Chapter 1: What is discussed at the start of this section?
This hour is brought to you by Menards. Save big money at Menards. Rahimi Harrison-Grody. 10-2 on 104.3 The Score.
Let's go back in time, shall we? In honor of PCA getting money and his birthday tomorrow. We were at Gallagher Way and we took calls. And the calls were very plentiful. They even went into our top of the hour because people were on one. They wanted to talk about the Cubs and had all sorts of stuff to say. And that's when we came across Carl. Carl in Antioch. Carl, you're on The Score.
Peanut, I need you to get on me. Stop playing the garbage. We'll develop the character. I feel like you're getting a little better. So Robbie could not stop laughing at this. And Tyler, was it you who helped decode it for us?
Yeah, so I was actually back here getting ready for Cubs when this happened. And we were both dying laughing, just trying to figure out what that was. And I said, it sounded like Lois Griffin. And he's like, oh, my God, I think you're right. That's totally Lois Griffin. And we played it back for ourselves about five to ten more times. just to make sure that's what he was going for.
All right, Peter, I'm going to kill Stewie. Dinner's in the oven. All you have to do is turn it to 350 at about 550. Peter! Stop swinging a goblin! Peter! Stop swinging a goblin! Yeah, in real time, when that call came in, I told you guys to move on from that call because I just didn't understand what it was. We don't know if this guy's messing with us.
I knew it was something hilarious, but I couldn't figure it out.
So we all spent way too much time thinking about it after the fact.
He messes with me. I mess with him.
Like it stayed with us for a while. Very much rent free. We all think we all gave it a lot of thought. And I wish that I could tell you we've moved on, but we have not.
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Chapter 2: What are the expectations for the Cubs in the 2026 season?
Layla Rahimi, Marshall Harris, Mark Grody. Middays 10 a.m. to 2 on Chicago Sports Radio 104.3 The Score.
I would like to further take this time to reiterate, rent free. Peter, stop swinging a garbage. That just goes to show you there's one lesson you learned from today. Shoot or shoot. It's not what you say sometimes. It's how you say it. And even though that wasn't the best impression of Lois Griffin, indeed, it got the job done and remains true. Stop swinging a garbage. All of you.
Happy baseball season.
It's a universal theme. It's happy baseball season. Yankees, Giants. Yeah, I'm talking to you very specifically because you're the only ones on there.
But also... It's always baseball season for the Yankees.
Happy 24th birthday to Pete Crow Armstrong. Bruh. You ain't old enough to rent a car without paying the extra surcharge. But with that $5 million signing bonus, I don't know, you can just buy a car every time you get to a new town and you need a car. That's what you can do.
Pete Crowe Armstrong reportedly six years, $115 million extension. We now have the financials, or at least the reported ones when it comes to what his price will be for his extension. And... This is significant for many reasons. Marshall, you were not here. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score.
But part of it that is significant, and Jeff Passan did a good job of talking about this, the ESPN reporter, it's not just the six years and the 115. Deal starts in 2027. This is according to Jeff Passan as well. Does not include a club option, allowing P.C. Armstrong to hit free agency before his age 31 season.
But here's where the significance of the years and how they time out make a difference. The lack of a club option in P. Cor Armstrong's deal with the Cubs is rare. This is by far the biggest guarantee for a player with five years of club control. That does not include an option. Cubs were still fine with it. They get a high floor player with a superstar ceiling.
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Chapter 3: How does Pete Crow Armstrong's contract impact the Cubs?
Yesterday's price is not today's price.
Really, we should hear that every day, shouldn't we? It's a harsh but stark reminder. But if you get ahead of it, if you're a team like the Cubs, if you don't want to be the Yankees and the Dodgers, as we've mentioned, then you can at least be yourselves and lock up with the guy that you traded for.
I hope everybody got gas either yesterday or Monday because those are the two best days of the week to get gas before the prices go up each week. Because yesterday's price, as you mentioned, not today's price. And with Pete Kerr Armstrong, listen, the Cubs have themselves, I'm not going to say a steal, but significant savings based on what he did last year.
