Ron Washington's postgame rant is just more proof Cardinals should fire Oli Marmol

For one night, the heat is off Oli Marmol of the St. Louis Cardinals, as one of his fellow managers on the west coast outed a player to the media. Typically, that has been Marmol's job, as he's done on several occasions with former Cardinal Tyer O'Neill and even Paul Goldschmidt, to some extent.

Washington called out Luis Guillorme, who was recently acquired from the Atlanta Braves, for failing to get down a squeeze bunt. Rather, Guillorme offered at a pitch outside and struck out. The Angels were down 7-6 at the time, and Washington let his frustration carry over into the postgame media session.

"He didn't do the job. It wasn't anything I did wrong. He didn't do the job," exclaimed Washington. "Wild? He was throwing the ball in the strike zone. Why are you making excuses? He was throwing the ball in the strike zone. He did not get the bunt down! Period."

Ron Washington pulls an Oli Marmol in a bad moment

That, uh, probably won't go over well in the clubhouse. Washington expected more from Guillorme, who he knew from his Braves days. While failure as it pertains to the fundamentals is unacceptable, this ought to have been handled in the clubhouse, rather than a press conference.

No one knows that better than Marmol, a manager far younger than Washington who is still learning the ropes of how to lead a big-league team. Respect is earned, and Marmol found out the hard way what happens when questioning a player's intentions publicly. They typically clap back, which makes for drama us folks in the media will eat up.

Should the Cardinals still fire Oli Marmol?

The Angels are a bad team. Frankly, they're an organization the Cardinals should not take advice from, providing even more evidence that Marmol is not the man for the job. There was some thought Marmol could be fired after last season, but instead John Mozeliak opted to give him a contract extension. Given the tough start to the 2024 campaign as well, even Mo acknowledged Marmol is on the hot seat.

"I still think he understands the job, I think he knows how to manage, and I think he is trying to put the right combination of player in, but at some level you've got to have some performance...We have to keep trying to go back and get this to work, and we understand if it doesn't, people are going to be held accountable and ultimately that starts with me," Mozeliak said.

Marmol can't afford any more outbursts like the one Washington engaged in Tuesday night, but it's a reminder that at this time last year, the Cardinals were dealing with a similar issue.