3 things Oliver Marmol has done well this year and 1 thing he butchered

With 20 games left to go in the 2024 season, the St. Louis Cardinals have already surpassed their record from 2023. Now, last year was an aberration of a year, and the Cardinals SHOULD do better than just 71 wins this year, but that shouldn't take away from the change in pace the team has shown this year.

It's tough to decipher who is responsible for the team's bounceback this year, but perhaps their manager, Oliver Marmol, deserves the most credit. Bernie Miklasz of KMOX recently defended Oliver Marmol on his new YouTube channel. Bernie made sure to duck and cover from the potential vitriol that would come of him posting this video, and I, too, am prepared to see some flak for this opinion.

Marmol is seen as John Mozeliak's "guy" since Mo fired Mike Shildt a couple of years ago and supplanted him with Oliver. This is probably the reason most fans have grown weary of Marmol, though leading a team to a 71-win season following a season with 93 wins doesn't bode well for any manager regardless of his track record.

However, I can agree with Bernie in the fact that Marmol has done quite well this year with what he was given. Every manager makes mistakes in a season; there are countless decisions each game that a manager must make from pitch calls to movement on the base paths to defensive substitutions to bullpen moves. Multiple those dozens of decisions each game over the course of a 162-game season, and it's clear how many opportunities there are for a manager to make a mistake or help his team.

Since the dawn of baseball, fans have meticulously dissected a manager's decisions. It's easy thanks to the benefit of hindsight to see how a pitching change or a defensive shift could cause a run to score. It's not as easy making those decisions in the moment.

I would like to argue that Oliver Marmol is one of the primary reasons the Cardinals have bounced back this season, and I have three ways in which he has succeeded (and one way in which he's fallen flat).

Oliver Marmol has done quite well at utilizing the roster (and coaching staff) he was given.

Contrary to what some fans believe, the manager is not responsible for forming either the 26-man roster or the 40-man roster on a baseball team. Those decisions fall on the head of baseball operations. In the case of the Cardinals, that would be John Mozeliak's role.

Now, it's possible the manager has input on who is called up and who gets sent down over the course of the season, but the final call is the general manager's to make. That means the field manager must work with what he is given. In the case of the Cardinals this year, Oliver Marmol's 26-man roster was below average at multiple times throughout the year.

At the start of the year, his bench included Ivan Herrera, Matt Carpenter, Michael Siani, and Brandon Crawford. That's not an overly inspiring bunch, and it's a pretty one-dimensional collection of role players. Three of those players hit left-handed, one is only a catcher, one had virtually no defensive viability anymore, and another was an aging backup shortstop. Marmol didn't have many options when it came to late-game maneuvers from the offensive side of the game.

Oliver Marmol also wasn't dealt the best hand when it came to pitching decisions. Prior to Andre Pallante taking the final rotation spot and running with it, Marmol had just four true starters: Sonny Gray, Miles Mikolas, Lance Lynn, and Kyle Gibson. Again, that's not a high-ceiling rotation. John Mozeliak was hesitant to promote a Triple-A pitcher to fill the final spot, and Marmol had to weave bullpen games in while managing the rest of starters at the time.

Something else beyond Marmol's control would be the staffing and technology that the organization provides. Be it the coaches on the field, the lack of support staff, or the dated technology the organization uses, very little blame can be placed on Marmol's shoulders.

Oliver Marmol has done the best he could with what he was given. It was his idea to stick with Andre Pallante as a starter and Michael Siani in the outfield. His usage of the bullpen, however maligned it is online, has been very strong (the relievers are eighth in win probability added). Marmol hasn't been given the most ideal lineup all year, but he's used it in the best ways he could by and large.

Oliver Marmol butchered Jordan Walker's usage upon his recall.

A manager can't decide who is on the 26-man roster, but he can decide how to use them.

For the bulk of the season, former top prospect Jordan Walker was at Triple-A Memphis figuring out his swing. He needed to lift the ball more and drive it with authority, and the front office (rightly) placed him with the Redbirds to make the appropriate adjustments.

However, Walker was recalled in early August following an injury to Matt Carpenter. John Mozeliak wanted Walker to play every day to continue the progress he had shown in Memphis prior to his recall. Marmol, on the other hand, opted to play veteran and recently acquired outfielder Tommy Pham daily. Both players hit right-handed, and the team needed help against left-handed pitchers. This decision to play a veteran who was struggling over a young player who was showing signs of improvement is one of Marmol's worst this year.

This decision to sit Walker was Marmol's entirely, and it fell flat on its face. Walker was demoted once again just a week later, and he contributed very little during his brief stint with the major league squad. He has since been with the team throughout September, and Walker's output has been greatly improved thanks to regular playing time.

While Marmol has handled the roster well throughout the year, this blip on his resume is glaring. Walker's progress was stinted, and the up-and-down that he was put through during this time period did him no good. Had Marmol opted to play Walker more frequently in early August, the month could have gone much differently for the team.

Oliver Marmol has conducted himself professionally all year.

A manager should make as many correct decisions as possible in a game. This gives his team the greatest chance to succeed. But if the decision doesn't pan out well, the manager should at least be able to defend his thought process regarding the particular move. Oliver Marmol has been excellent at this part of the job.

Manager decisions won't always pan out in the team's favor. Baseball is a game where a player can get a hit just 30% of the time and be recognized as one of the best hitters in the sport. The same logic can be applied to managers. If a manager's decision doesn't turn out well, he should at least be able to provide solid reasoning for his decision.

The most recent example of Oliver Marmol making a bold decision with solid logic came on September 4th against the Milwaukee Brewers. In the 10th inning, the Cardinals were up 3-2. Ryan Fernandez replaced Andrew Kittredge, and he struck out the first two batters. Jackson Chourio, the Brewers' talented rookie, was due up.

Marmol opted to intentionally walk Chourio, thus placing batters on first and second base with two outs and Rhys Hoskins due up. Fernandez has thrived at striking out batters this year, and Hoskins has a 27% strikeout rate this year. It was a risky choice, but it paid dividends, as Fernandez would indeed strike out Hoskins and record a save.

This is just one example of Marmol making a difficult decision that could pan out poorly, but he at least defended it well and made an informed decision. This has been something Marmol has done frequently all year.