The St. Louis Cardinals are currently dealing with a sticky situation regarding a key play from Tuesday night’s loss to the Atlanta Braves.
In the bottom of the seventh, Brendan Donovan delivered a pinch-hit single to right field.
However, Tyler O’Neill was thrown out at the plate by Ronald Acuna Jr.
After the game, manager Oli Marmol had some strong words for O’Neill and criticized him for a lack of hustle.
O’Neill disputed Marmol’s claims and said that he believed he was giving his full effort.
The situation has become even more of an issue, with Marmol continuing to express his disappointment with O’Neill.
On Wednesday, O’Neill broke his silence and commented on the matter, saying that he wishes the issue was handled internally.
Speaking this morning, O’Neill feels this all could’ve been resolved internally.
“These conversations definitely could have been had in-house & not gotten out on the loose like they have. Should have been handled a little differently in my opinion, but you know, who’s to say?”
—Brenden Schaeffer (@bschaeffer12) April 5, 2023
No matter which side of the issue you take, it’s clear that this is a bad situation for the Cardinals.
This early in the season, the last thing the team needs is drama between the manager and his players.
Marble clearly wasn’t pleased with what he saw from O’Neill and didn’t hesitate to say as much.
However, those comments understandably didn’t land well with O’Neill.
In contrast to Tuesday’s situation, Marmol pulled Harrison Bader for a lack of hustle during a game against the Cincinnati Reds last season.
However, it was handled internally and eventually became a non-issue.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about this situation, and O’Neill is correct in pointing out that this issue could have, and should have been handled internally by the Cardinals.
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Cardinals Manager Comments On Keeping Tyler O’Neill Out Of The Lineup
