With  the first year of the Theo Epstein regime in the books, the common fan may look at the Chicago Cubs and laugh. We all would like to at times.
It has been a dreadful year to watch at times with no name player after no name player taking the field and a record that hasn’t come even close to sniffing .500.
Some fans have decided to disappear completely. Well, Rome wasn’t built in a day and trust me, the Romans probably had more tools to start with than the Cubs.
The first season under Theo Epstein and new general manager Jed Hoyer has done nothing but show how bare the cupboard really was to start.
Think about it, the biggest reason to be optimistic heading into the future has been the presence and performance of rookie first baseman Anthony Rizzo, who would be slugging for the Padres right now if not for a trade in early January.
The farm system for the Cubs has been bare of talent for years now and Theo and Co. are now being forced to clean up the mess that had been left for years.
Aside from watching a star in the making in shortstop Starlin Castro and knowing that it was the first season under the new regime, there really was little reason to be excited to watch the Cubs this season, especially pre-Rizzo.
Chicago media tried to sell the fans on the story of lifetime minor leaguer Bryan LaHair and the outstanding pitching from savvy veteran Ryan Dempster.
However, Dempster is now in Texas and LaHair has proven to be one of the worst all-stars I have ever seen.
What it comes down to is there was little to be excited about this season, and if you don’t like watching the core players like Rizzo, Castro, and Jeff Samardzija develop or watching Alfonso Soriano ,chase career milestones then next season probably won’t be for you either.
The fact is there’s a shortage of major league talent in the minor league systems right now.
The veterans you have been used to watching like Dempster and Geovany Soto have been traded to try to restore some of that talent and Matt Garza may be next out the door to get the farm to where it needs to be.
I know, it has been 104 years now and Cubs’ fans are tired of waiting, but building the Cubs into a perennial contender is going to be a project and it will take time.
You can’t expect the Cubs to have a talented big league team with a huge lack of talent in the minor leagues.
So sit back and enjoy the offseason and the roster moves that come with it because they may be more exciting than the product on the field in 2013.