Fear is a powerful thing, but the fear that a lot of Cubs fans calling into Chicago sports radio programs have over Jose Quintana is mind boggling to me. One group is afraid that the prospect traded will do well, another group thinks Quintana is not a good pitcher, and then there’s that fear both. I would be remiss that if I did not mention that most fans I’ve personally talked to and traded texts love this trade, but this contingent that does not is personally frustrating me.

First off I’d like to break this trade down in simplest form, the Cubs traded to the White Sox three players that had no place to play and two are pretty big question marks, Matt Rose and Bryant Flete. Yes, it looks like Eloy Jimenez is the real deal, so perhaps the White Sox gained a middle of the order bat to go along with has turned into a stocked farm system of plus bats. Friendly reminder, they are just prospects, so no one really knows what the end result will be in the Majors. Also, the idea of a trade is for both sides to win, not for one to win over another.

I do kind of understand Dylan Cease irking Cubs’ fans a bit as he would actually be a pitcher developed from the Cubs farm system and that’s been rare, but let’s be real he’s just a prospect and already had Tommy John surgery. He looks solid and his numbers have been impressive thus far, but we’re talking about low minor league pitching numbers, so the road of uncertainty is much scary from the White Sox side of things. This also comes along with a rebuild, as the Cubs are experiencing this year. Perhaps some of the kids played above their age in 2016 and are coming back down to earth and need to make greater adjustments to have continued success at the major league level.

The funny thing is Theo Epstein has drilled into Cubs’ fans DNA the importance of prospects that they are troubled when prospects get traded.

Now let’s get what the Cubs received in this blockbuster trade and I will weave in comments stated on sports radio.

This morning I heard caller named Dan state the following, “I don’t like this trade for Quintana, he’s had a ton of no-decisions because he wasn’t good enough to go deep into games and I think the Cubs gave up too much.”

First Dan, your ignorance to Quintana’s “no-decision” is mind numbing to me and suggesting he doesn’t go deep enough into games to get wins. I can safely say that Quintana would have been a minimum a 20-game winner on the 2016 Cubs. How you can blame Quintana for the White Sox not scoring runs makes no sense. Quintana’s lifetime innings average per game is seven. That’s a pretty good average for any pitcher. As a member of the White Sox the offensive produced 2 runs or less for him 55 times that equates to a third of his starts since 2012, so you can see from this that he’s a pretty good pitcher right? Maybe not, but I’ll provide a bit more but let’s get to another quote.

This one came from the Bernstein and Goff Show yesterday afternoon, “Quintana doesn’t wow me, and he’s not that good” (just to note I’m paraphrasing these as my memory isn’t that good).

The reaction to that by Bernstein and Goff was freaking hilarious that spurred that he has the sixth best WAR among starting pitchers since 2014 trailing the likes of Clayton Kershaw, Zach Greinke, Max Scherzer, Cole Hamels, and Chris Sale. He’s sixth on that list and now a member of the Cubs pitching staff that puts him ahead of the entire Cubs’ staff. Yeah, he doesn’t “wow” me either. He’s just the sixth best pitcher in baseball since 2014. You guys are right, the trade makes no sense for the Cubs.

I feel dumber for having to defend a great pitcher that the Cubs received for a White Sox team that somehow could not win two of the Top Six pitchers in baseball since 2014; if anyone should be depressed it’s me. That’s fucking sad how poorly the veterans that were added to win under produced every time.

The final comment that I heard yesterday was a Cubs’ fan; I think it was Dustin, who was concerned about the White Sox in their rebuild because “the Sox are not doing it like Theo and the Cubs; from the ground-up…” Are fucking kidding me?

Oh I’m sorry, the Cubs drafted Jake Arrieta, Anthony Rizzo, and Addison Russell? Oh wait, no they were not, they were acquired via trade. I just named those three players, as they were untapped talent before they arrived at the Cubs via trade. The team that won the 2016 World Series was not built from the ground-up, so get off your high-horse idiot.

Secondly, unlike the Cubs when Theo inherited a bunch of bloated contracts, the White Sox signed their players to team friendly contracts that have allowed them to accelerate the plan, because of both contract and talent. The White Sox acquired 12 minor leaguers through three trades with each trade yielding at least two top 100 prospects. I think you can say Rick Hahn has done a pretty good job at not “rebuilding from the ground-up”, but thanks for the concern I think the Sox will be fine.

I just wish these callers would look past pedestrian stats like win/loss or stop focusing on Quintana’s first month and focus on the 2.70 ERA he’s posted since June that is more indicative of the pitcher he has been for the White Sox. You should be welcoming Quintana as he’s going to keep you in the playoff hunt for the next 3-1/2 years. I know I’ll be rooting him on next Friday from the Bud Light Bleachers.