Chapter 1: What are the initial reactions to Team USA vs. Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic?
This hour is brought to you by Vasectomy Clinics of Chicago. Rahimi Harrison-Grody, 10-2 on 104.3 The Score. Team USA takes on Venezuela tonight in the World Baseball Classic Championship. Who you got? USA. I'm sorry, Venezuela. You've been an amazing team.
But when it comes to the firepower and, frankly, the defensive play, and, yes, that includes Bryce Terang, it's hard to say no to that group just closing it out. I would like to. Beat them. the Americans to win the ball game because at the end of the day, I'm an American. But I think I'm taking Team Venezuela on this one. You know why? I get scared of some of these guys in this lineup.
... ... ... ... ... ... I want you to put the word out there, but we back up. Understand me? The backup. Venezuela is going to be a mile away from the championship. The United States down to its last strike. This team is awesome. We are family here. That's why we play with passion, with love, because we feel the jersey. We feel our country in front of us.
That's why this is a lot for us as players, as a people, as a human being, and as a Venezuelan. Now we are the champions. Leila Rahimi, Marshall Harris, Mark Grody. Midday's 10 a.m. to 2 on Chicago Sports Radio 104.3. The score... Yeah, you could say Daniel Palencia was throwing with some gasolina in the World Baseball Classic. This is Rahimi Harrison-Roddy on 104.3 The Score.
And even though Team USA did not win, it was still nice to see a Cub on a big stage showing you why he was a gamer. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. Layla Rahimi, Marshall Harrison, Mark Grody broadcasting with you on this Wednesday. And that is where we get it started. Just an incredible game to close this out. And Team USA, Marshall, you were right about this.
You knew from starting pitcher Nolan McClain, he was on the mound starting against Team Italy when USA lost, thinking they had clinched already. But not only did Team USA... Not strike first like Venezuela did, getting on the board in that third inning. But the way Daniel Palencia closed out the game, give me the ball and I'm going to throw straight hundo to end it.
And that was just an incredible moment. Team USA, three for 30 in the game. Didn't get a single runner in scoring position. Obviously, Bryce Harper had the only extra base hit, the two-run homer. But this is what I was worried about, was that Venezuela would have some timely hitting and that the U.S. wouldn't have enough offense.
Because, frankly, since we got out of pool play into elimination stage, it's been a struggle for the U.S. to put up runs. And that was my concern. I feel like we've been here before. Team we watched struggling to put up runs. Why does that sound familiar? Yeah, at least the Cubs, though, were a run-scoring machine in the first half of the season. Machine. That's right, machine.
The Americans never got it together, and they didn't get away with it last night. There were three, I think there was three straight innings where they had two outrunners on base. Yep. And finally, Bryce Harper hits the two-run jack. That's the point at which I thought, USA, USA, they're going to win this thing.
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Chapter 2: What factors contributed to Venezuela's victory over Team USA?
That is one of the hallmarks of their broadcast ever since they started broadcasting the NFL 30 years ago. Yeah. That's something that Fox has always done. This segment is brought to you by AlmostFreeTeeth.com. Save on dental implants today. So you knew they were going to do something big. We're talking World Baseball Classic here on Rahimi Harrison-Grody.
But in doing so, you know, and wearing the hockey jerseys that we've talked about, just how Team USA wanted to do it, the bat flips that we've seen in this tournament, worried about guys getting under the bat and getting hurt because they were flipped so high. I feel like... You know how we talk about how championship weekend in the NFL playoffs is like the ball-knower Super Bowl?
Like a lot of times it was Bill's Chiefs and that's epic and that's really the real Super Bowl or something like that. I feel like that's the case for the World Baseball Classic. If you truly love baseball, you know, for the love of the game type of stuff, that's what we saw this tournament really actually become. And similar to what happened in 2023 when you had the crucial to end the game
During the end of the game, Shohei Ohtani on the mound facing Mike Trout. You get Daniel Palencia facing Kyle Schwarber, for example. And I'm like, ah, Cubs universe facing itself implosion. What happens next? Do we all just disintegrate, spontaneously combust? Does it just go? Swarby had a rough night last night. The entire Team USA offense did, like Marshall pointed out.
