In his column Thursday, Enquirer business writer Cliff Peale asked Cardinals owner and Indian Hill resident Bill DeWitt, "Why can't the Reds do what the Cardinals have done?''

"That's a hard question,'' DeWitt said.

Nope, it's not. It's a routine fly.

Three tangible reasons are: Money, money and money.

Three intangibles are (A) Passion (B) Passion and (C) Passion.

St. Louis and Cincinnati are twin sons of different rivers. Their people are Midwestern conservatives of German descent, who like beer and smoked meat. At one point, they shared a deep devotion to baseball. One town maintained the worship services. The other left the church.

"You get a different feeling in St. Louis,'' says Matt Shank.

Professor Shank chairs the management and marketing department at Northern Kentucky University. He grew up in St. Louis, then moved here in 1990.

The professor has seen both towns from the bleachers. "True passion for success,'' is how he describes the Cardinals, "versus true passion for revenues.''

Ouch.

It isn't fair to compare any town's baseball fever to the illness that infects St. Louis. Those people are nuts. In a pleasant Midwestern way. After Larry Walker's first at-bat as a Cardinal, the fans gave him a standing ovation. Walker had just K'ed.

Baseball is a sacred trust in St. Louis. It's an heirloom. Just like the Reds used to be here.

A few facts: After the 2000 season, the last time all major league teams opened their books, the Cards took in $11.9 million in local TV and radio rights fees; the Reds $7.8 million. Reds chief operating officer John Allen says only Montreal and Kansas City took in less this year than Cincinnati.

Game receipts for St. Louis in 2000 came to $67 million. The Reds earned $32 million. Last year, Forbes magazine valued the Cardinal franchise at $308 million, the Reds at $223 million.

St. Louis has drawn 3 million fans eight times since 1987. The Reds have never drawn more than 2.6 million. The Cardinals had an $87 million payroll this year. The Reds were at $49 million.

A few notions, widely held: Cardinals ownership understands how important baseball is to the city, and spends accordingly. As Shank puts it, "The culture in St. Louis is the foundation for wanting to spend the money.''

We had that culture here once, and ownership that grasped the importance of it. Now, we don't. Somewhere along the line, through arrogance or neglect, maybe both, the Reds have let the feeling slip away. Passion is out, replaced by breaking even.

A difference between St. Louis and Cincinnati: The Reds wonder Why? The Cards ask Why Not?

St. Louis chases Mark McGwire as he's priming to chase Roger Maris. St. Louis brings in Jim Edmonds, trades for Scott Rolen and adds Larry Walker for the 2004 stretch run. The Reds pass on Aaron Boone and designate Brandon Larson as their "third baseman of the future.''

The Can-Do Cardinals bank on players taking a little less money to play in a town that loves its team. Barry Larkin took less money once, for the same reason. Look what happened to him.

The Cardinals spend money to make money. The Reds won't spend more unless they make more. It's a chicken-and-egg proposition. One team has it right. The other wants to be "competitive.''

When it came to good baseball towns, we used to mention St. Louis and Cincinnati in the same breath. That was a while ago.

E-mail pdaugherty@enquirer.com

Return to Reds front page...