With Sunday's ridiculous loss at Cincinnati—the Cubs' seventh defeat in the last eight games—the team's record fell to 86-57, which is still four games better than the Brewers, who got creamed at home by the Padres on Sunday and just ended a 2-5 homestand.

The four-game advantage is significantly less than it would have been if the Cubs had taken advantage of the Brewers' struggles this past week, but it's still a larger lead than all but one of the Cubs' recent post-season teams held 143 games into their respective seasons.

The details:

1984
86-57, 1st place in NL East, +6 games over the Mets
(Cubs went 10-8 the rest of the way, finishing 1st in the East, 6 games ahead of the Mets)

1989
80-63, 1st place in NL East, + 2 1/2 games over the Cardinals
(Cubs finished 13-6, ending at 93-69, first in the East, 6 games ahead of the Mets)

1998
80-63, 2nd place in NL Central, 10 games behind the Astros; +1 over the Mets for Wild Card
(Cubs finished 10-10, ending at 90-73, 12 1/2 games behind the Astros; +1 over S.F. for Wild Card)

2003
76-67, 1st place in NL Central, + 1/2 game over the Astros
(Cubs went 12-7 to finish the year, ending at 88-74, +1 game over the Astros)

2007
73-70, 1st place in NL Central, tied with the Brewers, +3 games over the Cardinals
(Cubs went 12-7 the rest of the way, finishing 87-75, +2 games over the Brewers)