***Official St. Louis Cardinals Thread***

The ownership group has been cheap for years, when they are bringing in 3 million fans year after year, they were just putting that money in their pocket or using it to build Ball Park Village parts one and two, to further enrich themselves. At the end they were scrapping by in the minors to spend money on the major league roster. We had four traveling coaches for the entire minor league system, which is why so many players got to the major league levels and were struggling with the basics of the position. They have now started to reinvest in those coaches which will help down the road, but it never should have reached that point.
They’ve acquired a lot of good talent since the trade deadline last year. Has led to them having tied the most top 100 prospects (6). A matter of developing these guys now. And they have I think like 5-6 picks in the top 100 of this coming draft too. Time to see if Chaim can continue to do what he’s known to do
 
They’ve acquired a lot of good talent since the trade deadline last year. Has led to them having tied the most top 100 prospects (6). A matter of developing these guys now. And they have I think like 5-6 picks in the top 100 of this coming draft too. Time to see if Chaim can continue to do what he’s known to do
They are acquired a lot of players, only time will tell if they got any diamonds in the rough, if a couple pan out, and become everyday players then it will be worth it. We were not winning this year with Gray, Nolan and the rest of them. I hated to see us move Donavan, but with this team, it made little or no sense to keep him.
 
They are acquired a lot of players, only time will tell if they got any diamonds in the rough, if a couple pan out, and become everyday players then it will be worth it. We were not winning this year with Gray, Nolan and the rest of them. I hated to see us move Donavan, but with this team, it made little or no sense to keep him.
Donny was a victim of circumstance. He’s the type of guy that the cardinals keep a hold of for an entire career
 
They are acquired a lot of players, only time will tell if they got any diamonds in the rough, if a couple pan out, and become everyday players then it will be worth it. We were not winning this year with Gray, Nolan and the rest of them. I hated to see us move Donavan, but with this team, it made little or no sense to keep him.
Your reasoning escapes me, especially in the last sentence
 
Your reasoning escapes me, especially in the last sentence
Because the team is not in a position to win and will not be in the next couple of years, and he was taking the spot of our highest ranked prospect at 2nd. Move him, take the players and hope we will be in a position to win in 2028.
 
The TV deal had nothing to do with the organization. There’s a lot of teams in the same boat last year and this year. Did you not see the Schildt stuff that came out when he “retired” from the Padres?
No, I did not.
 
Because the team is not in a position to win and will not be in the next couple of years, and he was taking the spot of our highest ranked prospect at 2nd. Move him, take the players and hope we will be in a position to win in 2028.
This "We're not in a position to win (now)" idea seems like a change in philosophy for the organization. I don't like it. But we'll see.
 
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This, "we're not in a position to win (now)" idea seems like a change in philosophy for the organization. I don't like it. But we'll see.
They tried to sell that it was not a rebuild last year, and the team sucked. So this year they are doing what we all knew they should have started last season, and tore it all down and started to rebuild. They are not the Pirates here, in constant rebuilding mode, but clearing out for the young talent and restocking the farm system. You don't have to like it, but it was necessary to win in the future.
 
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No, I did not.
Reports indicated Shildt had strained relationships with his staff members with one incident almost leading to a physical fight with another Padres coach. Same thing came from the Cardinals. Intense pressure and micromanagement on other coaches. Being fired from teams that were in the playoffs might tell you something
 
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Reports indicated Shildt had strained relationships with his staff members with one incident almost leading to a physical fight with another Padres coach. Same thing came from the Cardinals. Intense pressure and micromanagement on other coaches. Being fired from teams that were in the playoffs might tell you something
Shildt looks pretty mild manner, but must be a prick to work for as a coach, you can excuse it happening once, just a poor fit between coaches, but when it happens a second time, you have to wonder if the guy will ever get another job in baseball again.
 
Shildt looks pretty mild manner, but must be a prick to work for as a coach, you can excuse it happening once, just a poor fit between coaches, but when it happens a second time, you have to wonder if the guy will ever get another job in baseball again.
I guess the orioles hired him as a minor league coordinator
 
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The last two years we had a pitching rotation that did not include any starters that would make the top 3 on a quality play off caliber team. Sonny Gray was promoted as such but wore down as the innings added up at the end of the year. Do we have any legit starters on hand or in triple A? Until we get guys that can go 6 innings and meet the “quality” start criteria, the relievers will wear out by the play offs.
 
