Brett Taylor

I actually hate watching the Cubs bat right now, and that makes me sad.

Underrated skeet dude!

Thank you. I was very proud.

When I throw my wrapper from across the room like I'm a stud, but miss the garbage can by a foot.

pfffft. Bfd. Kyle Schwarber been putting nukes on the moon for a decade.

we used to be a proper society and fight each other about this dress

In addition to everything else ... lol this is such a bad pitch.

2025 Bleacher Nation Blogathon - Make-A-Wish Foundation We All Have the Power to Grant a Wish�. Help grant wishes by donating to my fundraising page today!

Holy what - I just woke from my post-Blogathon slumber to see that the fundraiser for Make-A-Wish has exploded past $33,000! You all are incredible. site.wish.org/goto/2025bnb...

The 2025 BN Blogathon: Final Tallies, Final Thoughts, and Big Thanks Hour 39 is here. Just about 30 more minutes of staying up, musing on the Cubs, and considering the action (or inaction) from the day, before I can lay down for a glorious sleep. Before I do that, though, I needed to tell you all how much I love and appreciate your support throughout the Blogathon. Your kind words, your generosity, your attention – it means so much to me as I’m grinding through the toughest parts of this stunt. I know that I could not have made it through one of these things, much less 15 of ’em, without the great people of this community. Thank you for supporting Make-A-Wish Illinois throughout the Blogathon fundraising process. I believe deeply in their mission to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy. I believe that these are experiences that these kids and their families need, and it doesn’t happen without the support of people like you. Thanks to your generosity, the BN Blogathon this year has raised more than $28,000 to support Make-A-Wish, which is a staggering figure, and I believe it’s right around the record (maybe we can still get to $30,000 to set a new record!). The total sum we’ve raised over the years of the Blogathon is now past $241,000. It’s jaw-dropping. I was honored this year to receive the 2025 Volunteer Fundraiser Award from Make-A-Wish Illinois, but I hope you folks really do know that it’s all you. I may do some typing and whatnot, but without this generous community, none of it matters. And, by all means, if you haven’t yet given to Make-A-Wish and feel compelled to do so, you can go right here and support the cause. As for the substance of this year’s Blogathon, my initial measure of success is always simply whether I can pull off the 40 hours or not. I haven’t been defeated yet, though I’ll admit that certain physical elements – the ‘ole body just not feeling very good by Day Two – get tougher each year. Hey, it’s not supposed to be easy. Of course it’s not just about staying awake for 40 hours; it’s about covering the action. This year’s total post count was 72, including this one. I have no idea how or why there was so much more content this year (it was 54 posts last year), but I guess the action did pick up a lot at the end of the first day. And then today really was crazy in the final hour, even if we were left feeling disappointed about one specific part of the Cubs’ deadline efforts. Oh, hey, and there were 10 live streams and a live podcast recording! Whew. Very full two days. I know I just said it, but I’ll say it again, because it’s the biggest piece of how I feel right now at the close of the Blogathon: I’m just so grateful. To all of you. To Make-A-Wish Illinois. To Michael. To Reid. To the rest of the crew here at BN. To my wife. To my kids. All of you together are what make this event possible, and I’m happy to do my part with all of your blessings. I am so grateful for your support throughout the #BNBlogathon, and so proud that we get to support such a wonderful organization as @MakeAWish & @WishIllinois. Hour 39, here I come. pic.twitter.com/wHnXe0hdFj— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 1, 2025

The 2025 BN Blogathon: Final Tallies, Final Thoughts, and Big Thanks

I wouldn't recommend staying up JUST for the payoff, but I gotta tell you: do you know how amazing it feels to lay down for sleep when you've been up for 40 straight hours grinding away? I get to do it in 49 minutes. Heaven awaits.

My instant reaction to a Trade Deadline that saw the Cubs make four useful moves ... but whiff on the most glaring need.

Don't underestimate the other benefit of the Cubs trading for Willi Castro:

We get to say Willi a lot.

Great fit for the Cubs' needs on the positional side. Switch-hitter, can play all over, and massively improves the bench/part-time starts.

The tick-tock of the clock is painful
All sane and logical
I wanna acquire mackenzie gore
I hear words in trades and rumors
I think sick like deadline fail
My stomach turns and I exhale

Added lots of thoughts in here on the waterfall effect - this Correa deal could have tons of tentacles that drive other deals quickly.

Roses are red,
Violets work harder,
Oh my dearest Jed,
Please add a controllable starter.

I have been up for 33 hours straight.

I don't want to get my hopes up, but this would track with the Cubs getting Soroka last night (already talking to the Nats) as protection against getting totally shut out of the market, allowing them to take things to the wire on Gore if he's their top target.

I'm coming up on hour 30 of the 40-hour Blogathon, and I wanted to share a story - this is why we do it:

The reported trade return is a pitching prospect whose closest Cubs org parallel would probably be Jaxon Wiggins. And let me tell you, NO WAY would I have wanted the Cubs to make that swap.

I could use one right about now.

Here's how good Kyle Tucker is: despite everyone "knowing" he's been in a funk for a long time, he's hitting .253/.394/.379/129 wRC+ over the last month.

Kyle Tucker in a funk is 29 percent better than the league average hitter.

This is the time in the Blogathon where my past back issues haunt me a bit - it's a very, very long day of tense writing. Lots of sitting. Lots of standing. But no laying down for a physical reset. Problem is, if I lay down to rest my back, I get reeeally sleepy. Can't have that.

I neither hate nor love this move on its own. The velo drop of late has me concerned, but the peripherals have been so good all year. Cubs obviously project him well going forward, and he can swing rotation/pen. Need to see what else Cubs do in coordination.

Just getting dinner. I need fuel.

Love you, Ryno. Miss you already.

There are versions where I could be into the Cubs getting Verlander (minimal price, and another starter also added). Seems unlikely, but fun to ponder.

William Contreras came into this series hitting .242/.342/.340/96 wRC+ just in case you were wondering the degree of bullshit through which we are suffering.

A great hypothetical scenario on Adrian Houser (who was just scratched) would be that the Cubs acquire him today, and then they can hold the line a little more firmly on one of the impact starters. Because both would be ideal.

People have asked why I don't do a permanent live stream during the #BNBlogathon and it's because it would be 39.5 hours of me just sitting at my computer, feverishly typing, and humming an Avril Lavigne chorus on repeat.

I'd never want to intentionally abbreviate sleep ahead of the #BNBlogathon, but one benefit of starting an hour earlier than planned is that I get to go to sleep tomorrow an hour earlier than planned! Just have to wait another 36 hours ...