Club 1:20 Network - A Chicago Cubs Podcast Network

Club 1:20

The Club 1:20 Network is your home for original Chicago Cubs content. Featuring the flagship Club 1:20 Show, plus The Margin, The Pulse, and more, we bring Cubs fans fresh perspectives, thoughtful analysis, and entertaining conversations throughout the week. Hosted by Neil & Nate, former baseball players and coaches who aren't afraid to challenge conventional wisdom, celebrate the highs, question the lows, and dive into everything happening around the Chicago Cubs. Whether it's game analysis, roster decisions, player development, clubhouse storylines, or the biggest topics surrounding the Cubs, you'll find it here. More Cubs. More Content. One Network.

  1. Sep 9

    The Margin Ep. 9 | ONE BAD INNING: The Cubs’ Biggest October Problem

    What if the Cubs’ pitching problem isn’t nine innings long? What if it’s just one? All season, we’ve watched the same scene play out. Leadoff walk. Single. Bad pitch. Blooper. Home run. Suddenly a manageable game becomes a crooked number — and the Cubs are trying to dig themselves out of a hole. So this week on The Margin, we went through all 145 Cubs games through September 7 to find out just how much damage one bad inning has actually done. The difference is staggering. When Cubs pitching has allowed 3+ runs in a single inning, Chicago is 22–44. When they avoid that inning? 59–20. And 44 of the Cubs’ 64 losses — nearly 70% — have included at least one 3+ run inning. But that's the obvious part. Teams that give up a bunch of runs tend to lose baseball games. So we went deeper. In 23 of those 44 losses, the opponent's biggest inning was at least as large as the Cubs' entire margin of defeat. In 36 of 44 — 82% — the opponent produced a bigger scoring inning than anything the Cubs offense could answer with. That's where the October question gets interesting. The Cubs don't need nine innings of perfect pitching. They don't need every starter going seven. They don't need every reliever to be unhittable. They need to recognize the moment when one run is becoming three. Limit the damage. Get the next guy. Keep the long ball small. Keep the game alive. Because in October, you don't have to win all nine innings. You just can't lose one of them. The Margin — Chasing Wins, Not Stats. Subscribe to the Club 1:20 Network for weekly Cubs analysis that looks beyond the box score and searches for the margins that actually decide baseball games.   #ChicagoCubs #Cubs #CubsBaseball #GoCubsGo #CubsNation #MLB #MLBPlayoffs #ChicagoSports #CraigCounsell #TheMargin #Club120 #Baseball

    The Margin Ep. 9 | ONE BAD INNING: The Cubs’ Biggest October Problem
  2. Sep 2

    The Margin Ep. 8 | The Cubs Lead MLB in Home Runs Allowed… And Somehow It Works

    The Chicago Cubs have a home run problem. 209 home runs allowed. Most in Major League Baseball. Shota Imanaga has allowed 33. Jameson Taillon gave up 25 before being DFA'd. Colin Rea has allowed 20. Opponents have homered against the Cubs in 110 games. They've hit 111 of them at Wrigley Field alone. And somehow... The Cubs are still sitting atop the National League Wild Card standings and rank only 18th in MLB in total runs allowed. How? That's what we're chasing in Episode 8 of THE MARGIN: Living with the Long Ball. Of the Cubs' 209 home runs allowed: • 118 have been solo shots • 60 have been two-run homers • 28 have been three-run homers • 3 have been grand slams Those home runs have produced 334 of the Cubs' 601 total runs allowed — 55.6%. But there's another number that might explain how they've survived: 56.5% of the home runs they've allowed have been solo shots. And that brings us back to one of our core baseball philosophies: Zeros are great. Ones are manageable. Crooked numbers kill you. The Cubs clearly aren't going to stop giving up home runs. So maybe the path to October isn't eliminating them. Maybe it's keeping the bases clean before they happen. Because the pitch that leaves the yard might be the same, but there's a massive difference between that mistake making it 1–0 or 3–0. And in October, when one pitch can decide your season, can the Cubs keep living this close to the edge? The Verdict: You can live with the long ball. It's the plus-ones that'll kill you. This is THE MARGIN on the Club 1:20 Network. Chasing Wins, Not Stats. Subscribe for weekly Cubs analysis that looks beyond the box score to find the small things that actually decide baseball games. #ChicagoCubs #Cubs #CubsBaseball #GoCubsGo #CubsNation #MLB #TheMargin #ShotaImanaga #WrigleyField #MLBPlayoffs #Baseball #ChicagoBaseball

