There's good news and bad news about where the Cubs are in the standings

With a month-and-a-half left in the season, Chicago finds itself with the slimmest of postseason chances thanks to a poor showing in the first half.

Jake Misener

New York Mets v Chicago Cubs / Matt Dirksen/GettyImages

Although not without ninth-inning drama, the Chicago Cubs closed out another win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday, giving Craig Counsell's club victories in four of its last five series and pulling them into a tie for second place in the National League Central.

That's the good news.

The bad? Even in second, they still trail Counsell's former club, the Milwaukee Brewers, by a whopping 10 games. It's hard to envision any sort of scenario where the Brewers don't take home a division crown, even after losing former MVP Christian Yelich for the rest of the year due to back surgery.

Cubs have the longest of long-shot odds at making the postseason

They're not only looking up at Milwaukee in the Central but remain on the outside looking in when it comes to the NL Wild Card race, too. At 61-63, the Cubs are still two games under .500 and four games out of the third and final wild-card spot in the Senior Circuit. There's time to make a run (Chicago's next four series come against Detroit, Miami, Pittsburgh and Washington) - but this team will have to make every opportunity count to even have a shot at playing in October.

The Cubs put together a winning record in a month for just the second time in July and they're off to an 8-5 start here in August. One-run games (18-25) have been a back-breaker for this team and they'll have to start finding ways to win those contests in the season's final weeks. Improving on the road (27-36) is also a must.

Chicago turns to left-hander Shota Imanaga on Sunday, looking for a series sweep over the Blue Jays. Take care of business in the finale and then turn the page to an extremely soft stretch of schedule. One game at a time. That's the only way this season can be salvaged.

Jake Misener

For more than a decade, Jake has been a staple in FanSided MLB - leading the Cubbies Crib team for most of that time.When he's not in the bleachers at Wrigley Field, he can be found covering all things Cubs - including the latest hot stove rumors, roster breakdowns and statistical analyses. Inducted into the FanSided Hall of Fame in 2018, Jake has 15+ years of sports journalism and blogging experience - and is now focused on teaching his daughter the ways of Cubs fandom.