Cardinals manager perplexingly decides to ignore Brewers pitcher's unsightly solo shindig

St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol has done a bang-up job piloting the team to this point on the season. Although the Cardinals offense has been sputtering lately, the team remains in second place in the NL Central. But in a divisional clash against the Milwaukee Brewers, Marmol may have miscalculated, not via a strategic decision, but by opting not to take action following a spur-of-the-moment celebration by Brewers pitcher Abner Uribe.

After fanning Alec Burleson to end the top of the eighth inning in a 6-0 Brewers lead, Uribe proceeded to engage in a "double crotch chop" toward the Cardinals bench while Burleson was challenging the strike call. Uribe is known for his expressions of emotion after his pitching outings, but this stunt added a new level to his "game."

According to Cardinals manager Oli Marmol after the spectacle, he saw Brewers skipper Pat Murphy speaking to Uribe following his exit from the game, and since Uribe wasn't a Cardinal and Murphy appeared to be handling the situation, Marmol didn't see a reason to raise a fuss.

While it's understandable that Marmol just wanted to sweep the issue under the rug and continue with the game, the Cardinals may have benefited from Marmol showing a bit more passion and coming to his players' defense. The team has now lost six of its last eight games, and even if the players considered this game to be over for all intents and purposes, Marmol might have been able to light a spark under his team if he had exchanged a few more words with Murphy, much as legendary Cardinals manager Tony La Russa sparred with Cubs manager Dusty Baker during the peak of the two teams' rivalry.

Iván Herrera decided to take matters into his own hands.

The Cardinal who did appear to show some fire following the display was Herrera, who was outwardly displeased with Uribe's actions, which sprouted from his decision to throw up and in to Herrera when he was at the plate. Herrera told STLtoday's Derrick Goold after the game that if Uribe had an issue with Herrera that led to his excessive celebration after striking out Burleson, he could have talked to Herrera while he was standing on second base.

"I'm at second there if you have to tell me something. I wasn't disrespectful; all I said was to keep it down, because he's throwing 2-0 sinkers to my head. It's a little uncomfortable there. And then you go and do that to the entire team. That's disrespectful."

Iván Herrera

According to Uribe in a postgame interview, he thought Marmol had been "making signs" toward the Brewers dugout signifying that they were going to intentionally pelt Brewers players with pitches. It's an asinine thought that Marmol would stoop to those levels for no discernible reason. To Milwaukee's credit, Murphy condemned Uribe's actions.

Herrera stepped in as a team leader during that skirmish, and while it was noble, Marmol should have had his players' backs in that situation, especially in a pivotal divisional showdown. Marmol still deserves respect for how he's run the team this season, but this might have been a lapse in judgment for the potential Manager of the Year.

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