This podcast includes tales of handing out beers on Halloween, the most indelible moments of the World Series including ESPN's national baseball nitwit helping make celebrities out of the creepy right field Yankees fans. What the Cubs have to trade, why The Athletic is trying to gaslight us on a key part of the Cubs roster and why we should think t…

The World Series started off with a bang, but now the Yankees are holding on for dear life. At least they have seen evidence that a team can erase a 3-0 deficit. David Brown is here to talk about the series, the weird apparatus that Shohei is wearing, why some writers are referring to Kiké Hernandez by his given name, Aaron Judge's struggles, and w…

Nico Hoerner decided to kill all of his trade rumors by having surgery to make himself untradeable. Tom Loxas joins the pod to talk about that savvy move, the Cubs maybe hiring a bullpen coach, unsourced rumors that Cody Bellinger is opting out, Fernando Valenzuela, the World Series, the legacy of Sweaty Joe Borowski, Bears-Commanders and much more…

Did you know that the Yankees and Dodgers have not only played in the World Series before but that they used to be from the same city? People should talk about this more. David Brown joins to the podcast to ponder the controversial idea that it might be good for baseball to have two iconic franchises and four of the best players in the game facing …

The LCS' are underway, but it's never too late to preview them, right? David Brown is on hand to talk about the plucky Mets, the Dodgers winning without starting pitchers, seeing the Yankees up close and the Guardians surviving the AL Central Playoff Invitational. They also try to figure out what's going on with Bob Costas, and why TBS thinks they …

Tom Loxas joins the podcast to talk about how Jed Hoyer's display of a lack of ambition during his season post mortem might get challenged by the fact that the Cubs are having a hard time selling season tickets and ads on Marquee and really, much of anything these days. They discuss how a boring product can't sustain the current payroll and that th…

Since Jed Hoyer has organizationally positioned himself into a corner if the Cubs are going to make any kind of impactful move somebody good has to get traded and much to Praz's chagrin, Andy and Oleg agree that the most likely guy to get sent packing is Nico Hoerner. The guys discuss Jed's vague pronouncements after the season, make fun of Isaac P…

Two playoff previews in a week? Well, nothing is too good for our listeners. David Brown is back to talk about the Brewers gagging away a rare chance to advance, the Orioles have resumed squandering, and the three best teams in baseball are all in the NLCS. They talk about tipping pitches, wonder if a thumb is worth two fingers, feel bad for Bob Ue…

The Wild Card playoffs start on Tuesday and the Cubs are golfing, so David Brown helps take a look at the good teams (and the Tigers) and what they're up to. Andy continues to get Francisco Lindor's name wrong, but he knows he's really good and they look back at a crazy final (extra) day of the season. They discuss Craig Counsell firing some coache…

Tom Loxas joins the podcast for his new regular spot and the guys discuss Andy's new theory on whether Cody Bellinger is going to stay, what the Cubs need to do to fix their mess versus what they're likely to actually try to to, and how the power in the organization is Craig Counsell's for now, and he really needs to use it. They discuss the Cubs a…

The playoffs are looming and the Cubs are busy packing up to go home, but David Brown is here to talk about the tight wild card races in both leagues, and other important stuff like how the Cubs could pacify their fanbase simply by fixing three of their four uniforms. The home pinstripes are great, but the rest of them kind of suck. We have ideas. …

It's two pods in one as Praz and Oleg join Andy to talk about the Cubs and the Bears. In the first half of the podcast they discuss the Cubs dreams of winning the NL Central come crashing down with a loss to the A's (I mean, it's only been over since May), and they look ahead to who might get traded in the offseason to bring in some fresh meat? And…

A weird week at Pointless Exercise leads to a guest free podcast that touches on the Cubs pretending to still be playing for something, the team botching a celebration of two of their most beloved players, dissension in the front office but Jed's coming back and TV broadcasts best viewed with the sound down. The Bears reenacted just about every win…

Bears Hard Knocks is over and it was mostly fun. The finale had it all, guys getting cut (and most of them coming back to the practice squad), gumbo talk, bees, Ian Wheeler's book club, two very large nerds talking about whose country invented football, a guy who could barely get out of his SUV, genuine emotion, bare feet, profundities encased in l…

It's all hands on deck for the 2024 Super Mega Football Preview with Andy and all three Mikes, plus Oleg and David Brown. The guys are just full of football hot takery. They'll give you season over unders to bet or run away from, some bold predictions on the Bears, all 14 playoff teams and the Super Bowl winners and in a segment sure to enthrall, e…

The gang is back together to take a look back at the surprisingly emotional fourth episode of the Bears Hard Knocks. We learn why Rome Odounze was so far out of bounds against the Bengals, spend a lot of time with running back Ian Wheeler and running backs coaches Chad Morton and Jennifer King, get a glimpse of the only fight in training camp, see …

Week three of Hard Knocks gave us some stuff we had expected all along. Mike Praznowski joins me as we talk about a Flus nickname montage, Kevin Warren finally getting to talk about his beloved ill-fated lakefront stadium and punting! The Flus is coming off pretty well this season, which was clearly the point, and we also got a cool behind the scen…

