The St. Louis Cardinals shook up their coaching staff by firing
pitching coach Derek Lilliquist and bullpen coach Blaise Ilsley.
The dismissals were announced Tuesday and came after the Cardinals
missed the playoffs for the second straight season.
St. Louis compiled a 4.01 ERA this season and a 4.08 mark in 2016
after producing a National League-best 2.94 in 2015.
Lilliquist was the pitching coach for five-plus seasons. The
51-year-old is a former major league pitcher who went 25-34 with a
4.13 ERA in 262 appearances (52 starts) with five teams from
1989-96.
Ilsley just completed his fifth season with the organization. He
had a 7.80 ERA in 10 relief appearances for the Chicago Cubs in
1994.
Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said the rest of the
coaching staff is expected back for manager Mike Matheny’s seventh
season.