Inside The Cardinals

Cardinal's Oli Marmol Benches Tyler O'Neill For Lack Of Hustle As Tensions Rise

It only took two series for a controversy to enter the clubhouse

Scott Neville

Cardinal's Oli Marmol Benches Tyler O'Neill For Lack Of Hustle As Tensions Rise
Cardinal's Oli Marmol Benches Tyler O'Neill For Lack Of Hustle As Tensions Rise /
In this story:

Tensions are rising in the St. Louis Cardinals' clubhouse due to an unexpected rift between manager Oliver Marmol and outfielder Tyler O'Neill.

O'Neill was gunned down at the plate by Atlanta Braves superstar right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. in the seventh inning Tuesday -- a pivotal, rally-killing play in the Cardinals' eventual 4-1 loss to the Braves. 

Marmol called the effort "unacceptable" and appears to be 100% convinced that O'Neill was not running at full speed. Now Marmol is doubling down on his comments by benching the 27-year-old. 

“There is a standard here. You meet it, you play. You don’t, you don’t,” Marmold told reporters Wednesday regarding the lineup for the series finale against the Braves according to The Athletic's Katie Woo.

O'Neill confidently denied all wrongdoing in the matter. 

“I think (Oli) was pretty blunt about it," O'Neill told Woo. "He didn't think I gave the best effort. You know, I'm out here every day grinding my ass off." 

"Those are pretty strong words from him. So that's good to know.”

While it's somewhat unclear who is in the wrong here, this could cause a legitimate issue in the clubhouse. If O'Neill came right out and admitted his mistake -- or Marmol watched the replay and rescinded his comments, the two could get past this issue swiftly. 

If neither side agrees to get on the same page, this problem could drag on. It'd be quite a shock if Marmol changed his tune. If O'Neill did give it his all, he's in a position where he either has to hold his ground and sustain the issue or admit to dogging it when he felt he gave full effort. Lose-lose. 

More MLB: Cardinals Get Unfortunate Injury News As Young Stud Is Placed On Injured List

Published
Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the St. Louis Cardinals for FanNation's "Inside The Cardinals" on Sports Illustrated. Before starting "Inside The Cardinals", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox."  After a few months as the top Major League Baseball site in the program, Neville sought expansion and pitched "Inside The Cardinals," one of the newest additions to FanNation and the Sports Illustrated Media Group. The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Cardinals" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu