Cardinals are Full of Shildt

Cardinals interim manager Mike Shildt received praise from owner Bill Dewitt on Friday:

“Hard to imagine he could do any better than he’s done so far,” DeWitt said after watching the Cardinals take batting practice before Friday’s game against the Brewers. “He’s done everything that we could possibly have asked for. I think he communicates well with his staff. He communicates well with his players. He has a good baseball mind strategically. It’s hard to criticize what he’s done.”

The Cardinals are 20-10 since Shildt took over, and with a win today over the Brewers would be in the second wild card slot. What improved? It’s basically the offense getting more hits. They posted a .245/.315/.399 slash line under Mike Matheny, .272/.350/.448 under Shildt. Matheny had Paul DeJong out for a period of time, and Harrison Bader was used mostly off the bench. Shildt plays those three more, and Jose Martnez is hitting for more power. Carpenter was hitting great for Matheny, and he’s been off the charts for Shildt.

While the pitching overall is not that different, the bullpen has improved. They allowed about the same OBP under both managers, but allow fewer hits and less power. Maybe that’s putting pitchers in better situations. Whatever Shildt is doing, it’s working. If it works for last quarter of the season as well. the Cardinals should reward him with a contract for next year.

from baseballmusings.com https://ift.tt/2vVTbWV