Alex Cobb (Part 1)

[DuWayne Steurer]

 

They have ridiculous talent in their primes or just hitting their primes. Anytime you talk about that kind of win total, obviously it's an extreme long-shot. I'm not sure if people aren't reading the post or if they just love being dramatic, but "could" only means it isn't outside the realm of possibility. There are probably about 10-12 squads this century who were outside threats to win that many games, and they're one of them - especially since the NL is mediocre as heck this year.

 

Well, I think, as others have pointed out... you're talking about something that's been done less than 10 times ever in like 117 years of baseball. When you say "could" I mean, are we talking like 1 in 1000 odds? Sure, even the Yankees "could" win 110 games, but are the odds of them doing it worth discussion? The Cubs bullpen right now is not good. Their rotation is good, but not great. Their offense is very good, but not "best ever". I'd say for them to put up a win total that would have them in the discussion among the greatest teams of all time (110 wins..... is honestly one of the greatest teams ever), they're a long ways from that. So yeah, I kinda see where everyone else is coming from on this. EVERYONE has to have a peak year. NOTHING can go wrong. NO long term injuries, and even then, I think 110 would be a long shot for that club, as currently constructed.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

Well, I think, as others have pointed out... you're talking about something that's been done less than 10 times ever in like 117 years of baseball. When you say "could" I mean, are we talking like 1 in 1000 odds? Sure, even the Yankees "could" win 110 games, but are the odds of them doing it worth discussion? The Cubs bullpen right now is not good. Their rotation is good, but not great. Their offense is very good, but not "best ever". I'd say for them to put up a win total that would have them in the discussion among the greatest teams of all time (110 wins..... is honestly one of the greatest teams ever), they're a long ways from that. So yeah, I kinda see where everyone else is coming from on this. EVERYONE has to have a peak year. NOTHING can go wrong. NO long term injuries, and even then, I think 110 would be a long shot for that club, as currently constructed.

 

And with that, can we PLEASE stop talking about the Cubs, or at least create a "Cubs are Going to be Great" thread in the Major Leagues forum, led by our resident Cubby fan, so that I can NOT read it?

 

I know we have heard next to nothing in days about Cobb, but lets not turn this into "we stand no chance this year" thread in March.

[coolhandluke121]

Not sure where this NL is mediocre talk began but it’s far from true.

 

The NL routinely has a 20-30 game disadvantage in interleague play. It's mostly due to average market size. If you don't realize the NL is kind of mediocre, it's probably because they play each other so often and somebody has to win. If you look at most NL teams' improvements this year, they merely came at the expense of other NL teams. Santana and Cain did switch to the NL, but then you have Stanton going to the Yankees and Cole to the Astros. I think the talent gap increased a little. I also think the Brewers, Cardinals, and Rockies were pretty lucky to do what they did last year, and weren't really that good.

 

The NL is top-heavy, sure, but that's precisely what I'm saying. The teams at the top have a chance to have skewed win totals because of the mediocrity in the rest of the league.

[pacopete4]

Not sure where this NL is mediocre talk began but it’s far from true.

 

The NL routinely has a 20-30 game disadvantage in interleague play. It's mostly due to average market size. If you don't realize the NL is kind of mediocre, it's probably because they play each other so often and somebody has to win. If you look at most NL teams' improvements this year, they merely came at the expense of other NL teams. Santana and Cain did switch to the NL, but then you have Stanton going to the Yankees and Cole to the Astros. I think the talent gap increased a little. I also think the Brewers, Cardinals, and Rockies were pretty lucky to do what they did last year, and weren't really that good.

 

The NL is top-heavy, sure, but that's precisely what I'm saying. The teams at the top have a chance to have skewed win totals because of the mediocrity in the rest of the league.

The NL had more teams over .500 a year ago than the AL. Top heavy? That’s they AL as like 2-3 teams are stacked and the rest, are just eh. Opinions are like.... okay let’s get back to Cobb.

[coolhandluke121]

The NL had more teams over .500 a year ago than the AL. Top heavy? That’s they AL as like 2-3 teams are stacked and the rest, are just eh. Opinions are like.... okay let’s get back to Cobb.

 

.500 is a completely arbitrary cut-off and overall record is not relevant when comparing leagues anyway because most games are intraleague games. Having several mediocre teams like the Cardinals, Brewers, and Rockies over .500 just shows their schedules were kind of easy were precisely because they play in the NL. We see it in the NBA east all the time, where some team that's usually .500 has everything go right and wins 50 games one year because it's not hard to be better than mediocre. The only way to compare the AL vs. NL is in head-to-head competition, and the AL almost always has a 20-30 game advantage.

