Sahadev Sharma talks extensions for Nico Hoerner, Pete Crow-Armstrong
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Rahimi Harrison-Grody. I'm not a fan of any team. I'm just a fan of being right.
Middays 10-2 on 104.3 The Score. And a swing and a miss, and that's the ball game. The Nationals take opening day 10-4. The final and the first big league win as a manager for Lake Butera.
This is Rahimi Harrison-Grote on 104.3 The Score. That is courtesy of Marquee Sports Network. And we go to our hotline to not only congratulate him on the Illini making the Elite Eight, but also to talk about Cubs baseball. Nico Horner's reported extension. PCA's confirmed won the game and more. It is Sahadev Sharma. He writes for The Athletic. He is part of the Northside Territory podcast as well. He is at Sahadev Sharma on Twitter. Sahadev, thank you so much for joining us.
Of course, happy to celebrate that Illini win with you all.
Did you think it was going to happen after the Big Ten tournament? Because I didn't.
I did not. I was talking to Boog about it yesterday. I picked them because I struggle not to pick them in my brackets, and I still felt they were going to lose last night. To see them come out and play that defense was really fun, really exciting. I stayed up with my son to watch it, and it was really nice. It was a nice palate cleanser for that rough opening day, as was that Nico Horner extension, I'm sure, for the fans.
Your team played well, Zadav. You did good work. As far as the opening day, we'll address it, but not first. We asked the question here on our show, who was next when it came to Pequot Armstrong's extension? And then Nico Horner does get extended. What do you think that says about the direction this team wants to take as far as retaining talent and sending messages to their players?
Yeah, I think it's pretty clear that they know what they want. Jed Hoyer, I think this started with building this team back up. He focused on defense. He picked Desby Swanson of all those free agent shortstops because he They believed he could stick at shortstop and was the best defensive one. And from that moment on, Jed has really thought about why did we win a World Series? Because we had this backbone of defense. That's really what he believes. He believes that they can win another World Series. You know, obviously you need to score.
What recent contract extensions were discussed for Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong?
You need pitching. You need all those things. But the defense can be the backbone, something you can rely on every day. You extend Pete Groh-Armstrong, arguably the best defender in baseball. Nico Horner is now extended around for another six years, arguably the best second baseman in baseball defensively. Just, you know, they have something you can rely on daily. You know, when a pitcher steps on the mound, they're not going to lose that game because of poor defense. Very rarely will that happen to the Cubs. And I think they've kind of built this core to have, you know, something that you can define them with. And going forward, there's some trust. You know, obviously having the stability for Jed Hoyer, that allows him to do all these things.
It's kind of like when it all started as well. Once he got that stability, once they had a winning season, he was able to kind of put everything in place and be a little bit more aggressive with everything.
Sahad, it's great. I was reading your article, you along with Patrick Mooney, inside the offseason that reestablished the Cubs as big market players. And what you mentioned about Jed Hoyer having his stability kind of shows you where the decisions lie with him now. Because a year ago at this time, we were having very different conversations about the Cubs as a big market team. It feels like they have turned a sort of corner here where if you're going to have – three to four guys with a hundred million dollar contracts, there is a plotted direction that we didn't know was going to take place until now. Do you feel like everybody understands what's happening now?
I think so. I think, you know, they have a defined leader. There's no lack of, I think there was a, I don't, I wouldn't say this was roundly the feeling in the clubhouse when I asked around this spring, but there were some people agreed with the idea that coming into last year, uh,
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–2:35
2
What recent contract extensions were discussed for Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong?
2:35–7:23
3
How do the Cubs' extensions reflect their strategy for retaining talent?
7:23–8:19
4
What does Jed Hoyer's leadership mean for the Cubs' future direction?
8:19–11:04
5
How has the Cubs' approach to building a winning team evolved?
11:04–13:02
Speakers
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