WillyC wants to stay here per J. Hayes

[Melville]

I think it's refreshing a player wants to stay in StL so much. He's not hurting our budget since we're shedding massive budget once Nado and Gray are traded and Mikolas leaves, and we won't be spending on FA's, so who cares, let him stay and mentor. I think this is a good thing, makes me like him more

(Applause)

Indeed.
W/C says he wants to be a leader.
Exact opposite of what Goldschmidt and N/A said.
Zero question that is what the organization needs.
But there is a valid question.
How much is another team willing to give STL in exchange?

Another team would let them dump his salary on them because as you (and only you!) correctly pointed out lol, his contract is actually a bargain.

No good prospect return though, unless the team wants to cover a significant portion of his salary, effectively buying a better prospect.

Only two factions will see this as a bad development, those who love nothing more than BDW saving money and those suffering from Burly fever.

He has more value than most think.
Not only does his remaining AAV have appeal, but the limited 2-year commitment is exactly what a lot of teams will covet.
He will cost a small fraction of what middle order FA bats Tucker, Schwarber, and Bellinger will command - who are all LH.
Outside of Suarez, there's not much to pick from among RH bats.
There could not be a better time for STL to shop him - and the return would be significant.
Not advocating that he be traded.
Simply providing 100% accurate, agenda-free, bias-free analysis.

Lol…I’d expect nothing less! You do raise a good point in the 2 year contract length. I forgot about that which does make him more appealing for a team looking for a good bridge player. Same logic could applied in the case for the Cardinals retaining him too.

There is indeed an argument in favor of keeping him.
If Bloom's goal is to aim for 85-86 wins next year, while simultaneously building a foundation for something better long-term, the CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION would be to keep Contreras for at least one more season and possibly for both.
On the other hand, if STL simply wants to dump contract and dollars, they will find it easier to trade Contreras than Gray and could go in that direction.
Since I could easily fix the organization in 30 days or less and therefore see no reason to forfeit next season, I would retain him - unless the trade offer was overwhelming with starting pitching talent.

Your 30 day claim is quite bold, but luckily your consulting skills won’t be required as the organization is already fixed. Mo is retiring.

One question though, why would any GM “aim for 85-86 wins”? I have argued against those who say a wildcard is worthless, in that I think it is natural evolution to experience at least a short phase of mediocrity on the road back to contention. Not to mention fighting your way back to the top is an invaluable experience to young players.

But I do agree that you don’t “build for a wildcard” either. You sensibly use all resources available and exhaust all avenues to improve, then turn the revised roster loose and let the chips fall where they may, as opposed to any form of tanking. Would that have fit your 30 day plan?

Bloom has 2 options.
Conclude the team cannot compete in the near term and therefore do a complete reset in necessary (meaning no expectation of competing for a W/C next year).
Or conclude the team currently has the resources to play +.500 ball and needs just a few changes to do so in the short term - while building a higher ceiling pipeline for the long term (this approach would produce an expectation of winning 85-86 wins as soon as next season).
The CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION is the latter.
(Of course, one important factor either way is whatever DeWitt has already shared internally as to the 3-5 year payroll budget.)
With the latter choice being the 100% correct analysis, then yes, the organization can quite easily be fixed in 30 days or less.
As I was first and best to understand and explain - and as has been widely accepted here over time as others have heeded my advice to keep reading and keep learning - the actions required are clear and obvious.
1. Fire The Marmot and his staff - and replace with an experienced battle proven crew.
2. Retain Gray, Liberatore, and McGreevy - while adding two very solid starting pitchers (acknowledging risk of injury to pitchers can upset any well made plan).
3. Acquire a ASG quality middle order RH hitting corner outfielder.
Very, very easily accomplished in a 30-day window from late November through late December, through trade and FA opportunities.
Expendable pieces to accomplish this would include, but not limited to, Bernal, Mathews, Crooks, Padilla, Hence, C. Davis, Mootbaar (as I alone correctly advised in each of the past 4 years), Donovan (I would not want to see that, but the return could make it worth considering), Herrera (most won't like to see his name listed but unless the team moves him to LF it is the right thing to do), Saggese (though he does profile well as a super-utility), Prieto (time is up), Gorman (a popular choice for many but trading him would almost certainly quickly prove to be a strategic blunder), Scott, and Walker (again, some risk but I think the organization is ready to move on).
There is a lot of redundancy to work from - particularly with Wetherholt, Doyle, Joshua Baez, and maybe even Henderson showing progress and perhaps not far from contributing at the MLB level and backfilling for some of those who depart.
Plenty of pieces to mix-n-match to acquire what is needed.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Perhaps it’s obvious

Perhaps it’s correct

Easy??? Getting an experienced, veteran manager to come to Stl is likely a challenge…..

That quality outfielder you suggest could prove difficult as well…..the club does not have many quality prospects to trade….unless you are willing to sacrifice the future for a short term quick fix…

Quality free agents have many options…..stl is not particularly attractive right now….unless Dewitt is going to over pay…….not much chance of that…

Easy to blue sky solutions……dealing with reality can be a problem

I thought the exact same thing while reading his response. Obvious, correct, but likely not so easy.

