GROUND TO BE GAINED
Favorable schedule rest of way should help Cubs in quest to win division
Say it slowly, Cubs fans. Savor the words. Maybe even take comfort in them:
The 15- 5 demolition Monday of the Reds at Wrigley Field was the first of 24 consecutive games the Cubs will play against teams that currently have sub-. 500 records.
OK, so it’s a bit of amouthful. But this sure is a sweet stretch of the schedule for a team that entered a seven- game homestand leading by a nose in a four- horse National League Central race.
By the time the Brewers visit Wrigley next month, who knows how far out in front the Cubs might be? Or, you know, they might be in fourth place.
‘‘ Anything can happen,’’ veteran pitcher Jon Lester said. ‘‘ That’s why you play the whole season. But of course we’d like to take advantage of this part of the schedule.’’
There are any number of pleasant ways to spin the slate of remaining regular- season games. For example, Monday kicked off 13 games in a row against opponents ( Reds, Blue Jays, Reds again, Phillies) that currently are in last place in their divisions. And having 31 of the final 46 games against teams from the Central— a down division the defendingWorld Series champs should be able to handle, right? — can’t possibly be a bad thing. Unless, you know, it is. ‘‘ You just don’t know,’’ said pitcher John Lackey, another guy who has seen it all.
Come to think of it, ‘‘ you just don’t know’’ would’ve been a fine and fitting slogan for the 2017 season. It isn’t as evocative as ‘‘ embrace the target,’’ which helped get the Cubs over the top in 2016, but it would be right on the money. Knowing the Brewers, Cardinals and Pirates would be hovering near .500 in mid- August, wouldn’t pretty much everyone have guessed that the Cubs would be coasting toward the finish line?
Or to borrow from first baseman Anthony Rizzo’s metaphor: Shouldn’t the Cubs be charging toward the top of the mountain without a threat in sight?
‘‘ It’s a different journey [ than in 2016],’’ Rizzo said. ‘‘ We’re trying to climb the same mountain with a different route. The route we took last year was maybe the easier side, if people are looking at it from the outside. This year, we’re taking the steeper route. It’s a different journey, but we just want to get to the top.’’
They made some progress by crushing the Reds, as Rizzo started things off with a two- run single in the first inning, launched a solo home run onto Sheffield Avenue in the fourth and drove in five runs in all. There’s still time for the Cubs to get everything going in a championship direction, though they don’t have many more steps to waste.
‘‘ We’ve got six, seven weeks left to win the division,’’ Rizzo said. ‘‘ We’re in position to do it. That was the goal in spring training— to win the division, get into the playoffs and win theWorld Series.
‘‘ If you win by one gameor youwin by 15, it doesn’t matter. There are no style points. Last year, we won with a lot of style points, getting doubted every step of theway. It’s no different this year. That’s just the way it is.’’
Were the Cubs really doubted a year ago, when they flew out of the gate in April and maintained a huge division lead for most of the way? Short answer: No, they weren’t.
But this season is different. Any doubts about these Cubs have been well- earned.
Ah, but then there’s that upcoming schedule. It couldn’t be friendlier. Or so one would think.