At least the Cubs haven’t been dragged into a sign-stealing scandal like the Astros and the Red Sox.



That’s the bright side to what looks like a second-straight frozen winter for the Cubs, a team that keeps harping on the need for change but still has largely the same roster that underperformed the last two Septembers.



Cubs Convention — the team’s annual festival designed to hype the upcoming season — opens Friday at the Sheraton Grand Chicago. The overwhelming mood won’t be of gratitude for that 2016 World Series title, which now feels like a very long time ago.



It wasn’t just the delirious fans or the giddy media types who stoked those great expectations. Team executives and players wanted a dynasty, talking up the idea of a “Cubs Way” that’s getting harder to define.



Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer haven’t signed a free agent to a fully guaranteed major-league contract this offseason,...