The Cards Experience

I have a higher opinion of ownership than many, I suspect. First, the organization is well run and professional. They hire the right people with the right experience to run their club from scouting to drafting, player development, public relations and field management. I also think they have spent their money and prospects wisely in trying to build a winning team, and to do so with a focus on sustained performance over many years. By being prudent and patient we often find value where others have not. And by not overextending the pocketbook, they retain flexibility to make moves when needed. I think they have a long term strategy in mind and are executing to that strategy pretty well.

I give the coaching high marks. The team plays hard every day and their fundamentals are strong. Not every player pans out, but clubhouse dissent is rare. Oquendo helps to get the most out of our infielders, and Duncan usually takes what he finds and makes it better. And Tony keeps everyone involved the entire season, so that even the bench guys are prepared to sub in, or take over for an injured player.

The players? Who doesn’t like our players? They are OUR team! Our ace pitchers are hardworking and humble, our superstar is intense and generous, and our role players are scrappy – and now with 30% more grit! We have pitchers playing OF, OF’ers playing 2B and 3B, and a former C may be a closer someday. They play to win as a team. No prima donnas in this group.

In short – Go Cards!

Yuck. It’s such an eye sore. But it isn’t just the Cardinals’ ownerships fault it isn’t built. There are other businesses involved as well as the City of St. Louis itself. I love the new park

I feel I get my money’s worth when I go to a Cardinals game. I recommend the turkey legs when buying food..

And I’m also ok with the ownership playing the kids.

The fact of the matter is Cardinal fans are spoiled. They are so use to winning year after year that I think they get over critical when they do fall a game or two short of the playoffs.

Let me preface this post by saying that I am probably not the responder chuckb is looking for but I wanted to add my 2 cents anyway.

I am an infrequent poster but a religious reader of this blog and an avid Cards fan. I live in Houston, and as you do, I find myself detached from much of the midwestern media and fan angst that seems to be rampant around the franchise. Having grown up just across the river in the 70’s, I can remember a time when the fan base and the Cardinals, for lack of a better term, were horrible. (Vern Wrapp anyone?). I lived through an era in Cardinal baseball when the players were marginal and the stadium was empty. You could pretty much walk up and buy a ticket to any home game in those years.

We had a similar situation in the late 80’s early 90’s. I had moved away by then, but from my distant view, the quality of players was marginal. Not sure about how tough the tickets were to come by at that point.

Then came LaRussa, Duncan, Jocketty, the sale of the Cardinals, SUCCESS and the “New Cardinal Fan”. A fan that doesn’t remember the tough times, the lean times, where ownership really didn’t care, the years of mediocrity without a franchise player. Spoiled is a good term for these people. I read some of the posts on other blogs and it blows my mind how attack minded they are against the ownership and Mozeilak (sp?)… The fact is Baseball is a business. You have to plan years ahead not for one. I would much rather be in the Cardinals situation, with a boatload of talent in the minors, a payroll that is not crippling, in the playoffs or in contention every year, and the potential to be competitive every year. I would rather root for that than be 1) the Pirates, who can never manage to compete, 2) the Marlins, who buy a couple championships then spend several years selling off their assets or 3) the Yankees/BoSox who break the bank.

I think the “non” roster moves, for the most part have been right on. Sure, I would have liked to have sign a big time free agent BUT that deal was just not out there without crippling our payroll for marginal return over the long haul. I guess my age and seeing the Cardinals through the years has me just a little more optimistic than the younger fan. I like the things that are going on and am excited about the season.

Ownership – B+
Coaching – A
Players – A (can’t go below an A with the greatest player I’ve ever seen on the field wearing the birds on the bat)
Fan Relations – Hard to rate from where I am
Affordability – is it any different in St. Louis than in Houston?
Stadium Experience – wish I knew, hopefully I can get to a game in the Lou this summer. However, Minute Maid stadium experience when the Cards are in town…. Excellent

Anyway, thanks for the opportunity to provide my occasional opinion. I love this blog. Great research. Reasonable debate. Good thought provoking questions on leadership and team direction but never mean spirited or an all out assault against the team or its management.

Never even been to St. Louis. But I will say this:

For the most part in my lifetime, the Cardinals have put a competitive team on the field year-in and year-out. This decade, we have been one of the top 2 or 3 most successful franchises. I also happen to be an Oakland Raiders fan. Comparing the experience of seeing a team that is almost always in the playoff hunt to a team that has been out of the playoff picture by week 6 for the past six years, I think alot of us take for granted how great it is to follow a team that is competitive. Even that disastrous year of 2007 saw us claw our way back to within a game of first place in September, and if it weren’t for an awful five-game series in Chicago in 2003 (as well as Brett Tomko and Tino Martinez…gross) we might have made the playoffs that year as well.