I seldom bash other posters….but…our friend Melville is not as knowledgeable as he believes…

I never bash other posters.
Kind, gracious, and patient to a fault is simply who I am.
As for knowledgeable, that is doubtless an even larger aspect of my skill set and personality than the 3 items in the previous sentence.
Fact is, STL possesses at least a dozen trade assets which can be mixed-and-matched with the needs of other teams, to obtain the 3 necessary ingredients (2 starters, 1 outfielder) - and that does not yet account for the possibility of filling one of those 3 spots via FA.
Very easily done in 30 days or less.
Super Slo Mo is defined by fear, caution, and timidity.
Risk terrified him.
That obstacle is removed now.
He is a man, a dinosaur, completely unsuited for the way organizations must be led in order to achieve success in our current world.
Baseball is no different than any other business.
Analysis, decisiveness, speed, agility, course correction - these are essential for success in the modern economy.
Success - and failure - happen very quickly.
Zero question I could accomplish everything listed above is 30 days or less.
So can Bloom & DeWitt.
If they possess the will and the skill.
Time has nothing to do with it.

[2ninr]

(Applause)

Indeed.
W/C says he wants to be a leader.
Exact opposite of what Goldschmidt and N/A said.
Zero question that is what the organization needs.
But there is a valid question.
How much is another team willing to give STL in exchange?

Another team would let them dump his salary on them because as you (and only you!) correctly pointed out lol, his contract is actually a bargain.

No good prospect return though, unless the team wants to cover a significant portion of his salary, effectively buying a better prospect.

Only two factions will see this as a bad development, those who love nothing more than BDW saving money and those suffering from Burly fever.

He has more value than most think.
Not only does his remaining AAV have appeal, but the limited 2-year commitment is exactly what a lot of teams will covet.
He will cost a small fraction of what middle order FA bats Tucker, Schwarber, and Bellinger will command - who are all LH.
Outside of Suarez, there's not much to pick from among RH bats.
There could not be a better time for STL to shop him - and the return would be significant.
Not advocating that he be traded.
Simply providing 100% accurate, agenda-free, bias-free analysis.

Lol…I’d expect nothing less! You do raise a good point in the 2 year contract length. I forgot about that which does make him more appealing for a team looking for a good bridge player. Same logic could applied in the case for the Cardinals retaining him too.

There is indeed an argument in favor of keeping him.
If Bloom's goal is to aim for 85-86 wins next year, while simultaneously building a foundation for something better long-term, the CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION would be to keep Contreras for at least one more season and possibly for both.
On the other hand, if STL simply wants to dump contract and dollars, they will find it easier to trade Contreras than Gray and could go in that direction.
Since I could easily fix the organization in 30 days or less and therefore see no reason to forfeit next season, I would retain him - unless the trade offer was overwhelming with starting pitching talent.

Your 30 day claim is quite bold, but luckily your consulting skills won’t be required as the organization is already fixed. Mo is retiring.

One question though, why would any GM “aim for 85-86 wins”? I have argued against those who say a wildcard is worthless, in that I think it is natural evolution to experience at least a short phase of mediocrity on the road back to contention. Not to mention fighting your way back to the top is an invaluable experience to young players.

But I do agree that you don’t “build for a wildcard” either. You sensibly use all resources available and exhaust all avenues to improve, then turn the revised roster loose and let the chips fall where they may, as opposed to any form of tanking. Would that have fit your 30 day plan?

Bloom has 2 options.
Conclude the team cannot compete in the near term and therefore do a complete reset in necessary (meaning no expectation of competing for a W/C next year).
Or conclude the team currently has the resources to play +.500 ball and needs just a few changes to do so in the short term - while building a higher ceiling pipeline for the long term (this approach would produce an expectation of winning 85-86 wins as soon as next season).
The CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION is the latter.
(Of course, one important factor either way is whatever DeWitt has already shared internally as to the 3-5 year payroll budget.)
With the latter choice being the 100% correct analysis, then yes, the organization can quite easily be fixed in 30 days or less.
As I was first and best to understand and explain - and as has been widely accepted here over time as others have heeded my advice to keep reading and keep learning - the actions required are clear and obvious.
1. Fire The Marmot and his staff - and replace with an experienced battle proven crew.
2. Retain Gray, Liberatore, and McGreevy - while adding two very solid starting pitchers (acknowledging risk of injury to pitchers can upset any well made plan).
3. Acquire a ASG quality middle order RH hitting corner outfielder.
Very, very easily accomplished in a 30-day window from late November through late December, through trade and FA opportunities.
Expendable pieces to accomplish this would include, but not limited to, Bernal, Mathews, Crooks, Padilla, Hence, C. Davis, Mootbaar (as I alone correctly advised in each of the past 4 years), Donovan (I would not want to see that, but the return could make it worth considering), Herrera (most won't like to see his name listed but unless the team moves him to LF it is the right thing to do), Saggese (though he does profile well as a super-utility), Prieto (time is up), Gorman (a popular choice for many but trading him would almost certainly quickly prove to be a strategic blunder), Scott, and Walker (again, some risk but I think the organization is ready to move on).
There is a lot of redundancy to work from - particularly with Wetherholt, Doyle, Joshua Baez, and maybe even Henderson showing progress and perhaps not far from contributing at the MLB level and backfilling for some of those who depart.
Plenty of pieces to mix-n-match to acquire what is needed.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Perhaps it’s obvious

Perhaps it’s correct

Easy??? Getting an experienced, veteran manager to come to Stl is likely a challenge…..

