Speaker 1: Welcome into Northside Territory File Territory Networks Cubs Podcast. I'm
Speaker 1: Sahadiv Sharma with my partner Patrick Mooney. We are your
Speaker 1: Cubs beat writers over at the Athletic Patrick. It is
Speaker 1: not October, but the Cubs have a plethora of pitching suddenly,
Speaker 1: and and I think it's worth talking about, like how
Speaker 1: does this work in the playoffs? And that's kind of
Speaker 1: going to be the focus of this episode, pitching wise,
Speaker 1: how do we all how how do we see this
Speaker 1: working out? They they they have actual depth now. It
Speaker 1: is not the depth they thought they would have when
Speaker 1: they broke camp. Uh, it's kind of remarkable that they've
Speaker 1: built this back up in a way. Uh, you know,
Speaker 1: we'll we'll, we'll see how long it lasts. But they
Speaker 1: don't have any as far as we know. Kate Horton's
Speaker 1: out for the season right Justin Steele isn't going to
Speaker 1: factor into the rotation discussion, and he's kind of a
Speaker 1: wild card, long shot, I would say, to help the
Speaker 1: big league club, this team.
Speaker 2: And then.
Speaker 1: And beyond that, it's it's new guys and and kind
Speaker 1: of who you expected and like some people that you
Speaker 1: didn't expect. I think you know you, I don't know
Speaker 1: who odd starred in Game one. To be honest, I'm
Speaker 1: starting to lean Clay Holmes though, with the way he
Speaker 1: looks and and the game he had like he didn't
Speaker 1: It's not like he was perfect on Wednesday, but he's
Speaker 1: he gets so many ground balls. There was was it
Speaker 1: Friday the game that you covered that he was kind
Speaker 1: of dominant?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he had a perfect game into the sixth.
Speaker 1: Then in Yeah, he clearly shook off the you know,
Speaker 1: the so so first start that he had in the
Speaker 1: Cubs uniform. I think he's looked great and I think
Speaker 1: he's exactly what they are looking for. He'd be He's
Speaker 1: the guy right now that I say, yep, he's in
Speaker 1: the rotation, Matthew Boyd, I think you just go. I
Speaker 1: feel comfortable saying he's in the rotation. I know he
Speaker 1: had a stinker on Saturday, and if I'm remembering correctly.
Speaker 3: The Joshua BIA's debut, yeah, yeah, but he'd been so
Speaker 3: consistent before that and and then after that, you know,
Speaker 3: kind of let's see what happens.
Speaker 1: But I feel pretty good that Cosman's going to be there.
Speaker 1: I don't think Osman was terrible on there was that
Speaker 1: weird it was I forgot about the thumb injury. It
Speaker 1: was it's not an injury. I don't know what that was,
Speaker 1: but it like cramp, but it was weird. I don't
Speaker 1: think it's something that you need to be concerned with
Speaker 1: long term. But I like how he's looked for the
Speaker 1: most part. He was a little off on Tuesday, but
Speaker 1: the splitters nasty and just doesn't get hit very much.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's something we'll be checking on sort of this
Speaker 2: weekend in Seattle of Gossman's weird left hand cramp his
Speaker 2: non throwing hand. Obviously, if that cramping happens in his
Speaker 2: right hand, it's like the alarm bells are going off
Speaker 2: big time. But both he and Council seemed, you know,
Speaker 2: relatively unconcerned about it, and not just in the normal
Speaker 2: Cubs always downplay injuries type of thing, but just like
Speaker 2: most teams do. But yeah, i'd with you. Holmes just
Speaker 2: seems to be one of those pictures who's kind of
Speaker 2: on the ascent and after you know, having that you know,
Speaker 2: kind of freak injury silent him for so long. Like
Speaker 2: I think you'll see him continue to develop that rhythm
Speaker 2: and pittruly well given the team he's surrounded with. Now, yeah,
Speaker 2: boy's just been nails, and you know you trusted him
Speaker 2: to start last year's first game. I think there's no
Speaker 2: reason to Maybe he starts game two this time instead,
Speaker 2: but you know, no reason to not, you know, use
Speaker 2: him as for all of this. We're using air quote
Speaker 2: starters right of, like maybe they'll throw three and two
Speaker 2: thirds to four and one third innings and you know,
Speaker 2: sort of do their job, but you're gonna need length
Speaker 2: at some point. And the way it plays now, if
Speaker 2: the Cubs want to win a World Series, they're probably
Speaker 2: gonna have to win four playoff rounds and that's where
Speaker 2: Shoda is going to really come into play. That you know,
Speaker 2: we didn't even get really get to this because so
Speaker 2: much other stuff happened. But you know, I think Council
Speaker 2: described show does outing against the White Sox as you know,
Speaker 2: one of, if not the best outings he's seen from him.
Speaker 2: Like that's how dialed in he was, and that's what
Speaker 2: showed has been for most of this year. I think
Speaker 2: until he goes out and performs well in a playoff game,
Speaker 2: I think people are still going to understandably reference how
Speaker 2: last season ended in Milwaukee. But I also think, like
Speaker 2: if show DOA's You're four starter, play like, that's really good,
Speaker 2: and you know, I wouldn't be surprised if Shoda was
Speaker 2: just awesome in the playoffs. I think his he has
Speaker 2: been so good over the course of his time in Chicago,
Speaker 2: but I think the home runs and like I said,
Speaker 2: that sort of blip in Milwaukee I think have taken
Speaker 2: on an outside sort of spot and how we remember
Speaker 2: his performance. I think it's a little unfair at times,
Speaker 2: like when he gives up the home run, people, oh,
Speaker 2: I see you see, Like, no, he's been It's been
Speaker 2: really good. He's one of the better pitchers in the
Speaker 2: Major since he's come over here. And so I think
Speaker 2: that'd be a fun part of these last several weeks
Speaker 2: here of annoying council with questions about play off rotations
Speaker 2: and things like that, and seeing the eye rolls and
Speaker 2: side eyes will get It'll be it'll be fun.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And you can be super aggressive with Shoda if
Speaker 1: you Yeah, if you feel like it, you know, two
Speaker 1: and a half times through is too much, or if
Speaker 1: you don't want him seeing a lineup a third time,
Speaker 1: you can be you can be aggressive with any of
Speaker 1: these guys. I think that's the value of having Javier Asad.
Speaker 1: He is not like I. I just think Javier Asad is. I.
Speaker 1: I tend to undervalue him because he doesn't strike guys out.
Speaker 1: When you don't strike guys out, I get a little concerned. Uh,
Speaker 1: he's done it long enough now though, where I just
Speaker 1: kind of have to say, like, he's a really good
Speaker 1: picture that this is who Javier Asad is. He's gonna
Speaker 1: have a stinker of an outing, but the next ten
Speaker 1: are going to be great. Uh. And then and I
Speaker 1: don't know how he does it with so few strikeouts
Speaker 1: and not like a huge ground ball rate, but he does.
Speaker 1: He misses barrels enough, he gets out of bad situations
Speaker 1: really well. And what I love about him is I've
Speaker 1: not even seen a hint of complaining about his role.
Speaker 1: He gets jerked around four years. This isn't one season
Speaker 1: that it has been his entire career in a Cubs
Speaker 1: uniform where he's a starter, he's a reliever, he gets
Speaker 1: sent down to the miners, and he does it all
Speaker 1: with a smile on his face, never complains, and goes
Speaker 1: out there and performs really important piece to this team.
Speaker 1: I'm curious to see what they do when you get
Speaker 1: to Seattle and what they decide to do for Palencia's activation.
Speaker 1: But I think you need to, like, you know, Javier
Speaker 1: Sad is an important piece.
Speaker 2: To this team.
