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As the July 31 trade deadline neared, the Cubs, with one of the best records in baseball, were cast by seemingly all the national experts as big swingers, total movers and shakers, on the short list of contenders that were ready to pounce on major opportunities to improve their World Series chances.
Remember that nonsense?
Boy, it sounded promising at the time. But we all should have known better.
Instead, the Cubs tinkered around the edges, trading for relievers Andrew Kittredge and Taylor Rodgers, human-eggshell pitcher Mike Soroka and utility man Willi Castro.