Loser Mentality

[Bomber1]

I'll add - the "loser mentality" is, if anything, whining for ownership to give you the pablum of a couple of "stars," a couple of "names" you recognize, even when you should know this team is nowhere good enough to really compete with a couple of more "names."

Settling for being pacified by just having a couple more "names" on the back of jerseys instead of demanding the implementation of a real plan to eventually be able to compete with the Dodgers, Phillies, Mets, Padres, etc. is the "loser mentality." That's really what ownership has been selling fans on for the last several years to get to this point.

You sure seem to think you’ve got it all figured out and us “Whiners” are clueless! Are you really just another account for Melville?
Hope you enjoy the next 3+ years of futility!
In my opinion this team is only 3 or 4 players away from being able to compete. I guess you have no confidence in any of our current players, so to replace the whole team will take several years!

The problem with your opinion is that it is not shared by the people who actually matter - the Cardinal Front Office and Ownership.

Nobody’s loving “the next 3 years of futility” but neither you, me, or anybody else on this site has power to change it.

[Goldfan]

I'll add - the "loser mentality" is, if anything, whining for ownership to give you the pablum of a couple of "stars," a couple of "names" you recognize, even when you should know this team is nowhere good enough to really compete with a couple of more "names."

Settling for being pacified by just having a couple more "names" on the back of jerseys instead of demanding the implementation of a real plan to eventually be able to compete with the Dodgers, Phillies, Mets, Padres, etc. is the "loser mentality." That's really what ownership has been selling fans on for the last several years to get to this point.

You sure seem to think you’ve got it all figured out and us “Whiners” are clueless! Are you really just another account for Melville?
Hope you enjoy the next 3+ years of futility!
In my opinion this team is only 3 or 4 players away from being able to compete. I guess you have no confidence in any of our current players, so to replace the whole team will take several years!

The problem with your opinion is that it is not shared by the people who actually matter - the Cardinal Front Office and Ownership.

Nobody’s loving “the next 3 years of futility” but neither you, me, or anybody else on this site has power to change it.

When BDW sees 10-15k at Busch every night he might come around. A POBO by name alone isn’t going to put butts in seats…..

[mattmitchl44]

I'll add - the "loser mentality" is, if anything, whining for ownership to give you the pablum of a couple of "stars," a couple of "names" you recognize, even when you should know this team is nowhere good enough to really compete with a couple of more "names."

Settling for being pacified by just having a couple more "names" on the back of jerseys instead of demanding the implementation of a real plan to eventually be able to compete with the Dodgers, Phillies, Mets, Padres, etc. is the "loser mentality." That's really what ownership has been selling fans on for the last several years to get to this point.

You sure seem to think you’ve got it all figured out and us “Whiners” are clueless! Are you really just another account for Melville?
Hope you enjoy the next 3+ years of futility!
In my opinion this team is only 3 or 4 players away from being able to compete. I guess you have no confidence in any of our current players, so to replace the whole team will take several years!

"Only" four $25 million or $30 million AAV players? Only $100 to $120 million a year?

Is that all?

[Cardinals4Life]

I'll add - the "loser mentality" is, if anything, whining for ownership to give you the pablum of a couple of "stars," a couple of "names" you recognize, even when you should know this team is nowhere good enough to really compete with a couple of more "names."

Settling for being pacified by just having a couple more "names" on the back of jerseys instead of demanding the implementation of a real plan to eventually be able to compete with the Dodgers, Phillies, Mets, Padres, etc. is the "loser mentality." That's really what ownership has been selling fans on for the last several years to get to this point.

You sure seem to think you’ve got it all figured out and us “Whiners” are clueless! Are you really just another account for Melville?
Hope you enjoy the next 3+ years of futility!
In my opinion this team is only 3 or 4 players away from being able to compete. I guess you have no confidence in any of our current players, so to replace the whole team will take several years!

"Only" four $25 million or $30 million AAV players? Only $100 to $120 million a year?

Is that all?

Yes, that is all. Cards can afford to carry some players of this magnitude. We have a team full of YOUR "cost-controlled" young players. You are going to have to pay some pillars.

[edwin drood]

Allow me to vent a little.....

When did the St. Louis Cardinals get such a loser mentality? When did it become acceptable for MLB baseball in St. Louis to look like AAA ball? When did it become okay for the Cardinals to not have any star power? When did it become okay for ownership to strip payroll down to nothing? When did the fans start accepting the idea that tanking (not even trying to compete) is okay? When did fans become in favor of collecting prospects instead of MLB players? When dod it become okay to have Oliver Marmol as a MLB manager?

Ok, I feel a little better.....maybe.

Tired of the Loser Mentality with the Cards and tired of reading the Loser Mentality nonsense I read on here.

Hear, hear!

[mattmitchl44]

I'll add - the "loser mentality" is, if anything, whining for ownership to give you the pablum of a couple of "stars," a couple of "names" you recognize, even when you should know this team is nowhere good enough to really compete with a couple of more "names."

Settling for being pacified by just having a couple more "names" on the back of jerseys instead of demanding the implementation of a real plan to eventually be able to compete with the Dodgers, Phillies, Mets, Padres, etc. is the "loser mentality." That's really what ownership has been selling fans on for the last several years to get to this point.

You sure seem to think you’ve got it all figured out and us “Whiners” are clueless! Are you really just another account for Melville?
Hope you enjoy the next 3+ years of futility!
In my opinion this team is only 3 or 4 players away from being able to compete. I guess you have no confidence in any of our current players, so to replace the whole team will take several years!

"Only" four $25 million or $30 million AAV players? Only $100 to $120 million a year?

Is that all?

Yes, that is all. Cards can afford to carry some players of this magnitude. We have a team full of YOUR "cost-controlled" young players. You are going to have to pay some pillars.

They can't afford four $25 to $30 million players AND pay for a good enough rest of the roster to support them unless they have even more young, cost controlled players than I project that they need.

They don't have anywhere close to the depth and quality of young cost controlled players to make it work right now.

Having Gorman at -0.2 fWAR, Walker at -1.2 fWAR, Ryan Fernandez, etc. are not contributing, as of now at least, to the depth and quality of young cost controlled players they need.

[Carp4Cy]

I'll add - the "loser mentality" is, if anything, whining for ownership to give you the pablum of a couple of "stars," a couple of "names" you recognize, even when you should know this team is nowhere good enough to really compete with a couple of more "names."

Settling for being pacified by just having a couple more "names" on the back of jerseys instead of demanding the implementation of a real plan to eventually be able to compete with the Dodgers, Phillies, Mets, Padres, etc. is the "loser mentality." That's really what ownership has been selling fans on for the last several years to get to this point.

You sure seem to think you’ve got it all figured out and us “Whiners” are clueless! Are you really just another account for Melville?
Hope you enjoy the next 3+ years of futility!
In my opinion this team is only 3 or 4 players away from being able to compete. I guess you have no confidence in any of our current players, so to replace the whole team will take several years!

"Only" four $25 million or $30 million AAV players? Only $100 to $120 million a year?

Is that all?

Yes, that is all. Cards can afford to carry some players of this magnitude. We have a team full of YOUR "cost-controlled" young players. You are going to have to pay some pillars.

They can't afford four $25 to $30 million players AND pay for a good enough rest of the roster to support them unless they have even more young, cost controlled players than I project that they need.

They don't have anywhere close to the depth and quality of young cost controlled players to make it work right now.

Having Gorman at -0.2 fWAR, Walker at -1.2 fWAR, Ryan Fernandez, etc. are not contributing, as of now at least, to the depth and quality of young cost controlled players they need.

The big question will become whether its even possible to reach critical mass or if the conversion rate, even among the best run orgs is too low. Keeping Oli doesn't seem to be the best way to boost that conversion rate since he is so bad at developing the talent we've already promoted, and quite possibly broken some of them.

[ecleme22]

I'll add - the "loser mentality" is, if anything, whining for ownership to give you the pablum of a couple of "stars," a couple of "names" you recognize, even when you should know this team is nowhere good enough to really compete with a couple of more "names."

Settling for being pacified by just having a couple more "names" on the back of jerseys instead of demanding the implementation of a real plan to eventually be able to compete with the Dodgers, Phillies, Mets, Padres, etc. is the "loser mentality." That's really what ownership has been selling fans on for the last several years to get to this point.

You sure seem to think you’ve got it all figured out and us “Whiners” are clueless! Are you really just another account for Melville?
Hope you enjoy the next 3+ years of futility!
In my opinion this team is only 3 or 4 players away from being able to compete. I guess you have no confidence in any of our current players, so to replace the whole team will take several years!

"Only" four $25 million or $30 million AAV players? Only $100 to $120 million a year?

Is that all?

Yes, that is all. Cards can afford to carry some players of this magnitude. We have a team full of YOUR "cost-controlled" young players. You are going to have to pay some pillars.

They can't afford four $25 to $30 million players AND pay for a good enough rest of the roster to support them unless they have even more young, cost controlled players than I project that they need.

They don't have anywhere close to the depth and quality of young cost controlled players to make it work right now.

Having Gorman at -0.2 fWAR, Walker at -1.2 fWAR, Ryan Fernandez, etc. are not contributing, as of now at least, to the depth and quality of young cost controlled players they need.

The big question will become whether its even possible to reach critical mass or if the conversion rate, even among the best run orgs is too low. Keeping Oli doesn't seem to be the best way to boost that conversion rate since he is so bad at developing the talent we've already promoted, and quite possibly broken some of them.

Oli hasn’t broken anyone.

And if he did, CB would’ve fired him.

[mattmitchl44]

The big question will become whether its even possible to reach critical mass or if the conversion rate, even among the best run orgs is too low.

For Milwaukee to be as competitive as they are on a $120 million payroll, for Cleveland to be as competitive as they are on a $100 million payroll, for Tampa Bay to be as competitive as they are on an $80 million payroll, etc. - it's possible.

Take what those teams do and smartly spend $180 million instead and you should be much more competitive than they are.

Whatever philosophy they take, they have to be much smarter than they have been, and they have to be smarter than many of the other teams in MLB. If we have to believe in them being able to be smarter, let's expect them to be smarter at the thing (prospect identification, acquisition, and development) that would provide the greatest benefit, by far, of the things they could be smarter at.

[Stlcardsblues]

Allow me to vent a little.....

When did the St. Louis Cardinals get such a loser mentality? When did it become acceptable for MLB baseball in St. Louis to look like AAA ball? When did it become okay for the Cardinals to not have any star power? When did it become okay for ownership to strip payroll down to nothing? When did the fans start accepting the idea that tanking (not even trying to compete) is okay? When did fans become in favor of collecting prospects instead of MLB players? When dod it become okay to have Oliver Marmol as a MLB manager?

Ok, I feel a little better.....maybe.

Tired of the Loser Mentality with the Cards and tired of reading the Loser Mentality nonsense I read on here.

A few of us pointed out the issues that were forming five years ago. We were called whiney and entitled by many.

We are now in a place where they destroyed the organization. For those of us who look at the current state of the organization, we can see it has to be a long painful rebuild.

That doesn’t mean we are accepting where we are. The empty stadium shows that.

It’s now on Bloom and ownership to fix this. Time will tell if it’s being done correctly. There is no path to quick fix the damage.

What would you be looking to do to fix this?

I would go get a few pieces in free agency/via trade. Add them to the cost-controlled young guys we have currently (who, btw, are solid complimentary pieces).

2 SPs
2 Bats
1 or 2 BP arms

Examples:
Valdez (FA), Ragans (Trade)
Valdez, Gray, Ragans, Liberatore, McGreevy

Looks formidable.

Suarez (FA), Tatis Jr. (Trade)

Wetherholt 2B
Herrera C
Tatis Jr. RF
Suarez 3B
Contreras 1B
Burleson LF
Winn SS
Gorman DH
Scott II CF

Looks formidable.

Maton (FA), Helsely (FA), Romero, O'Brien, Svanson, Graceffo, Leahy

Obviously just examples. Names could change. But this is a solution. They just don't want to do what it takes to makenit happen.

They don’t have the pieces to get Tatis and I am not convinced he won’t seriously regress over the next few years. They don’t have the resources to win a bidding war on Valdez.

Maton and Helsley are doable. Suarez is doable, but they won’t.

Just examples....but yes, they do have the resources to get Valdez, if they wanted to.
And agree, they won't do Suarez either.

Where are the resources coming from to outbid the large market teams for a marquee free agent?

[Melville]

Though the "loser mentality" originated a bit earlier, it was exposed the moment STL decided to re-unite and extend the careers of the ME3 (Wainwright/Molina/Pujols), rather than building young talent around N/A and Goldschmidt.
I was the only person to identify and explain it at the time.
Everyone said I was wrong.
Subsequent results have proven how prescient and correct I was.
It was obvious the organization did not care about winning.

You were not the only one…

I am highly confident that I am the only person who was adamantly opposed to the Pujols reunion; adamantly opposed to the Molina extensions in 2018, 2021, and 2022; and adamantly opposed to the 2022 and 2023 Wainwright extensions.
Nearly 110M wasted - and 6 seasons of opportunity stupidly denied to younger players on the rise.
Those decisions directly led to the current situation - and the TOXIC CULTURE which quickly defined the team.
Though I am extremely confident that I alone correctly understood, explained, and opposed the massive mistake the organization was taking in these bone-headed decisions, I also recognize that my memory of every post on this forum on that specific topic in not infallible.
If you are stating you opposed each of those contracts as well, since it is my nature to always see the best on others, I believe you.