Speaker 1: One guy that's I don't think we need to even
Speaker 1: talk about as far as starting is Edward Cabrera. Council
Speaker 1: made it pretty clear like what his future role is
Speaker 1: for twenty twenty six for this team.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's very much TBD with Edward Cabrera. Will see
Speaker 2: how this blister issue resolves itself. Part of that Council
Speaker 2: said would be using him in shorter bursts. I'm still
Speaker 2: not sold on the idea of him being trusted in
Speaker 2: those high leveraged situations out of the bullpen. And if
Speaker 2: you're not, then is there a spot for you on
Speaker 2: a playoff roster considering how short some of these stints
Speaker 2: will be for the starting pitchers and how many guys
Speaker 2: you're gonna have to use, and how when it's all
Speaker 2: hands on deck like that, if you're not sure about Cabrera,
Speaker 2: to me, that's kind of an easy omission from your
Speaker 2: playoff roster. But if he gets healthy, if he gets
Speaker 2: in a groove. I mean, stranger things have happened. I mean,
Speaker 2: he's really he is talented. He was a really good
Speaker 2: pitcher for long stretches for the Marlins. I just the
Speaker 2: way this season has gone, like crossing your fingers that
Speaker 2: he's going to figure it out at the most important
Speaker 2: time of the year. I tend to doubt that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's got He'll have a month or so to
Speaker 1: figure it out and show that he can handle this
Speaker 1: new role that they're going to lead him into. He's
Speaker 1: got to show it. There's you know, he's got to
Speaker 1: prove it over the month and if he does, good
Speaker 1: for him. If he doesn't, this is what we're talking about.
Speaker 1: The Cubs have options. Let's take quick break. There's one
Speaker 1: starter that we didn't even mention that has been just
Speaker 1: a huge piece of the puzzle to get them to
Speaker 1: this point.
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Speaker 1: All right, Patrick, David Peterson has been I can't believe
Speaker 1: I'm saying this about someone with a five twenty nine era.
Speaker 1: Did he give up it? Ten runs against the Cardinals?
Speaker 1: Was at twelve? Like it was a lot?
Speaker 2: It was just like ten runs on July third, Right,
Speaker 2: it's seventeen to one loss.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, just a disastrous outing. He has been
Speaker 1: really good and really consistent, and honestly, I trust him
Speaker 1: as much as anyone right now in this rotation when
Speaker 1: he's out there, just because he he looks very calm
Speaker 1: and collected out there and he's got this elite defense
Speaker 1: behind him. Before we go any further, let's make this
Speaker 1: our Fox one segment. So David Peterson will be on
Speaker 1: the mound Saturday. That's not what I want to show.
Speaker 1: Sorry about that. He'll be on the mound Saturday, and
Speaker 1: on Fox it's a national game against the Mariners in Seattle.
Speaker 1: I believe it's six fifteen Central time, four fifteen local
Speaker 1: time as far as specific right in Seattle, So Cubs
Speaker 1: fans can check that out. On Fox one, Peterson will
Speaker 1: be on the mound. Look, this is not a good
Speaker 1: offense that he's going to be facing. It's they like, like,
Speaker 1: we don't need to go too far into this. But
Speaker 1: one of the weirdest about like post MVP seasons I've
Speaker 1: ever seen with cal Raley, did he win MVP? He
Speaker 1: won MVP, right, or did Judge win MVP? This is
Speaker 1: my brain is I don't watch enough at al baseball
Speaker 1: either way, One of the weirdest like he had a
Speaker 1: historic season. If not an MVP season, was it MVP?
Speaker 1: He finished second judge one, Okay, I had to double
Speaker 1: check that weird season out in Seattle. I thought they
Speaker 1: were gonna have a great year. They have not struggled.
Speaker 1: This offense has like one or two bats that are fearsome,
Speaker 1: and if even fearsome is the right word. So David
Speaker 1: Peterson can go out on the mountain and feel confident.
Speaker 1: But I think he can go out on the mountain
Speaker 1: feel confident because of who's behind him now as well.
Speaker 1: And he's just he's looked great. It's kind of like
Speaker 1: Clay Holmes, but a little bit different. I think they
Speaker 1: were a lot more confident in what they were getting
Speaker 1: in Clay Homes.
Speaker 2: And you know, I.
Speaker 1: Wouldn't pick David Peterson to make a playoff start. I
Speaker 1: think I don't think he'd be an awful option, but
Speaker 1: I don't. I think they're so deep now that they
Speaker 1: don't have to rely on him. And I kind of
Speaker 1: liked that he came out of the bullpen. It was
Speaker 1: a blowout, right, It wasn't a close game when he
Speaker 1: came out of the bullpen, but he came out of
Speaker 1: the bullpen. The other day wasn't or my misremembering my days,
Speaker 1: whatever day it may have been Sunday. Was it Sunday
Speaker 1: or was it Monday? Who?
