The 2026 Cubs are creating echoes of 1970 and 1985

The Cubs are exactly one-third of the way through the 2026 season. Nine games ago, at 29-16, they had a .644 winning percentage, which would be a 104-win pace for a full season. Now? After 54 games and on a nine-game losing streak, their 29-25 record is on pace for just 87 wins. So which is the real Cubs team? We will find out over the next 108 games, of course, but the way this team has won — and lost — is utterly confounding. Two 10-game winning streaks and a nine-game losing streak, all withi