So would extension for Oli go something like this

[ramfandan]

Bloom is on record that he is not a big fan of a 'lame duck' coaching situation. (Oli entering his final year ) Many teams in other sports often cite they don't favor 'lame duck' situation either.

So if Bloom extends Marmol say the last week of Spring Training before they break camp for the regular season , would Bloom have a morning meeting in the clubhouse that may be this :

Bloom: Good morning , guys ! Before you take the field for your game today , I have a major announcement and wanted you to be the first to know before it hits the media and your cellphones get beeped incessantly .
Oli Marmol will no longer be a 'lame duck' manager for 2026 . We have extended his contract past 2026. So for the lame duck title, please drop the 'duck' part , he is now just a 'lame' manager for you guys moving forward . Clubhouse players howl ! Bloom to Oli : 'You have anything to say ? Oli" Yes, thanks a ton for that !

I don’t understand why he is not willing to live with a lame duck.

I get it for a college coach that is always in the the recruiting mode.

I get it in the political arena as the other side waits out the term limit.

But for a professional coach why not have a lame duck? What is the harm to the team or organization?

I have heard stories from past NFL years that head coaches on so so teams lose the respect of their top guy as they think , we are .500 and going nowhere. The guy telling us to do this and that from now til the end of the year will be long gone after the last game. No way I am going to bust my butt for him... He is a goner !

[ramfandan]

Bloom is on record that he is not a big fan of a 'lame duck' coaching situation. (Oli entering his final year ) Many teams in other sports often cite they don't favor 'lame duck' situation either.

So if Bloom extends Marmol say the last week of Spring Training before they break camp for the regular season , would Bloom have a morning meeting in the clubhouse that may be this :

Bloom: Good morning , guys ! Before you take the field for your game today , I have a major announcement and wanted you to be the first to know before it hits the media and your cellphones get beeped incessantly .
Oli Marmol will no longer be a 'lame duck' manager for 2026 . We have extended his contract past 2026. So for the lame duck title, please drop the 'duck' part , he is now just a 'lame' manager for you guys moving forward . Clubhouse players howl ! Bloom to Oli : 'You have anything to say ? Oli" Yes, thanks a ton for that !

The only extension The Marmot should be given is to clean out his offices by the end of the day.

That is the opinion of many in the fanbase but according to ownership as well as positive comments from Bloom, he seems to want to have Oli continue in this rebuild process. So the most likely scenario is that Marmol will be given an extension like it or not .
Marmol let it be known that the two did have preliminary discussion with Bloom on extenstion . At Winter Warm Up , he passed the buck to Bloom on further comments . My guess is that Bloom's prioritiy short term is to do the Donovan deal or keep him (get that decided in next couple weeks ). Then during ST and roster pretty much set, Bloom may resume the extension discussions. If he is extending, I believe he (Bloom) would do so prior to the first game of the regular season , if possible. Of course, no deadline. What will be interesting is to hear Bloom's reasons for extending Oli .
If he does, two year extension would seem his option. Keep Oli thru 2028 .. this year, the lockout year, and then one more. Just IMO IF Bloom displeased after 2027, he could also release Oli then (paying him off the remaining one year. )

[CorneliusWolfe]

Bloom is on record that he is not a big fan of a 'lame duck' coaching situation. (Oli entering his final year ) Many teams in other sports often cite they don't favor 'lame duck' situation either.

So if Bloom extends Marmol say the last week of Spring Training before they break camp for the regular season , would Bloom have a morning meeting in the clubhouse that may be this :

Bloom: Good morning , guys ! Before you take the field for your game today , I have a major announcement and wanted you to be the first to know before it hits the media and your cellphones get beeped incessantly .
Oli Marmol will no longer be a 'lame duck' manager for 2026 . We have extended his contract past 2026. So for the lame duck title, please drop the 'duck' part , he is now just a 'lame' manager for you guys moving forward . Clubhouse players howl ! Bloom to Oli : 'You have anything to say ? Oli" Yes, thanks a ton for that !

We’re adjusting every other strategy due to the rebuild and looming CBA…no free agents, salary dumps, no long term commitments, open competition at pretty much all positions. Why can’t the same approach be applied to the manager position?

[ramfandan]

Bloom is on record that he is not a big fan of a 'lame duck' coaching situation. (Oli entering his final year ) Many teams in other sports often cite they don't favor 'lame duck' situation either.