And obviously he was a guy who isn't making money. big money yet. And even this year, like you said, what's the cost of having another year of just very, very obviously big savings on PCA? On the back end, it's not about options. It's about he's going to get paid $30 million minimum the final two years of this contract.
That seems more than fair, and Pete Cor Armstrong doesn't have to worry about going to arbitration to fight for that money. This is a win-win for both sides of the equation, in my mind. Pete Cor Armstrong said he wanted to be here. Of course, last year when they broached this topic, heading into the regular season, they were far apart because he hadn't put together that first half of 2025 yet.
After that happens, well, you knew the price was going way up from what they were talking about because they weren't even in the nine-figure range for a long-term contract. But now that they've gotten this done, it should be a sigh of relief for both sides.
Pete Crow Armstrong can simply focus on baseball and doesn't have to worry about, quote-unquote, proving himself and that he's worth a certain amount of money.
Well, and that part may be worth the most. When you heard this, because you weren't here, you were the one who was wanting this extension before anybody else was. So what did you think when it happened?
Well, I didn't know the details because when it first happened, I was like, yes, I'm glad they got this done. First of all, before the regular season started. And it was the understanding that they wanted to have this wrapped up in some way, shape, form, fashion before the regular season started. So the timing is great.
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Chapter 4: What are the implications of the Cubs' roster decisions?
It's a deal, especially in the later years. When you look back at contracts that were done previously and we did yesterday, that's how this goes. You're always going to get the discount for the guy who wants to be here, number one. That was operable, too, compared to last season, Kyle Tucker. And then number two has a reason to be here and then produces, and we see the price has only gone up.
A lot of people are asking, and you can call us and text us, 312-644-6767 is our number here on 104.3 The Score with Rahimi Harrison-Grody, about what happens with a potential work stoppage, lockout, whatever you want to call it in 2027. We'll get the details when that happens. At that point, we'll call it what it is.
I think a lot of teams, as you've seen, even the Orioles, for example, are operating like that's not an issue right now. And they know to have to sign players and to have to function, you have to act like it's going to be a normal year. So until I think anybody gets any word different, you're operating under those conditions. I think pretenses or that understanding.
If the contract's signed after the new CBA, that things will change.
And there's been so much talk about a salary cap, right? And I don't expect there to be a salary cap, but let me just be very frank on that. Unless the owners are willing to lose an entire season, I do not expect there to be a salary cap. And that would be tragic if we lost... a significant portion.
Anything more than a fourth of a season, I consider a significant portion of baseball games next year. But the owners, they got to figure it out. We know it's billionaires versus billionaires first. Then it's the billionaires versus the millionaires on what would be a much more united front.
I think it's very smart for the Cubs to just get the deals done that they can get done and try to... Because even if something did change, right? Grandfather clauses are a thing.
Like how they would navigate around, whether that's reworking how deferred money is looked at in Major League Baseball contracts or how total contracts, if someone's way over the salary cap because they signed all those deals before the CBA. I mean, there's a lot of wrinkles there, right, that we could get into.
But I think the important thing is the Cubs got this done before the start of this season. And now 2026 looks like a clear runway to having their best season since they did. win the World Series.
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Chapter 5: What are the White Sox's expectations for the upcoming season?
I love this text. 847, Layla picked the Yankees who play tonight on opening day. I love it. Everything about that text.
I picked the Yankees and somehow they're playing a 161 game regular season. I know it's crazy, but until it happens to me, I refuse to acknowledge it. It's like it's a new episode of TV if it's new to you.
That's true. It'll be new to us tomorrow for sure. Got Cubs and White Sox starting the season.
Chapter 6: Will the White Sox lose 100-plus games again this year?
Here's question number three.
As 5-0 continues on 104.3, the score with Laila Rahimi, Marshall Harris, and CHSN's Clay Harbor, will the White Sox lose 100-plus games for a fourth straight year? Absolutely not. What? You're saying they can't win 63 games? They can win 63 games. They have an offense good enough to win 63 games. I think they're going to win 70, maybe 75 games. I think a 75-win season. See? See?
