The Bernie Miklasz Show

St. Louis Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado posted a collection of family-and-friend photos on his Instagram account over the weekend that gave us a loom at his offseason life in his hometown Los Angeles area. The photos were lovely and reflected the sentimental, warm feelings that are part of the holiday season.

So what's up with this? Why am I doing a video on Arenado's family excursion to an amusement park in LA? Because Arenado added music to his photo collection -- and it just happened to be a new track from 17-time Grammy Award winner Kendrick Lamar. Arenado's choice of song: "Dodger Blue" which is Lamar's ode to Los Angeles -- his home. And his heart.

Was Arenado trying to tell us something? Is he headed to the Dodgers in a trade with the Cardinals? Was he dropping a hint that a trade was close? Was he sending a message on his desire to get traded from St. Louis to LA? Or was Arenado just trying to stir things up, just to have fun? Or maybe he just really loves the Lamar's track.

I discuss all of this in today's video. And as a bonus, I throw in some other songs to fit potential cities where Arenado could land in a trade. Than just trying to show his appreciation

The Missouri Tigers closed the regular season Saturday with a 28-21 win over Arkansas at Faurot Field. Let it snow!

The victory gave the Tigers a 9-3 record overall, and 5-3 in SEC play. Over the last two seasons, Mizzou ranks among highly among power-conference teams with 20 wins overall.

In addition, the Tigers' 11-5 in record in SEC conflicts over the past two seasons is near the top of the conference ladder. Moreover, Mizzou has gone 13-1 at home over the last two years; only a few power-conference programs have done better than that. This includes a clean 7-0 at home in 2024.

This all represents major progress. The state of Mizzou football is very good -- and has a chance to grow into something even better. There have been some disappointments along the way for MU -- the dream of qualifying for the 12-team playoff faded out -- but that shouldn't cloud our judgment. Coach Eli Drinkwitz is building a strong program, and that's always been the most difficult challenge Mizzou through the decades.

If Mizzou left us wanting more in 2024, that's actually a positive -- because it shows that the standards have been raised (finally) and it's OK to expect more.

The St. Louis Cardinals plan to play the young dudes in 2025, giving them a much fuller opportunity instead of spending and wasting money on average-level free agents that won't elevate the quality of the team. After seeing the Cardinals going in the wrong direction with an outdated and ineffective model that has produced the worst two-season winning percentage (.475) for the franchise since 1990-1991, I'm on board with plan.

However ...

Suppose the plan goes wrong? Suppose 2025 is a disaster and too many young players flop? Then what? Would it be time for a full rebuild under Chaim Bloom? Or in the worst-case scenario would the Cardinals go back to patching roster holes with mediocre additions? This is a longer video than normal but I had a lot of ground to cover. Hey, watch half of it when you can, then go back and watch the second half later on. Thanks.

We fans and media got into a full-blown tizzy when The Athletic reported on Nolan Arenado being willing to move to first base to fill a hole for a team that could have interest in him. This set off a maniacal reaction, with folks rushing to in to concoct fantasy trades and scenarios. It's all part of the fun of baseball's offseason ... I guess.

But Arenado's offer to switch to first base will not make the earth move. By moving to first base, he would lose much of his value ... because much of his overall value is generated by his heralded, above-average defense at third base. And Arenado's level of offense wouldn't be what teams are looking for in a major upgrade at the position.

So if that value is stripped away by a move to first base, then it takes us back to where we started as we continue to go around in cricles: he's an aging player that has experienced an alarming decline offensively over the last two seasons; he has three years left on a contract that pays $74 million guaranteed; he has full trade-veto power; and he's highly unlikely to improve going forward.

Translation: Arenado is a name-brand player with relatively little trade value. Nothing has really changed; the Cardinals don't have much leverage (if any) in their attempts to move him this offseason. Arenado's big move -- to first base -- is unlikely to result in the Cardinals moving him to another team.

The Cardinals are testing the trade market to gauge interest in third baseman Nolan Arenado. He'll be 34 in the spring, he's stuck in a glaring two-year decline phase, and he's owed $74 million in guaranteed salary over the next three seasons. Plus, Arenado has full no-trade protection and can veto any trade proposal.

Given that combination of factors the Cardinals won't get what they want for Arenado. The trade return would likely be modest. The amount of Arenado salary they'd have to absorb would likely be significant. And if they can't pull off a trade, then Arenado would stay a third base and block the opportunity for a younger player (Norman Gorman) or two (Thomas Saggese) to get a significant playing time there. And if third base isn't open, then how do the Cardinals carry out there plan to go with young players in 2025? As long as Arenado occupies third base, no young player can take over at the hot spot.

From Arenado's standpoint, he's said to be willing to play first base (or less third base) as part of a trade to a contending team. That information was reported by Katie Woo of The Athletic. This just reaffirms what we already know: Arenado would like to be traded for a chance to be with a team that has a great shot of making the playoffs. Losing doesn't fit him very well. It is bad for his peace of mind and mental health. But if he wants to get to a new baseball home for a chance to win in his remaining years, he can't veto every trade that's placed in front of him.

Bottom line: for a deal to get done, the Cardinals and Arenado must be realistic. And if they won't be realistic, then they're stuck with one another. And it won't be pleasant for either side. The Cardinals may not get what they want. Arenado may not get what he wants. But the Cardinals and Arenado can get what they need.

