Cardinals: 4 mistakes Oli Marmol can't afford to repeat if he wants to keep his job

Oli Marmol may be on the hot seat in 2024, especially if the Cardinals struggle. Here are four mistakes he must avoid in order to stay at the helm.
St. Louis Cardinals v Philadelphia Phillies
St. Louis Cardinals v Philadelphia Phillies / Rich Schultz/GettyImages
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3. Relying too heavily on analytics/In-game management

Marmol is a very analytically driven manager, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But he relies on analytics a little bit too much.

There were several occasions in 2023 when Marmol paid more attention to analytics than he should have, which led to some poor in-game decisions.

On April 9, the Cardinals trailed the Milwaukee Brewers 6-1 in the top of the eighth inning but had the bases loaded with nobody out and Brendan Donovan at the plate. It was a prime opportunity to get back into the game.

Milwaukee put in a left-hander to face Donovan, but despite Donovan's success against lefties, Marmol countered with Taylor Motter, a righty hitter, who struck out. The Cardinals stranded the bases loaded and lost.

On July 21, they trailed the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in the top of the eighth inning and had the bases loaded with one out. Nolan Gorman was set to pinch hit but was pulled back for Burleson, who grounded into a double play.

If Marmol wants to stay at the helm for the Cardinals, he'll need to improve his in-game decision-making skills, which means relying less on analytics and using the best man for the job.