"For the first time in years, the players were virtually afterthoughts during the longest, ­busiest day of the annual Cubs Convention.

Not even a relatively anonymous group of incoming players representing the Cubs' least-flashy offseason in at least two front-office regimes could provoke the passions of Cubs faithful Saturday.

This time around, all the passion was saved for new team president Theo Epstein, by far the star of Saturday's heavy schedule of events, which began with a ­tightly packed fan question-and-answer session devoted ­solely to Epstein.

Seated opposite mediator Len Kasper in a deep-cushioned armchair, Epstein covered topics and philosophies related to his plan for "sustained success'' that he has gone over in the media numerous times since taking office in October, engaging in an hourlong ­lovefest during his first major encounter with Cubs fans."