The Cubs have actually won a couple series in a row, and if we conveniently ignore the cesspool of suck that was most of May through July, they’ve actually been playing much better baseball and reflecting what we thought they could be in spring training. The problem, of course, is all the losses they’ve already banked, but them’s the breaks and that’s baseball and all that jazz.
Looking at the standings, the Cubs enter their off day at 57-60, with 45 games remaining. They are chasing the Brewers and pretty much the entire division, down 8.5 games in the division before everyone else plays tonight, and 5.5 games behind the final wild card spot with at least four teams to chase in front of them. 45 games is still a lot, and if they want to guarantee a postseason berth given recent results, they’ll have to get something like 84 to 88 wins, which means potentially a 30-15 record is what they should be shooting for the rest of the season. That is obviously a better pace than what they’ve shown thus far, but stranger things have happened.
Playoff odds-wise, the Cubs currently have a 6.0% chance of making the postseason in any form, which is better than zero. They also have played pretty well against the American League, and August is full of interleague games, with some scuffling National League teams towards the end of the month. If ever they were to make a run, that would be this month, but with the trade deadline having passed, any help they can ask for will have to come from within. Let’s not take them for granted since they just won a game, but at least the Cubs get the White Sox for a weird two-game set and another day off on Sunday (?!) before truly going on the road again.
