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Cubs’ playoff roster projection: How the pitching staff will look in October · North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Welcome into Northside Territory File Territory Networks Cubs Podcast. I'm
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Sahadiv Sharma with my partner Patrick Mooney. We are your
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Cubs beat writers over at the Athletic Patrick. It is
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: not October, but the Cubs have a plethora of pitching suddenly,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: and and I think it's worth talking about, like how
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: does this work in the playoffs? And that's kind of
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: going to be the focus of this episode, pitching wise,
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: how do we all how how do we see this
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: working out? They they they have actual depth now. It
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: is not the depth they thought they would have when
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: they broke camp. Uh, it's kind of remarkable that they've
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: built this back up in a way. Uh, you know,
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: we'll we'll, we'll see how long it lasts. But they
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: don't have any as far as we know. Kate Horton's
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: out for the season right Justin Steele isn't going to
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: factor into the rotation discussion, and he's kind of a
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: wild card, long shot, I would say, to help the
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: big league club, this team.
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: And then.
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: And beyond that, it's it's new guys and and kind
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: of who you expected and like some people that you
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: didn't expect. I think you know you, I don't know
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: who odd starred in Game one. To be honest, I'm
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: starting to lean Clay Holmes though, with the way he
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: looks and and the game he had like he didn't
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: It's not like he was perfect on Wednesday, but he's
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: he gets so many ground balls. There was was it
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: Friday the game that you covered that he was kind
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: of dominant?
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think he had a perfect game into the sixth.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: Then in Yeah, he clearly shook off the you know,
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: the so so first start that he had in the
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: Cubs uniform. I think he's looked great and I think
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: he's exactly what they are looking for. He'd be He's
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: the guy right now that I say, yep, he's in
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: the rotation, Matthew Boyd, I think you just go. I
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: feel comfortable saying he's in the rotation. I know he
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: had a stinker on Saturday, and if I'm remembering correctly.
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: The Joshua BIA's debut, yeah, yeah, but he'd been so
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: consistent before that and and then after that, you know,
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: kind of let's see what happens.
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: But I feel pretty good that Cosman's going to be there.
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: I don't think Osman was terrible on there was that
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: weird it was I forgot about the thumb injury. It
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: was it's not an injury. I don't know what that was,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: but it like cramp, but it was weird. I don't
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: think it's something that you need to be concerned with
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: long term. But I like how he's looked for the
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: most part. He was a little off on Tuesday, but
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: the splitters nasty and just doesn't get hit very much.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's something we'll be checking on sort of this
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: weekend in Seattle of Gossman's weird left hand cramp his
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: non throwing hand. Obviously, if that cramping happens in his
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: right hand, it's like the alarm bells are going off
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: big time. But both he and Council seemed, you know,
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: relatively unconcerned about it, and not just in the normal
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: Cubs always downplay injuries type of thing, but just like
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: most teams do. But yeah, i'd with you. Holmes just
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: seems to be one of those pictures who's kind of
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: on the ascent and after you know, having that you know,
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: kind of freak injury silent him for so long. Like
• 3:48
  Speaker 2: I think you'll see him continue to develop that rhythm
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: and pittruly well given the team he's surrounded with. Now, yeah,
• 3:55
  Speaker 2: boy's just been nails, and you know you trusted him
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: to start last year's first game. I think there's no
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: reason to Maybe he starts game two this time instead,
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: but you know, no reason to not, you know, use
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: him as for all of this. We're using air quote
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: starters right of, like maybe they'll throw three and two
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: thirds to four and one third innings and you know,
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: sort of do their job, but you're gonna need length
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: at some point. And the way it plays now, if
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: the Cubs want to win a World Series, they're probably
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: gonna have to win four playoff rounds and that's where
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: Shoda is going to really come into play. That you know,
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: we didn't even get really get to this because so
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: much other stuff happened. But you know, I think Council
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: described show does outing against the White Sox as you know,
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: one of, if not the best outings he's seen from him.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: Like that's how dialed in he was, and that's what
• 4:49
  Speaker 2: showed has been for most of this year. I think
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: until he goes out and performs well in a playoff game,
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: I think people are still going to understandably reference how
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: last season ended in Milwaukee. But I also think, like
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: if show DOA's You're four starter, play like, that's really good,
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: and you know, I wouldn't be surprised if Shoda was
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: just awesome in the playoffs. I think his he has
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: been so good over the course of his time in Chicago,
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: but I think the home runs and like I said,
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: that sort of blip in Milwaukee I think have taken
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: on an outside sort of spot and how we remember
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: his performance. I think it's a little unfair at times,
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: like when he gives up the home run, people, oh,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: I see you see, Like, no, he's been It's been
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: really good. He's one of the better pitchers in the
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: Major since he's come over here. And so I think
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: that'd be a fun part of these last several weeks
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: here of annoying council with questions about play off rotations
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: and things like that, and seeing the eye rolls and
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: side eyes will get It'll be it'll be fun.
