In my most recent piece for ThroughTheFenceBaseball, I stated a desire for the Cubs to win in Arizona on Sunday, and then come back to Chicago with something to play for next week. That something is the laughably modest goal of avoiding 100 losses for the season. That can only happen if the Cubs sweep all three games from the Houston Astros, baseball’s worst team this season.
The players have gone on record that they don’t want 100 losses, and as a fan, I don’t want it either. I expect it, as I have since all the way back in April, but I don’t actually want to see it. If taking three otherwise meaningless games at home to end the season matters to the team, it matters to me as well. So I hope they can do it.
This has been a lost season, even if the Cubs do avoid 100 losses. There can’t be any sense of moral victories about being the second-worst team in baseball, and setting a franchise record for the worst road record in Cubs history. This team has hit bottom, and no amount of Astros-kicking will change that.
There’s a small glimmer of something to play for, though, so I’m willing to see what happens over the next three days. There’s a long, and hopefully very eventful, off-season up ahead after that. But first things first, and that’s beating Houston three times next week. I hope they can do it.