That quality outfielder you suggest could prove difficult as well…..the club does not have many quality prospects to trade….unless you are willing to sacrifice the future for a short term quick fix…

Quality free agents have many options…..stl is not particularly attractive right now….unless Dewitt is going to over pay…….not much chance of that…

Easy to blue sky solutions……dealing with reality can be a problem

I thought the exact same thing while reading his response. Obvious, correct, but likely not so easy.

I seldom bash other posters….but…our friend Melville is not as knowledgeable as he believes…

I never bash other posters.
Kind, gracious, and patient to a fault is simply who I am.
As for knowledgeable, that is doubtless an even larger aspect of my skill set and personality than the 3 items in the previous sentence.
Fact is, STL possesses at least a dozen trade assets which can be mixed-and-matched with the needs of other teams, to obtain the 3 necessary ingredients (2 starters, 1 outfielder) - and that does not yet account for the possibility of filling one of those 3 spots via FA.
Very easily done in 30 days or less.
Super Slo Mo is defined by fear, caution, and timidity.
Risk terrified him.
That obstacle is removed now.
He is a man, a dinosaur, completely unsuited for the way organizations must be led in order to achieve success in our current world.
Baseball is no different than any other business.
Analysis, decisiveness, speed, agility, course correction - these are essential for success in the modern economy.
Success - and failure - happen very quickly.
Zero question I could accomplish everything listed above is 30 days or less.
So can Bloom & DeWitt.
If they possess the will and the skill.
Time has nothing to do with it.

Necessary ingredients for what? The Cardinals are 25th in team war. We have only 3 everyday players who can play above average defense and don't need to be platooned. Im assuming you have to trade at least one of those. I will be waiting for your plan. Have a good day Mel!

[Carp4Cy]

He signed that big contract for playing catcher.If he's playing first,isn't he way over-paid?

He is basically a top 20-25 hitter in the NL (OPS/OBP/RBI)
He has proven himself to be an above average 1b glove.
He is owed 18M each of the next 2 seasons.
No - he is not overpaid.
His contract is below market value.

Exactly this. Crazy that so many out of touch posters think $18M should be able to buy us Freddie Freeman 2023 production.

[JohnnyMO]

I agree a couple vets are good to keep around on a young team and - by a landslide - I’d rather it be Contreras than any of our other recent vets.

[Melville]

I agree a couple vets are good to keep around on a young team and - by a landslide - I’d rather it be Contreras than any of our other recent vets.

Correct.

[Melville]

Indeed.
W/C says he wants to be a leader.
Exact opposite of what Goldschmidt and N/A said.
Zero question that is what the organization needs.
But there is a valid question.
How much is another team willing to give STL in exchange?

Another team would let them dump his salary on them because as you (and only you!) correctly pointed out lol, his contract is actually a bargain.

No good prospect return though, unless the team wants to cover a significant portion of his salary, effectively buying a better prospect.

Only two factions will see this as a bad development, those who love nothing more than BDW saving money and those suffering from Burly fever.

He has more value than most think.
Not only does his remaining AAV have appeal, but the limited 2-year commitment is exactly what a lot of teams will covet.
He will cost a small fraction of what middle order FA bats Tucker, Schwarber, and Bellinger will command - who are all LH.
Outside of Suarez, there's not much to pick from among RH bats.
There could not be a better time for STL to shop him - and the return would be significant.
Not advocating that he be traded.
Simply providing 100% accurate, agenda-free, bias-free analysis.

Lol…I’d expect nothing less! You do raise a good point in the 2 year contract length. I forgot about that which does make him more appealing for a team looking for a good bridge player. Same logic could applied in the case for the Cardinals retaining him too.

There is indeed an argument in favor of keeping him.
If Bloom's goal is to aim for 85-86 wins next year, while simultaneously building a foundation for something better long-term, the CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION would be to keep Contreras for at least one more season and possibly for both.
On the other hand, if STL simply wants to dump contract and dollars, they will find it easier to trade Contreras than Gray and could go in that direction.
Since I could easily fix the organization in 30 days or less and therefore see no reason to forfeit next season, I would retain him - unless the trade offer was overwhelming with starting pitching talent.

Your 30 day claim is quite bold, but luckily your consulting skills won’t be required as the organization is already fixed. Mo is retiring.

