Episodes
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Chaim Bloom is an ideal hire by Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. Why? A simple reason: they both share a love of drafting, player development and building a thriving minor-league system.
DeWitt's baseball DNA goes way back to accompanying his father -- who ran and owned the Cincinnati Reds -- on scouting trips. The young DeWitt Jr. also installed a database for the Reds' scouting department years before other MLB teams did something similar. DeWitt was, in some ways, ahead of his time.
And if you think this is a bunch of hooey, then answer me a question: did you enjoy the results when DeWitt did something unpredictable and unusual by hiring an analyst named Jeff Luhnow out of the corporate world to put in a new and advanced system for scouting, drafting and player development? Was that OK? Did you like all of that winning and winning and winning?
DeWitt got away from his love of player development for reasons that I still don't understand. He let the minor league systems slide and become outdated. But at age 83, DeWitt is fired up by the addition of Chaim Bloom to the baseball organization. Bloom will not only rebuild and modernize the STL minor-league operation, but he'll also reenergize Bill DeWitt's love for player development -- a longtime DeWitt/Cardinals strength that lapsed into weakness.
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The Cardinals are in denial. They insist they're not rebuilding. Except that they are rebuilding, and still can't play it straight with the fans. It's strange. And that's not all.
Not only is John Mozeliak staying in the role of president for baseball operations in 2025, he's also taking over the GM position after the Cardinals moved GM Michael Girsch to another role. (VP of special projects, whatever that is.) All along, we thought there was a chance of Chaim Bloom being promoted to president of baseball ops immediately, in place to chart plans for the team's 2025 season.
Instead, Bloom will spend 2025 immersed in the massive restoration project of the team's minor-league and player development system -- and then he'll succeed Mozeliak as the head of the baseball department following the 2025 season.
The Cardinals have tested their fans' patience -- again! -- by keeping the highly unpopular Mozeliak in charge. And now they've doubled down on Mozeliak, approving of his plan to also serve as the GM to go along with his other job. The Cardinals are still in denial about Mozeliak's low approval rating ... and this figures to cost them even more business in 2025.
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Episodes manquant?
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The Cardinals acquired first baseman Paul Goldschmidt before the 2019 season. According to reporting from Katie Woo of The Athletic, the Cardinals are moving on from Goldschmidt. His contract is up, and he can become a free agent, signing with a new team that could give him a chance to win a pennant and World Series.
And with the Cardinals entering a rebuilding phase, it makes sense to go with young players, so we'll probably see some new faces at first base for the Cardinals next season.
Before the 2021 season the Cardinals made a stunning trade for third baseman Nolan Arenado, and the Goldy-Arenado infield cornerstones seemed set to lead the Cardinals to greatness. They even finished 1st (Golldy) and 3rd (Arenado) in the 2022 National League MVP balloting. But that was the highlight of their four seasons together from 2021 through 2024.
The Cardinals wasted the Goldschmidt-Arenado years. All in all they played in three postseason games together, didn't hit, and the Cardinals lost all three contests: the wild-card game against the Dodgers in 2021, and then got eliminated in 2022 in a two-game sweep by the Phillies in the wild-card round. Hopes of a World Series title never materialized, and the Goldy-Arenado tandem didn't come through in limited postseason opportunities.
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According to reliable media reports, St. Louis Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. is staying with John Mozeliak as the team's president of baseball operations. DeWitt could have gone another way by installing newcomer Chaim Bloom as the head of baseball ops. It will be extremely difficult for DeWitt to convince skeptical fans that the franchise is headed in a new direction when the same guy, Mozeliak, is still in charge. I'm not sure why DeWitt expects fans to buy into a "new era" sales pitch as long as Mozeliak presides over baseball decisions.
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The Cardinals' farm system and player-development structure is an embarrassing mess. I knew it was bad, but the deterioration is much worse than I imagined. Thanks to the excellent reporting by Katie Woo, who covers the Cardinals for The Athletic, we received valuable information of how bad things are, and what must be done to fix a long-term foundation that was irresponsibly allowed to collapse. Woo reports that Chaim Bloom has moved into a full-time role, and soon we will know if Cardinals' ownership is ready to put him in charge of the baseball operation.
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As I continue with my series of looks at the best and worst of the St. Louis Cardinals' season, I turn my attention to the two best stars on 2024. Two shining stars, sparkling above the mediocrity: Masyn Winn and Ryan Helsley. I think we all agree on both of these obvious choices. But I'll give you some extra details that you should find interesting.
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There's obviously a chance that Oli Marmol will return as the St. Louis Cardinals' manager in 2025. He is under contract through the end of the 2026 season, and the Cardinals' ownership-management could give him another chance in '25. It depends on who will be running the baseball department in 2025? John Mozeliak? Chaim Bloom? What if the hand-off from Mozeliak to Bloom happens a year from now? Would it make sense to retain Marmol and then have Bloom pick his own manager -- if motivated to do that -- going into 2026?
The Cardinals actually overachieved this season. Based on their run differential, they should be 12 games under .500 with a 73-85 record. Instead, Marmol has the Cardinals at four games over .500 (81-77) with four games left on the schedule. Marmol's expert handling of the bullpen is a prominent factor in the team's 29-14 record in one--run games, and a 57-38 mark in contests determined by three runs or fewer.
Can Marmol ever win the fans over? Will Cardinal fans ever come to love him as the manager? Or has he reached a dead end, no matter what?
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If the Cardinals see Miami manager Skip Schumaker as an ideal candidate to take over as manager for the St. Louis franchise that he played and coached for, they can't afford to wait. I'm not saying that he's the only candidate the Cardinals should pursue. It's just a matter of timing. If Schumaker checks all of the boxes for the Cardinals -- and I believe he does -- they have to get him before he takes a managing job elsewhere.
There will be several openings, at least. And other jobs may come available if one or two of the wealthy, high-powered franchises (Yankees, Dodgers) flop in the postseason. The division-rival Reds reportedly have Schumaker at the top of their list to succeed the deposed David Bell.
The Cardinals' decision-makers may like Oli Marmol ... they may believe he deserves at least one more season ... they may want to give Marmol some time. But do the Cardinals want to give Marmol another year on the job, even if it means losing their chance to hire Schumaker?
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Fired by Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak in a stunning and controversial move at the end of the 2021 season, Mike Shildt has rebounded in a big way by leading the San Diego Padres to the playoffs in his first season as their manager. And as we write this, the Padres are only two games behind the first-place Dodgers in the NL West with five games left to play. So a division title is still possible.
Under Shildt, the Padres have won 91 games and counting. This is their first 90-win season since 2010, and only their second 90-win campaign since 1998. And with Shildt making a significant difference in the dugout and clubhouse, San Diego will compete in the postseason for only the third time over the last 18 seasons.
Shildt's impressive resume as manager continues to grow. He made history this week, which I explain in the video. So far in his big-league managing career, Shildt has a higher career regular-season winning percentage than some of the illustrious names in MLB history ... and a higher career winning percentage than that of Tony La Russa, Whitey Herzog and Red Schoendienst.
For more info and perspective, please watch the video and feel free to comment.
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The 2024 Cardinals will conclude a disappointing season at the end of the week. I'll be handing out some awards -- and some penalties -- in the coming days and weeks. Best player, MVP, most disappointing player, top pitcher, most overrated, most underrated, high point, low point, the firing line ... things like that. Today, I discuss the most Disappointing Cardinal in 2024.
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We respect Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras for speaking up and speaking about the team's front office needing to "be hungry" about improving the team, especially the lineup, to reclaim the NL Central division from Milwaukee. The truth is always preferred to head fakes and cliches and excuses. That said, we're not sure what Cardinals management will do this coming offseason ... because we don't know who will be in charge of the baseball operation. Hopefully the Cardinals will reveal those plans next week.
But no matter who is in charge, questions remain: payroll size? What's the realistic goal? Is 2025 a transition year? Will it be a two-year transition that includes 2026? And if more false or misleading promises are made by ownership-management -- trying to win the division, win the pennant, win the World Series -- how is that even possible for 2025 when a team is has so many areas of need to develop a championship-caliber roster? Contreras did a good thing by speaking out ... but many, many questions remain.
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The Missouri Tigers are 4-0. That's great. But the first two games were glorified scrimmages, and over the past two weeks Mizzou has defeated Boston College and Vanderbilt by an average of 4.5 points.
Coach Eli Drinkwitz and his team were very fortunate to escape with a harrowing 30-27 victory over visiting Vanderbilt in two overtimes.
But the Tigers must play at a much higher level -- especially on offense -- to play up to the soaring expectations and hype generated by last season's 11-win campaign.
This program has so many positives, so much momentum. It would be a shame to see the Tigers fail to seize the opportunity that awaits them in 2024.
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Despite having substantially lower payrolls than the Cardinals and Cubs, the small-market, limited-spending Milwaukee Brewers clinched their second NL Central division title this week. That makes three division championships in the last four seasons, and four first-place finishes in the last six years. The Cubs and Cardinals have a huge financial advantage over the Brewers, but it doesn't matter ... in this instance Brain Power beats Spending Power.
The last two executives that have led the Milwaukee baseball department, David Stearns and Matt Arnold, were analysts for Jeff Luhnow in Houston, so it's no surprise to see the Brewers have superior payroll efficiency and an excellent touch on drafting and development. It used to be that way in St. Louis when Jeff Luhnow was here. Those days are long over, and we can see how the "Luhnow Effect" has dramatically altered the landscape in the NL Central.
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Other than Bill DeWitt Jr., Bill DeWitt III, John Mozeliak -- and perhaps others in the Cardinals' leadership circle -- know one knows if the Cardinals are planning to offer, or have offered, their top baseball job to Chaim Bloom. And hypothetically speaking, what happens if Bloom politely declines the offer? What if he joined the Cardinals as a special assistant just to study the player-development system and the state of the minor-league operation -- with no commitments about staying on and moving to the top baseball post?
What if Bloom makes recommendations that DeWitt doesn't agree with? I assume that Bloom would expect the owner to buy into the plan to renovate the Cardinals ... but what happens if DeWitt doesn't commit to total support of what Bloom wants to do? In that scenario, I don't know why Bloom would take the job -- especially after his bad experience with Boston's ownership group.
Bloom is only 41. He will have other opportunities because he's highly respected in the industry. He doesn't specifically need the St. Louis job. In addition, Bloom practices Judaism and is seriously devout. He and his wife have two young sons, live in Boston, and Bloom may not want to uproot his family ... or live away from his family.
I've been thinking about these matters. If Bloom rejects the Cardinals, this would be a bad look for DeWitt. We can only wait and see how this all turns out as the Cardinals prepare to go into a critically important offseason.
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Assuming that Chaim Bloom will take over the baseball department after this season to get started on a crucial overhaul of every competitive aspect of the St. Louis Cardinals, the project will require time and patience.
(And if the Cardinals don't make Bloom the head of baseball operations when this season is completed, they will have wasted his time, and our time, and such a delay would be an embarrassing travesty.)
I can only speak for myself, and I'm being realistic here. This is not a quick-fix job. This isn't a patch-it-up project. This isn't putting up new drywall ... this is restoring an entire house that's been allowed to fall in a sad state of disrepair. The house doesn't have to be torn down and leveled, but a lot of hard work and funding is necessary to for the home improvements that will enhance the house in a way that lasts.
That's why I'm lowering my expectations for 2025 and probably 2026. I don't want to see Bill Dewitt Jr. or Chaim Bloom stupidly throw away money on half-measure steps that will NOT make the Cardinals a legitimate contender. The goal must be more encompassing than that; I want them to build a team team that can succeed at a high level for a long period of time ... just the way it used to be.
The Cardinals have wasted the last two seasons. They are tied for 22nd in MLB winning percentage since the start of 2023. Where did it get them? They have nothing to show for the so-called agony of defeat. The areas that had to be upgraded were neglected and have gotten worse. That can't go on.
I can accept another 80-win season or two as long as I know that an overdue rebuild is underway. (Not a complete tear down; the Cards don't have to do that.) It's asinine to stay stuck in the middle (or lower) WITHOUT addressing the rickety minor-league infrastructure.
This is a huge project. The Cardinals must improve staffing by adding coaches and roving instructors and investing in the technological tools that better prepare prospects for their graduation to the majors. This will be an expensive endeavor, but the money will be put to intelligent use and make the Cardinals better in the long term.
If the Cardinals get the player-development system fixed, the talent flow will make it easier to develop a major-league contender. Buying free agents for a short--term gain won't do it. It makes no sense.
Operationally, this is the time for the Cardinals to become something that they haven't been for a long time: Smart.
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Andre Pallante has done a very good job as a starting pitcher since the Cardinals put him in their rotation on May 29. Pallante has the team's best starting-pitching ERA this season, and since May 29 he's the only St. Louis starting pitcher with an earned-run average less than 4.31.
But here's what amazes me: It was Pallante, and not the Cardinals, to realize he'd be a better starter than reliever. And when the Cardinals demoted him to Memphis early this season -- after he'd been blasted for a 6.30 ERA in relief -- Pallante requested to go down to Triple A and work on being a starting pitcher.
For a couple of years, the front office and the manager and the pitching coach had Pallante pegged as a reliever -- period. And he wasn't good at it because he struggled to tame right-handed batters. It was up to Pallante to TELL the Cardinals that he would be more effective as a starting pitcher ... and they agreed. But why does it take a young pitcher to initiate the change? Why couldn't the Cardinals see this, and understand this, themselves?
