Cubs News: Karl Ravech believes the Cubs can make a postseason run

Karl Ravech and I chatted Saturday morning about all things Chicago Cubs.

There’s no overstating just how critical the next three days are for David Ross and the Chicago Cubs. National League Cy Young front-runner Yu Darvish carried the team to a huge series-opening win on Friday night. Now, Chicago faces the prospects of four more games against the rival Cardinals – with a chance to deliver a crushing blow to St. Louis’ postseason prospects.

I spoke to Ross’ former broadcast partner at ESPN, Karl Ravech, ahead of Saturday’s twin bill to pick his brain and gauge how he felt about the team to this point. Darvish’s performance on Friday night was clearly still fresh in his mind.

“To be a team that depends on three true outcomes, without having the ability to create runs, is a problem,” he said of the Cubs’ October odds. “But you also have Yu Darvish going in Game 1. If Darvish were a free agent at the end of this, he’d have the same conversation around him, maybe to a slightly lesser degree, as Gerrit Cole had.”

Of course, Cole ascended to the top of the pitching landscape after his back-to-back All-Star seasons in Houston. The right-hander rode his 22-win 2019 campaign and league-leading 2.50 ERA and 326 strikeouts to a massive nine-year, $324 million contract with the New York Yankees this offseason. But what Ravech is getting at is this: this season, when Darvish gets the ball, it’s almost a foregone conclusion the Cubs are going to win the game.

That’s a nice feeling to have, especially given the question marks surrounding many of their other starting pitchers, namely Jon Lester and Alec Mills. Meanwhile, Jose Quintana and Tyler Chatwood remain on the injured list, leaving big voids in the rotation.

Cubs’ big names will figure it out with more time

Looking elsewhere on the club, the production from the team’s big names – Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Willson Contreras, etc. – isn’t something Ravech – or Ross – are too worried about.

“They’ll generally end up doing what they usually do. Given the fewer amount of games, you might not see the exact return to what you expect, but I think they will … I think when you get to October, you wipe the slate clean … The Cubs can absolutely win the division and I think the guys will be better suited for October than perhaps they are for September. “

Chicago enters Saturday’s action with a 4 1/2-game lead in the NL Central – and remain the only club in the division with a .500 or better record. The second-place Milwaukee Brewers enter Saturday at 18-19 and St. Louis at 14-15.

Looking beyond 2020, the Cubs face a great many questions. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer were already looking at a group of core players all hitting the market over the same two-year span. That situation certainly hasn’t improved of late.