If there is anything to be learned about the new Cub mascot flap is a) the Cub front office has a very narrow view of public reaction in an Internet world of satire, bitterness, meanness and photoshop skills; and b) Cub fan frustration levels are reaching their limit.
No one should really care if the Cubs introduced a cartoon mascot and a large furry costume wearing employee to go visit children in hospitals.
But the perception from the adult fans was "that's all your going to do this off-season?"
Make no mistake about it, Clark the mascot is a another "revenue stream" devised by the business side of the organization to attempt to keep young families buying tickets to games. Clark will have his own "clubhouse" to greet kids and parents before the games . . . a "clubhouse" which is actually going to be a gift shop.
Perhaps it was the way that Clark was suddenly announced to the world. By management's reasoning, their focus groups were clamoring for a team mascot. But those commentators and season ticket holder bloggers have stated the idea of a mascot being a priority for the Cubs was non-existent in their minds. There are more important aspects of the team to address, including finding quality starting pitchers, signing a Samardzija extension, finding a real third baseman to play a full season, find a real lead off hitter, shore up the defense, etc.
It is not disingenuous to think the mascot announcement was going to be the "big thing" at the Cubs convention this weekend. The Cubs like to "surprise" those in attendance with something they'd like, when they brought back Kerry Wood for his disastrous final season. The fan expectation for a big announcement would have been Mashiro Tanaka, the star Japanese pitcher, donning the blue pinstripes. But the idea the Cubs were ever in contention to sign Tanaka was a pipe dream fed to local news outlets.
The Cubs continue to herd a bunch of minor league signees who have not had any big league success in 2, 3 or 4 years. Some speculate that the plan is not to "block" the hot prospects like Bryant, Baez, Soler, and Almora when they are promoted in the next few years. This plan assumes that all the Epstein-Hoyer prospects are going to be "impact" major league talent. Cub fans are aware of the hype to reality of great Cub prospects. So all the trivial moves the Cubs have made this off season are trivial in the big picture.
It is now assumed that pitchers Wesley Wright and Jose Veras, if they perform well, will be traded at the July deadline for more prospects. If Samardzija is not signed to an extension by opening day, odds are that he will also be traded by the deadline. Nate Schierholtz, in his final contract year, is another candidate for a deadline trade. This will be the third year of signing players in order to use them as trade chips.
The backlash against the mascot is part of the wave of frustration percolating in Cub nation. There continues to be no time table when the management will turn the team around and make it a competitive playoff caliber team. The mascot news is deemed a a bad diversion away from those hard questions the front office refuses to answer. As a result, the Cub off-season is much to do about nothing.
