The Bernie Miklasz Show

On Thursday we lost Bob Uecker -- the legendary Milwaukee-based baseball broadcaster, comedian, star of films and movies, beer commercials, a guest on the "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson (more than 100 times!) and all-around cultural force. Uecker -- a backup catcher on the 1964 World Series champion Cardinals -- died at age 90. Uecker, a Hall of Fame broadcaster, squeezed everything out of those 90 years on this earth. His success was our pleasure. He loved to tell stories that we always adored. He was the best at making self-deprecating jokes that made is all chuckle? Who does this? Who goes from being a backup, tuba-carrying catcher with 297 games in the majors and a career .200 average -- his initial public platform -- to become a huge star in the entertainment industry? It was a one-of-a-kind life for a one-of-a-kind guy. Thankfully Uecker shared it with us. If I had a tuba, I'd play it in his honor today. And I just might have to lift a can of Miller Lite and take a sip in his honor.

The Cardinals are having their annual winter warm-up this weekend, and I don't know how much they'll be able to do to warm the mood of their fans in an offseason that's had no action, no movement, no excitement ... and no reason to get excited. This has been an offseason of cost-cutting so I hope the Cardinals won't turn down the heat to save money. In this video, I also talk about some of the positive prospect ratings for several Cardinals' minor-leaguers, but wonder if top position-player prospect JJ Wetherholt will have his path to the majors blocked if the Cardinals are stuck with Nolan Arenado beyond 2025.

Last season was an absolute nightmare for Missouri basketball with coach Dennis Gates and his squad went 8-24 overall and lost all 18 SEC conference games. But Gates has his team rolling so far this season, with the Tigers winning 14 of 17 games overall including a 3-1 opening lap in SEC play. Last season was a nightmare. Compared to that, Mizzou's reinflated team is more of a nice dream. Can it last? In this video I explained the important factors in Mizzou's improvement, and we saw those qualities on display in Tuesday's upset win at fifth-ranked Florida. And those factors -- those attributes -- make this a much more formidable team than we anticipated. Miissouri has a lot to prove in the diabolical SEC conference, but the hopeful start is a helluva lot better than last season's non-stop despair. 

Tuesday, I gave myself a big ol' headache during an extensive homework session that examined Nolan Gorman's hitting profile? What does he do so well when he's hitting lightning-bolt home runs and looking confident at the plate? And when Gorman goes into a slump, why is often so drastic and extreme? In this video I share my findings. There are no revelations here, but it's mostly about controlling the strike zone, not chasing pitches, and not getting yourself out by taking the pitcher's bait. But I found some other interesting aspects to Gorman's up-and--down, high-and-low streakiness. Here's one thing: Gorman's odd inconsistency at hitting four-seam fastballs. I n this video I also looked at Gorman's comps to see if other batters were able to overcome their strikeout disease to become better, more consistent hitters. But I also give some hitters who failed in the frustrating attempt to improve their plate discipline. The question: is there hope for Nolan Gorman?

My answer is "no," Lars Nootbaar isn't overrated. Because of a sequence of injuries that caused him to miss time, the full scope of Nootbaar's attributes get overlooked ... which is understandable. I don't blame anyone for being disappointed or exasperated over Nootbaar's absences from the lineup. I feel the same way. The more a good player plays, the more valuable he is to his team. As is, Nootbaar brings plenty value to the Cardinals. And in my research I was surprised to see that the number of starts and innings played in the outfield over the last three seasons wasn't as bad as I thought. But no doubt, Noot's impact would be greater if he can start around 135-140 games each season. In this video, I present the pertinent parts of my research that show us just how good Nootbaar really is when measured against other MLB outfielders ... offense, plate discipline, defense, baserunning, etc. The conclusion probably will surprise you. Thank you.

Hi, in this economy-sized video -- less than 15 minutes! -- I pick a winner between Thursday night's CFP semifinal scrum between Penn State and Notre Dame. I have had a hard time making up my mind on this one. I wouldn't be honest without admitting that I could have flipped a coin to pick a winner here. This should be a leather-helmet, slug it out kind of game. I hope it's fun! I did settle on one of the teams as the likely winner. So far I am 8-0 in the CFB playoff at picking winners straight up, and I've fought to a 4-4 draw against the spread. This one Thursday could go either way. Thanks for watching and I am sorry that I posted this so close to kickoff. I had a lot going on today, and it was a busy morning and afternoon at my home-office content farm.

