CubsPS+ - A North Side Numbers Game

About CubsPS+ - A North Side Numbers Game

CubsPS+ is where Cubs baseball meets actual analysis. Host Mike Waller — lifelong fan, stat nerd, and the calm voice in a sea of ranters — breaks down what’s actually happening with the Cubs through a sabermetrics lens. Expect deep dives, historical context, and takes grounded in data rather than vibes. Follow @CubsPSPlus on Twitter/X, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, BlueSky & Threads.

Publisher

Mike Waller

Category

sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Jul 2022

Latest episode

25 May 2026

Latest episodes

76 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   25 May 2026

   CubsPS+ Episode 70: Roster Musical Chairs - Position Players

   CubsPS+ Episode 70 — Roster Musical Chairs: Position Players Bellinger's signed. Spring training games are underway. And now the fun part begins — figuring out who actually makes this team. Today I go position by position through the 13 non-pitcher spots on the opening day roster, sorting the locks from the bubble guys and making the case for how I'd build this bench. This episode: The Bellinger deal broken down — three years, $80M, two opt-outs, and why the structure is basically perfect for where the Cubs are The 13-pitcher, 13-position-player math — and why those last three bench spots are the most interesting decisions of spring training Locked in: Gomes/Amaya behind the plate, Hoerner, Swanson, Morel at third (fingers crossed), Happ, Suzuki, Bellinger, Busch, and Tauchman First base: Busch gets the job, but Mervis, Garrett Cooper, and Dom Smith all hover — and Mervis is running out of time to get a real look The Morel situation: what Craig Counsell actually said, why third base is make-or-break for roster flexibility, and what passable defense there actually buys this team Nick Madrigal vs. Patrick Wisdom: why carrying both makes no sense, and why I'd probably go with neither The case for Miles Mastrobuoni that I will keep making until someone listens Canario's option year, Brennan Davis's health question, and why PCA is almost certainly starting in Triple-A The CBT math: the Cubs are effectively already over the first tier and why that's the right call How the deadline fits in — and why leaving $15-20M in wiggle room now is a feature, not a bug

2. 

   24 May 2026

   CubsPS+ Episode 69: Nothing Good Comes from Tom Ricketts Talking Money

   CubsPS+ Episode 69 — Nothing Good Comes from Tom Ricketts Talking Money Spring training games start Friday, Cody Bellinger is still unsigned, and Tom Ricketts opened his mouth about budgets again. This week I break down what Tom actually said, what it means, what he's gotten right as an owner, and what he keeps getting catastrophically wrong — then take stock of where this roster actually stands heading into camp. This episode: The Ricketts record, honestly assessed — from saving Wrigley to "biblical losses," the full arc of what this ownership has and hasn't delivered Tom's comments on the Diamondbacks, payroll, and "more revenue" — not wrong exactly, but never, ever helpful to say out loud A full tour of Cubs payroll from 2014 to now — fifth in 2016, fourth in 2018, third in 2019, and what the numbers actually tell us about who's cheap and who isn't The Scott Boras standoff explained — why Tom's hands-off ownership style and Boras's go-around-the-owner strategy are a perfect recipe for a stalemate Where I think the Bellinger deal actually stands — and why "no formal offer" is not the same as no negotiation Why baseball is trending younger and what that means for the mid-tier free agent market that keeps getting left behind Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, and the case against nine-year deals for guys who give you five innings Trevor Bauer, Mike Clevinger, and the guys who probably aren't signing anywhere soon What this team actually is right now — rotation optimism, bullpen depth, and why Morel at third changes everything My current read on the NL Central: Cubs and Cardinals as co-favorites, Reds right behind, and a division that the healthiest team probably wins

3. 

   24 May 2026

   CubsPS+ Episode 68: Falling Down the Rabbit Hole with Michael Cotton

   CubsPS+ Episode 68 — Falling Down the Rabbit Hole with Michael Cotton Nothing's happening in the offseason and spring training isn't here yet — so I brought in reinforcements. Michael Cotton, co-host of the Sun Ranto Show and host of Baseball Rabbit Hole, joins me for a wide-ranging conversation about the soul of the game: old stats versus new, the artistry analytics is slowly erasing, and whether any of it matters when baseball is still just beautiful and stupid in equal measure. This episode: Michael's origin story — 10 seasons on Sun Ranto, a Bears podcast he'd rather forget, and how a podcast from the Quad Cities kept him connected to the Cubs from Colorado How watching 162 games a year changes you — why the 15% see the game differently, and why that's both a gift and a burden Henry Chadwick: the journalist who invented the box score, the baseball guide, and — possibly — the K, and why his stats stuck for 150 years WAR explained for the Cotton-brained among us — and why 48 wins is the floor, not the average The old stats tell you what happened; the new stats try to explain why — and both matter Javier Assad's Baseball Savant page is a puzzle, Kyle Hendricks' is a masterpiece, and what the difference tells us about contact-based pitching in the modern game Why PCA's best plays might not look like plays at all — and what Darwin Barney and Jason Heyward have to do with it Analytics as player development tool vs. analytics as player limiter — and where Michael draws the line Joe Maddon, game seven, and the pull that still haunts us Jed, Theo, and what actually changed when Craig Breslow came to town

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

13 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.