The St. Louis Cardinals have dropped the first two games of their series against the Atlanta Braves this week, which would not normally be reason to comment, other than perhaps to tweet out some intentionally stupid lulz:
Instead, I’m here to comment on the outbreak of a beef between Cardinals manager Oli Marmol and outfielder Tyler O’Neill, after a perception that O’Neill was loafing on a late-game play last night as the Cardinals tried to rally:
It does look a bit like O’Neill pulled up, thinking that the throw was not going to be coming home, or that Ronald Acuña Jr. wasn’t going to put that much sauce on it. Thus, O’Neill was out by a mile, and his manager was TICKED after the game:
“We’ve got a lot of guys playing really hard and that’s not our style of play as far as the effort rounding the bag there,” said Marmol after the 4-1 loss. “It’s unacceptable.”
Asked if Marmol thought O’Neill was expecting to be held at third because of the wet grass and the score: “Bottom line, that’s not his judgment and that’s why we have a coach standing over there. Your effort’s 100 percent until you’re told not to [run].”
It sounds like O’Neill didn’t see it the same way, and when you hear his explanation, it seems kinda crappy that his manager was calling him out publicly.
“I think [Marmol] was pretty blunt about it and he didn’t think I gave the best effort,” said O’Neill. “I’m out here every day grinding my [expletive] off and giving it my all and trying to stay on the field for [162] games. Like I’ve said, I’ve got to get a better jump next time and get around the base a little quicker and be in there [safe] next time.”
“I was trying to take a tight turn,” O’Neill, who missed time with multiple hamstring injuries last year, added. “I’ve been working a lot on different run-form mechanics and stuff here in St. Louis that puts me in a better position for longevity. So, maybe there was a little too much thought process in the play from me instead of just going and getting them — as I usually would. So, it’s finding that happy medium and learning from the experience, for sure.”
Kinda reasonable. But no matter, because it sounds like O’Neill is sitting down today because of it:
FEED ME ALL THAT CARDINAL DRAMA. And beat them again today, Braves.