Unsure which week it was, whether it was supposed to be the baseball podcast with David Brown or the Cubs podcast with Oleg and Praz the guys just all got together and had a four-way. A four-way podcast. Get your mind out of the gutter. Although they do spend a fair amount of time talking about how Yankees pitchers Fritz Peterson and Mike Kekich on…

Week two of the Bears on Hard Knocks gives us a a very small girl using a word that will make George McCaskey blush, Velus Jones regaling people with tales of his deceased ferret, Rome Odunze being awesome, Jonathan Owens getting his ass kicked by his wife in a rope climbing contest, dudes being dudes and talking about Love Island, the knowledge th…

The Bears are finally on Hard Knocks and who better to come help us break it down than two of our Bears guys, including one who is an actual TV star. Praz and Mike Pusateri are here to watch The Flus get a haircut, be charmed by the ladies in his life, adore Rambo Owens-Biles, look in horror at Jaylon Johnson's new "car", hear Ray Clay finally get …

The guys are back and all over the place. They discuss whether the Cubs are playing for anything, how to binge watch TV shows, what's up with Isaac Paredes, and how Pete Crow-Armstrong fixed his swing by imitating who? They also wonder if the Cubs are playing with fire by letting Hector Neris get close to guaranteeing his option, and then the unthi…

The movie deep dives are back and Mike Pusateri joins to the podcast as the guys break down Albert Brooks' 1991 classic "Defending Your Life." You'll hear stories about how Meryl Streep ended up in the movie, the Rip Torn renaissance, the incredible story about Albert's dad's death, growing up with Rob Reiner as his best friend and much more. You'l…

The guys take a look at what the Cubs actually got at the trade deadline. They ponder whether Christopher Morel or Isaac Paredes will have the better career, ponder Nico Hoerner's future, compare Nate Pearson to Calvin Schiraldi, and laud Jed for his incredible ability to trade guys to teams where they homer in their debuts. They also look at the o…

The trade deadline is looming and somebody's going to do something really stupid, so David Brown joined us to try to help make sense of it all. Why are teams so afraid of trading top prospects when the last time a number one overall was dealt it worked out great for the team who traded him? Why would the Tigers consider trading Tarik Skubal? Will t…

The gang is all here to talk about Shōta enjoying the All-Star Game, Jed's first big trade of the season, great catchers on the waiver wire and strip clubs where Praz can the lead the guys to at the bachelor party he's attending. Like all of our podcasts it somehow derails from announcer rankings to terrible crimes committed by athletes back to Chi…

The All-Star rosters are set and the game is next week, so David Brown joins Andy to discuss why discussions of snubs are pointless, changes to the Home Run Derby again, and a brilliant idea for a fan participation event for pitchers that could be held right before the Derby each year. They talk about the kinds of trades that should please buyers a…

What are the Cubs more of, boring or bad? That's the big issue that Andy and Praz confront, while Oleg is out running around in his birthday suit. Should the Cubs buy, sell, neither or both? Who would want any of them? Would Jed even trade any of them if he could? Why are these all questions? Why not write some of the description in declarative sen…

Andy has some things about the Cubs to get off his chest and so he sprints to the spacious Pointless Exercise podcast studio to discuss the possibility of the Cubs trading Seiya or Happ, why the trade deadline is still really important, why they should bring back an old friend to GM for the next month, and how David Ross is still screwing up a Cubs…

On this edition of the baseball podcast David Brown is on hand to discuss a sticky situation with Edwin Diaz and his interesting offer (not taken up) as to what the umpires should smell. They also talk about the game at Rickwood Field, more interesting Willie Mays stats, fun stuff from the Ryne Sandberg statue unveiling, how the Cubs and Cardinals …

The Cubs are wallowing in last place, but thanks to the woeful National League they're not that far behind anybody (but the Dodgers and Phillies), so Oleg and Praz join the podcast to talk about what's wrong with the Cubs and what, if anything, can be done about it. They also discuss the death of one of baseball's all-time greats, and the death of …

The trade deadline is approaching but with everybody (not the White Sox) still in the race, how active will it be? How does the Phillies losing a catcher screw the Cubs? David Brown drops by to show off the Wifi in his car and discuss all of this, plus whether the Angels will finally trade Mike Trout, what's Luis Robert worth and does it even make …

The gang is back together to discuss why the Cubs aren't more fun (though spotting the Sox five run leads turned out to be pretty amusing), the end of our long national nightmare and the return of all-time Cubs great David Bote. They discuss the weird name of Bote's kid and why it's named that. Andy gives you second hand kinesiology advice of how t…

The Cubs can't hit and the Bears are finally going to be on Hard Knocks, and Tom Loxas has left his own podcast to become a regular here at Pointless Exercise and so we talk all about it. Do the Cubs need a catcher? I guess if you don't want every pitch to just roll to the backstop they do. How do they work Petecrow into the lineup on a regular bas…

