Erin Hooley/AP
The Cubs’ season-opening gauntlet is over.
Well, sort of. It depends who you ask.
They’ve played 26 of their 29 games against contenders — the Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Padres, Rangers and Phillies — and they’ve emerged mostly triumphant, owners of the highest-scoring offense in baseball and a 17-12 record that tops the NL Central.
A road trip to face off, finally, against division foes in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee would seem like an earned respite.
But that’s not how the Cubs see it.