I can't help myself...just got to say it...you know better!!!

Ben Sheets = under 30 starts (as predicted)

Geoff Jenkins = .256 BA (about right)

JJ Hardy = .279 BA (instead of .330...about right)

Prince Fielder = ok, Tubby had a good year, no doubt about it, but his avg also faltered.

Jeff Suppan = 11-12 4.57 ERA (and some writer had the nerve to compare him to Maddux?!?!)

Tony Gwynn Jr = .254 avg (down from .370...sorry, TG Sr!)

As for the Cubs:

Lee = .317/22/82 (power numbers still low, but 2nd half power was respectable, with 16 HRs since All-star break)

Ramirez = .312/26/101 (about 8 homers less than I would expect, but like Lee, he hit for a great avg)

Soriano = .295/32/67 with 19 sb and 96 runs scored (17 HRs since All-Star break)

Our rotation guys all have decent ERA's, except Marquis (mostly due to recent starts).

Let's face it...the Brewers weren't Cheese Curds...they were just plain turds.

Consider them flushed.

Hubert, Jim, Anthony, and Agustin:

Please repent from your Faithless ways, and accept the fallacy that was the Mighty 1st Place Brew Crew, and embrace and rejoice that the Cubs have ascended to their rightful seat on the throne of baseball greatness.

Ok...they haven't won it all yet, but this division is the Cubs to lose!

The Brewers have not had a winning record since 1992, I believe. They haven't made the playoffs since 1981 or 1982.

Every season, in any sport, there is always a team that people get drawn to, and make general assumptive statements, such as "they will obviously be good all year", "they have the pitching to win consistently", "they have great young talent"

blah blah assumptive blah

It is May 10th.

I will continue to base my predictions about the future largely on the past performance of the players that a team is constituted of.

Ben Sheets is, and will continue to be, a sub .500 pitcher. Even on a pitiful team, Zambrano found a way to win 16 games last year. The idea that they are even being compared is laughable.

I think Randy Johnson is a hard-throwing lefty, and I am pretty sure he won a World Series. I think Andy Petite won a World Series at some point as well. I think Tom Glavine was fairly successful, and has been in the playoffs a few times. Mark Buehrle won a World Series. Even Dontrelle Willis has a ring. I am fairly certain you can win in the playoffs, let alone make the playoffs, with lefties in your rotation...regardless of how hard they throw.

If anyone really wants to keep arguing about the merits of the Brew Crew, knock yourself out...but I just wonder if the Pirates and the Brewers switched places at this point, and the Pirates were running away with the Central, if I wouldn't be hearing how great the Pirates are, and how they are for real, and blah blah assumptive blah.

It won't be pretty, but the Cubs will win the division...and Derrick Lee will manage to hit a few more homers along the way.

Jim - I agree with the bullpen ERA point, however, that isn't the only measure of a bullpen's effectiveness. What about leaving runners stranded or not blowing the lead? Eyre, Cherry, and sometimes Ohman will have to improve substantially.

Steve - Z has given up 6 runs, 4 earned today.

Mark - The idiot is still you. You can't forsee injury unless because of an extensive injury history. And Schmidt only had minor 1-2wk injuries for most of his career...and btw, you should go get your testosterone levels checked, only chicks remember something that happened that far back.

Jason B - Yes, I am questioning Lee's power. I am not questioning A-Ram's avg, he IS still slumping, however. To answer you, yes, Suppan will benefit just as much from being a Brewer than when he was a Cardinal.

The bullpen has performed well of late? Who exactly have we been playing...? The Nationals who walked in all our runs the other day..LOL. The Cards who are obviously are not at the top of their game due to extrenuating circumstances, and the Pirates...

For the Brew Crew, this is as good as it gets? No doubt the Cubs will improve, but the Brewers assessment is based of what exactly?

I think the Cubs will win the Wild Card, because they lack fundamentals but will have the power bats when things heat up. But as far as being consistent hitting, hitting with RISP, not making utterly stupid mistakes, and keeping the ball DOWN, the Brewers will take the cake on those points.

Agustin - Eventual world series contenders are made through right handed power pitching, lefties don't throw as hard, and even so, the best power lefty resides in Minnesota. If you look at Detroit's rotation with Verlander and Bonderman, or Boston's with Schills, Beckett, and Matsuzaka, that's how those team's staffs get it done.