Your first sentence is incorrect.

Many others are thought those moves were bad, including me.

Always kind and gracious to a fault, I believe the best of others.
If you claim to have opposed all 6 of those decisions as I did, I choose to believe you.
If you predicted, as I did, that those moves would inevitably cause the following tailspin and caused the TOXIC CULTURE which defined the organization as a result, you are to be congratulated for seeing the future as perfectly as I did.

As far as Pujols he carried that team the second half while the “MVP’s” were fading through Sept into the playoffs in OCT

He was fed meatballs in a league wide effort to get him to 700 HR.
It was all about Pujols/Wainwright/Pujols achieving one individual selfish benchmark or another.
They were the ME3.
Created a TOXIC CULTURE which has badly damaged the organization every single day since.

Well you may be correct about the meatballs…..but if so this isn’t the sport we’re all logging in here to debate everyday….its a rigged reality show

The Ohtani Rule was rigged by MLB to inflate his offensive numbers - primarily HR.
The steroid era was rigged by MLB to inflate offensive numbers - primarily HR.
And Pujols was fed meatballs in a coordinated, if unspoken, way to inflate his HR totals.
And now we have the multi-billion dollar betting industry subsidizing the sport.
Draw your own conclusions.

lol so now you’re branching out into tin foil hat territory. That’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read on here impressive

I understand that facts may be inconvenient for you, but hey are facts nonetheless.
Fact is, the Ohtani Rule was put in place to maximize his production numbers alone.
Fact is, MLB most certainly looked the other way when the steroid era put more fans in seats and more eyes on the TV screen.
Fact is, MLB is now embracing organized gambling as a business partner.
Fact is, Pujols was brought to STL to chase 700 career HR and it was a major marketing track for MLB - and he started seeing meatballs just in time to get him across the finish line.
And fact is, STL openly admitted that the Molina and Wainwright extensions were put in place to allow them to reach specifically - and heavily marketed - milestones.
But then, you are already fully aware of these facts.
The only question is why you are pretending otherwise

Surely you’re not actually dumb enough to believe MLB went to every major league pitcher who pujols was going to face including those who were in pennant races and pitching for free agent contracts and some pitching to try to keep their jobs in the major leagues and told them and their teams to throw pujols meat balls so he could hit home runs and they agreed to do it and none of them leaked it to the media? I know you are prone to saying dumb[shirt] but this is top tier dumb even for you I have to slate you for just how dumb you can be it’s impressive levels of dumb

Good to see you now admitting the Ohtani Rule, the steroid era, and the gambling partnerships were all embraced by MLB and are not "tin foil conspiracies" as you first claimed.
Your only remaining objection above is the desire on the part of MLB pitchers (and MLB) to see Pujols reach 700 career HR.
So, let's look at the data.
In 2022, 42.5 year old Pujols has a very curious, and historically nearly impossible, season.
His ISO rate was .280 - his highest in 12 years by a massive margin, and higher than his age 22 (2nd in MVP voting), age 25 season (won the MVP), age 27 (all-star), and age 31 (won world series) seasons.
His HR percentage was the 2nd highest of his entire 22 year career.
His hard hit rate was the 2nd highest for all seasons from his career in which that was tracked.
His fly ball pull rate was the highest of his career, the percentage of fastballs he saw was a career low, and his run value against FB's was ridiculously inflated above any other year since tracking began (he was +16 against FB's at age 42.5, after being -29 the prior 5 seasons combined).
There are only 2 options.
Pujols was magically and vastly better at age 42.5 than he had been more for than a decade - and was making quality contact equal to his peak legendary seasons when he was in his mid 20's.
Or he was being fed fat pitches at reduced speeds which he could handle at age 42.5- which, of course, the data shows to be the case.
Facts.
All I do.
Always politely, always with kindness, always graciously.
You are welcome to accept or deny facts, whichever you prefer.
But they are facts, nonetheless.

[Cranny]

Allow me to vent a little.....

When did the St. Louis Cardinals get such a loser mentality? When did it become acceptable for MLB baseball in St. Louis to look like AAA ball? When did it become okay for the Cardinals to not have any star power? When did it become okay for ownership to strip payroll down to nothing? When did the fans start accepting the idea that tanking (not even trying to compete) is okay? When did fans become in favor of collecting prospects instead of MLB players? When dod it become okay to have Oliver Marmol as a MLB manager?

