STL Post-Dispatch: Hummel - St. Louis Cardinals’ cash flow not as fluid as many thought

Not that the Cardinals have spent that much this offseason, but they might have less to spend than many have surmised… “Everybody talks about how much money we had come off (the books), but there’s the realities of the arbitration cases,” said Mozeliak, “and then there’s players entering their second years of multiyear contracts, like your Wainwrights and your Molinas, that are going to see bumps as well.”
...
Early in the offseason, Mozeliak spoke of being “aggressive” and also said the Cardinals would try to garner some “low-hanging fruit.”

“If I read the papers and if I go online to read the blogs, I’d probably be more aware of (the discontent),” said Mozeliak, who agreed that St. Louis fans hold the Cardinals to a high standard. “I can’t ignore that, but that can’t be the basis of the direction we go in.

“I have to do what’s best long-range and not make mistakes just to appease the headines tomorrow.”

That having been said, Mozeliak said he might use different terminology for public consumption from here on out.

“When I said we were going to plan on being aggressive, I thought we were,” Mozeliak said. “I’m not a wordsmith. Maybe I shouldn’t use words like that.”

And low-hanging fruit?

“I’ve been getting killed on that,” said Mozeliak, smiling. “To me, that’s defined as getting things done quickly — like getting (Jason) LaRue done and obviously (Kyle) Lohse.

“I guess I just need to choose my words a little better — or talk less.”