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2025 resolutions for the St. Louis Cardinals · Cardinal Territory: A St. Louis Cardinals Podcast

• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Cardinal Territory. Happy New Year, Happy
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty five. I'm Katie Wu. He's Trevor Rosenthal, and
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: we hope that you, however you started your new year,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: did it in a happy and healthy way. I don't
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: know if you can tell my end. My voice is
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: not great. That's okay, We're gonna roll with it. I
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: spent January first down in Atlanta at the Peach Bowl
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: rooting on.
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: My beloved Arizona State sun Devils.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: And if you saw how that game ended, the loss
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: of Texas and double overtime, you'll you'd understand why I
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: sound and feel the way that I do today.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: That's all right. We rolled with it, Trevor. How are you.
• 0:43
  Speaker 3: I'm doing great, Katie. Yeah, that was some good some
• 0:46
  Speaker 3: good games. I think we got a game going on
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: right now, so excited to catch that one. But yeah,
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: Arizona State was fun to watch. Their running back is incredible.
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: I was very surprised by that. But also I called
• 0:58
  Speaker 3: the missfield goal at the end of regulation for the
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: Texas kicker. I saw the head coach talking to him
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: and it was a weird interaction, and I thought, there's
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: no I was like, this guy's gonna miss the field going.
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: Sure enough, he clanked it off the upright, but it.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: Was that long conversation where like, oh, oh, that that
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: means neither of them are feeling pretty good about this
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: upcoming kick.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: It was weird because, I mean, essentially, that's the biggest
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: kick that kid's gonna make all year, and you're out
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: on the field kind of lightheartedly. I don't know what
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: they were saying, but it definitely seemed like he was
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: trying to distract him from how big the moment was,
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: which I don't know. I mean, obviously didn't work it out,
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: so in hindsight, he probably wishes he wouldn't.
• 1:38
  Speaker 4: Have done that.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: You know, from my advantage point in the stadium, one
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: I had, I had that was the most insane sporting
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: event I've ever been to in my life, and I've.
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: Been to a lot.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: Obviously, I think the only one that could top that
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: for me is Albert Poole is getting seven hundred. But
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: I had like conceded that he was going to make it,
• 1:56
  Speaker 1: and from my advantage point, like it looked like it
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: was going through. So then when the football clanged off
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: the goalpost to send it in overtime. I think I
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: like Levitated. I don't know, great experience, great season for ASU,
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: just the beginning. So Cardinals fans, thanks for being putting
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: up with me over the last like two months. But
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: I'm also like sorry, not sorry, because I have to
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: live and die with you guys for every pitch for
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: six straight months. So consider this a little like karma.
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: Let's talk.
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: Let's talk baseball, Trevor. It's a new year, which means
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: we have to do resolutions. So the good thing about
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: the twenty twenty five Cardinals is that there's a lot
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: to improve upon. So I'm going to ask you to
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: stick with our New Year's episode edition theme. What's your
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: resolution for the Cardinals in twenty twenty five?
• 2:45
  Speaker 4: Oh, where do we begin?
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: There's a lot to choose from. I mean, we've talked
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: a lot about a lot on this show about the
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: new focus and development. We've talked about the players that
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: may or may not be on the team during spring
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: training or in April, So I don't know. I mean,
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: for me, I'm biased towards pitching, and I am a
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: believer that you can never have too much pitching, So
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: I would love to see them somehow, add some depth
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: to starting pitching, or get a little bit more of
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: the starting pitching they have. I mean, certainly we've talked
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: about Aeronatto a bunch, and you know, I think if
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: they could get some sort of return on the pitching side,
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: the starting pitching side specifically, that would help.
• 3:30
  Speaker 4: A lot for this team. I don't know, Okay, what
• 3:33
  Speaker 4: are you thinking.
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: I like what you said about pitching pitching depth because
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: for so long the Cardinals haven't had any, and it's
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: so interesting to see where they are. And we're recording
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: this on January second for our January third air date.
