It's Fine To Collect Prospects, But You'd Better Have A Plan

[Talkin' Baseball]

My only disappointment with Bloom is that he left the coaches in place that have no record of successfully developing young players. It’s the definition of insanity. Change the players but keep the same coaches and manager. Hard for me to be optimistic.

Yea that’s my only disappointment in him so far if he extends him that will be insane

Brace yourself.

What do you think TB? I think Bloom gives him a real opportunity to grab the job. I generally have always been pretty ambivalent about most managers. We've had 2 guys here who made a difference. Most don't really. Especially in today's game. Bloom knows how he wants things done on game day. If Ollie executes he probably gets an extension.

I think Bloom seems quite pleased with Oli. If he wasn't, he had the best chance in the world to dump him when he took office.

Bloom can't possibly be that stupid.
The Marmot survived because DeWitt ordered Bloom not to fire him.

You aren't listening. You are allowing your own bias against Oli to cause you to ignore all of the messaging being given over and over by Bloom.

Bloom is parroting what DeWitt has trained him to repeat.
Bloom in an intelligent guy.
STL is in a development process, and The Marmot has shown himself to be utterly incompetent in handling young players at the MLB level.
His failure rate is astounding.
Bloom knows that.
The only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

It feels weird to be put in this role- I'm no Oli apologist- but this is nothing but a fabrication on your part. You are projecting your bias against the manager. As you say, Bloom is an intelligent guy- he also doesn't seem like he is full of (bleep). If he doesn't like, or support the manager he isn't going to go out of his way to say that he does.

[Melville]

My only disappointment with Bloom is that he left the coaches in place that have no record of successfully developing young players. It’s the definition of insanity. Change the players but keep the same coaches and manager. Hard for me to be optimistic.

Yea that’s my only disappointment in him so far if he extends him that will be insane

Brace yourself.

What do you think TB? I think Bloom gives him a real opportunity to grab the job. I generally have always been pretty ambivalent about most managers. We've had 2 guys here who made a difference. Most don't really. Especially in today's game. Bloom knows how he wants things done on game day. If Ollie executes he probably gets an extension.

I think Bloom seems quite pleased with Oli. If he wasn't, he had the best chance in the world to dump him when he took office.

Bloom can't possibly be that stupid.
The Marmot survived because DeWitt ordered Bloom not to fire him.

You aren't listening. You are allowing your own bias against Oli to cause you to ignore all of the messaging being given over and over by Bloom.

Bloom is parroting what DeWitt has trained him to repeat.
Bloom in an intelligent guy.
STL is in a development process, and The Marmot has shown himself to be utterly incompetent in handling young players at the MLB level.
His failure rate is astounding.
Bloom knows that.
The only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

It feels weird to be put in this role- I'm no Oli apologist- but this is nothing but a fabrication on your part. You are projecting your bias against the manager. As you say, Bloom is an intelligent guy- he also doesn't seem like he is full of (bleep). If he doesn't like, or support the manager he isn't going to go out of his way to say that he does.

I am, as you now, free of bias and free of agenda in all things.
My analysis follows facts and never deviates in the slightest.
Let's therefore consider "3 known knowns" (to borrow a famous term from Rumsfeld).
One, with all due respect, you are ignoring the way DeWitt and the Cardinals have operated for many years.
DeWitt is well known for extreme loyalty to "his guys" (The Marmot has been employed by the Cardinals for the last 20 years - essentially since childhood) and DeWiit has also always been reluctant to fire managers who are under contract for future seasons.
You are intelligent enough to know that - so I suspect you momentarily forgot to include DeWitt's well known behaviors into the calculation.
Two, it is extremely unusual for a POBO who is new in position to retain a failed manager and staff - a POBO is nearly always given a blank slate to pick his own leadership team.
Three, The Marmot abysmal record in developing young players at the MLB level is an established fact - no opinion involved in that statement.
Therefore, based on facts, only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

[Talkin' Baseball]

My only disappointment with Bloom is that he left the coaches in place that have no record of successfully developing young players. It’s the definition of insanity. Change the players but keep the same coaches and manager. Hard for me to be optimistic.

