I've been a Cubs fan since I was a young boy. Though more people around these parts are White Sox fans, the Cubs were the accessible team as I was growing up. I could watch them most days in the afternoon, and it was the summer of '69 (no relation to the Bryan Adams song) that really cemented my allegiance to the North Siders. Ron Santo clicking his heels after victories. Ernie Banks steadily approaching the 500 home run plateau. A lineup that rolled off the tongue like poetry. Dick Selma leading the Bleacher Bums in cheers and chants.

I don't recall the September swoon/choke that became so famous that year, probably because I was back in school and so I missed most of the games where they were overtaken by the Miracle Mets, who went on to beat the other "best" team in baseball, the Baltimore Orioles, in the World Series. But I have had years of losing seasons and futility to contend with since, with notable exceptions in 1984, 1989, 1998, then the big "almost" in 2003. 5 outs from the World Series, Mark Prior cruising, and Steve Bartmann reacts in a relatively normal fashion in trying to catch a ball headed for his position. He "interferes" with Moises Alou catching the foul ball (never mind that there was no guarantee it would be caught even if everyone backed off). Then Alex Gonzalez muffs a routine grounder and Mark Prior implodes for a Game 6 loss. Never fear, however, we have Kerry Wood going the next night. And that was all she wrote.

Typical Cubs luck. This year expectations didn't run that high among serious fans, but we did expect to see our team play decent ball, and we did expect to get some quality starts out of Mark Prior (he's something like 0-5) and Kerry Wood (who is on the DL and has a career threatening injury). Instead we are treated to Zambrano and 3 rookies (now that Greg Maddux has been dealt).

Can this team be rebuilt in one year? I say yes. The team should have no financial limitations and should be able to score in the free agent market should they so choose. They have a myriad of young pitchers - are they any god? We're going to find out in most of their cases. Sean Marshall and Carlos Marmol have looked decent all year, Rich Hill and Juan Mateo also look pretty good, and the best of the bunch was supposed to be Angel Guzman, who has looked good in AAA (but who may be injured again, judging by the line from his last outing). They can't all fit in the Cubs' rotation so some must go elsewhere.

A few of the right moves might just do it. So goat be darned, here we go toward 2007, for better or worse.