There is one major problem with the Cardinals youth movement…… Almost all of them are not very good

[Clubmaker2]

Probably less likely than winning the lottery that they can build only from within, that is the Pirates folks. This team will return to filling holes with FAs/Trades at some point to be relevant and especially to fill the starting staff. Houston built from the farm, but still went and got Verlander....

They can (bleep) away 2 more years and lower attendance by doing nothing,, or just go ahead now and do what they will have to do in 2 years anyway, especially with Gray done by then, and sign some decent starting pitching and then stock the bullpen and win with the pen. This really is the only choice with a chance and moderate expenditures. If cards dont want to do it, BDW3 needs to sell cause his pauper act is getting old. Any owner can play the poor card just as billionaire bill lol. Paying player salaries, is part of the business. Dont like it, get out of the business please.

[Web7]

I couldn’t agree more…. The cards front office and ownership made this mess but now want to blame the fans …. It’s pathetic

[WLTFE]

I couldn’t agree more…. The cards front office and ownership made this mess but now want to blame the fans …. It’s pathetic

We agree!...

[Braund241]

The only guy worth building around is Winn…..If they don’t add by trade or free agency we are doomed

the club is not doomed

if they draft well....become more active in the Caribbean /Cuba free agent market....and develop young players there is a path to future success

yes, they will miss on some....but Rock's boner may bring the expertise to build a pipeline

they don't have much to trade, and this owner will not spend lavishly

So no matter what, Mo and DeWitt let this slip so bad and long, that it will be a very long time, and only if they are extremely lucky. Hope Bloom is more baseball savvy than the the complete idiot that he is replacing. Serious, I think it will take new ownership that cares about winning.

[TAFKAP]

The only thing that makes this plan work is if we lose a season to a lockout, followed by a salary cap/floor system. If we enter an off season with nobody signed, we have cap space galore. Depending on how they play it, it could end up beneficial depending on the punishment for being over.

[Rosie's Rule]

For those that followed the team in the 70’s this seems like Deja vu - just enough veteran talent to stay competitive while relying on the developmental of young talent to take them to the next level - that never materialized.

[Rosie's Rule]

For those that followed the team in the 70’s this seems like Deja vu - just enough veteran talent to stay competitive while relying on the developmental of young talent to take them to the next level - that never materialized to the extent they publicized.

[imyourhuckleberry]

Barring very, very team-friendly terms, there will be no long-term FA contracts or extensions until after the CBA is resolved.

This may not be a bad thing. They need time to develop and start graduating the youth from the (hopefully) re-vamped farm system before they start filling in with pricey free agents.

[Cardinals4Life]

Hopefully that changes under Bloom/Cerfolio

But this is the FLAW w/the "Don't spend any money, build through the farm system" crowd.

How's that business plan worked out for the Pirates, Rockies, Marlins, A's, ect.......who've drafted much higher over the years than the Cardinals?

You have to do both, build the minor league system and field a decent major league team or your business is doomed.

BDWJr has stated for years "PAYROLL IS TIED TO ATTENDANCE".

C. Bloom can walk (continue to build the farm system he's already revamped the past two years and stock it through smart drafts and trades) and chew gum (build a competitive roster through smart trades and signings) as long as BDWJr gives him the proper payroll of around $160M.

The farm system will be stocked through drafts/trades NO MATTER what the Cardinals do!

Spending wisely has NO EFFECT whatsoever on what's going on down below since Bloom has been given the monetary assets he needed to bring the system up to speed.

But if the Dewitt's spend no money on payroll while ONLY focusing on the farm system, then you're going to see (we already are) 1970's level 1.5M attendance.

There is NO LOGIC behind losing for five-six years HOPING your farm system churns out two-three all-star level players while attendance and interest in the team falls back into that 1970's malaise.

Give Bloom a decent, NOT CRAZY, payroll of about $160M and let him add what he needs to keep attendance from plummeting even further is the only way to go.

Fail to do that and the franchise value will fall and you'll lose even more fans than you already have.

It's very hard to get a customer back once you lose them, people have options for their discretionary incomes.

JMO

I agree with your assessment, Rock. The way I answer the "develop vs buy" talent question is that Bloom and Cerfolio need to show significant progress on the development side, which will take a couple years, and ownership will provide the needed $ to fill out the roster. Mo clearly lost the confidence of the owners, and they pulled the plug on buying talent. Bloom and Cerfolio are on the clock.