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: You know that Sonny Gray, Miles, Michaelis, Eric, Betty, Stephen
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: Matt's under Polante. That's the Cardinals like ideal rotation. We
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: don't know if all five of those players are going
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: to be, you know, on the team come spring training.
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: The next quick side comment spring training is like actually
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: kind of close. I was on Instagram and I saw
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: this MLB graphic and it was like eighty four days
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: until opening day, and I'm not sure if that's like
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: the Tokyo opening day or the twenty eight other teams
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: opening day that are not the Dodgers and the Cubs,
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: but I was like, that's that's not a lot of time.
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: So then I took out my phone and yeah, we
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: have like five weeks of fishes and catchers, two weeks
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: until winter warm up when you and I will both
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: be there. So yes, things can change, but we don't
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: have a lot of time. So for the sake of
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: this exercise. Outside of this rotation. Currently, there's some young talent,
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: right Polane, Michael mac greeby. We've talked about them. Gordon
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: and Griseppo could be someone coming up. They're these top
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: pitching prospects, Tink hence Quinn Matthews. Those guys are exciting
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: to me. I'm not quite sure that they're going to
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: make the squad outright of spring training. Maybe they're more
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: like come to see middle of the season kind of arms.
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: But I would really like to see the Cardinals take
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: some steps in their pitching development because they've had so
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: many guys in their pipeline over the past three or
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: four years that have kind of just panned out to
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: be okay, and a lot of this before we've talked
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: about it. I think I talked about this on the
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: last episode. I came down to these pictures not really
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: having a role right, Zach Thompson was a starter and
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: a reliever, and a starter and a reliever. Matthew libertor, reliever,
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: long relief spots. Starter, Maybe he's going to start, maybe not,
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: Maybe he's going to be in Triple A. Go down
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: the list, Polante. I hope they don't do this with
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: a griev but they might. From your perspective, how hard
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: is it when you're coming up as a pitcher and
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: not only are you adjusting to the major leagues, but
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: you are constantly I mean for these guys every week
• 5:37
  Speaker 1: their role changed.
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: How difficult does that?
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean you have to expect you being in
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: the bullpen, especially as a young guy. It's somewhat of
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: a revolving door for a few of those players, and
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: you have to be ready to take advantage of the
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: opportunity and that's how you ultimately will stick.
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: But you know, it's not every opportunity you get.
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: Is is a day where you can grow as a player.
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: I mean we say it a lot, you know, every time,
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: every day you have in a major league clubhouse, whether
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: you're a for certain guy or the twenty sixth man
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: on the roster, it's a day to gain experience, and
• 6:12
  Speaker 3: that experience at the major league level is invaluable, so
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: you have to kind of take it and stride.
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: But it is difficult, and you know, I.
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: Think I have a lot of empathy for those guys
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: because it gets overlooked and I've seen guys have you
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: know what, like bags packed in five different cities and
• 6:30
  Speaker 3: they're not sure where their suitcase might might be from
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: day to day. But you know, when you think about
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: the Cardinals and the pitching and getting back to the development,
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: whether it's the pitching or just the core the core roster,
• 6:46
  Speaker 3: I think you talking about the Cardinal way, right, Like,
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: getting back to doing the little things and focusing on
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: the fundamentals is going to be important. It's important for
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: especially for guys who don't have those certainty of a
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: role if you're just focusing every day on your fund
• 6:59
  Speaker 3: of medals. And this is something that this new wave
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: of front office and front office staff and coaches that
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: heim Bloom's going to bring in, they really need, in
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: my opinion, to get back to the fundamentals of what
• 7:13
  Speaker 3: the Saint Louis Cardinals have always been about.