Yea that’s my only disappointment in him so far if he extends him that will be insane

Brace yourself.

What do you think TB? I think Bloom gives him a real opportunity to grab the job. I generally have always been pretty ambivalent about most managers. We've had 2 guys here who made a difference. Most don't really. Especially in today's game. Bloom knows how he wants things done on game day. If Ollie executes he probably gets an extension.

I think Bloom seems quite pleased with Oli. If he wasn't, he had the best chance in the world to dump him when he took office.

Bloom can't possibly be that stupid.
The Marmot survived because DeWitt ordered Bloom not to fire him.

You aren't listening. You are allowing your own bias against Oli to cause you to ignore all of the messaging being given over and over by Bloom.

Bloom is parroting what DeWitt has trained him to repeat.
Bloom in an intelligent guy.
STL is in a development process, and The Marmot has shown himself to be utterly incompetent in handling young players at the MLB level.
His failure rate is astounding.
Bloom knows that.
The only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

It feels weird to be put in this role- I'm no Oli apologist- but this is nothing but a fabrication on your part. You are projecting your bias against the manager. As you say, Bloom is an intelligent guy- he also doesn't seem like he is full of (bleep). If he doesn't like, or support the manager he isn't going to go out of his way to say that he does.

I am, as you now, free of bias and free of agenda in all things.
My analysis follows facts and never deviates in the slightest.
Let's therefore consider "3 known knowns" (to borrow a famous term from Rumsfeld).
One, with all due respect, you are ignoring the way DeWitt and the Cardinals have operated for many years.
DeWitt is well known for extreme loyalty to "his guys" (The Marmot has been employed by the Cardinals for the last 20 years - essentially since childhood) and DeWiit has also always been reluctant to fire managers who are under contract for future seasons.
You are intelligent enough to know that - so I suspect you momentarily forgot to include DeWitt's well known behaviors into the calculation.
Two, it is extremely unusual for a POBO who is new in position to retain a failed manager and staff - a POBO is nearly always given a blank slate to pick his own leadership team.
Three, The Marmot abysmal record in developing young players at the MLB level is an established fact - no opinion involved in that statement.
Therefore, based on facts, only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

That's what you keep saying...

You have a funny idea as to what constitutes a fact.

[Strummer Jones]

My only disappointment with Bloom is that he left the coaches in place that have no record of successfully developing young players. It’s the definition of insanity. Change the players but keep the same coaches and manager. Hard for me to be optimistic.

If reports are to be believed, a lot of those guys didn't get the development that they were supposed to get in the minors because those coaches and instructors simply didn't exist.

Nonsense.
Most of these guys have been playing baseball for 10 years or more.

Professional baseball for 10 years or more? Well, no wonder why they suck. They've been playing pro ball for 10 years and never made it past Springfield or Peoria or Memphis.

[Galatians221jb1]

My only disappointment with Bloom is that he left the coaches in place that have no record of successfully developing young players. It’s the definition of insanity. Change the players but keep the same coaches and manager. Hard for me to be optimistic.

If reports are to be believed, a lot of those guys didn't get the development that they were supposed to get in the minors because those coaches and instructors simply didn't exist.

Nonsense.
Most of these guys have been playing baseball for 10 years or more.

Professional baseball for 10 years or more? Well, no wonder why they suck. They've been playing pro ball for 10 years and never made it past Springfield or Peoria or Memphis.

