MLB Insider Shares High Praise Of Cardinals' Oli Marmol

The St. Louis Cardinals came into the season with low expectations surrounding the team.

After buying last season, they flopped and fell short of a postseason appearance. Manager Oli Marmol was on the hot seat for St. Louis and not many expected him to remain with the team past the trade deadline.

But Marmol and the Cardinals have been good this season, largely outperforming all expectations for the team. They're in the middle of a postseason race right now, with the team even closing in on the Chicago Cubs in the National League Central.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale recently shared some high praise of Marmol, even indicating the once hated manager should be the runaway winner of the National League Manager of the Year award.

" If the National League Manager of the Year vote was conducted today, Oli Marmol of the St. Louis Cardinals should be the runaway winner," Nightengale wrote. "If the Cardinals were supposed to step back and rebuild this year, letting the Cubs run away from the pack in the NL Central, someone forgot to tell Marmol, who has his team squarely in playoff contention with a 45-38 record."

Marmol deserves all the praise he's going to get this season. The criticism has been harsh and loud for the Cardinals manager over the last few seasons, so the praise in the coming months should be even louder.

The Cardinals might fall short of the postseason, but that shouldn't deter anybody from Marmol or his future as the team's manager. He has a ball club that was expected to lose 90 games competing for a postseason race in the loaded NL. It's very impressive.