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: Yeah, And you can be super aggressive with Shoda if
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: you Yeah, if you feel like it, you know, two
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: and a half times through is too much, or if
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: you don't want him seeing a lineup a third time,
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: you can be you can be aggressive with any of
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: these guys. I think that's the value of having Javier Asad.
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: He is not like I. I just think Javier Asad is. I.
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: I tend to undervalue him because he doesn't strike guys out.
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: When you don't strike guys out, I get a little concerned. Uh,
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: he's done it long enough now though, where I just
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: kind of have to say, like, he's a really good
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: picture that this is who Javier Asad is. He's gonna
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: have a stinker of an outing, but the next ten
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: are going to be great. Uh. And then and I
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: don't know how he does it with so few strikeouts
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: and not like a huge ground ball rate, but he does.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: He misses barrels enough, he gets out of bad situations
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: really well. And what I love about him is I've
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: not even seen a hint of complaining about his role.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: He gets jerked around four years. This isn't one season
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: that it has been his entire career in a Cubs
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: uniform where he's a starter, he's a reliever, he gets
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: sent down to the miners, and he does it all
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: with a smile on his face, never complains, and goes
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: out there and performs really important piece to this team.
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: I'm curious to see what they do when you get
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: to Seattle and what they decide to do for Palencia's activation.
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: But I think you need to, like, you know, Javier
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: Sad is an important piece.
• 7:52
  Speaker 2: To this team.
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: One guy that's I don't think we need to even
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: talk about as far as starting is Edward Cabrera. Council
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: made it pretty clear like what his future role is
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: for twenty twenty six for this team.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's very much TBD with Edward Cabrera. Will see
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: how this blister issue resolves itself. Part of that Council
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: said would be using him in shorter bursts. I'm still
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: not sold on the idea of him being trusted in
• 8:27
  Speaker 2: those high leveraged situations out of the bullpen. And if
• 8:32
  Speaker 2: you're not, then is there a spot for you on
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: a playoff roster considering how short some of these stints
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: will be for the starting pitchers and how many guys
• 8:42
  Speaker 2: you're gonna have to use, and how when it's all
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: hands on deck like that, if you're not sure about Cabrera,
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: to me, that's kind of an easy omission from your
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: playoff roster. But if he gets healthy, if he gets
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: in a groove. I mean, stranger things have happened. I mean,
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: he's really he is talented. He was a really good
• 9:05
  Speaker 2: pitcher for long stretches for the Marlins. I just the
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: way this season has gone, like crossing your fingers that
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: he's going to figure it out at the most important
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: time of the year. I tend to doubt that.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah, he's got He'll have a month or so to
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: figure it out and show that he can handle this
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: new role that they're going to lead him into. He's
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: got to show it. There's you know, he's got to
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: prove it over the month and if he does, good
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: for him. If he doesn't, this is what we're talking about.
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: The Cubs have options. Let's take quick break. There's one
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: starter that we didn't even mention that has been just
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: a huge piece of the puzzle to get them to
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: this point.
• 9:46
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• 10:09
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• 10:10
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• 10:14
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• 10:48
  Speaker 1: All right, Patrick, David Peterson has been I can't believe
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: I'm saying this about someone with a five twenty nine era.
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: Did he give up it? Ten runs against the Cardinals?
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: Was at twelve? Like it was a lot?
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: It was just like ten runs on July third, Right,
• 11:09
  Speaker 2: it's seventeen to one loss.
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, just a disastrous outing. He has been
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: really good and really consistent, and honestly, I trust him
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: as much as anyone right now in this rotation when
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: he's out there, just because he he looks very calm
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: and collected out there and he's got this elite defense
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: behind him. Before we go any further, let's make this
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: our Fox one segment. So David Peterson will be on
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: the mound Saturday. That's not what I want to show.
