Why it's time for the Cardinals to give John Mozeliak an early retirement

Mo no longer knows, so put him out to pasture.

Remember the saying, “Mo Knows?”

It really caught on a few years after St. Louis Cardinals President of Baseball Operations, John Mozeliak, was promoted to General Manager and started wheeling out impressive deals. There were shirts made, bowties planted on various kinds of apparel, and a respected notoriety built around Mozeliak. He was the nerdy looking baseball brainiac who would usher in another wonderful era of Cards baseball.

Boy, those were the days. That one time when he pulled off a midseason killer of a trade, bringing in John Lackey to a much-needed situation. The Matt Holliday deal still sings. Staying away from a ridiculous Albert Pujols extension, yet finding a way to bring him back to put a seal on a Hall of Fame career. He had his hits, but the misses have started to pile up.

Mozeliak and the Cardinals rarely make deadline deals anymore, at least ones that matter long term. Jordan Montgomery was brought in for Harrison Bader, but the team couldn’t bring themselves to shore up a nearly-there rotation this past winter by handing Monty a one-year deal. That’s peculiar and odd, a growing trend of the front office.

Here’s the thing. When something isn’t working, change is in order. When something hasn’t been working for a while and no change has been put into action, one starts to wonder if change is something the higher-ups of the Cardinals organization understand. Reading an audience is key for a sports business to continue a healthy practice, but the Cardinals executives aren’t seeing the harsh reactions to their growingly mediocre at best franchise.

When a sea of red fills your eyes when scanning Busch Stadium before first pitch on a weekend game, but in reality it’s just a bunch of empty red seats, the problem is no longer brewing. It’s brewed and only getting worse with further inaction. The Cardinals are barely outpacing the Battlehawks in ticket sales, not a great sign for such a storied franchise.

Bill DeWitt III, President of the team, seemed to chuckle at the idea of fans no longer showing up, thinking it will lead to change. No, sir, they are not showing up as a reaction to poor play and even worse management. They will come back when order is restored. That starts by firing the man in charge.

His name isn’t Randy Flores, who has helped the draft game improve. It won’t be Chaim Bloom, the assistant general manager who just brought in to bring a new voice to the operation. It may be Michael Girsch, depending on how much of a yes man he is and how much actual expertise he brings to the organization, since we rarely hear from him.

No, it should be Mozeliak who walks first. Oliver Marmol could be replaced by Stubby Clapp, and that could spark a better second half from the team. Clapp has a higher level of minor league management at his disposal, and just as long of a tenure with the team coaching staff as Marmol. However, the first move should be Mo, because he no longer knows what the heck he’s doing.

He’s the one who designed, made, and stands next to his bed of Cardinals play. He’s the mastermind behind its construction, the one who chose which guys to trade and which to keep. He’s the one who signed Dexter Fowler, Mike Leake, Brett Cecil, Steven Matz, and countless others to contracts that ended up as disappointments or never allowed someone to stop scratching their head. As Harvey Dent corrected the Joker in The Dark Knight, these are his moves being orchestrated. One man is doing this.

Sure, Bill DeWitt Jr. is allowing it to go on, with his son laughing at the very people who fuel their cash flow. He is a big part of it, but also can be a big part of the change that is necessary. He can start firing the right people, shaking the proper trees to express real transformation.

With Bloom in house, how many voices are in the head of this team at the moment? He’s the future, so why not kick it to him right now? Put Mozeliak and his sweater chest knots out to baseball pasture, or into a much smaller role that doesn’t affect the team. Maybe he can be on the board of directors for the team catering staff. Watch out for Mo’s B.L.T. flatbread pizza! Cool, as long as he doesn’t touch baseball decisions.

He had his time in the sun, a long stay if you ask me. For a guy who hasn’t won much in ten years, with his moves leading to worse play and a complete lack of respect from rival executives and baseball operations, he’s past due for an extension that extends a broom to his ass. After taking over for Walt Jocketty and composing a World Series roster, it all broke down and went to shit.

Someone has to be accountable, and it should be Mo. It’s his product on the field, an extension of DeWitt Jr.’s wallet to the field. Start there, and then work your way down the ladder. Marmol should go too, because he’s way in over his head and sent this team into its spiral first by publicly calling out Tyler O’Neill last year. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, doesn’t have control of the clubhouse, and didn’t even manage above A-ball level before being hired to take over the big club.

But first, show Mo the door. If the Cardinals want the fans to return, show some resemblance of a plan. The St. Louis Blues, good or bad, have been candid with their fans about their rebuilding process. The Cardinals act like they want to win and make some moves, but never finish the painting. Things have officially gone to shit. This isn’t a blip, like DeWitt III said last year. It’s a full-blown catastrophe that gets a rebuild started by clearing out all the bad baseball thinkers.

That starts with the bow tie guy. Thanks for reading and have a great Sunday. Maybe spend it watching a good movie instead of this bad team.