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If the Cardinals would have run an offseason marketing campaign that stressed the importance of youth and energy and then spent 20-30 million on building the strongest bullpen possible, would Cardinal Nation have bought in? Could this roster capture the same mojo as the Blues?

Instead, we were told to expect a losing season while the Cardinals reset, with priorities 1, 2, and 3 trading Arenado.

The excitement is there with the team right now, but fans are skeptical, just waiting for a collapse.

Hoping the Cardinals keep it going.

Opti

Maybe the lack of hype was a form of honesty.

opti mist wrote: ↑04 Apr 2025 08:13 am If the Cardinals would have run an offseason marketing campaign that stressed the importance of youth and energy and then spent 20-30 million on building the strongest bullpen possible, would Cardinal Nation have bought in? Could this roster capture the same mojo as the Blues?

Instead, we were told to expect a losing season while the Cardinals reset, with priorities 1, 2, and 3 trading Arenado.

The excitement is there with the team right now, but fans are skeptical, just waiting for a collapse.

Hoping the Cardinals keep it going.

Opti

For the common fan like me it would be hard to buy in based on building a bull pen. Sort of ho hum when you see other teams active in free agency or have exciting young players developing ( I know we have a few).

Can they duplicate the Blues season? Anything is possible.

opti mist wrote: ↑04 Apr 2025 08:13 am If the Cardinals would have run an offseason marketing campaign that stressed the importance of youth and energy and then spent 20-30 million on building the strongest bullpen possible, would Cardinal Nation have bought in? Could this roster capture the same mojo as the Blues?

Instead, we were told to expect a losing season while the Cardinals reset, with priorities 1, 2, and 3 trading Arenado.

The excitement is there with the team right now, but fans are skeptical, just waiting for a collapse.

Hoping the Cardinals keep it going.

Opti

The Cardinals direction took a 90 degree turn when the new TV deal was inked and a great deal of financial uncertainly was reduced from their calculus. But, because Nado had yet to be moved and the likelihood of him being traded decreased with each day, they were kind of stuck in no man's land of what message to deliver through any potential marketing.

So on one hand they deserve some leniency on that front, on the other, they put themselves in this situation.

This season should theorectially create the marketing message itself with how it plays out. And so far, it's looking good.

EDIT- I don't think any "marketing message" would reduce fan skepticism. That was manifested through 2 seasons of finding new ways to blow winnable games over and over and over. Again, only the games' outcome can change that message and skepticism moving forward, not anything that comes from the Cardinals' mouthpiece.

How did DeWitt III make coming to the park "more fan friendly"?

opti mist wrote: ↑04 Apr 2025 08:13 am If the Cardinals would have run an offseason marketing campaign that stressed the importance of youth and energy and then spent 20-30 million on building the strongest bullpen possible, would Cardinal Nation have bought in? Could this roster capture the same mojo as the Blues?

Instead, we were told to expect a losing season while the Cardinals reset, with priorities 1, 2, and 3 trading Arenado.

The excitement is there with the team right now, but fans are skeptical, just waiting for a collapse.

Hoping the Cardinals keep it going.

Opti

A) The bullpen was seen as a strong part of the team going into the season without spending the extra money.
B) Spending money on the bullpen is a bad way of spending money IMO. Many of their best relievers have been very cheap pitchers. The expensive relievers over the years tend to be the frustrating signings they’ve made.
C) The messaging was terrible and before they told the world that they were going to do a “reset” they should have talked to the veteran players that they wanted to trade. Instead it was like we’re going to make it a year of youth but none of the veterans want to leave, so I guess we aren’t.

But overall, the team looks good. Hope they keep it up. Fans will come back if they keep winning.

Futuregm2 wrote: ↑04 Apr 2025 08:59 am

opti mist wrote: ↑04 Apr 2025 08:13 am If the Cardinals would have run an offseason marketing campaign that stressed the importance of youth and energy and then spent 20-30 million on building the strongest bullpen possible, would Cardinal Nation have bought in? Could this roster capture the same mojo as the Blues?

Instead, we were told to expect a losing season while the Cardinals reset, with priorities 1, 2, and 3 trading Arenado.

The excitement is there with the team right now, but fans are skeptical, just waiting for a collapse.

Hoping the Cardinals keep it going.

Opti

A) The bullpen was seen as a strong part of the team going into the season without spending the extra money.
B) Spending money on the bullpen is a bad way of spending money IMO. Many of their best relievers have been very cheap pitchers. The expensive relievers over the years tend to be the frustrating signings they’ve made.
C) The messaging was terrible and before they told the world that they were going to do a “reset” they should have talked to the veteran players that they wanted to trade. Instead it was like we’re going to make it a year of youth but none of the veterans want to leave, so I guess we aren’t.

But overall, the team looks good. Hope they keep it up. Fans will come back if they keep winning.

Did you expect this group to conduct business in a normal manner? Announcing a reset before talking to the key individuals is such a Mo move.

opti mist wrote: ↑04 Apr 2025 08:13 am If the Cardinals would have run an offseason marketing campaign that stressed the importance of youth and energy and then spent 20-30 million on building the strongest bullpen possible, would Cardinal Nation have bought in? Could this roster capture the same mojo as the Blues?

Instead, we were told to expect a losing season while the Cardinals reset, with priorities 1, 2, and 3 trading Arenado.

The excitement is there with the team right now, but fans are skeptical, just waiting for a collapse.

Hoping the Cardinals keep it going.

Opti

Good post. But, I don’t recall being told by the organization to expect a losing season. That was a fan assumption based on 2024 player development and fiscal projections.

Pleasant performance surprises are a great fan inducement. Moreover, ticket pricing breaks, when you aren’t spending a lot can help. Opportunities to adjust to conditions should be taken advantage of…