Oli Marmol’s failed Cardinals lineup choice proves he’s completely lost

By now, it's clear that the St. Louis Cardinals made a huge mistake in firing Mike Shildt and replacing him with Oli Marmol.

After winning 93 games in 2022, St. Louis was reduced to a last-place team in 2023 and things aren't looking much better in 2024. They sit in fourth place in the NL Central with a record of 14-16.

To make matters worse, Marmol decided to give red-hot shortstop Masyn Winn the night off on Tuesday and start veteran Brandon Crawford instead. It did not go well.

Crawford stranded multiple runners in scoring position, going 0-for-2 with two strikeouts. This left fans feeling very frustrated.

Oli Marmol continues to look hapless with poor lineup decisions

To be fair, Winn has been dealing with a back issue and it was the second game of a doubleheader. However, Winn was ultimately used in the game anyway, so having him on the bench was essentially pointless, especially with Crawford coming up empty in both of his trips to the plate, dropping his average on the season to a mere .105.

The Cardinals offense scored six runs last night, but Crawford was obviously no help, and his struggles were only further proof of Marmol's cluelessness as a manager.

While it's important to keep players fresh, holding Winn out of the lineup doesn't make sense for the Cardinals, as he is one of their hottest hitters. Starting Crawford once a week doesn't help, especially given his struggles. St. Louis needs an offensive jolt, and the only way they'll get that is if Winn is in the lineup more regularly.

Marmol continues to make questionable decisions as the manager of the Cardinals, offering more proof that the Cardinals not only made a mistake in choosing him to replace Shildt, but giving him a contract extension in spring training.

Should his decisions continue to impact the Cardinals in such a negative way, it would not be a surprise to see the Cardinals consider making a managerial change at a certain point if they truly care about winning.