Cards fans still show up in droves for last place team, even as Bill DeWitt Jr. fails to adapt winning model

27 years later, the DeWallet isn't as hungry or wide open as it used to be.

Bill DeWitt Jr. has never been a real fan favorite around St. Louis. Let’s be honest. Along with being as cold as January ice, he doesn’t connect with the average fan. The Cincinnati native who carried rich history with the Cardinals bought the team in 1996-turning a lollygagging franchise into a yearly pennant contender-just doesn’t give off the passionate, warm and fuzzy leadership vibe that neighborhood businessman Tom Stillman provides Blues fans.

DeWitt Jr. is a pure businessman, but the problem is this particular suit doesn’t want to update the business model. All we have in life is our word, and Bill’s word has started to erode over the past two years of WTF baseball. In 2018, he told the media that merely being good wasn’t good enough for the Cardinals. After Mike Shildt revamped the team, turning them into a defensive-powered winner, DeWitt Jr. and General Manager OG John Mozeliak decided to fire him after his tactics and expectations didn’t jive with the Cardinal Way.

That same “way” has led them down a path with ZERO NLCS wins in nine years, with a single playoff series win marking their territory since that fateful 2014 collapse against San Francisco. The team hired Oliver Marmol, the bench coach for Shildt who carried minor league tenure and trust with the front office, to be their manager before the 2022 season. A 93-win season was followed by a swift playoff exit, something that’s become the norm around Clark and Spruce.

Instead of reloading on starting pitching and identifying the problem, Mo-Witt allowed the roster to essentially turn over into the same thing. Willson Contreras is a nice add, but he doesn’t pitch and spent the first couple of months trying to stay over .200. Oh, and the pitching staff/team alienated him for a week before righting that clueless ship. The front office had NO plans to truly improve this team.

Yet, comments made by Mozeliak last night on the radio are meant to calm fans. “We’ll fix it” or “there will be trades” have been heard before. Those same fans are a little burnt out by the charade. The classic act of building a team up just strong enough to make money without actually winning anything. Hang your 2022 NL Central cap on the same bed post that’s adjourned to the current 38-52 team.

It also doesn’t help, whether their profits are connected or not, that Ballpark Village Phase Two is a smashing success, bringing in revenue and local businesses into the mix. That’s not a comfy feeling when the game experience is either too expensive (Busch will charge for oxygen next year) or complicated (Bally Sports bullshit) to consume. We have a classic businessman here, folks. As long as there’s profit, there’ll be little change.

Yeah, the team may trade a couple assets and bring a few new ones in, but I would be surprised by any big action. Why would they, since fans are still showing up in droves? The only way this changes is if Busch Stadium becomes less packed and profitable. However, then you’re making the people that you should be selling on coming to the ballpark choose the radio instead. The circle of deceit and misdirection continue.

If you acquire Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt, why do you follow that up with Steven Matz? Also, if you’re going to offer a declining Adam Wainwright $17.5 million to hopefully be a 4-5 starter, what are you doing running a professional business anyway? The Albert Pujols sendoff, which turned out more amazing than any wild dreams could draw up, starved off this feeling last October when the Phillies blew into town and turned off the lights.

Now, your three legends are either retired or physically there already. Your two current superstars are doing everything possible to keep the team out of absolute embarrassment level, and you do little to right the ship. Yet, the price of a bottle of water at the ballpark climbs over $10. Everything is getting more expensive, but enjoyment has to come with it.

For example, I am willing to hand over $30 to Tucker’s in Soulard for a well-made, bacon-wrapped filet mignon--but I know the enjoyment will be there. DeWitt Jr. is charging $30 for a baseball filet, and giving the fans a chewy pork steak instead.

His comments in January contradict his words back in 2018, and all we have in this chaotic world are the things we choose to let flow out of our mouths. If you’re going to tell fans that mere contention isn’t good enough, then put those words into action. Or, just say we’re going to ride this wave of “coulda-shoulda” for another few years.

Misleading fans is exactly how a mutiny begins. It’s not until Busch gets a little more empty and interest starts to waver for the first time in decades, that any real change will occur. Does DeWitt Jr. have a shocking blockbuster trade left in him? I doubt it.

27 years ago, he turned this thing around and made it something truly special. Now, Bill DeWitt Jr. has the power to perform that surgery again, but will he? Don’t bet the rent on it. I mean, are you still confident in the duo below?

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