Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
5 On It & Ben Ingram previews the Cubs-Braves series (Hour 3)
12 May 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This hour is brought to you by Jewel Osco. Number one.
The NFL released its strength of schedule rankings. The Bears are at the top of the list with the toughest schedule in the league, which amounts to a 550 opponent win percentage. We won't have the full schedule until Thursday, but here's the breakdown of the Bears opponents for those who. Need a refresher.
Home opponents, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets, New England Patriots, and New Orleans Saints. The Bears away opponents that will be on the schedule for 2026.
The Detroit Lions, the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings, the Buffalo Bills, Marshall, Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, and the Seattle Saints. Seahawks on a scale of one to 10 on the worry meter trademark. How concerned are you that the bears won't be able to match the success they had last season when they took the North? Do you think they're going to give it back?
Okay. I'm going to preface this by saying my resting worry face. That's just how my face looks. That's just my natural worry state.
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Chapter 2: What are the toughest NFL schedules for the upcoming season?
RWF?
Is a six, yeah. I think that that's... I'm just naturally worried. That's how I have so much gray hair. I color it. Don't worry about that. In the meantime, I think for the Bears and the worry meter... I am still slowly absorbing the center situation as they see it as being more catastrophic, I think, to the team than even I realized at the time.
I wonder how much of this is also when you're willing to start a rookie safety, when you're willing to not say draft defensive lineman if you didn't see any there, you want to go with your team on the field. Are they building us in for some natural understood possible regression? But I'm still just at a seven.
Wow.
I mean, I feel like, yeah, this is a challenging schedule. But if your quarterback improves the way we think he improves. then that can override a lot of what I just mentioned. You're at least feeling better about all of the games on the schedule. You're home against the Eagles, at least, as opposed to away this time around. But the division games stand to be what they are.
You've got to have a better record in the division this next year. Away at Buffalo, they got that new stadium they built.
Yeah.
Away Carolina, who I think really showed a challenge for the Rams in the playoffs. And then there's that Seattle game. Guys, I might just chalk up the Seattle one like Jacob DeGrom against the Rangers on Sunday. So seven.
So you're at a seven. Let me tell you why I'm at a nine. Because I know that's a big number when you're talking about a scale of zero to ten. I think the schedule is the baked-in regression. I think it's very difficult... to say, hey, we're going to come up with as much success as you came up with last year. Remember, they had a playoff win.
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Chapter 3: How does the Bears' schedule impact their chances of success?
You have to count that in. And then just taking the quick look at the schedule as Ray laid out for us, there's really not... There's maybe two gimme's on the whole, like, just right now looking at it. Which one are the gimme's? The Jets? The Jets and the Saints, I guess. 6-11.
You saw how good the Saints were at the end of last year, right?
They got better. A lot better. So, I mean, I don't know if that actually carries over.
Falcons, how much are they? Like, Falcons were up and down. They were 8-9. I thought they were up for a little bit. Then they were down.
Dolphins? Dolphins, maybe?
That's a gimme. That's probably a gimme.
They're a 7-10 team that was on the downfall.
Lay the points. I don't even know what they are.
Just do it. Although Malik's down there now, right?
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Chapter 4: Who needs to step up for the Cubs against the Braves?
I thought they were due for a bounce-back season. The pitching is what has surprised me. The pitching has not only been good, it's been significantly better than I ever imagined. I thought it was a team that was pretty thin in the rotation, and they still kind of are. I mean, if you have one injury to this rotation, you got some big-time questions to answer.
I thought the bullpen would be solid, but my biggest question mark was with the rotation. Those guys have been terrific. Chris Sale has been Chris Sale. Bryce Elder's made some great adjustments with his slider and changeup, and that's been enormous for him. And then the rest of the guys that we've seen, rookies like J.R. Ritchie, have stepped in and done a really nice job.
So I think you have to credit the catchers for that. I think you have to credit Jeremy Hefner, the new pitching coach. And those guys have been terrific. But you're right, it's been a great formula. And I think their ability to do all those things is big. But I think their ability to come back late in games. They have a bunch of comeback wins this season.
So whether they jump on a team early or whether they fall behind, I think they always feel like they're in a game.
cubs have been able to turn that trick this year as well so that'll make for an among other things will make for an interesting three game with the cubs in the braves matt olsen man i mean look this has always been a really good players but off to an excellent start with the 14 home runs anything different in his approach and why is he having the year that he's having
I think his timing more than anything has been better. I think he's hitting the ball just as hard as he has been. I mean, you go back to 2023, he hit 54 home runs. But we're seeing the average a lot better right now. We're seeing a better time swing. He's made a few adjustments, basically with the lower body with his swing. Everything else is still pretty much the same from the waist up.
A few minor adjustments with his front leg. But other than that, I think his timing has been terrific. And we're seeing a guy who, at this point in his career, is really starting to blossom into the best version of himself. We all knew that the power was there and the RBI ability was there. He led the league in doubles last year. But that average has been what's really impressive to me.
His contact, and not just against righties, I think what he's done left on left has been really impressive to where the Braves, depending on their splits, righties versus lefties, You've got two left-handed hitters in there who are really good versus left-handed pitching in Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson. Those guys bat in the top of the order. So Matt's off to an MVP kind of season.
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Chapter 5: What are the Cubs' chances of winning the series against the Braves?
I mean, I'd think if you voted for a first-quarter MVP, he'd be in the top two or three for sure in the National League and definitely been the leader of this team offensively. We are talking to Ben Ingram. He is the Braves radio play-by-play announcer on Rahimi Harrison-Grody.
And Ben, I imagine this is going to be a pretty emotionally charged crowd tonight at Truist Park when you consider tribute to the late Bobby Cox and the late Ted Turner, who is the reason that I ended up watching Braves games growing up on TVS. So what can you imagine it's going to be like at the ballpark tonight? I think it'll be special. I really do.
I mean, these are two cherished figures in this franchise. I think if you had, I hate the Mount Rushmore statement, but if you had that for the Braves, I mean, those two guys would, one of them would easily be on there in Bobby Cox and the other one would be a strong consideration. The reason the Braves are what they are in terms of a national brand is because of the Superstation.
I think people in Chicago would understand that because of what the Cubs were on WGN for so long nationally. You had a national brand. When we go out west, like I just said, we're in Seattle and Denver and Los Angeles, and especially in Denver, there are more Braves fans than Rocky fans. I've seen that in San Diego. I've seen that in Houston. And every time it's the same story.
We get to meet fans before or after a game, and they say, I'm a TBS kid. I follow the Braves on TBS. I watched all the guys back in the 80s and the 90s. That, to me, you're creating generation upon generation of fans for your team. So I think that made the Braves a national brand with Ted Turner able to put that out there. And then the winning coming along under Bobby Cox.
This is a team, this is a franchise that in the 70s and the 80s never won a single postseason game. And then Bobby Cox comes along and he has these future Hall of Famers and Chipper Jones and Greg Maddox and Tom Glavin and John Smoltz and Andrew Jones. And they win 14 straight division titles.
So all that coming together at the same time, the winning ability by the team and then Ted's ability to blast it out there nationwide. created multiple generations of Braves fans. So I think it'll be very special to think about them, their accomplishments, what they contributed for this organization and for this region of the country, I'd say on top of that.
So I'm excited for that and I know it's going to be emotional.
Braves have done a good job, Ben, of taking advantage of some slow starts within the division, 10-3 against the NL East. This is their first game against the National League Central where everybody's above .500. I'm curious as if you have a team or two who you feel like could even come back and make a run at a team that's 15 games over .500 within your division.
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