St. Louis Cardinals Hire Oliver Marmol As Manager

 

The St. Louis Cardinals have hired Oliver Marmol as their new manager, replacing Mike Shildt. Marmol, 35, is the Cardinals 51st manager in franchise history. Marmol gets a three-year contract. Marmol is now currently the youngest manager in the MLB. The previously youngest manager in the MLB had been Minnesota Twins manager Roco Baldelli. 

Marmol has been a Cardinals coach on the MLB staff since 2017. The first two seasons, Marmol was the first base coach. In 2019, Marmol became the bench coach under Shildt. Marmol did well as bench coach under Shildt, including earning praise from him during the Cardinals 2019 postseason run. 

Before joining the Cardinals coaching staff, Marmol managed 5 seasons in the minor leagues. Marmol managed the Johnson City Cardinals in 2012, then managed the State College Spikes from (2013-2014). In those two seasons, the State College Spikes won their division under Marmol. After managing the State College Spikes for 2 seasons, Marmol managed the Palm Beach Cardinals for 2 seasons (2015-2016). In 2015, Marmol was 75-63. That was his best record as a minor league manager.

Overall, Marml managed 493 games and had a record of 268-225 with a .544 winning percentage. Marmol only had 1 losing season during his time as a minor league manager. 

Before going into coaching, Marmol was a minor league player for 4 seasons in the Cardinals minors. Marmol wasn't that great of a player. 

As a manager in the Cardinals minors, Marmol coached a few current players on their active roster: Jack Flaherty, Dakota Hudson, Alex Reyes, Junior Fernandez, and Edmundo Sosa. To me that could be a good thing that Marmol has managed Reyes before. That's because Reyes didn't have a good end to the season. I think a lot of that was because of fatigue and being in his first full MLB season, which tends to happen with rookies. 

Time will tell to see if Marmol can manage in the MLB. On paper, it looks like he can. If he can't, then it could end up being bad for John Mozeliak. 

St. Louis Cardinals Fire Mike Shildt

 

The St. Louis Cardinals have fired manager Mike Shildt. Shildt, 53. recently led the Cardinals to their 3rd straight playoff appearance. The Cardinals went 90-72 and lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Wild Card game. The Cardinals even won a franchise record 17 games in a row in 2021 under Shildt. 

Shildt became the Cardinals manager on July 14, 2018, after Mike Matheny was fired. Under Shildt, the Cardinals went 41-28. In Shildt's first full season 2019, the Cardinals went 91-71 and made the playoffs for their first time since 2015. The Cardinals also ended up in the NLCS for their first time since 2013 (when they made it to the World Series). 

Overall, Shildt managed the Cardinals for 4 seasons. Shildt was 252-199 with a .559 winning percentage. In the playoffs, Shildt was 4-9 with a .308 winning percentage.

The Cardinals say the reason for firing Shildt was "philosophical differences." 

It seems strange to fire Shildt when the Cardinals have had success under him. In 2021, it even looked like the Cardinals would miss the playoffs because of injuries and pitchers not preforming as well as they are capable of. The Cardinals ended up finding two relief pitchers in Luis Garcia and T.J. McFarland who helped turn things around in the bullpen. Then at the trade deadline the Cardinals added two veteran starting pitchers in J.A. Happ and Jon Lester. People even wondered what the Cardinals were doing getting both pitchers, because their record and ERA's weren't good at all. Happ and Lester ended up helping provide innings for the Cardinals starting rotation and winning a few games. There's a fifth pitcher you could count in Wade LeBlanc. LeBlanc ended up having success both in the bullpen and as a starter, before a season ending injury.

That isn't all on Shildt that the team had injures and it took time for him to get help. It also could have been nice if the Cardinals had had more depth like other teams had. 

In the end it looks like Shildt and John Mozeliak must have had a disagreement about something. No one will probably know what that was. Shildt probably becomes a manager again with a team at some point in the future, even if its in the minor leagues at first or part of a MLB coaching staff.

Who do you see as the Cardinals next manager?

St. Louis Blues Sign James Neal

 

The St. Louis Blues have signed left wing James Neal to a one-year contract, worth $750,000. Neal had been in training camp with the Blues on a professional tryout. In the preseason, Neal led the Blues with 4 goals. Neal, 34, played 29 games with 5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points, and a -2 in 2020-2021 with the Edmonton Oilers. The season was Neal's worst season of his career. Neal had his contract bought out by the Oilers on July 27, 2021. 

Neal had his best season in 2011-2012, with the Pittsburgh Penguins. That season, Neal played 80 games with 40 goals, 41 assists, 81 points, and a plus 6. The goals, assists, and points were all career highs for Neal.

Overall, Neal has played 13 seasons in the NHL. Neal has played 850 games with 294 goals, 261 assists, 555 points, and a plus 8. In the playoffs, Neal has played 110 games with 33 goals, 25 assists, 58 points, and a -13.