So if Bloom extends Marmol say the last week of Spring Training before they break camp for the regular season , would Bloom have a morning meeting in the clubhouse that may be this :

Bloom: Good morning , guys ! Before you take the field for your game today , I have a major announcement and wanted you to be the first to know before it hits the media and your cellphones get beeped incessantly .
Oli Marmol will no longer be a 'lame duck' manager for 2026 . We have extended his contract past 2026. So for the lame duck title, please drop the 'duck' part , he is now just a 'lame' manager for you guys moving forward . Clubhouse players howl ! Bloom to Oli : 'You have anything to say ? Oli" Yes, thanks a ton for that !

We’re adjusting every other strategy due to the rebuild and looming CBA…no free agents, salary dumps, no long term commitments, open competition at pretty much all positions. Why can’t the same approach be applied to the manager position?

I am not defending Marmol but to answer your question I have heard/read that Marmol is seen as a guy who relates to young players and positive in their development. That's how he rose in the ranks thru Cardinals minor league system. Seems that Bloom in this rebuild sees that as a plus .
While you and I may not agree on that , it seems that Bloom and DeWitts view Marmol as very good support manager for young players. His overall communication skills in the clubhouse. That's the vibe I have gotten listening to Bloom talk about Marmol .

[12xu]

Why is this organization so worried about oli marmol managing in the last year of a contract? If he is that fragile, move on to a new manager. This guy needs to earn his next extension. Having a .500 career record doesn't scream "We must keep this guy!"

Well, the roster sucks. Name a Manager who makes the playoffs with any of the last three teams?

More than half.

Less than one. Managers matter little over the course of the regular season. If anything, the Cardinals have outperformed their numbers the past two years.

The team has a trend of being in control of a w/c spot in July and completely falling apart when meaningful games begin on the first of August.
That is a complete indictment of The Marmot and reveals his utter incompetence.

This trend was also achieved due to the failure of John Mozeliak and Bill DeWitt to make moves at the deadline to improve the teams' chances of success.

The Cardinals had EXACTLY the same position players in Aug/Sept as they did in Apr-July.
Zero downgrade to the lineup.
And yet performed worse.
On the pitching side, they traded Fedde and replaced him with McGreevy - which IMPROVED the rotation.
It is true they traded Maton, Matz, and Helsley from the bullpen - but it is also true that O' Brien, Svanson, Leahy, and Romero had their roles expanded and easily out-performed the group that was traded.
The team had as much, or more, talent after the summer deadline last season as it did before.
on July 1, the team was 47-40, 7 games over .500, owned the 6th best record in the NL, were just 4 games off the division lead, and firmly in control of a W/C.
By August 1, they had a losing record were 11 games out in the division and were 6.5 games back from the last W/C spot.
From there, they continued to badly fade.
Utterly incompetent performance by The Marmot - again.

Yes, I agree that Marmol is not a good manager. Show me where I stated that he is.

[CorneliusWolfe]

Bloom is on record that he is not a big fan of a 'lame duck' coaching situation. (Oli entering his final year ) Many teams in other sports often cite they don't favor 'lame duck' situation either.

So if Bloom extends Marmol say the last week of Spring Training before they break camp for the regular season , would Bloom have a morning meeting in the clubhouse that may be this :

Bloom: Good morning , guys ! Before you take the field for your game today , I have a major announcement and wanted you to be the first to know before it hits the media and your cellphones get beeped incessantly .
Oli Marmol will no longer be a 'lame duck' manager for 2026 . We have extended his contract past 2026. So for the lame duck title, please drop the 'duck' part , he is now just a 'lame' manager for you guys moving forward . Clubhouse players howl ! Bloom to Oli : 'You have anything to say ? Oli" Yes, thanks a ton for that !

We’re adjusting every other strategy due to the rebuild and looming CBA…no free agents, salary dumps, no long term commitments, open competition at pretty much all positions. Why can’t the same approach be applied to the manager position?

I am not defending Marmol but to answer your question I have heard/read that Marmol is seen as a guy who relates to young players and positive in their development. That's how he rose in the ranks thru Cardinals minor league system. Seems that Bloom in this rebuild sees that as a plus .
While you and I may not agree on that , it seems that Bloom and DeWitts view Marmol as very good support manager for young players. His overall communication skills in the clubhouse. That's the vibe I have gotten listening to Bloom talk about Marmol .

His reputation for working with the young guys and the fact that he hasn’t had much to work with, are valid reasons to get a little more time, but an extension seems premature, lame duck or not.

