Rain Delay Theater

Jack and Jeremy decide to set their crosshairs directly on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball and, more specifically, Matt Vasgersian and Alex Rodriguez. These two have been putting out a nonsensical, babbling broadcast for awhile and Rain Delay Theater had to address this debacle by watching and (heavily) critiquing the June 13th broadcast of Cubs vs. Cardinals. Non-sequiturs, beer snakes, and Spanish Translation 101 are just some of the topics covered in this one. And, it goes without saying, that Jack and Jeremy had to address the Anthony Rizzo non-vaxxed news of this past weekend. The guys get deep into that in the first part of the show. Tune in and enjoy!

...And here's part two of the Rain Delay Theater double header: Cubs vs Padres from June 1st. In this ep, the guys talk about a group of One Direction wannabees sitting in front of them, a deteriorated Ryne Sandberg jersey, we meet a "climber", and perhaps a reprise of the close-walking duo trailing Jack and Jeremy on the walk back to the car...? Jeremy also gives an uncomfortable review of the bathrooms and Jack provides yet another impression in this solo bonus intro this week! Check it out!

Jack and Jeremy bring you an unexpected recap of the Cubs/Reds game from May 28th. These tickets were gifted last minute from Jeremy's work and luckily brought a whole episode's worth of material. In this episode, we hear Jack and Jeremy embroiled in a fiasco to acquire scorecards, a guy who was more into Craig Kimbrel's entrance music than Craig Kimbrel, and a horrific story of being tailed by two people leaving the game! (Listening note: we recorded this as one episode, recapping this Reds game and a Padres game from June 1st, but it ran pretty long, so we decided after the fact to break it up into two episodes. Padres game recap coming soon!)

This week Jack and Jeremy play a guessing game of unlikely teammates who overlapped for only a short time and seem to bridge together two generations of ballplayers. But the episode isn't all fun and games as Jack and Jeremy also lay into Tony LaRussa's handling of the Yermin Mercedes situation. This one is NSFW with the four-letter expletives, so be forewarned! And also, with the Cubs struggling to get to the 85% vaccinated threshold, the guys try to guess the anti-vaxxer Cubs! Fun!

In light of the recent unceremonious release of Albert Pujols by the Los Angeles Angels, Jack and Jeremy take a look at the final year stats of Hall of Fame players and discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly. The guys also touch on the David Ross's lovelife, the Wade Miley no-hitter, and some more Cubs postgame show analysis.

The Rain Delay boys are back at the ballpark again this week, one day later than expected, to see the defending World Champion LA Dodgers take on the (real) Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. Hopes weren't high for this one being a good game, and, well, it was a lopsided affair, but not how you'd expect. Jack and Jeremy see Clayton Kershaw's shortest outing of his career - they also meet a verbose, heckle-challenged fan, a canned National Anthem, and confused food vendors. Plus, hear how Ildemaro Vargas and Jake Marisnick stole the heart of one of the hosts of the show. Fan catches, rookie home runs, and crunchy hamburger buns are all included in this one, so check it out now!

The day has finally come! Jack and Jeremy return for their first in-person baseball game in over a year and a half to see the Alternate Site South Bend Cubs take on the Alternate Site Schaumburg White Sox in the final Alternate Site game of the year (and maybe ever...?). Unpredictability is the name of this game as the Cubs team arrives 45 minutes late to the stadium, a player is chastised for not hustling in an unofficial inning after the outcome has been decided, and the guys see a COMBINED PERFECT GAME!!! You'll hear food recaps, travel mishaps, and good ol' fashioned fan rants! Hear the Rain Delay boys in their true form: two bums talking about other bums at baseball games! Tune in!

This week, Jack and Jeremy have a news and notes episode with a big announcement about returning to the ballpark for the first time since 2019! The guys talk Cubs/Mets, Chili Davis, Jean Segura's much celebrated 200th double, and Jeremy tells a story about meeting up with a man to trade baseball cards. Tune in!

Inspired by the recent Cubs/Brewers dustup, Jack and Jeremy run down many of the unwritten rules of baseball and give their opinions. Does Jack support bunting for a hit in a no-hitter? Does Jeremy like that the new guy in the bullpen has to wear a girl's backpack and carry the bubblegum? Does A-Rod get trashed multiple times? That's a definite yes. The guys also touch on the Carlos Rodon no-hitter and Brewers color analyst Bill Schroeder's comments on the Willson Contreras home run. This is just the beginning!

This week, Jack and Jeremy bring you their annual Over/Under predictions for the 2021 baseball season. How many brawls with the Cubs and Brewers get into this year, how many combined DL stints will Garrett Crochet and Michael Kopech have, how many games will Rain Delay Theater attend this season - all these predictions and more are made in this week’s episode! Also, Jack talks about midwesterner’s pride for cold weather, Jeremy talks about Trevor Williams’s dad, and the guys discuss the current Marquee Network commercial making fun of the suit-wearing policy last year. Enjoy!