Also: more on Chaim Bloom and John Mozeliak and what (if anything) it means for manager Oli Marmol. Thank you for watching, and please subscribe.
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The Cardinals went a ghastly 2 for 27 with runners in scoring over the weekend in Toronto, scoring only seven runs in three games while getting swept by the Blue Jays.
This team's failure with runners in scoring position has been a chronic problem all season, and no one seems to know how to make it better. And now, of course, it's too late to matter. Manager Oli Marmol attributes it to a lack of execution, but I would argue -- as I do in this video -- that the real issue a collection of hitters that have an awful plate approach when hitting with RISP. And yes, as I explain, it does come down to intelligence -- a glaring and frustrating shortage of intelligence. Looking at called strikes. Swinging at pitches out of the zone. Having no clue what to do in these pressure situations. And doing the wrong thing over and over and over again.
If the manager and coaches are making recommendations on how hitters can improve, and the situation keeps getting worse, it tells us two things: (1) the messaging is wrong; (2) the messaging is being tuned out by the hitters. Either way, it's an embarrassment that reflects poorly on everyone involved.
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I firmly believed Missouri would be in for a tough battle when Boston College came into Faurot Field. The final betting line in the game had Mizzou favored by 14 and 1/2 points, which was too much. As I said in my Friday "Bernie Bits" video here, Missouri would win the game, but Boston College would cover the point spread. And that's exactly what happened. And the Eagles probably got more than a few Mizzou fans (including me) at least a little nervous by jumping to an early 14-3 lead.
But having to deal with an 11-point deficit in their first game of the season against a real opponent would tell us a lot about Missouri. Could the Tigers keep their composure and confidence, settle in, make the necessary adjustments and crank up their competitiveness? The answer to all of those questions: YES. Mizzou didn't rattle.
Coach Drink's squad pulled together kept its focus, and got to work. The defense was substantially better after getting burned early.
Quarterback Brady Cook got better after just an OK first quarter.
Seeing Nate Noel and Marcus Carroll run the ball with authority behind a strong offensive line was exciting. And much like Cody Schrader did last season, Noel and Coward hit the designed gaps at a huge rate, which is absolutely necessary in MU's preferred style of rushing the footballl.
Wide receiver Luther Burden was his dynamic self, rolling to 117 receiving yards and a touchdown and getting 66 percent of those yards after the catch. He outran the Eagles, dodged the Eagles, and maximized his yardage.
We can nitpick a few things, but what's the point? These type of games aren't supposed to be easy. And Mizzou passed an important test by raising their quality of play after a slow start against a ranked opponent -- an experience that should only make the Tigers better going forward.
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In today's video, I offer my opinion on the "Sell the team DeWitt!" cries that have gotten louder and more intensified. I understand why St. Louis Cardinals fans are disappointed, disgusted, disillusioned. I understand why the great baseball fans have lost faith in DeWitt and are clamoring leadership.
But Bill DeWitt Jr. doesn't have to SELL the franchise. He needs to step up and show the urgency and determination to FIX the franchise. He did it before, when he purchased the the team in 1996. He's much older now, but DeWitt has to do it again ... and he must do it again, because he's in charge of everything.
Even with this downturn in recent years -- only five postseason wins in the last 10 years including 2024 -- the overall body of work for DeWitt as the owner of this storied franchise is impressive. I know what he's capable of, because I had a close-up view of how he did it. Metaphorically speaking, DeWitt must prove to his customers that he still has the fastball. He has to make a substantial and meaningful overhaul of the baseball operation. Half-measure, window-dressing moves won't fool the fans. They fans will actually grow much angrier if DeWitt fails to shake things up in a way that wins him some of the trust and respect he's lost.
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Missouri football will get its first test of the season on Saturday in CoMo against a surprising Boston College team that's No. 24 in this week's Top 25 AP ranking. BC stunned college football fans and investors by winning big on the road at Florida State.
At the time I write this, Missouri is a 16.5-point favorite over the Eagles. That's a big spread right there. In fact, this is the first time Mizzou is favored by 15 points or more against a ranked opponent in 30 years.
Will Mizzou win outright? Will Mizzou cover the point spread? The question I've been asked repeatedly this week is this: "Is Mizzou overrated?" My honest answer: Perhaps a little overrated, but I really don't have a strong opinion on it.
How will we truly know until MU starts playing tougher competition?
That challenge begins Saturday for Mizzou.
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