Dan Shaughnessy loves to revel in the failures of Boston area sports teams. There is plenty of evidence this is true. Here. Here. Here. And here. So when the Red Sox are struggling he just can't help himself but to rub it in just a little bit and bash the team for even considering they could be a contending team. He's looked stupid in the past when he's bashed the Red Sox and then the team turned out to win the World Series that same year. I'm not sure if that will be the case for the 2015 season, but his trolling and asshole-ish glee at watching the Red Sox fail, all while holding the team to a ridiculous standard by acting like their recent success isn't impressive, is very much annoying to read. His disdain for common sense and hiding behind his telling "the truth" is just one of the many journalistic crimes he commits. Jay Mariotti likes Dan Shaughnessy, so that tells me all I need to know even if I didn't ever read Dan's writing.
So here he is reveling at the myth that the Red Sox are a contending team. You can feel his joy at being able to bash them dripping off the computer screen. He bashed them here on June 2, then the Red Sox starting winning games so he jumped back on the bandwagon, then they started losing games and he bashed them again.
The Red Sox are a myth,
The entire franchise. It doesn't exist. The Red Sox are the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus of professional sports, just created to give fans in the Boston area something to cheer for during the summer.
The myth of the Sox is that they are some kind of perennial playoff contender.
This isn't a myth. Over the last 20 years the Red Sox have made the playoffs 10 times. 50% of the time over the last 20 years the Red Sox have made the playoffs. That's a pretty impressive run of making the playoffs. It could be better, but it could also be worse. The bottom line is going into each season, the Red Sox are contenders to make the playoffs. Dan can argue this is ridiculous based on the eventual outcome of a season, but his protests don't make the fact the Red Sox are consistently playoff contenders false.
You know . . . three championships in 10 years.
Swell.
The only team that can say they have three championships in the last 10 years is the Giants. Before that, it would be the Yankees. Before that, it would be Oakland Athletics in the early 1970's. So the snide, "swell" is misinformed and needless. Three championships in 10 years is impressive, no matter how much Dan wants to downplay it.
But despite the hype, the highest prices in baseball, and the
$200 million payroll, the Sox are no longer legitimate contenders. They
are not a good team and they have not been a good team for quite some
time.
"For quite some time." They won the 2013 World Series. The Red Sox have won 90+ games 11 times in the past 20 years. They have had 3 seasons with a losing record in the last 20 years. All this while playing in a division (the AL East) which had a team from that division make the World Series 13 times since 1990. But yeah, the Red Sox haven't been good for "for quite some time."
Simply because Dan recites a lie doesn't mean this lie becomes the truth.
“When you look at this team — and I tell you we’ve analyzed this team —
this is a strong team,” said Henry. “They’ve just played not up to their
capabilities.”
What else would the owner say? Would he say he doesn't think they put a good team together? Perhaps after the season is over the owner may say this, but of course he will think the team is strong prior to the season starting and during the season. This quote isn't the result of a delusion, but the result of Henry really believing the Red Sox put a good team together.
The Red Sox bottled some lightning in 2013, but clearly that was an
outlier season, one that contributes to the ongoing phony narrative that
the cutting-edge Sox are ahead of the curve and loaded with talent
throughout the organization.
Ah yes, go ahead and crap on the World Series title in order to make it seem more significant than it was. Dan would really have freaked out if he covered the Red Sox from 1919-1945 when they didn't make the World Series once. The playoff set up was much different then, but the Red Sox were mostly terrible during that time. I imagine how bad Dan would flipped out believing the Red Sox wasted the golden years of Ted Williams' career. He would have gotten off so much bashing them in his column.
Wake up, people. Your baseball team is not smarter than all the other teams. Your farm system is not the best in the majors.
I'm not sure "people" think the Red Sox are smarter than other teams. They just try to use different methods of player evaluation from other teams. It's not them thinking they are smarter. Taking a different road to reach a destination doesn't necessarily mean the road you have chosen is the faster path (you can find that on a fortune cookie somewhere). The Red Sox having faith in the players in their farm system, and not wanting to trade players from that system, is a reflection that they like their own players. It doesn't mean the organization or fans think the Red Sox have the best farm system in the majors.
Your Red Sox are an aggregate 31 games under .500 (267-298) since Sept. 1, 2011. According to the Providence Journal,
the 2015 Red Sox entered Tuesday as Boston’s worst baseball team since
1960 in the area of run differential — minus-48 after 51 games.
