St. Louis Cardinals: Interpreting John Mozeliak’s most recent interview

Recently, John Mozeliak was on KMOX to talk about the St. Louis Cardinals and there were a few interesting things to pull from what he said.

In my opinion, John Mozeliak garners a lot of unwarranted hate from St. Louis Cardinals fans. He has just given this city a decade full of memories, wins, and success but if you ask fans, a lot will say he sucks and that he should’ve been fired long ago.

His ability to maintain a standard for so long has been exemplary and I just don’t think fans understand how difficult his job is and how many different people he has to please with his job.

The one thing everyone is used to though is that Mo keeps his cards close to his chest and won’t overshare. On Sunday, Mo talked with Tom Ackerman of KMOX about the Cardinals and how they view the offseason. The full article from KMOX can be found here. What can be gathered from what he said?

Almost as expected, the main thing that Mo said can be summed up in one sentence, “We feel like we have a lot of talent, we feel like we have a lot of young talent that needs to emerge and be given that opportunity and if that happens it should be an exciting year for us.”

This reflects everything the club has shown so far with their inaction and that a lot is resting on the shoulders of the young outfielders the team possesses. Per usual, Mo felt no need to “win the offseason” or anything like that which I don’t think he needs to. This is going to make a lot of fans angry, but there really hasn’t been too much Mo could’ve done.

He doesn’t want to give up either of the top two young talents the Cardinals have for a big salary player, and he doesn’t want to overpay for a free agent to play at a position where there isn’t a clear need.

The clearest need Mo sees is that the players on the roster just need to play (specifically, hit) better. He’s completely right.

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Mo said, “…more contribution from all positions is something that we would welcome and for us to truly be successful that’s ultimately what you’re going to need to see happen.” That is a big “if” but again, he’s right. Half the starting lineup played well below their career norms and that can’t fly.

A team doesn’t go to the NLCS on accident and there is plenty to look forward to. Mo said that he will “keep paying attention to not only the free-agent market but also the trade market if something makes sense for us.” This is exactly what you should expect and Mo knows exactly how this will make you feel. But, he doesn’t care and shouldn’t. He has his team, he has his track record, he knew this offseason was “not going to be headliners or win the offseason.”

Mo doesn’t need to. This team went to the NLCS with a horrible offense that was impossibly below average. I say impossible because statistically, it will bounce back. The law of averages has no bias and it works both ways, good or bad.

As Ackerman mentions, Mo didn’t rule out any more moves but doesn’t feel the need to make anything happen that would put the club in a worse spot.

We all knew this was going to be a boring offseason but there are just over six weeks until Spring Training and Mo will just keep his options open. This will be the main team that we see going into the spring and I get that. I am excited about that.

For Mo’s entire tenure, if they had internal options, the team always explored them before forcing another move. That is what is going to happen with left field and third base. If none of the millions of outfielders or Matt Carpenter take the spots, they will adjust from there.

If you are mad at Mo, if you think he should go out and just go for it! Sign the big free agents! Go get him Mo! Give up the farm! You know where that wreckless spending leads? Check the team in white and blue up I-55. They are filled with overhyped players busting their salary which has paralyzed their ability to be mobile in any sense of the word with their roster. Not good.

Overall, it was a pretty up to par Mo interview and I’m sure he knew his words were going to make some fans angry. There are a lot of “ifs” but not many sure easy ways to upgrade, so the team is going to sit on their hands. It’s a dilemma but I understand it. Your vote is your dollar, but I’m tired of the anger and crying over a situation that is difficult to navigate for a guy who has brought the city so much success and memories.