Cubs won the fourth-most games of any NL team in the last decade

Over the last decade, Cubs fans have experienced the highest of highs - erasing a 108-year World Series championship drought - and the lowest of lows, including not one, but two painful rebuilding efforts - the latter of which is still ongoing as the Winter Meetings kick off this weekend in San Diego.

Cubs aren't too far removed from a stellar stretch of play

Still, there's no questioning that, for a large chunk of the decade, Chicago enjoyed one of its most successful stretches in franchise history. The Cubs reached the NLCS for three consecutive years (2015, 2016, 2017), won a pair of NL Central crowns and averaged 96.75 wins a year from 2015 to 2018. All that culminated in the fourth-most wins in the National League during that span - a testament to just how impressive the team was in the not-too-distant past.

The Dodgers who, have been the toast of the league for years now, are head and shoulders above the rest of not only the Senior Circuit - but the best of the American League field, as well. Seeing St. Louis, the second-most winningest NL organization on this list, is a tough pill to swallow for Cubs fans, but anyone who's ever questioned how that club is run is a fool. Their additions of Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in recent years has cemented the Redbirds' standing in the league.

Now, winning in the regular season and winning in October are two very different things. But the Cubs have won the third-most postseason games in the National League during the last decade - trailing only the Dodgers and Braves, two other NL teams to win a World Series during this stretch.

All that's fine and well - but Cubs faithful will no doubt see the Dodgers at the top of that list and ask themselves why Chicago hasn't been able to build a sustainable winner in a similar fashion. They're both large market franchises with a national following, major financial resources and best-in-class facilities. But as Los Angeles keeps running rampant year after year, Jed Hoyer's club is coming off 91 and 88-loss seasons.

With a revamped farm system and major star power available on the free agent market - both in terms of arms (Jacob deGrom, Justin Verlander, Carlos Rodon) and position players (Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson, Xander Bogaerts - the list goes on and on) - the pressure is on for Jed Hoyer to start turning the corner in this rebuilding effort.

Will the next 10 years look as good as the last 10? Time will tell. But it's a long road to getting back to the top of the league - and we have to hope the Cubs are up for the challenge.