Angel Hernandez has been put out to pasture, Ben Brown was yanked with a no-hitter going, and the Cubs hitters aren't really into the whole line-drive thing. David Brown joins Andy to discuss all of this, plus whether or not Andy cursed Ronald Acuna Jr to the injured list, whether they guys agree with Bob Costas and Chris Russo's thoughts on whethe…

Oleg and Andy call to the bullpen and Mike D. steps over Kyle Hendricks to fill in for the birthday boy, Praz. The guys discuss whether the Cubs have demoted Kyle to the bullpen or is being put out to pasture, and they (or at least Andy) thinks with a little "growth" it might just work. They also try to make sense of the Cubs sending down Petecrow …

Why are some of the best young pitchers limited to short stints in the minors instead of contributing what they can to the big league team? David Brown and Andy discuss that hot topic, plus can you fix your bullpen in May, why is that Paul Skenes mustache a thing, when are they finally going to get around to updating the requirements to get a win, …

The guys kick around all of the important issues this week like, how long has Dansby Swanson's offensive slump been going on (a long time), who should be the Cubs fourth outfielder when Seiya Suzuki returns and why should it be Ian Happ, and what to do with Petecrow when Seiya's return happens. They also ponder just how well Nick Madrigal would nee…

The Athletic's Jon Greenberg comes on the pod to talk about the Bears ill-fated stadium press conference, his role in helping the Bears finally put their tortured quarterback history to the side, why Kevin Warren and George McCaskey would end up being the stars of Hard Knocks. They discuss how cool Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze are. Why it's savvy…

Is the Twins new rally celebration an ecoLOGical diaster just waiting to happen? David Brown weighs on that meaty matter and other hot topics like Mike Trout's meniscus, revenge games, Jose Abreu's trip to Del Boca Vista, how are the Cubs surviving (mostly) their injuries and the Astros aren't, fun with batter's interference and why baseball's unif…

Andy, Praz and Oleg discuss all the pertinent issues with the Cubs like the return of Matt Mervis, Nicky Two Strikes, Ian Happ's return to the lineup, Kyle Hendricks' phantom back injury and Boog's fascination with Mike Tauchman. But then they put their big throbbing brains together and come up with a series of initiatives that will toughen the Cub…

While the Cubs bullpen might be awful, Andy, Praz and Oleg decide to talk about what isn't...Seiya Suzuki. They do discuss the state of the Cubs bullpen, what's going on with the vaunted pitching infrastructure these days, how taking Christopher Morel out for defense all the time finally bit the Cubs in the ass, and they try to figure out what it i…

The gang moves into a fancy new studio and David Brown stops by to talk baseball. How are the Cubs ever going to know if Christopher Morel can get better at third if they keep yanking him out of games late, and when is it going to cost them to lose his bat in the process? What's life going to be like for the A's in Sacramento and what's the only wa…

The whole Pointless Exercise team has assembled to do a mega preview of the upcoming baseball season. Join Andy, David Brown, both the Mike P's (Praz and Pusateri), Remember this Crap's Mike Donohue and the new guy, Oleg, as they make way too many predictions. They break down each division, use their big baseball brains to tell you who's going to t…

Ready or not, baseball seasons starts in the wee hours of Wednesday morning so David Brown is here to talk about how Blake Snell signing with the Giants makes the wild card path tougher in the NL and what's up with Jordan Montgomery. They discuss the Dodgers just forgetting to find a shortstop and how Mookie Betts solves everything. How many other …

Less than two weeks to opening day and it's time for Andy and Praz to do the hard work for Craiggy and Jed and make the Cubs final cuts for them. Who's got options, who would get through waivers and who might actually be useful to round out the bench and the bullpen. Oh, and then they take a look at how best to order the batters. Talk about being h…

With one move the Cubs went from fourth best to best in the very flawed NL Central and David Brown is back to discuss it and to take a look at the contracts that Scott Boras got for Cody Bellinger and Matt Chapman and what the market might look like next year. Andy calls Blake Snell "Ian" about a dozen times and they talk about what the prospects f…

Looking for a non-meatball take on the Bears' QB situation we reach out to The Guardian's Senior Writer Andrew Lawrence and he delivers. Though he lives in Atlanta now, so he wouldn't mind seeing Justin Fields play there. We talk about Netflix's Drive to Survive, the many interesting things going on with the F1 season upon us, and Drew just wrote a…

It's the 300th Pointless Exercise podcast (and you said it wouldn't last) and Andy and Mike Praznowski are giddy about the Cubs re-signing Cody Bellinger, but fearful that a sponsorship deal gone awry might have him in traction on opening day. They also lament the loss of the great Bailey Horn, or somebody they aren't really sure, are excited that …

The Cubs have been playing somebody in left field every game for more than 125 seasons and in a few of those games the left fielder was actually good. The guys take a look back at the good, the bad and the Zuleta of guys who have played left. You will learn how Wildfire Schulte got his nickname, who the second best left fielder in franchise history…

National baseball writer David Brown joins the podcast to discuss all the hot topics like Nico Hoerner giving the longest "no" in recorded history, why baseball fans habitually side with teams over players and their agents, when will the 'Boras Four' sign, why the Cubs haven't improved their roster more, who would win the NL Central if rosters were…