We talk a little more about the 2013 MLB draft. Ian Stewart is suspended and we look at his intentions and what the future holds for him. Corey gives some scary stats by looking at the Cubs record vs the NL Central and the other divisions. Then we answer some listener questions, including one that asks if Sveum’s management of the bullpen is worse than Dusty’s management of the starts during his tenure with the Cubs.

We play an interview from The Minor League Report Podcast, which is part of SPNT Podcast Network. The guys at MLR interview Robbie Aaron, the Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations with the Daytona Cubs. In this interview, Robbie talks about Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, which player in the Cubs system deserves to be moved up from their current placement and Robbie answers the question, “When will the Cubs be competitive?” Thanks to MLR and SPNT for allowing us to use this interview.

Thanks to all of you for helping us get to #200. It’s your interaction with us that has given us the drive to get to #200 and beyond.

Here’s the photo for this week’s caption contest.

Links:
Here’s the video we referenced with a shelf falling during a broadcast.

On this episode, we talk about what has worked for the Cubs recently. The Cubs provide some offense and the starting pitching (minus Edwin Jackson) keep things rolling. We talk about what it would take for us to be depressed about the 2013 season.

Then we go through listener submitted questions and topic suggestions.

Here’s the photo for this week’s caption contest:

The Cubs have had a rough week, winning just 2 of their last 9, including a lot of 1-run games. Matt Garza has returned and has two starts on the 2013 season now. We talk about his performances and a situation that he interjected himself into between Johnny Cueto and David DeJesus. Then, Dusty Baker worked his way into the discussion. We talk about slow batters and the reputation the Reds have developed.

The Crosstown Classic started just a few hours after we recorded and we talk about what the series means to us. Things aren’t quite as exciting now that Zambrano, Michael Barrett, Lou Piniella, AJ Pierzynski and Ozzie Guillen aren’t involved.

We go through some listener questions and talk about the Cubs options in the 2013 MLB draft, which high profile players in the minor league system could be trade bait and our opinions on Jim DeShaies.

Kurt gives us his Scary Stat of the Week and then we pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

Matt Garza will be returning to the Cubs and Carlos Villanueva is being sent to the bullpen. We talk about the rotation and the future of players like Matt Garza and Scott Feldman.

We go through a list of listener questions. We ask for those with a status on our Facebook page the day of our recordings.

Kurt give us a (good) Scary Stat of the Week and we pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest. It was very difficult this week with so many great entries. We also really enjoy all of the Arby’s references with Ian Stewart.

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Episode #200 is 3 weeks away and you can find all of the information at ivyenvy.com/200

In this episode, Corey talks about going to a Cardinals game and observing everything from a modern vs historic perspective, considering the Cubs will be going through either renovations or a new ballpark. We also get a little sidetracked with his daughter’s passionate hatred of the Cardinals.

Jeff Samardzija is 1-5 on the year and has pitched quite well. Will he be able to hold things together if this continues? Anthony Rizzo is heating up at the plate and while it’s nice to see his batting average jump, it’s difficult to look past the glaring weaknesses that are plaguing Rizzo and the rest of the team.

Garza is two rehab starts away and the Cubs will be moving either Villanueva or Feldman to the bullpen. We spend some time on the bullpen has Fujikawa has returned from the DL and Kevin Gregg is defying all logic and absolutely destroying the opponents.

Attendance has been down this year and the Cubs are looking at their lowest attendance in a season since 1997. There have been many other bad seasons in that stretch, what makes this year even worse?

We answer some listener submitted questions on Ian Stewart and Dave Sappelt. Then Kurt gives us his Scary Stat of the Week and we pick a winner for this week’s caption contest.

It wouldn’t be an Ivy Envy Podcast episode in 2013 if we didn’t spend a good amount of time talking about how good the starting pitching is and how bad the bullpen is. Of course, we don’t ignore the bright spots in the bullpen, Kevin Gregg and James Russell.

What should the Cubs do with Carlos Marmol? And what should the Cubs do with the rotation and bullpen with Matt Garza returns?