The Cards have amazing resources in Pujols, Molina, Edmonds, Rolen, Ozzie and more who they could utilize with these players. Instead, our coaches have no major league experience, were not outstanding ballplayers for the most part. If you were a young major league hitter, would you pay more attention to Pujols, Edmonds etc., or to the current hitting coach whose name I don't remember? In Pujols' final year with us, the young players were hanging all over him. It's true that some great managers were not great ballplayers. LaRussa, LaSorda, Whitey and more but they were exceptional students of the game. Whitey straightened out Ozzie. Not the hitting coach. LaRussa brought in Dave Duncan, perhaps the greatest pitching coach in history. We are Cardinal fans. We are spoiled. We want the best players, coaches and managers. Mo is gone. We need to change. We need first rate coaches at the major league level. Gorman and Walker, to name just two, haven't responded to their no name hitting coach. We need to change that.

[dugoutrex]

My only disappointment with Bloom is that he left the coaches in place that have no record of successfully developing young players. It’s the definition of insanity. Change the players but keep the same coaches and manager. Hard for me to be optimistic.

Yea that’s my only disappointment in him so far if he extends him that will be insane

Brace yourself.

What do you think TB? I think Bloom gives him a real opportunity to grab the job. I generally have always been pretty ambivalent about most managers. We've had 2 guys here who made a difference. Most don't really. Especially in today's game. Bloom knows how he wants things done on game day. If Ollie executes he probably gets an extension.

I think Bloom seems quite pleased with Oli. If he wasn't, he had the best chance in the world to dump him when he took office.

Bloom can't possibly be that stupid.
The Marmot survived because DeWitt ordered Bloom not to fire him.

You aren't listening. You are allowing your own bias against Oli to cause you to ignore all of the messaging being given over and over by Bloom.

Bloom is parroting what DeWitt has trained him to repeat.
Bloom in an intelligent guy.
STL is in a development process, and The Marmot has shown himself to be utterly incompetent in handling young players at the MLB level.
His failure rate is astounding.
Bloom knows that.
The only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

It feels weird to be put in this role- I'm no Oli apologist- but this is nothing but a fabrication on your part. You are projecting your bias against the manager. As you say, Bloom is an intelligent guy- he also doesn't seem like he is full of (bleep). If he doesn't like, or support the manager he isn't going to go out of his way to say that he does.

I am, as you now, free of bias and free of agenda in all things.
My analysis follows facts and never deviates in the slightest.
Let's therefore consider "3 known knowns" (to borrow a famous term from Rumsfeld).
One, with all due respect, you are ignoring the way DeWitt and the Cardinals have operated for many years.
DeWitt is well known for extreme loyalty to "his guys" (The Marmot has been employed by the Cardinals for the last 20 years - essentially since childhood) and DeWiit has also always been reluctant to fire managers who are under contract for future seasons.
You are intelligent enough to know that - so I suspect you momentarily forgot to include DeWitt's well known behaviors into the calculation.
Two, it is extremely unusual for a POBO who is new in position to retain a failed manager and staff - a POBO is nearly always given a blank slate to pick his own leadership team.
Three, The Marmot abysmal record in developing young players at the MLB level is an established fact - no opinion involved in that statement.
Therefore, based on facts, only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

Bloom has been talking extension - does BDW have a gun to his balls or something?

[Strummer Jones]

My only disappointment with Bloom is that he left the coaches in place that have no record of successfully developing young players. It’s the definition of insanity. Change the players but keep the same coaches and manager. Hard for me to be optimistic.

If reports are to be believed, a lot of those guys didn't get the development that they were supposed to get in the minors because those coaches and instructors simply didn't exist.

Nonsense.
Most of these guys have been playing baseball for 10 years or more.

Professional baseball for 10 years or more? Well, no wonder why they suck. They've been playing pro ball for 10 years and never made it past Springfield or Peoria or Memphis.