Ok, I feel a little better.....maybe.

Tired of the Loser Mentality with the Cards and tired of reading the Loser Mentality nonsense I read on here.

Hear, hear!

Yes, let’s get on a positive note!

[Hoosier59]

I'll add - the "loser mentality" is, if anything, whining for ownership to give you the pablum of a couple of "stars," a couple of "names" you recognize, even when you should know this team is nowhere good enough to really compete with a couple of more "names."

Settling for being pacified by just having a couple more "names" on the back of jerseys instead of demanding the implementation of a real plan to eventually be able to compete with the Dodgers, Phillies, Mets, Padres, etc. is the "loser mentality." That's really what ownership has been selling fans on for the last several years to get to this point.

You sure seem to think you’ve got it all figured out and us “Whiners” are clueless! Are you really just another account for Melville?
Hope you enjoy the next 3+ years of futility!
In my opinion this team is only 3 or 4 players away from being able to compete. I guess you have no confidence in any of our current players, so to replace the whole team will take several years!

"Only" four $25 million or $30 million AAV players? Only $100 to $120 million a year?

Is that all?

Well, that would probably do it, but it wouldn’t cost nearly that much and you know it. You’re just exaggerating to try and prove your point is the correct one. There are other options, DeWitt just refuses to use them and you won’t budge off of your narrative to admit there are either.

[zuck698]

You were not the only one…

I am highly confident that I am the only person who was adamantly opposed to the Pujols reunion; adamantly opposed to the Molina extensions in 2018, 2021, and 2022; and adamantly opposed to the 2022 and 2023 Wainwright extensions.
Nearly 110M wasted - and 6 seasons of opportunity stupidly denied to younger players on the rise.
Those decisions directly led to the current situation - and the TOXIC CULTURE which quickly defined the team.
Though I am extremely confident that I alone correctly understood, explained, and opposed the massive mistake the organization was taking in these bone-headed decisions, I also recognize that my memory of every post on this forum on that specific topic in not infallible.
If you are stating you opposed each of those contracts as well, since it is my nature to always see the best on others, I believe you.

Your first sentence is incorrect.

Many others are thought those moves were bad, including me.

Always kind and gracious to a fault, I believe the best of others.
If you claim to have opposed all 6 of those decisions as I did, I choose to believe you.
If you predicted, as I did, that those moves would inevitably cause the following tailspin and caused the TOXIC CULTURE which defined the organization as a result, you are to be congratulated for seeing the future as perfectly as I did.

As far as Pujols he carried that team the second half while the “MVP’s” were fading through Sept into the playoffs in OCT

He was fed meatballs in a league wide effort to get him to 700 HR.
It was all about Pujols/Wainwright/Pujols achieving one individual selfish benchmark or another.
They were the ME3.
Created a TOXIC CULTURE which has badly damaged the organization every single day since.

Well you may be correct about the meatballs…..but if so this isn’t the sport we’re all logging in here to debate everyday….its a rigged reality show

The Ohtani Rule was rigged by MLB to inflate his offensive numbers - primarily HR.
The steroid era was rigged by MLB to inflate offensive numbers - primarily HR.
And Pujols was fed meatballs in a coordinated, if unspoken, way to inflate his HR totals.
And now we have the multi-billion dollar betting industry subsidizing the sport.
Draw your own conclusions.

lol so now you’re branching out into tin foil hat territory. That’s one of the dumbest things I’ve ever read on here impressive

I understand that facts may be inconvenient for you, but hey are facts nonetheless.
Fact is, the Ohtani Rule was put in place to maximize his production numbers alone.
Fact is, MLB most certainly looked the other way when the steroid era put more fans in seats and more eyes on the TV screen.
Fact is, MLB is now embracing organized gambling as a business partner.
Fact is, Pujols was brought to STL to chase 700 career HR and it was a major marketing track for MLB - and he started seeing meatballs just in time to get him across the finish line.
And fact is, STL openly admitted that the Molina and Wainwright extensions were put in place to allow them to reach specifically - and heavily marketed - milestones.
But then, you are already fully aware of these facts.
The only question is why you are pretending otherwise

Surely you’re not actually dumb enough to believe MLB went to every major league pitcher who pujols was going to face including those who were in pennant races and pitching for free agent contracts and some pitching to try to keep their jobs in the major leagues and told them and their teams to throw pujols meat balls so he could hit home runs and they agreed to do it and none of them leaked it to the media? I know you are prone to saying dumb[shirt] but this is top tier dumb even for you I have to slate you for just how dumb you can be it’s impressive levels of dumb

