Regular-season work left for Cubs to do

CHICAGO — The Cubs have advance scouts watching potential playoff opponents and will officially begin preparing for the postseason with organizational meetings Tuesday.

There was also a meeting Monday at Wrigley Field, prior to a series-opening game against the Reds. It had a playoff theme, as well, but mostly served to remind Cubs players there are still things to do after clinching the National League Central last week.

“I just wanted to reiterate some of the stuff we talked about in Spring Training, that was it,” manager Joe Maddon said. “It’s unusual to be in this position that we are in right now, so you’ve got two weeks of baseball, Major League Baseball, left in September. So, let’s work on some stuff. Let’s work on things we need to work on individually or as a group.”

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It’s a tricky balancing act, but the Cubs aim to manage it through the final couple weeks of the regular season. Their next big goal is clinching the best record in the Major Leagues, which would give them home-field advantage through the NL portion of the playoffs, and they’d also like to reach or surpass 100 wins.

Mostly, though, Maddon just wants them to use the next two weeks wisely.

“We have to really get our minds right over the next [two to three] weeks, to really be prepared properly for that first …

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