One question though, why would any GM “aim for 85-86 wins”? I have argued against those who say a wildcard is worthless, in that I think it is natural evolution to experience at least a short phase of mediocrity on the road back to contention. Not to mention fighting your way back to the top is an invaluable experience to young players.

But I do agree that you don’t “build for a wildcard” either. You sensibly use all resources available and exhaust all avenues to improve, then turn the revised roster loose and let the chips fall where they may, as opposed to any form of tanking. Would that have fit your 30 day plan?

Bloom has 2 options.
Conclude the team cannot compete in the near term and therefore do a complete reset in necessary (meaning no expectation of competing for a W/C next year).
Or conclude the team currently has the resources to play +.500 ball and needs just a few changes to do so in the short term - while building a higher ceiling pipeline for the long term (this approach would produce an expectation of winning 85-86 wins as soon as next season).
The CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION is the latter.
(Of course, one important factor either way is whatever DeWitt has already shared internally as to the 3-5 year payroll budget.)
With the latter choice being the 100% correct analysis, then yes, the organization can quite easily be fixed in 30 days or less.
As I was first and best to understand and explain - and as has been widely accepted here over time as others have heeded my advice to keep reading and keep learning - the actions required are clear and obvious.
1. Fire The Marmot and his staff - and replace with an experienced battle proven crew.
2. Retain Gray, Liberatore, and McGreevy - while adding two very solid starting pitchers (acknowledging risk of injury to pitchers can upset any well made plan).
3. Acquire a ASG quality middle order RH hitting corner outfielder.
Very, very easily accomplished in a 30-day window from late November through late December, through trade and FA opportunities.
Expendable pieces to accomplish this would include, but not limited to, Bernal, Mathews, Crooks, Padilla, Hence, C. Davis, Mootbaar (as I alone correctly advised in each of the past 4 years), Donovan (I would not want to see that, but the return could make it worth considering), Herrera (most won't like to see his name listed but unless the team moves him to LF it is the right thing to do), Saggese (though he does profile well as a super-utility), Prieto (time is up), Gorman (a popular choice for many but trading him would almost certainly quickly prove to be a strategic blunder), Scott, and Walker (again, some risk but I think the organization is ready to move on).
There is a lot of redundancy to work from - particularly with Wetherholt, Doyle, Joshua Baez, and maybe even Henderson showing progress and perhaps not far from contributing at the MLB level and backfilling for some of those who depart.
Plenty of pieces to mix-n-match to acquire what is needed.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Perhaps it’s obvious

Perhaps it’s correct

Easy??? Getting an experienced, veteran manager to come to Stl is likely a challenge…..

That quality outfielder you suggest could prove difficult as well…..the club does not have many quality prospects to trade….unless you are willing to sacrifice the future for a short term quick fix…

Quality free agents have many options…..stl is not particularly attractive right now….unless Dewitt is going to over pay…….not much chance of that…

Easy to blue sky solutions……dealing with reality can be a problem

I thought the exact same thing while reading his response. Obvious, correct, but likely not so easy.

I seldom bash other posters….but…our friend Melville is not as knowledgeable as he believes…

I never bash other posters.
Kind, gracious, and patient to a fault is simply who I am.
As for knowledgeable, that is doubtless an even larger aspect of my skill set and personality than the 3 items in the previous sentence.
Fact is, STL possesses at least a dozen trade assets which can be mixed-and-matched with the needs of other teams, to obtain the 3 necessary ingredients (2 starters, 1 outfielder) - and that does not yet account for the possibility of filling one of those 3 spots via FA.
Very easily done in 30 days or less.
Super Slo Mo is defined by fear, caution, and timidity.
Risk terrified him.
That obstacle is removed now.
He is a man, a dinosaur, completely unsuited for the way organizations must be led in order to achieve success in our current world.
Baseball is no different than any other business.
Analysis, decisiveness, speed, agility, course correction - these are essential for success in the modern economy.
Success - and failure - happen very quickly.
Zero question I could accomplish everything listed above is 30 days or less.
So can Bloom & DeWitt.
If they possess the will and the skill.
Time has nothing to do with it.

Necessary ingredients for what? The Cardinals are 25th in team war. We have only 3 everyday players who can play above average defense and don't need to be platooned. Im assuming you have to trade at least one of those. I will be waiting for your plan. Have a good day Mel!

My annual post-season plan should be published here tonight or tomorrow.

[riff raff]

Another team would let them dump his salary on them because as you (and only you!) correctly pointed out lol, his contract is actually a bargain.

No good prospect return though, unless the team wants to cover a significant portion of his salary, effectively buying a better prospect.

Only two factions will see this as a bad development, those who love nothing more than BDW saving money and those suffering from Burly fever.

He has more value than most think.
Not only does his remaining AAV have appeal, but the limited 2-year commitment is exactly what a lot of teams will covet.
He will cost a small fraction of what middle order FA bats Tucker, Schwarber, and Bellinger will command - who are all LH.
Outside of Suarez, there's not much to pick from among RH bats.
There could not be a better time for STL to shop him - and the return would be significant.
Not advocating that he be traded.
Simply providing 100% accurate, agenda-free, bias-free analysis.

