Baseball rivalries fascinate me.  Regardless of team records, there is nothing like watching the Yankees-Red Sox , Giants-Dodgers or Cubs-Cardinals.  But the rivalry that has been building between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers just got a whole lot more interesting.  To use a boxing analogy, the Brewers acquisition of C.C. Sabathia is potentially equivalent to a knockout punch.  Sabathia’s was the biggest name on the trade market.  Only Brett Favre’s arm was more coveted in the Badger State. A reigning Cy Young Award winner who most likely will make 15 regular-season starts before heading to a greener (as in money) pasture in the Northeast.  This was meant to put the Cubs on the canvas.  If the Brewers need someone to perform a 10 count, they can turn to last big name they acquired – Eric Gagne – and ask him to count his millions.   

This isn’t a knockout punch on par with Ali’s when he took the heavyweight championship from Liston.  And this punch isn’t a Mike Tyson shot like the one he landed on Michael Spinks.  It is, however, a blow that has left the Cubs with wobbly legs.  As the Cubs recuperate in their corner, they know two things:  no counterpunch can be thrown that will be equal in force, and teams will now drive up the price for anyone the Cubs ask about. 

If the Colorado Rockies taught us anything last year, it’s that you simply never know what will happen over the 2nd half of a baseball season.  To that end, you won’t see any white flags going up in St. Louis or Chicago.  And let us not overlook the fact that the Brewers are still trailing the Cubs by 3 in the loss column.  There will undoubtedly be some injuries and slumps that teams will need to work through, but the Brewers have landed the biggest, baddest blow in this fight.  They’ve gone from being a pesky team that won’t fade away to a team that should – at least for a short time – be considered the National League favorite.  With the one-two punch of Sabathia and Sheets, the smell of hops and yeast may soon be overtaken by the smell of playoff baseball in the great city of Milwaukee.