• 7:15
  Speaker 4: And that's going to help those guys.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's honestly pretty much right online to what my
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: resolution for this team would be. My resolution would be
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: to establish the next core of winning baseball. Look, I mean,
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: I'm not saying that I don't think the Cardinals are
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: going to win in twenty twenty five, but they've outright
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: said like, hey, we're going to try to compete, but
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: this is not going to be our typical years, right,
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: This is not going to be like, hey, we're going
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: for ninety plus wins. I really hope that this one
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: year that they spend committing to development is the only
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: year that they have to do this. I hope they
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: figure out their core because this kind of baseball will
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: hardly fly in Saint Louis for one year. It's definitely
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: not going to fly for multiple years. And I think
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: the Cardinals are very close to figuring out what they
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: truly have. That's the whole reason why they're doing this reset.
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: So my resolution for them is to like figure out
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: what they have and stick with it, because I don't
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: want to be having the same conversation with you January
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: twenty twenty six of.
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: Oh, is this the new core? Are they going to
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: find out?
• 8:12
  Speaker 4: Look?
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: I'm on board with what the Cardinals are doing. I've
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: said it before, I actually mostly agree with their plan.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: I can certainly see the sense behind it. But if
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: they go through the twenty twenty five season and all
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: of a sudden they realize at the end of the
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: year that their talent is not what they thought it
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: was going to be, and that this reset is going
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: to actually stretch, you know, multiple years beyond what they thought.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: I don't think that's going to work in Saint Louis.
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: I think this fan base that's already frustrated is going
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: to be livid. So I hope for everyone involved that
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: this twenty twenty five year brings in that next exciting
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: group of Cardinals that we go out and we talk about,
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: you know, Memphis Mafia. I know at the Saint Louis
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: Rider's dinner in a couple of weeks, tickets.
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: Are still available.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: By the way, we're going to be honoring the nineteen
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: eighty five NL championship team. I would love for the
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: Cardinals to discover their next core this season.
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: Oh, I get the next core starting pitching.
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: We got some big goals for twenty twenty five for
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: the Saint Louis Cardinals.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: We do We're optimists that we are.
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: You know, it's hard not to be optimist in January,
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: so let's let's keep it going. I have another question
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: for you, Okay, if you have to pick one person
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: that you believe is going to be on the active
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: roster or could be on the active roster, and it's
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: gonna have a breakout twenty twenty five year, which who's
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: your pick to click? Which player are you rocking with
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: in twenty twenty five?
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: Yeah, well, so you know my pick this guys, he's
• 9:30
  Speaker 3: been there. I think he's uh, he'd be a con
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: consensus for most Cardinal fans at this point. But ever
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: since I saw him play in the Futures Game and
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: throw the ball from shortstop to first base out one
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: hundred miles an hour, I was like, Okay, I like this.
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: I like this kid, like the arm.
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: And then as I've gotten to see Mason Winn play
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: in the field, I mean, he's he's got the defense,
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: he has the base running, the speed, he has power.
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: I think he could develop a little bit more at
• 9:55
  Speaker 3: the plate in terms of his production and discipline. But
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: you know, aside from that, he's he's a fun player
• 10:02
  Speaker 3: to watch. It you would be able to speak to
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: it more than me. But he seems to have a
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: great presence in the clubhouse. He brings a lot of energy.
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: He's going to be important to this theme. So for me,
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: I think Mason Win is going to be a have
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: an opportunity to be a big impact player for the
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: Saint Louis Cardinals in twenty twenty five and really solidify
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: himself as as a fundamental piece that you know, we
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: can build around, right like we need those guys, that
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: core group of guys in I believe Mason Win is going.
• 10:27
  Speaker 4: To be be in that position.
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: What do you think Who's your Who's is your breakout
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: player for twenty twenty five?
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: Kd Well when I'm all on board with the Mason
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: Win train, and I think people that have watched the
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: show all five episodes of it are going to assume
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: that I'm going to pick Jordan Walker, which is I
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: was going.
• 10:46
  Speaker 3: To out that was I was betting on that, right,
• 10:49
  Speaker 3: I get it.
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: I am a self proclaimed Jordan Walker.
• 10:51
  Speaker 4: True. That's why I didn't steal it. I could pick
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: that as well.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: You could have stolen it.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: You could have stolen it, but I was ready for
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: you because I didn't want to be predictable. So while
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: like my firm answer is still Jordan Walker, I talked
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: about him so much, I wanted to go outside of the.