Hello again. One of the things I want to do on a consistent basis is clean up mistakes I've made in my videos. I do so much research, I seem to get overloaded by information, and when I go to share the info with you, I look at the wrong thing and that ends up in an error. For example: an alert viewer informed me that Kyle Lohse was signed by John Mozeliak -- and not Walt Jocketty, as I said in Wednesday's video. So for my own credibility I think it's important to own my mistakes and correct the record. After watching Wednesday's video on Jocketty-Mozeliak and starring pitching, some of you noted that I neglected to mention the enormous role that pitching coach Dave Duncan played in the success of Cardinals' starting pitching through the Jocketty years. Absolutely right, and needless to say Dave Duncan is one of the all-time great pitching coaches in MLB history, and he had an amazing track record of taking down-and-out pitchers and finding ways to improve them -- substantially so. My failure to mention Duncan was an oversight; part of that was assuming that Cardinals fans knew of his impact. But to be sure, I should have included Duncan in Wednesday's discussion. Thanks for spotting my errors, because that gives me the chance to correct the mistake.

In this video, I talk about three things that have been at the center of our collective thinking: (1) The strange, strange offseason for the Cardinals. Senifeld was billed as a "show about nothing." Well, this is an offseason about nothing here in St. Louis. (2) The do-nothing Cardinals, with John Mozeliak unable -- so far -- to complete his top offseason priority: trading Nolan Arenado. (3) And then there's Arenado, who may have to settle back in St. Louis after being rejected by multiple teams who took a pass on trading for him ... and after he rejected the Astros, who wanted to trade for him. Could Arenado make the best of an awkward situation if he plays for the 2025 Cardinals? I think he can, and I explain why in this video. Only 35 days remain until the Cardinals report to spring training in Jupiter. Thank you for watching!

In this video, I took a look at the Cardinals' decline in developing meaningful, impactful and consistently good starting pitching. And to make the point clear, I reviewed the brilliant record of former Cardinals GM Walt Jocketty in cultivating starting pitching -- and contrasted it to the substantial downturn under John Mozeliak's baseball operations department over the last 10 seasons. Some of the starting-pitching numbers -- the difference between Jocketty's track record and Mozeliak's - are remarkable. So please watch the video throughout so you can get the information. Finally, I explain why the hiring of Chaim Bloom and Rob Cerfolio are so important to STL's baseball future. Both learned about drafting and developing or otherwise cultivating excellent starting pitching while learning in two intelligent organizations, Tampa Bay and Cleveland. The Cardinals last had a Cy Young winner (Chris Carpenter) in 2005. Developing Cy Young winners has not been a problem for the Rays or Guardians, and I'll offer proof. Thanks for watching.

In my latest video I cover several Cardinals-related topics: 1) The Cardinals so-called youth movement. If Nolan Arenado stays, and unless they make room for younger arms in the starting rotation, the Redbirds really won't be much younger (if at all) in 2025. At least with their position players and starting pitchers -- and obviously this is all subject to change between now and the start of the regular season. But as of now the core of the Cardinals isn't exactly a bunch if kids. 2) The diminishing trade market for Nolan Arenado and the factors that have gone into this, including his no-trade clause that significantly reduces the number of teams that may have looked into a trade for the slick-fielding third baseman. 3) The Cardinals' stubborn attitude -- at least for now -- about putting up a lot of money to defray the cost of Arenado's remaining three years on his contract. This stance could be limiting the trade market and making it much harder to deal him to, say, the Yankees or Red Sox. This could be posturing for negotiations, which I understand, but ... 4) The Cards have many reasons to trade Arenado, and even if they eat more of his contract than they want to, they would still save a lot of money on Arenado's salary costs over the next three years.  5) The Fenway Park factor for Arenado if he's dealt there. Hint: it's not what you think, and I'm happy to explain why. 6) Finally, I address the Cards fans who tell me there's no reason for the Cardinals to emulate Tampa Bay and Cleveland as models for drafting and player development ... simply because the Cardinals have won more World Series than those two teams. Which ENTIRELY misses the point of what I said in my video posted on Jan. 3. Thanks for watching the Bernie Show here on YouTube!

