Let’s rewind a bit. The 2018 season was full of plenty of amazing stories and moments. We got to see Javier Baez in his first true breakout season, competing for the top spot in the National League in home runs and RBIs and dazzling us with a reel of fielding and sliding highlights that justified the feisty Puerto Rican’s nickname of “El Mago,” or “The Magician.” The NL MVP would have easily been his had Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers not played at demigod status (.326 BA/.402 OBP/.598 SLG) at the exact same time. Anthony Rizzo got out of an early April and May funk to return to his normal rock-steady self at first base, while Jon Lester had an extremely serviceable year with an 18-6 record and 3.32 ERA. The midseason acquisition of Cole Hamels felt like the clock had been turned back to 2011, and the 35-year old gave the team a much-needed spark of veteran leadership and long outings that were badly needed at the time. And who could forget David Bote’s walk-off golden grand slam against the Nationals while down three runs with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth on August 12?

But the narrative of 2018 – and the hope of what 2019 should not look like – can be summed up with two glaring problems: untimely injuries and unreached potentials. Third baseman and 2016 NL MVP Kris Bryant injured his shoulder sliding into first base (why anyone does this at the professional level is infuriating and beyond me) on June 22 and was out for over a month on two trips to the disabled list in June and July. His return seemed rushed, his swing never looked comfortable, and his power numbers never returned. Yu Darvish, the big free agent signing of last offseason, made just eight starts before being shut down with a nasty elbow injury. And newly-signed closer Brandon Morrow ended his season with a back injury in late June…by taking off his pants. Tyler Chatwood, signed for a three-year $38 million-dollar deal, walked 95 batters in 20 starts before a stint on the DL in August effectively ended his year.

Even notable players who were healthy didn’t seem like themselves. While Kyle Schwarber worked hard to prove himself as an everyday left fielder, Albert Almora, Jr. struggled to claim a similar starting spot in center field with a terrible second half and low production against right handed pitching. Fiery Venezuelan catcher Willson Contreras’ power numbers plummeted off a cliff (.249/.339/.390 in 138 games) and – despite having one of the best arms in baseball – struggled to master his primary job requirement of framing pitches in the strike zone. Even after entering the All Star Break tied for the best record in the National League the injuries and absences began to rear their ugly head when the Cubs played 42 games in 43 days and saw a six-game lead in the division in August evaporate by the end of September.

A tiebreaker Game 163 loss to Milwaukee at Wrigley Field (it hurt seeing the Brewers celebrate on our field) sent the Cubs to the National League Wild Card game against Colorado the next day. Jon Lester on the mound and a playoff atmosphere at Wrigley should have been enough for the team to limp into the Divisional Series, but the game was ultimately a representation of the entire season: an agonizing 2-1 loss in 13 innings that never once felt it was the Cubs’ to win (they managed six total hits and only one with a runner in scoring position). President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein came out swinging in his end of year press conference, stating that the offense “broke” in the second half (which is true, because the team led Major League Baseball in games in which they scored one run or less, with 40!) and that all options would be on the table to correct things for next year.

Winter rumors of free agent superstars Bryce Harper or Manny Machado heading to Chicago never reached above a whisper. The clamoring for another bat in the lineup to prevent a repeat of the second half of 2018 fell on owner Tom Rickett’s deaf ears, who inexplicably (and in my opinion, inexcusably) decided to publicly claim during Cubs Convention that the team had no money to spend. Never mind the fact that Ricketts’ net worth is $900 million or the fact that the team’s value has increased by $2.2 billion since he bought the team in 2009 for $700 million from Tribune Company. Choosing not to spend on this year’s free agent market or not believing that Bryce Harper was worth the cash are perfectly reasonable opinions to have – but his decision to go with a non-answer will not win him any support in the fanbase.