It's so weird how Dan Shaughnessy uses September 1, 2011 as the cut-off date. I really do believe many of these sportswriters needed to take more statistics courses in college. September 1 is a sort of random cut-off date that intentionally tries to mislead the reader on the Red Sox record during the 2011 season prior to September 1. The 2015 Red Sox aren't a very good team. It doesn't mean the entire organization is fatally flawed.
Despite these inconvenient truths, folks at the top continue to say that
all is well. And rest assured the Sox soon will be OK because . . . you
know . . . they are loaded with prospects.
Yet another contention by Dan that the Red Sox believe themselves to be "loaded" with prospects, but amazingly he can't seem to include a quote from the Red Sox that supports this belief. It's almost like Dan is exaggerating (or at best, misinterpreting) the Red Sox expectations for their prospects in order to make his point seem stronger.
Asked to characterize the state of his franchise, Henry answered, “From
my perspective, it’s never been better. I think we’re as strong
throughout the organization as we’ve ever been.’’
Henry says they are "strong throughout the organization," he didn't say they are "loaded with prospects."
“We have a strong commitment to winning,’’ added chairman Tom Werner.
“We play for championships . . . It is our intention to play baseball in
October every year.’’
Yep, nothing about prospects in that quote. Nothing about having a "loaded" system. The idea the Red Sox organization constantly talks about their loaded system is a fantasy that Dan tells himself in order to make his lies and deceptions seem more real.
Increasingly invisible Sox CEO Larry Lucchino (now “busy” with Rhode
Island’s Triple A team and Boston’s 2024 Olympics bid) chimed in with,
“We’re in it to win it, to win championships. If that means this kind of
manic-depressive kind of course, maybe that’s not so terrible . . .
We’re well prepared to be a successful franchise in the next several
years.’’
Again, there is nothing said here about being "loaded" with prospects. It's just talk about where Lucchino wants the franchise to go and where he thinks the franchise currently is.
National media folks gushed about the new Red Sox lineup and predicted
another worst-to-first season for Boston. Sports Illustrated and USA
Today picked the Sox to finish first in the AL East — which, of course,
is still possible in the toxic landfill that the division has become.
And when have national experts ever been wrong about anything? Just check out the ESPN experts' predictions for the 2014 season to see how wrong these "experts" were about the World Series participants. Expecting experts to be correct all the time, when that's not close to being the case, and then basing criticism of the Red Sox on not meeting the expectations of "experts" is ridiculous.
Sox starting pitchers mocked the naysayers, wearing T-shirts that
said, “He’s the ace,’’ and after Clay Buchholz outpitched Philadelphia’s
Cole Hamels on Opening Day, Henry noted to a reporter that the Sox did
indeed have an ace starter.
Outpitching Cole Hamels is now turned into a bad thing, because it wasn't a sign of things to come for the entire season.
And now here we are again. Worst-to-first has become worst-to-worst.
Yes, here the Red Sox are "again." The last time they finished in last place of the AL East in consecutive seasons was 1993-1994 and the Detroit Tigers were in the AL East at that point. But yeah, "again" the Red Sox are going to be in last place of the AL East in consecutive seasons. It happens all the time, just as long the fact it hasn't happened in over 20 years gets ignored.
But many of the Red Sox’ current problems are still rooted in arrogance,
NESN ratings (Messrs. Sandoval and Ramirez are looking like Crawford
and Gonzalez from 2011), an insistence that an ace pitcher is not a good
value, and a system philosophy that relies heavily on new metrics.
Except Sandoval and Ramirez are signed to smaller contracts than Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez were signed to, so Ramirez and Sandoval are not quite the burden Crawford and Gonzalez were on the Red Sox payroll. The new metrics have paid off for the Red Sox in the past ten years.
Turning their backs on arcane thinking (and 130 years of baseball
history), the Sox are out to prove that a team does not need a true No. 1
starter. Instead, the organization chooses to live on the cutting edge
of WAR, VORP, BABIP, DIPS, EqAS, and UZR.
So what? Other teams use these metrics and have success. At no point has any front office that uses advanced metrics stated these metrics are the end-all be-all to determine whether a player is successful or not. This is a constant misinterpretation baseball writers like Dan Shaughnessy (and Steve Dilbeck, Murray Chass, Jerry Green, Terence Moore) have, which is front offices that heavily use advanced metrics still factor in they need good players to be successful. They are simply using different metrics to evaluate players, along with the traditional player evaluation metrics.
OMG. LOL.
