Cubs Diaries

The Cubs lost their eighth straight Monday, which dropped them into dangerous territory. No World Series champ this decade endured a losing streak longer than eight. The 2006 Cardinals actually had two eight-game skids, one in June and another that bridged July and August.

The Cardinals, though, never trailed in the NL Central by more than three games. The Cubs have fallen five back and have the Cardinals and the Reds between them and the Brewers.

This circumstance --- eight-game nosedive and a five-game deficit --- is not favorable, but the wild card can be an equalizer. Here is a look at the champs this decade, their longest losing streak and biggest deficit:

2008 Phillies: Lost six in a row in June. Biggest deficit was 3.5 games on Sept. 10.

2007 Red Sox: Boston had three different four-game losing streaks. They never trailed by more than a game and that was the first two weeks of the season.

2006 Cardinals: We already documented the Cardinals' situation. Here's the footnote: St. Louis finished with 83 wins, which ranked 13th in MLB but was good enough to win the division.

2005 White Sox: They had a seven-game swoon in August but they never had to play catch-up in the standings.

2004 Red Sox: There was a five-game stumble in the beginning of May. The Red Sox claimed the wild card en route to Reversing the Curse.

2003 Marlins: Florida had two six-game slides, both coming in May. The Marlins changed managers, won the wild card and we won't go into further details.

2002 Angels: They had a six-game streak in April, which had them playing for the wild card early.

2001 Diamondbacks: When they lost five straight in July, four were to pitchers on top of their game: Oswalt, Mulder, Hudson and Zito. Biggest deficit was 3.5 in mid-April.

2000 Yankees: The Bombers closed out the regular season with seven straight losses, which was part of a 2-13 finish. They were three games back in late June. --- Triple Cheesebuger.