It's not all smiles for Craig Counsell and Jed Hoyer as the Chicago Cubs close out a 2024 season that can't be viewed as anything but a disappointment. The expectation was that the Cubs were going to return to the postseason through way of being back at the top of the National League Central. The reality is that the Cubs were out of contention for winning the division by the time the calendar flipped to July. In the closing weeks of September, the Cubs have also faded out of the National League Wild Card picture.