For a brief moment, after a win last Friday, the Cubs were closer to the Brewers than they had been since the end of May, shrinking the gap between them and their division-leading rivals to 4½ games.
Though only slightly, the gap is larger now.
Another year, another seemingly relentless grip on the NL Central by the team from north of the border.
For the last couple months, the Cubs have been as good as they come, with a 35-16 record since June 11 that’s tops in the National League and ranks second in baseball. Yet they’ve only chipped into the gap in the standings, with the Brewers entering Monday at 33-19 in the same span.
There’s a lot of baseball left before playoff seeds lock in. But should the Cubs start worrying about how — if — they’re going to catch these Brewers?
“That’s not going to help,” manager Craig Counsell said last week. “We would like to make up ground, but worrying about it is not going to help me do it.
“We’ve just got to do our thing.”
The Cubs doing their thing has been darn effective, and they’re riding high after an eventful week that featured trade-deadline reinforcements, a sweep of the Dodgers, a walk-off win against the Blue Jays and a series win over the Royals that capped a stretch of 17 games in 17 days.
But those Brewers just won’t stop.
The Cubs weren’t just bested in the division a year ago, their rivals bounced them from the postseason. With the Brewers owning four consecutive Central crowns — and five of the last six — what lefty starter Matthew Boyd said in June is undoubtedly true: “The Central runs through them.”
This Cubs team excels at focusing on each new day, citing it as a key reason for their success. But there’s a constant hunger that comes from that playoff exit.
The goal from Day 1 has been to win the World Series.
“It’s on your mind every day. That’s what you’re chasing,” righty pitcher Colin Rea said Sunday. “You’re in the present, trying to win this game today, but the end goal is to win the last game of the season.
“That experience that guys got last year just fuels us even more. Guys saw how fun it was, how awesome Wrigley was at that time. You can’t match that feeling any other time during the season.
“I can’t speak for everyone else, but I’m sure everyone’s just like, ‘Let’s get to that point.’ We’re in the dog days right now. Let’s get to that point of the season, that’s when the real fun begins.”
Whether the Cubs catch the Brewers or not, they figure to be among baseball’s top contenders come October, waking up Monday with the fifth best record in the sport.
Though team president Jed Hoyer has frequently cited the benefit of receiving a first-round bye into the NLDS, the Cubs could certainly be capable of making a lengthy run as a wild-card team.
In the final two months of the regular season, they’ll look to lock down one of those spots and ready themselves for the postseason.
“We can’t control what other teams are doing, if they’re winning or losing,” Rea said. “You’re in that in-between period of we still need to win games but we also need to make sure we’re 100 percent — or as close to 100 percent as possible — going down the stretch, really communicating with guys and making sure guys are feeling good and we’re all on the same page.”
After Hoyer’s trade-deadline work, the Cubs seem well positioned for a shot at October glory, with a deepened pitching staff to go along with a position-player group that’s turned in impressive offensive numbers and dazzling defense.
But this is August. They’ll need to play their best two months from now to achieve their sky-high goals.
“Our best baseball is still ahead of us,” Boyd said Sunday. “We’re playing great right now as a squad, collectively.
“It’s a lot of fun to be in this clubhouse, a lot of fun to be a Cubbie. We’re excited for what’s ahead.”