We have a scary stat of the week, an internet muscle flex of the week and an unexpected winner of this week’s photo caption contest.

On this episode, we talk about the unexpected rise of Kevin Gregg. In six appearances, Gregg has a 0.00 ERA and 4 saves. I think you’ll notice that we’re not quite sure how to process this situation.

We catch up on Ian Stewart and his progress in his rehab stint in Iowa. He’s batting .100 with 4 errors in 12 games. The Cubs have added Cody Ransom at 3rd base and after a few games, he is playing well enough that he and Valbuena might be enough to keep Stewart away from the Cubs forever.

Jorge Soler is benched for not hustling by the Daytona manager. We talk about this discipline and consider the Soler red flags.

We then dive into a discussion that a lot of fans of bad teams probably have. Should we find solace in the losses knowing that it ensures a better draft pick?

We answer a few listener submitted questions, Kurt gives us the Scary Stat of the Week and we pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

If you enjoy the podcast, we’d really appreciate your rating and review in iTunes. Just click on the image below.

We also discuss the high amount of roster moves the Cubs have made in the first few weeks of the 2013 season. Corey runs through the moves and Andy puts it into context by comparing the number of moves to the other teams in the National League Central.

We take a quick run through the Cubs Minor League System, from Kane County to Daytona to Tennessee to Iowa. There’s some good and some bad in this trip through the farm system.

Kurt gives us his Scary Stat of the Week, Andy finds an Internet Muscle Flex of the Week and we pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

If you enjoy the podcast, we’d really appreciate your rating and review in iTunes. Just click on the image below.

The last week was crazy for Cubs fans, from it starting off with a goat head being delivered to Tom Ricketts to Jorge Soler losing his cool to the Cubs signing Kevin Gregg. We discuss each of these topics.

We also talk about what’s going on with the Cubs on-the-field. Corey goes to the tape with another of his Carlos Marmol predictions from Episode 5.01 that came true. Speaking of Marmol, we talk about whether or not fans should boo players that are struggling. We give the results of our Facebook poll on the topic and tell you what we think.

There’s plenty of negative stuff to talk about, but we find a few positives to note, as well. Kurt gives us the Scary Stat of the Week, the Internet Muscle Flex makes a cameo and we reveal the winner for this week’s photo contest.

If you enjoy the podcast, we’d really appreciate your rating and review in iTunes. Just click on the image below.

While we spent a lot of the episode discussing the ugliness we’ve witnessed, we also look at the positives we’ve seen in the first week of the 2013 season. Jeff Samardzija is mentioned (of course) and we look at what went wrong for him in the Sunday game vs. the Braves. We’ve also been impressed with others on the pitching staff.

This week has also been the first chance for lots of Cubs fans to get acquainted with Jim Deshaies and we comment on what we’ve heard from the Len/JD broadcast duo. We also have to comment on Carlos Villanueva’s facial hair.

We haven’t awarded someone with the “Asshat of the Week” title in years and we dust it off to hand it over to Chipper Jones this week. The Scary Stat of the Week segment returns after a six month hiatus, but we return to a statistical category that we’ve spent a lot of time on in previous years. Then we go through the many entries for this week’s photo caption contest.

We have another bonus episode for you, this Opening Week of the 2013 Major League Baseball Season. This episode contains an interview with Wayne Randazzo of the Kane County Cougars.

Wayne is the play-by-play broadcaster for the Cougars and give us a little history of baseball in Kane County before talking about the Cougars’ first season as the Class A Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.

Wayne highlights the notable players on the Kane County roster and introduces us to the coaching staff.

Before we start with that, we comment on the injury Darwin Barney sustained during an exhibition game in Houston against the Astros. Also, the Cubs cut loose Hayden Simpson, their first round pick (16th overall) in the 2010 draft.

We’d like to hear your opinions on the season predictions. We will be posting them throughout the day to our Facebook page.

