Thanks for the “devil’s advocate” post. I agree with what you are saying to an extent, but I have two questions:

1. What piece did the Cardinals need to fill “to get them in the playoffs”? It’s hard to quantify isn’t it? There were only a few proven free agents that we know would have pushed them over the edge, and we were not going to outbid New York to get them. Very few teams could.

2. Would you a. have ownership spend money just to get to 100-110 million in payroll or b. would you rather they wait for the best opportunities to spend their money?

Since 1 is hard to quantify, and I would expect the answer to question 2 would be “a”, wouldn’t you say the Cardinals are doing things right and the article from Strauss was a bit sensational?

Why does anyone care what DeWitt puts into his pocket? I don’t care if the Cardinals make money or not. I want to see a winner. If not making a profit means the team is going to move, then yes, then I’ll care. I know this is a business, and it is there to make money. In there operating expenses, I’d be really surprised if DeWitt did not get a salary that is included in the $150 million in operating expenses. Look at the revenue generated by the organization compared to the revenue generated by companies where CEO’s make millions of dollars. I work for a company that has about $200 million in revenue, and I know for sure that our CEO does not make $1 million. You can’t compare the Cardinals to banking ceo’s and other forbes 500 companies.

Back to my original thought. I want to see the Cardinals win. I don’t care if the club makes $50 million profit, $1 million profit. $.01 profit, or is in the hole. I spend my hard earned money to attend approximately 20 games a year because I love this organization. I don’t stop attending games because I can’t put a full 10% of my income into my savings.

I understand an ownership group wanting to make money, but I want the ownership group to understand my expectation of putting out a competitive team year after year if I’m going to spend my hard earned money, which is more scarce than the owners “hard earned” money. I’m not saying the Cardinals are not putting together a quality team, but if there is a piece that can be added to make this club a post-season club, all avenues need to be explored to get a deal done.

I go outside of my budget and rack up credit card debt each time the Cardinals make the playoffs. I go outside of the revenue my household brings in because I love the Cardinals and I love seeing a winner. Why shouldn’t I expect the organization to do the same?

Nice article, thanks for letting me play devil’s advocate.

You have a great point with their “non payroll” improvements. I’d add to it by mentioning their hiring of more statistical analysts, increase in scouting the pacific rim and dominican baseball academy.

They are being proactive instead of reactive in trying to find new ways to win.

Something else that is often overlooked is the amount they are investing in the minor leagues. I have to believe that since returning their focus to developing from within, they have spent more on their farm system than in years past.

Just because the youngsters come up and are cost-controlled for six years, doesn’t mean the team hasn’t already shelled out plenty for them to reach the bigs.