The Cardinals pulled Mike Shildt’s interim tag, and the local response was almost overwhelmingly positive.
Shildt has helped lead a stale team back into legitimate postseason contention. There was not much to critique during his extended interview. But was the interview cut short too soon?
That the Cardinals’ 38-game (now 40) sample size under Shildt was not enough time to see what Shildt is made of was one of the loudest arguments heard this week. It’s also perhaps the hardest to comprehend, as it completely disregards a) an entire career spent climbing the minor-league ladder and b) Shildt’s major-league work beyond interim manager.