The St. Louis Cardinals are off to a good start in 2025, and manager Oli Marmol deserves some credit for that. They entered a 'reset' in the offseason, which many assumed meant they would be trading away certain players. That ultimately didn't happen.
A lot of Cardinals fans are frustrated with president of baseball operations John Mozeliak and even manager Oli Marmol. Fans view Marmol as an extension of Mozeliak after the outgoing president of baseball operations fired former manager Mike Shildt for "philosophical differences" in 2021.
However, when talking to legendary St. Louis sportswriter Bernie Miklasz, Marmol confirmed that none of his decisions are influenced by Mozeliak. Marmol has made some mistakes over the years, and that has led to a lot of fans wanting former Cardinal and 2023 NL Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker in charge.
"He hired me to do a job, and he lets me do it," Marmol told Miklasz.
Oli Marmol admission should have Cardinals fans begging for Skip Schumaker
While Mozeliak has made mistakes, Marmol's mistakes are his own doing and have nothing to do with the front office. With Mozeliak retiring at the end of 2025, some have speculated that new president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom will hire his own manager.
If that's the case, Schumaker is the best one available. He currently works as an adviser in the Texas Rangers front office, but if a spot opens up for him in St. Louis, he could decide to take it.
This is what fans should want. Schumaker was a fan favorite in St. Louis as a player and a coach and proved to be a successful manager with the Miami Marlins in 2023. It's clear that when he left, the organization was negatively affected.
Marmol recently left Sonny Gray in with the bases loaded and nobody out against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday, only for Gray to give up a go-ahead grand slam to Logan O'Hoppe. Though the Cardinals came back and won, Marmol's poor decision almost caused them to be swept at home by the Halos.
If the Cardinals are going to contend consistently again, they need to have some new personnel. Mozeliak will be gone, but Bloom will need to find a better manager. Schumaker would be the perfect replacement for Marmol and would be the right man to lead the Cardinals back to prominence, having won two World Series rings with them as a player.
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