On this bonus episode (and the last episode of Season 4 for the Ivy Envy Podcast), Joe Martin talks with me about the new spring training facility that the Cubs are building in Mesa, Arizona. The Cubs have now played their last home Spring Training game at Hohokam Stadium.

Joe did some coverage for us last year during Spring Training and is working for the Phoenix Business Journal. He was able to attend an event with Tom Ricketts and other members of the Cubs front office about the new facility. Click here to read Joe’s write-up on this press event.

* Friday, we’ll be posting a discussion with Joe Martin. Joe was part of a press event with the Cubs front office on their new Spring Training facilities in Mesa.

* Monday is Opening Day and that morning, we’ll post our 2013 predictions episode. Every year we make some over/under guesses and then forget to go back and look at them at the end of the year. We’ll continue that in 2013.

Our regular season episodes will be recorded and broadcast live on Sunday evenings at 8:30pm Central. You can watch live and participate in the chat by going to http://ivyenvy.com/live.

Also, for all of the information on our 200th episode party, go to http://ivyenvy.com/200. We’re throwing a big party and you’re invited.

On this episode, we have to (of course) talk about Scott Baker and Ian Stewart. Are you as fascinated with the Ian Stewart situation as Corey? Probably not. We also take questions from listeners:

* Is the general populace of Chicago Cubs fans the worst fans?
* Which fantasy baseball format is better?
* Considering Samardzija is a high point, who should the Cubs take in the NFL draft?
* Should the Chicago Cubs World Series parade be downtown or in Wrigleyville?
* How intensely/violent would fans react to a Cubs World Series?
* What will the Chicago Cubs do with Marmol?

Then we talk a little about the idea of the Cubs moving to Rosemont. We’d love to hear your opinions on this possibility. Leave a comment on this post and tell us what you think.

Corey reads some posts from the Twitter account @FacebookCubs. Andy reads an internet muscle flex and Kurt calls out a big dog on the Cubs.com commenting areas. Then we pick a winner for this week’s caption contest.

As we get ready to kick off the regular season, we’d really appreciate it if you took a few seconds to give us a rating and review on iTunes.

Episode #200 is on the horizon and on this episode, we tell you all of our plans. Episode #100 was our first live video broadcast and since then, every week we’ve invited you to watch us in the studio on our live broadcast page. Well, for episode #200, we’re literally inviting you into the studio. Here’s the flyer for the weekend, which is June 7th – 9th. Listen to this episode for all the details.

Javier Baez apparently wanted to make sure that all Cubs fans were aware of him before he got sent down to the minor league camp. Saturday was the first Cubs television broadcast and he caught the attention of everyone watching. We talk about his performance this spring, what he needs to work on to become a more complete player, and we discuss what his path to the majors may look like.

The Cubs signed a Cuban relief pitcher, Armando Rivero. Andy tells us about his daring escape to freedom. The Ian Stewart story gets more humorous/depressing. So much for those exciting 30 at-bats. Will the Cubs keep him? Listen for our thoughts.

The Cubs have unveiled new slogans/mottos/themes for their 2013 marketing campaign. We struggle to find anything positive to say about “Committed”, “Not if, when” and “Nothing worth having ever comes easy”.

Andy and Kurt have a few internet muscle flexes for this episode and Kurt’s takes a dark turn. We wade through a lot of submissions for the photo caption contest and after facing a 4-way tie, award a first-time winner.

Before we get to that discussion, we look at some of the individual players and their performances so far this Spring. We also talk about the number of Cubs players that will be returning to action from injuries this week.

The Cubs have clearly made some changes and they’re looking at making more major changes over the next few years. We have talked about the Wrigley renovations and the uniform changes that the Cubs are considering. A month or two ago, Matt made the prediction that the Cubs would soon have a mascot and with some of the news that came out this week, it appears that he might be right. Matt goes on to make a couple of other predictions.

We cover a lot in this episode, from signage to renovations to rooftops to “family-friendly”. If you have any thoughts on these topics, we’d love to hear them. You can post them in the comment section under this post on our website, or you can comment under the post for this episode on our Facebook page or Google+ page.

