Cardinals' teardown is as enjoyable (and soulless) as Brewers fans dreamed

There’s a very specific kind of joy that hits when your biggest division rival finally admits they’re not “retooling” — they’re completely gutting the place. And right now, the St. Louis Cardinals are basically hauling furniture to the curb with a “FREE” sign on it, hoping somebody swings by with a pickup truck and a few mid-level pitching prospects. For Milwaukee Brewers fans, it’s the rare NL Central treat that doesn’t even require a scoreboard.

St. Louis can dance around the word “rebuild” all it wants, but when you trade away veterans like Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras less than a month apart, you’re not “strategically aligning timelines.” You’re hitting the big red reset button and pretending it’s a deliberate artistic choice. 

St. Louis is rebuilding, and Brewers fans should absolutely be petty about it

From a Brewers point of view, it’s beautiful. Not because you need the Cardinals to be bad to feel good (Milwaukee did just finish 97-65 and sat on top of the baseball world like it paid rent there). But rather because the Cardinals had spent decades acting like the NL Central is their birthright — like the division crown should come with a receipt from Busch Stadium.

Now, instead of annoying “Cardinals Devil Magic,” we get rewarded with something even funnier: Cardinals Spreadsheet Sadness.

The Contreras trade perfectly encapsulates the essence of this type of exchange for both parties involved. The Red Sox acquire a proven first baseman; the Cardinals receive pitchers, flexibility, and the "comfort" that they will eventually become competitive again. The Cardinals also kicked in money to make the deal for Gray easier as well. This is not what you would call "contender baseball," it's a way to clear cap space for a franchise in the same manner as an NBA team.

And, the most amusing aspect of this is how it is all being marketed as a "return to the 'Cardinals Way.'" Since the beginning of September, when Chaim Bloom took over, he has been very careful not to use the term "rebuild." However, the plan is clearly outlined here: rebuild the farm, give young players time to develop, and have a roster with older, high-priced veterans be traded elsewhere because they are no longer a "good fit." This is teardown talk wrapped in a blazer.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee’s making the postseason a habit — seven playoff trips in eight years — while St. Louis is talking about “process” after a 78-84 season and attendance that spooked ownership. 

So sure, Cardinals fans can tell themselves this is “smart.” And maybe it is. But from the Brewers side? It’s not just enjoyable. It’s borderline relaxing. Keep going, St. Louis. The division’s already hard enough without a team pretending to be serious. Surely Nolan Arenado doesn't want to be a part of this rebuild.