Hi there. How are you? I am aggressively tired. But I’m also smiling. Because the Cubs pulled off a fantastic win in the wee hours (EL MAGO), and, for the first time in three weeks, the Chicago Cubs have a share of first place in the NL Central.
Heck, fractionally speaking, the Cubs are alone in first place:
Can I interest you in … the first place Chicago Cubs? pic.twitter.com/dofV2HH7YL
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) July 14, 2018
That’s just fun. For the most part, there’s no functional difference at this stage in the season between being, say, a game back or a game up, but there’s something psychologically satisfying about having those moments of “FIRST PLACE, BABY,” whenever they occur.
"Hi, Milwaukee? Have a second? … PLACE? BOOM DIGGITY DOO, SUCKA!!!" pic.twitter.com/KEeC7yAqG9
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) July 14, 2018
I don’t know that this NL Central race is going to stay this tense throughout the rest of the season – it didn’t last year, and the Cubs were much further back at this point, as you well recall – but if it is, you can bet that I’ll be celebrating these times when the Cubs pull ahead. If you’re gonna be in a tight, tense race anyway, might as well get some dopamine hits out of it.
As things stand, the Cubs are now not only the best team in the NL Central in the standings (woo hoo by .003), but also the best team in the entire National League. The American League is so stratified that there are FOUR teams that have better records than the Cubs (New York, Boston, Houston, Seattle), and by quite a healthy amount, too. Those races sure are gonna be boring.