Insider Says What Cardinals Fans Don't Want To Hear

"Indeed, Bloom barely mentioned individual players, except when directly asked," Jones said. "It was clear Tuesday’s meeting was meant to reset the tone and clear the board, introducing a fresh approach without outlining detailed plans — both by strategic necessity and because some specifics are likely to prompt tough questions about how long it will be until fans can expect a return to winning baseball at Busch Stadium. That is the long-term goal, and short-term successes will not be allowed to conflict with it. The Cardinals, as Bloom reminded everyone, have been and will remain a draft-and-develop organization.

"That process does not happen overnight, or even in a single offseason. Bloom’s five-year contract begins next season. He is in this for the long haul. It will be a long haul. 'The mindset should always be to win,' Bloom said. 'I think if you let that standard slip, it’s not a light switch that you can just flip. That, to me, is more cultural, that we should always aspire to do that. But our strategy in terms of how we go about our roster building, we don’t want to get distracted from our bigger goal.' If that sounds like acceptance of short-term losses in hopes of permanent flags, bingo."

Now, that's not the most shocking thing in the world. But, still, it's not fun to read. The Cardinals have been known as one of the top overall teams in baseball for a long time. These last three years haven't gone as planned and although Bloom does seem to be the guy for the job to fix things, there won't be an immediate fix meaning potentially more missed playoffs in Cardinals fans' future.