PHILADELPHIA — The Cubs had already lost. No matter what happens the rest of the way, that will always be a part of the daily equation the next 29 days. The Cubs had gotten themselves good and shut out at Wrigley Field by the Brewers, so that meant someone on the field at Citizens Bank Park was going to pick up the most valuable of all late-summer real estate:
A full game in the standings.
On the last day of August, with the top of September looming, this is all that matters. This is the only arithmetic that counts.