MILWAUKEE — This season began with manager Joe Maddon seriously entertaining a question about whether or not the Cubs had five Opening Day-caliber starters in their rotation.



That sense of optimism — after investing $164 million in Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood and pairing those free agents with Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and José Quintana — gradually turned into frustration and eventually resignation.



The Cubs still somehow made it to Labor Day with the National League’s best record, even with Darvish getting shut down with a stress reaction in his right elbow and Chatwood losing his job amid extreme control problems and the Cole Hamels trade with the Texas Rangers. It’s a credit to the durability of Lester, Hendricks and Quintana and a deep pool of position players and relievers. It’s Maddon’s positive aura, the way Theo Epstein’s front office plans for everything and a big-market franchise flexing its financial...