Lol…I’d expect nothing less! You do raise a good point in the 2 year contract length. I forgot about that which does make him more appealing for a team looking for a good bridge player. Same logic could applied in the case for the Cardinals retaining him too.

There is indeed an argument in favor of keeping him.
If Bloom's goal is to aim for 85-86 wins next year, while simultaneously building a foundation for something better long-term, the CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION would be to keep Contreras for at least one more season and possibly for both.
On the other hand, if STL simply wants to dump contract and dollars, they will find it easier to trade Contreras than Gray and could go in that direction.
Since I could easily fix the organization in 30 days or less and therefore see no reason to forfeit next season, I would retain him - unless the trade offer was overwhelming with starting pitching talent.

Your 30 day claim is quite bold, but luckily your consulting skills won’t be required as the organization is already fixed. Mo is retiring.

One question though, why would any GM “aim for 85-86 wins”? I have argued against those who say a wildcard is worthless, in that I think it is natural evolution to experience at least a short phase of mediocrity on the road back to contention. Not to mention fighting your way back to the top is an invaluable experience to young players.

But I do agree that you don’t “build for a wildcard” either. You sensibly use all resources available and exhaust all avenues to improve, then turn the revised roster loose and let the chips fall where they may, as opposed to any form of tanking. Would that have fit your 30 day plan?

Bloom has 2 options.
Conclude the team cannot compete in the near term and therefore do a complete reset in necessary (meaning no expectation of competing for a W/C next year).
Or conclude the team currently has the resources to play +.500 ball and needs just a few changes to do so in the short term - while building a higher ceiling pipeline for the long term (this approach would produce an expectation of winning 85-86 wins as soon as next season).
The CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION is the latter.
(Of course, one important factor either way is whatever DeWitt has already shared internally as to the 3-5 year payroll budget.)
With the latter choice being the 100% correct analysis, then yes, the organization can quite easily be fixed in 30 days or less.
As I was first and best to understand and explain - and as has been widely accepted here over time as others have heeded my advice to keep reading and keep learning - the actions required are clear and obvious.
1. Fire The Marmot and his staff - and replace with an experienced battle proven crew.
2. Retain Gray, Liberatore, and McGreevy - while adding two very solid starting pitchers (acknowledging risk of injury to pitchers can upset any well made plan).
3. Acquire a ASG quality middle order RH hitting corner outfielder.
Very, very easily accomplished in a 30-day window from late November through late December, through trade and FA opportunities.
Expendable pieces to accomplish this would include, but not limited to, Bernal, Mathews, Crooks, Padilla, Hence, C. Davis, Mootbaar (as I alone correctly advised in each of the past 4 years), Donovan (I would not want to see that, but the return could make it worth considering), Herrera (most won't like to see his name listed but unless the team moves him to LF it is the right thing to do), Saggese (though he does profile well as a super-utility), Prieto (time is up), Gorman (a popular choice for many but trading him would almost certainly quickly prove to be a strategic blunder), Scott, and Walker (again, some risk but I think the organization is ready to move on).
There is a lot of redundancy to work from - particularly with Wetherholt, Doyle, Joshua Baez, and maybe even Henderson showing progress and perhaps not far from contributing at the MLB level and backfilling for some of those who depart.
Plenty of pieces to mix-n-match to acquire what is needed.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Perhaps it’s obvious

Perhaps it’s correct

Easy??? Getting an experienced, veteran manager to come to Stl is likely a challenge…..

That quality outfielder you suggest could prove difficult as well…..the club does not have many quality prospects to trade….unless you are willing to sacrifice the future for a short term quick fix…

Quality free agents have many options…..stl is not particularly attractive right now….unless Dewitt is going to over pay…….not much chance of that…

Easy to blue sky solutions……dealing with reality can be a problem

I thought the exact same thing while reading his response. Obvious, correct, but likely not so easy.

I seldom bash other posters….but…our friend Melville is not as knowledgeable as he believes…

I never bash other posters.
Kind, gracious, and patient to a fault is simply who I am.
As for knowledgeable, that is doubtless an even larger aspect of my skill set and personality than the 3 items in the previous sentence.
Fact is, STL possesses at least a dozen trade assets which can be mixed-and-matched with the needs of other teams, to obtain the 3 necessary ingredients (2 starters, 1 outfielder) - and that does not yet account for the possibility of filling one of those 3 spots via FA.
Very easily done in 30 days or less.
Super Slo Mo is defined by fear, caution, and timidity.
Risk terrified him.
That obstacle is removed now.
He is a man, a dinosaur, completely unsuited for the way organizations must be led in order to achieve success in our current world.
Baseball is no different than any other business.
Analysis, decisiveness, speed, agility, course correction - these are essential for success in the modern economy.
Success - and failure - happen very quickly.
Zero question I could accomplish everything listed above is 30 days or less.
So can Bloom & DeWitt.
If they possess the will and the skill.
Time has nothing to do with it.