 

So back to Cobb, if anyone is impatient and wants him or Arrieta on a big contract yesterday because they think the Brewers will keep pace with Dodgers, Cubs, or Nationals, they would be extremely unwise. The objective is stay in the wild card hunt, understanding that upsets can happen in the playoffs even against a clearly superior opponent, while not compromising in any way their ability to be a top 2-3 team in the league in a few years. Cobb or Arrieta could easily be burdens by then on the contracts people are suggesting, and I'm guessing the Brewers know that and are holding their ground and that's why nothing has happened.

 

As it stands, I personally think the Brewers and Diamondbacks are the wild card favorites as is. I think the Rockies were a total fluke and the Cardinals were pretty lucky as well. The Giants are the main other contender for .500+ in the NL, but they're so old. Maybe the Mets just because of that NL East schedule. More importantly, the Brewers are positioned much better than any of those teams to climb into the upper echelon in a few years, and I hope they stay that way.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

So back to Cobb, if anyone is impatient and wants him or Arrieta on a big contract yesterday because they think the Brewers will keep pace with Dodgers, Cubs, or Nationals, they would be extremely unwise. The objective is stay in the wild card hunt, understanding that upsets can happen in the playoffs even against a clearly superior opponent, while not compromising in any way their ability to be a top 2-3 team in the league in a few years. Cobb or Arrieta could easily be burdens by then on the contracts people are suggesting, and I'm guessing the Brewers know that and are holding their ground and that's why nothing has happened.

 

As it stands, I personally think the Brewers and Diamondbacks are the wild card favorites as is. I think the Rockies were a total fluke and the Cardinals were pretty lucky as well. The Giants are the main other contender for .500+ in the NL, but they're so old. Maybe the Mets just because of that NL East schedule. More importantly, the Brewers are positioned much better than any of those teams to climb into the upper echelon in a few years, and I hope they stay that way.

 

I want them to sign Cobb because he is 30 years old, has a history as a TOR pitcher, doesn't have a ton of milage on his arm, and is primed to put up good numbers two years removed from TJ surgery. I want Cobb for the playoffs, because I don't trust Chase Anderson as my #1 against Kershaw or Strasburg. Cobb also isn't in their class, but the gap becomes closer. At 30 years old, he is young enough to be a factor in 2018 and in 2020-21. Arrieta is much the same, but I see more red flags with him.

[StearnsFTW]

 

I know people overrate the Cubs in general, but Holy God. Their bullpen could be quite bad. They don't have an experienced closer. It could be disastrous for them. 110 wins?

 

They have ridiculous talent in their primes or just hitting their primes. Anytime you talk about that kind of win total, obviously it's an extreme long-shot. I'm not sure if people aren't reading the post or if they just love being dramatic, but "could" only means it isn't outside the realm of possibility. There are probably about 10-12 squads this century who were outside threats to win that many games, and they're one of them - especially since the NL is mediocre as heck this year.

 

You mention a team winning 110 games and I'm being dramatic?

[StearnsFTW]

Cubs with 110 wins, they do play the Reds & Pirates, what? 17 games each? Plus playing the Padres, Marlins, Braves, Phillies 6 games each?

 

The NL is pretty mediocre this year. The Crew could win 90 games and not make the playoffs!

 

Speaking of the playoffs: anybody here comfortable with Anderson starting a playoff game vs Scherzer or Kershaw?

 

We need to sign Arrieta or Cobb.

 

 

Just to point out how ridiculous 110 wins is, they'd have to go over .500 against the other 8 "good teams" to win 110.

 

Assuming, of course, that they went 58-0 against those 6.

[pacopete4]

Cubs with 110 wins, they do play the Reds & Pirates, what? 17 games each? Plus playing the Padres, Marlins, Braves, Phillies 6 games each?

 

The NL is pretty mediocre this year. The Crew could win 90 games and not make the playoffs!

 

Speaking of the playoffs: anybody here comfortable with Anderson starting a playoff game vs Scherzer or Kershaw?

 

We need to sign Arrieta or Cobb.

 

 

Just to point out how ridiculous 110 wins is, they'd have to go over .500 against the other 8 "good teams" to win 110.

 

Assuming, of course, that they went 58-0 against those 6.

