JUPITER, Fla. — Three words.
New Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said more than 2,000 of them on Monday, but three words pierced the Florida wind and my ears.
Speaking to members of the media on the first official day of spring training, Marmol pointed out that a lot of teams have optimism on Day One, but: “I will tell you right now, our group is more than optimistic about their season. They're convicted about winning — and that's a big difference.”
Convicted about winning.
What a line. Their conviction to victory is their everything.
And it starts with the manager Marmol, the tone-setter. From a leadership standpoint, he sure seems equipped. And his fingerprints were all over Day One.
He chose Adam Wainwright to throw the first live batting practice. And the Cardinals legend faced the three big boppers — Tyler O’Neill, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado. This set the tone for the bigness of big-league camp.
Marmol also was spotted pulling over different players for one-on-one chats under the Monday sun. Marmol made a point to emphasize fundamentals with his players, because the sooner that starts, the later it lasts as instilled principles.
And Marmol gave a brief speech about belief to the entire camp, while inside the clubhouse.
Talking to players, executives and Marmol himself about the speech, three words stood out.
This time, not a line, but three words that are aligned: competition, culture and communication.
If this is going to work — if the Cardinals are going to win the Central Division title and fight for the World Series — it starts, well, yesterday. It starts here in camp, where the players approach camp as not just a place to get better, but specifically better than their fellow players. It starts here in camp, where the players understand the culture set by the team leaders — and the famed leaders before them. And it starts here in camp, where honesty isn’t just the best policy; it is the policy.
“Honesty in conversation,” Marmol said. “I think that's where you get to the root of things.”
“The biggest thing I took away from his meeting today,” Wainwright said Monday, “was: ‘We're going to do everything to put y'all in the right position to play and perform — but we need everybody pulling the same side of the rope. And if you're not going be pulling the same side of the rope, let us know and we'll get you out.’ Yeah, I love that. It's a very blunt message, but it just speaks to the heart of unity. And that's where we're going to win — being unified in this clubhouse.”
I think it’s important that Marmol throws around the words “World Series” with his team and the media. Set the title as your tone. Don’t have guys thinking about cracking the playoffs and the whole “anything can happen” notion. On the contrary, have guys thinking about expending excellence in October, and how doing that begins with attaining excellence in March.
John Mozeliak, the Cardinals' president of baseball operations, admittedly was more measured about World Series talk.
“I've always told you guys,” Mozeliak said, “I never speak in absolutes. So using that, look — he's excited about this club, I think we all are. I think I've been doing it long enough to know that (if) trying to position expectations so high, you can't guarantee delivery. But I think really his point is that he knows we have a talented team, he knows there are guys that understand what it takes to win at a high level, at a consistent level — and what it takes to get to October and win in October. And so, when you have those attributes or those traits, you can easily connect dots to getting there.
“For all of us that have been around a long time, we know there are other things that also factor into that. And that's good fortune, good health, good luck, to name a few. And so there are some things you can control, some things you can't. The good news is we have a talented team, and hopefully we can control that.”
Mike Shildt was a fantastic manager. Made the playoffs in all three of his full seasons. But Marmol is right — this is a year you’ve got to get to the World Series. It’s Yadier Molina’s last year. You have five reigning Gold Glove winners on defense — and excellent fielders at three other positions. You have the aforementioned trio of bop. You have the rising star Dylan Carlson. You have five proven starting pitchers. You have two teams in the division that seemingly stink.
Will the Cardinals get to the World Series? Like Mozeliak said, they can’t control injuries or luck. But under manager Marmol, the Cardinals can control conviction. And they have conviction about competition, culture and communication.
And conviction about winning.