    The Margin Ep. 8 | The Cubs Lead MLB in Home Runs Allowed… And Somehow It Works
  3. Sep 1

    The Pulse Ep. 9 | Something Feels Broken With the Cubs

    The Cubs aren't finished. But right now? Something feels broken. After another 2-4 week, the Cubs have lost the 5½-game cushion they once held over Philadelphia in the Wild Card race. And the biggest concern is becoming pretty clear. The bullpen. The offense is scoring enough runs to win games. The Cubs are building leads. But too often lately, those leads haven't felt safe. And with September here, that's a problem that needs to be fixed quickly. Especially considering what's coming next... Four games at Wrigley against the Milwaukee Brewers — the best team in baseball. This week's Pulse: BROKEN. 📈 Trending Up — At this point, we might as well rename this the PCA Segment. Pete Crow-Armstrong went absolutely nuclear over the weekend, including a three-homer game Saturday and two more on Sunday. Plus, some love for deadline additions Clay Holmes and Kevin Gausman, and Ian Happ continues his longstanding tradition of tormenting the Cincinnati Reds. 📉 Trending Down — Shota Imanaga, Trent Thornton and Jacob Webb. With September here and the bullpen under the microscope, the Cubs need answers from their pitching staff quickly. 👀 What I'm Watching — There's only one answer this week. Cubs. Brewers. Four games. Wrigley Field. This might be the biggest series of the season. ⚾ Final Diagnosis — Broken doesn't mean finished. The Cubs still have the talent to turn this around. But it's time to stop telling us everything is okay. Show us. Four games against the best team in baseball seems like a pretty good place to start. 💬 Question of the Week: Do you think the Cubs are broken right now? And what do you need to see against Milwaukee this week to start feeling confident again? Let me know in the comments. The Pulse — Beyond the Box Score Every week, we take a step back from the box scores and headlines to talk about what it all means, because the heartbeat of a baseball season is always changing. 🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts. #ThePulse #Club120 #ChicagoCubs #Cubs #MLB #PeteCrowArmstrong #CubsBaseball

    The Pulse Ep. 9 | Something Feels Broken With the Cubs
  4. Aug 26

    The Margin Ep. 7 | The Cubs’ Magic Number Is 5 | Five For Fighting

    What if the most important number for the 2026 Chicago Cubs isn't ERA, WAR or runs scored? What if it's simply five innings? Through 132 games, the Cubs are 74-25 when they're leading, tied or down just one run after five innings. That's a .747 winning percentage. But when they're down two or more after five? 2-31. That's not a gradual decline. That's a cliff. In Episode 7 of The Margin, Nate looks at the number that may simplify the chaos of this entire Cubs season and completely change the way we should evaluate their pitching staff heading toward October. The Cubs don't need every starter to dominate. They don't need seven shutout innings. They may not even need to be winning when the starter's job is done. They need 15 competitive outs. Keep the game alive long enough for Craig Counsell to open the matchup book. Let the defense steal outs. Let PCA steal runs. Let the bullpen navigate the late innings. And give an unpredictable Cubs offense enough time to turn the game into something it can win. We also dig into the Cubs' strange offensive profile: 18 games scoring 10+ runs, the boom-or-bust question, crooked innings, October pitching, and why the difference between being down one and down two might define this team's championship chances. Five innings. Stay within one. Stay in the fight. That's Five For Fighting. The Margin — Chasing Wins, Not Stats. Subscribe for new episodes of The Margin and weekly Chicago Cubs analysis as we chase the wins, decisions and tiny advantages that ultimately decide a baseball season. #ChicagoCubs #Cubs #CubsBaseball #TheMargin #PCA #PeteCrowArmstrong #MLB #CraigCounsell #GoCubsGo #CubsPodcast #ChicagoSports #MLBPlayoffs

    The Margin Ep. 7 | The Cubs’ Magic Number Is 5 | Five For Fighting

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

The Club 1:20 Network is your home for original Chicago Cubs content. Featuring the flagship Club 1:20 Show, plus The Margin, The Pulse, and more, we bring Cubs fans fresh perspectives, thoughtful analysis, and entertaining conversations throughout the week. Hosted by Neil & Nate, former baseball players and coaches who aren't afraid to challenge conventional wisdom, celebrate the highs, question the lows, and dive into everything happening around the Chicago Cubs. Whether it's game analysis, roster decisions, player development, clubhouse storylines, or the biggest topics surrounding the Cubs, you'll find it here. More Cubs. More Content. One Network.

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