Cardinals manager Oli Marmol puts Tyler O’Neill on blast for lazy play

Another St. Louis Cardinals loss to the Braves has tensions rising in the clubhouse between Oli Marmol and Tyler O’Neill.

Tyler O’Neill was gunned down by Ronald Acuña in the seventh inning — the second Cards player to suffer that fate in the game — when he tried to score on a liner by teammate Brendan Donovan.

While it was tough to notice anything on the live broadcast, manager Oli Marmol thought O’Neill didn’t hustle to the best of his abilities. The two discussed the matter postgame, and still disagreed when speaking through the media.

“That’s not our style of play as far as the effort, rounding the bag there,” Marmol said. “It’s unacceptable.”

When prompted with how Marmol felt about the situation, O’Neill stood his ground. The Cardinals outfielder dealt with a leg injury for the majority of last season, so there’s a chance he literally couldn’t run any faster.

“He didn’t think I gave the best effort,” O’Neill said. “I’m out here every day grinding my ass off, giving it my all and trying to stay on the field for 160 games out here.”

Cardinals: Was Oli Marmol out of line to question Tyler O’Neill?

Every manager knows their team, and certainly understands the injury issues for key players day-to-day. If O’Neill is dealing with some sort of lower body issue that Marmol isn’t aware of, that’s not on the manager. O’Neill needs to be more transparent.

As a young manager, this is a good learning experience for Marmol — sometimes it’s best to keep matters in-house. As much as I enjoy writing up this gossip, one can’t help but think a private conversation between the two should have been the end of it. O’Neill, for his part, did acknowledge he got a bad jump, but also wouldn’t take blame for a so-called lack of hustle.

“Like I said, I just got to get a better jump next time and I guess just get around the base a little quicker and be in there in next time,” O’Neill reiterated.