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Cardinals leaving fans disappointed, yet again
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About two months ago, when the start of the offseason began, Cardinal nation sat anxiously on the edge of its chair waiting for a splash in the free agent or trade market in which general manager John Mozeliak vowed to be “aggressive.” With the hope of a shift in direction from frugal spending that has plagued the franchise the last several years barely clinging on, Cards fans are looking as if they need to prepare for false dreams.
The Cardinals appear to be taking advantage of a weak economy and say the organization can no longer lock in over three million in attendence. The team is shifting its approach towards acquisitions as "patient" now. What sounds like a smart business tactic is more like a slap in the face of Cardinal nation, who support the team religiously and are looking at a season where the ballpark will host the All-Star game which is for sure to keep ticket sales in the black.
With over $30 million coming off the books via free agency and some glaring holes that are begging for repairs, it only seemed the Cardinals had to do some major upgrades. Instead for Christmas this year, fans have a new .213 hitter at short and an average lefty specialist for the bullpen.
Not what many had in mind.
The trade for Khalil Greene in early December left a large portion of the fan base scratching their heads. The premature acquisition of a guy who hit .213 with a .260 on-base percentage and a .339 slugging percentage doesn’t exactly equate to “aggressive.”
Does Greene have an upside that could be turned around as quick as the Cards’ front office’s promise to spend money - certainly. Yet, Greene should have been a last resort pickup if all other options were exhausted - not a player to jump on before a month passed by into the offseason.
Then came the newsRafael Furcal signed with the Dodgers for three-years, $30 million. The Cardinals could not have committed more money than what the Dodgers did to bring Furcal to St. Louis?
Even with money and length of contract considered, Furcal is a guy to take a gamble on instead of Greene.
The team is also still left without a closer - even though the bullpen blew over 30 games last season — keeping the Cards out of the wildcard hunt and possibly even the race for the division. And the Cardinals refused to make a hard push for closer Francisco Rodriguez who signed for three-years, $37 million. $12 million a year should have been worth the money to the Cardinals for a guy who racked up 62 saves last year.
Throwing out $12 million and instantly changing the bullpen would have been better than enduring the late-inning woes of last year again. The Cards claimed to have pursued K-Rod, but typically, his agent denied the team made a competitive offer to what the Mets did.
Should the Cardinals be expected to throw crazy money around and be in the mix for top free agents with the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and Angles - absolutely not. Yet, the Cardinal faithful do deserve more than a possible band-aid fix at short, and to endure a similar bullpen as the year before.
Could expectations turn around with a decent outside acquition — sure, but I wouldn't put my money on it.
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