The good news? The Cubs are in first place heading into the break. The bad? They've played under-.500 baseball since May. Which is most telling?
Cubs starter Jon Lester had to leave Monday's game against the Brewers in the sixth inning due to back spasms, handing the ball to reliever CJ Edwards, who promptly allowed the winning run to score on a wild pitch.
The veteran lefty has one mission in his home debut Sunday: deliver more of what the Cubs need from him on the mound.
The veteran lefty could help turn the Cubs' struggling rotation around in time for Chicago to take control of the NL Central race.
The Cubs don't need hitting, and they're counting on their rotation to bounce back. But that doesn't mean they won't be calling for extra help.
An early-season power outage might seem like cause for concern, but the Cubs' offense is cranking out scoring opportunities and could do even more damage.
