Fed up: Cardinals fans reach breaking point with Oli Marmol and John Mozeliak

The St. Louis Cardinals lost again on Tuesday night to the San Diego Padres, much to the delight of former manager Mike Shildt, who now leads the NL Wild Card-favored Pads. Shildt made it clear before the series began that he had no regrets about leaving St. Louis, a franchise that as of this writing looks like it's on the downswing.

“We don't get a lot of mulligans in life,” Shildt said. “I haven't lost any sleep with how I did things for 18 years here. I can rest comfortably knowing that I did my best to be a caretaker of the organization. As Tony would say, I tried to do my part, put my little piece in."

Oli Marmol and John Mozeliak are on the hot seat

Whether Shildt is to be believed or not is the reader's opinion, but the Cards are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the second straight season. If that's the case, there could be a fall guy -- or two -- as part of a much-needed regime change. My money is on manager Oli Marmol, whose in-game decisions have flabbergasted Cardinals fans since the moment he was hired. Say what you want about Shildt -- he had his own flaws, sure -- but Marmol hasn't looked much better.

As for front office executive John Mozeliak, he has the benefit of years of experience in the St. Louis organization, and is more likely to be reassigned than fired. His plausible replacement, Chaim Bloom, was recently hired as an advisor of sorts. It makes too much sense.

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Cardinals fans let wallets do the talking about John Mozeliak and Oli Marmol

But, for now, Cardinals fans are forced to watch what remains of a once-hyped group of players. St. Louis entered the 2024 campaign with NL Central title aspirations. That's well out of reach thanks to the Milwaukee Brewers, who hold a nine-game lead over the second place Cubs.

The Cardinals are two games under .500 and seven games behind the Atlanta Braves for the third NL Wild Card spot. Their playoff chances are fading fast, and fans have lost belief in the team. Don't believe me? Just look at the attendance numbers. The Cardinals have only reached the 40,000 fan plateau in 16 home games this season. They are averaging over 4,000 less fans per game in 2024 than 2023. And on Tuesday, they hosted a season-low 27,224 fans.

There hasn't been a bigger indictment on this team and front office than that. Cardinals fans are among the most loyal in the sport, but even they have a breaking point.