Chicago Cubs will stay calm, cool in the eye of the storm this month

Chicago Cubs: Fans in full-blown panic mode right now

In the midst of the pennant race, the Cubs have lost what was once a  five-game lead in the division and now are staring at a Brewers club directly in their rearview mirror after dropping another head-to-head series. With only one game separating the clubs in the standings, irrational cliffjumpers are out in full force, calling for Joe’s head, a trade of Ian Happ, a benching of Willson Contreras and for the Ricketts to sell the team.

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Everyone take a chill pill.  The Brewers are really hot right now.  The Cubs are in a little slump.  It happens.  And, with 17 games left and one game separating the clubs (two in the loss column), fans are starting to panic.

The thing is, a lot can happen in 17 games.  If the Cubs go 10-7 in the next 17, which would be about  normal or even conservative based on their season to date, they’d finish at 94-68. The Brewers would have to go 10-5 in their last 15 to tie us.

While it’s entirely possible they could continue to stay hot through the rest of the season, we know teams generally undulate in the standings and with their play throughout the season. It’s also possible they go 5-10 given the law of averages and “baseball.”

It’s also entirely possible that Kris Bryant gets hot, (he has been hitting and almost found some power last night as his ball hit the wire on the top of the fence) Anthony Rizzo stays hot and Daniel Murphy returns to form after a week of struggles (followed by a nice intro in a Cubs uni).  Maybe our relievers return to form (OK, this one is less likely in the midst of 30 straight days of baseball- sorry!) and Kyle Schwarber hits a majestic game-winning bomb over the scoreboard in his return to the lineup on Friday against a team he has killed early in his career. (For now, he’s hanging out in Chicago waiting for his comrades to come back from D.C.)