While I don’t expect him to turn in a winning season this year, I’d like to see him live up to his reputation and see some actual progress.

So far, I’ve only really seen Burleson take any meaningful steps under his guidance. Maybe Liberatore to some degree, but neither can even be considered core at this point.

Donovan has excelled but he was good from day 1. Romero has done pretty well but was developed outside the org.

Still waiting to see the Marmol developmental
magic and it’s time we see some shape of a young core emerge (and not just JJW). As it stands now, there isn’t one must-keep young player on the roster and Marmol should be held accountable if that doesn’t change some this year, as opposed to prematurely rewarded.

[ramfandan]

Why is this organization so worried about oli marmol managing in the last year of a contract? If he is that fragile, move on to a new manager. This guy needs to earn his next extension. Having a .500 career record doesn't scream "We must keep this guy!"

Well, the roster sucks. Name a Manager who makes the playoffs with any of the last three teams?

More than half.

Less than one. Managers matter little over the course of the regular season. If anything, the Cardinals have outperformed their numbers the past two years.

The team has a trend of being in control of a w/c spot in July and completely falling apart when meaningful games begin on the first of August.
That is a complete indictment of The Marmot and reveals his utter incompetence.

This trend was also achieved due to the failure of John Mozeliak and Bill DeWitt to make moves at the deadline to improve the teams' chances of success.

The Cardinals had EXACTLY the same position players in Aug/Sept as they did in Apr-July.
Zero downgrade to the lineup.
And yet performed worse.
On the pitching side, they traded Fedde and replaced him with McGreevy - which IMPROVED the rotation.
It is true they traded Maton, Matz, and Helsley from the bullpen - but it is also true that O' Brien, Svanson, Leahy, and Romero had their roles expanded and easily out-performed the group that was traded.
The team had as much, or more, talent after the summer deadline last season as it did before.
on July 1, the team was 47-40, 7 games over .500, owned the 6th best record in the NL, were just 4 games off the division lead, and firmly in control of a W/C.
By August 1, they had a losing record were 11 games out in the division and were 6.5 games back from the last W/C spot.
From there, they continued to badly fade.
Utterly incompetent performance by The Marmot - again.

Yes, I agree that Marmol is not a good manager. Show me where I stated that he is.

Was no surprise to me , the team performed worse. Did you forget that our best all around player Donovan was OUT of the lineup , that Masyn Winn had a troublesome knee that to his credit gutted it out but affected his hitting greatly , and add to that Arenado, shoulder injury, the best defender at 3rd was out too. The team had 3 of the 4 starting infielders wither out with injury or banged up big time.

Reserves like Saggese , Fermin, etc were often in the starting lineup . Of course a team will struggle .

[JuanAgosto]

Why is this organization so worried about oli marmol managing in the last year of a contract? If he is that fragile, move on to a new manager. This guy needs to earn his next extension. Having a .500 career record doesn't scream "We must keep this guy!"

Well, the roster sucks. Name a Manager who makes the playoffs with any of the last three teams?

Im not saying he should've been playoff bound. But finishing 20 games under .500 over the last 3 years is pitiful.

[12xu]

Why is this organization so worried about oli marmol managing in the last year of a contract? If he is that fragile, move on to a new manager. This guy needs to earn his next extension. Having a .500 career record doesn't scream "We must keep this guy!"

Well, the roster sucks. Name a Manager who makes the playoffs with any of the last three teams?

More than half.

Less than one. Managers matter little over the course of the regular season. If anything, the Cardinals have outperformed their numbers the past two years.

The team has a trend of being in control of a w/c spot in July and completely falling apart when meaningful games begin on the first of August.
That is a complete indictment of The Marmot and reveals his utter incompetence.

This trend was also achieved due to the failure of John Mozeliak and Bill DeWitt to make moves at the deadline to improve the teams' chances of success.

The Cardinals had EXACTLY the same position players in Aug/Sept as they did in Apr-July.
Zero downgrade to the lineup.
And yet performed worse.
On the pitching side, they traded Fedde and replaced him with McGreevy - which IMPROVED the rotation.
It is true they traded Maton, Matz, and Helsley from the bullpen - but it is also true that O' Brien, Svanson, Leahy, and Romero had their roles expanded and easily out-performed the group that was traded.
The team had as much, or more, talent after the summer deadline last season as it did before.
on July 1, the team was 47-40, 7 games over .500, owned the 6th best record in the NL, were just 4 games off the division lead, and firmly in control of a W/C.
By August 1, they had a losing record were 11 games out in the division and were 6.5 games back from the last W/C spot.
From there, they continued to badly fade.
Utterly incompetent performance by The Marmot - again.

