Can the Cardinals Bounce Back?

Has any franchise fallen faster and harder than the Saint Louis Cardinals?  The 2003 Marlins come to mind but they have an excuse, it’s hard to retain players when high schools in Texas routinely draw bigger crowds for their football games every Friday.  What’s the Cardinals defense?  They’re loaded but instead of spending money, they’re hoarding it.  Instead of trying to bring in talent, they’re purging it.  They’ve grown complacent with where they’re at.  What, with the recent World Series ring, the new park, and record ticket sales, why should they try to get better?

I know a while back, when Walt Jocketty was let go, I predicted that this was the end for the Cardinals.  After the initial shock wore off I realized that this was a little premature, I figured I should give the new GM, John Mozeliak, a fair shake before I slammed the door in his face.  So far I regret that decision.  By doing relatively nothing he’s lost my faith.  After last season it was clear that we needed to upgrade everywhere but first, and uhhh, maybe catcher.  Our pitching was embarrassing, and Jim Edmonds is going to break down any day now.

So what’s the deal?  Have we just thrown in the towel here?  Or are we still trying to win games?  From the looks of things this rebuilding process is going to be long and drawn out.  I understand the whole youth movement thing, and I support the concept, but the Cardinals execution, or lack there-of, thus far has been mind-boggling. 

Is that what we’re even doing?  There has been no clear course of action, so are we just to assume that this is the plan?  Mozeliak has to understand that getting younger doesn’t mean letting the old guys walk out the door.  If that’s what you are going to do why not capitalize on it and pick up a few spare parts in the process?  I don’t imagine anyone in the clubhouse wants to stick around at this point, so why didn’t they offer David Eckstein arbitration?  What’s the worst that could happen?  Either he accepts it and you pay him for a year, or he walks and you get a draft pick as compensation.  From where I sit the Cardinals win in either scenario.  Instead we’re left with nothing.

You can’t go about the process half-heartedly, either you’re in, or you’re out.  The fans might be complacent now but it’s not going to remain that way forever.  Don’t exploit our faith and support.  Make a game plan and stick to it.  We don’t have the luxury of building within the organization, at this point there are no prospects. Jocketty traded them all away for veteran players, so now we have to get new ones.  A good place to start would have been with getting something in return for Eckstein, but, unfortunately, that ship has sailed.  Now it’s time to seize the next opportunity. 

That means getting out there and really shopping Scott Rolen. If you have to eat some of his contract, do it.  Unfortunately I have a nagging feeling that he will be on our opening day roster, and probably well after the July 31^st trading deadline.  The front office isn’t being realistic with their expectations.  Mozeliak is searching for a Migeul Cabrera-type return for his Gold Glove winning third basemen, and he’s never going to get it.  Rolen is still one of the best third basemen in the game but no one is going to pay top dollar after the worst season of his career.  The market is there, just not at the price they asking for.  No one cares that Rolen has won seven Gold Gloves, or that he hit .314 with 34 home runs and 124 RBI four years ago.  Last season he hit .265 with 8 homers and 58 RBI, those are the numbers his possible suitors will be looking at.

The same goes for Anthony Reyes.  I don’t even know what to say about this.  The guy just posted a 2-14 record with a 6.04 ERA.  What do they expect to get for him?  Everyone is starving for pitching but having nothing is better than Reyes. There was a point last season when Kip Wells was the only one in the Cardinals rotation that had started a Big League game, and still Reyes wasn’t good enough to stick.  I think that says it all.  They’re better off burying this guy somewhere in the minor leagues and letting him play out his contract.  It’s not like they are going to be playing meaningful games next season, so maybe they could even give him at shot at redemption.

 The bottom line is that something needs to be done.  Right now we’re in purgatory.  You can’t have one foot in and one foot out.  Either you jump into this thing whole heartedly, or you get out there and shake the trees for some veteran talent.  If it’s the former that’s fine, but get out there and stick to the plan.  Picking up Brian Barton in the Rule 5 draft was huge, so now it’s time to build on that momentum. 

It wouldn’t take much to get good enough to win the division, but in a way I would rather see some type of effort to get better for the long haul.  I know that it’s only been a year since we won the World Series, and no one wants to hear us cry about our team when others have been suffering for a lot longer, but screw it.   If we don’t speak up and start putting some pressure on the front office then nothing will ever happen, they will keep striving for mediocrity, and then in ten years we will be scratching our heads wondering what happened.  Do it, and do it quick.  It would be shame to waste Albert Pujols during his prime.