How many times have we been in on the superstar only to lose out on him?
It’s a profit based business in a league with no hard salary cap. A cursory look at the budgets of the competitive teams in baseball makes it pretty obvious. Yes, it is still somewhat possible to win every now and then with a middle 3rd spend - but you can’t expect to really compete with the dodgers when you spend like the Cardinals.
But also - yes - clean house. They are trapped in mediocrity under the current regime. But the owners are printing money so no real pressure on them to change anything.
Part of that, I blame the front office for. The only thing that kept us from a Juan Soto trade with the Nationals wasn't Walker or Winn. It was Dylan fucking Carlson, whom we just gave away for literally nothing after his value plummeted. Mozeliak said as much, something about "they'll have to pry my cold, dead hands off of him (Carlson)."
This front office has no idea how to return our stagnating prospects and players for maximum value (we could've had Gabriel Moreno and one of Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo for Nootbaar and Donovan, respectively, who have both backed up statwise the year after. We could've dealt O'Neill for more than two flyers a long time when his value was high. Soto could've been had for Carlson and prospects, and damn, wouldn't that look so fucking good right about now? And it just goes on and on), no idea when to stop paying the veteran players for past production (yes, Albert Pujols worked. I'd argue that Molina, Wainwright, and now Goldschmidt didn't...along with Mikolas and damn near
everyone we've picked up as of late.), no idea which veteran players to not pursue (*coughMarcellOzunacough*), no idea which prospects to keep (should've kept Alcantara and Gallen instead of dealing them for Ozuna), no idea just how fucked they've gotten this team from the top down. I personally think that ever since Oscar died, they've done nothing but react to everything instead of being proactive like they were.
DeWitt is a microcosm of all of this. You cannot expect to do the exact same things that have led us to mediocrity at best and have the arrogance to believe that only you can fix it without any help from the outside. Mozeliak and Girsch apparently are being retained (no word on Marmol, but I
have to imagine he gets canned...and it's not all on him. He can only play with the hand he's been given, and it's a really shitty one. Mind you, I still want him gone. I just don't think he's nearly at fault for what the front office has given him, even though he's done himself no favors.), so I expect the SOSAC next year as well. Oh, and they apparently want to retain Goldschmidt the "future HOFer" when he's not even borderline and quite clearly done. Don't expect them to get my time and money if they do that. Don't expect them to get my time and money
Despite what my dad believes, Shildt wouldn't have worked out either. The arrogance to want Randy Arozarena gone and then demand that you get to make all of the future decisions the very next year when you've had a mediocre year? Absolutely wouldn't fly with me, and it's not like he's suddenly Whitey Herzog in his prime.
But that's just my opinion. I don't matter to the Cardinals...but they won't get a fucking
cent out of me if they keep doing the same horseshit song and dance they've been doing.
