When Bill DeWitt Jr. purchased the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1996 season, the franchise was in decline. Diminishing crowds, a shortage of stars, mediocre results, and no postseason appearances since 1987.

It was a bad time, but DeWitt aggressively revived the franchise and led the Cardinals to a long and distinguished run of success loaded with stars, future Hall of Famers, big games in October and a new level of popularity. The fans loved it. I loved writing and talking about it. It was an incredible era for the Cardinals.

Take a look now. Sparse crowds, with fewer than 15,000 fans actually coming through the turnstiles for recent game. Dull team. Little entertainment value. Little star power. And possibly headed to a second consecutive losing season (full schedule) for the first time since the expansion era began in 1961.

The sad thing -- and the frustrating thing -- is that it didn't have to be this way. It didn't have to happen. But Mr. DeWitt let the franchise fall apart ... looking more like the down-and-out team he took over in 1996.

What's the old expression? Killed the golden goose.