So as far as Title Track goes, I’m very pleased, A+. We don’t spend nearly as much as the Red Sox or Yankees, but we produce about as well as they do.

Also, I love our players. I don’t care if it’s Khalil Greene instead of Edgar Renteria. If he’s wearing the birds on the bat, he’s awesome in my mind. So that makes me a little biased in that category, but I’ll say A- because of Albert Pujols and Adam Wainwright.

Living in Georgia, I can’t really comment on the other categories, but I’m sure you’ll find plenty of St. Louisians to cover for me.

Speaking of, last I saw, ballpark village was a big mudhole surrounded by nasty-looking fence. Does anyone know specifically what changes are being made or have already been made to gussy it up for the All-Star game?

since I moved away from StL in ’03, but I still follow the team pretty religiously, as I have for longer than I care to admit.

While mildly disappointed in the level of the current payroll, I am mostly grateful to the current ownership as I still remember the days when the Brewery owned the team after Gussie’s demise. Now that was poor ownership. We are very fortunate to have a mostly top 10 payroll in a middle market, so I give more credit for the success of the franchise to the ownership than to TLR/Dunc.

We can all cite the few exceptions, but you basically have to have the payroll to compete. TLR has never been able to win without payroll at any of his stops and he won’t be able to overcome that in StL unless the front office is able to successfully generate enough home-grown talent to get it done.

Ownership: A-
LaRussa: C+
Duncan: B+

watching the WBC, I want me some Pedro. A lot better than Pineiro.

Interesting Read about Joe Bauman

I’m almost 20 years old, from SW MO. Growing up my father and I made it to about 3 games a year. The first time, however, that I went to New Busch I was with a group from school. It felt weird. Same Cardinals, same fans, same PA announcer, same “Meet Me in St. Louie, Louie. Meet me at the Fair!” playing over the speakers during bp. Yet, something wasn’t right. As that season wore on, I made it to a few more games—the stadium becoming more like home each time. Then came the postseason. Those memorable events of Yadi hooping and hollering as he circled the bases and knee buckling curveballs from the new rookie I will remember forever. Without that WS I believe that Busch Stadium would still have the feeling of playing in a strange park—one that is neither home nor away. Since then it has definitely been home.
My favorite place to sit is in the bleachers right behind the Cards bullpen. I always arrive early, waiting for the gates to open, to watch batting practice. (notice the quote in my sig) I love watching the players swing and interact with each other pre-game. The occasional autograph or foul ball happen as well. (Side Note: One of my favorite cardinals ever was Steve Kline. Not because of what he did during the game, but the fact that he always signed autographs before the game. He would always line up the rookie (and veteran) bullpen guys along the right field line and encourage them to sign. It meant a lot to me when I was a kid, and I miss seeing it happen now.)
The food that you absolutely must get is the kosher dog with grilled onions and kraut. A few years ago, as a graduation gift, my father took me on a trip—Seven Ballparks in Seven Days we called it. Kaufmann(KC), Wrigley, Jacobs Field(Clvnd), Great American(Cincy), Miller, US Cellular(ChiSox), and home for the Cardinals. The final game at Busch was the fourteen inning one in which Luddy hit a walkoff. So it was more like 7.5 games in 8 days. We got a hotdog at every stadium and we both concurred that the Kosher at Busch is the best, followed closely by the footlong sheboygan in KC.

Anyone has the link to the today’s match gameday?

saying to himself: “Self, you are a certified bad ass and Puerto Rico is missing out on this year’s NL Cy Young winner.”

I just saw LaRue’s picture on the gameday feed and he looks clean shaven. I guess is tired of being referred to as “pornstache”.

4.0 IP 1H 3K 0BB, We should try rooting for him instead of just ragging on him

The USA/Canada game is available on the new media player (beta). It’s not HD yet as the plug in isn’t available to download yet, but the quality is still very good. The best thing is that the MLB.TV feed was actually slightly ahead of the ESPN feed on my TV, which is a welcome change from the 15 or 20 second delay. Go check it out…

as a person that watched a ton of Reds games last year, he’s going to be dangerous for years to come.

If it weren’t for Dusty, I’d pick the Reds to win the division.

