ESPN report: Mistakes that will be corrected if Oli Marmol is sacked…..read more.
Tony La Russa left the Cardinals in 2011 after leading them to the World Series. Terry Francona was a possibility before Mike Matheny took his post, and he still might be if Oli Marmol is fired.
The Cardinals have gone through two managers since Tony La Russa left. In 2012, Mike Matheny was brought on as his replacement, however he was let go in 2018. After Matheny was fired, Mike Shildt replaced control, but he met the same end in 2021.
After La Russa’s departure, the Cardinals have now hired three managers, and judging on John Mozeliak’s remarks on KMOX with Tom Ackerman, Oli Marmol may be facing the firing torch.
It looks like Mozeliak’s seat is becoming warmer as well. The Cardinals will probably temporarily replace Marmol with an internal candidate if he is sacked this season. They will, however, have an opportunity to make amends for one of their worst errors in recent memory during the offseason.
If Marmol is let go, the Cardinals could make a big error correction.
Following their 2011 World Series victory and witnessing La Russa’s departure, the Cardinals found themselves with multiple possibilities. Terry Francona, a two-time World Series champion, had entered the race after the Red Sox released him.
Francona would have been ideal to continue the Cardinal tradition and take over for La Russa. Instead of going with Matheny, the Cardinals passed on a proven winner and an experienced manager.
They made it to the postseason four more times and even made it to the World Series in 2013, so the immediate repercussions were negligible. These players were holdovers from the La Russa era. However, the fissures started to appear in 2018. Matheny was sacked as a result of losing the clubhouse.
Shildt was a decent stand-in, and despite his imperfections, the team performed well while he was in charge, making it to the postseason three times in a row and qualifying for the NLCS in 2019. One of the front office’s more recent errors occurred after 2021 when Shildt was fired.
Back to Francona, though. He ought to have been the obvious choice for the position. He still is and was more than qualified for it. If the much-loved “Tito” had been hired, the Cardinals probably would have avoided both the current situation with Marmol and the mess that surfaced when Matheny lost the clubhouse.
Now, one could contend that when the front office chose to become more analytical, Francona might have suffered the same fate as Shildt. There’s always a chance, particularly considering Mozeliak’s past performance. However, if Francona had been hired, the Cardinals would never have needed to switch managers. Furthermore, firing Francona would have given Mozeliak much negative publicity.
The greatest manager imaginable would have accompanied the Cardinals. This mess could have been avoided in large part. However, there’s still time to put things right. Francona is obviously sitting this year off, but by 2025, he might be primed to play again. The Cardinals may decide to put an end to all of the shenanigans and select the best candidate when the chance presents itself.