Speaker 2: No, this is the tenanding went over the White Sox. Okay,
Speaker 2: so it was four out, four outs over the eighth
Speaker 2: and ninth innings. I guess what you're thinking is, I
Speaker 2: believe the Cubs were trailing at that point, So it
Speaker 2: was more kind of it wasn't like he was coming
Speaker 2: in to close out the game. It was more of
Speaker 2: like just keeping it close, to put things in position
Speaker 2: for Pete to have that U toe walk off. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So I mean that's still big innings and he and
Speaker 1: he kept it where it was. He's able to handle
Speaker 1: that moment, he's able to come out of the bullpen.
Speaker 1: Just another aspect of like, hey, I think council kind
Speaker 1: of said this. I can't remember even what my question was. Oh,
Speaker 1: I was just talking about Asad and like how valuable did.
Speaker 2: You ask him won the al MVP last Yeah?
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I asked him. I basically was talking about
Speaker 1: Asad and how valuable he's been and how willing he
Speaker 1: oh yeah, yeah world, And he and council said like
Speaker 1: this is this is how it works now like there's
Speaker 1: no cookie cutter plan there. You can't do that anymore.
Speaker 1: You have to be willing to adjust. You have to
Speaker 1: be able to use these guys in any situation. That's
Speaker 1: what good teams do. Uh, Peterson looks like he's willing
Speaker 1: to fill that role. I give him a lot of credit. Uh,
Speaker 1: you know, he's not complaining about I don't think he
Speaker 1: was thrilled to go to the bullpen in New York.
Speaker 1: But he seems to you know, winning, you know, tears
Speaker 1: all for these guys. And and he's on a really deep,
Speaker 1: talented team. He'll go, he'll do whatever, fill whatever role
Speaker 1: is needed. Uh, he's back in the rotation. He'll be
Speaker 1: pitching in Seattle. And and I just think it, you
Speaker 1: know this is this is a credit to the Cubs
Speaker 1: for understanding, like how how they could you know this?
Speaker 1: Don't look at the e R. This guy's going to
Speaker 1: be good with us type thing. And and you know,
Speaker 1: credit to him for not like, you know, mentally crumbling
Speaker 1: because of.
Speaker 2: That e R. Yeah, I think. I mean Peterson, I believe,
Speaker 2: made six starts before the trade deadline for the Cubs.
Speaker 2: And you know this obviously is in a Mariner's podcast.
Speaker 2: But it was a really exciting team that has some
Speaker 2: you know, awesome individual talent and you know, really kind
Speaker 2: of rich pitching, you know history, and it hasn't clicked.
Speaker 2: And I just think by comparison, you look at the
Speaker 2: Cubs like they've they've built a really coherent, complete, dynamic,
Speaker 2: well rounded roster, and they've been able to figure things
Speaker 2: out even though definitely not a cookie cutter season. Things
Speaker 2: have not gone according to plan, and it there's still
Speaker 2: going to be in a really strong position no matter
Speaker 2: what happens this weekend in Seattle.
Speaker 1: I think that goes to show. Like you mentioned the
Speaker 1: Mariners being disappoint like where David Peterson came from, they
Speaker 1: were disappointing, and I think you have to give the
Speaker 1: Cubs credit for I think we complain about it, and
Speaker 1: fans rightly complain about it, like sometimes these rebuils feel
Speaker 1: too slow, try and speed it up. The Cubs were
Speaker 1: methodical in their process because they identified what they wanted.
Speaker 1: They wanted defense, complete players, all around players. They've filled
Speaker 1: their team with those types. They didn't spend big on
Speaker 1: bat missing pitchers because it costs a lot of money.
Speaker 1: They wanted Dylan cees. They weren't going to pay two
Speaker 1: hundred and fifteen or whatever it ended up being. You
Speaker 1: can criticize them for that, and we have, but because
Speaker 1: they were methodical with how they built things and sought
Speaker 1: out really good defenders and didn't settle for like, well,
Speaker 1: we have to spend money, let's get this guy. I
Speaker 1: know he doesn't fit our system, and I think the
Speaker 1: Mets kind of did that. I think the Mets just
Speaker 1: were like, we have to get better play. He doesn't
Speaker 1: fit what we're doing, but we're gonna spend on these guys. Uh.
Speaker 1: Cubs did not do that. It can be frustrating at times,
Speaker 1: but it worked like what they were looking for. It
Speaker 1: was the right call to build this defense, especially because
Speaker 1: now someone like David Peterson doesn't work in New York.