Go Fightin’ Whiteys!

not that I predict we will be in the playoffs, but this is one of the easiest cardinal team’s for ME to root for. I actually like the no super-star team (well, we have Pu, but he is a special case kind of super-star).
I sorta wish Miles and Looper were with us, but I am ecstatic that I went four for four on my negatives (Itz, Izzy, Lopez, Kennedy). I love the emerging talent; easy team to root for.
And if by chance Carp is healthy all year…oh my!

Ok, so I’m a native St. Louisan and live in the city (am I the only one on here?) and probably get to in the neighborhood of 10-15 games a year. Had to pass on my Pujols pack this year due to financial constraints, so probably a few less now. I’ll get my major beef out of the way first, and it’s one I’ve heard a lot- the new Busch just isn’t what it could have been. They either went cheap, rushed, or just dropped the ball on a lot of the simple things, like the sight lines. My seats the first year were in the second level from the top, right field line, and you can’t see the corner. Last year, we were down the third base line near the left field corner- ok seats, but they’re angled towards right field. You have to sit sideways if you want to watch the game. There are a lot of natural bottlenecks and dead ends as you try to make your way around the stadium, and I wish it were more open to the field- I feel like I’m walking through a parking garage or a mall half the time. And I’ll call this a minor complaint because it probably just isn’t very realistic, but I really wish they could have located the stadium somewhere closer to the river with a more prominent view of the arch, possibly closer to the Dome and casino. They could have collaborated with the Rams and Pinacle in developing the area and they might not have the whole ballpark village fiasco on their hands. That said, I like the all inclusive picnic areas, and the open area on top of the stadium with concessions. The food is good and the prices are fair-ish (I’d rather not pay $8 for a beer, but that seems pretty standard these days). The fresh squeezed lemonade on a hot day is almost enough to get me to pass on the $8 beer (almost). And this also is not really a Cardinal-specific complaint, but I could do without the crapitization of the games- I don’t need a had dance/trivia contest/pep rally or to be pelted with t-shirts between every single inning. Play some music, and if your kid can’t sit still, teach him (or her) how to keep score.

No complaints with LaDunc, any minor issues with Larussa’s dig-me attitude are offset by the magic they have worked with the pitching staff and winning a World Series speaks for itself (right Cubs fans, oh…sorry, guess you wouldn’t know). The radio switch made no difference to me, if I’m not at the game I’m watching on TV. As far as the organization, I’d say ownership hasn’t shown me anything yet. They should have a respectable payroll with the fan support they have, and I think they’ve made a lot of empty promises and done just enough to get by, and milked a lot of the goodwill created by a team that overacheived and won a Series. I’m not yet screaming that we should storm the castle and run King Dewitt and Prince Mo out of town, but I’ve got my pitchfork and torch ready, just in case they think about letting Albert leave. I’m all for the young guys getting their shots, but I think that can happen organically and shouldn’t mean that they can’t make reasonable deals and free agent signings. If they could have gotten a Matt Holliday without giving up Rasmus, and it meant another year or half-year in AAA for Rasmus, I’d have been fine with that. But I do understand that as the game stands today, the Cardinals business model has to be closer to the A’s than the Yankees. I’m excited about the season and think that if everything breaks right, they can compete, but I’ve gotta say it feels like they’re playing for a wild card and the season hasn’t started. I wish baseball could see past the dough they’re raking in and improve the game long-term by instating some sort of salary cap (and also a minimum amount you must spend- Hello, Kansas City?). Again, not really a commentary on the Cardinals, but on the game in general. Mostly I just can’t wait for the season, so I can stop bitching about the front office, sit in the sun with a frosty cold franklin, and start bitching about Joel Pinero.

playing baseball!

Extra sweet doing it in the Jays stadium!

is making my ears bleed. God he’s horrible…

I thought there was video of him throwing apple pie on the field while stuffing his face with crepes.

Commish’s Hot Stove
I realize it’s just a blog zone, but that first sentence is terrible..

I left St Louis in 1963, but have always followed the Cards. I have lived in 8 states, and the great thing about KMOX was that at night , if I was on the road, I could listen to a scratchy Cardinal ballgame. I miss that!! Thank goodness we now have VEB and the internet in general.

Being a life-long fan puts things into perspective. Nothing can be worse than where we were back in the early 90’s.

Ownership 7/10 – They’ve brought us a championship and roughly a decade of above average payroll, some big-name trades/players, good coaching, new stadium and an All-Star game. Can’t find too much fault in the above.