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: Box, and I'm going with Matthew Liberator. And here's why.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: Last year the Cardinals margin of victory was other than
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: the Tampa Bay Rays, the slimmest in baseball. They were
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: very good at winning close games. They also had to
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: play an absurd amount of close games, and the reason
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: that they were able to win the majority of those
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: was because, in my opinion, their bullpen. They had a
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: lockdown bullpen last year, and obviously, you know how important
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: it is to have a lockdown six, seven, eight nine
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: kind of role for every player involved.
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: And Ryan Helsley he was that guy.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: In the ninth The Cardinals had some great setup men
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: and Jojo Romero, Andrew Kittridge, and I thought we saw
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: guys like Ryan Fernandez and Matthew Libertor take some big
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: steps forward. Now that bullpen lost some people, right, the
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: Cardinals are presumably keeping Ryan Helsley, you know, hopefully in
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: you know, two or three weeks for not having to
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: change that conversation. But they lost Andrew Kittridge to free agency,
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: and they need someone to fill up in fill that
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: setup man role, and I think Matthew Libertre can really
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: do that.
• 12:04
  Speaker 2: When you think about what he's done and.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: As short Cardinals ten years so far, every role that
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: they've asked him to do, he's handled. And this goes
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: back to what we were talking about earlier and like
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: solidifying roles and how difficult it can be to juggle them.
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: It was really hard for Libby and he just did it.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: He never complained, you know, he was I was like, yes, sure,
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: I can do it. If short rest, that's fine. Oh
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: I just got sent down to the minors after doing
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: my job for you guys for three straight weeks.
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: Cool, that's great. I love that.
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: But each time he showed up and he just asked
• 12:33
  Speaker 1: for the ball. And I really liked what the Cardinals
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: did last year and they just gave him a role
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: after kind of pulling him around for the first three
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: months of the season. Come June, they gave up the
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: spot starting with him. They were like, you know what,
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: We're just going to pitch you in relief. You can
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: be our long man, you can be multi innings, but
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: we're going to lose you. Use you from the left
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: side and We're gonna hope to put you in some
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: high leverage roles. And I thought Matthew Libertore did a
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: really nice job in handling that second half. So Cardinals
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: neing someone to step up in that bullpen to build
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: Andrew Kutchard's space. My my hope is that Matthew Libertorre
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: will take that opportunity and run with it.
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: All right, let's go.
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that kind of fits along with you know, I
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: was talking about the starting pitching, and I agree with you.
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: I thought the bullpen is positioned well. I've been doing
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: some research on some arms they have down in the farm.
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: I don't want to give away any insight yet or
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: make any predictions.
• 13:21
  Speaker 4: I want to see some of these guys throw in
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: spring training. But I feel like there's there's guys available.
• 13:27
  Speaker 4: There's guys that.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: Are going to come up and and and be able
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: to fill in those late innings, those middle to late innings,
• 13:33
  Speaker 3: and and that's why I'm again just like, hey, if
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: we can maybe get at a guy or two in
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: the starting pitching depth, it'll it'll give us an opportunity.
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: I mean, I didn't know the stat about the close games,
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: but it makes a lot of sense, and if we
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: can figure out the starting pitching, I think we should
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: have another year and at least in a resemblance of
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: the close winning streaks that that the Cardinals were able
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: to put together last year.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: When you were a veteran in spring training and you
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: saw guys coming up that were, you know, either.
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: Big pitching prospects, or maybe players.
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: That were on the forty man or and trilea that
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: weren't really well known to fans or hadn't like broken
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: out into the big leagues yet, watching them in spring
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: what did you look for and how did you know
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: that a player was going to be good.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: I'm just trying to figure out how you're scouting these
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: people right now.