Wow Jason this is a heavy article you've written and the debate that it has created is kind of hot. First of all I have to agree that the Brew Crew is seriously over-achieving. That the Cubs are a much better team over all and that Jeoff Jenkings can’t keep this up. We should win the division when it is all said and done.

Few notes though:

First of all it seems like you are mocking the Brewers [which is ok but consider the St.Luis Post article that mocked the Cubs and LaRussa’s reaction] and that they have gotten to you. But do not take this team lightly, they are for real and will fight hard till the end and they have the early led over our Cubs. Will it hold? Probably not and hopefully so, but that is why we play the games because on paper they don’t count. Ask the Yankees. Sorry to tell you that, if healthy, they have an equal rotation to ours…Capuano being their ace and Hill [our best pitcher] being ours. Zambrano will overshadow Sheets at the end especially with his usual DL stints, but his past seasons record does not reflect his value because they had a lousy offense as opposed to this year. That takes me to the obvious subject. Offense. And again we should be better, but on paper and the games have to be played.

Prince Fielder is a tough baseball player and to dismiss him as a Burger King[lol] symbol does not really describe him well. He runs faster than DeRosa which is pretty good for a “Fatie” plays good defense and he not just hits fastballs believe me. You under estimate this team a little Jason. They have a lot of power in Bill Hall, Fielder average hitting, solid bench and they do have a lot of chips to trade…starting with Jenkins/Mench/Grafanino who can all be spared because of Hart and their 3base prospect who is very good and being held back. Not to mention SP Vargas who is in the Bullpen but is a good 4-5 starter to trade.

I know what you mean…That we can expect to win because we are better overall and that they are having the ride of their lives and that everything indicates that they will fall perion. But that is a respectable team over there that less than a month and a half into the season, has the best record in all of baseball and a closer with 15 saves! They will win close games and so will the Pirates.

Hubert, I agree with a lot of what you say…but are you angry at somebody? Your tone is kind of strange. Everybody is entitled to their opinion as well as you but chill it down a little. I think you are wrong on the comment of the things you need to win a WS…[that is an understatement] Young right handers? What about lefties

Sorry Neil, I was mistyping it. I put one to mant M's in James. My bad.

Jason,

I still think the Brew Crew is here to stay. I really like the make up of their team. I do agree with you wholeheartedly though that they are playing at the highest level right now, but the Cubs are currently getting better and will continue to do so in my opinion. Soriano WILL heal up and start stealing bases. Lee WILL start hitting more HR's. Ramirez WILL get hot again and end up with an average near, or above, .300. Barrett WILL raise his average. Zambrano WILL start pitching more consistently (starting today?). And as I have mentioned before, Hendry WILL go out and get another piece to the puzzle if necessary before the deadline.

Go Cubs !!!!

Jim, comments are preapproved here based on email. I thought you were maybe mistyping yours, but it looks like you changed it.

I have put your new email in the system. Sorry for the problem.

Hubert,

Your comments are dangerously close to the territory that would cause me to dedicate an entire YKB column just to you! Where to start?!

Are you really questioning Lee's power? Are you really questioning Ramirez's average?

My points were that, from a career perspective, or more importantly, the past 3-4 years (a better indication of the player's current ability) there is no question that Derrick Lee, Aramis Ramirez, Alfonso Soriano, Michael Barrett, and yes, even Jacque Jones, are a collectively superior unit to the likes of Geoff Jenkins and Prince "I prefer Burger King" Fielder, and the rest of the mighty Brew Crew.

I am not talking about just on paper, as Soriano is the only new guy that was just mentioned for the Cubs...look at Ramirez' average the past few years...if you are actually a Cubs fan, you would know how streaky Ramirez could be, which is why the best time to pick him up in a fantasy league is when he is in the middle of a slump!

As for Suppan...I wasn't referring to run support...I was referring to playing for a consistent winner, which is part of the reason he benefitted from playing for the Cardinals. The more your team wins, the more likely you will have a good record, too...not exactly rocket science.

Bullpens go through streaks as well, and when the year is over, I will happily look back and compare the Cubs bullpen to any other team's, and you will see the Cubs are right at the top. Every year it is the same thing: complain about how much our bullpen sucks one month, and then praise them the next month. As Solomon said, "there is nothing new under the sun".

