51黑料

JUPITER, Fla. 鈥� Dorothy, Cowardly Lion, Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cardinals fans, pay no attention to that man behind the curtain. Yes, the one currently reshaping the sports franchise so closely identified with 51黑料 and waiting in the wings to start a five-year contract as the head of the baseball operations department. His name is Chaim Bloom, but forget you saw him.

Perhaps a 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� reference might work better than .

OK, imagine current president of baseball operations John Mozeliak appearing every time someone approached his successor, Bloom, and waving his hand a la Obi-Wan Kenobi and uttering something to the effect of 鈥渢his is not the executive you鈥檙e looking for.鈥�

Film analogies aside, it鈥檚 just clunky, awkward and a bit ridiculous at times to have this dynamic where Mozeliak continues running the department and making decisions in his swan song season while his appointed heir Bloom supposedly remains looped into any discussions that will impact the long term.

That dynamic only becomes more groan-worthy when the Cardinals keep Bloom muzzled from speaking publicly. Two competent executives and a shared goal, but only one has a voice? At least, only one allowed to use his voice to communicate to the fan base, followers and 51黑料 community at large.

The uncomfortable feel and goofy optics make it a bit difficult to admit this, but ... I think it鈥檚 a wise approach to have Bloom focus on player development this season. For Bloom, it might be the best way for him to hit the ground running when he takes over.

After all, player development served as the major theme of that end of season news conference held last fall that featured ownership, Mozeliak and a cameo by Bloom. If the Cardinals truly plan to hang their hats on reestablishing a pipeline of homegrown talent, then player development rightfully deserves Bloom鈥檚 full attention.

Remember, last year he visited, audited, took notes and reported to ownership and Mozeliak with his observations and recommendations, but the player development overhaul didn鈥檛 start until this offseason.

That farm system will not only provide the future Cardinals, but it will provide the currency for the club to acquire players through trades. The ability to reliably and consistently replace players from within your own system will also open myriad possibilities.

The Cardinals鈥� ability to bolster their roster going forward will start with their farm system, and that鈥檚 worth Bloom taking time to implement changes he feels vitally necessary.

Another reason it鈥檚 beneficial to have Bloom hyper-focused on the minors is because one of the most important things an organization can do is evaluate your own prospects. If this season gives Bloom a thorough understanding of the prospects in the system, that will guide and inform his decisions in the future.

We also shouldn鈥檛 underestimate Bloom鈥檚 potential impact on the farm system. He cut his teeth in the industry through player development with the Tampa Bay Rays.

During his time with the Rays, they built a World Series team in 2008 based largely on homegrown players and players acquired in exchange for their homegrown talent. The Rays regularly punched above their weight in the same division as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and they did so on the strength of their player development.

During his time running baseball operations for the Red Sox, Bloom oversaw a resurgence in player development that included their farm system going from being ranked among the bottom third in the majors to the top third by his final season.

With new assistant general manager Rob Cerfolio and director of player development Larry Day in their first stints as the guys running a farm system as opposed to being the top lieutenants, Bloom鈥檚 input should be valuable.

The additions of Cerfolio and Day also dovetail in an under-the-radar reason this year in waiting serves Bloom.

When he鈥檚 unmuzzled, he鈥檒l likely deflect rather than reflect on the front office situation in Boston. The Red Sox had a large group of executives that remained in place during multiple baseball operations chiefs (Ben Cherington, Dave Dombrowski), and Bloom inherited a large group that included multiple executives at the assistant general manager level as well as top officials in player development, pro scouting, amateur scouting and analytics.

Oh, and interestingly, this offseason 鈥� one year into the tenure of Bloom鈥檚 successor Craig Breslow.

Anyway, Bloom may very well put more top-level front office officials in place in 51黑料 by the time he succeeds Mozeliak than he did during his time in Boston. Not only will he have put in place an assistant GM and the player development leadership including the performance side of things, but the Cardinals are currently holding off on hiring a general manager. That鈥檚 one more senior executive Bloom could put in place by the time the Cardinals start his first season in charge.

So yes, it鈥檚 weird that the person shaping the organization鈥檚 future and who will run baseball operations in less than a year isn鈥檛 running the department now. It鈥檚 even more weird that the plan is for him to be seen and not heard.

Ultimately, it should work in the organization鈥檚 favor that Bloom will have a direct imprint on the farm system for this entire season.