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: Sorry about that. He'll be on the mound Saturday, and
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: on Fox it's a national game against the Mariners in Seattle.
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: I believe it's six fifteen Central time, four fifteen local
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: time as far as specific right in Seattle, So Cubs
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: fans can check that out. On Fox one, Peterson will
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: be on the mound. Look, this is not a good
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: offense that he's going to be facing. It's they like, like,
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: we don't need to go too far into this. But
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: one of the weirdest about like post MVP seasons I've
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: ever seen with cal Raley, did he win MVP? He
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: won MVP, right, or did Judge win MVP? This is
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: my brain is I don't watch enough at al baseball
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: either way, One of the weirdest like he had a
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: historic season. If not an MVP season, was it MVP?
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: He finished second judge one, Okay, I had to double
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: check that weird season out in Seattle. I thought they
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: were gonna have a great year. They have not struggled.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: This offense has like one or two bats that are fearsome,
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: and if even fearsome is the right word. So David
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: Peterson can go out on the mountain and feel confident.
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: But I think he can go out on the mountain
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: feel confident because of who's behind him now as well.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: And he's just he's looked great. It's kind of like
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: Clay Holmes, but a little bit different. I think they
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: were a lot more confident in what they were getting
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: in Clay Homes.
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: And you know, I.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: Wouldn't pick David Peterson to make a playoff start. I
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: think I don't think he'd be an awful option, but
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: I don't. I think they're so deep now that they
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: don't have to rely on him. And I kind of
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: liked that he came out of the bullpen. It was
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: a blowout, right, It wasn't a close game when he
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: came out of the bullpen, but he came out of
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: the bullpen. The other day wasn't or my misremembering my days,
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: whatever day it may have been Sunday. Was it Sunday
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: or was it Monday? Who?
• 13:55
  Speaker 2: No, this is the tenanding went over the White Sox. Okay,
• 14:01
  Speaker 2: so it was four out, four outs over the eighth
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: and ninth innings. I guess what you're thinking is, I
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: believe the Cubs were trailing at that point, So it
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: was more kind of it wasn't like he was coming
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: in to close out the game. It was more of
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: like just keeping it close, to put things in position
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: for Pete to have that U toe walk off. Yeah.
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: So I mean that's still big innings and he and
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: he kept it where it was. He's able to handle
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: that moment, he's able to come out of the bullpen.
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: Just another aspect of like, hey, I think council kind
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: of said this. I can't remember even what my question was. Oh,
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: I was just talking about Asad and like how valuable did.
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: You ask him won the al MVP last Yeah?
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I asked him. I basically was talking about
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: Asad and how valuable he's been and how willing he
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: oh yeah, yeah world, And he and council said like
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: this is this is how it works now like there's
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: no cookie cutter plan there. You can't do that anymore.
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: You have to be willing to adjust. You have to
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: be able to use these guys in any situation. That's
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: what good teams do. Uh, Peterson looks like he's willing
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: to fill that role. I give him a lot of credit. Uh,
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: you know, he's not complaining about I don't think he
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: was thrilled to go to the bullpen in New York.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: But he seems to you know, winning, you know, tears
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: all for these guys. And and he's on a really deep,
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: talented team. He'll go, he'll do whatever, fill whatever role
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: is needed. Uh, he's back in the rotation. He'll be
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: pitching in Seattle. And and I just think it, you
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: know this is this is a credit to the Cubs
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: for understanding, like how how they could you know this?
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: Don't look at the e R. This guy's going to
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: be good with us type thing. And and you know,
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: credit to him for not like, you know, mentally crumbling
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: because of.
• 15:57
  Speaker 2: That e R. Yeah, I think. I mean Peterson, I believe,
• 16:01
  Speaker 2: made six starts before the trade deadline for the Cubs.
• 16:06
  Speaker 2: And you know this obviously is in a Mariner's podcast.
