Shildt rails at naysayers, says his team is playing exciting, fundamental baseball

Cardinals manager Mike Shildt talks to umpire Phil Cuzzi during a game against the Miami Marlins at Busch Stadium on Wednesday, June 19, 2019. Shildt is getting tired of hearing criticism of his team. "I’ve got to defend our group a little bit," he says. "We admit our weaknesses. We admit our flaws. We’ll work like crazy. But . . . we’re doing some things well." (Photo by Brian Munoz, bmunoz@post-dispatch.com)

In a far-ranging, 30-minute managerial interview session Wednesday afternoon, split into sessions with television cameras whirring and then with mostly print/online reporters, Shildt noted several times that the Cardinals were only 2½ games out of first place in the National League Central Division and that they had been 20-10 for virtually the first month of the season.