Cardinals supporters’ criticism towards manager Oliver Marmol is misguided

While the manager selects the lineup, the players are the ones who play and must perform. Marmol must do the best he can with the squad that ownership provides him, and the start to the 2025 season should instill optimism in the future.

The St. Louis Cardinals began the 2025 season with a sweep on the opening weekend. Despite leading the NL Central, manager Oliver Marmol is under criticism for his performance. As Yadier Molina and Albert Pujols prepare to take over, Marmol is charged with building a competitive club with the talent supplied by ownership. A brief reminder that Marmol does not sign, trade, or release players, thus he must work with the individuals that ownership assigns him.

Now, I may be missing something, but in my 30 years of attending baseball games and playing minor league baseball, I have yet to see an MLB manager on the field and play in a game. While they are responsible for establishing lineups and making in-game choices, it is ultimately up to the players to perform. This is why I have difficulty assigning blame (or offering credit) to managers following the conclusion of a game. Sure, they can make the correct or wrong move, but they never make a decision that they believe will fail. With a coaching staff and a wealth of information accessible in the dugout, substitutions are made based on a study of the current scenario, with the hope that they will pay off.

The Cardinals’ first loss of the season to the Angels on Monday demonstrated just that. Marmol fielded a fresh lineup in the team’s first game against a lefty starter and immediately looked like a genius, with Lars Nootbaar and Brendan Donovan homering and Luken Baker reaching base three times. Many (not me) wanted Miles Mikolas to be moved somewhere, but he performed exceptionally well and gave the club a chance to win, exiting the game with a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning.

While the Cardinals dropped another game on Tuesday, I’d want to focus on the comments from Monday’s game and how supporters appear to be seeking for any chance to criticise Marmol.

Marmol’s decisions are already being questioned just four games into the season.

So, to break down the defeat and how it cannot be blamed only on the manager, who did not throw, hit, or field a ball during the game, consider the so-called “questionable” decisions he made.

Pulling Miles Mikolas in the sixth inning.

I don’t see how this is considered a mistake by Marmol. As previously stated, the bulk of supporters wanted Mikolas DFAd and relocated away from St. Louis. Mikolas pitched effectively in his debut start, going 5.1 innings and allowing only four baserunners before giving way to Chris Roycroft. Mikolas’ 80 pitches were the most thrown by any starter this season, and he is the second to pitch into the sixth inning, following Erick Fedde in his debut. Oh, and Mikolas was set to meet all-world talent Mike Trout for the third time. Marmol made the deliberate choice to bring in a new reliever to face the superstar rather than forcing Mikolas to battle after allowing two batters to reach. The action surprised Cardinals Twitter, with many arguing Marmol should have kept Miles in the game. The same person they wanted off the squad less than a month before. Roycroft allowed a run to score but kept the Cardinals ahead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Pedro Pages replaces Ivan Herrera.

Another action that is drawing unnecessary attention. Herrera’s defensive shortcomings have been widely known so far, despite his offseason work at Driveline. While Herrera is regarded as the stronger hitter, Pages has held his own with the bat in spring training and, less than 24 hours prior, fell a triple shy of the cycle in a strong offensive effort. The issue is that switching to defensive alignment in the sixth inning came too soon. The early switch indicates that either Pages’ offence is not far behind Herrera’s, or Herrera’s defensive issues are more serious than expected. In any case, the decision was sound both at the time and the next day.

Marmol postgame told reporters the decision to replace Herrera defensively had nothing to do with his AB or his inning defensively. It was about who came up in for the Angels in the 7th and Pages’ ability to control the running game.

— Brandon Kiley (@BKSportsTalk) April 1, 2025

Using Helsley in the ninth inning.

Excuse me, but what? Bringing in one of the finest relievers in the MLB to keep the game tied in the ninth inning seems dubious. If Marmol did not insert Helsley into the game and the Cardinals conceded a run in the inning, I am very certain that the same individuals who are screaming about this decision would argue that Helsley should have been in the game at the time. Managers around baseball frequently utilise their closers in tie games, hoping that their team would walk it off in the bottom part of the inning. Helsley accomplished precisely what he needed to do to keep the game knotted 3-3 going into overtime. I’m not sure what might have done improved here.

Not utilising Nolan Gorman to pinch hit for Masyn Winn.

Yes, the same Nolan Gorman that many wanted to see moved, DFAd, or demoted following a difficult spring training. “But Scott, he hit a homer yesterday!” Oh, you mean in the same way that Pages did but should not have been included in the game? Sure. That’s not to mention the team’s stunning lack of a genuine backup shortstop, with Brendan Donovan expected to fill in anytime Masyn Winn takes a day off. Also, Donovan (not Marmol) made a dubious defensive judgement with the bases loaded in the tenth inning, and the game may have turned out differently if he had made the correct call. I understand that Winn is 0 for the season, but that moment in the 10th inning is one in which the club expects Winn to shine if he is to be the main point in the future.

I am continuously astonished by the hostility on Cardinals social media, especially considering expectations for the 2025 season were at their lowest. Now that the team has won its first three games, it appears like they should win every game, and if they do not, it is the fault of the manager rather than the players. Fans are free to fan as they want, therefore I am not here to teach you how to act, but unfairly blaming someone who does not take an at-bat, throw a pitch, or field a grounder is perplexing to me.