3 important truths every Cubs fan needs to hear right now

With a chance to take the series from one of the best teams in baseball, the Chicago Cubs did what they've done on so many occasions of late: they failed to deliver with runners on base. Craig Counsell's club put two men on and nobody out in the eighth inning Thursday and then saw their 2-3-4 hitters go down in order - all via the strikeout.

That loss dropped the Cubs eight games back of Milwaukee in the NL Central race, and the only thing they have going for them right now is the two teams behind them in the wild card standings, the Dodgers and Mets, are floundering even harder than Chicago.

Anyone who's been watching on a daily basis lately probably feels hopeless. It's hard not to given how poorly the offense has performed. But here are three important truths we all need to keep in mind as we hope for the North Siders to turn things around during a crucial eight-game homestand.

3 important truths every Cubs fan needs to hear right now

1: This is a Cubs team still on pace for 90+ wins

You'd think we're talking about this team only winning 83 games again for the third straight year. Folks, if that's how this season ends, things turned into a full-blown nightmare from here.

The Cubs enter this weekend's series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at 68-53, good for top billing in the NL Wild Card race by 4 1/2 games. Of course, you might point to how quickly their lead in the division evaporated, but that was due more to Milwaukee's otherworldly play this summer than Chicago completely collapsing.

FanGraphs expects the Cubs to close the season by going 23-20, giving them 91 wins, tied with the San Diego Padres for the third-best record in the National League behind only the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers. Chicago and San Diego split the season series, so the tiebreaker would go to each team's intradivision record (how the Cubs fared in the Central, the Padres in the West) - which makes the upcoming eight-game homestand even more important given it comes against divisional foes.

2: This offense has been unsustainably bad over the last month-plus

The law of averages demands the Brewers level off and stop playing .850 ball sooner or later and that same logic applies to the Cubs' offense, which spent the first half among the highest run producers in the league, coming back to life, as well.

Over the last month, Chicago ranks 12th in the National League with a .688 team OPS and 13th with 93 runs scored. Virtually every player who fueled the offense early in the year has gone inexplicably cold at the same time (slash lines below shown for the last 30 days).

• Pete Crow-Armstrong (.205 /.239/.398)
• Seiya Suzuki (.182/.319/.286)
• Kyle Tucker (.189/.348/.257)

When your power hitters aren't hitting for power, it's hard to score runs - and that's the situation the Cubs have found themselves in lately. There were some signs of life in the batted ball data this week in Toronto, but it's getting to the point in the year where results are necessary. Let's hope they come over the next week at Wrigley.

3: There's plenty of blame to go around right now

Who's to blame for the team's tepid play in the second half? Well, it depends who you ask. Some believe this team needs some of the antics from the Joe Maddon era: petting zoos, mimes and themed road trips. Others say Jed Hoyer and Carter '2032' Hawkins are to blame. Most level the blame at the players and coaching staff, fair given they're the ones expected to produce on a day-to-day basis.

No matter which above group you fall into, you're correct - because they all share in the blame for the team's recent play. Hoyer and Hawkins could've done more at the deadline to bolster the roster and give the team a vote of confidence with a major addition. On a similar note, ownership could have approved higher spending last winter and the Cubs could have come into 2025 with a more complete roster to begin with.

But when stars don't produce, you're probably not winning many games. Blame PCA, Tucker and the likes - that's fair. Go at Counsell for his in-game decisions and lineup construction. No matter where you want to place the blame, it's on everyone involved to get this thing turned around before the wild card race tightens and a postseason berth becomes less of a certainty.