Cubs fans need to remember that every team has rough patches over 162 games

It's no secret that the Chicago Cubs haven't been playing their best baseball of late.

Starting from their series loss in Detroit, Craig Counsell's club has gone 7-10 with some troubling performances, particularly from the rotation.

In their past five games heading into Wednesday night's match-up against the Cardinals, the North Siders have been outscored a staggering 54 to 36, capped off by a brutal performance by Ben Brown in which he gave up eight runs in five innings of work and was swiftly demoted.

The June swoon appears to be underway, and it couldn't come at a worse time with the Cubs in St. Louis. The cracks are certainly showing with a rotation that desperately needs another arm or two, a lineup that has looked far more mortal, and a ghastly bench lacking batters that can hold their own. Even more deflating for fans is that the problems that are emerging are predictable ones that were noted concerns in the offseason.

However, every team goes through it at some point in a 162-game season. No squad is infallible.

Chicago Cubs' recent struggles aren't indicative of larger picture

It's totally valid to be concerned and frustrated with a team that hasn't been a factor in the national baseball conversation since, arguably, 2018, and hasn't shown the effort expected to get back to that point. Similarly, it sucks to see them drop a few games to a hated rival that wasn't expected to be all that good this year and is now surprisingly dangerous.

It's just as important, though, to have some perspective. The Cubs are still 13 games over .500 and 2.5 games above the Cardinals and Brewers with an 77% chance of making the playoffs to boot entering Wednesday.

Not even the best teams in baseball history can get through a season without looking vulnerable at times and dropping series. The magical 2016 team, for as much as they ran circles around their division, had an awful stretch spanning from June through July, where they dropped 15 of 20. That didn't stop them from ending the season with 103 wins and looking like one of the league's most well-rounded teams.

Even this year, beyond the Cubs, the class of the NL has had its down moments. Just look at the Mets, who were cruising this year until dropping nine of their last ten.

Despite their recent struggles, this Cubs team has been able to avoid a disastrous skid like that. For the entire month of June, they're 10-10. Recent rough outings still have the pitching staff at about the middle of the pack with a 3.90 ERA, while the offense still ranks fourth with a collective 115 wRC+. The excellence of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker, and Seiya Suzuki, especially, has kept them from bottoming out, but save for Matt Shaw, Nico Hoerner, and Dansby Swanson, no regular has a wRC+ below 113.

Help is on the way for the Chicago Cubs

This is all to say that things could be much worse. Chicago has enough talent to keep the bottom from falling out, so if this is as bad as it gets, they're still sitting in a very comfortable position. From the sound of it, Jed Hoyer and company aren't likely to let this season's issues continue to fester, either.

For one, Porter Hodge has just returned from the IL, and Shota Imanaga will be close behind him, giving the bullpen and the rotation two of its best weapons back. As Hoyer indicated last week, the Cubs are going to be aggressive early in their search for a rotation upgrade, too.

Bruce Levine reported on Monday that there could be movement as soon as this week, or, at the very least, before June ends. There's a real understanding that this strong start needs to be capitalized on with some big moves, whether it be a trade for Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, or someone else entirely.

All that matters in the end is whether the Cubs reach the playoffs. This rough stretch isn't nearly bad enough to start panicking about that. Baseball is a marathon, and the Cubs have more to be encouraged by than concerned about halfway into the race.