Thx BFM

I sure hope BDWJr isn't setting Bloom/Cerfolio up for failure though by choking off payroll ($110M-ish would be a disgrace).

It's JMO but I think those two bright baseball minds can draft, trade for and develop young players AND still field a solid team while they wait for that minor league talent to work it's way thru the system.

But it will take BDWJr's commitment to that $160M payroll.

I know some, including the media, love to slam those of us who want them to do both.

Too bad

Mo was the one who wasted payroll resources.

Why should Bloom suffer (low payroll) because of Mo's stupidity?

Rock,

Why do you keep advocating for $160M budget? Weren't we at $180 a couple seasons ago? No reason we shouldn't be at the $180M budget range, and honestly as good as the fan base has been for 25 years, $200M shouldn't be too much to ask!

Prices go up every year. The Cards are going to have to get with the program and keep up. Can't keep spending like it's 2010 in the late 2020's!

[rockondlouie]

Hopefully that changes under Bloom/Cerfolio

But this is the FLAW w/the "Don't spend any money, build through the farm system" crowd.

How's that business plan worked out for the Pirates, Rockies, Marlins, A's, ect.......who've drafted much higher over the years than the Cardinals?

You have to do both, build the minor league system and field a decent major league team or your business is doomed.

BDWJr has stated for years "PAYROLL IS TIED TO ATTENDANCE".

C. Bloom can walk (continue to build the farm system he's already revamped the past two years and stock it through smart drafts and trades) and chew gum (build a competitive roster through smart trades and signings) as long as BDWJr gives him the proper payroll of around $160M.

The farm system will be stocked through drafts/trades NO MATTER what the Cardinals do!

Spending wisely has NO EFFECT whatsoever on what's going on down below since Bloom has been given the monetary assets he needed to bring the system up to speed.

But if the Dewitt's spend no money on payroll while ONLY focusing on the farm system, then you're going to see (we already are) 1970's level 1.5M attendance.

There is NO LOGIC behind losing for five-six years HOPING your farm system churns out two-three all-star level players while attendance and interest in the team falls back into that 1970's malaise.

Give Bloom a decent, NOT CRAZY, payroll of about $160M and let him add what he needs to keep attendance from plummeting even further is the only way to go.

Fail to do that and the franchise value will fall and you'll lose even more fans than you already have.

It's very hard to get a customer back once you lose them, people have options for their discretionary incomes.

JMO

I agree with your assessment, Rock. The way I answer the "develop vs buy" talent question is that Bloom and Cerfolio need to show significant progress on the development side, which will take a couple years, and ownership will provide the needed $ to fill out the roster. Mo clearly lost the confidence of the owners, and they pulled the plug on buying talent. Bloom and Cerfolio are on the clock.

Thx BFM

I sure hope BDWJr isn't setting Bloom/Cerfolio up for failure though by choking off payroll ($110M-ish would be a disgrace).

It's JMO but I think those two bright baseball minds can draft, trade for and develop young players AND still field a solid team while they wait for that minor league talent to work it's way thru the system.

But it will take BDWJr's commitment to that $160M payroll.

I know some, including the media, love to slam those of us who want them to do both.

Too bad

Mo was the one who wasted payroll resources.

Why should Bloom suffer (low payroll) because of Mo's stupidity?

Rock,

Why do you keep advocating for $160M budget? Weren't we at $180 a couple seasons ago? No reason we shouldn't be at the $180M budget range, and honestly as good as the fan base has been for 25 years, $200M shouldn't be too much to ask!

Prices go up every year. The Cards are going to have to get with the program and keep up. Can't keep spending like it's 2010 in the late 2020's!

$160M is a fair payroll to ask BDWjr to fund in 2026.

Given the decline in attendance, there's little chance Dewitt would fund that $180M.

That will only come once attendance rebounds.

That's why I haven't been suggesting higher, I know how the man operates.

And Attendance won't rebound if he goes super cheap (re: $110Mish 2026 payroll), for many years (re: 1970's).

That $160M would give Bloom the money he needs to field a team that could still compete in 2026 while the farm system is being replenished.

Alot of money coming off the books (Mikolas, Fedde, Helsley, Matz, Maton and possible some of NADO's if dealt minus Gray's +$10M and ARB raises).

$160M is a very fair ask from Dewitt, let's just hope he doesn't go super cheap which is my fear.

Dot it and he's going to see his franchise value drop by multiple hundreds of millions as attendance drops under 1.5M.