My article isn't comparing the teams if the season stopped today, it is about expectations and projections, and the cheese curds are an appetizer...they show up in the beginning of the meal, but you have forgotten about them once the main course arrives.

At least we have an Izzy/Jones to trade away, and we also have a little thing called money. Our team can only improve as the season goes on...for the Brew Crew, this is as good as it gets.

A couple things:

Jason, I TOTALLY agree with Hubert on the fact that the Brew Crew have got what it takes this year to make a dent in the Central. Their pitchers are VERY good, with only Vargas and Suppan being below average. I do think, however, that the Cubs staff is better especially considering that Z hasn't pitched as well as he will.

I also think that Hall, Hardy and Weeks are very talented hitters and remind me of hard nosed ball players that seem to have the Twins succeeding year in and year out.

With that being said, Geoff Jenkins is a INFAMOUSLY STREAKY hitter. He will go through a 2 week stretch very soon where he bats well under .200 and strikes out 15-20 times. Also, Hardy as good as he can be, will not continue at this torrid pace..in fact he is already slowing down as of late.

Hubert, Lee is leading the league, by far, doubles. You must have really disliked Grace if Lee upsets you with his current lack of power. And it isn't a stretch to imagine that several of those doubles will turn into HR's in the coming months. Plus the guy is hitting almost .400.....how can ANYONE complain about him? This is the 2nd negative post I've seen about Lee in 2 days. I'm amazed !!

As far as Lily is concerned, he pitches very similar to Hill, yet you didn't mention him giving up HR's?? He is in the top 5 in KO's and has an amazing KO to BB ratio. He won 15 games in the ultra competitive AL East last year with a 4.3 ERA. Don't look for him to all of a sudden blow up.

Lastly, the bullpen has pitched EXTREMELY well as of late and have 3 relievers (4 if you count Guzman) with ERA's 2.60 or under. In comparison, the WSox have only 1 pitcher on their entire team with an ERA under 3.2

We are 8-2 in the last 10 games and this team is showing signs of getting even better. Instead of finding new and inventive ways to lose, we have found new ways to WIN, whether it be a CGSO by Marquis, and extra inning 4-3 win, or an offense filled night.

In Summary, I disagree with people who say the Brew Crew are this year's Cincy. They have something Cincy hasn't had, very good pitching. They have a good mix of youth and veterans. BUT, I think the Cubs are the better team, I really do. I think both teams will be in it til the end. And I disagree with the pundits who are already giving the Wild Card to the NL East.

Hubert,

Not discounting that the Brewers are a good team, but at their current pace they would win 114 games. I really don't think that is going to happen. They will go through a slump like we did in April. The Cubs, while still not perfect, and definitely have room for improvement in the RISP department, are heating up and finding ways to win. They victories definitelly aren't all pretty, but at the end of the year in a tight race, who cares. I think that 90-95 games will win the division, and as the Cards proved, maybe less. Not saying that the Cubs will win it, but I think it comes down to the Brewers and Cubs.

I haven't seen the Brewers play, except when playing the Cubs of course, but to me the Cubs are right there on the edge waiting to break out. They have done that to some respect the last 10 games. However, I think that the Cubs are really on the cusp of putting up monster offensive numbers. I could be wrong, and this is just my opinion, but Lou is starting to figure his lineup out.

And one other thing, Lilly has pitched outstanding this year. There is no reason the guy couldn't be 4-1 already. I don't bye the assumption that when the wind blows his ERA will go up. First the wind blow across the field or in more than it blows out. Second, Lilly came from the AL east. Between the Red Sox and the Yankees, his ERA should have gone up more than with the Wrigley wind, because the lineups for those two teams are always there, and the wind isn't.

Jason B,

Nice article. I agree with alot your saying.

Huey,

You are the guy who called me an "IDIOT" when I commented on the Cubs NOT getting Jason Schmidt. Where is Schmidt? HE'S HURT...Like I said! You like them apples?? Who's the idiot now?

Brewers will die off, you'll see. LISTEN TO US.

