St. Louis Cardinals EXTEND Manager Oli Marmol Amid Fan FURY and Uncertainty—Why Now?

Ali Marmal is here to stay and fans are divided on what to think about his new extension.

This is Lockdown Cardinals.

You are Lockdown Cardinals, your daily St. Louis Cardinals podcast, part of the Lockdown

podcast network, your team every day.

And their Cardinals fans, I'm JD Halford, a former national radio sports anchor,

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All right.

Well, in today's show, we're going to go over this weekend's games plus the Cardinals

take any concession deal that's got fans from other franchise is drooling about what

the Cardinals announced, but the biggest news of the weekend is what happened on Sunday

morning when it was announced that the Cardinals have extended manager, Ali Marmel, for a second

time.

It is a two year extension with a club option for 2029 in the press release.

I'm bloom released to statement saying that as I've gotten to know Ali, I've seen someone

who cares about this organization and knows what has made the Cardinals special over time.

And who understands that for us to get where we need to go, we must compete relentlessly

to set new standards and everything that we do.

He is invested in the progress of our young core and is unafraid to challenge himself

and to help those around him grow.

I am energized to continue working with him towards the on field success that we expect

and that our fans deserve.

Now this is the second president of baseball operations that has decided to extend Ali as

the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals John Moseilock chose to do it following that disastrous

2023 season where the Cardinals fell to 71 and 91 after losing Albert Poodle, Poodles

and the out of here, Molina to retirement.

And with only one year remaining on his deal, Mo made the decision to extend him didn't want

to set him up for failure where it was like, Hey, if you don't do good, then you might

not come back.

He didn't want that and so he extended him.

And many people questioned that move and wondered why not let him earn the extension with

a better 2024, which made sense to me too.

I was on board with that.

I was like, let him, let him win the job, let him earn it by doing better in 2024.

Now in essence, Ali did have a better 2024.

And he took a roster that suddenly had that declining Paul Goldsmith, Nolan Aranado, who

all of a sudden their production just went, plus he was given a starting rotation that

had four pictures who were 34 or older in sunny gray who had signed as a free agent,

Lance Lenn, Kyle Gibson, both of them had signed as free agents, Miles Michaelis, and

he helped guide them to win 83 and 79 finish.

Then last year during this runway season, and Mo's final run as baseball ops, the team

was trapped in what I like to call the, it was a non rebuild, yeah, it wasn't a tear

down.

They were just in this baseball purgatory season, then almost everyone knew wasn't going

to work.

They weren't going to win anything, and they fell below 500 again at 78 and 84.

So in his four seasons as the manager, Ali's record is at 325 and 323, which on paper,

nothing to write home about by any means, very disappointing for Cardinal fans.

Some wonder why, once again, why the extension is given again when he's got one year left.

That's the question I see the most from anybody online or in the comments, yeah, all of

that, like they want, why are we doing this again when he's got a year left?

You know, he's got another chance to prove that he deserves the contract instead of just

handing him one during this rebuild.

So those are the questions that people have, and I think they're fair questions, and I

don't have an exact answer for you.

But just observing the way things have played out over the last three seasons where the

Cardinals haven't been very good, but it's not all on Ali.

But it's been clear to me that the players and management, even during these rough seasons,

all like and trust Ali.

And when you're dealing with young people in general, trust is a very important thing.

Now just think back, remember when you were younger and you were in high school, maybe

you are in school right now, maybe you're young enough to be doing this right now.

And remember, you had parents, teachers, faculty, coaches that you trusted, and that you

believed in.

You thought they were great.

And how much those guys meant to you as opposed to the ones that you didn't care for so much

or didn't think had your best interest at heart or didn't know what the heck they were

doing and weren't on the same page as what you were trying to accomplish.

Totally different experience, right?

And I think that's a big part as to why this extension happened.

I think it's a big piece of it is because the players trust and believe in him.

And if you don't believe that, all you had to do was watch the press conference and see

how many of the players were there, either sitting or standing as the announcement took place.

Matt Paulie from KMOX had a picture of them all coming in and lining up and as far as

we know.

I have heard no reporting that suggests that the duets were high or Ali threatened or

required players to attend this press conference and threaten them that they'll be cut or something

like that if they didn't show up.

I have not seen that anywhere.

So that means they did it on their own accord because they like him.

He's their leader.

They believe in him.

He is because I keep using this family aspect of it all that he's kind of like the dad

of this young cardinal family that they're trying to build.

Ownership used a word today that in my opinion is imperative when it comes to rebuilding

this thing correctly.

And we're going to discuss that particular word and other things that the duets and Ali

and I had to say about this extension will get more into that coming up next.

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All right.

So trust is obviously very key to this whole thing with this Ali extension that we're talking

about his place and what is this rebuild.

