Firing Mike Shildt remains one of the Cardinals' most alarmingly bad moves
The former Cards skipper got San Diego to do something in months what John Mozeliak and Bill DeWitt Jr. refused to do after three seasons.
No one will ever truly know what happened between Mike Shildt and the St. Louis Cardinals a few years ago. A relationship that went from a pair of 90-win playoff seasons to a sudden divorce leaves a bruise that shines especially bright red after an abysmal season. Shildt’s 2021 Cardinals team went 90-72, but were booted in a winner take all wildcard game against the Dodgers.
Who wins 90 games and gets fired? A guy who said too much, or a quiet man who suddenly rubbed the team the wrong way after a long working relationship? I’m not an expert, but it had to be a bigger deal than his relationship with certain players or being too harsh. That all sounded bogus.
My take: Shildt wanted the team to make moves, aka acquire starting pitching to strengthen the team’s chances in the playoffs. Someone who could pick up that ace mantle from an aging Adam Wainwright. Someone who could put the team over the top after a few false starts. Washington simply had more bats and arms in 2019, and LA got the best of Alex Reyes. It wouldn’t be an overstep to suggest a stronger club.
The team said no, or plotted a different course that would create more competitively sound rosters without a clear edge. Look, the Cardinals didn’t acquire all this starting pitching, including one sure thing, until they absolutely had to. John Mozeliak has never been very successful at acquiring big name pitchers, outside of the John Lackey trade. They only put the shovel down inside the grave after the team’s worst season in 30+ years.
Shildt wanted action. Mozeliak was thinking about a Caesar salad, or couldn’t get DeWallet to open wide enough for a big move. Words were said, stances proclaimed, and there was a final disconnection. Shildt has never or will strive to never be a pure YES man. Every manager in the league is to a degree these days because players are cuddled and treated like truffle oil, but Shildt has some old school principle in his DNA.
Before he could manage a single game with his new team, the San Diego Padres, the front office armed him with Dylan Cease in a trade that firms up the Padres rotation. There was a need and I’m betting Shildt made his voice heard at some point. Maybe not, but the team acted.
Oliver Marmol received a contract extension today, keeping him from entering a season without a safety net… at least in ink. It took the Cardinals two full seasons to legitimately add arms to the rotation. I think its timing is about as good as a tornado warning coming on during a long drive-through line. There’s time this weekend to rant about that news, but let’s not lose sight of the moral here.
Marmol took over a nice roster that found cohesion with Shildt, and made it all stupid. What team is armed better for the upcoming year, and which squad ends with a better record? The Padres won 82 games last year, while the Birds only managed 71 wins.
Enter Shildt. Add some Cease to the pot. Season that lady with a few special ingredients, and a bounce back in a few norms. With the former Cardinals skipper in tow, they have a true leader.
Ask yourself this question: Who is better, Oli or Shildt?
Since firing the latter, have the Cardinals gotten better? Mention the 91 win season in 2022, and convince yourself Marmol can pull that off again. I’m one of the rosier projectors this year, and my high limit right now sits around 85-87 wins. They’re not a sure thing, but not a disaster. Hey there, Cardinal Way.
Within a few months, Shildt got the Padres to add a legit starter. Like Sonny Gray, Cease is a recent runner-up (2022) for the Cy Young. It took the Cardinals to endure a dumpster fire to finally retool the rotation.
All of this to say that letting Shildt walk after the 2021 season is still an alarmingly dumb move by St. Louis. He found a nice gig three seasons later, going from the bench coach up on the west coast. Marmol received a parachute today, but it can be cut at any time. I loved the Shildt promotion as manager right away, but it seems like centuries ago.
Welcome to the new life in St. Louis baseball.
Always on point Dream.
What DeWitt did to Schildt is nothing short of criminal.
Schildt actually managed the team rather than allow Mozeliak/DeWitt to manage.
He will resurrect San Diego while the Cardinals will wallow in mediocrity as long as 3 million of us suckers continue to fill the stands.
A sad decade of Cardinals is upon us with no relief in sight.
The “Yes “ man gets a contract extension so he can “Monkey” for ownership while we, the fans, continue to fill their coffers.
Carlin Dead but seeing another expensive nonproductive season
The Cards are my team but I’ll always be a Shildt guy. While there are two sides to every story, if this story of Shildt’s firing is even partially true, I can never respect Mozeliak. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2022/03/31/mike-shildt-cardinals-fired-heart-broken/7228358001/
There’s no right way to fire someone but leading with “Mike, this conversation isn’t going to go the way you think it’s going to go” is definitely the wrong way. Mozeliak is a smug piece of crap and I hate that he works for the Cardinals.