The Bernie Miklasz Show

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 He let the minor league systems slide and become outdated.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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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?

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.

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.