And from the outside looking in, it sure seems like Ali has got a lot of trust from not

only the players who again came in in droves to to watch his press caverns, but also the

people above them ownership trust him, a high bloom trust him, high staff trust Ali.

He's been a good soldier.

Through some very tough seasons in St. Louis.

And now that they finally chose it a path to rebuild and do it the right way, they clearly

believe that still only 39 years old that Ali Marmel fits the mold of what they need their

manager to be right now.

Now is there a goal pointed out in his piece at STL today.com, which I encourage you to

check out the cardinals emphasis on player development and the farm system returns Ali to

his roots.

That's where he came from when his playing days were over in the cardinals organization.

That's what he was doing healthy with player development.

And Bloom said in the press conference talking about Ali said that, you know, Ali was involved

deeply in a lot of what we were building there with our new leadership there.

And that's because he understands how important it is for us to be one organization top to

bottom and how important what we're doing there is now Ali said at the press conference

that, you know, he's always been a confident guy, but he said that he feels like he's built

exactly for this moment in Cardinal's history.

And trust me when I say that there are plenty of naysayers who think this is a disastrous

move that might have even burned any currency that Haim Bloom has earned with them this

off season.

I've seen plenty of comments where people are like, well, all the good that Haim did is

out the window.

It's over, you know, you screwed the pooch, big guy.

I honestly, and this is my honest opinion, I don't think that it's a bad move.

If I thought it was, I would tell you, it doesn't mean I'm right, like I'm not the

be all end all of baseball knowledge, but when we say in Haim we trust, which is something

we've been saying on the show, at least I've been saying on the show for a while now,

you got to trust them in all the aspects, you know, he's never been shy about making

any sort of deals during this off season and his first few months of being in charge.

And he's doing whatever he thinks fits what the Cardinal's long-term goal is.

That's what it's all about, the long-term vision.

And if he didn't think the relationship with Ali was good or that Ali didn't belong

or he didn't fit what these players needed, being the ages that they are and what they

need from a manager right now, I don't think he would have hesitated to let him finish

what this current deal was, which was supposed to be one more year here in 2026, and then

go search for someone else.

I mean, he's got a yacht of your Malena right there in his back pocket.

But his owner, Bill DeWitt Jr. said in the press conference, they wanted to make sure

that everyone knew that Ali is their guy-long term, that they are excited to have continuity.

Continuity, that's the key word that I want to bring up to you and highlight here,

because with all of the turnover that has happened in taking place this off-season with the roster

and even in management, the one thing that will now have continuity is the people that are in

charge moving forward.

You know, the DeWitts aren't selling, they've been here, they're not going anywhere.

You can put sell the team in the comments if you want to, they're not going to.

I am blue clearly, not going anywhere, just got in the door and has taken full charge

of what this rebuild is going to be.

And now they've got the dude they trust at the managerial level locked in as well.

And I think it makes perfect sense that the guy that the current players know, respect,

and trust, I think it makes sense to give him an opportunity to see this rebuild through.

One of the things that we talk about with Heinblum getting kind of the short end of the stick

when he was with Boston was that, you know, he rebuilds this farm system and makes all

these trades.

You know, everybody points at the Mookie Betts thing, which he was forced to do.

But he does all of this and turns this all over, gets him going in the right direction

and then gets fired.

So he never got to see it through.

And I feel kind of the same way for Ali here, you know, he's gone through the crappy seasons.

And now they're moving in the in the direction that many of us agree with.

And you kind of want to give him a chance to see it through.

So you've got this season coming up in 2026.

Hopefully we get a 2027 season lockout pending obviously.

And then 2028 is the final year to put the cartels back on the map.

Now, if things change after that, you move on.

It's over.

If things are going well, then you trigger that club option in 2029 and you keep things going

in the right direction.

Ali gets to see what he can do to help mold these young players.

You give him an opportunity to be a part of all of this and see what it can do.

Turn them into winners as the goal and help rebuild this organization properly.

And turn it into the powerhouse that most of us grew up knowing and loving.

And hopefully it will be again one day soon.

I mean, what kind of message would it send to your players and your organization

to have him finish out this season, which many believe is not going to go very well record wise.

And then move on to another voice that has an earned the trust of the team.

Has it been around when things weren't so good during during the dock times during the empire?

Now, yes, our words, but you know what I mean?

Like, what kind of message does that send?

So that's just, you know, me thinking through the why this extension happened, okay?

You don't have to agree with me.

I'm just pointing out some things that kind of stood out to me talking about the press conference.

Now, some people are just not going to like Ali no matter what.

And that's their prerogative Bobby Brown said so, sure prerogative.

And my belief is that all these people that aren't happy with Ali, not only being the manager

before this extension happened, but now even worse because of the extension.