Okay there Debbie Downer. Do you live in Milwaukee Hubert? Just kidding, but come on now. Yes the Brewers are playing very well right now, but they're just not going to keep it up. Capuano is very good and it appears that he's taken the next step. Ben Sheets can be very good, but so can a million other pitchers. I'm with Jason here; the Brew Crew doesn't intimidate me. They do seem to always give us a run for the money when we go head to head, but there lead in the Central will not hold up. The Cubs on the other hand still have plenty of room to improve.

All you have to do is look at career numbers. Zambrano will return to form (beginning today). He might not win 20 games, but he will look like the ace of our staff. Lily is pitching pretty consistently with his career numbers. AL pitchers always have a bit higher ERA than NL pitchers. On the other hand, Marquis will most likely level out too and lose a few ballgames. Aramis is going to hit over .300 with 30+ HR and 100+ RBI. Soriano's Avg. will come down a bit, but his power numbers and steals will go up, and so on and so on. The point is, the sky is not falling. The Cubs will improve and the Brewer's will come back down to earth. I'm not worried and you shouldn't be either.

Go Cubbies!!!

Hey Neil why all of a sudden are my posts treated like I am new here? You know the needs to be reviewed for new posters. Just curious.

Hubert I agree with you. The brewers should not be taken lightly. Yes they will slow down from this hot streak but could be 10 games in fron before they do. They have a solid team that is a couple of pieces away from being dominant.

Our bullpen has not been bad. Scott Eyre has the only ERA that is over 4.26(Rocky Cherry but only i 6.1 innings) at 8.49. Collectively they have a 3.47ERA and without Eyre's its 2.63. Looks pretty damn good to me. The problem is that they are given 0 wiggle room when they come in. They need more than a 1 run lead. The offense is what nneds to step up. Our pitching staff has been great so far, and when Z finally turns it on watch out. But our big 3 need to start to drive in runs and the rest need to get on base.

Which brings me to finally getting rid of Jones and Izzy. Jones needs to go but needs to play everyday so his value isn't diminished to nothing. Murton needs to be playing everyday. He was feet away from putting one out last night. He just needs to see more pitches. Same goes for Pie but until we dump Jones he won;t get any PT. IMO sending Pie down isn't going to have the Rich Hill effect. He isn't going to learn how to hit MLB pichers in AAA. So Jones needs to go like yesterday and Pie needs to be playing everyday and batting in the 7th spot in front of DeRosa or even MB.

As far as I am concerned Theriot is our starting SS and should be playing everyday and hitting in the 2 hole.

Actually, if Suppan benefited from the Cards run support, he'll benefit MORE from this Brewers lineup. So your point there isn't really that valid.

And two, Chris Capuano should strike fear in the Cubs hearts...he OWNS them. Not to mention he's just solid overall.

You want some other points, howabout the fact that the Brewers have something we don't, a SHUTDOWN bullpen. If the Brewers lead in the 8th, with Turnbow and Cordero, its over.

Yeah, make fun of Fielder's weight, you can say the same thing about Daryle Ward, Carlos Delgado, or Big Papi - the point is they can hit the ball a long way.

High average POWER hitters? D-Lee is hitting out of his mind, but has only 2 HRs. Ramirez is also slumping at .270ish range. Barrett and DeRosa are also hitting in the .250's. They're making Fonzi's first month slump look fairly tame.

Your point about name value is a joke right? Names don't mean jack, if that is your argument, then crown the Yanks WS champs right now. The WS is won with either luck (STL last year) or with young right handed power pitching.

Lee/Soriano/Ramirez have the edge over their counterparts, but the Brew Crew's lineup is hitting MUCH better. Please don't use Jacque Jones, Cliff Floyd, or Matt Murton's names as they're big. JJ left 9 men on base today...Geoff Jenkins hit ANOTHER jack...Bill Hall also hit 30+ HR's last year..

And actually they're pitching staff is just as good as ours...watch Lilly's ERA balloon once that Wrigley wind picks up..

Granted I hope the Cubs catch up with 'em, I really do, I'm just saying that most of your points are heavily bias and lack real substance.

The only way the Cubs catch the Brew Crew is if our bullpen improves vastly, we start hitting with RISP, Ramirez, Barrett, and DeRosa join the Lee/Theriot/Soriano party and Jacque just takes his little "Strikeout or ground out" swing away...

Our starting pitching can carry us only so far, but the Cubs are gonna have to start scoring about 3-4 runs a game.