard Soldier Field. So that's what I'm saying. Like in that moment, people were just so needy for the bears to be good. And when the Cubs were playing, we were needy. Like it felt like over the usual Chicago was a 10 when it comes to sports fans in the playoffs. It felt like it went beyond that for some reason.

And I don't know why. I'll tell you why. You tell me why. We back up. That's right, baby. We back up. I need you to know. I get back up.

Is that what you guys are doing? I had the idea of doing a segment. We'll take you behind the scenes real quick. Backstage, Grotie. Yeah, yeah. Now I understand. I had an idea to do the we back up rankings, you know, from the wire. I want you to put the word out there that we back up.

Oh. Understand me? We back up. That was inspired by Alex Breggman signing, really. But then, you know, the Bulls went in bold. No, no. Don't worry about that right now. No.

We back up, baby. Also, also, let's face it. The Bulls had to get rid of some of those contracts. You're right. They actually got something for them, which is a change. So guess what they did according to their plan? They got up. Not back up.

I get knocked down, but I get up again. You know who else kind of said that? You know who else put the word out there? This is really what Ricketts was kind of doing yesterday. Because he knows, we'll hold him to this standard now. And when you see Tom Ricketts, he'll be like, hey, why didn't you spend the extra money to get Zach Gallen or something along those lines? But Tom Ricketts talked a little bit more about putting the word out there, if you will. I want more string your ball.

This is 17 years that your family's own, the Cubs. And you talked initially about what you wanted to do. It appears you've done most of those things. Is there anything that you feel is incomplete that you and your family would continue to want to try to do with the Cubs? We just have to win more World Series. I mean, it's about winning. I mean, all this other stuff, it all leads to one thing, and that's about winning. and we just have to put the kind of teams on the field that can be in the playoffs every year

and get back on top. He didn't say division. He didn't say intelligence spending. He didn't say any of that. He said World Series. And he didn't really pose it as singular either. We just have to win World Series. I want you to put the word out there.

We back up. Come on, yeah. Understand me? We back up. I think the important part, though, is when he says that, he knows people are going to hold him to it. His PR guy Dennis, the meme, knows that we're going to ask him about it. He knows that if people see him in the streets, they're going to come out of with that question. You best not miss.

It was a good day for Tom Ricketts, wasn't it? It's a good day for us because everybody's on the same page about this. Amen. Yes. You are a must-win Chicago Cubs team. That's it. That's it. And I think unlike a lot of other teams right now in baseball, the Cubs are poised to do this. And whether or not you want to admit it, it's probably because of something you initially pushed back against. So we'll explain that and get into why the money matters here next on Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104. Before we get to our break, Ray Diaz, Tyler Buehberbaugh, our producers, you heard them.

They're always up. They even worked yesterday for you. Not for me. I took the day off. You guys worked yesterday. Yeah. Yeah, we were here. You guys feel pretty good about yourselves, aren't you?

We're grinding. We're grinding out that holiday. I'm going to need you two to treat yourselves with some time later, just from me to you. Did you guys talk presidents yesterday? Oh, we did our Mount Rushmore, presidents, our own Mount Rushmore, not the official Mount Rushmore? Millard Fillmore, you mix in or something, just to make it different. There you go.

John Quincy Adams. Yeah. And he talked at the All-Star game, didn't he? We're planning to do our presidency bracket in case of March Madness coming up, you know? Did he say something about aliens? are real. That would turn bad. Yes, the aliens conversation

was hilarious. We should bring that up if we have time today. So that's Ray Diaz. Obama. Tyler Beaterbaugh. Mark Rodi as Wayne Larravee as discussing our former president

of the United States. Braden Friar is our producer. More aliens from Barack Obama. You can text us. 312-4-44-67. You can call us at that number as well. We are on Twitch. Twitch.tv slash the score

Chicago. Our Twitch mob is hanging out. with us and we're on YouTube at the score Chicago as well. So coming up next, let's get into that very thing, how the World Series and the discussion about the budget may be centered around something you might not have liked, but you might understand how it's working for you now. That's next. Thanks, Ben. Go cups.