• 14:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah, Well, a lot of it has to go with
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: how they handle failure or failure or just how they
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: handle those big moments in the opportunities, because you know,
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: you're thrown into spring training, you're in the major league clubhouse,
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: you're around major league players, and you're facing major league
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: caliber players, and that's a whole different ballgame. And and
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: you can see, you can notice really quickly the guys
• 14:39
  Speaker 3: that are going to step up to the challenge. And
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: you can also see the guys that are maybe not ready,
• 14:45
  Speaker 3: a little bit overwhelmed and need a little bit more seasoning.
• 14:48
  Speaker 3: So for me, that's kind of first, first and foremost
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: is watching their demeanor, watching their confidence. How are they
• 14:53
  Speaker 3: taking care of their business, And that's a great indicator.
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: And then you know when you value wait from a
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: performance standpoint, I mean, you have to be able to
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: control the running game, you have to be able to
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: throw strikes, not give away free bases, and you know,
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: things of that caliber. Talking about the fundamentals. So for me,
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: if I see a guy that's doing two of both,
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: both of those things, he's handling his business, he's confident,
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: and he's doing the little things, he's fundamentally sound, he's
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: got an opportunity. I mean that that's what the major
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: leagues is all about. It's a very narrow margin of talent,
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: and it's the guys that are can consistently do those
• 15:32
  Speaker 3: little things and do the fundamentals well.
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: Cool.
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: I can't wait to text you all spring and ask
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: about guys and see if they pass your test.
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: That's going to be fun for us. So I'm looking
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: it will be to that.
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: Here's one other thing I'm looking forward to. I'm looking
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: forward to Bush Stadium becoming Bush Stadium again. And what
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: I mean by that is like we you know, we
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: saw how the stadium was last year half empty, I
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: mean first time in Bush Stadium's history, but shating the
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: third history that they did not have over three million
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: fans in attendance. And let me make it clear, I'm
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: not blaming fans for this at all. You have a
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: right to feel how you want to feel about your
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: favorite baseball team. And if you want to send a
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: message by not showing up, that's hey, that's sending a message.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: If you don't want to send your money on a team.
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: Because you feel like ownership, front office, whatever is not
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: supporting how your favorite team the way you like them to.
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: That's your right. So this is not a gripe Cardinals fans.
• 16:25
  Speaker 2: I'm not. I'm not, you know, complaining that you're not there.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: I just miss when Bush Stadium was packed every night
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: and Trevor you were, You pitched in some fun games there.
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: You know what it's like when downtown Saint Louis is
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: all about the Cardinals And I would really like for
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: the Cardinals to get back to that. So, in your opinion,
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: what has to go right for the Cardinals in twenty
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: five to get people back to the ballpark.
• 16:49
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, you know, engaging the fans is such
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: a big part of what makes Cardinals Cardinals baseball special.
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: And of course, winning solves a lot of problems, or
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: winning solves most of your problems, and that certainly has
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: been the case over the past decade. But I think,
• 17:08
  Speaker 3: you know, in this era that we live in with
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: the technology, and we just have to find ways new
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: ways to give accessibility to the players for the fans.
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: I think that will be something that I look forward to.
• 17:20
  Speaker 3: I know, Katie, you and I have had some ideas
• 17:23
  Speaker 3: about getting players on our show and talking to them,
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: and I think fans really like to connect, and the
• 17:28
  Speaker 3: more connection that the city can have with the team,
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: the better, So finding ways for the Cardinals to do that,
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: but then also leaning into nostalgia, bringing in former players
• 17:39
  Speaker 3: and like you've mentioned at the Writer's Dinner, what is
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: it the eighty five you know, yes, so you know
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: things like that, you know, leaning into the history and
• 17:49
  Speaker 3: the nostalgia of the Saint Louis Cardinals and all the
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: tradition that's there. You know, fans really enjoy that. I
• 17:55
  Speaker 3: can't tell you how many times there this past season
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: in a rain delay when they were airing old games.
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: I mean, gosh, I hate to say old, but maybe
• 18:04
  Speaker 3: that that I put myself in that category now where
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: I had friends text me, Hey, I just saw you.
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: You're in the rain delay either in the stadium or
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: on or on TV W Trevor, like this is really cool.
