Wrigleyville Nation's Podcast - Chicago Cubs Discussion, News, & More · wrigleyvillenation.com

Ep 392 - Guest: Evan Altman, Cubs Clinch Playoff Spot, Reds Sweep Cubs, Rosters, & More

September 23, 2025·1 hr 10 min·5 clips

The show opens with a late-September Cubs mood check. Jeremy mentions a Riot Fest hangover, Pat answers from Chicago, and the conversation quickly links that vibe to the team’s playoff-clinching game in Pittsburgh and the rough stretch that followed. The tone stays familiar. Evan Altman joins from Cubs Insider, and the welcome comes with the kind of gallows humor that only really works after a four-game sweep and two shutouts. The show does not pretend the week was smooth. Jeremy, Pat, and Evan work through the Pittsburgh series, the Cincinnati disaster, and the first four-game losing streak of the season as if they are trying to figure out not just what happened, but what it says about the club’s shape entering October. The power conversation takes over. They talk through how much of the offense once seemed built around home runs from PCA, Tucker, Bush, and Swanson, and how different the lineup looks when that power thins out. The point lands. One stretch of the discussion gets into how teams actually create runs, whether by walks and home runs or by other kinds of contact, and why that matters when the bats cool off. The group keeps circling back to roster construction. There is a clear sense that the Cubs were easier to imagine in one offensive version back in the summer, and harder to picture now that Tucker is out or uncertain for the playoffs and several other bats have faded. The show does not rush past that. Instead, it keeps comparing what looked possible a few months ago with what looks realistic as the playoffs approach. The debate stays practical. Evan’s presence helps widen the talk beyond a simple recap, because he can follow the emotional reaction and then pull it back toward depth charts, production, and what the team can actually bank on. The hosts lean into the uncertainty. They worry about whether the Cubs peaked too early, whether the offense can rediscover itself in time, and whether recent results are a warning sign or just one ugly patch in a long season. The ending stays in season. The show closes by reminding listeners that regular-season wrap-up and playoff coverage are both coming fast, which fits the urgency of a team that has already clinched but still has a lot to sort out.

As heard by us

Pittsburgh celebration, Cincinnati frustration, and a sharp look at the Cubs' missing power.

Wrigleyville Nation keeps its focus on Jeremy, Pat, and guest Evan Altman as it moves from the playoff-clinching win in Pittsburgh to the sweep in Cincinnati and then into the bigger question of where the Cubs' power has gone.

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Why you'd press play

Need a sober Cubs playoff check-in after the Cincinnati sweep and clinch week with Evan Altman?

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