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: But it was a really exciting team that has some
• 16:14
  Speaker 2: you know, awesome individual talent and you know, really kind
• 16:20
  Speaker 2: of rich pitching, you know history, and it hasn't clicked.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: And I just think by comparison, you look at the
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: Cubs like they've they've built a really coherent, complete, dynamic,
• 16:36
  Speaker 2: well rounded roster, and they've been able to figure things
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: out even though definitely not a cookie cutter season. Things
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: have not gone according to plan, and it there's still
• 16:47
  Speaker 2: going to be in a really strong position no matter
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: what happens this weekend in Seattle.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: I think that goes to show. Like you mentioned the
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: Mariners being disappoint like where David Peterson came from, they
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: were disappointing, and I think you have to give the
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: Cubs credit for I think we complain about it, and
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: fans rightly complain about it, like sometimes these rebuils feel
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: too slow, try and speed it up. The Cubs were
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: methodical in their process because they identified what they wanted.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: They wanted defense, complete players, all around players. They've filled
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: their team with those types. They didn't spend big on
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: bat missing pitchers because it costs a lot of money.
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: They wanted Dylan cees. They weren't going to pay two
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: hundred and fifteen or whatever it ended up being. You
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: can criticize them for that, and we have, but because
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: they were methodical with how they built things and sought
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: out really good defenders and didn't settle for like, well,
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: we have to spend money, let's get this guy. I
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: know he doesn't fit our system, and I think the
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: Mets kind of did that. I think the Mets just
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: were like, we have to get better play. He doesn't
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: fit what we're doing, but we're gonna spend on these guys. Uh.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: Cubs did not do that. It can be frustrating at times,
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: but it worked like what they were looking for. It
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: was the right call to build this defense, especially because
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: now someone like David Peterson doesn't work in New York.
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: Like a few bad games, that crushes your confidence. You
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: have to change the way you're pitching, and that doesn't
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: work for you. Clay Holmes is better with the Cubs,
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: David Peterson's better with the Cubs. A lot of pitchers
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: are better with the Cubs because of the way this
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: team is built. Give them a ton of credit for that. Like,
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: I just cannot emphasize that enough. All right, Fox one
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: MLB on Fox is streaming on Fox one. The Race
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: to October starts now, and we have your front row
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: seat to the wildest walk offs, lights out pitching, and
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: clutch plays all season long. Follow every can't miss matchup
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: as teams battle for a spot in the postseason. Then
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: stream the twenty twenty six World Series live on Fox
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: One at home or on the go live or on demand.
• 19:05
  Speaker 1: Never missed a moment stream now, Oh right, Patrick, Let's
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: talk a little bit about playoff bullpen. I think this
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: is interesting. I don't know what this is going to
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: look like. To be honest, Ryan Zephyr John doesn't look
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: like he's fully locked it in. I'm not gonna say
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: he's bad or anything like that. He's been hit hard
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: at times. He doesn't look as dominant as I think
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: the Cubs were hoping. That can change quickly. You know,
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: his slider is nasty. You watch that like, it's very
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: clear what they saw and what they like. Daniel Plincia,
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: we just don't know yet. He'll get in the game
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: probably this weekend. We'll see how that looks. He's got
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: a month and a half to figure things out. Those
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: are your stuff, guys, right, those are the two guys
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: that you look at and say, there's this stuff, they're nasty.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: Can they lock it in before October? The guy that
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: I like, I still can't believe it's been this good
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: Jacob Webb, like and I think I think you've said it,
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: but like we just like Jed Hoyer gets to like
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: kind of you know, do that I told you so
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: when when we talk about building a bullpen. Because it's
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: not about spending money and it's not just the Cubs,
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: go look at every big money free agent this this uh,
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: this year, this past winter. As far as relievers go,
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: I'm not sure if there was, If there's a success story,
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: either they're hurt, they're bad, or both. There just hasn't
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: been someone that got like over ten million per that
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: has been worth it. I'm probably I'm sure there's one
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: or two, but like out of like fifteen guys like that,
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: it's just not a good hit rate. And Jacob Webb
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: was a one and a half million dollar one year deal,
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: like and they hit like a huge hit and he's
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: where would they be without Jacob Webb? Is nasty change
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: up that he was just spamming White Sox hitters with
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: I think the other day, just like kept throwing the
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: change up and I'm like, is he gonna throw anything else?
