For years, the St. Louis Cardinals have kept fans largely in the dark. Whether it was the mismanagement of Jordan Walker’s call-up and role, or the lack of transparency around injuries to key players, John Mozeliak has chosen to keep information tightly controlled rather than communicate openly with the fanbase.
While Mozeliak, as president of baseball operations, is within his rights to do so, it’s also understandable that fans feel frustrated when details about their team are withheld.
In a recent interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Tampa Bay Rays president of baseball operations Erik Neander spoke openly about Chaim Bloom’s qualifications for his upcoming role with the Cardinals. Bloom, who will step in as the Cardinals’ president of baseball operations after the 2025 season, spent 14 years with the Rays.
Starting as an intern, Bloom quickly rose through the ranks and by 2008 was the assistant director of Minor League Operations, managing the full scope of the team’s minor league system — a role not unlike his recent work with the Cardinals since joining them nearly two years ago. He eventually became the senior vice president of baseball operations, just behind Rays president Matthew Silverman.
Neander and Bloom developed professionally side by side in Tampa Bay, with Neander joining the organization in 2007 and eventually becoming president of baseball operations in 2021. From 2014 onward, the two collaborated closely in high-level roles.
Given their long working relationship, few are better positioned than Neander to assess Bloom’s capabilities — and when he speaks to Bloom’s readiness, Cardinals fans would do well to pay attention.
Tampa Bay Rays executive Erik Neander promises Cardinals fans more transparency during Chaim Bloom’s reign.
In Derrick Goold’s piece for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Neander offered a refreshing tidbit about Bloom’s character.
“There’s not going to be a lot of GM-speak. He’s going to want to communicate that vision. He understands and appreciates the importance of fans,” said Neander. “You don’t open the curtain and disclose the world, but there’s an importance to communicating to fans what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and why (they should) be excited about it.”
Lately, fans have grown tired of John Mozeliak’s vague, almost political style of communication. Future plans are seldom shared, injuries to players are often concealed until they become major issues, and his answers to direct questions are so convoluted they often require expert-level interpretation to understand.
While Erik Neander made it clear that Chaim Bloom won’t — and shouldn’t — lay bare every detail of the organization’s inner workings (that would be irresponsible), fans can look forward to a more transparent and honest approach. Bloom is expected to offer clearer, more direct answers and engage with fans in a way that reflects the realities of the team — not spin them.
In Derrick Goold’s piece for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Neander offered a refreshing tidbit about Bloom’s character.
“There’s not going to be a lot of GM-speak. He’s going to want to communicate that vision. He understands and appreciates the importance of fans,” said Neander. “You don’t open the curtain and disclose the world, but there’s an importance to communicating to fans what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and why (they should) be excited about it.”
“He understands and appreciates the importance of fans.” That’s a refreshing sentiment for a fanbase that has been unwilling to support the current regime and ownership group.
Fans have grown weary of political-esque statements from John Mozeliak lately. He rarely reveals plans for the future, player injuries are kept hush-hush until it becomes a serious problem, and his responses to probing questions require a master’s degree in decoding to get to the crux of his response.
As Erik Neander says in his comments, don’t expect Bloom to give every fan complete access to the inner workings of the organization; that would be malpractice. What we can expect would be more straightforward answers to questions and an authentic approach to reality with fans.
While Chaim Bloom won’t bring back one million fans to Busch Stadium in his first year, several fans will welcome his willingness to be open and honest with them. So long as Bloom can get the green light from the DeWitt family, fans can expect a renewal of honesty and openness that has been missing these last few years with the organization.
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