The first 18 games of the schedule were supposed to be a cakewalk. Instead, the Cubs have blew a golden opportunity to get off to a fast start, thanks to some bad luck, anemic offense and increasingly iffy defense. Increasingly, the question seems not to be whether the Cubs can contend for a division title or the wild card, but whether they can even finish above .500.

Sitting firmly in last place with a 6-12 record and second to last in the league in runs scored, it may be hard to see the bright spots now, but they are there.

• Corey Patterson: He has cooled off a bit, but he’s still showing that all the hype was right. He hasn’t showed any power yet, but that’s OK. He’s stolen six bases without once being caught and has a .785 OPS, including three triples. He made a great diving catch tonight.
• Matt Clement: This guy, in spite of his goofy goatee, appears to be the real steal of the Tavarez-Alfonseca deal with the Marlins. He’s had two strong consecutive outings, including a career-high 12 Ks and seven shutout innings last time out.
• Juan Cruz: He’s sporting an 0-4 record but that’s not his fault — the Cubs’ defense has allowed 10 unearned runs to cross the plate off him. He has a 2.14 ERA and is showing that last season’s surprise success was not a fluke.
• Injuries: Moises Alou is still getting into the swing of things. The Cubs’ offense, as anemic as it’s been, has not been at full strength. Alou is back now and hopefully can start contributing. McGriff has traditionally done better with warmer weather, as has Sosa (not that he’s been slacking so far, with seven home runs already). Also, third baseman Bill Mueller is scheduled to come back in early May, and he should provide a boost to the offense if he can contribute immediately.
• Slow-starting Central: Both the Astros and the Cardinals are off to slow starts as well, and the Cardinals have especially been bruised by some pitching injuires. The Pirates will fade, as will the Reds. Neither team has the pitching to hold up. So while it’s important for the Cubs to get some momentum going, this slow start isn’t as disastrous as it would be if, say, the Astros were 12-5 instead of the Pirates.

Enough optimism. If the Cubs don’t end up April by putting together some kind of string of victories together, we’re in for a long, long season. The Cubs don’t need to be .500 by May 1, but they do need to be a couple of games within .500. Frankly, they need to give fans something to cheer for.

They have just looked miserable. It’s one thing to lose close games; it’s quite another to surrender 6-0 first-inning leads or give up scads of unearned runs or get blown out of the water 12-4 as they did tonight. On top of all that, they’ve won only two of nine home games.

Mixed news: The good news is that there are rumors that Don Baylor may soon get fired; the bad news is that General Manager Andy MacPhail is denying them.