Oh stop being so dramatic. We are talking about the Cubs and their dynasty here.

[DR28]

Anyone think why we havent added Cobb yet is because Jimmy is way ahead of schedule? And Stearns feels that getting Jimmy back we dont need to add any other SPs?

 

I really dont want to have this OD rotation...

 

Anderson

Davies

Chacin

Woodruff

Miley/Gallardo/Guerra/Suter

[coolhandluke121]

You mention a team winning 110 games and I'm being dramatic?

 

Yes. They're one of about 10 teams this century that I would say "could" have won 110 games. It's like making a list of guys who "could" win a triple crown; unlikely to happen, but not outside the realm of possibility. And then, one of those hitters - a guy who clearly had that type of talent, even though it was very unlikely - did it.

 

The Phillies in Halladay's prime.

A few of those PED-enhanced Yankee and Red Sox squads in the 2000's.

The Dodgers last year.

Some of the best Pujols-led Cardinal teams.

The A's in 2001/2002, just because they were so ahead of the game in analytics.

This year's Astros and Cubs.

 

Obviously everything would have to go right and they'd have to be injury-free, but those teams were loaded enough to do it. Ironically I wouldn't have said the 2001 Mariners could do it, but they did. They had an incredibly unlikely combination of guys all having career years at the same time to get there.

 

Cobb doesn't even begin to put the Brewers in the Cubs', Dodgers', or Nationals' stratosphere. Unless it's a bargain, and I mean a bargain relative to the current market, I would sit this one out. Be the next team that bided their time and built a young nucleus to rival what those teams have now. I wouldn't hate it if they signed him though.

[jjfanec]

You haven't really explained how the Cubs moves make them that much better. How many games does darvish really improve on arrieta? Chatwood on lackey? Those are not huge improvements if you look at numbers. Losing Davis is a big hit but a full season of quintana helps offset that. Did they make any improvements at all on offense? They lack depth all over the place. They are the favorites to win the division but they don't belong in the same category of teams you discussed

[StearnsFTW]

I'll say it again-the Cubs bullpen is not good. Watch.

 

Anyway, I agree they're clearly better than the Brewers with or without Cobb. I think they're a 90-95 win team. Wouldn't surprise me at all if it was less. Can the Brewers get to those win totals? That's why they play em.

[coolhandluke121]

I'll say it again-the Cubs bullpen is not good. Watch.

 

Anyway, I agree they're clearly better than the Brewers with or without Cobb. I think they're a 90-95 win team. Wouldn't surprise me at all if it was less. Can the Brewers get to those win totals? That's why they play em.

 

I wouldn't take the over until it goes down to 87.5 or so. I think they got pretty lucky last year, but I think Cain and Yelich make up for regression and I think they will continue to have some surprise contributors. They seem to have a knack for that. Good scouting or whatever.

 

I could certainly see 90+ with Cobb. The rest of the central is not good IMO, and I think the Cardinals were every bit as lucky as the Brewers last year and made fewer upgrades this offseason.

 

The important thing is that there are few teams that look any better than them besides the big 3 and possibly Arizona if they find a slugging RF, which shouldn't be hard to do. But the West is going to be really tough with the Giants likely to bounce back a little, so I can easily see records skewing down in the West and the Brewers getting the first wild card without even needing Cobb or Arrieta. And that leaves the Brewers in a great position to be good now while being positioned to make a huge leap in a couple years. I'd like them to save maximum payroll flexibility for the future unless it's a deal you can't pass up.

[coolhandluke121]

You haven't really explained how the Cubs moves make them that much better. How many games does darvish really improve on arrieta? Chatwood on lackey? Those are not huge improvements if you look at numbers. Losing Davis is a big hit but a full season of quintana helps offset that. Did they make any improvements at all on offense? They lack depth all over the place. They are the favorites to win the division but they don't belong in the same category of teams you discussed

 

Darvish could be a pretty big upgrade on Arrieta, who had a bad year by his standards, and you understate how bad Lackey was IMO. Look at some of the guys who started multiple games for them. The rotation is much better.

 

I think I explained why I think the lineup will be better. Look how many of them were 27 or under most of last year. Many of their regulars were 25 or under. There's a very good chance hardly any of them have had their best year yet. Even Rizzo and Heyward could still have some of their best years ahead of them. That's backed up by tons of data about when the average player peaks.

 

They have to stay healthy, I'll give you that. The depth is bad. I think they will get a lot of innings out of their starters, and it's not hard to find bullpen depth at the trade deadline.