Speaker 1: Like a few bad games, that crushes your confidence. You
Speaker 1: have to change the way you're pitching, and that doesn't
Speaker 1: work for you. Clay Holmes is better with the Cubs,
Speaker 1: David Peterson's better with the Cubs. A lot of pitchers
Speaker 1: are better with the Cubs because of the way this
Speaker 1: team is built. Give them a ton of credit for that. Like,
Speaker 1: I just cannot emphasize that enough. All right, Fox one
Speaker 1: MLB on Fox is streaming on Fox one. The Race
Speaker 1: to October starts now, and we have your front row
Speaker 1: seat to the wildest walk offs, lights out pitching, and
Speaker 1: clutch plays all season long. Follow every can't miss matchup
Speaker 1: as teams battle for a spot in the postseason. Then
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Speaker 1: One at home or on the go live or on demand.
Speaker 1: Never missed a moment stream now, Oh right, Patrick, Let's
Speaker 1: talk a little bit about playoff bullpen. I think this
Speaker 1: is interesting. I don't know what this is going to
Speaker 1: look like. To be honest, Ryan Zephyr John doesn't look
Speaker 1: like he's fully locked it in. I'm not gonna say
Speaker 1: he's bad or anything like that. He's been hit hard
Speaker 1: at times. He doesn't look as dominant as I think
Speaker 1: the Cubs were hoping. That can change quickly. You know,
Speaker 1: his slider is nasty. You watch that like, it's very
Speaker 1: clear what they saw and what they like. Daniel Plincia,
Speaker 1: we just don't know yet. He'll get in the game
Speaker 1: probably this weekend. We'll see how that looks. He's got
Speaker 1: a month and a half to figure things out. Those
Speaker 1: are your stuff, guys, right, those are the two guys
Speaker 1: that you look at and say, there's this stuff, they're nasty.
Speaker 1: Can they lock it in before October? The guy that
Speaker 1: I like, I still can't believe it's been this good
Speaker 1: Jacob Webb, like and I think I think you've said it,
Speaker 1: but like we just like Jed Hoyer gets to like
Speaker 1: kind of you know, do that I told you so
Speaker 1: when when we talk about building a bullpen. Because it's
Speaker 1: not about spending money and it's not just the Cubs,
Speaker 1: go look at every big money free agent this this uh,
Speaker 1: this year, this past winter. As far as relievers go,
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if there was, If there's a success story,
Speaker 1: either they're hurt, they're bad, or both. There just hasn't
Speaker 1: been someone that got like over ten million per that
Speaker 1: has been worth it. I'm probably I'm sure there's one
Speaker 1: or two, but like out of like fifteen guys like that,
Speaker 1: it's just not a good hit rate. And Jacob Webb
Speaker 1: was a one and a half million dollar one year deal,
Speaker 1: like and they hit like a huge hit and he's
Speaker 1: where would they be without Jacob Webb? Is nasty change
Speaker 1: up that he was just spamming White Sox hitters with
Speaker 1: I think the other day, just like kept throwing the
Speaker 1: change up and I'm like, is he gonna throw anything else?
Speaker 1: I guess he doesn't need to because he'll just get
Speaker 1: through this inning without any other pitch. I think he
Speaker 1: threw a couple of fastballs in there, but that was
Speaker 1: it was another impressive outing and he just continues to dominate.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I was just like, I remember Robert Suarez was
Speaker 2: good for the braise, but he's on the injured list.
Speaker 2: All yeah, that was kind of I mean, Edwin Diaz,
Speaker 2: Devin Williams. I asked, Luke Weaver's done good job, but
Speaker 2: Bred Brad Keller, these names we all know because the
Speaker 2: Cubs are kind of on all of these guys, And
Speaker 2: I'm with you. I think, you know, I think Polentsia
Speaker 2: will figure it out. Like his stuff is just so
Speaker 2: good as long as he's like if he's on the bubble,
Speaker 2: he's in. To me, that's how good his stuff is
Speaker 2: and how good he was last October. Obviously, webs as well.
