This is a story I wrote right before the beginning of the season, after the team president resigned to go sign with the Jets, and how the son of the cheap owner stepped in. This is just a little backround of some recent/current news of the Redbirds. Enjoy!
I’ve been thinking how much it is going to suck having Bill DeWitt the 3rd as the new team president. But after thinking over it, I realized how wrong my hypothesis was, by judging DWIII and hypothesizing that he must be cheap just because his old man isn't so loose with money. So I decided, why not try to be, what's that word....opti-something or other and list the positives of having DWIII in charge. First, let me just clarify one thing. Some of the things on this list - fan first, Ball Park Village is a priority, wants to usher in new era - are just speculative observations of mine based on recent statements made during the press conference at Busch Stadium. I am not saying that they are going to happen. In fact, I would be surprised if more than one of these was directly influenced by DWIII. I am just observing some things that he has said in an effort to look on the positive side and hope for the best. In fact, most fans probably just shrug this off with a simple "meh". So here it goes:
1. In a recent press conference, Bill DeWitt III stated how he is a fan first. This, if true, could be a great improvement. Who knows, maybe he will be able to convince “daddy” next off-season to spend a little bit more money if they are, in fact, "just one player away". A list of a few players who could be said person: Grudz, Hudson, Furcal, O-Cab, Burnett, Garland, Lackey, Lowe, Penny, Sabathia, and Sheets to name a few. Granted, most of these players will go to bigger spenders (Yankees, BoSox, Mets, Dodgers, etcetera etcetera), but maybe he will be able to pry open ownership’s tightly closed wallet. He also may be able to use his status as son of the majority owner to get the team to make a blockbuster trade, one that would involve the team taking on a large amount of money for a studly, worthwhile player. Maybe he actually does know how it feels when the team doesn’t go out and spend some moolah.
2. Also in the press conference, Li'l DeWitt mentioned how enthused he was to usher in a new Era of Cardinal Baseball. By this, of course, he meant the oh-so-enticing youth movement. This may be just another sign that the team is moving forward with the youth movement. Not only are the players are getting younger, but hell, even the front office is. (Jocketty, 58, to Mo's 39. Lamping's 41 to DWIII's 40. Abbamondi's 37ish replaced Mo, who replaced Jocketty). Granted, the team didn't choose to replace the president; that was thrust on them when Lamping took on the Meadowlands construction project. But nonetheless, let's hope that a move to someone younger who has been working for the organization for years with a fresh mind is better than someone who went to work with the Jets (come on, the Patriots didn't offer him enough to spy on other teams for them?!)
3. Again, this is tied in with the youth movement factor. Unbeknownst to many, DWIII helped redesign the newish cardinal’s logo. Yeah, this is kind of a reach, being that it happened in 1998, but it still doesn't hurt that he tried to reshape and rejuvenate the BOB logo.
4. In college, Yale I might add, he studied architectural history, and went on to Harvard to get his business degree. So yes, it may be true that he most definitely got the job because he's the owner's son, but hey, he is no schlub. I mean, Harvard AND Yale! That's impressive. Yes, he probably only got into the two because his dad was willing to pay the big bucks or make a donation to the school, but still, graduating from two of the most prestigious schools in the world is definitely impressive.
5. Pop quiz! The two word combination that pisses off Cardinal fans more than any other combination of words in the English language:
A. Cubs fan
B. No postseason (who would have thought that "Cardinals" and "no postseason" over the last decade could even be used in the same sentence?)
C. Ballpark Village
D. minor injury (let's start a list of the players over the past two years whose injuries have just started out as minor as of late, shall we?: Rolen, Jed, Carp, Mulder, Piniero, Clement, etc. etc.)
As infuriating as all of the phrases listed above can be, I'm going to have to go with BPV. After months of Redbird fans having to stare out at that ugly, vacant hole/parking lot/abyss outside of Busch, someone is trying to take the initiative. DWIII has mentioned how important it is that they get BPV up and running as soon as possible. Let's hope that DeWitt III can turn this beast into a beauty before the decade ends.
Well there you have it Cardinal fans. It looks like with the inauguration of Bill DeWitt III as the new team president, we all have hope that he will stay true to his word and usher in a new era; I was thinking along the lines of “Colb-ERAsmus” as the name of the next era.
http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080314&content_id=2426718&vkey=spt2008news&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl
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