Chicago Cubs: This year brought a very different feel at Cubs Convention

In each of the previous two years, Cubs Convention felt like a hopeful celebration. But this time around, it was an altogether different experience.

For the third time in as many years, I was fortunate enough to attend the annual Cubs Convention. This has become a tradition with my brother-in-law and best friend and it’s never really failed to live up to the hype. While that remains the case, this year was definitely something different for anyone in attendance.

Gone is the jubilant mood that ran rampant each January since the team emerged from a rebuild to make a deep postseason run in 2015, knocking out a pair of division rivals in the process. This year, fans let owner Tom Ricketts have it during his opening remarks and that sentiment seemed to emanate throughout the entire weekend.

As he began talking about the team’s new Marquee Network, he was hit with widespread booing – which he seemed to think was preposterous, based on how he reacted to it. It’s hardly just Marquee network that has fans on edge, though. It’s been a frustrating stretch for fans, who have grown accustomed to a different type of offseason in recent years.

Chicago Cubs: A quiet offseason has everyone on edge

If I could sum up the mood this year, it would be muted. There were the eternal optimists, sure. But when a highlight montage played, showing Nicholas Castellanos, visible groans emerged in the crowd – given the slugging outfielder is still available, but the team hasn’t made any progress in getting payroll to the point they could make a serious run at his services.

“People have to realize the correlation between what you spend and how much you win isn’t nearly as perfect as you’d like it to be, particularly for a large-market team,” he said. “The top-two payrolls last year (the Red Sox and Cubs) didn’t make the playoffs. There were two teams in the playoffs combined (the A’s and Rays) that have less payroll (than the Cubs). So it’s really not just about money we put out there.”

Expectations have fallen given how the offseason has played out to this point. Now, as Theo Epstein pointed out during Saturday morning’s baseball operations panel, there’s still plenty of time left in the winter – but with most of the impactful options already signed elsewhere, it’s hard to imagine the front office drastically re-shaping a roster that failed to reach the postseason for the first time in a half-decade.

Cubs Convention will continue to be a family tradition, that’s for sure. But this year was certainly unforgettable – but not for a reason that makes me all that excited for the 2020 season. Reality hit hard this weekend for not just myself, but plenty of other fans, and it’s on Ricketts to face facts and help get things back on track.