Cardinals preach patience, but have none with player development

The St. Louis Cardinals have lost their identity. The once prestigious and honorable organization has lost appreciation across the sport and is left squandering in its own dismay. As fans are losing faith in their team and the future direction of the organization, the organization continues to preach patience and allow them to execute their so-called plan to fix this lingering issue. This fanbase is smart, and they know nothing is going to change until the next regime takes over in 2026. One final gaslight from the front office has the magic of Cardinals Nation fading away, and now everyone does not recognize what has become of the St. Louis Cardinals.

One component the front office is reaching for is respect from their customer base. They truly believe their legacy is enough for fans to always support their vision with no pushback. But the front office is stuck in the mud and cannot quite figure out how to get themselves out of it. The same ol' song and dance is not working, as fans have heard it and seen it time and time again. "If it's not broke, don't fix it" would work if this team were winning. But the team is not fixing what is broken and refuses to accept that reality. The same repetitive patterns continue to repeat, and no solution will be made until a new face makes decisions going forward.

We have seen top prospects fail to develop into the star players they were once hyped to be. We have seen promising players fail here and then succeed elsewhere. We have seen questionable signings collapse in a very predictable way. This has been taking place for almost a decade, and nothing has changed or improved from this.Light was recently shed on this in an interview from Foul Territory with St. Louis Post Dispatch's Derrick Goold. Goold briefly discussed how the Cardinals' failures to develop players stems from their own impatience in letting young players fail, learn, and grow. They carried the "win now" expectation too closely instead of truly analyzing the position the franchise was in during that time. Notable situations named were Adolis Garcia and Randy Arozarena not being given additional chances because of Harrison Bader and Tyler O'Neill taking their playing time with more production in that moment. Lane Thomas was another example when he was injured and other players stepped in to help the team win. This impatience led to the organization losing faith in players too quickly while also investing in the wrong players.

Going into the 2025 season, fans are expected to buy into the "reset" and let young players develop. But with almost the exact same roster returning from the prior season, are those chances really available to these players to prove themselves? With the pattern of failed development from impatience within the front office not changing, what makes it different this year? The play on the field will always dictate the next step for the front office, and the current state of the team is very unknown on what is expected. You are expected to be patient during this time, but the front office has not earned that respect from the fans and never will until true changes take place.