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Fans of the Cardinals have heard it countless times from longtime president of baseball operations John Mozeliak, most often when a player has been let go, traded away or sent back down to the minors following an all-too-often major league stall.

At the end of the day, Mozeliak reminds, it鈥檚 about performance.

Easy for him to say.

鈥淧erhaps to your chagrin,鈥� Mozeliak said Monday, 鈥測ou鈥檙e stuck with me for another year.鈥�

On Monday, the strength of Mozeliak鈥檚 grip on his role as king of Cardinals baseball operations was on full display again as the organization announced what it鈥檚 referring to as a philosophy shift that aims to lead the Cardinals back to 鈥� well, what the Cardinals used to do best, which was draft and develop players who became internally produced answers for annually competitive and often contending teams.

And who will be leading the start of that overhaul?

Mozeliak, of course, the same entrenched leader most directly responsible for his historically successful organization鈥檚 continued backslide. Yes, in the final season of his current contract, Mozeliak will be trusted by Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr., and his ownership group to start the repairs Mozeliak not only allowed but punished some for speaking out about.

When former Cardinals manager Mike Shildt got mad about the Cardinals losing their way, for example, he was fired by Mozeliak in brutal fashion. Now he鈥檚 in the postseason with San Diego, and the Cardinals, instead of pointing to 鈥減hilosophical differences鈥� with Shildt, are saying their philosophy needs calibration. Go figure.

Saying what the Cardinals are saying about change while letting Mozeliak stay in the point position for his sendoff season is the equivalent of hiring a lawn service that kills your grass, then asking the same company to come back and install your irrigation system. It鈥檚 like asking the surgeon who left his scalpel in you during an operation to schedule another surgery to remove it.

And while it鈥檚 hard to understand, it鈥檚 still totally unsurprising for this team.

Also unsurprising: Cardinals fans questioning this logic are expected to believe Mozeliak is doing this as some sort of a selfless act, something that sets up pending replacement Chaim Bloom for success when he takes over on a new five-year contract as president of baseball operations starting in 2026.

鈥淚 could have been fired today, right?鈥� Mozeliak said during Monday鈥檚 Bally Sports Midwest interview. 鈥淯ltimately, they would have come in and someone would have to reassess where we are. We would just be wasting time.鈥�

Bloom has a big year ahead of him, no doubt. He鈥檚 been tasked with overhauling the Cardinals鈥� derailed development system. He will have some say in major league roster decisions, too, DeWitt Jr. confirmed Monday, but what happened after Monday鈥檚 news conference ended sure said a lot more.

Mozeliak remained on the stage to detail plans for the Cardinals鈥� scaling back of payroll and contention for the sake of player development in 2025.

Bloom? He was hustled from the room.

Earlier, when a question about payroll came up, DeWitt Jr. passed on it. Mozeliak stepped in, saying fans should expect the amount of the budget dedicated to major league salaries to decline.

Make no mistake about it, folks. This is still very much the 鈥淢o Show.鈥� One final tour.

I鈥檓 not sure how some convinced themselves Mozeliak was going to be fired with one year left on his deal. Under DeWitt Jr., Mozeliak has the safest job in St. 不良研究所导航网址. It鈥檚 somehow as strong as it ever was, even after more postseason misses than makes since 2016.

And the Cardinals are not just receding at the top of their organizational structure. There鈥檚 rust and rot at the bottom. Hence the need for revamping player development after Bloom spent the past season assessing it with a view from the outside.

The shift led to a retirement for longtime player development executive Gary LaRocque with one season left on his contract. Some convinced themselves Mozeliak would face the same fate.

No chance.

It was reasonable to wonder if the Cardinals would read the room 鈥� and swaths of empty seats at Busch Stadium lately 鈥� and have Mozeliak step back from the spotlight a bit during his final year. It would have been good for the sake of optics, if nothing else.

No chance.

DeWitt continuing to seem truly baffled by those who question Mozeliak comes with a cost. Fans know the need for change described Monday and Mozeliak鈥檚 2025 retirement tour don鈥檛 really mesh. Not when the Cardinals have dropped out of baseball鈥檚 most relevant bunch. Not when they are struggling at the top and bottom of their system. Not when players and coaches who leave the organization, some by their own choice but plenty by Mozeliak鈥檚, have developed a proven record of thriving elsewhere.

The Athletic recently published a collection of glaring quotes from anonymous Cardinals employees who sounded concerned and distraught about the organization鈥檚 direction.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 know how this was (expletive) up so bad over the last few years,鈥� one read.

鈥淲e are no longer developing winning players,鈥� read another.

鈥淥ur system is broken in a way,鈥� read another. 鈥淗ow it got here, I don鈥檛 know.鈥�

The Cardinals are stuck between failing and accepting failure, and it continues to show. They鈥檙e calling a rebuild a reset. They鈥檙e promoting their youth but being shy about admitting it鈥檚 time to sell off the high-priced veterans to expedite how quickly they can regain relevance.

Rolling out what they want to be viewed positively as a big shift while still prioritizing Mozeliak as the lead voice is not going to sit well with many who will be asked to support the baseball product with their paychecks in 2025.

And please, don鈥檛 be fooled about Bloom, who in a short amount of time, right or wrong, seemed to zoom by scouting director Randy Flores in becoming Mozeliak鈥檚 replacement. This man doesn鈥檛 need a transition or more seasoning. He ran Tampa Bay and the Red Sox.

In fact, if the Cardinals are indeed going to flip the roster鈥檚 expensive vets, he鈥檚 the among best equipped to do it because he鈥檚 done it before.

Bloom鈥檚 more than familiar with baseball鈥檚 big chair. Mozeliak鈥檚 just not ready to make his available. Not yet.

鈥淭his partnership and this relationship over the next 12 months, it might make a few of you unhappy, but I am certainly willing to do the walk because I feel like we are going to position ourselves really well and ultimately, if you think about your own legacy and how you want to leave something, I certainly am hopeful it will be left in a really solid place when I do step down,鈥� Mozeliak said.

Monday reminded me of another one of Mozeliak鈥檚 favorite sayings, one usually offered when he decides it鈥檚 time for a roster change. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.