I don’t know who makes Major League Baseball’s regular-season schedule, but they did a great job this year, at least if you’re a Cubs fan.

Every year about this time I break out the Cubs’ schedule to make predictions for the season. This year, to my surprise, there were no ten-game road trips out west, only a few really tough stretches in the schedule. And the team has a favorable start and finish.

It will be important for the Cubs to get off to a good start this year in order to build some team confidence. A lot of the current players are not used to playing together, but winning early will build chemistry really fast. The Cubs open up with three each at Cincinnati and Milwaukee. They travel back to Chicago for their first home stand April 9, when Houston and Cincinnati come in for three games apiece. The Cubs should be able to get off to at least an 8-4 start against some of the less talented teams in the division.

After a few tough games against San Diego, St. Louis and Atlanta, the Cubs enter what appears to be their easiest stretch of the season. They play Milwaukee, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Washington and Pittsburgh again three games each. If the Cubs can play quality baseball in this stretch, I believe they can be 10 games over .500 by mid May.

Getting off to a good start is even more important because there is only one soft spot in the Cubs’ schedule from mid-May until September. At best I think the Cubbies will play that stretch at five, maybe 10 games over .500. That means the first month of their schedule could make or break their season.

That soft spot will hit at a good time, though, because it comes right before the All-Star break when the Cubs battle Colorado, Milwaukee, Washington and Pittsburgh in a row. Following the All-Star break, they have a 10-game home stand. It won’t be an easy one, but anytime you get 10 at home coming out of the All-Star break you really can’t complain.

Now, September should be quite an interesting month of baseball, especially with the Cubs still in the playoff race. The beginning of the month is going to be quite a challenge for the North Siders, but luckily the last two weeks should be a breeze. They start off playing Houston for three and the Dodgers for four at Wrigley. This is followed up by their most critical and longest road trip of the season. The Cubs go to Pittsburgh, Houston and St. Louis for three apiece. With the Astros and the Cards battling for the NL Central title with the Cubs, these could be the most meaningful games the Cubs will have played in September in quite some time.

On a positive note, if the Cubs are leading the NL Central or the Wild Card race on September 17 following their road trip, they will make the playoffs. To close out the season Chicago plays Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Florida and Cincinnati again. I don’t think anyone will have an easier finish than that, putting the Cubs in excellent position to lock in a playoff berth.

So here are the keys to the Cubs’ season in terms of scheduling: They must get off to a quick start, the middle of the season will be a grind and .500-ball should be the goal, and the Cubs must play well in early September. Pending some sort of injury spree or another miracle in St. Louis or Houston, this would put the Cubs over 90 wins and in the playoffs.

I really believe that the Cubs can accomplish this. They have a good team, a favorable schedule and a manager who actually knows something about baseball this year. It’s not often that you get two 10 game home stands and only one long road trip in a season. Cubs finish at 91-71 and win the NL Central by three games.

Frank Vanderwall is a senior in Communications. He can be reached at [email protected].