Necessary ingredients for what? The Cardinals are 25th in team war. We have only 3 everyday players who can play above average defense and don't need to be platooned. Im assuming you have to trade at least one of those. I will be waiting for your plan. Have a good day Mel!

My annual post-season plan should be published here tonight or tomorrow.

Published?

[WeeVikes]

So can Bloom & DeWitt.
If they possess the will and the skill.
Time has nothing to do with it.

That is the question for me — is the will for BDW and the skill for Bloom there?

Does BDW still want to win? I would think he does, however, my guess is he sees and feels various constraints on his options and therefore the ownership group wants to do it “their way”, which attempts to account for these limits. Without knowing the details of their perceptions or their plans with which to deal with them, it’s impossible to say whether they are correct or not, however, the results thus far have not yet been kind, which leads us to….

Does Bloom have the skill and temperament to pull off a recovery? I haven’t memorized Bloom’s resume, so I could be vastly incorrect here, but I believe he’s had a fair amount of success when allowed the freedom necessary. Certainly he had greater access to resources with Boston. He clearly won’t have that in StL, and again, I believe ownership has its preferred plan on how to proceed, correct or not, but I’d like to think there is more that enough to do the job. I think it fair to say that while Mo has had some success during his tenure, he was clearly not well suited for the current situation and the constraints levied upon him. Do those constraints absolve him of fault? Absolutely not, however, I am willing to ascribe perhaps a little more “wrong place, wrong time, wrong guy” than the average bear. So, I have to ask, is Bloom the man job under these circumstances? I think, by definition, he has to be better. We’ll see if he is “The Answer”.

What do you think, Mel?

[MIDMOBIRDTWO]

Another team would let them dump his salary on them because as you (and only you!) correctly pointed out lol, his contract is actually a bargain.

No good prospect return though, unless the team wants to cover a significant portion of his salary, effectively buying a better prospect.

Only two factions will see this as a bad development, those who love nothing more than BDW saving money and those suffering from Burly fever.

He has more value than most think.
Not only does his remaining AAV have appeal, but the limited 2-year commitment is exactly what a lot of teams will covet.
He will cost a small fraction of what middle order FA bats Tucker, Schwarber, and Bellinger will command - who are all LH.
Outside of Suarez, there's not much to pick from among RH bats.
There could not be a better time for STL to shop him - and the return would be significant.
Not advocating that he be traded.
Simply providing 100% accurate, agenda-free, bias-free analysis.

Lol…I’d expect nothing less! You do raise a good point in the 2 year contract length. I forgot about that which does make him more appealing for a team looking for a good bridge player. Same logic could applied in the case for the Cardinals retaining him too.

There is indeed an argument in favor of keeping him.
If Bloom's goal is to aim for 85-86 wins next year, while simultaneously building a foundation for something better long-term, the CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION would be to keep Contreras for at least one more season and possibly for both.
On the other hand, if STL simply wants to dump contract and dollars, they will find it easier to trade Contreras than Gray and could go in that direction.
Since I could easily fix the organization in 30 days or less and therefore see no reason to forfeit next season, I would retain him - unless the trade offer was overwhelming with starting pitching talent.

Your 30 day claim is quite bold, but luckily your consulting skills won’t be required as the organization is already fixed. Mo is retiring.

One question though, why would any GM “aim for 85-86 wins”? I have argued against those who say a wildcard is worthless, in that I think it is natural evolution to experience at least a short phase of mediocrity on the road back to contention. Not to mention fighting your way back to the top is an invaluable experience to young players.

But I do agree that you don’t “build for a wildcard” either. You sensibly use all resources available and exhaust all avenues to improve, then turn the revised roster loose and let the chips fall where they may, as opposed to any form of tanking. Would that have fit your 30 day plan?

Bloom has 2 options.
Conclude the team cannot compete in the near term and therefore do a complete reset in necessary (meaning no expectation of competing for a W/C next year).
Or conclude the team currently has the resources to play +.500 ball and needs just a few changes to do so in the short term - while building a higher ceiling pipeline for the long term (this approach would produce an expectation of winning 85-86 wins as soon as next season).
The CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION is the latter.
(Of course, one important factor either way is whatever DeWitt has already shared internally as to the 3-5 year payroll budget.)
With the latter choice being the 100% correct analysis, then yes, the organization can quite easily be fixed in 30 days or less.
As I was first and best to understand and explain - and as has been widely accepted here over time as others have heeded my advice to keep reading and keep learning - the actions required are clear and obvious.
1. Fire The Marmot and his staff - and replace with an experienced battle proven crew.
2. Retain Gray, Liberatore, and McGreevy - while adding two very solid starting pitchers (acknowledging risk of injury to pitchers can upset any well made plan).
3. Acquire a ASG quality middle order RH hitting corner outfielder.
Very, very easily accomplished in a 30-day window from late November through late December, through trade and FA opportunities.
Expendable pieces to accomplish this would include, but not limited to, Bernal, Mathews, Crooks, Padilla, Hence, C. Davis, Mootbaar (as I alone correctly advised in each of the past 4 years), Donovan (I would not want to see that, but the return could make it worth considering), Herrera (most won't like to see his name listed but unless the team moves him to LF it is the right thing to do), Saggese (though he does profile well as a super-utility), Prieto (time is up), Gorman (a popular choice for many but trading him would almost certainly quickly prove to be a strategic blunder), Scott, and Walker (again, some risk but I think the organization is ready to move on).
There is a lot of redundancy to work from - particularly with Wetherholt, Doyle, Joshua Baez, and maybe even Henderson showing progress and perhaps not far from contributing at the MLB level and backfilling for some of those who depart.
Plenty of pieces to mix-n-match to acquire what is needed.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Perhaps it’s obvious

