Courtesy St. Louis Post Dispatch

(August 21, 2009) The message is resounding. Those who have voted in a poll tied to last week's column in this space about the Cardinals' possibly leaving KTRS overwhelmingly have voiced one opinion: Move the radio broadcasts back to KMOX.

Although unscientific, the number of responses is large. More than 4,000 votes have been cast on the Post-Dispatch's website, stltoday.com. That's more than double the traffic an average survey there attracts according to Mike Smith, the company's online sports editor.

And 78 percent want the broadcasts back on KMOX, where they were for nearly five decades before the team bought a 50 percent interest in KTRS and moved the radio coverage there four seasons ago. KTRS received only a miniscule fraction of the votes. The arrangement with KTRS contains a possible out after five years, which would be following next season, and team president Bill DeWitt III has acknowledged a move could be explored for 2011, saying, "There's some flexibility, but ... it's too early to tell."

The common shared ire among those commenting on stltoday.com and to the newspaper is that they have poor reception of the station's signal — or none at all — rather than complaints about the way KTRS covers the team. In fact, Mike Shannon's show from his restaurant after home games continues to be one of the best programs about baseball in the country, featuring in-depth conversation with luminaries from the past and present that goes far beyond the sound-bite fare that is common now. The trouble is that few people can hear it compared to the days it was on KMOX.

Here is a sampling of the comments:

"Time to go back to a more powerful radio station. I'm sure the Cardinals are hurting when you get about 30 miles outside of St. Louis. I don't really care who does it as long as I can get a clear channel at night. Not KTRS." — Bluebirds66

"It is frustrating when listening to games on KTRS. We live only 20 miles from the Arch and right at 8 p.m. the signal drops and all we hear is static." — drgeorge1.

"I think the move to KTRS stinks for the fans who live outside the puny signal. ... From a business model, the team's having its own radio station may make sense ... but I think it is terrible fan relations for those of us who aren't able to capture the KTRS signal." — Howard Mitchell, Cincinnati

"It's really time to give the heave-ho to KTRS! Their poor reception on much of the east side as well as in west county at night has me turning the station off and going elsewhere. KMOX is the answer and was for 50 years until the dollar trumped the fan." — tlm2020

"I am in favor of KMOX or (WXOS). Both would be an improvement over KTRS. A rare misstep by the DeWitts. Can we get Ben Abel and Rex Davis back?" — moboland

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