 In this NL central race, which is tight as can be and it probably will be tight all the way through Give me the name of the player who will be the X factor JP Joe Madden was wearing his shirt a moment ago the Hamels foundation Cole Hamels coming back off the injured list tomorrow Long awaited the return for Cole and we think about what the Cubs have done or maybe what others in the division did not do Nick the Brewers did not get an ace at the deadline to counter what Cole Hamels can do what a healthy Hamels can do I believe the Cubs have already gotten through the toughest part of their year They had some injuries that they had to battle with I think now getting Hamels healthy again when healthy and Darvish by the way Quietly has been Zobrist is beginning his minor league rehab stint this weekend Nick I like the way the Cubs are coming together Castellanos fills the need for them Tony Kemp does as well a lot of momentum there and it starts with the man On the mound tomorrow. We're bringing over Castellanos He mashes against left-handers and that's who the Cubs usually struggle with who's your X factor give me one Well, I think I gotta go a little on the offensive side of things for sure And I think it's gonna be Paul Goldschmidt with the same card now And the only reason why I say this is that man was brought over there to carry in line up, right? He has been absolutely in Fuego as of late and so have the Cardinals right 27 stakes in his last 26 games That's doing something. That's the Paul Goldschmidt. We all know and love gotten off to a little bit of a rough start this year Obviously a little change of scenery is gonna do that to you But I'm telling you what the only reason why I say that is that this guy has the ability to carry a team with his bat Almost like Bryce Harper with the Nationals I'm telling you if Goldie continues to keep doing what they're doing right now the Cardinals are gonna see themselves in the playoffs One other known the Cubs at 37 and 18 at home. They are 21 and 33 on the road. They like Wrigley. They don't like the road That's their that's their MO this year. It's been a big difference for them Well, the Yankees get a win and switch I find this fascinating if you could take us inside the clubhouse as a player because the Yankees didn't do anything And we're used to them doing big things of the trade deadline Obviously, it has an effect then they come out with a big game tonight, but how what is their mindset right now knowing? Oh, man, we didn't get any help so it's on us totally And I can only go from just what I've seen in the past and obviously the quotes that have come out in the paper now Brett Gardner just got reinstated from the 10-day IL which was awesome Because at this point in time you need your leaders to step up and he said that we know we have the team We want moving forward. They don't need anybody right they can piece mail a rotation together Especially when they get into the playoffs and Brett Gardner said in his quotes the one thing We're trying to do win the division game hold fit gain home field advantage because KB at the end of the day JP as well if the New York Yankees have home field advantage They always have a chance to win it changes things certainly if they get that and I think the other thing could change things We've been talking so much. Okay. They didn't get a picture. They didn't get a picture They didn't get a picture But they do have a picture JP who they're hoping to get back in Luis Severino And I'm curious if he can make enough of an impact Is there enough time for him to come back and really make a postseason impact for them KB? That's a great question I think it's probably gonna have to be in the bullpen at least to start out You think about where we're at with the calendars because he's due to throw off the mound a week from today It's gonna take some time. It's been the lat in the shoulders. You see it there. They missed the entire season effectively He was signed to be their ace with the extension of spring training, but he can't be that right now That that's gone You can't worry about having to be the game one starter right now Nick for this team It's all about giving you innings maybe bulk maybe comes in the middle of the game You made a great point earlier about maybe G maybe green starts a game and it's everyone who comes in there That's the kind of role just because I think you look at the the counter right now KB It's he's not gonna be able to get fully stretched out So I think just having him somewhere on the active roster Nick during the month of September It can be kind of a whatever guy kind of whatever you need him to do right you need him to come in The second inning he's ready you need to come in throw two innings you can do that look at Last year and the promise and and the amazing postseason he had last year obviously said he has the exact same opportunity as well It's kind of like you switch like whatever you need to do. Yeah, whatever you need me to be a whip around you here We need to go on call me to like clean the stage off. I got you break down, Michigan, Ohio state