Chicago Cubs can benefit from one of the National League's weakest second-half schedules

With All-Star festivities over, all eyes are now focused on the second half of the season. Coming off of their strong 5-2 finish against the Orioles and Cardinals, the Chicago Cubs have to keep momentum going to redeem what was shaping up to be a lost season. There's still work to be done with the team four games under .500 and three and a half games out of a wild card spot, but if there's any reason to hope, it's the relatively easy schedule ahead.

Tankathon has the Cubs at a .493 strength of schedule remaining, ranking theirs as the fifth-easiest slate of remaining games in the National League. While that does include tough series against the Phillies, Yankees, Dodgers, and Orioles, the flip side of it is a ton of games against bad teams that figure to get even worse at the deadline, like the White Sox, Nationals, Marlins, Rockies, Athletics, and Blue Jays.

Digging deeper, things take an especially easy turn in August. After an NL Central matchup with the Cardinals to kick off the month, the Cubs will only have two series against winning teams - one against the Guardians in Cleveland and one versus the Twins at home. If the team is going to get hot, there are few better times, especially in the direct aftermath of the trade deadline.

Such a schedule is a slight extra incentive to add, whether in the bullpen, at catcher, or with a big bat in general, if it ensures that beating the many losing teams ahead is easier. It's easier to believe the Cubs can keep up the momentum when 36 of their remaining 64 contests are against losing or .500 ball clubs. This team also needs more consistency from some of their most disappointing first-half performers, like Dansby Swanson and Christopher Morel, to fully take advantage of what should be their best chance back into the heart of the race, but the path is there.

The Cubs have to remain steady up to the trade deadline

Now, there are major caveats to all of this. For one, bottoming out leading up to the trade deadline would make the schedule strength point moot. Immediately, the team will face a critical set of games out of the break, including series against the Diamondbacks, Brewers, Royals, and Reds. It's especially important to perform well against Arizona and Cincinnati given the lack of chances to directly affect their wild card opponents. The likelihood of buying is much higher than we could've dreamed a couple of weeks ago, but it's still no guarantee with a few tricky series left before decision time.

Even if they stand pat or add, they still face the issue of having to leapfrog so many teams. Three of their immediate competitors for a postseason spot - the Giants, Padres, and Mets - all have even easier schedules down the stretch than the Cubs. There's no getting around the fact that, among the teams that could still realistically be considered alive in the race, the Northsiders are in the worst position record-wise, especially when considering that several of the teams they need to pass hold tiebreakers over them. Such a wide pool of fringe contenders also lowers the possibilities for meaningfully improving the roster.

At the end of the day, the strength of the schedule won't mean anything if the Cubs can't capitalize on it. They need to play better and get a few breaks while also covering their weaknesses at the trade deadline to have a real shot at this. If they can go into August having added a piece or two, there's still hope for meaningful baseball late into the season.