Should Cardinals' manager Oli Marmol be on the hot seat?

We know the Cardinals are not looking to make any changes with their manager, but is it fair to say Oli Marmol should be on the hot seat already?

1. First, let's look at the problems that people have had with Marmol so far this year
2. The argument for and against firing your manager this early in the season
3. So who is at fault for the Cardinals' terrible start?
4. So who is at fault for the Cardinals' terrible start? (Cont.)

Some nights, it’s the pitching. On other nights, the offense can’t come through. Lately, even the club’s best defenders have had costly miscues. It feels like nothing can go the St. Louis Cardinals way right now - which has a lot of people pointing to one person in particular as the “fall guy” - manager Oli Marmol.

After guiding the Cardinals to a 93-69 record and the NL Central crown in 2022, Marmol began to face some real criticism for the way he managed, especially in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series. Sure, there were questions that arose throughout the year about Marmol, but I can’t name one manager that doesn’t get questioned during the regular season.

So coming into the 2023 season, there were high expectations for the club. The pitching should’ve been at least marginally better than it was last year with a healthy Jack Flaherty and a full season of Jordan Montgomery. The offense, despite losing Albert Pujols, should be better with the development of younger bats and the addition of Willson Contreras. And the club’s bullpen looked to be a sneaky strength of the team.

Well, after another heartbreaking loss, the club now sits at 9-16, tied for the second-worst record in the National League this season. Even if you’re like me, and believe this club is too good to give up on, we have reached the point where excuses have run out, and all that matters is results.

The results just are good enough right now. In fact, they are horrendous.

No one in the Cardinals’ front office, coaching staff, or 26-man roster would disagree with that. They know it, we know it, but what continues to baffle everyone is how is this continuing.

Which, once again, has led many to point to Marmol.

It's the easiest scapegoat to point to in this situation, but sometimes the easiest answer is the correct answer. No matter how you feel about Marmol and his managing style, it's fair to ask the question of whether or not Marmol deserves to be on the hot seat at this point in the season. Let's break it down and try to get to the bottom of this.