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After his barehanded play on a slow-rolling grounder ended Tuesday night's game against the Cubs with a stirring, 8-7 Cardinals victory, third baseman Nolan Arenado talked about how much it meant to play meaningful, tense, important games against an archrival. He said he woke up excited, and hadn't been this eager to get to the ballpark in almost two years.

A day early, Cubs manager Craig Counsell said he wouldn't be the "hype man" for the series.

The oldest rivalry in Major League Baseball between two teams that have not left their cities, Cubs-Cardinals was long defined by one team's brand as champion and the other as lovable losers, but that's so Y2K, man. Now the rivalry happens in cycles, and for the first time in several years the Cardinals and Cubs were snug in the standings when they played this past week at Busch Stadium. Does that give the rivalry renewed verve, or does the change in schedule make it just another division series?

Chicago Tribune baseball writer and Cubs beat writer Meghan Montemurro joins the Best Podcast in Baseball for a conversation at Busch Stadium (listen to that determined A/C) about the current state of the rivalry and if it has the same heat in Chicago that it experienced from the St. Louis side this past week.

The pressure is on the Cardinals to chase down the Cubs, and the pressure on the Cubs, with only one guaranteed year of standout player Kyle Tucker, appears to be on winning and advancing in October now.

How should that shape their trade deadline decisions?

How can they shape the Cardinals' trade deadline decisions?

Cubs president Jed Hoyer is in the final year of his contract, and Cardinals president John Mozeliak is in the final year of his tenure leading the Cardinals' baseball operations. Change is coming, potentially to both teams, adding another twist to the rivalry. Plus, BPIB host Derrick Goold, asks Montemurro about his theory that maybe instead of the National League Central rivals spurring the Cubs to spend like a bigger market it will be their neighborhoods on the South Side as the White Sox welcome in a new investor.

A split four-game series at Busch Stadium between the Cardinals and Cubs left nothing settled between the two teams, and the final game of the series (a 3-0 victory and second consecutive shutout by the Cubs) ended with both teams emptying their dugouts to almost confront each on the field. Tempers cooled quickly, but the stage is set for their next week within two weeks for Fourth of July at Wrigley Field.

Will there be fireworks?

The Best Podcast in Baseball, in its 13th year as one of the leading baseball podcasts, is sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis. It is a production of StlToday.com, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and Derrick Goold.

Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43

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CHICAGO -- Two showdowns loom for the Cardinals in the coming weeks. First, they face the division-leading Chicago Cubs for the first time with a four-game series at Busch Stadium..

Second, they face themselves at the trade deadline.

Hall of Fame broadcaster and fixture on Cardinals' radio Mike Claiborne joins the Best Podcast in Baseball for his annual appearance around Flag Day. Claiborne has long argued that Flag Day is the first day to check the standings are start making plans on what kind of team the Cardinals are going to be. This year's time might take a little longer, but Claiborne tells baseball writer and BPIB host Derrick Goold what he already knows about the 2025 'transition' club.

Claiborne and Goold also discuss what the Cardinal can aim to get in return at the trade deadline if the upcoming series against the Cubs point them in the direction of selling.

That is if they can fight their tendency for straddling the fence -- never all-in and hesitant to drop out.

The podcast was recorded on the South Side of Chicago at Rate Field before another postponed game due to rain forced the Cardinals into their sixth doubleheader of the season.

In its 13th season as one of the most-popular and longest-running Cardinals-centric podcasts, the Best Podcast in Baseball is sponsored by Closets by Design of St. Louis. BPIB is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold.

Post-Dispatch podcasts page: https://go.stltoday.com/0hfn43

Please consider subscribing: https://go.stltoday.com/9aigz5

From near his perch at Busch Stadium, where he calls games for the Cardinals' Spanish language broadcast, Polo Ascensio surveys the style of game, the style of play, and, yes, the style of his calls for the 2025 Cardinals.

The nine-game home stand did not lack for some compelling games -- though evidently there is some debate on how entertaining the opening innings of the Cardinals' 2-1 victory against the Dodgers was -- and that had to be reflected in the calls from all of the broadcast booths. Ahead of Toronto completing a series sweep of the Cardinals, Ascensio spoke with Post-Dispatch baseball writer Derrick Goold about those calls, about the enthusiasm and inspiration he brings to them as well as whether this team has made such energy easier with its style of play.

Ascensio also discusses the catching history of the Cardinals and the catching present, with background on how two members of the current team, Willson Contreras and Ivan Herrera, signed with the Cardinals specifically because of their fondness for former Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina. The podcast explores why Contreras stayed with the Cardinals when the team, pivoting toward youth, offered to trade him to a contender, and there a conversation about Herrera's future at catcher.

Ascensio's broadcasts with former catcher and former Cardinals coach Bengie Molina are available for every home game on WIJR/880 AM La Tremenda. There is hope from many parties in and around the Cardinals that the broadcasts will expand beyond home games, especially if the club continues to contend late into the season.

The Best Podcast in Baseball is in its 13th year as one of the first and most-downloaded baseball podcasts and a leader among the Cardinals-based podcasts. It is sponsored weekly by Closets by Design of St. Louis, and it is a production of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, StlToday.com, and Derrick Goold. It is part of the constant Cardinals coverage available at StlToday.com and in the pages of the Post-Dispatch daily.