Cardinals president of baseball operations John Mozeliak abruptly fired manager Mike Shildt soon after the 2021 season. The two had an ongoing dispute about the direction of the team.

Shildt pushed too hard, and Mozeliak sacked him.

And now here comes Shildt, back in St. Louis with his San Diego Padres for a four-game series with the Cardinals. The Padres are 74-58 in his first season as manager, and Shildt has led his team to terrific success (24-9) since the All-Star break.

With Shildt's steady and positive managing, the Padres have overcome substantial injuries and first-half inconsistency. And now he returns to St. Louis and the Padres have a chance to damage STL's already dim postseason hopes.

Are the Cardinals better off without Shildt? No. Does he get the last laugh on the team that fired him? Yes.

The St. Louis are struggling to fully develop young hitting prospects and do everything that's necessary to help them maximize their full potential.

Too many young batsmen have stalled, the latest being Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman. Lars Nootbaar hasn't developed into the player the Cardinals thought he would be; "Noot" has taken a step back. And with Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado in career declines, where is the next wave of young hitting talent?

That's the "scary" part, even though we can point to Masyn Winn (no worries there), Alec Burleson (a platoon hitter) and recent first-round draft choice J.J. Wetherholt, I don't trust the process. Or the development. Or the people in charge. Or the staffing.

I can't assume these young hitters can become great or even good. The Cardinals' recent history in these matters is a big concern. The young-pitcher side of the operation offers at least some optimism. But my focus today is on young hitters, and what it could look like in the future if Walker and Gorman can't get back on track and stay there.

Record-low crowds at Busch Stadium for home games in a season that wasn't impacted by the Covid pandemic.

The new Busch Stadium has been open since 2006, and it is stunning to see so many empty seats. But is it really stunning? No, it shouldn't be.

From ownership on down, the St. Louis Cardinals have lost the trust, the respect and the support of a great fan base.

And now this fan base is protesting by staying away from a ballpark that used to be filled with happy, smiling people.

Dylan Carlson, Jordan Walker, Nolan Gorman, on and on it goes. The St. Louis Cardinals actually did the smart thing and the right thing by sending Gorman down to Triple A Memphis on Wednesday.

But they waited too long -- much too long -- before intervening. Gorman's hitting only got worse over time, and he fell deeper into an extreme slump that lasted for more than two months.

What were they waiting for? And why were the Cardinals so quick to book Walker to Memphis and so slow to stop the fight with Gorman?

The St. Louis Cardinals are messing with Jordan Walker in a way that could lead to yet another failure of a young and talented hitter who is so vital to the present and future.

The mishandling of Walker is incomprehensibly bad, and the Cardinals are losing more credibility by the hour. (And there wasn't much left.)

Also, late in the video: why the double standards? Nolan Gorman has been failing brutally at the plate since early June and is getting worse. Why is Gorman still here? How does it help him or the team? The batting coaches in St. Louis don't help him. Gorman needs a reset at Memphis.

The Milwaukee Brewers are in town, leading the fading Cardinals by 11 games in the NL Central.

Nothing new.

Despite being at a tremendous disadvantage in revenue and payroll, the small-market Brewers continue to dominate DeWitt's wealthier franchise.

Why does Mr. DeWitt put up with this? Why has he tolerated so many front-office mistakes in spending and personnel decisions?

Makes no sense.

We already knew that the Cardinals have struggled to draft and develop premium starting pitching, which explains why they have cobble a rotation together.

But the bottom-line results are just as bad in the organization's failure to draft and develop All-Star caliber talent offensively -- with too many young and talented hitters sputtering and not living up to the hype.

The so-called Cardinal Way isn't what it used to be. Sad.

Longtime St. Louis media sports-media institution explains what's been missing with the Cardinals over the last two seasons. Sure, it's about talent, and roster construction, and personnel decisions. Sure it's about managing and coaching and the importance ownership.

But LEADERSHIP in the clubhouse is essential, especially when a team is going through hard times. And leadership has been lacking.

Bernie points out how the 2006 and 2011 Cardinals had some great talent, and a Hall of Fame manager in Tony La Russa, but those teams had strong, strong leadership in the clubhouse -- guys who took charge by helping teammates, challenging teammates, and making sure the team was living up to the established standard of successful, relentlessly competitive baseball. And that really mattered when the 2006 and 2011 teams were in serious danger of missing the playoffs.

The last time the Cardinals won the division title was 2022. That team had Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright. Coincidence? No.

Bad Baseball.

Many Questions.

What will Bill DeWitt Jr. do?

Fire manager Oli Marmol?

Let's understand something: sacking the manager isn't going to solve the Cardinals' problems.

Their issues and flaws go much deeper than that. Just take a look at their lack of success, and horrendous record, in postseason baseball in recent seasons.