CHICAGO – In a season filled with more downs than ups, the start of the second half is welcomed as one step closer to ending another underwhelming season for the Cubs.

The Cubs, who open the second half today at Wrigley Field versus the Arizona Diamondbacks, sit in fifth place in the NL Central and only percentage points from the worst record in baseball. Despite the season-long struggles, first-year manager Dale Sveum looked for the positives.

“You look back on the first half and basically the difference is so many one-run ballgames where we didn’t score runs or get that one extra run to win it or tie it or a home run, things like that,” Sveum said.