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.