The Cards have amazing resources in Pujols, Molina, Edmonds, Rolen, Ozzie and more who they could utilize with these players. Instead, our coaches have no major league experience, were not outstanding ballplayers for the most part. If you were a young major league hitter, would you pay more attention to Pujols, Edmonds etc., or to the current hitting coach whose name I don't remember? In Pujols' final year with us, the young players were hanging all over him. It's true that some great managers were not great ballplayers. LaRussa, LaSorda, Whitey and more but they were exceptional students of the game. Whitey straightened out Ozzie. Not the hitting coach. LaRussa brought in Dave Duncan, perhaps the greatest pitching coach in history. We are Cardinal fans. We are spoiled. We want the best players, coaches and managers. Mo is gone. We need to change. We need first rate coaches at the major league level. Gorman and Walker, to name just two, haven't responded to their no name hitting coach. We need to change that.

You cannot force those guys to come in and do that work. Those are amazing resources. But Pujols, Molina, Rolen, etc all have millions of dollars and free will. Ozzie is around some, but he does his own thing. And again, if he doesn't want to coach, they're not going to force him to coach. Albert's got the personal services contract with Anaheim, Rolen seems content to raise his family and live a quiet life.

I don't argue the loss of "baseball men" around the team. It's a problem. But it's also a problem that starts at the top. The team employed Chris Carpenter as a roving instructor for a while. He was never replaced. Much was written by local beat guys about how after the minors season was cancelled in 2020, how the team didn't hire back most of their minor league instructors. And a lot of those instructors weren't the Pujols and Rolens of the world, but guys like Jason Simontacchi.

All these hires that Bloom has made? That's us playing catch-up to get our minor league development back to what just about every other franchise has. These young guys coming up and flailing shouldn't be surprising. They don't have those foundational skills that you learn when you start professional ball. Remember when we had guys come up and contribute meaningfully out the gate? That was because they were further developed in Memphis, in Springfield, in Peoria or Palm Beach. Liam Doyle will be a different ballplayer when he gets here. So will Weatherholt.

So now these guys, like Walker, come up and they're not much different ballplayers than they were when they were drafted. It's no wonder why they've sucked so far. Jordan Walker is basically still the same player he was when he was drafted out of high school. He had so much natural talent that he was able to thrive in the low/mid minors on that alone. But he wasn't ACTUALLY developed there. The people who's job it is to do that didn't exist.

But please, tell me how this is all Marmol's fault.

[Melville]

My only disappointment with Bloom is that he left the coaches in place that have no record of successfully developing young players. It’s the definition of insanity. Change the players but keep the same coaches and manager. Hard for me to be optimistic.

Yea that’s my only disappointment in him so far if he extends him that will be insane

Brace yourself.

What do you think TB? I think Bloom gives him a real opportunity to grab the job. I generally have always been pretty ambivalent about most managers. We've had 2 guys here who made a difference. Most don't really. Especially in today's game. Bloom knows how he wants things done on game day. If Ollie executes he probably gets an extension.

I think Bloom seems quite pleased with Oli. If he wasn't, he had the best chance in the world to dump him when he took office.

Bloom can't possibly be that stupid.
The Marmot survived because DeWitt ordered Bloom not to fire him.

You aren't listening. You are allowing your own bias against Oli to cause you to ignore all of the messaging being given over and over by Bloom.

Bloom is parroting what DeWitt has trained him to repeat.
Bloom in an intelligent guy.
STL is in a development process, and The Marmot has shown himself to be utterly incompetent in handling young players at the MLB level.
His failure rate is astounding.
Bloom knows that.
The only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

It feels weird to be put in this role- I'm no Oli apologist- but this is nothing but a fabrication on your part. You are projecting your bias against the manager. As you say, Bloom is an intelligent guy- he also doesn't seem like he is full of (bleep). If he doesn't like, or support the manager he isn't going to go out of his way to say that he does.

I am, as you now, free of bias and free of agenda in all things.
My analysis follows facts and never deviates in the slightest.
Let's therefore consider "3 known knowns" (to borrow a famous term from Rumsfeld).
One, with all due respect, you are ignoring the way DeWitt and the Cardinals have operated for many years.
DeWitt is well known for extreme loyalty to "his guys" (The Marmot has been employed by the Cardinals for the last 20 years - essentially since childhood) and DeWiit has also always been reluctant to fire managers who are under contract for future seasons.
You are intelligent enough to know that - so I suspect you momentarily forgot to include DeWitt's well known behaviors into the calculation.
Two, it is extremely unusual for a POBO who is new in position to retain a failed manager and staff - a POBO is nearly always given a blank slate to pick his own leadership team.
Three, The Marmot abysmal record in developing young players at the MLB level is an established fact - no opinion involved in that statement.
Therefore, based on facts, only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

Bloom has been talking extension - does BDW have a gun to his balls or something?

Anyone following the Cardinals over the years knows it is DeWitt who approves or rejects the firing of a manager.
Mo could not do it.
Neither can Bloom.
That is a fact.

[dugoutrex]

My only disappointment with Bloom is that he left the coaches in place that have no record of successfully developing young players. It’s the definition of insanity. Change the players but keep the same coaches and manager. Hard for me to be optimistic.

Yea that’s my only disappointment in him so far if he extends him that will be insane

Brace yourself.

What do you think TB? I think Bloom gives him a real opportunity to grab the job. I generally have always been pretty ambivalent about most managers. We've had 2 guys here who made a difference. Most don't really. Especially in today's game. Bloom knows how he wants things done on game day. If Ollie executes he probably gets an extension.

I think Bloom seems quite pleased with Oli. If he wasn't, he had the best chance in the world to dump him when he took office.

Bloom can't possibly be that stupid.
The Marmot survived because DeWitt ordered Bloom not to fire him.

You aren't listening. You are allowing your own bias against Oli to cause you to ignore all of the messaging being given over and over by Bloom.

Bloom is parroting what DeWitt has trained him to repeat.
Bloom in an intelligent guy.
STL is in a development process, and The Marmot has shown himself to be utterly incompetent in handling young players at the MLB level.
His failure rate is astounding.
Bloom knows that.
The only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

It feels weird to be put in this role- I'm no Oli apologist- but this is nothing but a fabrication on your part. You are projecting your bias against the manager. As you say, Bloom is an intelligent guy- he also doesn't seem like he is full of (bleep). If he doesn't like, or support the manager he isn't going to go out of his way to say that he does.

I am, as you now, free of bias and free of agenda in all things.
My analysis follows facts and never deviates in the slightest.
Let's therefore consider "3 known knowns" (to borrow a famous term from Rumsfeld).
One, with all due respect, you are ignoring the way DeWitt and the Cardinals have operated for many years.
DeWitt is well known for extreme loyalty to "his guys" (The Marmot has been employed by the Cardinals for the last 20 years - essentially since childhood) and DeWiit has also always been reluctant to fire managers who are under contract for future seasons.
You are intelligent enough to know that - so I suspect you momentarily forgot to include DeWitt's well known behaviors into the calculation.
Two, it is extremely unusual for a POBO who is new in position to retain a failed manager and staff - a POBO is nearly always given a blank slate to pick his own leadership team.
Three, The Marmot abysmal record in developing young players at the MLB level is an established fact - no opinion involved in that statement.
Therefore, based on facts, only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

Bloom has been talking extension - does BDW have a gun to his balls or something?

Anyone following the Cardinals over the years knows it is DeWitt who approves or rejects the firing of a manager.
Mo could not do it.
Neither can Bloom.
That is a fact.

lol - you still think this team is going to better than last year?

[Melville]

My only disappointment with Bloom is that he left the coaches in place that have no record of successfully developing young players. It’s the definition of insanity. Change the players but keep the same coaches and manager. Hard for me to be optimistic.

If reports are to be believed, a lot of those guys didn't get the development that they were supposed to get in the minors because those coaches and instructors simply didn't exist.

Nonsense.
Most of these guys have been playing baseball for 10 years or more.

Professional baseball for 10 years or more? Well, no wonder why they suck. They've been playing pro ball for 10 years and never made it past Springfield or Peoria or Memphis.

