The Bernie Miklasz Show

Oscar Tavares, a heralded and highly-touted prospect, made his MLB debut for the St. Louis Cardinals on May 31, 2014 at age 22. He played his final game for the Cardinals on Oct. 16, 2014 and died 10 days later, killing himself and his girlfriend in a horrific, single vehicle drunk-driving wreck in the Dominican Republic. Including the postseason, Tavares was a big-league Cardinal for 87 games. His death left a void in right field that the Cardinals have been unable to full despite using more than 40 players there over the last 10 seasons.

Questions remain. Had Taveras lived, what were the chances of him fulfilling such immense hopes and expectations? Obviously, we'll never know. But I don't assume greatness. Taveras had some struggles during his brief time as a Cardinal -- and that could have prevented him from becoming the Next Great Star of a franchise that desperately wanted to develop a successor to Albert Pujols as a lineup catalyst and leader. I discuss all of this in Monday's video.

The St. Louis Cardinals have been caught in a slow but unmistakable downturn since the start of the 2016, missing the playoffs five times in the last eight full seasons. The fan base is justifiably disillusioned, and some of the more irate fans have implored Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. to sell the team. I'm not telling anybody they're wrong to feel that way.

But I will say this: be careful of what you wish for. Should the Cardinals be sold, there are no guarantees about the ownership that moves in. I've been through these franchise sales before, and most of the new owners (in my experience) have made the franchise and the product much worse than before. A new "dream" owner on the surface can become a nightmare.

After hitting well as a rookie in 2023, Jordan Walker had a brutal 2024 season for the St. Louis Cardinals. He collapsed offensively and relapsed defensively in right field. The numbers were brutal. But he still has the physical ability and natural talent to get his career back on track offensively, and it can happen as soon as the 2025 season. The Cardinals will be relying extensively on their young hitters next season, and it's imperative for Walker to make a strong comeback. I would argue that no young hitter is more important to the Cardinals and their future than J. Walker. New Cardinals hitting coach Brant Brown will have an immediate chance to help Jordan find his way back to success in the batter's box. In this video, I explain what specifically went wrong for Walker in 2024, and what he must do to rebound.

As much as I love watching baseball, there's a tedium to it. I do not live in the past; I accept the sport for what it is now. Things constantly change. But in these modern times, so many games look the same. So many teams look the same. That can never be said of Whitey Herzog's St. Louis Cardinals teams during the 1980s.

Months before I started my YouTube channel this year we lost Whitey -- Hall of Fame manager, Hall of Fame personality -- Herzog, who died on April 15 at the age of 92. I hadn't done any type of video tribute to Whitey. That left me restless.

We've spent a lot of time here on The Bernie Show talking about managers -- be it Tony La Russa, or Mike Shildt, or Oli Marmol, or the candidates to replace Marmol if the Cardinals make a change. And that got me to thinking about a few things: today's baseball lacks identity, and too many managers are similar in their thinking.

Whitey Herzog was the opposite of that. His 1980s Cardinals were immensely successful, and popular, and wildly entertaining. And they had a unique style that made them one of a kind. Herzog, a maverick, went against the norm and reinvented the way baseball was played in St. Louis. And that makes us miss him more. From time to time I will present a historical perspective on sports figures that I've covered, written about, or known Today: it's my honor to share my thoughts on Herzog, and take some time to elaborate on why this legend -- and his style of baseball -- was so extraordinary. I hope you enjoy it.

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado will turn 34 years old in April, and he's already two seasons into an age-related decline phase -- offensively and defensively. The aging curve brings down all athletes at some point, but that's happened sooner than expected with Arenado. It makes sense for the Cardinals to move him this offseason. He won't be happy in a rebuilding situation. Before the 2021 season, he agreed to be traded to St. Louis for the chance to play for a winning franchise that has a proud history of winning and competing for championships. But that window has closed for now as the Cardinals go forward with a youth movement and a complete overhaul of their outdated and wobbly player-development (and minor league) system. It will be a while until the Cards win again, and Arenado would be absolutely miserable in this environment. Losing -- at Colorado and more recently in St. Louis -- has worn him down. His decline of power and skill only adds to his frustration.

With the Cardinals about to get younger, the last thing they should want is a disillusioned Arenado radiating negative energy. I find it hard to believe that Arenado would want to stay here given the circumstances. If he's motivated to waive his no-trade protection and accept a trade -- and the Cardinals are motivated to make the trade -- the outcome would be best for the player and the team and the younger flock of Redbirds. In this video I discuss the other parts of this situation -- Arenado's contract, trade value, and a few young players who could benefit from Arenado moving on.