And unfortunately, it's a place that we've been before. We've seen this happen. What are you going to do to get such and such going? You just usually don't think the questions are about Bobby Wood Jr. or Aaron Judge or Kyle Schwarber. PCA. Bryce, hooray. Roman Anthony, hooray. PCA in a pinch-hit situation, by the way. Starting Buxton Center was a bold call. Question, Layla. Question for Layla.
Sorry, Marshall. It's okay. I have a question for Layla. What if I ask Marshall a question after that and then we're all square? Yeah, yeah, Marshall, we got lots of questions for you. I'm not asking you any questions, Grody. Do we go back to hating Bryce Terang now? Or did you always continue? She never stopped. She never stopped. Okay.
Especially because there was another failed defensive play that happened in the game prior against Dominican. And I was like... Oh, you're just going to cling to that. Nico Horner would never. But Bryce Terang had one of the rare hits in this game since Team USA only got three. So I can't feel too bad for Bryce Turing. He was really good. He's a good ball player. He was really good.
Bryce Turing is good. Bregman started a crucial double play in the first inning. I felt pretty good about that. Yeah, he did. I'm sorry. Marshall, what were you going to say? I wasn't going to say anything. I was letting you do your thing. I see what you did there, though. I do see how you tried to weave me back in. Brody's in a pot stirring mood. Red it up, big baby. You know me. We get it.
You had the day off yesterday. You come in here, guns a-blazing. I'm Mark. Nice to meet you. He's out here giving out his Bears stickers. So we're talking about the World Baseball Classic and the fact that the U.S. fell in the championship game for the second straight World Baseball Classic. Losing to Venezuela 3-2. And I got to tell you guys, Daniel Polizia, one can only hope.
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Chapter 3: How did Daniel Palencia perform in the World Baseball Classic?
But, man, he is a Cubs killer and he is back in the division. So I've always had this healthy fear of Eugenio Suarez because I saw it up close doing pre and post for the Cubs from 15 through 17. So, Suarez! I hope he got it out of his system. Maybe he got it out of his system. I now have a question for Brody. No, he didn't get it out of his system.
I now have that question from the last segment that I didn't use on Brody. I have it now. Is he the most feared hitter for you, Cubs fan, in the National League Central? Oh, in the National League Central right now? Probably? Yes, for me, yes. Why are you talking about Andrew Vaughn? I mean, oh, yeah, Andrew Vaughn. Yeah, I forgot about Andrew Vaughn. What was I thinking about?
Andrew Vaughn, of course. No, it'll always be Eugenio Suarez. That's the point, though. Who is the more dominant team, 15, 16, 17? It was the Cubs. Yeah. 17 Brewers, but it was the Cubs. Oh, you mean over the Reds, you're saying? Yes, yeah. That's why. It's true.
It doesn't mean that I didn't fear the man every time he came up, but it felt like he had a home run every time he came up against the Cubs. No, I feel that. But the thing is, you weren't alone in that. He was just that consistent. That was really a great time for him in his career. He had a renaissance, as we saw with the Diamondbacks last year before he got traded.
But the one thing we also pointed out, and what we were happy to find... were all of the interviews and just the quotes that he had and how kind he was and how effusive he would be about wanting to value his relationships with other, whether managers, fellow teammates, that type of thing.
So it wasn't a surprise to me necessarily that Eugenio Suarez, who provided that crucial insurance, as we discussed, and a massive performance at the right time in the ninth inning to help Venezuela win, had an incredibly emotionally moving interview with Fox Sports after the game. I mean, what can I say about this? It's amazing. God is good. All the glory is for Lord Jesus.
He was with us the whole time. We have to glorify. Put his name in front of everything. And nobody believe in Venezuela, but now we win the championship today. And this is a celebration for all the Venezuelan country. Go ahead, double in the ninth inning. What were you thinking when you were standing on second base? I just prayed at the time. Going to my family out there, they was happy for me.
