In trading Yu Darvish for Zach Davies and a collection of prospects a couple of years away from their first legal IPA, the Cubs sent an unambiguous signal that their competitive window is coming to a close. Like William Henry Harrison, they reached the mountaintop only to find their stay there would be short.
That frugality on the part of ownership has contributed to this should go without saying. An unwillingness to spend new money to improve the club over the last several years has contributed significantly to the organization’s decline.
Despite the inescapability of that reality, there have been other missteps along the way.