Mike Shildt's parting shot at Cardinals looks even better after dominant Padres win

The St. Louis Cardinals unceremoniously fired Mike Shildt after the 2021 season, a decision the manager himself was taken aback by given the team had made a playoff run. Shildt and St. Louis described their split as a difference in philosophies -- whatever that means -- as if winning wasn't the ultimate goal for one side.

Regardless, since then St. Louis has hired Oli Marmol and undergone a culture shift of their own. Marmol made the playoffs his first year in charge, but is now in danger of missing the postseason for the second straight season and will be on the hot seat himself should that occur. Shildt, on the other hand, signed on as an advisor for the San Diego Padres and is now their manager.

Mike Shildt has no regrets about leaving the Cardinals

Shildt spent decades in the Cardinals organization, so leaving was always going to be tough for him. His return has been even harder, though Shildt didn't shy away from taking a shot at his former bosses.

“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."

Shildt made peace with the Cardinals decision -- and his to manage again -- despite his nearly two decades in St. Louis. On Monday night, the Padres proved he made the right call via a 7-4 victory at Busch Stadium in which they let the Cards wire to wire.

“We normalize every day being important,” said Shildt. “We’re just going to take care of our business today and go take advantage of the opportunities that are out there.”

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Manny Machado, Padres help prove Mike Shildt right

With the win, San Diego distanced themselves from St. Louis in the NL Wild Card race, and gained ground on the Dodgers in the NL West, as they are just four games back. Large performances by the likes of Manny Machado (two hits, three RBIs) and rookie sensation Jackson Merrill (two hits, three RBIs) led the way.

Just three years later, it's tough to assess if the Cards made the right move or not. John Mozeliak and the front office felt they needed to go in a different direction, and as Shildt professed, you don't get second chances in life. For better or worse, St. Louis went with Marmol, and now they're at risk of missing the postseason yet again.