Could the rebuild out last JJ tenure

[Talkin' Baseball]

Reminds me of that viral video of the kid post-dental appointment, in the backseat of a car, still drugged up on dental drugs. Feeling the affects of the drugs he says, "Will it be like this forever?"

Seeing that the Cards' rebuild is about 3.5 months in, it's a little embarrassing to suggest it will take 5 years.

What surprises me aren't the CTers against the rebuild, but rather the ones who don't understand it and have no idea what they are looking at.

The 2026 team could be better than 2025.

By 2027, IMO, they will start spending money.

Like you really know anything.
I mean, you were ecstatic about all their moves the past 5 years or so.
Every pitcher they signed, you were there to post the positive spin.
However, none of their moves ever panned out to be worth a (drat).
And here you are promoting the unpromotable.
Once again going to prove your 2 cents are more like 1 cent.

I guess mine is too. The team is on the right track and I expect them to begin competing to be a playoff team again after this season. He's right too, about having several people on here who have no idea what they are looking at. They rage and rage against the "incompetence".

They're a playoff team in 2027?
I call bull[shirt].

We'll see.
I'm saying they will compete for a wildcard spot after this season. My definition of competing for a playoff spot is that they will be in the hunt (not eliminated) until the last week of the season. They may even make it in. Wouldn't that be awful?

Just to be clear, I'm not cheering against this team at all.
Au contraire, mon frère.
I just think a major rebuild, such as this one, takes longer.

Difference of opinion. Time will tell.

[OldRed]

This could be a real problem. With that problem will continue to decline no matter what kind of "give a ways" they have. They will have to "catch" lightening in a bottle for things to improve over the next 3-5 years. And I will add, make TV viewing easier for the casual fan to keep interest alive.

What if I told you that there was a magical computer/TV device thingy that everyone owns and fits in their pocket and you can use it to push a button that will allow you to watch a game wherever you want?

So, you watch Cardinal games on you cell phone?

[ecleme22]

Reminds me of that viral video of the kid post-dental appointment, in the backseat of a car, still drugged up on dental drugs. Feeling the affects of the drugs he says, "Will it be like this forever?"

Seeing that the Cards' rebuild is about 3.5 months in, it's a little embarrassing to suggest it will take 5 years.

What surprises me aren't the CTers against the rebuild, but rather the ones who don't understand it and have no idea what they are looking at.

The 2026 team could be better than 2025.

By 2027, IMO, they will start spending money.

Like you really know anything.
I mean, you were ecstatic about all their moves the past 5 years or so.
Every pitcher they signed, you were there to post the positive spin.
However, none of their moves ever panned out to be worth a (drat).
And here you are promoting the unpromotable.
Once again going to prove your 2 cents are more like 1 cent.

I guess mine is too. The team is on the right track and I expect them to begin competing to be a playoff team again after this season. He's right too, about having several people on here who have no idea what they are looking at. They rage and rage against the "incompetence".

They're a playoff team in 2027?
I call bull[shirt].

We'll see.
I'm saying they will compete for a wildcard spot after this season. My definition of competing for a playoff spot is that they will be in the hunt (not eliminated) until the last week of the season. They may even make it in. Wouldn't that be awful?

Just to be clear, I'm not cheering against this team at all.
Au contraire, mon frère.
I just think a major rebuild, such as this one, takes longer.

Difference of opinion. Time will tell.

Cards had a real nice win last week and Bully, responding to a CTer, implied that he is now a believer in the rebuild and excited about the process.

Get used to that all season. If this team starts playing really well, the Bullys and OldReds of the world will begin championing the team as if their offseason sourness never happened.

[OldRed]

Reminds me of that viral video of the kid post-dental appointment, in the backseat of a car, still drugged up on dental drugs. Feeling the affects of the drugs he says, "Will it be like this forever?"

Seeing that the Cards' rebuild is about 3.5 months in, it's a little embarrassing to suggest it will take 5 years.

What surprises me aren't the CTers against the rebuild, but rather the ones who don't understand it and have no idea what they are looking at.

The 2026 team could be better than 2025.

By 2027, IMO, they will start spending money.

