For your examination, I present two pitchers.
Both men pitched for the Brewers during their age 27 season. Both men were acquired by the Brewers at a substantial cost in prospects. Both men were expected to lead playoff pushes.
Both men posted higher-than-expected ERAs to begin their age 27 season.
Here are their ERAs after their first nine starts of that season:
One of the pitchers, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, is Zack Greinke.
The other pitcher is CC Sabathia. If you want to learn more about his 2008 season, click on his link.
So, if the Brewers trade Greinke to a contender next month, he will take off and close the season strong?
If they wanted to get real crafty, they could pretend to trade Greinke to themselves in early July. Just give him a round trip ticket from Milwaukee to Cleveland and back. Make it feel like the real thing.