Yes, I agree that Marmol is not a good manager. Show me where I stated that he is.

Was no surprise to me , the team performed worse. Did you forget that our best all around player Donovan was OUT of the lineup , that Masyn Winn had a troublesome knee that to his credit gutted it out but affected his hitting greatly , and add to that Arenado, shoulder injury, the best defender at 3rd was out too. The team had 3 of the 4 starting infielders wither out with injury or banged up big time.

Reserves like Saggese , Fermin, etc were often in the starting lineup . Of course a team will struggle .

My OP was not referring only to the 2025 season.

[woofy25]

Why is this organization so worried about oli marmol managing in the last year of a contract? If he is that fragile, move on to a new manager. This guy needs to earn his next extension. Having a .500 career record doesn't scream "We must keep this guy!"

Well, the roster sucks. Name a Manager who makes the playoffs with any of the last three teams?

More than half.

Less than one. Managers matter little over the course of the regular season. If anything, the Cardinals have outperformed their numbers the past two years.

The team has a trend of being in control of a w/c spot in July and completely falling apart when meaningful games begin on the first of August.
That is a complete indictment of The Marmot and reveals his utter incompetence.

Your framing is completely misleading. In 2024, yes they were in a WC spot in July but were barely over .500. They finished Jul-Sept at 40-39, including a 15-11 Sept, so no, they did not fall apart. In 2023, they were terrible all season. Last year's second half was bad. Everybody knows they were overachieving in the first half and the floor was going to open at any moment....and it did. The rosters have sucked, and the Cardinals would be no better with nearly every manager in the game. One year does not make a trend.

[woofy25]

Why is this organization so worried about oli marmol managing in the last year of a contract? If he is that fragile, move on to a new manager. This guy needs to earn his next extension. Having a .500 career record doesn't scream "We must keep this guy!"

Well, the roster sucks. Name a Manager who makes the playoffs with any of the last three teams?

Im not saying he should've been playoff bound. But finishing 20 games under .500 over the last 3 years is pitiful.

Well true, but those 20 games are basically from one of the three seasons. And that one season saw Mikolas (4.78), Wainwright (7.20), Liberatore (5.25), Hudson (4.98), Woodford (6.20) and Drew Rom (8.20) make 94 starts with their Closer, Helsely missing half the season. Flaherty made 20 starts with a 4.43, which I guess works for a 4 or 5. I'm not saying Oli is THE guy or something. I'm saying the W/L record is >95% based on the roster.

[11WSChamps]

Bloom is on record that he is not a big fan of a 'lame duck' coaching situation. (Oli entering his final year ) Many teams in other sports often cite they don't favor 'lame duck' situation either.

So if Bloom extends Marmol say the last week of Spring Training before they break camp for the regular season , would Bloom have a morning meeting in the clubhouse that may be this :

Bloom: Good morning , guys ! Before you take the field for your game today , I have a major announcement and wanted you to be the first to know before it hits the media and your cellphones get beeped incessantly .
Oli Marmol will no longer be a 'lame duck' manager for 2026 . We have extended his contract past 2026. So for the lame duck title, please drop the 'duck' part , he is now just a 'lame' manager for you guys moving forward . Clubhouse players howl ! Bloom to Oli : 'You have anything to say ? Oli" Yes, thanks a ton for that !

I don’t understand why he is not willing to live with a lame duck.

I get it for a college coach that is always in the the recruiting mode.

I get it in the political arena as the other side waits out the term limit.

But for a professional coach why not have a lame duck? What is the harm to the team or organization?

Traditionally it shows the players there isn't much faith in the manager by the team which could easily be a distraction to the manager and funnel down to the players.

[Goldfan]

Oli
Extension

2 words that should never be used in the same sentence, paragraph, thought

[82birds]

No extension. Bloom should keep him around on one year contracts until the Cardinals are a legitimate playoff bound team. Once the roster has achieved that status, a better manager should be signed and Marmol either fired or demoted to a position in the minors (if he would accept that). The cubs used this method when they fired Rick Renteria and hired Joe Maddon prior to the 2015 season. They did this again prior to the '24 season when they fired David Ross and hired Craig Counsell. One may consider these kind of moves to be rather cruel, but when the desire to win is first and foremost, hurt feelings are not the prime concern.

that's the thing.....