SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 The math is extremely difficult, but not totally impossible. The Chicago Cubs have 30 games remaining to erase a 6 1\/2-game deficit in the National League Central and overtake the Milwaukee Brewers for a division title. For historical context, remember this quote from Theo Epstein: \u201cOur offense broke.\u201d<\/p>\n
That scathing analysis from Epstein, Chicago\u2019s president of baseball operations back in 2018, set the stage for an organizational reckoning. Milwaukee\u2019s rise helped spur those sweeping changes, which would eventually include Joe Maddon\u2019s exit and the dissolution of the 2016 World Series core.<\/p>\n
The frustrations stemmed, in part, from how future Cubs manager Craig Counsell seemed to do more with less while running the 2018 Brewers. That year, the Cubs held a five-game divisional lead on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, only to watch Milwaukee storm back to force and win a Game 163 at Wrigley Field.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just got kind of dragged down,\u201d said Cubs outfielder Ian Happ, the only player remaining from that 2018 team. \u201cWe won 95 games and it was a disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, the Cubs posted a 16-12 record that September, which made it more of a fade than a collapse. The playoff format is also materially different now. There are no more Game 163 tiebreakers \u2014 the Cubs already hold that over the Brewers after winning the season series. No matter what, neither club will get pushed into a one-game wild-card round.<\/p>\n
Clearly, what the Brewers built was sturdy enough to withstand the eventual departures of Counsell, top executive David Stearns, and All-Stars such as Josh Hader, Corbin Burnes and Devin Williams. But it is a good reminder that momentum can change quickly, and a season will continue taking different shapes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re in a position like we\u2019re in, you can\u2019t do anything more than today,\u201d Counsell said before Tuesday night\u2019s 5-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. \u201cBut it makes you focus on doing your thing today. That\u2019s all you can focus on. Sometimes losing sight of the bigger picture is a good thing that makes you just focus on today.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still have to make decisions for the big picture. That\u2019s absolutely important for the group. And we will. Because one day is not going to determine this thing. It\u2019s a bunch of good days stacked up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tuesday was not a great day for the Cubs in the Bay Area. Counsell\u2019s pregame update on Jameson Taillon, who left Sunday\u2019s start early with left groin tightness, did not sound particularly promising: \u201cSome level of concern still. Definitely not a go for sure yet.\u201d That decision will likely be made with the big picture in mind \u2014 trying to keep Taillon healthy for October rather than forcing the issue.<\/p>\n
More than 2,000 miles away in Wisconsin, the Brewers eked out a 9-8 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, continuing their good fortune in one-run games (26-16). The Cubs lost more ground as Justin Verlander, the 42-year-old likely future Hall of Famer, outperformed Matthew Boyd, whose last two outings have not replicated his All-Star first half.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a group, there\u2019s something really powerful about getting through things that are challenging,\u201d Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner said. \u201cIt\u2019s things early in the season, the starting pitchers that went down and guys that stepped up. It\u2019s the offense, collectively, having incredible success and going through challenges and coming out the other side of it, hopefully, in these upcoming weeks. All that\u2019s part of creating confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another quiet night for Chicago\u2019s offense and a subpar start from Boyd (five runs allowed in 5 1\/3 innings) did not fundamentally change the outlook for a team that, according to Baseball Reference, began the day with a 99.9 percent chance to qualify for the postseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur eye is absolutely still on our goal from the start of the year, which is winning the division and putting ourselves in the best place for the playoffs,\u201d Hoerner said. \u201cObviously, (the Brewers have) played a lot of great baseball. Outside of the games that we played them, we can\u2019t do anything about that. But we can control how we play from here out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are in a really strong place with how our roster is set up right now, with the combination of the starting pitching success that we\u2019ve had and what our offense is capable of. We\u2019re in a good spot to finish strong.\u201d<\/p>\n
On paper, the Cubs have an easy schedule in September. Counsell\u2019s conservative approach with the pitching staff is supposed to pay off down the stretch. All-Star outfielders Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong have shown signs of breaking out of their offensive slumps. The team\u2019s elite defense should remain consistent.<\/p>\n
\nevidence of pete doing something spectacular: pic.twitter.com\/IwKvNNja34<\/p>\n
\u2014 Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 27, 2025<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
When first asked about the flashback to 2018, Happ turned around at his locker inside Oracle Park\u2019s visiting clubhouse and spoke in an exaggerated, gravelly voice: \u201cI saw it all.\u201d Losing Game 163 to the Brewers and getting beat by the Colorado Rockies in the wild-card round shook the organization and led to major ramifications.<\/p>\n
For now at least, the Cubs are keeping it in perspective, knowing this isn\u2019t the NFL or a tournament with at-large bids. Not that long ago, the Brewers showed it could be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe season ebbs and flows,\u201d Happ said. \u201cThat\u2019s why you play all these games. That\u2019s why the season is as long as it is. Things aren\u2019t over in June. Things aren\u2019t over in August. You got to play the last 30. Every year, whether it\u2019s our division or another division, stuff changes in the last 30 games.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re playing for a division until you\u2019re not.\u201d<\/p>\n
(Photo of Pete Crow-Armstrong and Nico Hoerner: Ed Szczepanski \/ Imagn Images)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“Every year, whether it\u2019s our division or another division, stuff changes in the last 30 games,” Ian Happ said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":84315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[282],"class_list":["post-84311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","tag-chicago-cubs"],"yoast_head":"\n
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