Coaching 8/10 – Let’s be honest here. La Russa drives us ALL crazy at times. La Russa hasn’t been perfect in the past (steroids). La Russa is a baseball guy and winner. Red, Gibson, the secret weapon, McKay, Duncan and others have played a big role in Cardinal baseball this last decade. Right or wrong, they’ve done the job to keep this team competitive year-in, year-out.

Players 7/10 – We’ve got a potent offense, and potentially a good pitching staff and bullpen. A lot of what-ifs the last few years, but we’ve been blessed with seeing the MV3 years and some great pitching over the last decade. Watching some serious player development has been enjoyable.

Fan Relations 5/10 – They do some good things, but this is the area that is lacking in my book. They could emulate the Blues front office more in this area to improve. Selling off pieces of history (like bathroom stalls) is a bit over-the-top.

Affordability 6/10 – Saint Louis is pretty affordable across the board, but the owners push the envelope here while cutting payroll and building a new stadium elsewhere.

Stadium Experience 8/10 – The “newer” Busch Stadium is beautiful and makes for a good experience. All the fans mostly wear red, and are in the game for the most part. The stadium offers diversions from the game for those interested.

Bang for the Buck 8/10 – Player development will answer this question in the coming years, but the Cardinal fans have been getting some of the best “bang for your buck” in the MLB for years.

Title Track 7/10 – Cardinals are above average in this category as well. The Cardinals have had a chance to make the playoffs almost every year for the past decade. As a MLB fan, that is about the most you can ask for from your team. The new emphasis on player development should help keep the Cardinals contenders for the near future (one would hope that the team that created the minors could put together a solid player-development system).

Some hot dogs apparently do come in packs of 10. Oscar Meyer. Every other brand is eight though, and I can’t stand Oscar Meyer (I get Ballpark or Hunter), so I never noticed.

    * Ownership
Economics: average. Cost conscious but willing to take occasional chances.
Others: DeWitt. I think he is pretty good. I like the fact that Bill is not too controversial. I prefer that the focus remain on the team instead of the ownership, e.g. Steinbrenner.

    * Coaching
Great group.

    * Players
In general, we stay away from head cases. I cringe when others on VEB start clamoring for players like Milton Bradley and Guillen. IMHO, the Rolen situation only started later after frustrating rehab with the shoulder. (Oh, how I wish Hee Sop Choi never played 1st base).

    * Fan Relations
I have no problems with the lack of transparency sometimes. I think the GM has to be a bit sneaky in order to get a good deal. Information is critical in negotiations. That’s why when AK public asks for a trade, it lowers his chances. Maybe that’s not such a good example since AK is not good.

    * Affordability
I would say average. It’s unavoidable that food is expensive when there are captive customers. Food and walking around the stadium in between innings is just part of baseball. That’s what makes it such a great experience for me that’s different from other sports.

    * Stadium Experience
I thought the Old Bush (Bush II) was good. Can’t complain. If you want an example of a really crappy stadium, see the old Veterans Stadium in Philly. Sucktidude par none. I grew up watching the Dodgers in Chaves Ravene, and I really like that stadium even though it feels very dated. I like Bush equally as well.

    * Bang for the Buck
I would say pretty average.

    * Title Track
Hope springs eternal in the Spring. MO signed Reyes after the other cast offs didn’t pan out. I can’t complain. At least they evaluated and reacted. I was pissed out about the lack of LOOGY acquisition last year. Forgive and forget.

My experiences of stadiums involve mainly four teams: Cards, Dodgers, Angels, and Phillies. I would rank Cards and Dodgers at the top. Disney wrecked Big A for me by Imagineering the stadium. And I hated the old Phillies stadium.

 I would have to say that the O’Mailleys and the Autrys were classier. I don’t mean this to denegrate DeWitt, but it’s just he is different, perhaps, more business oriented. But it is a different era.

Stadium = A+++…nothing…NOTHING beats being at Busch III in August/September.
With that said the quality of the team does matter…I went twice when the cards were “out of it” last year and I paid almost zero attention to the game and all my attention on the girl I was with (usually vice-versa)…still a great baseball environment but watching cardinal games that don’t matter is rough.

Best place to sit are +$100 places (scoreboard patio or ground level behind the bases, I prefer behind home)

DeWitt = suck it.
Mo = Walt Lite (yeah I’m bringing that back)
09 = another throw away season. Mo blew the “play for 09” horn way too much…09 is already here and it’s fucking ugly.