• 18:14
  Speaker 4: You were so good. So you know, it's it's truly there.
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: Like it's a great fan fan base.
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: The Cardinals have always been one of the premier destinations
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: to go see a major league a major League baseball game,
• 18:28
  Speaker 3: and I have I have a lot of faith that
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: the people that are in charge of these events and
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: coordinating the team logistics or the event logistics will do
• 18:38
  Speaker 3: a good job.
• 18:39
  Speaker 4: But that's my opinion. What do what do you got?
• 18:42
  Speaker 2: I love it. I think you're right. Connecting with players,
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: especially this year is going.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: To be so important and like credit to this, you know,
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: last year's club house with a lot of the people returning,
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: it was just a great group of guys. And I
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: think I think Cardinals fans can really feel invested behind
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: these players, knowing that they are like also committed to
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: make Saint Louis Baseball feel like Saint Louis Baseball again
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: to me. I know, yes, Cardinals fans love their history
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: and they love their nostalgia as evidence. You know, we're
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: building our entire writers Dinner around nostalgia, so that definitely
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: checks out again.
• 19:13
  Speaker 2: Tickets still available. Let me know, please coming out with us.
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: It'll be so much fun for me.
• 19:22
  Speaker 4: Though.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: If you want to bring Cardinals fans back to the ballpark,
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: you have to just win ball games. If the Cardinals
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: win games, the fans will come, regardless of how they
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: feel about ownership or John Mozelak or whoever, Allie Marmal.
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: However you feel.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: If the Cardinals find a way to win games consistently,
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: the fans will respond to that. And this year I
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: feel that strongly, more than ever, because there isn't any
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: nostalgia tying this to this team. You know, like people
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: came out in twenty one and twenty two because the
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: teams were good. But in twenty two especially, it was
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: Yachtie's last year. Albert Poohls was back and he was mashin.
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: We didn't know about Adam ween Wright and he ended
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: up coming back for one more season, and fans even
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: in that awful twenty two three season, still came out
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: to Sea Adam Wayne Wright. This year, there is no
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: big name to draw them in. There is no like
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: Cardinal to the By where fans are going to be like, yeah,
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: we want to go see this guy because you're reminds
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: us of teams before. So if this current group of
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: Cardinals can figure out how to win all of a sudden,
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: I think the city will respond well to that because
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: it's a bunch of homegrown players, right These are a
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: bunch of Cardinals drafted through the major leagues or through
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: the minor league system, major leaguers now, and the hope
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: is is that they can be that next group of guys,
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: that next big dynasty team. So if they can figure
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: out ways to win, I think fans are going to
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: be all over that. They're gonna come. They're gonna want
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: to see the start of Mason Win's career. You know,
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: if Lars new Park can be that above average outfielder
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: that the Cardinals think that he can be, they're in
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: on that. Can Jordan Walker figure it out? You think
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: Cardinals fans aren't rooting for Jordan Walker. We know how
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: I feel. I know Cardinals fans are mostly feeling the
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: same way. You go down the list. Sure they have
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: some veterans, right, and you know, I think it's very
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: admirable that Sunny Gray and Wilson Contreras wanted to stay.
• 20:59
  Speaker 2: You know, maybe they have Nolato, maybe they don't.
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: But since they don't have that big, like constant presence
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: for a decade plus that they usually had of a
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: veteran that had been in Saint Louis for that long,
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: this is the year to get invested in the players
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: at the Cardinals. Hope will be here for a long
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: time and if this current group figures out how to win,
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: this fan base will show up. So hopefully we have
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: days that felt more like twenty twenty two at the
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: ballpark than twenty twenty four. I maintain that Bushading was
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: one of the best places to watch a game, great skyline,
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: It feels like a baseball game. This is one of
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: my most like Boomer get off my lawn takes. When
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: I go to a baseball game, I don't want it
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: to feel.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: Like the club. I do that enough. I do not
• 21:40
  Speaker 2: want it to feel that way.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: I want to like sit down and I want to
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: get excited about like you know, I want to. I
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: don't know, this is like very people are gonna hate
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: this take already know. I don't care. I want to
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: sit down with my concessions and I want to fill
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: up my little lineup card, and I want to know
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: what's going on in the game and like, yeah, cool,
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: we can have a dance party or whatever in the
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: middle of Innians. But like when it's when the game starts,
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: the game starts. That's what I want, And I think
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: Bushadium does a really good job of keeping it traditional.