Perhaps it’s correct

Easy??? Getting an experienced, veteran manager to come to Stl is likely a challenge…..

That quality outfielder you suggest could prove difficult as well…..the club does not have many quality prospects to trade….unless you are willing to sacrifice the future for a short term quick fix…

Quality free agents have many options…..stl is not particularly attractive right now….unless Dewitt is going to over pay…….not much chance of that…

Easy to blue sky solutions……dealing with reality can be a problem

I thought the exact same thing while reading his response. Obvious, correct, but likely not so easy.

I seldom bash other posters….but…our friend Melville is not as knowledgeable as he believes…

I never bash other posters.
Kind, gracious, and patient to a fault is simply who I am.
As for knowledgeable, that is doubtless an even larger aspect of my skill set and personality than the 3 items in the previous sentence.
Fact is, STL possesses at least a dozen trade assets which can be mixed-and-matched with the needs of other teams, to obtain the 3 necessary ingredients (2 starters, 1 outfielder) - and that does not yet account for the possibility of filling one of those 3 spots via FA.
Very easily done in 30 days or less.
Super Slo Mo is defined by fear, caution, and timidity.
Risk terrified him.
That obstacle is removed now.
He is a man, a dinosaur, completely unsuited for the way organizations must be led in order to achieve success in our current world.
Baseball is no different than any other business.
Analysis, decisiveness, speed, agility, course correction - these are essential for success in the modern economy.
Success - and failure - happen very quickly.
Zero question I could accomplish everything listed above is 30 days or less.
So can Bloom & DeWitt.
If they possess the will and the skill.
Time has nothing to do with it.

Necessary ingredients for what? The Cardinals are 25th in team war. We have only 3 everyday players who can play above average defense and don't need to be platooned. Im assuming you have to trade at least one of those. I will be waiting for your plan. Have a good day Mel!

My annual post-season plan should be published here tonight or tomorrow.

I will read it with an open mind Mel. All ideas welcome.

[hugeCardfan]

I think it's refreshing a player wants to stay in StL so much. He's not hurting our budget since we're shedding massive budget once Nado and Gray are traded and Mikolas leaves, and we won't be spending on FA's, so who cares, let him stay and mentor. I think this is a good thing, makes me like him more

Mentor? Who blossomed under his mentorship this year? He's staying here because he can cash his checks until retirement with zero pressure or expectations to win.

Does absolutely nothing positive for this team while it's rebuilding and takes up a roster spot that should be taken by someone, anyone, under the age of 30

He's a ML hitter and does nothing negative for this team. He's not overpaid and we can't trade him, if he doesn't want to go. We don't have to play him everyday and we could DH him if we wanted to try someone else out at 1B. We have 2 years to grin and bear it. Might as well do just that.

[ilcubuffs]

"We don't have to play him everyday and we could DH him if we wanted to try someone else out at 1B. We have 2 years to grin and bear it. Might as well do just that."

Oddly, I agree with hugeCardfan. I say oddly because it seems to be diametrically opposed to what a team should be doing when retooling a team. Contreras plays an avg of 68.5% of a season. 2025 was 83% of games. 2024 was 52% of games. Why would you "count on" a player who may play 110 games? In my mind because they would replace Contreras with quantity rather than quality which is proven failure.

Cannot field a team of failures. Have to have some success to bring fans through the turnstiles. Maybe he can "mentor" some younger players. If not WC where are they going to get mentoring etc definitely not from Marmot.

[Melville]

He has more value than most think.
Not only does his remaining AAV have appeal, but the limited 2-year commitment is exactly what a lot of teams will covet.
He will cost a small fraction of what middle order FA bats Tucker, Schwarber, and Bellinger will command - who are all LH.
Outside of Suarez, there's not much to pick from among RH bats.
There could not be a better time for STL to shop him - and the return would be significant.
Not advocating that he be traded.
Simply providing 100% accurate, agenda-free, bias-free analysis.

Lol…I’d expect nothing less! You do raise a good point in the 2 year contract length. I forgot about that which does make him more appealing for a team looking for a good bridge player. Same logic could applied in the case for the Cardinals retaining him too.

