Claim OwnershipAway Games: A Chicago Cubs Podcast
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Comedians Kevin McCaffrey and Adam Mamawala talk in depth about the Chicago Cubs on this weekly podcast. Real interviews, real analysis, and real talk about everything around their favorite baseball team.
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6 years and almost 300 episodes later, it’s time to joyfully call it a ballgame — and in our bottom of the 9th, we put together a hell of a rally. Our final episode looks back with our favorite guests including: Joe Maddon, Justin Steele, Roy Wood Jr., Bob Newhart, Alec Mills, Rob Zastryzny, and more. Seriously, we talked to all of them about the Cubs, and you’ll hear it here. We also talk about *these* Cubs and the first week of 2024, because we’re still watching and loving this team. Otherwise, we talk about our favorite Chicago Cubs moments, players and games of the Away Games era (2018-2024), how the podcast began, why it’s ending, and we thank our many great guests, and all our kind listeners. This is a really fun episode, folks. We hope you dig it. Thanks for listening, everybody! Keep following @awaygamespod on Twitter, @kevinmccaff @adammamawala
Since 2018, our podcast has been previewing Chicago Cubs seasons, making a ton of predictions, doing a bunch of roster and league analysis, and having a lot of fun doing it. And in 2024, we’re doing that for the last time. Away Games Podcast is coming to an end after next week’s episode (which will be a look back), but we wanted to go deep one more time on the upcoming Cubs season. Ken Schultz (OutSports) joins us again to break down our Cubs for the upcoming year, and even leaves us with 32 great reasons to be excited about this team in 2024. Kevin, Adam and Ken talk breakouts, bold predictions, concerns, key dates and series, and more. Thanks for listening, everybody, and tweet us any thoughts, questions or favorite moments @awaygamespod — and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff, who will continue existing.
And with the return of Cody Bellinger, the season can finally begin! The Cubs finally found a solution for the Cody Bellinger-sized hole in their lineup, and he returns on the Jed Hoyer Special contract (short term, opt outs galore). We talk about that, the Cubs plethora of non-roster invites, PECOTA projections that have the Cubs right around .500, and feelings about the team coming together as Spring baseball begins. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff!
It’s a BIG episode! So big, we have guest Ken Schultz (OutSports) on to help talk us through it. Shota Imanaga joins the Cubs rotation from Japan, the Cubs dealt two prospects for one top-50 prospect in baseball (1B/DH Michael Busch) and a MLB reliever (Yency Almonte). We analyze the moves the Cubs have made, talk about the big ones they haven’t, what Jed Hoyer has said about all of it, and Ken tells us about all the fun of the Cubs Convention: the new Cubs Hall of Famers, player panels, and an impressive showing by Craig Counsell. This is our biggest, deepest Cubs talk in a while, so sit back and enjoy! Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff!
Steele became an ace, we got the Tauch Off & Morel’s walk off grand slam that made him literally lose his shirt. The Ross Era also wrapped up in a weird way, as the team was both better and worse than we thought they could be at different times, leading to a result that was…literally exactly what we predicted in our annual season preview. We take this episode to check in on our pre-season predictions, hold ourselves accountable, look at highlights and lowlights and take stock of what, undeniably, was one year of Cubs baseball. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you?
Happy holidays to all, but especially Jorge Alfaro, the Cubs biggest signing of the offseason so far. Adam and Kevin thought it was a good time to check in on where things stand for the Cubs as Ohtani chose a new, more local, consistently competitive home with the Deferrin’ Dodgers, Soto landed in New York, and the Cubs are in the news for NOT meeting with Yamamoto. Will Cody be back? Are we trading with Cleveland? Is Rhys Hoskins gonna happen? Is it okay to be frustrated at the moment or does that mean we just don’t possess the galaxy brain needed to see the true plan? Let’s get into it. And, seriously, Happy Holidays! Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you?
The Cubs have a new manager: Craig Counsell is leaving Milwaukee to come complain about weather delays more locally after signing a record 5-year, $40 million dollar deal. David Ross went from “our guy” to “anyone else’s guy” in a snap, and he’s not the only one out the door: Marcus Stroman has declined his option, freeing up more than $20 million of payroll for the Cubs to go shop with. Those are the goodbyes, but we have a couple “hello agains” too: Kyle Hendricks’s option was picked up for 2024, and Yan Gomes and Drew Smyly will also remain with the club next year. Haven’t had a big news day like this in Cubland for a while, folks! Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you?
From one strike away to all the way there, the Rangers finally got rid of the the title of “oldest team to never win a World Series.” Game 1 was an all-timer, with Corey Seager’s 9th inning, game tying homer that reminded us of Kirk Gibson ’88, and Adolis Garcia’s extra inning walk off. And then…there were also other games. We recap the series, give D’backs fans their due, talk about the greatness of Bochy, and how the Rangers could provide the blueprint for what the Cubs should (and could) be as soon as next year. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you?
The Astros have been dispatched in what their fans surely think is a grand, unfair conspiracy that goes all the way to the top, and the Rangers will look for that elusive first World Series title against either the Phillies or Diamondbacks. We look at the possible matchups and how the Rangers got here, and look at Dusty’s career with news that he might step away. We also talk a little bit of good Cubs news and rumor, with the reports that Kyle Hendricks is working on an extension with the team. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you?
Not a big week for currrent Cubs news, but a big week for former Cubs that weren’t offered a contract by our team. Schwarber and Castellanos are bombing the Phillies into a 2-0 lead in the NLCS, while the Rangers take two in Houston. We also talk a little about the playoff format and how it does or doesn’t favor the best teams, and peruse the letter Tom Ricketts sent to Cubs fans this week. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you?