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In this video, I follow up on the St. Louis Blues' hiring of Jim Montgomery as their new head coach following the dismissal dismissal of Drew Bannister after only 22 games. I explain why I've come to believe that this Montgomery-Blues reunion was in the works all along -- and I offer reasons why.

The strong alliance between GM Doug Armstrong and Montgomery was the foundation of why Monty became an automatic choice. It was just a question of time: how soon would it happen? How long would it take? Well, the opportunity arrived much sooner than anticipated when the Bruins fired Montgomery last week -- despite a .715 points percentage that made Boston the NHL's best team (regular season) since the start of 2022-2023. The move was set in motion by aborted negotiations on a proposed contract extension that would have kept Montgomery in place. Those never went anywhere, and that was hardly a coincidence (in my opinion).

By not agreeing to an extension, Montgomery would be free to sign with the Blues at the end of the current season. But Monty became a free-agent coach immediately after getting tired, and Doug Armstrong had the coach he wanted all along. Just as planned ... ahead of schedule, yes ... but just as planned. Thanks for watching and please subscribe.

The St. Louis Blues made a predictable and inevitable move on Sunday, firing coach Drew Bannister and hiring Jim Montgomery. In this video, I praise GM Doug Armstrong for moving fast to make a deal with Montgomery, his No. 1 coaching choice since the end of last season. But Montgomery wasn't available last offseason because the Boston Bruins decided to bring him back for 2024-2025. But the Bruins got off to a slow start, Montgomery and the Boston GM didn't see eye to eye, and the Bruins fired "Monty" and opened the door for the coach to sign on with St. Louis.

In this video I explain why this move makes such obvious sense, the attributes Montgomery brings to the job, why he's an excellent fit -- and the strong connection between the new coach, Armstrong, the Blues and the St. Louis community. For the Blues to improve all aspects of the their team and push for a postseason spot, Armstrong had to make a change and make it now. This decision was easy.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol will enter the 2025 season in the first year of a two-year contract extension that expires after the 2026 campaign. But that doesn't mean Oli would make it to 2026. With Chaim Bloom taking over the baseball operations department after the '25 season, he'll be making the call on Marmol's future.

In this video, I explain several factors that could help Marmol's case to stay as Cards manager into 2026. And I also discuss other factors that could lead to his dismissal.

Please offer your own thoughts and comments on this. Thanks for watching. And as always, thanks for your support.

In 2023, Jordan Walker and Nolan Gorman combined for a .256 average, .335 onbase percentage and .461 slugging percentage for a .796 OPS. They walloped a combined 43 homers and drove in 127 runs. This was a very good set of numbers for two hitters that were 21 (Walker) and 23 (Gorman) years old during the 2023 season.

But in 2024, Gorman and Walker fell apart at the plate so dramatically that the Cardinals deemed in necessary to relegate them to the minors. A season after their impressive hitting in 2023, Walker-Gorman combined for a .202 average, .269 OBPO, .389 slug and .658 OPS. Their numbers disintegrated. Can they recover?

In this video, I explain why I have a reasonable amount of confidence in them. And I identify the problems that brought down both young hitters, and explain what can be done to get them back in form to lead the way to an improved St. Louis offense in 2025. Thanks for watching. Please subscribe.

Your St. Louis Blues are in a swoon, having gone 1-5-1 in the last seven games and straining to score enough goals to be competitive. This is part of a 3-8-1 stretch that has made the Blues the worst team in the NHL (.292 points percentage) since Oct. 26.

As the Blues were playing against Minnesota at Enterprise Center Tuesday night, the news of a coaching change went public: the Boston Bruins fired Jim Montgomery after the team got off to a rocky and chaotic start. Montgomery was straight-up scapegoated by a GM who had offered the coach a contract extension earlier this year. So Montgomery is out. That's life for an NHL coach. This league devours them.

Montgomery has Blues roots. His first NHL season as a player was here in 1993-94. He coached the UHL Missouri River Otters. Montgomery was a successful coach in Dallas but the Stars fired him because of Monty's problems with excessive drinking. But Montgomery entered rehab, cultivated a network of supporters to help him through the personal crisis, and cleaned up his life. The Blues gave him a second chance to return to the NHL as an assistant to Craig Berube for two seasons, and Montgomery has said that he'll always be grateful.

Montgomery left St. Louis when the Bruins offered him their head-coaching job -- and in his first season (2022-2023) the Bruins went 65-12-5 for 135 points, capturing the Presidents Trophy as the NHL's best regular-season team. His career points percentage as an NHL head coach in Dallas and Boston is an exceptional .659.

Is a homecoming in the works? Montgomery's wife is a St. Louis native and the family (including four kids) still has a home here. Montgomery is close with Blues GM Doug Armstrong. It may not be fair to talk about Montgomery replacing him as Bannister is only 20 games into his first season as the Blues full-time (not interim) coach. But Armstrong almost certainly would have hired Montgomery if the Bruins fired him for losing in the first round of the 2024 playoffs. But Boston escaped and the Montgomery kept the job. That's when Armstrong decided to stick with Bannister, the interim who had succeeded Berube when Berube was dismissed last season. Will Armstrong make a move? Will he give Bannister more time to get the Blues on track? But if Armstrong waits too long, would he lose Montgomery, to another disappointing team that's looking to shake things up? Hey, Army fired the only Stanley Cup-winning coach in Blues franchise history. And if the Blues boss was willing to do that, one would think that he'd be willing to part with the largely unestablished Bannister because of an opportunity to get the coach (Montgomery) who was on the top of his list earlier in 2024.