Good to see you now admitting the Ohtani Rule, the steroid era, and the gambling partnerships were all embraced by MLB and are not "tin foil conspiracies" as you first claimed.
Your only remaining objection above is the desire on the part of MLB pitchers (and MLB) to see Pujols reach 700 career HR.
So, let's look at the data.
In 2022, 42.5 year old Pujols has a very curious, and historically nearly impossible, season.
His ISO rate was .280 - his highest in 12 years by a massive margin, and higher than his age 22 (2nd in MVP voting), age 25 season (won the MVP), age 27 (all-star), and age 31 (won world series) seasons.
His HR percentage was the 2nd highest of his entire 22 year career.
His hard hit rate was the 2nd highest for all seasons from his career in which that was tracked.
His fly ball pull rate was the highest of his career, the percentage of fastballs he saw was a career low, and his run value against FB's was ridiculously inflated above any other year since tracking began (he was +16 against FB's at age 42.5, after being -29 the prior 5 seasons combined).
There are only 2 options.
Pujols was magically and vastly better at age 42.5 than he had been more for than a decade - and was making quality contact equal to his peak legendary seasons when he was in his mid 20's.
Or he was being fed fat pitches at reduced speeds which he could handle at age 42.5- which, of course, the data shows to be the case.
Facts.
All I do.
Always politely, always with kindness, always graciously.
You are welcome to accept or deny facts, whichever you prefer.
But they are facts, nonetheless.

His lowest speed for a home run in 2022 was 80.8mph and the fastest pitch he hit a home run on was 94.1mph. He definitely didn't hit any heaters. Not that 94.1mph is slow, but nothing above that speed for the year.

[45s]

I'll add - the "loser mentality" is, if anything, whining for ownership to give you the pablum of a couple of "stars," a couple of "names" you recognize, even when you should know this team is nowhere good enough to really compete with a couple of more "names."

Settling for being pacified by just having a couple more "names" on the back of jerseys instead of demanding the implementation of a real plan to eventually be able to compete with the Dodgers, Phillies, Mets, Padres, etc. is the "loser mentality." That's really what ownership has been selling fans on for the last several years to get to this point.

You sure seem to think you’ve got it all figured out and us “Whiners” are clueless! Are you really just another account for Melville?
Hope you enjoy the next 3+ years of futility!
In my opinion this team is only 3 or 4 players away from being able to compete. I guess you have no confidence in any of our current players, so to replace the whole team will take several years!

"Only" four $25 million or $30 million AAV players? Only $100 to $120 million a year?

Is that all?

Well, that would probably do it, but it wouldn’t cost nearly that much and you know it. You’re just exaggerating to try and prove your point is the correct one. There are other options, DeWitt just refuses to use them and you won’t budge off of your narrative to admit there are either.

So…these quality free agents ……they are going to have offers from other clubs…most of them currently much more competitive than STL

Why would they pass up those opportunities to sign with Stl?

[Cardinals4Life]

I'll add - the "loser mentality" is, if anything, whining for ownership to give you the pablum of a couple of "stars," a couple of "names" you recognize, even when you should know this team is nowhere good enough to really compete with a couple of more "names."

Settling for being pacified by just having a couple more "names" on the back of jerseys instead of demanding the implementation of a real plan to eventually be able to compete with the Dodgers, Phillies, Mets, Padres, etc. is the "loser mentality." That's really what ownership has been selling fans on for the last several years to get to this point.

You sure seem to think you’ve got it all figured out and us “Whiners” are clueless! Are you really just another account for Melville?
Hope you enjoy the next 3+ years of futility!
In my opinion this team is only 3 or 4 players away from being able to compete. I guess you have no confidence in any of our current players, so to replace the whole team will take several years!

"Only" four $25 million or $30 million AAV players? Only $100 to $120 million a year?

Is that all?

Well, that would probably do it, but it wouldn’t cost nearly that much and you know it. You’re just exaggerating to try and prove your point is the correct one. There are other options, DeWitt just refuses to use them and you won’t budge off of your narrative to admit there are either.

So…these quality free agents ……they are going to have offers from other clubs…most of them currently much more competitive than STL

Why would they pass up those opportunities to sign with Stl?

That's the job of Mr. Bloom! Make your pitch as to what you are putting together with a plan. You have to sell. That's the name of the game.