The 2024 Cubs have accomplished something not even the 2016 squad could do.

Despite Tuesday’s 4-2 loss in New York, this year’s Cubs team will enter May with 18 wins, the first time ever in the franchise’s long and illustrious history.

The Cubs won 17 games in April in both 2016 and 2008. They got off to a better start overall in that magical 2016 season (25-6) but the schedule that year began on April 4, whereas the 2024 Cubs played a whole series in Texas in March.

It’s a particularly impressive feat for the team this season given the plethora of injuries hampering the roster in the season’s first month — Justin Steele, Cody Bellinger, Seiya Suzuki, Julian Merryweather, Jameson Taillon, Kyle Hendricks, Drew Smyly, Patrick Wisdom and Jordan Wicks have all spent time on the IL.

So how have the Cubs weathered the storm?

There are a lot of reasons but chief among them is manager Craig Counsell’s steadying presence.

“He tangibly is seeing around corners,” Cubs GM Carter Hawkins said on the Marquee Sports Network broadcast on the last homestand. “So he’s talking about decisions that we’ll need to make 10 days from now and oftentimes it’s not something that I or Jed [Hoyer] have thought of.

“So he is tangibly helping us prepare more effectively by seeing how things are going to come to pass over the course of several days.”

Those “things” include pitching decisions, roster moves, navigating injuries, who is available and unavailable out of a bullpen, etc.

To which, Jon “Boog” Sciambi asked Hawkins, “so [Counsell] has a crystal ball?”

“I’m saying he is not surprised often,” Hawkins said. “Whether he does that with a crystal ball or not, I’m not sure. Whatever witchcraft he’s using, as long as it works, that’s fine by us.”

It’s certainly working.

The Cubs enter May a half-game out of 1st place in the National League Central, behind the surprising Milwaukee Brewers.

The Brewers come to town this weekend for a series at Wrigley Field. It was already going to be an interesting 3-game set with Counsell’s first time managing against his former team but with both teams playing so well, it’s an early-season battle that could be a major deciding factor in the divisional race.

Obviously there is still a ton of baseball left to be played but right now, the Cubs hold 59.6% odds of making the playoffs and they are on pace for 97 wins.

When the Cubs hired Counsell, this is exactly what they hoped he would be able to accomplish. Of course, nobody expected there to be so much adversity this early in his first year with injuries but there is a reason Counsell earned the richest managerial contract in baseball history.

The Cubs have always admired from afar how Counsell maximizes his entire roster and finds ways to put players in positions to succeed.

But they did not really know how Counsell was able to “see around corners” and look ahead.

Counsell has a simple answer:

“Paranoia,” he said, eliciting laughs from the Chicago media at Wrigley Field last homestand. “Simple. Unfortunate paranoia.”

It was a surprising response and when the laughter died down, Counsell expounded on his answer.

“I think the manager’s job sometimes is to think about what could go wrong so that you’re prepared for that,” Counsell said. “That sounds negative, but I think that’s your job sometimes. The good stuff that happens, that’s OK.

“But just preparing for all the different situations that could happen is what you keep your head on. I think it causes you to look ahead because that decision tree starts getting a little wide at the end. Just trying to be prepared for all that stuff.”

All that looking ahead has helped Counsell and the Cubs put young pitchers in positions to succeed. With all the injuries to the staff, Ben Brown (4.30 ERA in 23 IP), Hayden Wesneski (0.87 ERA, 0.68 WHIP in 10.1 IP) and Keegan Thompson (0.00 ERA, 0.62 WHIP in 9.2 IP) have all made major contributions despite starting the season in Triple-A.

There is also the situation with top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, who was recalled from the minors when Bellinger went down with a rib injury last week.

Crow-Armstrong struggled in the majors late last season but Counsell helped take pressure off the young outfielder this time around, stating Crow-Armstrong was only up because of an injury and he would go back down to the minors when Bellinger returns.

That helps take the pressure to perform out of Crow-Armstrong’s mind. No longer did he have to worry about trying to put up big numbers offensively in an attempt to force his way on the roster and earn a long-term spot in the outfield.

The Cubs certainly miss their injured players — Suzuki was turning into a star and Bellinger already is one. Steele was a Cy Young finalist last season and Taillon has shown in his first 3 starts off the IL what kind of trickle-down impact he can have on the entire pitching staff.

But teams also know they’re going to have injuries throughout the course of the year. That’s why Hoyer and Hawkins spent so much time building up the depth — particularly on the pitching side.

And to rise above the injuries, the team has taken on the “turn the page” mindset of the manager.

“This is a baseball season,” Counsell said. “This is how it works. There’s going to be that stuff thrown at you. It doesn’t have to all go right. You just have to show up the next day and play a good baseball game, no matter what’s going on.

“I think we’ve handled that stuff really well. … To turn the page is such a key in the baseball season. Good or bad, turn the page.”