Have we seen any game management improvement from Cardinals manager Oli Marmol?

Summary

This is what I wrote last September. 

“My takeaway from this is most of the stats I cited are about in-game decisions the manager of a baseball team has to make and make at the right time. Half of them are not being made at all and the others are being made at the wrong time. The lack of aggressiveness is worse to me than making the wrong move. At least that would show you are trying.”

I know that to most of the St. Louis fans, this will come as a surprise. After looking at the numbers, it appears that the manager is improving in several areas. Mainly in the way he is moving the runners over, and how the bullpen is being deployed. 

Are there still areas of concern? Many. Last year the Cardinals ranked 18th in having their relievers pitch in back-to-back games. This year they are the second most. He still ranks 25th in having his challenges overturned. While there have been improvements, Marmol still isn’t ranking at the top of any categories that managers can be judged on. 

Is this enough of an improvement to justify his contract extension? We still have two-thirds of the season to find out.