​Today’s ReflectionsThere seems to be only one direction this issue of Cub Tracks can go, with most the articles being about possible trades suggestions, about what happened in the first half and what the second half looks like, and what groups of players need to step it up in the second half.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd the plethora of articles about Pete Crow-Armstrong. That makes the choice easy.I’m not being a PCA fan boy, but he is the face of the Cubs right now, and a large part of the reason for that is the remarkable output during the first half of the season. Another part is the maturity he has shown following the bad fan interactions one weekend earlier this season.People are quick to tear someone down, but we have seen the growth of maturity displayed since then and the Cubs have responded in kind — maybe not universally or consistently, but through combined resilience during the times of struggle this year. The casual fan is probably starting to notice that and the support is returning.Will PCA continue this non-Ohtani dominance in baseball? Who knows. But is that all that is needed for the Cubs to reach the playoffs and contend for the World Series? Not at all. Everyone else has to raise their level of game to their level of PCA-ness. Not match him, but reach the top level of their personal abilities.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAnd injuries. Nothing PCA can do to help to the team overcome that. All the adjustments for that is being done by others and is not in his control. Those adjustments for injuries haven’t been perfect, but, given the circumstances, they’ve gone remarkably well. So well, credit should be given there for achieving a 54-42 record to this point. The record could easily be reversed without those adjustments.All PCA can control is himself. Be the best he can be, and hopefully the Cubs, individually, can match him in being the best they can be. If that happens, the Cubs will be in a position where they could have a strong run in the playoffs.*means autoplay on, (directions to remove for Firefox and Chrome). $ means paywall. $ means limited views. Italics are often used on this page as sarcasm font. The powers that be have enabled real sarcasm font in the comments.All-Star Break PCA-Mania:AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJoey Mistretta (Clutch Points): How Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong is planning to ‘dethrone’ Shohei Ohtani as NL MVP. “Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong revealed his plan to “dethrone” Shohei Ohtani in the National League MVP race.“Patrick Mooney (The Athletic $): A conversation with Pete Crow-Armstrong as Cubs All-Star puts together MVP-level season. “As MLB Network pointed out, the first 385 games of Crow-Armstrong’s career look nearly identical to Barry Bonds’ resume at that point.”Michael Cerami (Bleacher Nation): We Are Witnessing One of the Single Greatest Cubs Seasons of All Time. “(The first half of 2025) was exciting, impre