CHICAGO — Luck can be all about perspective.
From one angle, the Cubs have had more than their fair share of injuries this season, one of several reasons they find themselves banished to the outskirts of the National League Wild Card race with a little more than a month to play. Yet the North Siders might begin to take their situation for granted if they shoot a glance into the opposing dugout this weekend.
The Mets are in town for a three-game series starting Friday, and almost all of their top players will be nowhere near their lineup. When New York shut down ace Johan Santana for the remainder of the season Tuesday, it was merely the latest in a series of serious injuries to strike a key contributor.
There is no doubt the Cubs have struggled with injuries. Cleanup hitter Aramis Ramirez missed about two months with a separated left shoulder. Four of the team's starting pitchers have spent time on the disabled list, as have Angel Guzman, Reed Johnson and Geovany Soto.
The Mets likely would be thrilled with that type of situation.
Injuries have limited Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes to a combined 124 games, and David Wright recently joined them after getting beaned and suffering a concussion. Along with Santana, fellow starters John Maine and Oliver Perez and setup man J.J. Putz are out with a variety of ailments, and so are several role players and fill-ins.
In a turn of events the Cubs would find eerily familiar, the Mets were one game out of first place in the NL East on July 2, but a little more than two weeks later, they found themselves facing a nine-game deficit. After beating the Marlins, 10-3, on Thursday, they were 17 games behind the Phllies, who were playing the Pirates on Thursday night.
"Whomever we're playing, if it's a first-place team or a team that's not playing as well, you've still got to go out and play a good baseball game to win," manager Lou Piniella said. "Hopefully, we'll string quite a few of them together in the next couple weeks."