Anyone on this ship confident that 2026 will be any different than 2025?

[Bully4you]

They've thrown all the eggs into one basket.
When I say that I mean they've counted on the young kids to blossom and done nothing else.
Not enough blooms though.
Pitching is lousy
Power is nonexistent.
Manager blows.
Christ, we're in the same predicament as last year at this time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Definition of insanity folks--Doing the same thing over and over and over.

[Punkk6]

Doubt they will spend big in 2026 with a long long lockout looming in 2027

[Bully4you]

Doubt they will spend big in 2026 with a long long lockout looming in 2027

I doubt they'd spend big anyway.
I didn't know about the potential lockout.
This mediocrity will extend into the next decade if they don't watch it.
Not impressed with the current STL MLB young guys at all.
Just blasé talent.

[Dicktar2023]

"Confident" is overstating it. Definitely hopeful. And open-minded and curious about what Bloom has in mind.

But between the looming lockout and flagging attendance, I don't think payroll is going to dramatically change.

It will be telling whether Marmol gets canned. If he doesn't, then nothing is changing--the dynamic in which the FO and ownership antagonize the fanbase and then blame them for not supporting the team will remain, and probably won't change this ownership.

[Bully4you]

"Confident" is overstating it. Definitely hopeful. And open-minded and curious about what Bloom has in mind.

But between the looming lockout and flagging attendance, I don't think payroll is going to dramatically change.

It will be telling whether Marmol gets canned. If he doesn't, then nothing is changing--the dynamic in which the FO and ownership antagonize the fanbase and then blame them for not supporting the team will remain, and probably won't change this ownership.

I think you are correct.
Marmol dismissal is the #1 priority at this point.
I think a better manager could aid the team.
Hope JJ is the real deal.
I think he is.
Winn, Donovan, JJ, Burly are about our only keepers.
Contreras if smart would move on like Gray most likely will try and do.
Gorman is a huge disappointment.
Walker I never believed in anyway.
Saw him in his debut ST and thought no way he is the #1 prospect.
Pitching is horrendous.
Don't know where to start there.

[Red7]

50/50 Marmol is back. In all honesty, the current situation is the best case scenario for what the club intended. They’re still over .500 and the fact that going into the ASB they were still in a buy/sell question means they were not catastrophically bad. Marmol is EXACTLY the type of manager Chaim Bloom will be looking for: willing and able to work in a collaborative environment. A manager that is an implementer instead of a decision maker. See Kevin Cash.

The Cardinals didn’t bring in Bloom to oversee a change in organizational philosophy. He was brought in to improve upon what they were doing. See the Tampa and Cleveland models. They’re not going out and making a big splash in free agency. If possible, they’re going to try and move Gray, Contreras and Arenado and continuing the reset/rebuild.

[desertrat23]

"Confident" is overstating it. Definitely hopeful. And open-minded and curious about what Bloom has in mind.

But between the looming lockout and flagging attendance, I don't think payroll is going to dramatically change.

It will be telling whether Marmol gets canned. If he doesn't, then nothing is changing--the dynamic in which the FO and ownership antagonize the fanbase and then blame them for not supporting the team will remain, and probably won't change this ownership.

I think they’ll can Marmol, if for no other reason than the “sacrificial lamb” aspect of it. He’s the next Mike Girsch.

[BrockFloodMaris]

They've thrown all the eggs into one basket.
When I say that I mean they've counted on the young kids to blossom and done nothing else.
Not enough blooms though.
Pitching is lousy
Power is nonexistent.
Manager blows.
Christ, we're in the same predicament as last year at this time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Definition of insanity folks--Doing the same thing over and over and over.

If we look close enough, I think the regime change will be very noticeable. If we just look at the win and loss results, we may not notice much difference for a couple years. The internal rot and decay in this organization is severe. Bloom and Cerfolio have a lot of work to do. It will be a few years before we see the major league roster compete in the postseason.