Matt Garza will start the 2013 season on the DL. Garza and Scott Baker account for 40% of the starting rotation of the team and with both on the DL, it’s a good things the Cubs stocked up on starting pitching in the off-season.

Starlin Castro will be returning in the next 3 or 4 days from his hamstring injury. We talk about why this injury doesn’t concern us and what other factors might be at play with Castro sitting the first few weeks of Spring Training.

Ian Stewart’s situation remains one of the most interesting story-lines of Spring Training. We explain why we think this. He’s reportedly been fielding “light ground balls” and as Andy puts it, “He’s been hitting the jogging hard.

We take a look at some of the youngsters that are getting some playing time during Spring Training: Brett Jackson, Javier Baez, Jorge Soler and Junior Lake. We look at the numbers and try to read into them a little bit. It would sure be nice if just a few early Spring Training games were broadcast on television so we could see these guys at the plate and in the field.

Brett over at Bleacher Nation posted an interesting article on some of the branding changes the Cubs are considering implementing. While our tagline says “strong opinions”, the truth is that over our 4 years of podcasting on the Cubs, we haven’t had very many opportunities to express strong opinions. At least not strong opinions that anyone would disagree with. Nobody is going to argue that Luis Valbuena is the long-term 3rd baseman. But the content of this Bleacher Nation article gives us some good healthy conflict on changes to uniforms and the idea of a JumboTron.

In the chat, DeRose posted a few links some mock-up uniforms that were posted on Reddit. You can find those here and here.

Corey discovers a Twitter account that captures some of the same essence that we are looking for in our Internet Muscle Flex of the Week and reads some tweets. Check them out and give them a follow – @FacbookCubs.

Then we pick the winner for this week’s photo caption contest and end the abnormally lengthy episode.

Three of the four infield positions are locked up, but we look at the depth at first base, second base and shortstop. Then we discuss the cluster that is 3rd base for the 2013 Chicago Cubs. Ian Stewart, Luis Valbuena and Josh Vitters added together equal a lot of underwhelmed Cubs fans. What’s the status and what direction should the Cubs go?

We have a good number of topics from listeners, including: the front office “playoff” rhetoric, parallels between the Cubs and the Detroit Lions, public funding for professional sports stadiums, Samardzija as the ace of the staff, how quickly the Cubs should trade Matt Garza and Alfonso Soriano, and the fact that the offensive output in Spring Training is coming from guys that will probably start 2013 in the minor league system.

The Scary Stat of the Week segment returns with a pretty frightening Spring Training Stat. Kurt reads an Internet Muscle Flex that isn’t really a flex, but definitely entertaining. Then, we pick a winner for this week’s caption contest.

We had a good discussion on our Facebook page yesterday about the Cubs potentially parting ways with WGN after the 2014 season. Traditions are a tough thing for Cubs fans to ignore and WGN has been a part of the Cubs brand since 1948. There are many aspects of the situation to consider. There’s also many dollars to consider. Those are dollars that could make the Cubs quite competitive.

We then play an interview we did with Tim Sheridan, the PA announcer at Hohokam and the man behind Boys of Spring. Tim’s Spring Training coverage is second to none in my opinion. He posts great photos and videos, and has the passion of a true fan. Tim tells us what he’s seen there at Fitch Park here in the first few weeks of Spring Training. Tim talks about the progress of the organization in adopting “The Cubs Way”.

There’s obviously a lot of prospect talk, since that’s the emphasis of the organization. Tim also comments on the mood of the fans at Fitch. The construction of the new facility in Mesa is underway and Tim touches on that, too.

We come back from the break and look at a couple of Cubs.com Internet Muscle Flexes and pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

The Chicago Cubs designate Tony Campana for assignment and many fans are horrified the Cubs would do this to their favorite player. We put Campana’s stats into context and it’s pretty clear many fans horribly over-value Campana. Corey gives you a slew of scary Tony Campana stats.

