The Cardinals’ season is speeding by before our eyes. After going from nine games under .500 to six games over .500 between Mother’s Day and July, they’ve gone downhill again. Now the Cardinals are facing back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1994-95. That hasn’t happened in an entire season for the Cardinals since 1958-59, and back then the regular season schedule wasn’t even 162 games.

At this point, it’s obvious that changes need to be made. Those changes need to come in the front office and the coaching staff. That means new faces are needed.

Not only that, but new philosophies are needed. That was evident at the end of the 2023 season, and it was what everyone hoped for. But that didn’t happen. While the Cardinals did well by signing Sonny Gray, the other two starters they signed had poor seasons. Plus, they were both a few years older than Gray.

The Cardinals defended this with an annoying remark that Gibson and Lynn “wanted to be here.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to have players who want to be on your team, and Gibson and Lynn have both helped create a more positive atmosphere in the locker room than last season.

But the play on the field hasn’t improved much, and if the Cardinals want to improve in 2025, they can’t justify signing players who won’t help the team win by saying “he wanted to be here.”

The fans will not want to hear the same thing from management again. While there is nothing wrong with giving preference to experienced leaders, it should not come at the expense of performance on the field unless there is someone who would pose a major problem in the team.

That means the Cardinals need to aim higher. Instead of trying to bring back guys like Gibson and Lynn, they need to sign pitchers who produce better results, like Michael Wacha or even Shane Bieber. I don’t want to spoil the mood here, but Blake Snell and Corbin Burnes are unlikely, although we’d all like to see them sign one of those guys.

But you can still sign pitchers who will do more. The same goes for the lineup. Keeping Paul Goldschmidt won’t do any good, especially since he’s past his prime. JD Martinez may be getting older, but he’s performing much better than Goldschmidt and would be a great addition to the offense.

Keeping Lynn, Gibson and Goldschmidt just because they want to go to the Cardinals is not a good idea. I have nothing against them, but it is time for serious improvement. Yes, a player who wants to play in St. Louis is a prerequisite for a signing, but the Cardinals should find the best options possible. There are certainly better options than Gibson and Lynn to improve the rotation.

With attendance plummeting, the organization needs to wake up and realize that the only way they can get fans back in the stands in 2025 is to make significant improvements to the roster, coaching staff, and even management. These are difficult times for Cardinal Nation.