Cardinals manager blasts Tyler O'Neill for lack of hustle, demotes CF to bench: "You don’t meet it, you don’t play”

The St. Louis Cardinals are sending Tyler O'Neill to the bench. Oliver Marmol announced that the star outfielder would not be playing after he failed to hustle home on what ended up being an outfield assist for Ronald Acuna Jr.

He told Cardinals reporter John Denton:

“There's a standard and it's here (hand raised high). You meet it, you play; you don't meet it, you don't play.”

Per Marmol, O'Neill didn't meet the standard on this play where he appeared to casually run around third and did not score as a result.

He did not say whether or not O'Neill would return to the lineup on Friday, simply stating that Dylan Carlson was starting now.

Marmol also told Denton:

“There's going to be a style of play we are known for & it's going to involve effort & it's gonna involve being relentless. It's going to involve being smart & we're going to keep guys to that, because that's how you sustain being good for a long time.”

O'Neill refuted the idea that he wasn't running hard:

“He didn’t think I gave the best effort. I’m out here every day grinding my ass off, giving it my all and trying to stay on the field for 160 games out here. Like I said, I just got to get a better jump next time and I guess just get around the base a little quicker and be in there next time.”

Nevertheless, the outfielder finds himself on the bench for the time being.

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Did Tyler O'Neill cost the Cardinals a win?

Tyler O'Neill's apparent lack of hustle certainly cost them a run. Had he been safe, the Cardinals would have trailed by two runs in the seventh. They ultimately didn't score again and lost.

Tyler O'Neill was benched

However, it's unlikely that O'Neill lost them the game as a result. A 4-2 loss is no different than a 4-1 loss, and that's ignoring the fallacy that everything would have gone the same after the out.

Nevertheless, one run doesn't determine a game and it didn't determine this one. O'Neill needs to run harder and he likely will when he gets back, but the Cardinals lost for a lot of reasons.