Oli Marmol will manage the St. Louis Cardinals in 2025 and is under contract to do the same job in 2026. We can't predict the future and set expectations for Marmol's team in 2025. There will be payroll cuts, and some could be harsh. Nucleus players/pitchers are likely to be traded; the only question is, how many? It would be a very challenging year for any manager in this situation, but it's more difficult for Marmol.

Primarily because of his link to president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, Marmol is (presumably) unpopular with a large percentage of Cardinals fans and won't have much of a chance to win them over. But what would it take for Mamrol to keep the job for 2026?

What if the young players and pitchers improve, and the Cardinals win more games than anticipated, and play an entertaining style of baseball? Would incoming president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom want to keep Marmol based on merit? Or will the mood of the fan base -- and a drop in business -- be the overriding factor in the decision to hire a new manager?

If Marmol's term in the manager's office ends after the end of the 2025 season, the Cardinals can turn in several directions for their next choice as manager. Some potential candidates are already in place. (Daniel Descalso and Jon Jay). Another attractive candidate, Skip Schumaker, may still be available unless he signs with another team this coming offseason. And two St. Louis baseball icons -- Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina -- want to manage in the majors and loom as towering candidates. One way or another, 2025 presents an intriguing and unusual situation for Marmol and the Cardinals.

The highly anticipated 2024 Missouri football season is going down the tubes. Forget about the Tigers finding their way into the 12-team national playoff; this team can't even find its way into the end zone. In their last two losses, at Texas A&M and Alabama, MU was outscored by a combined 75-10. And the squad really hasn't played one great game so far this season. The offense was struggling before quarterback Brady Cook's injury, and now it's gotten worse. Much worse.

At 6-2 Missouri has a chance to rally for a 9-3 or 10-2 regular-season mark -- that's the optimistic view -- but given the current state of the offense, why would we be confident? Together, Cook and backup Drew Pyne have made Mizzou's passing attack one of the least accurate in the nation among the 69 power conference programs. A season of great expectations is turning into a great disappointment.

How will the St. Louis Blues compensate for the loss of the injured, do-everything center Robert Thomas? It will be a challenge, but the Blues passed the first test without Thomas by blowing out the Maple Leafs, 5--1, on Thursday in Toronto. In the victory, the Blues displayed just about everything they must do well with Thomas missing. Goaltending, quality depth, and getting impactful play from players that are first-year Blues. And the team's best players have to play to a high level. It was only the first of many games without Thomas, but the Blues went into Toronto and made an emphatic statement.

STLtoday reports the Cardinals are just about set to offer a direct-to-consumer streaming service to the team's fan base. If this is officially green-lighted by MLB -- as expected -- the Cardinals can supplement their arrangement with traditional TV carriers. And the best part is, the historical local-TV blackout rules will go away. Fans will be able to purchase the direct screening without fear of blackout restrictions. It won't matter where they live; the fans will have a new way to access games.

That said, this isn't an optimal time for selling a direct to consumer package. The Cardinals have missed the playoffs five times in the last eight full seasons. They had a dreadful 71-91 season in 2023, and failed to make the postseason for a second year in a row in 2024. The Cardinals are also entering a rebuilding phase that could be moderate or severe, depending on how many veteran salaries are offloaded during the offseason.

Will unhappy or otherwise angry fans want to buy the Cardinals streaming service? Will they take a wait and see approach? Can the Cardinals win them over and count on their business when the team is likely headed for two or three below-average seasons -- or worse? The best marketing is winning. And it might be a while before the Cardinals are ready to win -- and win big -- again. Good luck with the sales pitch.

In today's video, I start off by looking at the Yankees-Dodgers World Series and the predictable narrative about how the matchup proves that only the big-money teams can thrive in major-league baseball. It's simply not true. Since the start of 2002, we've seen 14 different MLB teams win at least one World Series. And over the same time period, 21 of the 30 franchises have captured at least one league pennant.

Having enormous financial resources can be an advantage, but it isn't as simple as it sounds. The Yankees and Dodgers spend immense sums of money on payroll, but can't buy a "dynasty." The Dodgers haven't won a World Series in a full and normal season since 1988. Until this year, the Yankees hadn't appeared in a World Series since 2009. We've seen too many big-spending teams flop ... and we've seen a lot of lower-payroll teams do well.

Over the previous seven World Series coming into this one, 7 of the 14 participants have been ranked in the bottom half of the MLB payroll rankings. And since 1995, this will be only the second World Series matchup that pits two top-five payroll teams.

What does this have to do with the Cardinals? Plenty. The Cardinals will finally get back to the most effective formula of "Moneyball," and that's important. Stupidly squandering money accomplishes nothing. I explain it all in my video