God is good, man. God is good. Eugenio, what made this team so special? The union. We are together the whole time. We're not just teammates. We're all family. This team is awesome. We are family here. That's why we play with passion. We love because we... We feel the jersey. We feel our country in front of us.
That's why this is a lot for us as players, as a people, as a human being, and as a Venezuelan, how we are the champion. It was the last part for me. When he talks about being family and just what they mean to each other, that's what you could just tell how much it meant to him in those moments, to say the very least.
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Chapter 4: What insights are shared about Jamison Tyone's struggles this spring training?
They did, but I know it's hard. For me, it's the Bryce Terang, P-I-T-A, pain in the booty. He goes back to that. He was ours, and now he isn't anymore. Yes, and that's the handoff ceremony of Bryce Terang. We'll try to fool Daniel Palencia into thinking every game somehow is a World Baseball Classic game. How do you come down after that moment? I got to close in the cold against who?
He's always there. He's always at a 10. This is not new for Daniel Palencia. I mean, I know it's a little bit more, but I don't think he needs a whole lot to get jacked up in these games. He's a feisty dude. Oh, speaking of that, did you guys notice PCA in both of his at-bats, both outs, that he wanted to slam the helmet? He wanted to slam the bat, and he restrained himself? No.
I'm wondering if maybe that's a little precursor to the season that we'll still see these emotions that he'll almost do the stuff like slam the helmet and bang the bat into the dirt.
that is actually something we should track if that somehow changed his behavior you know spiegel talked about that with lawrence i think it was during one of our transition segments marshall where speaks talked about like maybe he'll he'll pick up something or you you never know if like you're around enough veterans if that's something that you you end up using in your career why that's it that might be a good thing regardless of base world baseball classic or not
I believe he was already headed in that direction of understanding the step he needed to take from 2025 to 2026 and what needs to be different in his approach. I think that's one of the things that he probably looks at and says, I've got to be less of that. I can't be... The body language. It's the same conversation we heard from Ben Johnson talking about the Bears and the body language. It is.
Body language matters. It does. It may not matter as much as sometimes we make it out to be, but ultimately, the consistency of it, if you're always just frustrating beside yourself when things don't go your way, your teammates notice that. It just can't be every time. There can be some emotion. There could be some helmet slamming. Everybody does it.
You could break the bat over your knee, all that stuff. But it just can't be every out. And that's what it felt like, even though it wasn't. But it felt like that for PCA, that every out he made, he was like, God, what are you doing to me? Well, and if we're thinking about it, then how much is he letting it carry over into his next at-bat? That's what you don't want.
Also, I can't physically break the bat over my knee, so speak for yourself, Margaret. I would never try. It looks painful. But when you have that adrenaline going in a major league baseball game, it's probably a little bit different. Bo Jackson would snap it like it was a toothpick. Yeah, he did. He'd be like, pop. Bo Jackson never ceases to amaze me. Even now. Even now. It's superhuman stuff.
So, yeah, he had that strength where he could do that. You call him Bo Jackson. I call him Bow and Arrow. He's a bow hunter, that man. Oh. Because he likes to hunt. Oh, he does? Yeah. I don't care for hunting, but that's fine. He's good at a lot of things. He really is. Especially the bow and arrow hunting. It just seems mean, man.
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Chapter 5: What was the impact of Andrew Billings on the Bears?
He got a second contract with the Bears. People forget that. He came and he was a bit of a revelation. He was really good early on in his Bears tenure, stuffing the run. They're like, let's keep this guy around for a couple more years. Never felt like he was a Dennis Allen guy, and his role was reduced somewhat. But Andrew Billings, Big Bill, has found a new home in Arizona.
So Wayne Larrabee can pick on him there. And what a house! Look at this guy!
Chapter 6: Why is the Chicago Bears' player management significant?
My goodness, he's big! Andrew Billings, thank you. Chicago says thank you. Why did that sound more like an obituary than a farewell? Because we're going to miss him. Because this is Chicago. We take our players very seriously. I like Andrew Billings. All he did was try to do his job when everybody else got hurt and stuff.