Again, these guys have all played baseball for many years, and many levels, with many coaches.
Once they reach STL, the organization has concluded they are ready to complete their tutelage and succeed at the MLB level - because they have successfully passed the test at each stop along the way.
And yet, under The Marmot, too many simply fail to progress as expected in STL - particularly position players.
It is ludicrous to blame the coaches and instructors at level where they succeeded.

[Melville]

Yea that’s my only disappointment in him so far if he extends him that will be insane

Brace yourself.

What do you think TB? I think Bloom gives him a real opportunity to grab the job. I generally have always been pretty ambivalent about most managers. We've had 2 guys here who made a difference. Most don't really. Especially in today's game. Bloom knows how he wants things done on game day. If Ollie executes he probably gets an extension.

I think Bloom seems quite pleased with Oli. If he wasn't, he had the best chance in the world to dump him when he took office.

Bloom can't possibly be that stupid.
The Marmot survived because DeWitt ordered Bloom not to fire him.

You aren't listening. You are allowing your own bias against Oli to cause you to ignore all of the messaging being given over and over by Bloom.

Bloom is parroting what DeWitt has trained him to repeat.
Bloom in an intelligent guy.
STL is in a development process, and The Marmot has shown himself to be utterly incompetent in handling young players at the MLB level.
His failure rate is astounding.
Bloom knows that.
The only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

It feels weird to be put in this role- I'm no Oli apologist- but this is nothing but a fabrication on your part. You are projecting your bias against the manager. As you say, Bloom is an intelligent guy- he also doesn't seem like he is full of (bleep). If he doesn't like, or support the manager he isn't going to go out of his way to say that he does.

I am, as you now, free of bias and free of agenda in all things.
My analysis follows facts and never deviates in the slightest.
Let's therefore consider "3 known knowns" (to borrow a famous term from Rumsfeld).
One, with all due respect, you are ignoring the way DeWitt and the Cardinals have operated for many years.
DeWitt is well known for extreme loyalty to "his guys" (The Marmot has been employed by the Cardinals for the last 20 years - essentially since childhood) and DeWiit has also always been reluctant to fire managers who are under contract for future seasons.
You are intelligent enough to know that - so I suspect you momentarily forgot to include DeWitt's well known behaviors into the calculation.
Two, it is extremely unusual for a POBO who is new in position to retain a failed manager and staff - a POBO is nearly always given a blank slate to pick his own leadership team.
Three, The Marmot abysmal record in developing young players at the MLB level is an established fact - no opinion involved in that statement.
Therefore, based on facts, only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

Bloom has been talking extension - does BDW have a gun to his balls or something?

Anyone following the Cardinals over the years knows it is DeWitt who approves or rejects the firing of a manager.
Mo could not do it.
Neither can Bloom.
That is a fact.

lol - you still think this team is going to better than last year?

You are changing the subject.
Good choice.
So let me answer this question - again.
Before the Donovan deal - yes, the roster was better than a year ago.
Zero question.
But Bloom traded their best outfielder and their best insurance at 2b/ss/3b - severely weakening the overall depth and adding nothing for the 2026 season.
That's a significant problem and a strategic blunder.
Now, as I have stated multiple times, there is still more than 6 weeks to make other moves.
Let's see what happens.
Right now, the rotation is better, the infield is better, the BP is as good, and the team should be improved at the catcher spot - but the outfield which was already a disaster is now worse, and bench depth remains a question mark.

[riff raff]

My only disappointment with Bloom is that he left the coaches in place that have no record of successfully developing young players. It’s the definition of insanity. Change the players but keep the same coaches and manager. Hard for me to be optimistic.

Yea that’s my only disappointment in him so far if he extends him that will be insane

Brace yourself.

What do you think TB? I think Bloom gives him a real opportunity to grab the job. I generally have always been pretty ambivalent about most managers. We've had 2 guys here who made a difference. Most don't really. Especially in today's game. Bloom knows how he wants things done on game day. If Ollie executes he probably gets an extension.

