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Imrem: Pressure on Chicago Cubs could be fun

Stumbles here, twists there and turns everywhere … the next thing you know you're in a playoff race.

Believe it or not, Chicago Cubs fans, this and the accompanying stress are good for you.

The only proof you need leapt onto your TV screen early Sunday morning.

Many expected Jordan Spieth to win his third major golf championship by coasting to victory in the British Open.

This could have been even less suspenseful and dramatic than the Cubs' wire-to-wire romp toward the playoffs last season.

Instead, Spieth went on a bogey binge early and had to save bogey brilliantly at No. 13. Rather than a coronation, the tournament became a head-to-head competition against Matt Kuchar.

Last year's Cubs season was like if Spieth shot 63 to win the Open by, say, a dozen strokes.

The Cubs went on to win the World Series and break a 108-year championship drought.

Some might point out, not incorrectly, that having to wait through disappointment and frustration for more than a century provided all the suspense and drama Cubs fans needed.

Point well taken.

Some might also point out that the suspense and drama came in the World Series, particularly the extra-inning victory in Game 7.

Point well taken again.

Still others might point out that the Cubs' 2016 run to glory was fun enough with all the celebrations in the streets around Wrigley Field.

Point well taken one more time.

But been there, done that; that was then, this is now.

The 2017 Cubs' mediocrity through nearly 100 games have plunged them smack dab in the middle of a playoff race.

Whether it will be a legitimate playoff race down the stretch remains to be seen because no other team in the NL Central should be as durable a challenger to the Cubs as Kuchar was to Spieth.

The possibility exists that the Cubs will add reinforcements before the trade deadline, go on an extended run, take the outright division lead sooner than later, be ahead by 10 games by Labor Day and win the thing by 15 games after all.

Yet there's also the possibility that the Cubs never will kick it in completely and one of the other teams will demonstrate more staying power than anticipated.

The Cubs would have to grind through the rest of the season and win games under the kind of pressure that they didn't experience during the 2016 regular season.

This September the Cubs are scheduled for home series against the Brewers and Cardinals and road series at Milwaukee, St. Louis and Pittsburgh.

That's a total of 18 games against current contenders that would determine whether the Cubs make or miss the playoffs.

That's also entertainment, because there's nothing like an tight, tense, two-month playoff race where every pitch is important.

The danger in suspense and drama is that sometimes they result in agony and defeat.

Spieth nearly suffered heartbreak, prevailing in dramatic fashion only after his own sloppiness and Kuchar's steadiness forced him to play the final five holes in 5 under par.

If fans here are lucky, some opponent will force the best out of the Cubs down the stretch the way Kuchar forced the best out of Spieth.

It would be fun to witness if you can stomach a few more stumbles, twists and turns along the way.

mimrem@dailyherald.com

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