In the final days of the 2014 season, manager Rick Renteria was asked about the progress of the Cubs' rebuilding plan.
Renteria launched into a patented soliloquy about always having "high expectations," then finished by saying: "Do I expect we'll be better next year? Absolutely."
The Cubs indeed were much better in 2015, zooming from 73 wins to 97, earning a wild-card berth and advancing to the National League Championship Series.
Unfortunately for Renteria, he was fired after his first season as Cubs manager and replaced by Joe Maddon, who was so successful from the get-go, he basically erased Renteria from Cubs fans' collective memory.