I, to me, it just seems like all they really care about is winning.

And outside of 2022, Ali hasn't won that much.

Certainly not enough for what we're used to as Cardinals fans.

And that's a fact.

Now, I tend to blame the front office for things going sour the way they have at the major league level,

at the minor league level in the farm system altogether.

But when all you look at is records and standings, which is what a lot of baseball fans do.

They don't dig deep into all this stuff like that.

Everybody's super nerds like us when it comes to baseball.

But when you go and just look at standings and records,

it appears that Ali is a failure.

Cancel 2022 that first year.

You take that away and it doesn't look so good for Ali, right?

So I understand the thinking I really do.

And it's okay to feel that way.

There's plenty of reactions online about this here.

We'll read a couple real quick about this.

Unserious franchise like wow.

Cardinals used to be the gold standard of well-run clubs.

What the hell happened?

Lifelong fan and supporter here feel strongly to me that the Cardinals are now locked in on mediocrity.

Same ownership group who let Muthini and Jackety go,

because the Cardinals expected excellence are now dismissing winners like Yachty.

Sorry to say, never been more disinterested in the Redbirds.

Now, I don't know if that person is informed that Yachty is still with the organization.

He's a special assistant to Heimbloom.

We're going to see Yachty in uniform again here in 2026.

Under Ali, which is something that he has constantly supported and said that,

you know, not only has Ali wanted Yachty around,

but Yachty fully supports everything that Ali's doing, all right?

He's got Yachty's CO approval.

Here's another one.

The owner clearly doesn't care what the fans think.

Sucks, we can't fire our owner.

More mediocrity.

This is pathetic.

What happened to the Cardinal Way?

It goes on and on and on like this.

And there are some people who are saying positive things and supporting the extension.

I ran a poll, which is still up, by the way, on X.

If you follow us at LO underscore Cardinals that, you know, good or bad with the Ali extension.

What is it in your opinion?

And last I looked at it, it was like 67% said it was a good thing.

So a lot of fans get it, but not everybody is thrilled with the idea that Ali's coming back.

And Ali's going to get a chance to prove these people right or prove them wrong.

He's going to get an opportunity.

I don't know what most people think would be considered a successful record for this team in

2026. I mean, you see the projections.

You know, there's a lot of people out there that think they're going to be like a 60-something

win type of team.

I still don't think it's going to be that bad as long as they maintain their health for the most part.

But I would think that, you know, if they had the better record than the team last year,

and are at like 500, would that be enough for the upset Ali haters to feel like this progress?

I don't know, maybe.

But if they do fall to 70 or less wins, these fans are going to go ballistic.

They're going to lose their minds.

And he's going to continue to get the blame along with time.

He's going to turn into another person that people are upset with.

And of course, the two wins, who people are upset with already.

I think that we all, as a collective, want the Cardinals to win.

And back to back losing seasons, which is completely in play for the first time in a while,

it could happen the anger, if it does, the anger is going to continue to build and seats

will continue to remain open at Bush Stadium.

Sadly, because it's rough to watch.

But the vision that ownership, management, Ali, that they're all trying to sell is that

doing it this way is going to lead to greener pastors in 2027 and more specifically 2028.

When Ali will still be here and will have a team who is in a winning window, instead of this season,

like this year, where they're just putting together the framework of that winning window.

Like, Hyam has never mixed his messages by any means, like he's saying, look, long-term,

long-term, we're not taking shortcuts, and it's going to take a little time.

So please be with us, but we're still going to try to win.

We're still going to try to put out exciting and good baseball.

We'll see if it happens or not.

But agree or disagree on this extension with Ali.

Unleash your fury in the comments section, whether it's good or bad.

I want to hear from you guys, and I want to talk more about your comments and your thoughts

on this in an upcoming episode.

So we're going to hit on the games over the weekend.

We've got to talk about this.

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All right, let's talk about on the field baseball.

Cardinals lose on Friday and Sunday.

They went on Saturday, Friday.

They got walloped by the New Yorkamettes.

The pot and scum got them 14 to 3,

although we did have one exciting moment in that game.

JJ Weatherholz smashed his first home run of the spring

on the very first pitch that he saw from Dan Williams,

who I believe was making his Met's debut in the spring.

And it was the first pitch he threw all spring.

That made it a two to one ball game.

Met's were up two to one at the time.

It was a bomb.

422 off the batter's eye in center field.

No cheapy by any means.

But was a rough day for the pitching staff.

Justin Brull, our left hander that they got

from the Cleveland organization, did not have a good day.

Team Kent's prospect, did not have a good day.

Neither did Skylar Hales, who's a prospect.

Each of them gave up three earned runs in the loss.

Quinn Matthews got the start.

He was wild early, which continues to be a problem.

But he did strike out three to go along with two walks.