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: I just love watching baseball there and it really is
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: something when that it's a full house, you know, September
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: baseball in Saint Louis. That's that to me, has been
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: I think the peak of covering this team so far.
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: So hopefully they get back there.
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: The club, Katie Gosh, I need to figure out what
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: ballparks you're going to that I feel like a club,
• 22:24
  Speaker 3: I know.
• 22:24
  Speaker 4: I mean maybe Miami.
• 22:26
  Speaker 3: Certainly would fall into that category. A little bit different now,
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: but I agree, I mean it's it's different. I'm making
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: the transition from the bullpen to sitting in the stands
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: with the fans. It's a whole new environment for me
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: to take in baseball for sure, but I agree Saint
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: Louis Cardinals Busch Stadium hard to beat, hard to beat,
• 22:46
  Speaker 3: great experience all around.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so hopefully you know there it feels more like
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: a ballpark in twenty twenty five. We'll see though, a
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: lot to discover in January. I know we talked about it.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: You and I have some fun guests coming up up.
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: We'll be together in two weeks in Saint Louis that
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: when a warm up comes, Say hi, We'll be at
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: the Writer's dinner. Going to honor Ryan Helsley with the
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: Saint Louis Basefall Man of the Year on top of
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: the nineteen eighty five team. Ozzie Smith is getting the
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: highest award. We honor the Red Metal for his commitment
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: to service throughout his career and obviously could not think
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: of anyone more well deserving, and a lots of other
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: At fun surprises, Mason will be there, Brendan Donovan will
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: be there, and you and I will be there.
• 23:26
  Speaker 2: So if that isn't a big enough draw, I don't
• 23:27
  Speaker 2: know what is.
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: What else could you ask for?
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: All Right?
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: This was episode five of Cardinal Territory. Here's everyone's favorite
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: wrap up. You can follow us on Twitter at card Territory,
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: Like and subscribe to our page on YouTube. Find us
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: on Spotify and Apple. Hopefully, you know, actually I think
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: my voice was not like terrible. It wasn't great, but
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: it wasn't the worst. So hopefully next week it's a
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: little better and Trevor and I will be back with
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: you on Tuesday.
• 23:57
  Speaker 2: Happy New Year.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: Really excited to break down the twin twenty five season
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: with you all.
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: It'll be here before we know it.
• 24:03
  Speaker 4: What'd you say? Was was it five weeks? Eight weeks?
• 24:05
  Speaker 4: You got?
• 24:06
  Speaker 3: You got some time to heal up the voice before
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: we really get get this thing cranked up.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: I got time, and I'm you know, retiring at least
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: for now from live sporting events and bars. So it's
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: not too late. January second is not too late to
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: start dry January. Sometimes you just need a little like
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: a day to adjust.
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah, you need to.
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: We got to get ready for spring training. Kay, now's
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: the time. The clock's ticking. You got to show up
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: ready to go.
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: I know, right, because there's such early days, but that
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: doesn't stop me from going to Square Grouper at the
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: end of the day.
• 24:33
  Speaker 2: So I gotta do it, Dumbe Bay and like U Tigi.
• 24:37
  Speaker 2: Those are the three you got to hit.
• 24:39
  Speaker 4: I'm a Guana Banas. Guana Bonas is not for me.
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: That is a good one. Okay.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: Maybe if like one of our episodes can just be
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: like things that we have done at spring training, mark
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: it down, all right?
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: All right? For Trevor, I'm Katie who we will talk
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: to you next week. Thanks for watching.
• 25:01
  Speaker 4: Be