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: I guess he doesn't need to because he'll just get
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: through this inning without any other pitch. I think he
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: threw a couple of fastballs in there, but that was
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: it was another impressive outing and he just continues to dominate.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I was just like, I remember Robert Suarez was
• 21:41
  Speaker 2: good for the braise, but he's on the injured list.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: All yeah, that was kind of I mean, Edwin Diaz,
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: Devin Williams. I asked, Luke Weaver's done good job, but
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: Bred Brad Keller, these names we all know because the
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: Cubs are kind of on all of these guys, And
• 21:56
  Speaker 2: I'm with you. I think, you know, I think Polentsia
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: will figure it out. Like his stuff is just so
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: good as long as he's like if he's on the bubble,
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: he's in. To me, that's how good his stuff is
• 22:10
  Speaker 2: and how good he was last October. Obviously, webs as well.
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: I'm optimistic about Ben Brown. I think that the nature
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: of the neck injury, I think, and the fact that
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: he's done so many different roles within this particular season,
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: I think he's on it. I think we include from
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: kind of the other end, a sad and David Peterson
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: as kind of your multi ending guys. And that was
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: part of the logic of going so big at the
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: deadline in terms of adding starters. They liked that effect
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: of bumping guys into kind of the middle innings or
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: multi inning roles. Really curious about Shelby Miller's a while card,
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: and we've talked about him before, but when he's right,
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: he's really really good. And if he's able to show
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: that his arm is resilient enough to work back to
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: back and kind of carry that load, I think he's
• 23:16
  Speaker 2: gonna make a really compelling case. Because, as you know,
• 23:20
  Speaker 2: this is why they always talk about the bullpen guys
• 23:22
  Speaker 2: of like can you capture lightning in a bottle? And
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: like we'll see how you know, the Ryan Rollinson's and
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: Trent Thornton sort of Hoby Milner once he gets back,
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: Like like, who are these guys gonna be by the
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: time you're setting this playoff roster? Like bullpens are ever evolving,
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: and so I think there are there's definitely gonna be
• 23:50
  Speaker 2: spots up for grabs like they are in compete mode
• 23:53
  Speaker 2: right now. It's nice to have this many internal options.
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: I'm probably forgetting someone. I guess we're soon, you know.
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: It's also it's also interesting too of like different sort
• 24:08
  Speaker 2: of formats. You know, you go from like three to
• 24:11
  Speaker 2: five to so yeah, idea. You know, it's totally different
• 24:14
  Speaker 2: than Ryan Rolinson.
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: Did you mention him?
• 24:19
  Speaker 2: Sort of like they've been really really good, real surprises,
• 24:22
  Speaker 2: just don't know where they're going to be by that
• 24:25
  Speaker 2: point of.
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: The Yeah, he's kind of trending. I don't want to
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: say way down, but he's trending a little bit down.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: Ralinson isn't as crisp as he was early in the season.
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: He's got a month and a half to like bounce
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: right back. Relievers aren't perfect. They're not going to be
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: steady all season long. I mean they're like, it's not
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: like he's been a disaster or anything out there. I
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: think Caleb Thielbar is kind of a wild card. I
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: know he's probably frustrated fans a ton. If he can
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: get on a run here and build some confidence, I
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: think just a little bit of confidence for him would
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: help weird season for him. Where the strikeouts are there,
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: the walks aren't awful. They're a little up from where
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: they were last year, but the strikeouts are there. The
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: hard contact is way too high. We know there's been
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: home run issues, but I just I just think I
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: don't want to give up on Caleb Thielbar. I think
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: he could still figure it out and have a nice
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: run here and then become a consequential lefty out of
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: that bullpen. We'll see if that happens. I can't guarantee anything,
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: and I agree with you, Shelby Miller's a huge wildcard
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: to me, I just think you're the experience there, the
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: talent level. It is all about availability. I think we
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: was that last episode we mentioned that it's all about availability.
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: Can he go back to back? You won't really have
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: to do that in the playoffs outside of that first round.
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: Maybe he doesn't make the playoff roster for the first round,
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: and then it's like he makes more sense for the
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: second round, and then Ben Brown's probably just I have
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: a feeling he is going to be like we're going
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: to be talking about him in the postseason, like what
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: would they have done without Ben Brown? He saved that game,
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: he saved that series. He was used like and it
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: feels like he has a change like he had. He
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: was so good in so many in two different roles,
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: starter reliever, multi inning reliever. He was awesome in both
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: those roles. Like he's I believe he's still the Cubs
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: leader in war and that's insane, but also that's how
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: good he was. If he comes back healthy, has a
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: little bit of a runway, we expect him to all
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: those things to happen. I think he's going to be
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: I agree with you you were saying you think he's
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: going to be good. I think he's gonna be good.