Speaker 2: I'm optimistic about Ben Brown. I think that the nature
Speaker 2: of the neck injury, I think, and the fact that
Speaker 2: he's done so many different roles within this particular season,
Speaker 2: I think he's on it. I think we include from
Speaker 2: kind of the other end, a sad and David Peterson
Speaker 2: as kind of your multi ending guys. And that was
Speaker 2: part of the logic of going so big at the
Speaker 2: deadline in terms of adding starters. They liked that effect
Speaker 2: of bumping guys into kind of the middle innings or
Speaker 2: multi inning roles. Really curious about Shelby Miller's a while card,
Speaker 2: and we've talked about him before, but when he's right,
Speaker 2: he's really really good. And if he's able to show
Speaker 2: that his arm is resilient enough to work back to
Speaker 2: back and kind of carry that load, I think he's
Speaker 2: gonna make a really compelling case. Because, as you know,
Speaker 2: this is why they always talk about the bullpen guys
Speaker 2: of like can you capture lightning in a bottle? And
Speaker 2: like we'll see how you know, the Ryan Rollinson's and
Speaker 2: Trent Thornton sort of Hoby Milner once he gets back,
Speaker 2: Like like, who are these guys gonna be by the
Speaker 2: time you're setting this playoff roster? Like bullpens are ever evolving,
Speaker 2: and so I think there are there's definitely gonna be
Speaker 2: spots up for grabs like they are in compete mode
Speaker 2: right now. It's nice to have this many internal options.
Speaker 2: I'm probably forgetting someone. I guess we're soon, you know.
Speaker 2: It's also it's also interesting too of like different sort
Speaker 2: of formats. You know, you go from like three to
Speaker 2: five to so yeah, idea. You know, it's totally different
Speaker 2: than Ryan Rolinson.
Speaker 1: Did you mention him?
Speaker 2: Sort of like they've been really really good, real surprises,
Speaker 2: just don't know where they're going to be by that
Speaker 2: point of.
Speaker 1: The Yeah, he's kind of trending. I don't want to
Speaker 1: say way down, but he's trending a little bit down.
Speaker 1: Ralinson isn't as crisp as he was early in the season.
Speaker 1: He's got a month and a half to like bounce
Speaker 1: right back. Relievers aren't perfect. They're not going to be
Speaker 1: steady all season long. I mean they're like, it's not
Speaker 1: like he's been a disaster or anything out there. I
Speaker 1: think Caleb Thielbar is kind of a wild card. I
Speaker 1: know he's probably frustrated fans a ton. If he can
Speaker 1: get on a run here and build some confidence, I
Speaker 1: think just a little bit of confidence for him would
Speaker 1: help weird season for him. Where the strikeouts are there,
Speaker 1: the walks aren't awful. They're a little up from where
Speaker 1: they were last year, but the strikeouts are there. The
Speaker 1: hard contact is way too high. We know there's been
Speaker 1: home run issues, but I just I just think I
Speaker 1: don't want to give up on Caleb Thielbar. I think
Speaker 1: he could still figure it out and have a nice
Speaker 1: run here and then become a consequential lefty out of
Speaker 1: that bullpen. We'll see if that happens. I can't guarantee anything,
Speaker 1: and I agree with you, Shelby Miller's a huge wildcard
Speaker 1: to me, I just think you're the experience there, the
Speaker 1: talent level. It is all about availability. I think we
Speaker 1: was that last episode we mentioned that it's all about availability.
Speaker 1: Can he go back to back? You won't really have
Speaker 1: to do that in the playoffs outside of that first round.
Speaker 1: Maybe he doesn't make the playoff roster for the first round,
Speaker 1: and then it's like he makes more sense for the
Speaker 1: second round, and then Ben Brown's probably just I have
Speaker 1: a feeling he is going to be like we're going
Speaker 1: to be talking about him in the postseason, like what
Speaker 1: would they have done without Ben Brown? He saved that game,
Speaker 1: he saved that series. He was used like and it
Speaker 1: feels like he has a change like he had. He
Speaker 1: was so good in so many in two different roles,
Speaker 1: starter reliever, multi inning reliever. He was awesome in both
Speaker 1: those roles. Like he's I believe he's still the Cubs
Speaker 1: leader in war and that's insane, but also that's how
Speaker 1: good he was. If he comes back healthy, has a
Speaker 1: little bit of a runway, we expect him to all
Speaker 1: those things to happen. I think he's going to be
Speaker 1: I agree with you you were saying you think he's
Speaker 1: going to be good. I think he's gonna be good.
