From Craig Calcaterra @ Hardball Talk we get this:

Is it just me, or do people in Chicago not feel as bad about the recently-ended losing streak and what seems to be the inevitable dreadful remaining season as they might normally be?

At least among the Cubs fans I know, people are just being cool, knowing that the roster was a mess and knowing that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer are playing the long game.

And as Patrick Mooney notes in his report at CSNChicago.com, that’s the game being played. Epstein:

“We’ll have to take a realistic look of where we are. And if there are ways to get better, every option has to be on the table … I’ve always operated under that philosophy,” Epstein said. “I never understood why there would ever be an untouchable. All you’re doing is limiting your opportunity.”

I guess Starlin Castro would be called untouchable if you put a gun to Theo’s head. But heck, maybe even he goes if some team is dumb enough to back up the prospects truck.

Just a very different mindset from an organization which often talked about rebuilding, but never really went into it whole-hog.

I have a few friends who are Scrubs Cubs fans and I too have noticed that the typical “oh here we go again” vibe isn’t really haning over them like a dark cloud this season.

As a Yankees fan I hate the socio-pathic, moronic “live in the moment & trade every good piece we have away for an aging slugger” mentality that plagued the team for most of the 80′s (and then again the early 2000′s).

I want my GM to be watching the road several years ahead.

In that market, with the resources they have…Epstein & Hoyer are going to lay a great foundation down.

I am not saying they’ll reverse the curse in just a few short years, but they will return the franchise to a competitive level, year & year out.