Without much Cubs news and with Kevin out of town in Vegas to presumably bet on the Cubbies, friend of the pod Evan Hernandez (Amazon Prime) pinch hits for a playoff recap. We talk about the four Wild Card sweeps, the electric Philly/Atlanta series, whether or not Clayton Kershaw is a certified October choke artist, and the Texas Rangers reaping the rewards of big offseason spending. Get the hint, Ricketts? Will the Dodgers complete an epic comeback? Will the Twins force a game 5? Will Philly recover from a devastating game 2 loss? All that and more on this edition of Away Games. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala, @kevinmccaff, and @evanhernandezcomedy! Oh, and leave us a five star rating, would you?
Welp, our big postseason episode turned out to be a "post-season" episode. A brutal final week finished an excruciating final month that found the Cubs on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Despite a 90+% chance to make the playoffs in early September, the team ran out of gas at a critical time. We talk about the final week and how we'll remember this season before doing a live breakdown of Jed's press conference. What we like: Hendricks staying a Cub. What we don't like: a lack of committing to make this team a true World Series contender. It's gonna be a long offseason. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you?
What a week: Ross smack-talking the Pirates after a bad loss, the Cubs sweeping the Rockies, and then maybe the worst loss of the year as the Cubs blow a 6-0 lead at the Braves, after a shockingly misplayed fly ball. We reset where the Cubs and the other Wild Card contenders are with five games to go, talk about Suzuki’s misplayed ball in right after carrying this offense for more than a month, some nearly equally shocking managing by David Ross, and really take a look at where we are emotionally with the Cubs, which ends up being two different places. One more week of this regular season, folks. Let’s catch up, and enjoy it…and see if we can really give the Marlins something to whine about. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you?
Here’s two things that are true: this week sucked, and this season is as good as it could have ever reasonably been. We go over the awful trip to Colorado and Arizona where the Cubs gave away their entire Wild Card cusion and another tie-breaker to the Diamondbacks, but also find ourselves on a bit of an island because, with the Cubs still .5 games up in the final Wild Card spot…we still have hope? Let’s talk David Ross, the magic of “resting players,” Canario’s big first start, Bullpen Stroman, Steele maybe being allowed to have his first bad game since friggin’ MAY, and what the schedule looks like for these last 11 games. And for old times sake, let’s sh*t on Zach Davies a bit. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you?
New episode is up and Adam & Kevin have a lot to talk about! After a terrific sweep of the Giants the Cubs lost the first three to the suddenly hot Arizona Diamondbacks, wasting stellar starts from Taillon and Cy Steele in the process. The Cubbies managed to salvage the final game of the series Sunday and won a nail biter in Colorado last night. With only 17 games left to play in the regular season, the Cubs trail the Brewers by 3 games for the division lead, the Phillies by 1.5 games for the WC lead, and are currently listed with an 87.4% chance to make the playoffs. Let's get it done! Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you? Oh, and go see Adam headline Zanies Old Town in Chicago on Tuesday, September 19th!!
Justin Steele’s gem against the Giants has finally made the national media start to wake up to our ace and legitimate Cy Young candidate, and Seiya Suzuki is finding the gear that made him a superstar in Japan. Add that to the fact that Assad has basically turned into early season Stroman, and this is really, truly feeling like a playoff team. We also talk about the Cubs call-up of Luke Little, DFA of Shane Greene, and why Alexander Canario was called up to go straight onto a missing poster. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you? Oh, and go see Adam headlined Zanies Old Town in Chicago on Tuesday, September 19th!!
Jordan Wicks made one of the more dominating debuts we’ve ever seen from a Cubs pitcher, and has joined a next-man-up rotation that has been solidified by some amazing Javier Assad performances that have kept the Cubs within striking distance of the Brewers. The Cubs start the most impactful series of the year (so far) Monday night against those very Brewers, who they just can’t seem to gain ground on no matter how well they play. Thanks for nothing, Padres! We look ahead to what other Cubs might make the jump to the big leagues when rosters expand in September, and welcome Keegan Thompson back to the constantly shuffling bullpen. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you? Oh, and go see Adam headlined Zanies Old Town in Chicago on Tuesday, September 19th!!
Last episode, the Cubs had finally crept into playoff position. Now, as they remain in wild card position, 3.5 games back of Milwaukee, we’ve decided we have reached the point where we should expect this team to grab one of those six spots. We talk about how Morel’s one swing against the Sox could have swung the season, and certainly swung the vibes this week, the resurgence of Suzuki, the emergence of Alzolay from closer to CLOSER, and how exactly the Cubs are going to patch together enough starting pitching to get to the finish line. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you? Oh, and go see Adam headlined Zanies Old Town in Chicago on Tuesday, September 19th!!
Well, the Cubs had themselves a confusing week. After losing the rubber game on a frustrating fake rally in the 9th inning vs the Mets, the Cubs won two of three against a strong Blue Jays team with Adam in attendance on Friday. Naturally they lost on Sunday because that's kinda their thing, and last night saw them drop the opener of a quick two game set against the dysfunctional crosstown White Sox. With one more left against the Sox followed by 10 games against struggling opponents in the Royals, Tigers and Pirates, can the Cubs get the job done? They better because the Brewers remain 3.5 up in the Central and the Wild Card race is packed to the brim. We also talk about Stroman's lingering injury, Assad breaking out, and who we might see get a September call-up!
For the first time since the season got serious, the Cubs are (by .001% points) in a playoff spot, at the time of recording. We talk about the great week of series wins against Reds and Braves, the Summer of Tauchman, Taillon’s return to form, the one lineup swap we would make, and more. Follow us at @awaygamespod on all the things and follow @adammamawala & @kevinmccaff! Leave us a five star rating, would you? Oh, and go see Adam headlined Zanies Old Town in Chicago on Tuesday, September 19th!!
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