Like you really know anything.
I mean, you were ecstatic about all their moves the past 5 years or so.
Every pitcher they signed, you were there to post the positive spin.
However, none of their moves ever panned out to be worth a (drat).
And here you are promoting the unpromotable.
Once again going to prove your 2 cents are more like 1 cent.

I guess mine is too. The team is on the right track and I expect them to begin competing to be a playoff team again after this season. He's right too, about having several people on here who have no idea what they are looking at. They rage and rage against the "incompetence".

They're a playoff team in 2027?
I call bull[shirt].

We'll see.
I'm saying they will compete for a wildcard spot after this season. My definition of competing for a playoff spot is that they will be in the hunt (not eliminated) until the last week of the season. They may even make it in. Wouldn't that be awful?

Just to be clear, I'm not cheering against this team at all.
Au contraire, mon frère.
I just think a major rebuild, such as this one, takes longer.

Difference of opinion. Time will tell.

Cards had a real nice win last week and Bully, responding to a CTer, implied that he is now a believer in the rebuild and excited about the process.

Get used to that all season. If this team starts playing really well, the Bullys and OldReds of the world will begin championing the team as if their offseason sourness never happened.

As an 80-year-old who has followed the Cardinals as long as I can remember I would be thrilled to see them playing well. But I don't see it happening.
I wouldn't mind being wrong, but I'm a realistic person.

[pitchingandefense]

It would be a complete and total disaster if the Cards don't return to relevancy during the time they have team control of JJ. If this rebuild takes that long, then the franchise would have become Pittsburgh or Cincinnati.

The Reds and Pirates provide cautionary tales of what can happen to a vaunted NL franchise if they fail to field a competitive product, as both franchises have been basically irrelevant for more than a quarter century.

Since the year 2000, Cincy has only had 7 winning seasons, 5 playoff appearances, and 2 division titles. They haven't been to the World Series since 1990, a once proud franchise with 5 World Series titles in their history. They had Joey Votto to build around for a long time, but only managed 3 winning seasons during his prime and failed to reach the NLCS. They have Elly to build around now, but he refused to sign long term with them. And though there is a little optimism about the team headed into 2026, they still only project for 78 wins after winning 83 last year.

Since 2000, Pittsburgh has 4 winning seasons, 3 playoff appearances and 0 division titles. They haven't been to the World Series since 1979, a once proud franchise with 5 World Series titles of their own. They had Andrew McCutchen to build around for a long time, but only managed 3 winning seasons during his prime and failed to reach the NLCS. They have Skenes to build around now, but there are no indications a long term contract is being worked out and trade speculation has already begun. They have some exciting young talent, but still only project for 82 wins in 2026 after losing more than 90 yet again in 2025.

Both teams routinely rank in the bottom third of team payroll and they are annual revenue sharing recipients. Neither team has had a season where they drew more than 2.5M fans in the last 25 years. The Cardinals have now entered this territory of low payroll, low attendance, and receiving revenue sharing. They will need to put their foot on the gas sooner rather than later in order to avoid becoming the Reds or Pirates.

Having said that, I agree with others who have stated that 2027 should be the season their competitive window opens again. Looking at the ages of the players they have acquired and drafted recently, it seems the emphasis is on contention in the near future rather than far down the road. Hopefully they can avoid the fate of Cincy and Pitt by locking up guys like JJ and building around him.

[rockondlouie]

Don't think so BDog

The Cardinals could be back in contention starting in 2028 when (hopefully) the system has been producing some quality players and BDWJr is committed to upping the payroll back to the $175-180M range.

JJW won't get close to free agency (IMO) if he's the player we all think he'll be.

Dewitt has shown he'll pay for star players and I'd expect JJW to get a L-T contract well before he even comes close to FA.

He's going to be the Face of the Franchise.

If he pans out, then I look for him to be here the next ten+ years.

[Jatalk]

I am not worrying about a guy who has not played one real game yet.

[Ronnie Dobbs]

So, you watch Cardinal games on you cell phone?

Yes, I watch them on my cellphone, on my iPad, on my TV. I can watch them anywhere I want. I can watch them at work. I can watch them while we're camping. I can watch them while on vacation. I'll see if I can't hook up to a VPN and watch them when I'm out of the country. And I dumped my outrageous cable bill. It's great.