Despite attempts by the Cubs to trade Carlos Marmol, he is with the Cubs at Spring Training. Do you think Carlos Marmol will be on the Cubs roster come Opening Day? We look at the reasons he will or won’t be with the Cubs in 6 or 7 weeks.

Last week on Podcast 4.55, we looked over the non-roster invitee list and picked a few players we were especially interested in. This week, we pick the players on the 40-man roster that we are interested in tracking this spring.

We had a few topic suggestions from our Facebook page. Michael suggested that we celebrate Fat Tuesday by remembering some of the heavier former Chicago Cubs players. Carlos Silva, Carlos Zambrano, Antonio Alfonseca, Ron Cey, Dan Vogelbach, Randall Simon, Glenallen Hill, Marlon Byrd and Earl Cunningham are all discussed. Nick from Virginia asks what pitchers the Cubs catchers are not looking forward to seeing this spring.

We have a few Internet Muscle Flexes and pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

If you shop on Amazon, you can support us by shopping through our site. By going to http://ivyenvy.com/amazon, you will help us out and your shopping experience will be no different and it won’t cost you a penny.

This episode of the Ivy Envy Podcast was brought to you by Stitcher Smart Radio. Download the free app by searching for it in the app store and be sure and enter “Relentless” in the promo code box for a chance to win $100.

Keith Law ranked the Cubs the #5 farm system in Major League Baseball. We talk about what has brought on the jump from the middle of the pack to their current spot near the top. We discuss the area that is still lacking, pitching. Nick from Virginia wonders where the organization would be ranked if the pitching was in better shape. Hopefully, we’ll find out in a few years as the Cubs have focused on pitching.

Javier Baez receives a non-roster invitation to Spring Training. We talk about what this means…and what it doesn’t mean. Then we tell you who we are pulling for from the list of non-roster invitees.

We come back from the break and Andy gives us an internet muscle flex from Cubs.com and we pick a winner for this week’s caption contest. We post the photos for the caption contest on our Facebook page and Google+ page.

This episode of the Ivy Envy Podcast was brought to you by Stitcher Smart Radio. Download the free app by searching for it in the app store and be sure and enter “Relentless” in the promo code box for a chance to win $100.

Sammy Sosa can’t/won’t stay out of the spotlight and publicized his opinion that the Cubs should retire his #21. We asked our listeners how they felt about this through a poll on our Facebook page and the results were 83% voting “no” and 17% voting “yes”. The three of us are in agreement that Sammy’s number should not be retired and we discuss the reasons for our opinions.

The Cubs have reportedly signed Scott Hairston and we discuss what this means for the outfielders at the Cubs disposal. The Carlos Villanueva deal is official and Lendy Castillo is DFA’d to make room.

We play an interview that I did with Matthew Schumacher. Matthew has a Kickstarter campaign underway and you can support his project here – Stadiums of Summer. In the interview, Matthew describes his project and his motivation. We’d encourage you to go check his project out, watch his video and support a fellow life-long Cubs fan.

We wrap things up with the Cubs.com Internet Muscle Flex of the Week and the Caption Contest.

This episode of the Ivy Envy Podcast was brought to you by Stitcher Smart Radio. Download the free app by searching for it in the app store and be sure and enter “Relentless” in the promo code box for a chance to win $100.

Cubs Caravan traveled to Peoria last Wednesday. Corey and Jeremy were there and Corey tells you why he thinks Cubs Caravan may not return to Peoria. Jeremy made the trip to Chicago for Cubs Convention and compares this year with previous Cubs Conventions.

As mentioned, the biggest news out of Cubs Convention this year was the announcement and details of the renovation of Wrigley Field. Andy describes all the Wrigley Field renovations, we read some listener feedback on the renovation and then we tell you what we think about it.

Corey had the opportunity to speak with Cubs hitting coach, James Rowson at the Cubs Caravan event in Peoria. Listen to Rowson’s take on Soriano’s surprise 2012 season and the struggles of Brett Jackson. We also hear what Rowson thinks about the guys in the minor league system.

In Kurt’s absence, Andy steps up with the lone Cubs.com Internet Muscle Flex of the Week. We have started a Google+ Community and we’ll now be posting our photos for the caption contests over there, as well as on Facebook.

Cubs Caravan and Cubs Convention are coming up in the next week. Corey will be in Peoria Wednesday night. You can follow our Twitter and Facebook for updates from the event. Jeremy will be in Chicago for Cubs Convention and he will be on the podcast next week to share what he saw and heard over the weekend.

We agree that we don’t have much of a desire to go to Cubs Convention this year. One of the most entertaining aspects of these events is the Q&A sessions with the crowd and we tell you what we would ask the members of the front office and management if we had the opportunity.

The Cubs signed a name from the past in the last week, Dontrelle Willis. We look back on his career since that fateful series against the Cubs in 2003.

Sammy Sosa has made a cold week in January without baseball incredibly entertaining this week as he dove head-first into social networks. We spend a good amount of time looking at Sammy’s Pinterest page. If you haven’t seen it yet, you owe it to yourself to take a few seconds and check out his pins. Sammy Sosa. Yes, he’s the real Sammy Sosa, and this is his Pinterest.

We used one of his photos for the caption contest this week and we probably set a record with the number of entries.

As usual, we look over the Cubs.com article comments to find a few Cubs.com Muscle Flexes of the Week…and they don’t disappoint.

This episode is brought to you by ChiTown Clothing. Check out their website to see their original t-shirt and hoodie designs. When you purchase something from them, be sure and tell them that you heard about them from The Ivy Envy Podcast.

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We will be back next week with a regular episode that will be broadcast live. During the off-season, the live broadcasts of these podcast recordings is on Tuesday evenings at 8:30pm Central. You can watch and listen live at http://ivyenvy.com/live

The Cubs have also reportedly agreed to terms with Carlos Villanueva. We discuss his starting and bullpen experience and assume that he will be given a chance to fight with Scott Baker, Scott Feldman and Travis Wood for a back-end of the rotation spot.

We had a few listener-submitted topic suggestions from our Facebook Page. Adam asks us about rooting for the Packers to help the Bears get in the playoffs. Jake asks what the perfect item to have autographed at Cubs Convention would be. Also, congrats to Brian for winning our Fantasy Football league this year.

We give a few Cubs.com Internet Muscle Flexes and pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

Today’s episode was brought to you by:

ChiTown Clothing – ChiTown Clothing has the most unique Chicago sports-related t-shirts and hoodies. You won’t find designs like these anywhere else.

Sweet Cheeks Diaper Cake Company – Sweet Cheeks is run by our friend Brooke, a big Cubs fan and long-time supporter of Ivy Envy. If you need to buy a baby shower gift or something for a newborn, check out their diaper cakes. They have a Cubs themed cake that any Cubs fan would love.

Please support those that support us. When you purchase items from them, be sure and tell them that you heard about them from the Ivy Envy Podcast.

This episode definitely has a visual element to it. You can see the photos of all the cards we discuss by going to the original post – http://ivyenvy.com/cards.

Enjoy this episode and Happy Holidays.

There are lots of angles and things to consider with this situation. What are the repercussions for this reckless reporting? Would these things happen if we all weren’t so hungry for immediate information? We’d like to hear what you think about this situation. Leave a comment below or on our Facebook page – facebook.com/ivyenvypodcast.

We then discuss the Cubs’ courtship of Anibal Sanchez and why we would have liked to see him sign with the Cubs. We also talk about why we’re ok with the Cubs missing on him, too.

Andy tells us about Chang-yong Lim, the second closer from Asia that the Cubs have signed in the last two weeks. Kurt introduces us to the well-traveled Sandy Rosario.

We wrap the show up with some strong Cubs.com Internet Muscles Flexes and Michael walks away with first, second and third place in the weekly photo caption contest.

Next Tuesday is Christmas, but we won’t leave you empty handed. We will re-post our baseball card episode. This originally aired three years ago – December 21st, 2009. Happy holidays to you and yours from Ivy Envy.

One aspect of baseball on the north side that Fujikawa will have to adjust to is the lack of intro music when pitchers come out of the bullpen. You’ll want to hear the song Fujikawa came out of the bullpen to with the Hanshin Tigers.

The Cubs add outfielder Nate Schierholtz. Schierholtz will most likely play in right field every day, with David DeJesus moving to center. Kurt looks at the Rule 5 draft and tells about the additions and subtractions for the Cubs.

We have three Cubs.com Internet Muscle Flexes for you this week. Then we pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

The Cubs hired Scott Harris, a 25-year old for the Cubs front office. We discuss if an individual of that age might be a little young for the position. Or, is this a good move for an organization that could benefit from new and fresh ideas.

Just a few hours before we recorded, the news broke that Dale Sveum was shot by Robin Yount. This conversation leads us to stories of Greyhound Bus rides and Tony Zych shooting deer with his girlfriend on hot pink crutches.

We read some Cubs.com Internet Muscle Flexes and pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest. We believe this photo provided our best collection of captions we’ve received since we started doing this segment.

We answer some listener-submitted questions, read a humorous Cubs.com Internet Muscle Flex and pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

If you plan to do any shopping on Amazon.com during the holidays, we’d love your support. All you have to do is go to http://ivyenvy.com/amazon. Your shopping experience is the same. If you have family or friends that shop on Amazon, we’d really appreciate it if you let them know of our affiliation with Amazon.

We each have an entry for the Cubs.com Internet Muscle Flex of the Week and pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

UK Bob’s Movember Page
DeRose’s Movember Page

We check in with the players in the Cubs organization that are playing in the Arizona Fall League one last time. Kurt shows us some Cubs.com Comment Internet Muscle Flexing and we pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest:

UK Bob’s Movember Page
DeRose’s Movember Page

We check in with the players from the Cubs organization that are participating in the Arizona Fall League. Then Kurt gives us the Cubs.com Internet Muscle Flex of the Week.

To wrap things up, we choose a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

You can watch us do these podcast recordings live in the off-season. We record on Tuesdays at 8:30pm Central and broadcast live at http://ivyenvy.com/live

Many fans may think the Cubs front office is reaching for positives by saying the climate in the clubhouse was improved in 2012. There may not be many positives, but this is one area that might actually be pretty important. We talk about our take on how things have changed in the clubhouse.

Before we get to the photo caption contest, Kurt puts his Scary Stat of the Week on hiatus and introduces a new off-season segment.

The Cubs are flirting with their first 100 loss season since 1966. But really, does it matter if they lose 99 or 102? What’s the difference?

Since the Cubs traveled to Colorado this week, we re-visit the Tyler Colvin trade and tell you if we regret that trade.

As the 2012 season wraps up, we start looking ahead to the off-season. The Cubs front office will sit down with Dale Sveum on Thursday to evaluate the players and determine who will be with the team in the 2013 season. Also, the Cubs are reportedly going to spend some money on pitching in the off-season and we discuss what the Cubs plans may be over the next five months.

Logan Watkins is names the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year and Nick Struck is named the Pitcher of the Year. We look at their stats for the year and comment on these players and the awards.

Kurt gives us his Scary Stat of the Week and we pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest. Keep on eye on our website, Facebook page and Twitter account for information on our off-season podcast schedule.

The Midwest League puzzle pieces are falling into place with the Cubs officially moving to Kane County and the Cardinals moving to Peoria. As residents of towns with Midwest League teams, we discuss the impact of these moves.

The post-season picture is becoming clear. The Reds have won the NL Central. We take a look at some players that wore Cubs uniforms this season, but have been dealt to playoff contenders and how the teams and those players are doing.

We look at some listener submitted questions and topics, which include Dr. Who, ballpark food and the upcoming Cubs series with Colorado.

