Getty Images St. Louis Cardinals Manager Oliver Marmol
The St. Louis Cardinals have started off the 2024 season almost the same way they ended 2023 — in last place in the NL Central — thanks to a woeful lack of offense.
But manager Oliver Marmol sounded optimistic about his team on May 5 after the Cardinals (15-19) lost two out of three at home to the Chicago White Sox (8-26).
“We’ve had months like this before, where it doesn’t look very good and then we come out of it,” Marmol told reporters after the game. “We need to come out of it. A day like today, a series like this one — you’ve got to figure out a way to take this series. We didn’t. We didn’t even give ourselves opportunities today.”
Marmol has cause for concern. Through May 5, his squad is ranked 28th in the majors in hitting with an overall .214 batting average. They’ve also hit just 23 home runs (tied for last place with the White Sox) and stolen 15 bases (tied for third lowest). Now sitting at 15-19, the Cards are again in the Central cellar, leaving their leader searching for answers.
The Cardinals are off to their worst 34-game start in franchise history, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Cardinals offense didn’t give them a chance as they got “kicked in the face” by White Sox
Oliver Marmol Says Cards Coaches Are ‘Working at It’
Asked about making potential changes to his coaching staff, Marmol gave his coaches a vote of confidence, singling out hitting coach Turner Ward, assistant hitting coach Brandon Allen and game planning coach Packy Elkins.
“I like the voices we have,” Marmol said. “I can’t speak higher of Turner, BA, and Packy and what they do in that department. No one is getting a whole lot of sleep right now, I’ll tell you that. They’re working at it. They’re trying to make sure they’re not missing anything. The communication with the players is really good. It sucks. Bottom line. It just does.
“Yes, we continue to look at everything possible to make sure we get out of this,” he said. “But these are the players we’re going to win with, and we need to get them going.”
The Post-Dispatch’s Lynn Worthy noted the Cardinals will have to turn around the season with the current roster because there’s “not a savior in the minor leagues knocking at the door with the ability to transform the entire offense.”
Cardinals & Their Fans Are Getting Frustrated
Veteran third baseman Nolan Arenado called out the team after the series loss to the White Sox, noting what MLB.com’s John Denton called “rising frustration” in a tweet.
“It’s high and it should be high. Guys shouldn’t be OK with what’s going on,” Arenado said, according to Denton. “I know we have a lot of games left, but that’s an ongoing excuse and we can’t continue to use that. We know that there’s a better feeling there, and we have to continue to push. I don’t know what else to say.”
Arenado, an eight-time All-Star is leading the team with .287 average and 19 RBIs, but with only 2 home runs, he is well off his pace of 34 home runs over a 162-game season.
The Post-Dispatch’s Benjamin Hochman wrote that patience in St. Louis is wearing thin.
“Patience is a virtue, but in St. Louis, it’s vulgarity. And online, it’s virtual vitriol,” Hochman wrote in his May 6 column. “But for now, all we can do is be … um … you know.”
Three home games against the woebegone White Sox … Cardinals hit totals: 6, 5 and 4. I wrote a column about hitting coach Turner Ward earlier this week. Here’s today’s column about the trigger word “patience” regarding the #STLCards offense:
