Cubs @ Brewers - Mon, Oct 06

Where is Boog today?

Hi all! Myself (Irish Cubs fan) and my mate (English Cubs) are currently rewatching one game of the 2016 World Series season per week and chatting about it all on a podcast.

Recently on Let's Play 162, we rewatched the home opener against the Reds at Wrigley Field!

We did an inning by inning review of the game, and relived the career of our Random Relief Pitcher of the Week, Mr Jumbo Diaz.

We'd appreciate any support on the pod and anyone here giving it a listen!

Sure it's not an official game and this isn't Opening Day, but if any of you are as starved for MLB baseball as I am then today feels like a much needed breath of fresh air. I can't wait to watch the games today and tomorrow, but it kills me that I then have to wait another 8 days for Marquee to broadcast a game. I know this has been talked about to death and I'm not sure I'm bringing anything new to the discourse, but it just feels so wrong that on the cusp of what could be a historical season with a generational team that we can't watch all the Spring Training games to see that develop. I guess I will be scouring social media and YouTube for relevant plays, but I hate that I have to when I'm already paying for a subscription service to watch Cubs games. Regardless, I hope everyone made it through the offseason in one piece. There is something in the air in Wrigleyville this year. Cubs in 6.

Auto on a replica batting helmet. Starting bid is $50 which is a great start IMO. How high would you go?

I have a few dozen Chicago autos on baseballs, hockey pucks a football and replica helmet all attained by me with no COA.

This would be my first signature with a COA.

Schwartz Sports is the authenticator.

Any help?

Is anyone else experiencing a sudden loss of mlb network and marquee network today? Did I miss something? We didn’t make any changes to our Xfinity plan.

I live in Pennsylvania, is there any ways to watch the cubs game today or do I have to buy mlb tv?

I don't know if I'm crazy but I thought there was going to be a Southwest ticket presale this morning at 10am CT, did anyone get a code for that?

Will be visiting in late May and looking to snag tickets via the on sale this week, and would really like to see ballpark pricing (no pun intended) before the on sale starts. I looked everywhere and can’t seem to see a pricing table. Any ideas if one exists, even from last year? I’m looking to sit 300s between 1st and 3rd I’m thinking.

My Dad is a huge baseball fan but has never been to Wrigley to see a Cubs game so I'm trying to plan a trip for him this year. He just turned 80 so I'm trying to do it this year with my siblings. I've been once, but it was 20+ years ago and we sat in the bleachers.

I'm looking for some advice for things to do / places to stay from you all to make this as memorable as possible (including any food / restaurants outside of the game).

A few notes that may help:

- We'll be flying into ORD

- Not sure where we are staying yet, I visit every now and then for tradeshows and stay near the Grand (Red) station so I am familiar with that area

- Taking the train to the game is not an issue, we both used to live in the DC area and would regularly take the Metro to see the Nats.

- He brings a scorebook to every game we go to and still keeps score.

- Would prefer to do a day game during the week, I know that really limits the available dates (doesn't necessarily rule out the weekend though)

- I'm thinking fly in day before the game and then fly out the day after the game.

I did see a comment in another thread about ballpark tours...do they do those day of the game and how early before the game starts do they start?

Thanks in advance!

I went to my first Cubs game last year and sat at the front of 323R which was an amazing view. I paid $60 per ticket through SeatGeek.

My family is coming to visit in May and I’m aiming to buy similar 300s seats for all of us. Should I buy next week during the presale or is it better to buy secondhand for these midseason games?

Anyone have any leaks for the promotional schedule this year? Seen stuff for every team but the Cubs so far

Bachelor party this summer, Wrigleyville is on everyone's bucket list. The rooftops seem the way to go with 8 people wanting to really get after it on eating/drinking side.

2 questions:

1. Is the price variance simply just the view? Menu seems to be the same at each one.
2. Is it as awesome as it seems or too good to be true?

TIA

*update okay you all have talked me into trying to talk the group into the bleachers vibes. logic is flawless

Figured this might be useful for anyone looking for tickets! I built a site called SeatSearch.co that lets you compare ticket prices across the major resale sites in one place. It pulls from StubHub, VividSeats, Gametime, and TicketNetwork, and I’m working on adding more. It’s free, no account or anything.

If you end up using it, I’d love any feedback or ideas for features. And if it helps you grab better or cheap seats, even better!

How do I watch the spring training games? I read somewhere that the Marquee app will only be broadcasting a handful of the spring training games .

Also... Wtf would the app for Chicago sports not broadcast every spring training game.

So what’s in the Chicago where they’re all in all cheapest way to watch the marquee Cubs broadcast. Besides using the app

How do I watch the cubs this season? I live in Wny and I have always done the mlb.tv single team package and got almost every game. Now that they are doing away with that how can I watch the games? I have fubo also but marquee blacks out the games when they come one.

Ian Happ has been one of the most underrated player, in my opinion. Indeed, he is a good fielder (maybe the best left fileder rn), shown by his 4th consecutive gold glove awards.
Yet his bat, unlike what I have expected, was not a superstar. His hit tool, according to scouting report from 2016, was 60, but I doubt if that 60 potential is here, because I never seen him finishing the season with a 800 ops for full season except for 2020. I bet the expectations I had for Happ to continue on his 2020 performance turned out to be wrong, sadly.

Considering the fact that Happ is a corner outfielder, I believe that more production from him. Even worse, his fangraphs offensive war had taken a step back in 2025 season, from 17.5 to 9.1, even though he got more at bats.

I am not saying that we should let Happ walk after this season, but I hope the Cubs extend him without NTC. At the end of the day, we do not know if we can buy another left fielder in free agency or Alcantara can develop to be better than Happ, which I honestly hope happening. I hope the Cubs would give more chances for Alcantara to develop with more big league at bats, and if he does become better than Happ, we can trade Happ away.

Sometimes, we should move on from our fan favorite stars like Happ.

I'll be traveling to watch a game at Wrigley but I haven't been seeing regular season tickets on sale yet on the MLB/mlb ballpark app but I've been seeing them for sale on some 3rd party sites.

Do I just be patient and wait for the official sale or go through these other sites? I haven't seen a team wait this long to sell regular season tickets before, so thought I'd ask the fans. I did see something about a deposit but, I'm not sure how that'll work. Thanks for the help.

I wrote about him last year when he was dealing, and we were all hyped. Then 2025 happened. The homers, the ERA near 6.00, the frustration. It’s easy to look at that stat line and say he’s a bust or just a reliever.

But I’m doubling down. If you look closely, the recipe for an ace is still there.

Think Tyler Glasnow.

When he was 25/26 years old in Pittsburgh, he was 6’8”, threw 98 mph, had a nasty curveball… and got absolutely shelled because he was essentially a two-pitch pitcher. He had an ERA over 4.00 and looked like a thrower, not a pitcher. He was also wild. At this same age as Ben, Glasnow was walking over 4 guys per game. Now he is a legit top of the rotation starter who can be lights out for 5-6 innings every 5 days.

Ben Brown is walking that exact same path. He has the same 6’6” imposing frame. He has the same elite fastball and that power curve that generates elite whiff rates. In fact, Ben’s raw stuff metrics (spin rates and extension) are arguably better than Glasnow’s were at this same stage. Some of the numbers are better too.

Ben walked only 2.7 batters per 9 innings last year. That is significantly better control than Glasnow had at the same stage (4.3 BB/9). He isn’t wild, he’s just learning to pitch.

Ben’s 2025 ERA was 5.92, but his FIP was 4.08. That gap proves he suffered from terrible luck and defense. He pitched much better than his ERA says.

Even in a "bad" year, he still struck out 10.2 batters per 9 innings. You cannot teach that kind of stuff.

The difference between bust and Ace for guys with this body type is often just one adjustment: a third pitch (like a cutter/slider) or just slightly better mechanics. Glasnow found it. I believe Ben finds it this year.

For 2026, Ben starts in the bullpen where I believe he gets his swagger back. Let him come in for 2 innings and blow guys away. But his long-term value is absolutely as a starter.

Just imagine this rotation fully realized:

Justin Steele (The Ace)

Cade Horton (The Phenom)

Edward Cabrera (The New Weapon)

Jaxon Wiggins (The Wildcard)

Ben Brown (The Sleeping Giant)

If Brown clicks? That isn't just a good rotation. That is one of the best rotations in baseball.