Cubs' postseason hopes seemingly all but extinguished after brutal homestand

In what felt like a microcosm of the 2024 season, the Chicago Cubs turned in a complete dud in the opening homestand of the second half. They went 2-4 in two crucial series against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers, scoring only nine runs in six games. They were shut out twice and wasted more good pitching efforts. A nice comeback on Sunday and some sloppy play from the Brewers on Monday spared the Cubs a winless homestand, but regardless this feels like the nail in the coffin.

No, the team has not been mathematically eliminated yet but they did not gain any ground and have five teams to pass to to reach the third wild-card spot. With the trade deadline looming, and Jed Hoyer talking about making moves for the future rather than 2024 (barring a miracle), decision time is pretty much here. They needed to build on the momentum they had going into the All-Star break and instead, fell on their faces.

Even with the schedule getting a lot lighter, they have such a big mountain to climb and need a lot of help. It's like all those years when mediocre Chicago Bears teams would be on the "In the Hunt" graphic on the TV broadcast sitting at 5-8. The vibes are just dull and lame.

The next week will pull the Band-Aid off on this woeful Cubs season

Maybe not delaying the inevitable is for the best in the long run. After all, it would have taken quite a heater to get this team back on course, but it still doesn't make it any more enjoyable. The offense that had woken up on Independence Day and found its stride for a week or so before the break went back to being completely lifeless. Meanwhile, rival Milwaukee continues to win in the margins, something this Cubs teem is seemingly unable to do. This was especially noticeable this week because the Brewers did not play particularly well but still won two of three games. Well-run teams find ways to win.

This week was a humble reminder of what this team has been for months. Barring a minor miracle, this will mark four straight seasons without a postseason berth. The Cubs have not even won a playoff game since 2017. The October atmosphere at Wrigley hasn't been felt since the 2018 NL wild-card game and that's far too long for a team that was supposed to have left 'loserdom' behind.

This will now be three of their last four seasons as "sellers" with one "soft buy" season mixed in. For a major market team that talks about "intelligent spending" and developing talent internally while simultaneously charging fans a premium price to consume their product, it's all just flat. The worst part is, there's no sign of things changing anytime soon.