 

I'm not deviating from the long-term vision at all just to respond to the Cubs, or the other elite teams in the NL for that matter. That's all I'm saying. Cain and Yelich were fine because they constitute good value IMO. Yelich was probably great value, actually. Cobb would have to get a Chatwood type deal for me to get excited about it. I'd rather just see what Woodruff has and wait for Jimmy.

[badger3034]

I'd rather just see what Woodruff has and wait for Jimmy.

 

It isn't about Woodruff, I'm pretty sure at this point it's guaranteed he's going to have a starting spot. You need another starter, unless you're going to roll with Suter, which would be pretty ugly. He had a good half season last year, but no teams had seen him very much up to that point. They have a scouting report on him now, and he's gonna get hit..... hard.

 

Anderson

Davies

Chacin

Woodruff

 

I like Davies, but I don't think he would be a #2 on almost any other team in baseball right now, that's pretty ugly. You need another #2/1 starter, otherwise this season is just going to be a wash, unless Jimmy comes back early and is as good as he was last season.

[coolhandluke121]

I'd rather just see what Woodruff has and wait for Jimmy.

 

It isn't about Woodruff, I'm pretty sure at this point it's guaranteed he's going to have a starting spot. You need another starter, unless you're going to roll with Suter, which would be pretty ugly. He had a good half season last year, but no teams had seen him very much up to that point. They have a scouting report on him now, and he's gonna get hit..... hard.

 

Anderson

Davies

Chacin

Woodruff

 

I like Davies, but I don't think he would be a #2 on almost any other team in baseball right now, that's pretty ugly. You need another #2/1 starter, otherwise this season is just going to be a wash, unless Jimmy comes back early and is as good as he was last season.

 

Every other team chasing the wild card has plenty of their own problems, except possibly Arizona if Greinke ages well and they get a RF - neither of which is a given. I'm not comparing the Brewers to the Dodgers, Nationals, or Cubs, because there is no comparison. The Brewers had a TON more warts going into 2017 than they do now, and still won 86. That's a testament to the fact that you don't need to hand-out multi-year, 8-figure salaries to compete for wild cards. Upgrades through free agency are very often marginal and disappointing. I'm not feeling any pressure to make win-now moves if I'm not really enamored of the players involved, and in the case of Cobb and Arrieta I'm not.

 

It's not the same as punting on this season. It's just recognizing that having more payroll flexibility to make a move like this in a couple years will probably have a better pay-off.

[clancyphile]

You haven't really explained how the Cubs moves make them that much better. How many games does darvish really improve on arrieta? Chatwood on lackey? Those are not huge improvements if you look at numbers. Losing Davis is a big hit but a full season of quintana helps offset that. Did they make any improvements at all on offense? They lack depth all over the place. They are the favorites to win the division but they don't belong in the same category of teams you discussed

 

Darvish could be a pretty big upgrade on Arrieta, who had a bad year by his standards, and you understate how bad Lackey was IMO. Look at some of the guys who started multiple games for them. The rotation is much better.

 

I think I explained why I think the lineup will be better. Look how many of them were 27 or under most of last year. Many of their regulars were 25 or under. There's a very good chance hardly any of them have had their best year yet. Even Rizzo and Heyward could still have some of their best years ahead of them. That's backed up by tons of data about when the average player peaks.

 

They have to stay healthy, I'll give you that. The depth is bad. I think they will get a lot of innings out of their starters, and it's not hard to find bullpen depth at the trade deadline.

 

I'm not deviating from the long-term vision at all just to respond to the Cubs, or the other elite teams in the NL for that matter. That's all I'm saying. Cain and Yelich were fine because they constitute good value IMO. Yelich was probably great value, actually. Cobb would have to get a Chatwood type deal for me to get excited about it. I'd rather just see what Woodruff has and wait for Jimmy.

 

Or Burnes. Or Ortiz.

[jjfanec]

You haven't really explained how the Cubs moves make them that much better. How many games does darvish really improve on arrieta? Chatwood on lackey? Those are not huge improvements if you look at numbers. Losing Davis is a big hit but a full season of quintana helps offset that. Did they make any improvements at all on offense? They lack depth all over the place. They are the favorites to win the division but they don't belong in the same category of teams you discussed

 

Darvish could be a pretty big upgrade on Arrieta, who had a bad year by his standards, and you understate how bad Lackey was IMO. Look at some of the guys who started multiple games for them. The rotation is much better.

