Takes 8-3 to avoid losing season

[ScotchMIrish]

The franchise guaranteed a losing season on July 31.

Better get some pitching between now and April 2026.

Was the July 31 decision really a bad one? What does the team gain winning 83 games and missing the playoffs then losing the pitchers to free agency for little to nothing?

A .500 team throwing in the towel with 2 months left in the season. Mr Bloom brings that East coast mentality to St Louis. Perhaps he will impress in the off season but at the moment show me.

Any fan grounded in reality and not living hoping for a miracle run clearly saw this team never had a chance at a World Series title. Being a seller over a buyer was the correct move.

As far as the off season goes, there is nothing Bloom can do this offseason to correct all the issues. What he can do is start to correct some of the issues and start to win back the trust of a fan base who has been run off by Mo and DeWitt.

I know it’s not fun, but there are times a team has to seriously look at where it stands and take the painful approach of selling to fix issues.

First you make the playoffs. If Bloom is going to quit on the fans that easily he could crater this franchise and take years to rebuild.

Ownership quit on the team last off season. You are looking for them to live off hopes and prayers of making the playoffs through a miracle run.

They need to fix this so that they are serious contenders not living off hope of a miracle run.

Your approach would set this team back into a longer rebuild and still miss the playoffs.

You have to come to grips with the new reality of a poor TV deal and declining fan interest. Making the playoffs and going on a run isn't bad given this dynamic.

Completely disagree. Want to win fans back, show them you are serious about building a true contender. Trying to make the last wildcard with no real hope of competing if you make the playoffs isn’t winning fans back.

The way to bring back the fans is to quit on the fans in late July with the team in contention?

Attendance was terrible in late July while school was out, what makes you think trying to snag the last wildcard spot was going to generate serious interest? This fanbase isn’t going to show serious interest until they are contenders for the division and World Series. The fan base is fed up with trying to sneak in with no legitimate shot at a long run (hoping for a miracle run is not the same thing). They want to see the organization develop and/or trade for/sign star power, not pick up a depth reliever or depth outfielder at the deadline. Pulling off a Fedde/Pham style trade was not bringing back fans.

The issues go far deeper than fans not showing up because Helsley was traded. Most of this board wanted him traded at the trade deadline in 24 and again in the offseason.

The way to bring back fans is to develop a solid young core then add to it with players from outside of the organization. It’s going to take 2-3 years of fixing damage before they win back fans.

There was only one path to get serious crowds at Busch at the trade deadline. That would have required renting three dunk tanks and the offer for fans to purchase balls to benefit charity and allowing the fans to try to dunk DeWitt, Mo and Marmol in the tanks.

When you alienate fans they tend to find other things to do and move on. Late July was an obvious dump and rebuild but I look for him to add pitching during the winter. We could contend for a wild card in 2026 if the makes a few good moves.

I agree Bloom could flip this quick if he wasn’t tied down by DeWitts limitations. This is going to be a lengthy rebuild as DeWitt will not allow payroll to flip it quick.

The ownership and front office missed a massive chance to start winning fans back. I agreed with not calling up Wetherholt when it would have impacted service time. Once that window closed, Wetherholt should have been called up not Fermin. It would have been a small jester to fans to get some excitement back.

There might be some movement over the winter to clear space for Wetherholt but it seems to me a September call up would have given the Cardinals a clue as to whether he can hit MLB pitching and what his best position is to give them a better idea of what to do.

I haven't bothered to look at what pitchers will be free agents but we need a couple either by trade or free agency.

[alw80]

With 73-78 record, the Cardinals would need an unbelievable finish to reach .500 . The odds of that aren't much better than winning the Powerball .
More laughable might be ending with a winning season of 82-80 , that takes a 9-2 .
More likely MAY (noticed MAY in caps) be a 4-7 finish to end at 77- 85 .

Last year's record in 2024 was 83-79
Two years ago Oli Marmol's team was 71-91
It appears for the last three years the cumulative W-L will be a losing record .
Chaim Bloom has a tough task to turn the franchise around.

It would be great to see the Cardinals make a successful run at .500. It would send the club into the offseason on a high, and an added air of confidence going into ST. Could someone kidnap Fernandez please?

They played above their station in May, going 19-8. It left them statistically tied for the 2nd WC spot. And they went from 8 above .500 on 5/31 to 5 below it as of last night.

They went 15-11 last September, posting their best winning % of the season, by month, to finish 4 games above .500. And they're going to have a worse record in 2025.

I don't see the "high" at work in any of this.

None of that is relavent to the present. As of 9/16/25, finishing the season with a flourish to achieve .500 would provide a psychological high to the organization, going into the offseason.

Lol..

None of it's relevant because it doesn't square with your present-day [nonsense].

I live in the present day and cannot change the past. Call that nonsense all you want.

You were more than displeased a year ago when 2024's version of this thread had a few posters advocating that the team's position would be improved by losing out (chasing a better drafting position). In response, you lectured everyone on the competitive nature of sports.

This "finishing on a high and going for .500" is just your reboot of that, absent the lecture --- at least thus far.

If you remember that it must have left a mark. And I'll repeat what I'm sure I said last year. You play to win the game. I have no respect for the man who believes otherwise.

You would absolutely love the Chicago Bulls.

Showing once again you don't know jack about anything. I loathe the NBA.

I'm sure you do but I'm telling you that team was made for you.