A Love-Hate Relationship
The Cardinals are good, but they could be better. However, those individuals who have the opportunity to make the team better chose not to. These individuals are those who make up the St. Louis Cardinals' ownership, Bill DeWitt Jr., the principal owner, Bill DeWitt III, the team president and John Mozeliak, the president of baseball operations. These three men have the power to make every move possible to help the Cardinals succeed, but it seems like they always fall short.
During the last few seasons, these men have done a lot of good things. They traded for Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt, Jordan Montgomery, and Jose Quintana, brought in free agents like Miles Mikolas, Steven Matz, and Kwan-Hyung Kim, and helped develop multiple players who could eventually become superstars. While these have made the Cardinals a better team, they have not gotten them to where we, the fans, want them to go. This being the World Series.
While all these moves have helped satisfy our cravings, we still see so many opportunities slip through the organization's fingers, and it's because of the front office. We have missed out on players like Max Scherzer, Juan Soto, Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani, Trevor Story, Marcell Ozuna, and so many others, because of their unwillingness to pull the trigger. This makes me and many other fans very unhappy because we know that making some of these moves would give us a much better chance at having the opportunity to celebrate another championship.
However, I feel as though this is not their main concern, as they are involved in a business that requires money for success, and they would rather just hold onto the profits. This was made rather clear when Bill DeWitt Jr. reportedly said that Major League Baseball is not a very profitable industry. Yet one look at the Cardinals' value of $2.45 billion dollars would make you think otherwise. This helps show that their pockets come first, and the team's needs come second.
If ownership could prove me wrong, then my outlook would change. But for now, I am frustrated, and I feel like this frustration may be because in my mind, if you own a team, then you should be willing to spend money to make it better. This should be done because of your love for those who support you, and because you knew this was part of the gig when you purchased the team. However, this is a business, and what is best for the fans may not be best for ownership. So, for now, you could say that those who cheer for the Cardinals, like myself, have a love-hate relationship with the front office.
Also, I would like to make it clear that even if the Cardinals win the World Series this year, it will not all be thanks to the team's ownership. This is because the Cardinals are no one's favorites to win it all and a championship victory would involve them winning as underdogs. If ownership gave their team the pieces to win, and filled all the holes, like the Dodgers, Astros, Braves, and Padres owners did, then they would not have to fight nearly as hard. However, it will be a battle, and if the Cardinals come out on top, most of the praise should be directed at the 26 men on the active roster.
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