In a stupid season in a stupid division, it is extremely absurd that the Cubs are somehow still tied for first place in the NL Central.
I mean, the last place Reds are 3.5 games out on July 5 for crying out loud. This division.
To add to the absurdity, it’s a Friday in July, and the Cubs have an *OFF-DAY.* It’s a scheduling quirk apparently required by the two-game series against the White Sox, but I cannot remember the last time the Cubs had an off-day on a Friday. It feels perverse.
But what feels appropriately perverse for the year we’ve seen is that the Cubs could end today in sole possession of first place by doing nothing at all. If the Brewers lose their series opener to the Pirates tonight, boom, the Cubs will enter the final weekend before the All-Star break alone in first place. That should not be! But it could be!