This is the story of a baseball team.
They signed a high-profile free agent from an Asian country.
Then they spent many months in a curious free-agent stalemate with a player who is a Scott Boras client, eventually signing him.
They were expected to contend for a postseason spot, but enter this series under .500.
Oh, you thought I was talking about the Cubs. No, those things all also apply to the San Francisco Giants, who signed Korean outfielder Jung Hoo Lee, who is now out for the year. Matt Chapman, another Boras client along with Cubs outfielder Cody Bellinger, signed late with the Giants and, like Bellinger, is hitting below his career norms.