Oli Marmol looks even worse on Sunday, and it's not even his fault

The St. Louis Cardinals are a game under .500 and four games back in the NL Wild Card race. They have lost six of their last ten. The Cards are as all-in as it gets, having acquired Erick Fedde and Tommy Pham at the MLB trade deadline.

John Mozeliak bought at the deadline. That was his call, much like it was his decision to hire the likely fall guy for this season's failure should it occur, Oli Marmol. He also opted to extend Marmol before the season, because who likes to have a lame-duck manager on the final year of his contract? It's just money.

The anger directed at Marmol is justified at times, don't get me wrong. His tone-deaf comments at the end of games, specifically losses, are nauseating. His bullpen management is among the worst in baseball, and that's saying something. However, he is not alone in this blame game. For St. Louis fans in need of evidence, look no further than San Diego.

Padres prove Cardinals wrong for ditching Mike Shildt

The San Diego Padres hired Mike Shildt after their tough 2023 season. Shildt had previous managerial experience with St. Louis, before they fired him due to some philosophical differences. Their solution, supposedly, was Marmol. That hasn't worked out so well.

Revisionist history isn't a fair game to play with this front office, but Cardinals fans should look no further than Skip Schumaker -- one of the primary candidates to replace Marmol if he is let go this winter -- about what Shildt brings to a clubhouse.

“I did a couple rehab assignments unfortunately in Double-A [Springfield] when Shildt was the manager there [2012-14]. Mike is super disciplined. He knows the game extremely well. Is going to hit home with the fundamentals every single game. I don’t think he misses anything, as far as on-game situations, nothing’s going to speed up on him. I think guys are going to really like him. I think they got it right as fire as the hire and I’m hoping he does really well in that clubhouse and in that city," Schumaker said of Shildt in 2023.

Shildt has led the Padres to the top NL Wild Card spot in his first year on the job. Yes, San Diego is loaded, but they're also just a year removed from falling on their face with a similarly talented roster. Shildt is the difference, and you can bet the Cardinals would be in playoff contention with the veteran skipper at the helm instead of Marmol.