I think Bloom seems quite pleased with Oli. If he wasn't, he had the best chance in the world to dump him when he took office.

Bloom can't possibly be that stupid.
The Marmot survived because DeWitt ordered Bloom not to fire him.

You aren't listening. You are allowing your own bias against Oli to cause you to ignore all of the messaging being given over and over by Bloom.

Bloom is parroting what DeWitt has trained him to repeat.
Bloom in an intelligent guy.
STL is in a development process, and The Marmot has shown himself to be utterly incompetent in handling young players at the MLB level.
His failure rate is astounding.
Bloom knows that.
The only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

No, you said in another thread Bloom was stupid.

[dugoutrex]

Brace yourself.

What do you think TB? I think Bloom gives him a real opportunity to grab the job. I generally have always been pretty ambivalent about most managers. We've had 2 guys here who made a difference. Most don't really. Especially in today's game. Bloom knows how he wants things done on game day. If Ollie executes he probably gets an extension.

I think Bloom seems quite pleased with Oli. If he wasn't, he had the best chance in the world to dump him when he took office.

Bloom can't possibly be that stupid.
The Marmot survived because DeWitt ordered Bloom not to fire him.

You aren't listening. You are allowing your own bias against Oli to cause you to ignore all of the messaging being given over and over by Bloom.

Bloom is parroting what DeWitt has trained him to repeat.
Bloom in an intelligent guy.
STL is in a development process, and The Marmot has shown himself to be utterly incompetent in handling young players at the MLB level.
His failure rate is astounding.
Bloom knows that.
The only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

It feels weird to be put in this role- I'm no Oli apologist- but this is nothing but a fabrication on your part. You are projecting your bias against the manager. As you say, Bloom is an intelligent guy- he also doesn't seem like he is full of (bleep). If he doesn't like, or support the manager he isn't going to go out of his way to say that he does.

I am, as you now, free of bias and free of agenda in all things.
My analysis follows facts and never deviates in the slightest.
Let's therefore consider "3 known knowns" (to borrow a famous term from Rumsfeld).
One, with all due respect, you are ignoring the way DeWitt and the Cardinals have operated for many years.
DeWitt is well known for extreme loyalty to "his guys" (The Marmot has been employed by the Cardinals for the last 20 years - essentially since childhood) and DeWiit has also always been reluctant to fire managers who are under contract for future seasons.
You are intelligent enough to know that - so I suspect you momentarily forgot to include DeWitt's well known behaviors into the calculation.
Two, it is extremely unusual for a POBO who is new in position to retain a failed manager and staff - a POBO is nearly always given a blank slate to pick his own leadership team.
Three, The Marmot abysmal record in developing young players at the MLB level is an established fact - no opinion involved in that statement.
Therefore, based on facts, only rational explanation for The Marmot's survival is DeWitt not permitting Bloom to fire him.
Yet.

Bloom has been talking extension - does BDW have a gun to his balls or something?

Anyone following the Cardinals over the years knows it is DeWitt who approves or rejects the firing of a manager.
Mo could not do it.
Neither can Bloom.
That is a fact.

lol - you still think this team is going to better than last year?

You are changing the subject.
Good choice.
So let me answer this question - again.
Before the Donovan deal - yes, the roster was better than a year ago.
Zero question.
But Bloom traded their best outfielder and their best insurance at 2b/ss/3b - severely weakening the overall depth and adding nothing for the 2026 season.
That's a significant problem and a strategic blunder.
Now, as I have stated multiple times, there is still more than 6 weeks to make other moves.
Let's see what happens.
Right now, the rotation is better, the infield is better, the BP is as good, and the team should be improved at the catcher spot - but the outfield which was already a disaster is now worse, and bench depth remains a question mark.

so you now agree we are going to suck? I can't keep up with your genius I guess