Column: Fan angst at fever pitch as Cubs and White Sox take playoff hopes into final days of wild season

There have been few baseball seasons in Chicago like the one we're going through.

The Cubs and White Sox are fighting for a playoff spot with 11 days left, and every game from here on out has meaning.

It could be an epic ending with both teams heading to the postseason for the first time in a full season since 2008. It could be a tragic ending with both falling short. Either way, it's probably going to make you shout at your TV, which is always a good thing.

Chicago is a great baseball town with a lot of baseball tradition but not a lot of hardware. So if you've been suffering from Cubs anxiety over the recent bullpen meltdowns or Sox sadness over all the sluggers' strikeouts, rest assured you are not alone.

The Sox lost 6-3 in Cleveland on Wednesday to fall out of first place for the first time since the Fourth of July after being one strike away Tuesday from taking the series and getting out of town on an up note. It was a classic Sox flip-flop, from ecstasy to agony in less than 24 hours. They have a 5-12 record since Aug. 30, when they were a season-high nine games over .500.

"I think we're in a good spot," manager Will Venable told reporters afterward, looking at the bright side of blowing the division lead after 2½ months.

The Cubs played the rubber game against the Atlanta Braves after blowing a late lead in Tuesday's loss and were neck-and-neck with the Philadelphia Phillies for the top NL wild-card spot heading into the weekend series in Cincinnati . They entered Wednesday with an 8-12 record since Aug. 25, when they were 20 games over .500. Manager Craig Counsell has been as optimistic as Venable, though it's hard to tell after a blown save.

Cubs and Sox fans are alternately dazed and confused, a rite of passage for most of them.

We're programmed at birth to hope for the best and prepare for the worst, no matter what side of town you grew up on. That's the legacy left by previous generations of Cubs and Sox fans, who've endured mostly the worst with a light sprinkling of the best.

As everyone knows, we've witnessed only two championships in our lifetimes and in our parents' lifetimes — and maybe even our grandparents' lifetimes. One is the loneliest number for fans of either team, and for Sox fans, it feels like a long time since 2005. Ditto for Cubs fans since 2016.

Sure, we deserve better. But as Clint Eastwood famously said in "The Unforgiven," "Deserve's got nothing to do with it."

The Cubs have a 99.5% chance to make the postseason, according to ESPN, so the biggest fear is they'll finish behind the Phillies or San Diego Padres and play the best-of-three wild-card series on the road.

At this point the Cubs might want to call up Justin Steele even if he's not ready, if only to steady the nerves of jittery fans. Most of them would rather see a hologram of Steele over most of the current members of the bullpen, which has 26 blown saves, including four in the first two weeks of September.

Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney gave a pep talk at the daily ushers meeting before Wednesday's game, reminding them of how the home-field advantage worked so well in last year's wild-card win over the Padres. He was no Steele, but they seemed to appreciate the effort.

Pete Crow-Armstrong's MVP-caliber season wouldn't be complete without a playoff game at Wrigley, so the onus is on PCA and his teammate to make sure that happens.

The Sox had a 73.5% chance after Wednesday's loss, which suggests they'll still make it to October with a decent finish and some help. But they could also start out on the road, increasing the degree of difficulty.

There's still reason for optimism on the South Side, despite Colson Montgomery nearly striking out more in one season (211 times) than Hall of Fame second baseman Nellie Fox did over a 19-year career (216 times). The Sox still have the tiebreaker over the Guardians, so even though they're a half-game back in the American League Central, they can win out and clinch the division.

The Sox begin a four-game homestand Thursday against the suddenly competitive Detroit Tigers , who would like nothing better than to spoil the Sox season and make the magic wand irrelevant. It's also Tim Anderson Night, with the team honoring a former player who was considered the face of the franchise only five years ago before everything went downhill for the Sox.

Hopefully Sox fans will come out and honor Anderson and give the team a lift in the playoff race, despite the fact it's a school night. A half-filled Sox Park just doesn't cut it.

Venable told reporters after Wednesday's loss that even though the results in Cleveland weren't good, he was "proud" of the team.

The only news would be if Venable didn't say he was proud. But his incessant optimism is desperately needed right now as Sox fans try to process what's happening and wonder whether this wild, wild season would still be considered a success if they didn't make the postseason.

Former Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski said on his "Foul Territory" podcast it would be an "organizational failure" if they did not after leading the division since July 4.

I'm not sure I buy that logic, since no one in the world had the Sox contending when they began spring training in February.

But it's true that general manager Chris Getz made several moves at the trade deadline, and none of them has panned out. Munetaka Murakami has virtually disappeared over the last two months, and Venable's handling of the pitching staff has been under fire. On the flip side, you could argue Venable got more out of this roster than any manager had a right to, and a .500 season would be about as good as anyone could've expected.

No matter what happens to the Cubs or Sox, it has been a fun summer in Chicago and full of memories that will last a lifetime.

Isn't that what watching sports is all about?