Speaker 1: I think he's going to be dominant, and I think
Speaker 1: there's a chance like he's a difference maker for this
Speaker 1: team come October.
Speaker 2: Colin Ray, I think, is another name we have mentioned yet,
Speaker 2: but you know, he was a valuable pitcher in last
Speaker 2: year's playoffs, and I think if you're not asking him
Speaker 2: to give you like six seven innings every fifth or
Speaker 2: sixth day, I think they are probably to use a
Speaker 2: council term like those pockets where he can be an
Speaker 2: out getter for them. We mentioned this last episode, Hunter
Speaker 2: Harvey is at a place where not really expecting him
Speaker 2: to come back, and you know, we'll keep monitoring Justin Steele.
Speaker 2: I think you make a good point about the as
Speaker 2: this goes deeper, if they keep advancing, it is such
Speaker 2: a you know, battle of attrition the way these playoffs
Speaker 2: are set up, particularly if you're coming in at as
Speaker 2: a wild card team. Justin Steele would be a wild card.
Speaker 2: But I think it's it's not irresponsible for us talk
Speaker 2: about it, but like we have to be realistic of like,
Speaker 2: you know what he can bring and you know what
Speaker 2: he can do. Uh, but it would be a fun
Speaker 2: conversation like if he you know, if he did, you know,
Speaker 2: put himself in that discussion, and I guess I wouldn't
Speaker 2: rule that completely out. But obviously he still has several
Speaker 2: steps to go, and you know, all of this, you know,
Speaker 2: all these different factors will make uh, the second half
Speaker 2: of September particularly fun. You know, if if the Brewers
Speaker 2: kind of just maintain this lead and the Cubs just
Speaker 2: sort of maintain their pace as the leading wild card contender,
Speaker 2: you know, things might get wrapped up the way it
Speaker 2: was last September. I mean that was a relatively early
Speaker 2: clinch and there was this kind of you know, bridge
Speaker 2: period to get into the playoffs. But there are so
Speaker 2: many moving parts here with the Hubs that I think
Speaker 2: that'll be another just kind of fun aspect down the
Speaker 2: stretch of you know, us getting the like I said, uh,
Speaker 2: pester council with these type of questions. Then also you
Speaker 2: know the second guessing and everyone loves the roster projections,
Speaker 2: like there's there'll be a lot going into this. You know,
Speaker 2: have a pretty stable position player group and a pitching
Speaker 2: staff that has been very volatile basically since April.
Speaker 1: Yeah, we don't want to get too ahead of myself here,
Speaker 1: but thinking about where they were going into the playoffs
Speaker 1: last year and we're like, okay, you just didn't feel
Speaker 1: comfortable after Matthew Boyd. Yeah really, I mean you got
Speaker 1: to give Jameson Tyn credit like he did. He came
Speaker 1: up huge in the playoffs, but I mean showeda just
Speaker 1: was not in a good place at that point. Kate
Speaker 1: Horton was out like suddenly and like very surprisingly, and
Speaker 1: it's like it was like they had one and a
Speaker 1: half starters and now we're talking about, well, it sucks
Speaker 1: that you can't start David Peterson, but he probably doesn't
Speaker 1: as it has been great. But and like we haven't
Speaker 1: even mentioned Edward Cabrera as a you know, a factor
Speaker 1: here because we just don't know what he is anymore
Speaker 1: as far as what rolely has and if he can
Speaker 1: thrive in that role. So it's a very different situation.
Speaker 1: And if injuries do come back to bite them, there's
Speaker 1: there are now at least a couple more options than
Speaker 1: you felt. Like you feel a little bit better about it.
Speaker 1: Uh So we'll see where it goes. But they're in
Speaker 1: a healthy place right now, and it feels like it's
Speaker 1: trending in the right direction. And like you said, we're
Speaker 1: gonna annoy counsel about this, but you know, it's better
Speaker 1: than annoying about like what are you going to do?
Speaker 1: Everybody just got hurt like we were when they were
Speaker 1: in New York.
Speaker 2: And you know, you know they're they're thinking the same things,
Speaker 2: like they're like they're always talking about this stuff.
Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, all right, Thanks so much for let's everyone.
Speaker 1: That's it for Northside Territory this week. Make sure to rate, review, subscribe,
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Speaker 1: for listening to watching everyone. Take care