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: I think he's going to be dominant, and I think
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: there's a chance like he's a difference maker for this
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: team come October.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: Colin Ray, I think, is another name we have mentioned yet,
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: but you know, he was a valuable pitcher in last
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: year's playoffs, and I think if you're not asking him
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: to give you like six seven innings every fifth or
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: sixth day, I think they are probably to use a
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: council term like those pockets where he can be an
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: out getter for them. We mentioned this last episode, Hunter
• 27:27
  Speaker 2: Harvey is at a place where not really expecting him
• 27:32
  Speaker 2: to come back, and you know, we'll keep monitoring Justin Steele.
• 27:36
  Speaker 2: I think you make a good point about the as
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: this goes deeper, if they keep advancing, it is such
• 27:43
  Speaker 2: a you know, battle of attrition the way these playoffs
• 27:47
  Speaker 2: are set up, particularly if you're coming in at as
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: a wild card team. Justin Steele would be a wild card.
• 27:55
  Speaker 2: But I think it's it's not irresponsible for us talk
• 28:00
  Speaker 2: about it, but like we have to be realistic of like,
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: you know what he can bring and you know what
• 28:05
  Speaker 2: he can do. Uh, but it would be a fun
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: conversation like if he you know, if he did, you know,
• 28:12
  Speaker 2: put himself in that discussion, and I guess I wouldn't
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: rule that completely out. But obviously he still has several
• 28:19
  Speaker 2: steps to go, and you know, all of this, you know,
• 28:24
  Speaker 2: all these different factors will make uh, the second half
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: of September particularly fun. You know, if if the Brewers
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: kind of just maintain this lead and the Cubs just
• 28:36
  Speaker 2: sort of maintain their pace as the leading wild card contender,
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: you know, things might get wrapped up the way it
• 28:48
  Speaker 2: was last September. I mean that was a relatively early
• 28:51
  Speaker 2: clinch and there was this kind of you know, bridge
• 28:55
  Speaker 2: period to get into the playoffs. But there are so
• 28:58
  Speaker 2: many moving parts here with the Hubs that I think
• 29:00
  Speaker 2: that'll be another just kind of fun aspect down the
• 29:03
  Speaker 2: stretch of you know, us getting the like I said, uh,
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: pester council with these type of questions. Then also you
• 29:11
  Speaker 2: know the second guessing and everyone loves the roster projections,
• 29:14
  Speaker 2: like there's there'll be a lot going into this. You know,
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: have a pretty stable position player group and a pitching
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: staff that has been very volatile basically since April.
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we don't want to get too ahead of myself here,
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: but thinking about where they were going into the playoffs
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: last year and we're like, okay, you just didn't feel
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: comfortable after Matthew Boyd. Yeah really, I mean you got
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: to give Jameson Tyn credit like he did. He came
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: up huge in the playoffs, but I mean showeda just
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: was not in a good place at that point. Kate
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: Horton was out like suddenly and like very surprisingly, and
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: it's like it was like they had one and a
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: half starters and now we're talking about, well, it sucks
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: that you can't start David Peterson, but he probably doesn't
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: as it has been great. But and like we haven't
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: even mentioned Edward Cabrera as a you know, a factor
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: here because we just don't know what he is anymore
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: as far as what rolely has and if he can
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: thrive in that role. So it's a very different situation.
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: And if injuries do come back to bite them, there's
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: there are now at least a couple more options than
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: you felt. Like you feel a little bit better about it.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: Uh So we'll see where it goes. But they're in
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: a healthy place right now, and it feels like it's
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: trending in the right direction. And like you said, we're
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: gonna annoy counsel about this, but you know, it's better
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: than annoying about like what are you going to do?
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: Everybody just got hurt like we were when they were
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: in New York.
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: And you know, you know they're they're thinking the same things,
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: like they're like they're always talking about this stuff.
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: Yes, absolutely, all right, Thanks so much for let's everyone.
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: That's it for Northside Territory this week. Make sure to rate, review, subscribe,
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: subscribe to the YouTube channel, and subscribe to The Athletic
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: where Patrick and Iron top of all Things Cubs. Thanks
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: for listening to watching everyone. Take care