The St. Louis Cardinals are still in the fight of their lives for the second NL Wild Card spot, but is there any chance they would make a managerial change this season?
Even when St. Louis was well out of the playoff picture, the Cardinals front office maintained that Mike Shildt and his coaching staff were safe. Right or wrong, that is the thinking of Cardinals general manager Mike Girsch and those above him.
“We like our coaching staff,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said more than two months ago. “We believe in what they’re doing. I do think at some point we may have to do something different — not saying change coaches. Maybe mix up the lineup. Maybe do something in a different manner. Because at our current rate it’s not producing the positive outcome we want.”
And if that was the stance then — when St. Louis’ playoff odds were far less than what they are now — one can only imagine he’s far happier at the Cardinals’ current predicament.
St. Louis Cardinals playoff hopes still alive
The Cardinals are not firing Shildt this year, even should they collapse down the stretch. It would take brutal mismanagement on his part, and some unnecessary clubhouse drama, to cement his legacy as a negative one at Busch Stadium.
No, in all likelihood, Shildt will get at least one more season in charge. If the Cardinals fail to make the postseason in 2021, and underperform in 2022 with Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado manning the corner infielder spots, then perhaps Girsch and Co. need to have a conversation.
But for now, the Cardinals value the stability that they have in Shildt. The issues with this team, namely a shoddy bullpen and injuries to the staring rotation, are unpredictable and not on Shildt solely.
He deserves a pass, and even some praise for putting this team in relatively decent position to challenge the Reds and Padres for that second postseason spot.