While better than last year, this team is STILL very avg

[Jobu's Rum]

Which is just what mediocre Moe specializes in.

Retool for next year, trade Fedde, Hels, Noot, Matz for 2026 and beyond pieces

DFA Miles

[BrockFloodMaris]

Which is just what mediocre Moe specializes in.

Retool for next year, trade Fedde, Hels, Noot, Matz for 2026 and beyond pieces

DFA Miles

Yep, they show us flashes of dominant pitching and timely hitting. And then they go cold. Bernie calls it not having enough “dudes”. I call it not enough stars. What we have is a really good collection of complimentary pieces that would be just fine on a roster with two dominant starters in the rotation and two dangerous thumpers in the lineup.

[rightthinker4]

Yep!

[Cardinals4Life]

Which is just what mediocre Moe specializes in.

Retool for next year, trade Fedde, Hels, Noot, Matz for 2026 and beyond pieces

DFA Miles

Yep, they show us flashes of dominant pitching and timely hitting. And then they go cold. Bernie calls it not having enough “dudes”. I call it not enough stars. What we have is a really good collection of complimentary pieces that would be just fine on a roster with two dominant starters in the rotation and two dangerous thumpers in the lineup.

Agree, which makes the FO's inability to put that together that much more frustrating. This doesn't need to be some long reset. Just go get some guys and make it happen. It can be done! Just have to have the will and the want to to spend a little $ on the right guys (which they don't want to do!).

[Ozziesfan41]

Which is just what mediocre Moe specializes in.

Retool for next year, trade Fedde, Hels, Noot, Matz for 2026 and beyond pieces

DFA Miles

Yea even though the cardinals are still in the wild card you can’t gamble with trying to get the third wild card just to get blown out in first round. Have to try to build for the future

[Just Whit]

Which is just what mediocre Moe specializes in.

Retool for next year, trade Fedde, Hels, Noot, Matz for 2026 and beyond pieces

DFA Miles

I'm pretty sure they said that's what they are going to do.
DFA any pitcher is stupid.

[45s]

Which is just what mediocre Moe specializes in.

Retool for next year, trade Fedde, Hels, Noot, Matz for 2026 and beyond pieces

DFA Miles

Yea even though the cardinals are still in the wild card you can’t gamble with trying to get the third wild card just to get blown out in first round. Have to try to build for the future

Of course you are right.......but Rock is not going to like that call...

He has a real boner for that third wild card...

[bccardsfan]

This team would be FAR better with one more reliable SP and of course one elite bat in the middle of the order. Hererra showed signs, then cooled off, then was heating up again and then was injured. Perhaps he will pan out, perhaps not. JJ is a potential elite bat, but he has never played in the bigs and baseball history is littered with guys who were stars in AAA and ended up being AAAA players. So JJ and Hererra are simply possibilities at this point. Gorman ... so far meh. JW same. WC is a good hitter, but not elite. Imagine this lineup with a guy like Tucker in a corner OF spot and hitting i the middle of it. No, I know ownership is not going to sign an expensive player, but one bat like that at a corner OF position and this lineup is much better. The team needs a corner OFer and JW doesn't appear to be the guy. He gets the rest of the season to sink or swim along with Gorman. Things will be interesting in the off season as I think the Cards will deal. I doubt much happens at the deadline although RH should be moved if there is a good return because they are not going to pay him so he is gone anyway at the end of the year. As the thread title said, this is a very average team with holes. But they do have potential with a few key pieces added for next season.

Pitching... well that will be hard. There are not many SPs in AAA right now who are looking great. McG will get his shot. Let's hope he pans out for at least a back of the rotation role. Trades for prospects, but that will take a season or two for anyone they get to be in the bigs. I will be very interested to see how the off season pans out. We have some decent prospects for both hitting and pitching in the minors, but they are not in AAA yet. Interesting times. Will ownership allow a $180M budget? How will it be spent? Can we get one more decent SP and a corner OFer who can have an OPS north of .800 out of it? Will JJ and IH pan out? Will Gorman and/or Walker be dealt? Will Donnie be dealt while he has value? Will Hels be here after the deadline? Stay tuned. Average team, but there is hope.

[scoutyjones2]

Which is just what mediocre Moe specializes in.

Retool for next year, trade Fedde, Hels, Noot, Matz for 2026 and beyond pieces

DFA Miles

Yea even though the cardinals are still in the wild card you can’t gamble with trying to get the third wild card just to get blown out in first round. Have to try to build for the future

Why? Move some redundant pieces for what you need.

There's alot of accessory players on the team, but no one "you'd pay to see" type player.

Try to get one of those.

Say a Buxton, or Colby Thomas

[Barking Lion]

I became a Cardinals fan because the fan base was loyal. They had stuck with the team through some losing but it was all about the baseball. Then they won big and, since, I have seen the entitlement creep in that turns me off on fan bases. The Cards and this forum used to be a fun diversion but this forum has become so mired in negativity that I am considering finding another team.

This is an average team, which is a positive because this was the year that they decided to transition to a younger team, giving young players a chance to prove themselves. I expected a lot of struggle and they have done better than I anticipated. Even if this team makes the playoffs, it is not a realistic competitor for going deep. It wasn't expected to be. Now we know there are some nice pieces to build on and others that need replacing.

I am happy to see Mozeliak go. The transition should have been quicker. But it wasn't. The uncomfortable truth is that St. Louis is a mid-major market. Filling the seats will not bring in the revenue to compete financially with major markets. So they have to be smarter. Even during the LaRussa years, the Cards did not build with big free agents. Their top salaries were the team's own or by trade.

So I am not done with the Cardinals. But I am done with the fan base on this forum. It is more fun being a fan if the team can be discussed, so I will become a more casual Cardinal fan, hoping for the best, and throw my most passionate fandom to another team. I am doing what I suggested to others several times. If it is making me miserable, I am going to find one that is not so miserable. So I wish the team the best. Thanks for the good discussion.

[sikeston bulldog2]

I became a Cardinals fan because the fan base was loyal. They had stuck with the team through some losing but it was all about the baseball. Then they won big and, since, I have seen the entitlement creep in that turns me off on fan bases. The Cards and this forum used to be a fun diversion but this forum has become so mired in negativity that I am considering finding another team.

This is an average team, which is a positive because this was the year that they decided to transition to a younger team, giving young players a chance to prove themselves. I expected a lot of struggle and they have done better than I anticipated. Even if this team makes the playoffs, it is not a realistic competitor for going deep. It wasn't expected to be. Now we know there are some nice pieces to build on and others that need replacing.

I am happy to see Mozeliak go. The transition should have been quicker. But it wasn't. The uncomfortable truth is that St. Louis is a mid-major market. Filling the seats will not bring in the revenue to compete financially with major markets. So they have to be smarter. Even during the LaRussa years, the Cards did not build with big free agents. Their top salaries were the team's own or by trade.

So I am not done with the Cardinals. But I am done with the fan base on this forum. It is more fun being a fan if the team can be discussed, so I will become a more casual Cardinal fan, hoping for the best, and throw my most passionate fandom to another team. I am doing what I suggested to others several times. If it is making me miserable, I am going to find one that is not so miserable. So I wish the team the best. Thanks for the good discussion.

Hey bro. Take it slow. You’re not starring in a video. A little of Alice Cooper to start the show.

You mention fan base. That’s completely out of our hands. You and I are simply needles in the fan base haystack. Don’t let others shape your attitude. Just simply avoid them.