Schumaker facing first tough stretch as Marlins manager. How he navigates it will be telling

As the Miami Marlins returned from the All-Star Break with the second-best record in the National League and in an unexpected position to be playoff contenders, Skip Schumaker deflected the chance to heap praise on himself for how he has fared in his first season as an MLB manager.

That’s not his style. Never has been. Not during his 11-year MLB career as a player or his seven years after that in front office and coaching roles before landing in Miami.

Instead, Schumaker chose to praise his coaching staff covering his blind spots, his players for buying into the system he’s been implementing since spring training, the front office for having confidence in him as he guides the team.

“I’m just happy with where we are,” Schumaker said.

In the week-and-a-half since then, Schumaker and the Marlins have faced their toughest patch of the season.

The Marlins have lost eight consecutive games coming out of the All-Star Break, the latest a 4-3 defeat to the Colorado Rockies on Saturday at loanDepot park. They went from a season-high 14 games over .500 to six over .500, from holding the National League’s top wild card spot with 70 games left to being a game out of the postseason picture with 62 regular-season games left to play.

So while the start to the season has been gratifying, how Schumaker navigates the team out of this tough stretch at a pivotal point of the season will be his first true test of the season.

“You find out who you are when you’re going through these valleys,” Schumaker said Friday. “It’s easy when you’re winning — coming into the ballpark and you’re having fun and everyone’s laughing and smiling. You find out who you are and what your work looks like and what kind of teammate you are and what kind of coach you are when you go through these valleys.”

Schumaker has a wealth of experience to fall back on as he maneuvers through the rough patch. He played and coached for managers of varying experience levels and has tried to learn from their strengths as he builds his own way of managing a team.

From Tony La Russa, who was Schumaker’s manager in St. Louis from 2005 through the Cardinals’ World Series-winning 2011 season, he learned about preparation and communication.

“I knew exactly where I stood,” Schumaker said, adding there were “some tough conversations that you’re not happy to hear, but at least I knew where I stood. Those aren’t easy. A lot of times, you can be too friendly with a player. There’s a fine line with an arm around the shoulder and a punch in the mouth. You need both and I think really good managers have that in them.”

From Don Mattingly, his manager in 2013 with the Dodgers and whom he succeeded in Miami, he learned about the value of being a player’s manager.

“He really cared about the players,” Schumaker said. “You would see him always clapping when you were successful and he knew how hard the game was. I always took that away from him because he played before and he was really successful at it. He knew how hard this thing was. He was a family guy.”

And from Oli Marmol, who was a first-time manager with the Cardinals last season with Schumaker as his bench coach, Schumaker got a first-hand look at how to handle the role as a newcomer to the position and the importance of trusting the staff around him.

“He took a chance on me, gave me a shot sitting next to him,” Schumaker said. “Usually a lot of rookie managers will get a guy that’s managed before sitting next to him. He decided to take a chance on me. ... What I learned from him was how he prepares before the game. The relationship skills as a rookie manager were big. Previous times that I sat with rookie managers, maybe they were a little bit nervous addressing some tough situations. He had no problem having tough conversations.”

Schumaker took all those attributes and has mixed in his own personal flare as he works through his first season as manager.

It begins with his emphasis on communication, a trait that players noticed as soon as he formally got the job. He had steady conversations with players throughout the offseason and has kept that open line of communication with the team all season. He knows that each player handles situations differently and has figured out the best way to have conversations with each player.

“He’s the best,” Marlins All-Star second baseman Luis Arraez said. “He played baseball for a lot of years. He knows how we feel when we’re hurt. He talks with us a lot every day. He asks how you feel. ... That man, he’s the best.”

Added starting pitcher Edward Cabrera: “He pays attention to the little details and always communicates with each one of us.”

He built a staff that echoes the organization’s overall message but isn’t afraid to speak up when they feel change is needed.

“I don’t want anybody next to me who is just a ‘yes man,’” Schumaker said. “I want pushback. That’s how I learned.”

And he laid the framework for the team from the start: The expectation, every time they walk through the door, is to win.

“He knows the kind of culture that winning teams have,” shortstop Joey Wendle said. “Having that presence and the way that he leads us, I don’t know that you can expect that from a first-year manager the way he handles himself, the way that he presents himself in front of the team and just the expectations that he’s laid out for us.”

Those winning ways came early, with the Marlins going into the All-Star Break 14 games over .500 before their recent slide.

Can Schumaker get them back on track? That will be the test over these final two months of the season.

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