In this video: Cards third baseman Nolan Arenado (or his agent) have sent a message to the Red Sox: if you trade for him, he will come to Boston. He will waive his no-trade clause. What could the Cardinals expect to receive for Arenado? How much are they willing to pay the Red Sox to lower Boston's salary commitment to Arenado over the next three years? I also took a deep-dive look at the predictable and unstoppable narrative: Get Arenado in Fenway Park and his power will surge and the home runs will fly! Um, probably not. And I have plenty of data top support that conclusion. I explain, citing a specific reason, why it makes sense for Boston to covet Arenado's defense. I looked at four reasons why it would be in the Cardinals' best interests to move Arenado to Boston if a trade is close to getting done. There's a lot of info for you in this video, so please check it out. Thanks for your support of my YouTube channel.

The SEC and the ESPN Industrial Media Complex are eating some humble pie these days, as member football programs continue to stumble around and lose in the postseason. It's up to Texas -- a resident of the Big 12 a year ago -- to fight for the honor of the SEC flag by upsetting Ohio State in next week's semifinal game. (Good luck with that.) And so far the Big 10 has won four of its five bowl games against SEC opponents so far this postseason. Missouri, which beat Iowa, has the lone triumph. In this video I explain why the gap has narrowed between the SEC superpowers and other aspiring teams. I explain the factors that have enabled programs like Mizzou and Ole Miss to win the same number of games (21) as Alabama over the last two seasons. I explain the impact of the NIL and the transfer portal in creating more parity. Thanks for watching.

As the days and weeks go by, the odds of Nolan Arenado staying with the Cardinals will increase. In early December, I would have said there was a 90 percent chance of Arenado getting traded. But the third baseman -- as his right -- vetoed a trade to Houston, and the trade market for him is limited. I'd give it a 50-50 shot that he'll be moved by the Cardinals ... and that would decrease as we count down the number of days until the opening of spring training. So what if Arenado stays? In this video, I explain the ramifications of Arenado remaining with the Cardinals for 2025. Most notably, Arenado at third base (mostly) excludes Nolan Gorman from playing there, and the Cardinals would like Gorman to establish himself as their third baseman of the future. I also take a comparative look at Gorman vs. Arenado offensively since the start of the 2023 season. You may be surprised by a few of my findings. Thanks for watching and Happy New Year!

I'll answer the question: No, Cardinals fans are NOT spoiled. They have many reasons to be frustrated, angry, and demanding more from ownership and baseball management. That's why ESPN.com put Cardinals fans on The Top 10 list of the most aggrieved fan bases in the majors. But in this video, I wanted to make a few points: 1) The overwhelming percentage of complaints about the Cardinals' decline are valid, justified and warranted. 2) The current downturn -- out of the postseason for two straight years and minimal postseason success since 2019 -- could have been prevented, but even some of the finest baseball organizations have gone through a stretch of difficult,, unsatisfying and unsuccessful seasons. And now it's the Cardinals' turn. 3) Fans who compare the Cardinals to the Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox -- two futile franchises -- demonstrate a complete lack of perspective and lose all credibility. I've been outspoken in my many criticisms of the way the Cardinals have been driven off the road and into the ditch ... but I do believe at times like this, it's important to keep this in perspective. No team wins forever. Not even the Yankees, who haven't won a World Series since 2009. It's up to Bill DeWitt Jr. to get this team back on track, and I think we can all agree with that. Thanks for watching.

Since Jim Montgomery became Blues 14 games ago on Nov. 25, the team has evolved into a top-three NHL team in goal prevention. This is a huge change from the first 22 games, before the coaching change. Under Drew Bannister were one of the worst teams in the NHL at preventing goals, and that made it difficult to win on a consistent basis. The Blues still struggle to score goals -- a problem that must be addressed by GM Doug Armstrong in a trade -- but by dominating the high-danger areas and keeping invaders out of the slot and crease, the strict goal-prevention improvement gives STL a strong foundation that was missing before the coaching switch. With Montgomery behind the bench, goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer have had a better chance to shine, and they're provided the best save percentage in the league (.940) at 5-on-5 since Armstrong brought in Monty. Merry Christmas and happy holidays!

