Also, the Cubs were actually a little late to the party, so to speak, since the new CBA changed the playing field and took away some of the loopholes the Cardinals and other teams were able to exploit during their rebuilds, and it speaks volumes to Theo and the brain trust he put together that he was still able to pull it off. And, of course, there was a lot of luck involved too.

When Theo came to the Cubs, he had to remake the organization. The team was nowhere near a contender, and he recognized that. The high draft picks were not the reason he blew the team up, I think they were a byproduct of it. And the evidence is the roster. The 2016 Cubs are clearly the best team in baseball, but how much of that was due to the high draft picks they netted by ‘tanking’? Kris Bryant, that’s it. Rizzo, Arrietta, Heyward, Fowler, Lester, Lackey, Zobrist, Soler, Hammel, Kendrick, Russell – none of these guys were obtained because the Cubs decided to tank. They were obtained because Theo saw the team they had 2012-2014 just wasn’t that good, so the best way to maximize the value they did have at the time was to act as sellers to teams who were contenders.

You kind of negated your own point by giving examples of other teams that did so but still weren’t able to build contenders. Hell, Schwarbers injury almost illustrates the point as well. Schwarber was certainly a great hitter last year, and hopefully he will come back from his injury and have a great career. But 1 injury to that player you drafted and all of a sudden the year you tanked wasn’t worth it. Combined with the uncertainty regarding amateur players and I just don’t think losing intentionally with the hopes of gaining a high draft pick makes sense. And I’m not sure Theo does either.