The last two years we had a pitching rotation that did not include any starters that would make the top 3 on a quality play off caliber team. Sonny Gray was promoted as such but wore down as the innings added up at the end of the year. Do we have any legit starters on hand or in triple A? Until we get guys that can go 6 innings and meet the “quality” start criteria, the relievers will wear out by the play offs.
Maybe but some of the better arms are recovering from Tommy John surgery, or throw hard but lack control. You can only dumpster dive so much for quality arms, sooner or later you have spend money to bring someone in that can strike people out and just figure they are going to get hurt along the way.
 
The last two years we had a pitching rotation that did not include any starters that would make the top 3 on a quality play off caliber team. Sonny Gray was promoted as such but wore down as the innings added up at the end of the year. Do we have any legit starters on hand or in triple A? Until we get guys that can go 6 innings and meet the “quality” start criteria, the relievers will wear out by the play offs.
Maybe but some of the better arms are recovering from Tommy John surgery, or throw hard but lack control. You can only dumpster dive so much for quality arms, sooner or later you have spend money to bring someone in that can strike people out and just figure they are going to get hurt along the way.
Like he said. Tekoah Roby is really promising, but he’s out with Tommy John this year. Quinn Matthew’s was the MiLB pitcher of the year in all baseball in 24 and wasn’t as good in 25. Tink Hence has all the tools but he’s been injured wayyyyy more than he’s pitched and is probably a bullpen arm due to that. Same for Cooper Hjerpe who’ll pitch this year after missing last year to Tommy John. They just acquired a young pitcher from the Mariners who’s a legit 2-4 role arm. He’s a switch pitcher who’s naturally a lefty but he’s way more promising on the right side
 
Like he said. Tekoah Roby is really promising, but he’s out with Tommy John this year. Quinn Matthew’s was the MiLB pitcher of the year in all baseball in 24 and wasn’t as good in 25. Tink Hence has all the tools but he’s been injured wayyyyy more than he’s pitched and is probably a bullpen arm due to that. Same for Cooper Hjerpe who’ll pitch this year after missing last year to Tommy John. They just acquired a young pitcher from the Mariners who’s a legit 2-4 role arm. He’s a switch pitcher who’s naturally a lefty but he’s way more promising on the right side
As many pitchers as the Cards have go down with TJ injuries, you would think, and maybe they did, they would look at how they are training them, and look towards organizations like the Dodgers that do not have as many injuries to their pitchers and copy it. It's just be crazy how many quality pitchers the Cards have had coming through the system and then need TJ surgery.
 
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As many pitchers as the Cards have go down with TJ injuries, you would think, and maybe they did, they would look at how they are training them, and look towards organizations like the Dodgers that do not have as many injuries to their pitchers and copy it. It's just be crazy how many quality pitchers the Cards have had coming through the system and then need TJ surgery.
I think that's part of the reason Chaim Bloom was brought in originally. The farm system and training staff at those levels was not in a good place before he was hired. That massive improvement is because of him. I'm hoping some of those promising young arms start to see the benefit from that sooner rather than later.
 
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I think that's part of the reason Chaim Bloom was brought in originally. The farm system and training staff at those levels was not in a good place before he was hired. That massive improvement is because of him. I'm hoping some of those promising young arms start to see the benefit from that sooner rather than later.
It all comes back to pinching pennies at the minor league level. The team had one of the fewest number of roving coaches in the league. No primary catching coach that could work with the players teaching them how to correctly play the position. It's why so many of the young players got to the majors and were still learning how to play and struggled when they got there. The George Kisle approach to the Cardinal way was lost, once he passed.

It's not that the team did not have the money for these things, they were in the top 3 in attendance for over two decades. It was because the ownership group was diverting money that should have gone into development and better players into their own pockets and projects like Ball Park Village, to further enrich themselves.
 
This is going to be an interesting year. I think the best way to approach watching this season as a fan is going to be to look at the entire season as spring training. Don't worry a tremendous amount about the wins and losses, look to see improvement from the young guys. Hopefully the improvement in the minor league system helps them get major league ready more effectively than in the past. However, there are at least two guys that I have my eye on:

Nolan Gorman - Now that he's going to be the every day third baseman, it's time for him to finally live up to his potential. I've been hearing about his "runway" for a couple years now, and this should be the year it finally comes to an end. If he's the same mediocre player in 2026, its time to cut bait.

Jordan Walker - I know he's still young, but man, he has disappointed me. His defense is better than it was when he first came up but that was an insanely low bar to clear. He hasn't been good at the plate and based on some of Oli's comments last year, isnt very amendable to coaching. That's a problem. Even when they've sent him back down to the minors, he doesnt seem to look any better there. I feel like this should be the final year for him as well. Though I'm fully prepared to trade him to the Rays and watch him become an MVP candidate.