In this video I address several connected topics: Paul Goldschmidt is a New York Yankee for 2025 after signing a one-year deal for $12.5 million. Can Goldy have a bounce-back season in The Bronx? With Goldschmidt at first base, do the Yankees pursue a trade for Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado and reunite Goldy and 'Nado in Gotham? Does the acquisition of Goldschmidt mean that Arenado would be more inclined to waive his no-trade cause and join the Yankees if a trade gets completed? How long will the Arenado situation drag on? Is it all about teams waiting for top free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman making a decision on his next destination? How should we view Paul Goldschmidt's six seasons in St. Louis? Thanks for watching and please subscribe.

In a story first reported by MLB.com on Wednesday afternoon, Cardinals third baseman Nolan Arenado used his no-trade clause to block a potential trade with the Houston Astros. Arenado has every right to do so, and no one should hold that against him. Still, I wonder. What will make Arenado happy? What would motivate him to sign off and put down his no-trade shield. How many teams are interested in him? The Cardinals are willing to pay quite a lot of money to defray the Arenado salary obligations for his new team (if indeed a trade happens), and that could stimulate more interest on the trade front. This much is clear; the Cardinals to get him out of here. If they are determined to go through with their plan to go with Nolan Gorman at third base, that can't happen if Arenado is still standing there. If they move Gorman back to second base ... well, there's no room for rookie Thomas Saggese to receive extensive playing time there. In effect, if Arenado is still a Cardinal in 2025, he will do another type of blocking ... keeping Gorman away from third, and indirectly keeping Saggese away from second. The Cardinals do have another option, which I happily explain in my latest "Bern-ado" video on YouTube.

Over the past two seasons, the Cardinals were short on star power. And they were short of WAR power. That's a bad combination. The Cardinals lacked charisma, didn't provide much entertainment, and didn't generate enough Wins Above Replacement on an individual basis. In other words the Redbirds didn't have the necessary star-WAR power. I explain all of this in today's video. But there is a direct connection between having enough players that generate a higher WAR value and how it impacts your chances of qualifying for the postseason. Yes, we're talking about Wins Above Replacement, and all but a few of the teams that made the playoffs over the last 10 full seasons were fueled by at least one high-value WAR star. In most cases it the playoff-bound teams were led by multiple WAR suppliers who reached 4 Wins Above Replacement that season. The problem for the Cardinals? Over the last two years (2023-2024) they did not have one position or pitcher reach 4+ WAR. And that is extremely difficult to overcome. Which is why the missed the playoffs in both seasons. And which is why they'll head into 2025 without an established star. Maybe Ryan Helsley. Maybe Masyn Winn. And a lot of questions.

NL teams are spending more and more money. Eight of the top 10 largest contracts in the history of major-league baseball are held by players that currently work for National League teams. The top 10 team payroll list is loaded with National League teams, and stars continue to leave American League teams go head to the NL. Two recent examples (or many) are Shohei Ohtani, Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor. Where do the St. Louis Cardinals fit into all of this? Well, chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. is absolutely right in his determination to revive the Cardinals' fallen minor-league and player-development systems. That's why he hired Bloom to handle this extremely important assignment. But down the road, when the young talent has arrived talent to give the Cardinals a good nucleus, DeWitt will have to top off the roster by investing in payroll to move the Cardinals back into the top 10 in spending -- or dang close to it. And when the time comes, Bloom will have to prove that he's capable of making smart payroll-increasing moves that are riskier by nature. That's the one thing that we don't know about Bloom as he prepares to take over the baseball ops department after the 2025 season ... if DeWitt gives Bloom the permission to increase the payroll with aggressive spending, will Bloom come through? Can he be effective at doing it? DeWitt and Bloom can form a strong partnership -- but they both have something to prove.

Over the weekend the Blues acquired left-shot defenseman Cam Fowler from the Anaheim Ducks, and he was ready to go and in uniform for The Note's games against Dallas (Saturday) and the NY Rangers (Sunday) mostly teaming with defenseman Colton Parayko. In this video I explain why this was a smart and obvious move by Blues hockey commander Doug Armstrong. It's a short-term, low-risk addition that was affordable and helpful. And this Blues were overloading Parayko, Justin Faulk, Ryan Suter with playing-time minutes. The same can be said of the share of minutes being taken by Philip Broberg. In a long and physically exhausting season, it will help the Blues to distribute the minutes among more defensemen. On top of that, the Blues have significantly reduced their goals allowed since Jim Montgomery became coach on Nov. 25, and Armstrong is doing the right thing to reinforce an existing strength and keep this D-group strong. Thanks for checking out the video.