 

I think I explained why I think the lineup will be better. Look how many of them were 27 or under most of last year. Many of their regulars were 25 or under. There's a very good chance hardly any of them have had their best year yet. Even Rizzo and Heyward could still have some of their best years ahead of them. That's backed up by tons of data about when the average player peaks.

 

They have to stay healthy, I'll give you that. The depth is bad. I think they will get a lot of innings out of their starters, and it's not hard to find bullpen depth at the trade deadline.

 

I'm not deviating from the long-term vision at all just to respond to the Cubs, or the other elite teams in the NL for that matter. That's all I'm saying. Cain and Yelich were fine because they constitute good value IMO. Yelich was probably great value, actually. Cobb would have to get a Chatwood type deal for me to get excited about it. I'd rather just see what Woodruff has and wait for Jimmy.

 

Chatwood was also pretty bad and you can tell me about his road era but I dont think he is sporting .200 Babip again this year and that is what he had on the road. Thinking they will get more innings out of their starters seems like wishful thinking as well considering Arrieta and Lackey pitched deeper into games than Darvish or Chatwood. Darvish hasnt been an innings eater lately. Arrieta is an innings eater. Quintana saw his innings per start dip last year as well. Darvish, Chatwood and Quintana were 6 innings or less per start.

 

You seem to hedging quite a bit on their guys improving on offense instead of some of those guys being what we saw last year. And you seem to think the Brewers who did well were flukes and the Cubs who did poorly were flukes. I just dont agree.

[coolhandluke121]

 

I'm not deviating from the long-term vision at all just to respond to the Cubs, or the other elite teams in the NL for that matter. That's all I'm saying. Cain and Yelich were fine because they constitute good value IMO. Yelich was probably great value, actually. Cobb would have to get a Chatwood type deal for me to get excited about it. I'd rather just see what Woodruff has and wait for Jimmy.

 

Or Burnes. Or Ortiz.

 

Exactly. I would hate to go on a fool's errand trying to keep up with the Cubs, Dodgers, and Nationals, only to have that philosophy be the reason they can't break though in a few years against whoever is on top at that point.

 

Cain is enough risk for me. (I do like him a lot, despite all my better judgment to the contrary on free agent value at his age.)

 

FWIW, I bet Stearns is with me on this and that's why nothing has happened. Cobb is trying to postpone the inevitable, but Stearns knows he holds the cards. I'm hoping and kind of expecting a 3-year deal in the mid 40's, which would be fine by me.

[badger3034]

I'd rather just see what Woodruff has and wait for Jimmy.

 

It isn't about Woodruff, I'm pretty sure at this point it's guaranteed he's going to have a starting spot. You need another starter, unless you're going to roll with Suter, which would be pretty ugly. He had a good half season last year, but no teams had seen him very much up to that point. They have a scouting report on him now, and he's gonna get hit..... hard.

 

Anderson

Davies

Chacin

Woodruff

 

I like Davies, but I don't think he would be a #2 on almost any other team in baseball right now, that's pretty ugly. You need another #2/1 starter, otherwise this season is just going to be a wash, unless Jimmy comes back early and is as good as he was last season.

 

Every other team chasing the wild card has plenty of their own problems, except possibly Arizona if Greinke ages well and they get a RF - neither of which is a given. I'm not comparing the Brewers to the Dodgers, Nationals, or Cubs, because there is no comparison. The Brewers had a TON more warts going into 2017 than they do now, and still won 86. That's a testament to the fact that you don't need to hand-out multi-year, 8-figure salaries to compete for wild cards. Upgrades through free agency are very often marginal and disappointing. I'm not feeling any pressure to make win-now moves if I'm not really enamored of the players involved, and in the case of Cobb and Arrieta I'm not.

 

It's not the same as punting on this season. It's just recognizing that having more payroll flexibility to make a move like this in a couple years will probably have a better pay-off.