Ballpark village = indifferent. Ugly crater? Yeah…But the stadium is just awesome, downtown st louis is ugly everywhere outside of the stadium so it’s business as usual.

Bang for your buck = yuck. Spending about a 1/3 of my income in 2000 -2006 to only get rewarded with AAAA players and broken vets in 07-09 so dewitt gets a fat pocket leaves a sour taste in my mouth and sitting in “only going when it’s free” territory.

Affordability = no. For somebody that wants to go as much as possible, just not gonna happen unless you like nosebleeds, don’t eat/drink, and take the metrolink.

overall – there’s nothing in this world that is better than a game in september at home when the cards are on top…nothing. It’s still a really good experience ONCE a season if the cards have no prayer….

    * Ownership – I think the ownership is fine, level headed folk. they seem to really know how to balance acquiring talent with great upside from sometimes the most least likely of places with signing the right veterans at a good price (hopefully making it easier to re-sign the mang)
    * Coaching – Larussa got a bit too eccentric last year, hopefully back to norm this year
    * Players – 2009 will probably be my favorite Cardinal team ever. the players we have now are really awesome, fun to watch personalities with a lot of ability and effort
    * Fan Relations – as with any major league team, fan relations could improve. maybe if they somehow reached out into other markets
    * Affordability – since I don’t live in St. Louis, I’m not sure how to answer this. seems like their merch costs as much as anyone elses, so maybe if the jerseys were cheaper I’d be more happy. tickets seemed reasonable last time I was there. beer and food prices could be lowered!
    * Stadium Experience – I loved Bush II, haven’t been to the new ballpark yet. would like to visit the STL this summer and go to a game
    * Bang for the Buck – one of the best teams in MLB in this dept.
    * Title Track – I really expect the team to contend again this year. will be better than last season after two relative off seasons for the cards. Excited to watch this team develop and make a run at the playoffs again.

ownership: the owners are, well i don’t know what they are. are they cheap? or are they smart? they seam to waste a ton of money, IE Marky Mark, Pinata, Carp(that contract is awful), Hollywoods extension. then they go cheap on a position like 2nd base where now the fans hopes fall on Skippy, a converted center fielder. it’s sometimes madness. i guess i’m saying the owners are madding.

coaching: what i can i say about Tony & Dave that hasn’t already been said? they too are madding.

players: love em. even Mini Me & Pinata. well not all of them. i’ll never love Betty.

fan relation: madding. they need to stop the spin. if i wanted to hear spin, i’d follow politics. i want the truth. don’t sugar coat it, don’t beat around the bush, just tell me the freaking truth.

affordability: never been to Busch III, but i can’t be the only one who thinks $9 bucks is way over priced for a Bud Light

stadium experience: can’t comment, never been. but my family says it’s nice, a lot nicer than Busch II. but many i know also say it’s like an over sized minor league park. and not in a good way.

bang for the buck: if your talking about wins, they are one of the best in all of sports.

title track: i think they are going to shock the world this season. i really do. i see 110 wins & another WS ring in their future.

Ownership: B+. Hasn’t been great lately because the Cards haven’t been dealing with issues as well as they should be.

Coaching: B+. If the Cards can be more consistent this season, I will be much happier.

Players: A. It’s great seeing good-mannered players in STL. We don’t need guys that can be clubhouse cancers. Thank God Manny and Bonds aren’t here.

Fan Relations: C+. Hasn’t been very good recently. The Kennedy saga and the fact that we haven’t gotten much in recent offseasons is starting to tick me off.

Affordability: C. I haven’t gone to many Cards games in STL, and I don’t live in the area, but tix aren’t as cheap as I was hoping. Tickets also sell fast, so it’s hard being a Michigander and trying to get July 4th tickets some years.

Stadium Exp: A. I’ve only been to Busch once (summer 06), but I liked it a lot. The party rooms are great, and even the standing room view isn’t bad.

Bang for the Buck: B. Not as good as it could be, considering recent Cardinals teams have not had the talent fans have hoped for, but it’s still been pretty good.

Title Track: B. At times, like this offseason, it’s been hard to tell what’s been going on in the front office. Granted that the Cards have had opportunities to go or win the World Series (and getting the title in 06), it would be nice for the front office to address all the issues that the Cards have, not just some.