We’ve given away some copies of The Essential Games of the Chicago Cubs DVD Box Set with the photo caption contest. Thank you to A&E Home Entertainment and MLB Productions for these sets. If you would like to purchase a copy of the box set, they’re available at the MLB Shop.

We look at the September call-ups, which basically amounts to noting the Dave Sappelt is playing well. We talk more about the Cubs pulling out of Peoria, and we wait for the announcement to be made. Then, we go through some listener-submitted questions.

Kurt gives us his scary stat of the week and we pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

We go through a bunch of listener submitted topics and questions, pick a winner for this week’s caption contest and Kurt gives us his scary stat of the week.

We can’t seem to get too excited about September call-ups this year. We check up with Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters and their progress. The Cubs announce who, from their organization, will be participating in the Arizona Fall League. We comment on a few of the players. Jeremy and Corey both made it to Peoria Chiefs games on what will probably be their last home-stand as a Cubs affiliate.

We go over a few listener-submitted topics and questions and then pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

We discuss some listener suggested topics and choose a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

We feel some frustration that Chris Volstad appears to be the scheduled starter for the game of our bus trip. The theme of “crappy pitchers” continues for our bus trip, as last year we saw a Doug Davis start.

Alfonso Soriano accomplishes a feat that only six players in MLB history have accomplished. 1,000 RBI, 400 doubles, 350 HR, and 250 stolen bases should impress us…and for a short period of time, it does. The Cubs are reportedly close to locking up Starlin Castro for 7 years. We’re on board with that deal and discuss why it appears to be a good deal for all parties involved.

We look at Brett Jackson’s and Josh Vitter’s progress since being called up and discuss what the next six months may look like for these guys.

We read some listener submitted questions. Nick from Virginia asks about the idea of trading Bryan LaHair and Bob from the UK wonders about big name free-agent signings and when that might happen for the Cubs.

Kurt gives us a Volstad Scary Stat of the Week and we award the winner of the photo caption contest with a The Essential Games of Chicago Cubs DVD Box Set, courtesy of A+E Home Entertainment/MLB Productions.

We then look at some of the more notable names in the Cubs minor league system. We comment on Jorge Soler with Peoria, Javier Baez with Daytona and Dan Vogelbach with the Cubs Arizona Rookie League team.

We comment on the listener submitted topics and questions. Kurt gives us his scary stat of the week, which is a previous scary stat that has returned as a possible historic low-point. Then, we pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

Then we look at all of the trades the Cubs have made in the last week and give you a little information on all the players that the Cubs acquired in the trades. We look at some listener suggested topics and questions and then pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.

Ryan Dempster rejects a trade to the Braves and we talk about this situation and the impact that move had on the Cubs hopes of getting some talent in return. We talk about a few other players that could (and are) traded.

Then, we look at some questions from listeners. We discuss the idea of the Cubs tanking the season. Michael from Galesburg brings up Mark Prior and we re-live that whole situation. DeRose gives us a whole show’s-worth of material involving Almora, Soler, Dempster, Zach Lee, Soto, the #10 in the outfield grass and Cubs hats and how they are designed and styled.

Kurt gives us his scary stat of the week and we pick a winner for this week’s caption contest. Then things get interesting with some moves and we bail so we can pay attention to the game.

On this episode, we talk about Ron Santo’s induction into the Hall of Fame. We look back on his life and career and comment on what stands out and what is most impressive.

The Cubs hit a brick wall in St. Louis and their recent “tear” was ended by the Cardinals. We talk about the Cardinals series and how it will effect the way some Cubs fans will see this team. This episode has a lot of pitching talk, with the trade rumors with Dempster and Garza swirling. We talk about the impact these trades would have on the team, and who would become the ace of the staff.

Then, we take a look at some of the topics and questions given to us from listeners. Some of the topics include: Trades, Harry Caray impressions, the idea of the Cubs re-signing Dempster in 2013 and the 2013 starting rotation.

Kurt gives us a scary stat of historic proportions. Then we pick a winner for this week’s photo caption contest.