Opening Day 2021 is here and Rain Delay Theater convenes to give you Jeremy's first person account of what it was like to be in-person at the ballpark for the Chicago Cubs's season opener at Wrigley Field. Botched mobile food order, loud maskless galoots, and yet ANOTHER celebrity run-in for Jeremy (45:33). We have an exclusive report on the state of Wrigley Field in a "socially distanced" setting. Tune in!

Jack and Jeremy come to you on the eve of Opening Day 2021 to do a quick hit minisode on what they're looking forward to this upcoming season! The duo run down some key rookies making the opening day roster, some players who will be absent due to injury, and some thoughts about the hometown teams. Plus!!! Jeremy drops a bomb on Jack about a HUGE Chicago sports celebrity sighting he had this week. We also get a pre-first pitch of the season Cubs rant from Jeremy - ah, baseball is really back, isn't it, folks? Batter up! Baseball starts for the season after you listen to this minisode!

Spring Training is coming to a close and that might mean the end of the line for some veterans trying to make one last roster this year. So this week, Jack and Jeremy take a look at some baseball superstars that ended their career on a weird team. Like Ron Santo ending his career as a White Sox...or Greg Maddux ending with the Dodgers...or Mackey Sasser playing his last game as a Pirate. Hey, not so fast, Mackey - but you get the idea. The guys also talk about the drug bust of Cubs minor leaguer Jesus Camargo, the Jack Leiter no-hitter, and a happy ending to the Marquette/Wojo story.

This week Jack and Jeremy try to go legit as a baseball podcast and give their serious predictions for the 2021 season, that is, after a 20 minute detour at the top of the show as Jack tells a story about tumultuous rehearsals for the play where the Rain Delay duo first met. We (eventually) hear the guys' picks for division, pennant, and World Series winners as well as the three major awards: MVP, Cy Young, and Rookie of the Year. Jack also give an embittered tirade about the possibility of Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski being retained and Jeremy shares his apoplectic thoughts about the Bears signing of Andy Dalton. Tune in for mostly a baseball podcast this week!

Spring training marches on and Jack and Jeremy run down a few news items from around the league including the announcement that fans will be allowed at Chicago baseball games for Opening Day, Joc Pederson's hot spring training start, Nick Madrigal gets ridiculed by his teammates, and a poll that ranks the baseball fans that drink the most.

This week on the pod, Jack and Jeremy watch and review the 2016 indie film “Pinch” about two strangers battling over an autographed Norm Cash baseball bat. We learn a little about Jack and Jeremy’s baseball-related tv pilot they made several years ago, Jack learns that Norm Cash is a real player and the guys discuss The Bechdel Test. This ep clocks in extra long, so just be warned! If you’d like to watch “Pinch” before listening, it is available on Amazon Prime. And if you’d like to watch Jack and Jeremy’s tv pilot “Inside Baseball”, visit jeremydionisio.com!

The annual spring training tradition continues this week as Jack and Jeremy run down the list of non-roster invitees trying to break camp with their respective ballclub. It's an extra-long episode this week because when you're ragging on a bunch of fringe ballplayers, it takes some time! Arismendy Alcantara, Chris Owings, and Brian Schlitter make an appearance, so lookout! The guys also touch on the idiot, and now fired, CEO of the Seattle Mariners and his stupid comments about his team. What a stroke. Tune in!

With the start of any baseball season comes the release of a new set of baseball cards and this week, Jack and Jeremy take a look at some odd blurbs from the newest 2021 Topps Series 1 set! The guys also touch on the signings of Jake Arrieta, Brandon Workman, Justin Turner, and the Fernando Tatis Jr. contract extension. We are also treated to a controversial Rain Delay Theater t-shirt idea. Baseball season is inching closer, so let Jack and Jeremy take you through spring training all the way to Opening Day!

Jack and Jeremy break out a box of conversation hearts for this Valentine's Day episode and find the perfect MLB players as recipients. Love is in the air and it's time for the Rain Delay Theater boys to make their move, so look out Joba Chamberlain and Joe Biagini!

The Super Bowl is upon us and Rain Delay Theater explore some of their NFL roots this week and conduct a tournament of MLB nicknames vs. NFL nicknames to crown a true champion! Too Tall, The Refrigerator, and The Toy Cannon all make appearances as well as some of the classics. A lot to discuss about the virtues of a good nickname here! The guys also rip into Mickey Callaway and his embarrassingly lame text messages, they cover the signings of Kolten Wong, Joc Pederson, and Carlos Rodon, and they delve into some discontinued fast food burgers. Check out this week's episode in time for kickoff this Sunday! ...oh yeah...Jeremy's might claim that Tom Brady is a lizard person in this one too...tune in to find out!