It’s really strange not seeing a lot of talent on the Cards these days, especially since we have one of the highest payrolls in baseball. I still remember the teams of 04 and 05, and how stacked we were. It’s too bad we’re not seeing Rolen or Edmonds hit 30+ home runs, or Eckstein making a great play. I miss a lot of the guys from the old teams, but hey, if we can be successful, I’d be happy.

ownership: a. i think the fact that they are trying the luhnow way will pay off in the end, going younger is going to be better in the end, and i think they will be more careful about contracts to older guys

coaching: a-. larussa has some quirks, but he gets more out of less than most managers; duncan is a genius at times, but he has his rough moments as well; oquendo can take a below average fielder, and make him at least average if not better; plus you have gibby, red, hal, aldrete, and mckay; sadly we will no longer have george kissell

players: a+. when you have the best player in the game, it makes it easier

from bdw to mo to tlr, communication seems lacking with fans, media, players, and even each other. i know you can’t put your five year development plan on the internet, but go back and look at mo’s answers on his chats. none are informative in a baseball sense and he also picks argumentative questions for reasons that puzzle me. all in all, i say
C at best. communication is a D and a few good trades get a B and some missed trades and signings also get a C-/D. mo needs some schooling in this area. bdw says nothing, so he can’t even get a C for class participation.

lastly, i want to say that the cards seem to be run as a military operation with lots of, secrets, spin, and confidential reports. they just need to realize we are not living in the 50’s anymore. this is the information age and most who follow the club and exchange ideas with others as at veb, expect legitimate information to come from the club. for me, saying one thing and doing another doesn’t cut it in any line of business where you are totally dependent on consumers spending their discretionary money on your product instead of movies, plays, and, depending on your seat, a new car! basically, they seem to have lost sight of the fact that many of their fans have played the american game, some extensively and are not naive about the game of the business of the game. just don’t treat us like we were unaware of what happens on the field and in the game re rules, stats, and the daily feeds on mlb tv and extra innings.

    * Ownership
i think the Dewitt’s have been great for the team and the city. I love the new stadium, and have always been surprised that STL can field a payroll equal to or greater than the payroll that much larger cities like HOU, KC, CIN, ATL, etc. I’ve been a bit frustrated the last few years, but a lot of that is due to the awful luck we’ve had with injuries and long term contracts. And Ballpark village, which was a great concept executed 2 years too late.

    * Coaching
TLR is overrated, but only because most MLB managers are terrible. He’s much better than most. I’d have broken his nose a couple of times in 2006 if I was the GM, but he still won the WS (somehow). I love Jose and Duncan the Elder, though I don’t know much about how Jose would be as a manager. I think Pettini is a very underrated coach as well.

    * Players
Eh, gotta love ‘em, right? Or at least their laundry. If they ever did something like the “Milwaukee shirt untucking” nonsense last year, I’d change my mind, but I just don’t see it happening here. Albert is a Hero, Luddy is who I thought he was, Wellemeyer continues to surprise me, AW has felt like a guy one pitch away from TJ since 2006, but as long as he’s throwing that curve, I’m going to drool, joe mather has a 40 HR season in him, and I’ll kick your ass if you talk smack about Yadi, Lil’dunc, or Rick ******* Ankiel. And Rasmus might be better than any of the other outfielders, if he gets his head screwed on straight.

    * Fan Relations
The front office PR is absolutely incompetent, and has been for years. I don’t think it’s due to malice; I think they just don’t realize that they are f’ing it up. OTOH, I think we get a lot more information than a lot of other teams. I think the communication from our front office is much better than most teams. We also have a couple of complete idiots writing for our newspaper, and their useless opinions influence a lot of people. This has a viral effect.

    * Affordability
I’ve been to games in 5 MLB parks since 2006. Compared to LA, SF, and SD, it’s amazing how cheap it is to go to baseball games in STL. AZ is about the same. You can get awesome seats second-hand the week before a game in STl for what you’d pay the team for seats in those other cities. Beer is too expensive, since they don’t sell anything worth drinking, but when you consider parking, tickets, etc, STL is great.

    * Stadium Experience
I’m disappointed that they don’t open the park earlier to see BP and warmups. You can catch the tail end, but it would be nice to get in early and see the whole thing, for both teams. The stadium itself is very nice, parking is convenient and close and cheap, the seats are reasonably sized, with nice cup holders, sight lines, etc. The ushers can be jerks. They really need to increase the beer selection.

    * Bang for the Buck
Pretty darned good, for a team that won the world series two years ago. Maybe too good.

    * Title Track
78-95 wins, with a mean around 90. I think we’ll really surprise (again) and if carp is healthy, there will be a battle for the central in September, and we’ll win the wild card easily.