Why you got to be like that? No.
No, I said yo with a Y. Oh, okay.
Okay, good.
It was an affirmative.
Okay, thank you. I need affirmations today.
It was me reacting to your prediction.
So I think the White Sox are going to have... a better year this year. I think they're going to be more consistent. Think about all the players that they had to call up in the middle of last season to get to the potential of the offense that we saw where Montgomery, Colson, Kyle Teal, Chase Mydroth, Lenine Sosa, all these guys were doing well. That didn't happen at the outset.
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Chapter 7: What does Billy Donovan's future look like with the Bulls?
Game over? Yeah, and a little flip himself, yeah. But in the meantime... If the White Sox acquired Sir Anthony Dominguez just to flip him, I'm okay with it because I love taking flyers and then somebody has a good time on your team and then you're like, oh, I can get some value for you in my farm system. Go have fun in the playoffs. We'll be around.
I do think for the White Sox, there's some weird... This will be testing it a bit, maybe. There's some weird modern baseball... where you could lose 100 games plus three seasons in a row before typically doesn't happen. By virtue of previous more guaranteed draft picks, you know, at least draft positioning, you understand it's different now.
But by virtue of your system, by virtue of variance because of the large sample size of games, you just typically don't lose over 100 games more than three straight seasons. And the teams who lose three straight have typically really been able to turn their teams around because usually they're getting a guaranteed 1-1 in there somewhere.
Well, the White Sox are, but it's not going to affect this season. However, I still don't think they're in that position again. I think that there is a dedicated effort, both by bringing up players and also by signing other free agents like Amunotaka Murakami, where I don't see them losing 100 games again. And I don't think that that's the bar. I think we all know that.
But I do think that there is a real understanding that this is not going to be that type of year again.
I'm all about trajectory, right? And where are you heading? When you look at last season, first half was awful. Second half, 28-37. Talking about 100 losses. What's 37 times 2, Marshall? I know you're a smart guy. That would be 74. Okay. The second half of the season, they were much better. They had a plus-three run differential. They ended the season trajectory sky high. They finished...
Two years ago, 41 wins. Last year, they had 60. What does that tell you? They're heading in the right direction. I'm not saying this because I work for CHSN. I grew up a Cubs fan. I had no love for the Sox. But this year's Sox team, I think, is going to surprise a lot of people for the reasons you guys said. No way they lose 100 games again.
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Chapter 8: How is the NCAA tournament impacting college basketball dynamics?
Sox winning that old crosstown. Is that happening this year? I hope not.
Now listen, if they lose 98 and people are like, oh, Lalo's 98. Yeah, but you know what it wasn't? A hundred.
Simple math to me.
There's something about the two games there that just absolutely matter to the process.
Number four. If you were Billy Donovan, would you stay with the Bulls?
Billy Donovan has had a good thing going in that his name just keeps getting mentioned and he keeps getting paid more money. And I think this is the best deal going, in my opinion, who doesn't know how to make money. So I'm really fascinated by those who can. So that said, I think.
If Billy Donovan wants to go back to the college game, North Carolina's most likely, especially now that you're replacing the guy who replaced the guy, a.k.a. Hubert Davis Roy Williams, that that would be a wonderful place for him to land. But here's my rub with this all. We'll get into it a little bit more at 125 today.
The NBA is real professional, professional basketball where there is an understood pathway and process and how things go. Now, how you get to a tank is a different deal. But when it comes to the actual understanding of the business of the league. You don't have that anymore right now in college basketball. Nobody can tell you how to go about things.
Each year your team can change entirely because of NIL. And so since there's no best practices yet, it seems, I don't know why somebody who is a Hall of Famer, who has succeeded in the college game to the extent he has, would want to go back to college when you understand what you're doing every day in the NBA. Outside of outcome of game, you understand what your process is going to likely be.
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