There is indeed an argument in favor of keeping him.
If Bloom's goal is to aim for 85-86 wins next year, while simultaneously building a foundation for something better long-term, the CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION would be to keep Contreras for at least one more season and possibly for both.
On the other hand, if STL simply wants to dump contract and dollars, they will find it easier to trade Contreras than Gray and could go in that direction.
Since I could easily fix the organization in 30 days or less and therefore see no reason to forfeit next season, I would retain him - unless the trade offer was overwhelming with starting pitching talent.

Your 30 day claim is quite bold, but luckily your consulting skills won’t be required as the organization is already fixed. Mo is retiring.

One question though, why would any GM “aim for 85-86 wins”? I have argued against those who say a wildcard is worthless, in that I think it is natural evolution to experience at least a short phase of mediocrity on the road back to contention. Not to mention fighting your way back to the top is an invaluable experience to young players.

But I do agree that you don’t “build for a wildcard” either. You sensibly use all resources available and exhaust all avenues to improve, then turn the revised roster loose and let the chips fall where they may, as opposed to any form of tanking. Would that have fit your 30 day plan?

Bloom has 2 options.
Conclude the team cannot compete in the near term and therefore do a complete reset in necessary (meaning no expectation of competing for a W/C next year).
Or conclude the team currently has the resources to play +.500 ball and needs just a few changes to do so in the short term - while building a higher ceiling pipeline for the long term (this approach would produce an expectation of winning 85-86 wins as soon as next season).
The CORRECT BASEBALL DECISION is the latter.
(Of course, one important factor either way is whatever DeWitt has already shared internally as to the 3-5 year payroll budget.)
With the latter choice being the 100% correct analysis, then yes, the organization can quite easily be fixed in 30 days or less.
As I was first and best to understand and explain - and as has been widely accepted here over time as others have heeded my advice to keep reading and keep learning - the actions required are clear and obvious.
1. Fire The Marmot and his staff - and replace with an experienced battle proven crew.
2. Retain Gray, Liberatore, and McGreevy - while adding two very solid starting pitchers (acknowledging risk of injury to pitchers can upset any well made plan).
3. Acquire a ASG quality middle order RH hitting corner outfielder.
Very, very easily accomplished in a 30-day window from late November through late December, through trade and FA opportunities.
Expendable pieces to accomplish this would include, but not limited to, Bernal, Mathews, Crooks, Padilla, Hence, C. Davis, Mootbaar (as I alone correctly advised in each of the past 4 years), Donovan (I would not want to see that, but the return could make it worth considering), Herrera (most won't like to see his name listed but unless the team moves him to LF it is the right thing to do), Saggese (though he does profile well as a super-utility), Prieto (time is up), Gorman (a popular choice for many but trading him would almost certainly quickly prove to be a strategic blunder), Scott, and Walker (again, some risk but I think the organization is ready to move on).
There is a lot of redundancy to work from - particularly with Wetherholt, Doyle, Joshua Baez, and maybe even Henderson showing progress and perhaps not far from contributing at the MLB level and backfilling for some of those who depart.
Plenty of pieces to mix-n-match to acquire what is needed.
Easy.
Obvious.
Correct.

Perhaps it’s obvious

Perhaps it’s correct

Easy??? Getting an experienced, veteran manager to come to Stl is likely a challenge…..

That quality outfielder you suggest could prove difficult as well…..the club does not have many quality prospects to trade….unless you are willing to sacrifice the future for a short term quick fix…

Quality free agents have many options…..stl is not particularly attractive right now….unless Dewitt is going to over pay…….not much chance of that…

Easy to blue sky solutions……dealing with reality can be a problem

I thought the exact same thing while reading his response. Obvious, correct, but likely not so easy.

I seldom bash other posters….but…our friend Melville is not as knowledgeable as he believes…

I never bash other posters.
Kind, gracious, and patient to a fault is simply who I am.
As for knowledgeable, that is doubtless an even larger aspect of my skill set and personality than the 3 items in the previous sentence.
Fact is, STL possesses at least a dozen trade assets which can be mixed-and-matched with the needs of other teams, to obtain the 3 necessary ingredients (2 starters, 1 outfielder) - and that does not yet account for the possibility of filling one of those 3 spots via FA.
Very easily done in 30 days or less.
Super Slo Mo is defined by fear, caution, and timidity.
Risk terrified him.
That obstacle is removed now.
He is a man, a dinosaur, completely unsuited for the way organizations must be led in order to achieve success in our current world.
Baseball is no different than any other business.
Analysis, decisiveness, speed, agility, course correction - these are essential for success in the modern economy.
Success - and failure - happen very quickly.
Zero question I could accomplish everything listed above is 30 days or less.
So can Bloom & DeWitt.
If they possess the will and the skill.
Time has nothing to do with it.

Necessary ingredients for what? The Cardinals are 25th in team war. We have only 3 everyday players who can play above average defense and don't need to be platooned. Im assuming you have to trade at least one of those. I will be waiting for your plan. Have a good day Mel!

My annual post-season plan should be published here tonight or tomorrow.

Published?

An act of service on my part.
It is always highly anticipated by many.

[russellhammond]

Has he gone through a psych evaluation???

Anyone who wants Contreras gone needs a psych eval.