The Cubs have only 44 games left in the regular season. Of those 44 games, only 19 are left at Wrigley Field and none of the final 7 games. Yes, the team has leads of 8, 9, and 12 games in the loss column over St. Louis, New York and Los Angeles, respectively, for the Wild Card slot. A playoff appearance certainly looks to be approaching lock status.

But there is some work to do and the next 15 games offer a good chance to get that work done. Of those 15 games, only three are against a team with a winning record (Florida). Nine of the games are on the road so there is an opportunity to improve the road record and the overall record in this stretch.

There is also the opportunity for underperforming hitters to get their swigns straightened out. Kosuke Fukudome has been a severe disappointment since May and Derrek Lee who had an April that looked like 2005 has regressed back to 2006 (his OPS by month this season was only above .781 in April and his season OPS of .831 is 35 points below his career average). The Cubs are going to need these guys to find their strokes, and do it soon or the post season will be very short.

The next fifteen games offer a good chance to set the course for a good October.