As a die-hard fan of the Chicago Cubs, I must admit that I am a little jealous of the Milwaukee Brewers after they acquired C.C. Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians today. Not only is Sabathia a career .300 hitter, but he is a true ace who no doubt gives Milwaukee the best 1-2 combination of starting pitchers in the National League with Ben Sheets. Believe it or not, I almost laid down some money on the Brew Crew to win the pennant on the Fourth of July at 10/1 knowing this deal could very well become reality before the end of the weekend. Sure enough, it did. You can currently get the Brewers at 15/1 to win the World Seres and 7/1 to win the NL at Bodog.
So what does this move really mean in the big scheme of things? Can the Brewers win the division and make it to the World Series? Yes and yes. I honestly believe a team from the NL Central will make it to the World Series, but I do not know if that team will come from Chicago, St. Louis or Milwaukee. The Brewers still have major concerns in the bullpen, although Sabathia is a horse who should be able to eat up a lot of innings.
All three teams possess outstanding offensive lineups when healthy, so pitching seems to be the deciding factor in the NL Central race from this point forward. The Brewers instantly have the best Top 3 starters in their rotation with Sabathia, Sheets and Manny Parra, so Chicago and St. Louis will need to improve their staffs in order to compete.
The Cubs have reportedly been chasing Oakland's Rich Harden and Seattle's Erik Bedard, either of whom could give them a comparable rotation if added. The Cardinals are banking on the walking wounded in Mark Mulder and possibly Chris Carpenter to give them an edge down the stretch, though that seems to be the biggest gamble of all. Mulder has looked atrocious both in the minors and in relief so far after recovering from a shoulder injury, and he will make his first start on Wednesday against Philadelphia.
The key also will be the fact that Chicago and Milwaukee play each other 10 more times during the regular season, including the very last weekend. The Brewers also play St. Louis six more times, and the Cardinals have nine more meetings with the Cubs. Add that all up, and there are 25 more huge games which will decide the division race. I do know that my team will not let this be the last big move made before the trade deadline though and am looking forward to possibly one of the best divisional races ever. And this could very well be the start of a dealing domino effect among several contending teams over the next couple weeks. I can't wait.