DJ Moore, Jaquan Brisker, Tremaine Edmonds, Drew Dallman, Kevin Byard, Devin Duvernay, Nashawn Wright. Jonathan Owens. Jonathan Owens. I know I'm leaving guys out. We lost a lot of personality out there, man. Do you know what they said in Pittsburgh? I was on Pittsburgh radio the other day.
Andrew Filippone, I mean, friend of Parkins, said that they thought they got the steal of free agency in getting Jaquan Brisker for five and a half mil. Yeah. Yeah. For a one-year contract, I could see why they would say that.
Chapter 7: What are the key factors in the Cubs' upcoming season?
I get it. Yeah. Because if he has the recurring issues of the concussions or whatever, it's a one-year deal. You're not locked in for three, four years. And they're a little biased. He's from, obviously, went to Penn State. He's from Pittsburgh, all that kind of stuff. But they're probably not wrong. He's from West PA. 847 says they're the curtain-jerker games. Why didn't I think of that?
We're going to lead five on it with that, Marshall, just for you. We're changing the five on it. Y'all can hate all y'all want. Facts are facts are facts. They're just not the same. When you have a slash next to your name and all that, and you've got to get into the bracket to get into the bracket... What do you mean slash next to your name?
You know how in the bracket it says like so-and-so slash so-and-so. Yes, I understand that.
Chapter 8: How does the WNBA's new CBA affect player salaries?
My point is this. They both have the number next to their name. They're not playing to be the 11th. They already are the seed that they are. It's just frustrating and whatever. You watched two games last night. You're playing the part of Mark Rohde today. You're poking the bear over here today, Layla. No, it's because I really don't know.
There's some dissonance there in the concept versus the outcome. Five on it is next. This hour is brought to you by Vasectomy Clinics of Chicago. It's time for Five On It. Rahimi Harrison-Rowdy. Bring you five topics on their minds today. On 104.3 The Score. Number one. Has Cubs closer Daniel Palencia peaked before the MLB season has even begun?
We joked about it because, my goodness, he looked incredible in this World Baseball Classic. And I know he's got a lot of gas in the tank, but that was a lot of gas that he threw out there and at opposing batters. So this was a big topic on our group thread today. You don't want that to happen. So I'm going to say that's not the case. But if he keeps this up the entire season, can you imagine?
Number one, all-star. And then number two, bona fide playoff quality closer. And that's something that I feel like we have not been able to say at this point in the year, mid-March, for a very, very long time. Let me start by saying this. He can't keep this up. Because what he did was give up zero hits in five games. Not a single hit. He had two people reach base.
One guy he hit, one guy he walked. He struck out nine over five innings. That's special. In a winner-take-all situation, that is phenomenal. He can't keep this up. But if he can have a whip sub one, if he can have a K per nine... Double digits. If he can convert 95% of his saves... I know that's a high bar, by the way. That's 19 out of every 20. So 38 out of 40.
If he can have that type of season, I think he will have... Made it. And we talked earlier about a 40-save season being a possibility, which a lot of guys don't do. I don't know if he'll get that far just because I think the Cubs really have to manage his workload. They really have to, especially early in the season.
If you want to have your guy at the end of the season, take it easy on the front end. That's all I'm asking from Craig Council, Tommy Haddavy, and Jed Hoyer and them. So nice to have a guy in that spot, too, that throws the triple digits, that throws 100. I mean, the last time, I think the last time they had a closer that was doing that had to be a role as Chapman.
I know Hector Rondon would hit 100 occasionally back in the day and in the glory years of the Chicago Cubs. But to have that intimidation, that fear factor, and other players are obviously watching that. But that's the key. Can he do this for the entire season? And, you know, he's had his ups and downs getting to the point that he is in his career. I love where the emotion level is.
We know that that's not going to go down. And yeah, the numbers, five scoreless, hitless innings across five appearance or recording nine strikeouts and one loss.
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