Neal will be looking to have a rebound season. He impressed the Blues well enough to earn a contract. With the Blues, Neal doesn't always need to be the main player. He just needs to go to the net, like he's been doing in the preseason and helping the Blues get scoring chances. The Blues head coach, Craig Berube even liked what he saw in Neal during the preseason. It will be interesting to see if Neal brings that to the regular season. 

St. Louis Blues Re-sign Robert Thomas

 

The St. Louis Blues have re-signed center Robert Thomas to a two-year contract, worth $5.6 million. Thomas, 22, played 33 games with 3 goals, 9 assists, 12 points, and a plus 1 in 2020-2021. Thomas had his best season in 2019-2020. That season, Thomas played 66 games with 10 goals, 32 assists, 42 points, and a plus 9. The goals, assists, points, and plus mark were all career high for Thomas. Thomas helped the Blues win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2018-2019. 

Overall, Thomas has played 3 seasons in the NHL. Thomas has played 169 games with 22 goals, 65 assists, 87 points, and a plus 8. In the playoffs, Thomas has played 33 games with 2 goals, 10 assists, 12 points, and a -3.

St. Louis Blues Re-sign Tyler Bozak

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The St. Louis Blues have re-signed center Tyler Bozak to a one-year contract, worth $750,000 plus bonuses. Bozak, 35, played 31 games with 5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points, and a -3 in 2020-2021. 

Bozak had his best season in 2016-2017, with the Toronto Maple Leafs. That season, Bozak played 78 games with 18 goals, 37 assists, 55 points, and -1. The assists and points were both career highs for Bozak. In 2014-2015, Bozak had a career high 23 goals. 

Bozak helped the Blues win their first ever Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2018-2019. 

Overall, Bozak had played 12 seasons in the NHL. Bozak has played 764 games with 167 goals, 282 assists, 449 points, and -84. In the playoffs, Bozak has played 56 games with 11 goals, 16 assists, 27 points, and a -7. 

The Blues did a good job keeping Bozak. who has been one of their leaders since the came to the Blues in free agency on July 1, 2018. Other teams had been interested in Bozak this offseason.

St. Louis Blues Sign Colton Parayko to Eight-Year Contract Extension

 

The St. Louis Blues have re-signed defenseman Colton Parayko to an eight-year contract extension, worth $52 million. Parayko, 28, played 32 games with 2 goals, 10  assists, 12 points, and a -2. Parayko had his best season in 2016-2017. That season, Parayko played 81 games with 4 goals, 31 assists, 35 points, and a plus 7. The assists and points were both career highs for Parayko. Parayko had a career high in goals (10) in 2018-2019. Parayko also helped the Blues win their first ever Stanley Cup in franchise history that season. 

Overall, Parayko has played 6 seasons in the NHL. Parayko has played 418 games with 41 goals, 130 assists, 171 points, and a plus 54. In the playoffs, Parayko has played 70 games with 8 goals, 19 assists, 27 points, and a plus 4.

The Blues did a great job signing Parayko to a long-term contract. When healthy, Parayko has proven to be one of the Blues best defensemen. 

Yadier Molina Signs One-Year Contract Extension

 

The St. Louis Cardinals have re-signed catcher Yadier Molina to a one-year contract worth, $10 million. Molina, 39, is currently hitting .259 with 31 runs, 88 hits, 16 doubles, 8 home runs, 51 RBI's, 3 stolen bases, and 21 walks in 2021. Next season, will be Molina's 19th season in the MLB. 

Molina had his best season in 2012. That season, Molina hit .315 with 65 runs, 159 hits, 28 doubles, 22 home runs, 76 RBI''s, 12 stolen bases, and 45 walks. The home runs and stolen bases were both career highs for Molina. In 2016, Molina had a career high 164 hits. Molina had a career high 82 RBI's in 2017. 

Molina is a 10 time All-Star: (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2021). Molina has won the Gold Glove Award 9 times: (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2018). Molina won a Silver Slugger Award in 2013. In 2018, Molina won the Roberto Clemente Award. Molina has also won the World Series 2 times: (2006, and 2011).

Overall, Molina is currently in his 18th season in the MLB. Molina has played 2,119 games with 744 runs, 2,089 hits, 397 doubles, 7 triples, 168 home runs, 983 RBI's, 69 stolen bases, 534 walks, and a .280 batting average. Molina's hits in franchise history rank 4th best. The only players who have more hits than Molina are: Stan Musial (3,630), Lou Brock (2,713), and Rogers Hornsby (2,110). Molina has the chance to pass Hornsby for 3rd all-time in hits in franchise history. 

Will Ivan Herrera make the team next season? The Cardinals are rumored to want Herrera, 21, to learn from Molina, before taking over the catching duties. There's a chance that 2022, could be Molina's final season.