 

What makes you think you can't compare the Brewers to the top teams in the NL? I doubt that most of the players on the team were flukes, and they actually improved quite a bit. If Braun plays 1B, they probably have a top 3 offense in the national league. As a small market team, you need to make moves to improve yourself immediately when you come close to contention. They have a small window, and their best players are going to regress quickly compared to other teams (Braun, Cain). If you think that the young pitchers like Ortiz or Burnes are going to come up and help this year, you're mistaken. I don't know the years/control dealio with those guys, but putting that issue aside, they'd end up getting put on an innings count, and wouldn't even end up pitching into the post season. They'd be shut down much sooner than that. Free agents are only going to get more expensive since theres no limitations on a single players salary, and there are even better players coming up in free agency that big markets are going to bid for. Not to mention the salary cap going up. There isn't going to be a cheaper time to add a free agent than right now, the price is only going up. You can't be scared to take a risk as a small market team, you're going to give up one 3rd round pick for Lynn, Cobb, or Arrietta (I'd prefer Jake), and how often does that pick even pan out? These guys are proven professionals who have been in the league for a long period of time. Another poster mentioned how horribly the Brewers pitching draft prospects have done in the past, you can't bank on that. Young pitchers can always decline contracts from small market teams in the draft, and elect to go back to school and pitch until a larger market selects them, hoping that one day they can get to the ML and sign a much larger deal than what they would've gotten in a city like Milwaukee. I seriously believe in the fact that when you're a small market and you can take advantage of the opportunity to get a big name free agent, much less pitching, you need to do it. Especially when you have a window to make the world series like the Brewers do

[JohnBriggs12]

The key guy for Cubs besides health is Lester. He took a big step backward at age 33.

 

The Cubs lost a lot of quality AB's from Jay and their backup catcher spot too.

[adambr2]

I'll say it again-the Cubs bullpen is not good. Watch.

 

Why do you think this? They just added Morrow and Cishek, Edwards and Strop are pretty solid, they have Justin Wilson for another year and Montgomery probably goes back to being a swingman. Davis is a big loss obviously but they seem fine in the pen to me.

[TJseven7]

Anyone think why we havent added Cobb yet is because Jimmy is way ahead of schedule? And Stearns feels that getting Jimmy back we dont need to add any other SPs?

 

I really dont want to have this OD rotation...

 

Anderson

Davies

Chacin

Woodruff

Miley/Gallardo/Guerra/Suter

 

I'd say no. Reason being Davies. Boras client, entering arby next year. He's the flip candidate if we get overstocked. Nelson Anderson Cobb Davies Woodruff pushes Chacin into the pen (heavy slider usage like swarzak, only 6.75 mil next year) or Davies onto the trade block.

 

If you want to stay competative long term you not only have to graduate talent, but you also have to turn over your roster. You can't afford to have all talent leave in FA for comp picks. You need to have guys like Burnes jump in and push a guy onto the trade block so you can backfill your farm while you promote.

 

Cobb would put them in a great situation. To have nelson anderson cobb is a 1-2-3 set for 4 years. Why 4? I'd expect mke to offer Nelson a fa year buyout like they did anderson once he looks right. Boras has already chirped in regards to davies being demoted at one point. Unlikely to play ball.

 

Chacin starts off this year a starter and if all goes well closes this year in the pen as a better swarzak. Next year Davies (or at the deadline if woodruff or chacin are grooving) is dealt and Chacin starts the year in the rotation and again if all goes right Burnes bumps him to the pen by years end. It allows woodruff and burnes to sow their oats as the 4 or 5. For 2-3 years. If they can graduate up the rotation (into the 1-2 level arm region)... time for another pitcher to be sold off. Hopefully Ortiz and the kids have some SP chops by then.

 

I think 1 more arm here is for a few reasons. Get better... get ahead of the development curve so promotions can be coupled with a pitcher getting sold off. 3 low 1 high 2 caliber arms and 2 quality starters at 4-5. I think its a plateau metric on what is demanded from your staff to succeed.

 

Ps why no Fperalta... he's destined to be a power pen addition but I think in that role he holds his own with knebel hader. That trio with chacin albers could be downright filthy come playoff time.

[brewcrewdue80]

162 game season. As constructed it wouldnt be a surprise any and all 5 starters win 20games. Davies almost did it for Milw last year. Hes not better arguably than maybe Chatwood. Full season Darvish&Quintana with NL starts improves their stats I figured by .1-.18ERA. Easier pitcher outs makes pitching deeper more likely. Barring a bad injury anything below 100wins is terrible season for Cubs. They have Maddon coaching them thats a plus. I agree 110 is realistic. I'll guess 105-111 at this stage with health.

 

Brewers wont be competing with the Cubs for the Division w/o it all going right for them and something knocks the Cubs down.

That said, adding Cobb doesnt change the 162 game needle over the Cubs. It does improve the needle on 7game matchup vs them. Get in the playoffs and the Mighty Cubs can be beat. We'll be a tough team for them