Cards on pace to shed 1 million fans from ballpark and become one of the leanest run orgs.

[hugeCardfan]

In the size market St. Louis is ( St. Louis declining population ) , acquiring pricey free agents will be limited. They go to the big revenue teams.
One thing that the organzation can do (and they are starting with Bloom/Cerfolio this past year ) is to beef up their player development side and technology end ( labs, anayltics , scouting , etc. ). Getting improved players from within may be a key . Unless a 'salary cap' is instituted thru the new CBA, the Cardinals will remain in the 'have nots' category.

A lot of truth to what you said.
The team will have to be smarter.
Don't see payroll being anywhere near the top market teams ever again.
They will need to be a Tampa Bay type franchise to compete.
Hard to do.
The past couple of seasons marks a transitional period for the franchise.
All of us fans won't like it, but it's the new reality.

They don't need to be a Tampa Bay type, they need to emulate the Brewers operation.

[butsir01]

What could possibly be the reason folks aren't going to the games? Hmmmmmm.

Age.

You’re a good guy, ‘dog, but that’s not the response I was looking for.

You’re on it as well. Great contributions. I was referring to all the actions that must happen from home/hotel in the morning till return. Hard on older person.

You are correct. I have lived in Columbus since 1970. Last Buckeye game I saw was way back when: von Schamann beat Woody with a long FG as time expired. No desire to fight 100K, many drunk, when I can watch from the La-Z-Boy, eat and drink what I will.
Never been to Busch III. Saw lots at I and II. You’re right again, just not worth the effort at 76, but I follow along online. Too many Reds and Tribe games here, so they are hardly ever on MLB. These past several years, that’s been a blessing.
Be well.

[mattmitchl44]

Not surprising.

When Atlanta did their deep rebuild, their attendance dropped by 500,000. Houston's dropped by over 1 million. Philadelphia's dropped by over 1.5 million.

And they all bounced back.

The important part will be at the end of the rebuild. Once they have a sufficient core of young players to build around again, they will probably need to loosen the purse strings in advance of attendance rebounding by maybe 1 season.

And that is why if they are going to do a rebuild they need to commit to it. This constant middle ground, do nothing mindset will get them nowhere. It's not resulted in the team improving in any way. It's certainly not leading to more fans attending games.

Maybe they're waiting until Mo leaves to do this. I don't know, I kind of have my doubts about that. After all, at the end of the year press conference last year neither of the DeWitts would even admit that they planned on reducing payroll until Mo had to jump in and say, "yes, we will be reducing payroll." So as much as people give Mo (bleep), maybe it's on the owners for not being willing to commit to do what needs to be done.

All I know is that if they are worried about losing fans because they need to rebuild for a season or two, what do you think the last three years have done? What is another likely bad season next year going to do? They had the opportunity to be proactive, but passed it by time and time again.

It all comes down to whether you believe this payroll reduction is permanent or transitory. Like the Braves, Astros, Phillies, etc., I believe it's transitory until proven otherwise. After they have reloaded with a lot of good young talent, I expect payroll to rise back to where they have historically been around 10th, 11th, etc. in MLB.

But spending money just to be mediocre and appease some fans when they are not in a position to be really competitive is just a waste IMO.

A waste, huh? Well, they are paying and they will continue to pay dearly for not spending and appeasing ”some fans”. No one can predict how much apathy and lack of goodwill will cost the De Witts. But the lack of butts in seats suggests their penury will come with a hangover effect that could prove costly at least in the short run (next few seasons). I think you are being short sighted about what the effect will be.

We'll see - but like Houston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, etc., if/when they get it rebuilt and start winning again, I expect all will be forgiven and 3+ million will be back in the ballpark.