Shaken, not stirred - Jocketty, the Cards and the future

I agree with your comments regarding Eckstein. It is time to put aside the warm fuzzies and start hunting for another piece of the puzzle. I like Ryan at SS. He shows some potential and I think he would fill Eck's spot real well. The same alarms that went off whenever the Cards were satisfied with signing Wells and using relievers to fill the gaps sounded whenever I read about Eck.

However, I am not one to ditch the vets strategy yet. The vets are all that we have...we don't have a farm. You can't blame the Cards for a reliever rotation this year. There was no one to bring up to help the rotation (and we had an owner unwilling to increase the budget). Look at how often the Cards brought Reyes back and forth. He was easily one of the worse pitchers in the NL this year. If they had good farm system, then they wouldn't have put Anthony and the team through the agony of seeing him lose time after time.

But what do you do when you don't have the farm to back you up? You rely on vets. The farm isn't strong enough for the team to abandon the vets yet. It could take awhile to build up a farm system. The fans do not have the patience to go through a rebuilding phase. We want a contender every year, not every 4 years. And with the Cards "rebuilding" the fans will stop packing the stadium (which is the source of the income for the franchise) and the money will not flow.

Besides it is insulting for the Cards not to have a higher payroll than they did last year. The Cardinals are 11th in payroll in the MLB and 5th in highest ticket prices. Where is the money going? Lining the wallets of DeWitt is where it is going. DeWitt promised to spend more money during the coming offseason. He promised that last year too. And all we got was Wells and Kennedy. Thanks a lot DeWitt, thanks a heap.

Excellent piece of work, MM.

The days of trading for premium veterans with mid-level prospects (Jocketty's strength as a GM) are long gone. And because of the new revenue sharing rules, even small market teams are in the hunt for free agents, driving up the prices for mediocre veterans.

As a result, consistent, long-term success requires a strong farm system. DeWitt understands this and has devoted more resources to scouting and player development. Under Luhnow, the farm system has gone from ****-poor to halfway decent in a couple of years. But even more resources need to be infused into these areas.

Jocketty clearly didn't like the direction the Cardinals were heading in and also apparently felt threatened by Luhnow. He moaned and groaned about the situation pretty much all year and helped created a negative, unproductive environment in the front office.

Either Jocketty or Luhnow had to go. Canning Luhnow and keeping Jocketty would have been the end of the renewed emphasis on player development. DeWitt made the right decision, and I can't believe Jocketty was surprised by it. It was clear he had lost the battle months ago, but he kept fighting it. Deep down, he's got to be glad this is over.

It's time for both him and the Cardinals to move on.

The Cardinals farm system may not be up to par with some other teams, but Jocketty trumped that with amazing deals over the years. How can you dump a guy that build a World Series title team and numerous other playoff teams? My only problem with him was he let Suppan, Marquis, and Weaver go. People didn't shed many tears when this happened, but I knew it was a mistake. They were key components of a championship team. I wouldn't be so quick to abandon Eckstein. He was only World Series MVP for crying out loud. I understand that he's 33, but he may have a few good years left. Besides, they have Ryan being groomed for the future. The biggest problem for the Cards is getting the pitchers back healthy. If that happens, the Cards will be back in contention.

Personally, I think Rolen and Edmonds are damaged goods. Eckstein might have a couple years left. It may be time to go with a youth movement and build around Pujols.