By Bob Zayas 9/9/19
Cubs win the NL Central Division!
That’s what Cub fans are hoping the sports page headlines read very soon. But the reality is that the Chicago Cubs have a long way to go to reach this goal. They have a mere 20 games left in the season and ten of those games are road games. The Cubs have not been a good road team this year going 29-42.
On top of that, they still must play 7 games versus their NL Central Division rivals the St Louis Cardinals – 4 at Wrigley Field and 3 at Busch Stadium.
So, can the Cubbies prevail and knock those tenacious Cardinals off the first-place perch?
The Cardinals are 81-62 and are 4.5 games ahead of the Cubs for the division. In their last 36 games they are 24-12 (.667). The Cubs, who are fighting to hold on to at least the 2nd Wild Card slot in the National League, are 76-66 going 19-16 (.543) in their last 35 games. To compare their winning percentages in the last 10 games, St Louis is 7-3 and the Cubs are 5-5.
So, its not out of the question that the Cubs can challenge the Cards for the Division but they are going to have to start playing better baseball. As an example, is the series the Cubbies lost this weekend to the Milwaukee Brewers -- A must win series this late in the season.
Another Wild Card obstacle to overcome for the Northsiders are the three teams within 2 games of the Cubs for that Wild Card slot. The Diamondbacks, Brewers and Phillies are nipping on the Cubs’ heels.
Regardless of whether the Cubs reach the playoffs or not, it will be a fight to the finish!
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