He also hit a guy.

He encorked a wild pitch and picked off one set of

at second base and what was a two very eventful

innings of work.

So Saturday it was the Cardinals

going out the punishment with a 10-2 win

over Yuri Perez and the Marlins.

J.J. Weatherhold, once again, big game, two to two.

He had three RBIs, which was awesome to see.

Also had a walk.

He continues to have a fantastic eye at the plate,

which led the barrage that included 18 hits in this one.

Says our Prieto hit a home run.

J.J., Mason-Win, Jordan Walker, Prieto, and Jimmy Crooks.

Each had multi-hit efforts in that particular game.

The team went seven for 14 with runners in scoring position.

How do we bottle that up and keep it for the regular season?

God, it would do it.

Also got a couple of soulmases from Victor Scott and Mason-Win.

So a lot of fun offensively on Saturday.

Michael McGreeby got the start.

A lot of one run over two and a third innings.

The only other Marlins run came against Matt Fonson.

But it's also some good work for the bullpen.

Ryan Stanley made his debut.

He looked great.

He struck out a couple packing.

Jordan continues to impress.

Gordon Gwersepho also threw a shot out of ending in the win.

And then on Sunday, the offense went back in the hydration,

went back to sleep.

They got one hit.

One hit.

All we got was one GD hit.

As Harry Doyle would say from the fantastic movie, Major League.

Ball to the Pirates on Sunday by a score of six to one.

Kyle Leahy had a forgetful day.

Rough start for him was tagged for a two run home run by Pirates 19-year-old

phenom, Connor Griffin, who by the way, I tweeted this out or X this out.

I don't know what the hell you call it anymore.

But he looks remarkably like Jack Flairity did when he was younger.

Go look at the photos.

They could be brothers.

They could be brothers.

It's uncanny.

But Leahy did not look good.

He had a lot of four runs on the four hits.

He walked three in just two and two thirds,

ending so not ideal by any means.

We do not need to freak out yet about Kyle Leahy.

And again, this is competition.

We still haven't seen 100 Dobbins yet.

So this is still competition for who's going to make the rotation.

You know, so somebody is going to have to go back to the bullpen.

It's going to happen.

Speaking of the pen, JoJo Romero gave up a solo home run

in his one inning of work.

Rating Cardinal's minor league pitcher of the year,

Bryce and Mott's allowed one run on one hit.

Walk three, but also struck out three.

It is two thirds innings of work.

Yvonne Herrera got to be behind the plate for the first time this spring.

So that was good to see that the the health is progressing.

The rehab, but still looking for his first hit of the spring.

It was over the loan hit for the Cardinals in this one.

Came off the bat of Joel Pozo in 333 this spring.

If you're looking for a bench bat, you know, Pozo.

Maybe he's going to want a job.

And lastly, and I want to bring this up because so many people have been

texting me about this.

My wife brought it up.

I've got other hosts from a ton of teams bringing it up to me.

The Cardinals have created a ticket deal and it's

it's getting a lot of a lot of attention.

And it's called the Coca, it's called Coca Cola Unlimited.

Now it says this is the read about it with games starting at just $29.

You're taking the big back land, which is in sections 271-272.

I've never been up there, which is shame on me.

It includes unlimited access to classic ballpark favorites and ice cold Coca

Cola products all game long.

No tabs, no transactions, just baseball and bottomless fights.

Your choices include ice cold fountain Coca Cola products, hot dogs,

chicken tenders, bratwurst, nacho chips and cheese, french fries, popcorn,

peanuts, kettle chips and ice cream cups.

And what I gather from this is that you select up to three items per

visit. So every time you go to the concession,

you get to pick three of these.

And you get to return as often as you want to.

Like, whoa, really?

And again, starting at $29 doesn't mean every time it's going to be

$29, particularly as far as I can tell.

But most of my friends point out that there's no beer or liquor

involved on the menu, which upset them greatly.

They feel that they'll need at least some sort of buzz to sit through

what they will call for Nolan Gorman strikeouts and bad baseball

that they are anticipating.

And we'll witness here in 2026.

Still, not a bad deal, right?

You get a nice summer night out of the ballpark.

That one of those balmy nights, that would be awful.

But you get a nice night, get you a ticket and then just shout out.

I don't know how many seats are in Big Macland.

Again, I've never been up there, but I suspect at least

those two sections are going to be busier this season than we saw last year.

But let me know your thoughts on this deal.

Is it enough to get you back to the ballpark for a game or two?

Or are you like my friends who aren't impressed due to the lack of beer on the menu

and the talent on the field and still are like, nah, I'm not going.

So let me know.

Cardinals face the Marlins on Monday, Andre Palante, your scheduled

starter first pitch, 205 St. Louis time from Jupiter.

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