STFU.
Alex Speier’s feature on Mookie Betts in the Globe in
February informed us that the Red Sox partnered with a technology
company to measure how fast a baseball brain works. They developed a
proprietary SAT-like testing system to tell them who the good hitters
might be. One of the Sox draftees who crushed the neuroscouting tests
was Jackie Bradley Jr., who has batted .192 over parts of three big
league seasons.
This is compared to human baseball scouts who haven't missed on a prospect over the past 130 years, right? Human scouts are allowed to miss all of the time, but when new technology is used to scout or gather information about a prospect then it has to be correct 100% of the time or else it's considered absolutely useless. So the neuroscouting test didn't accurately show Jackie Bradley's skill level. Real human scouts use metrics that don't correctly evaluate a player's skill all the time.
A lot of big contracts have been given to the wrong people, and it might
be time for the Sox-loving world to stop perpetuating the fallacy of
Boston’s amazing scouting and player development.
They screw up sometimes. Yes, the Red Sox have missed on players who received big contracts.
There’s a nationwide insistence that no Sox minor leaguers can be dealt
to the Phillies for Hamels because the Sox are just too gosh-darned
loaded with great prospects.
Well, plus Hamels is a 30+ year old pitcher who is making a lot of money per year. He could end up being one of those big contracts the Red Sox have taken on which continue to perpetuate the fallacy of Boston's amazing scouting. Of course Dan complains the Red Sox have too many underachieving, expensive players and then bemoans they won't trade their prospects for a 30+ year old pitcher who has a large contract. I wouldn't expect him to be consistent in his criticism though.
the sad fact is that the Red Sox have not drafted and developed a big
league starting pitcher or an All-Star position player since Buchholz
and Jacoby Ellsbury were drafted by Theo Epstein 10 years ago.
What about Anthony Rizzo? (ducks as Red Sox fans throw things at me)
Another question. Shouldn't Hanley Ramirez and Justin Masterson count? They were both considered (and proved to be) ready for the majors when the Red Sox traded them and now they are back on the Red Sox team. I would probably count them both as players the Red Sox developed. Justin Masterson is a big league pitcher while Hanley Ramirez has made an All-Star team.
It’s fitting that the Minnesota Twins are in town this week. The
Twins share Fort Myers with the Red Sox, and we feel sorry for them all
spring. The Red Sox get all the attention and have all the fans and are
nationally acclaimed as the brilliant, big-money franchise, always ahead
of everybody else. The poor Twins have no payroll, no star power, and
no national following.
They also have a first-place team with the third-best record in the American League.
This is absolutely laughable. With no sense of irony, in a column where Dan Shaughnessy bemoans that the Red Sox are "again" in last place in the AL East, he starts talking about the Twins coming to town. This is the same Twins team that has been last in the AL Central 6 times in the last 20 years. They have been next-to-last in the AL Central 4 times in the last 20 years. They have made zero World Series and one ALCS in that time, along with having a losing record in 11 of those seasons. THIS is the team he talks about as the antithesis of the Red Sox. Why? Because the Twins are currently in first place in the AL Central. Dan pays studious attention to the Red Sox recent history in an attempt to paint them as a failed franchise, while dismissing their successes, yet he pays attention to the Twins record this season and dismisses their recent history by simply not acknowledging it. He's the worst. This is what to expect from Dan Shaughnessy though. He's incapable of being a good writer when it comes to making a point outside of his trolling opinion.
We have the Red Sox.
We have the myth.
The biggest myth overall is that the Red Sox are a failing organization. They may not be succeeding right now, but they have the resources to improve quickly. Of course, when that improvement comes, and it will, Dan is going to forget entirely that he wrote this column. Just like he forgets the variety of other columns he's written bashing the Red Sox. Dan's only purpose as a writer is to serve as a troll and be negative. It gets him attention, which is mostly what he craves. He's horrible.
To add to the hilarity, Dan wrote this column on June 2 and then on June 8 he changed his tune about these Red Sox team. All of a sudden, after a few wins the myth of the Red Sox being contenders may not be a myth. I will have Dan's contradictory column about the Red Sox in my next post. He's the worst. Just the worst. He can't even troll consistently.
Showing posts with label minnesota twins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label minnesota twins. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Monday, December 29, 2014
0 comments Jim Souhan Says He's Glad the Twins Hired Paul Molitor So The Coddling of Twins Players Can End; Then Eats An Entire Plate of Nachos From The Safety of the Press Box
Like his fellow Twins-watcher Tom Powers, Jim Souhan thinks the Twins have been coddling their players too much under Ron Gardenhire. Much like Tom Powers, Souhan states this as someone who doesn't make his living in athletics where he could suffer a severe injury, unless carpal tunnel counts as a severe injury. Fortunately, the Twins have hired Paul Molitor to end the coddling of the Twins players. Previously, Twins players have missed games with brain injuries and torn muscle parts, but that era has ended with Paul Molitor in town. Now there's no excuse for missing a game. Just rub some cocaine and marijuana on it like Molitor did and get out on the field. If a Twins player is thinking about sitting a game out, take it from a guy who had an article written about him stating,
The amazing thing about Paul Molitor's recent bat-o-rama is not that he has hit in 33 straight games but that he has played in 33 straight games.
I'm sure Molitor's injuries were just a result of him playing too hard and trying too hard not to coddle himself. The idea a player who was famous early in his career for being injured no longer allowing Twins players who are injured to be coddled is funny. From the first article I linked, here is a list of Paul Molitor's ailments from 1980-1986:
Molitor was voted to the American League's starting lineup for the 1980 All-Star Game but had to excuse himself. A pulled chest muscle forced the Milwaukee infielder to miss almost a full month of play, from June 24 to July 18.
In 1981, Molitor tore ligaments in his left ankle May 3 and was on the disabled list until July 12.
In 1983, a wrist injury bothered him all season, and his batting average, hit and RBI totals fell way off from the year before.
In 1984, Molitor hurt his right elbow in spring training, played 13 games before undergoing surgery May 21, and never came back.
In 1985, Molitor made the All-Stars again, but spent Aug. 13-29 on the disabled list with a sprained ankle.
In 1986, Molitor hurt his hamstring, was put on the disabled list from May 10-30, hurt it again three days later, and returned to the disabled list from June 2-17.
I'm sure Jim Souhan thinks all of these injuries were from trying too hard and trying to be gritty enough to continue playing. There is nothing wrong with being injured and I am smart enough to understand Molitor can't rub dirt on his injuries and come back in the game. Unfortunately, Jim Souhan forgets about Molitor's past and decides that the coddling of Twins players has to stop...and Molitor is the guy to do it, while conveniently ignoring that Molitor had his own injury issues.
As a player, Paul Molitor demonstrated competitiveness not with gestures or celebrations, but with stone-faced, head-first slides into spikes.
He slid "into spikes" as a player? That seems unnecessary to prove his toughness. The bases don't even have spikes on them, yet Molitor slid into bases with spikes anyway. That's toughness.
In 2001, he hinted at the fires within. The baby Twins, having led the American League Central for most of the season, were ambushed by a veteran Indians team in Cleveland late in the season. Molitor, then coaching under Tom Kelly,
Tom Kelly, a known pussy who somehow managed to ride the grit of Jack Morris and Frank Viola to two World Series titles.
thought the opponents and umpires were displaying disrespectfulness to his team. It took multiple people to keep him from bursting onto the field to physically make a point.
Leadership is physically assaulting an umpire and the opponent.
Last season, as the Twins lost 92 games, Molitor — promoted from coach to manager on Tuesday — again tried to remain below boiling temperature.
“There were times last year when we’d get on the team bus after a loss and Paul would look over at me and just shake his head,” Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said. “He had that look in his eye, like he was ready to explode. And I know that look, because I was sitting on that bus thinking, ‘That was a game we should have won.’
If it weren't for the group of nine human vaginas on the field who can't play through injuries, these games would have been won. This isn't ballet guys, it's baseball. Suit up and play baseball...unless you can't like Molitor couldn't earlier in his career in which case that was fine for him, but totally isn't fine the current Twins players.
“We won 70 games last year. I think we should have won 78. To go from 78 to 88, or something close, I don’t think that’s unreasonable. I think we should be competitive this year.”
At his first news conference as manager, Molitor said: “I’m coming here to win.”
BREAKING NEWS: A newly-hired manager states his intention is to win baseball games.
His first order of business should be introducing a new mentality to the clubhouse.
A mentality like cocaine use to work through any tired feeling or marijuana use to numb any pain the players may have?
During their four consecutive losing seasons, the Twins tried to exercise caution with injured or bruised players. Anyone complaining of an ache was given an extra day or two off. There is logic in that approach.
You mean an ache like an injured hamstring that Molitor had during the 1986 season? Or an ache like a pulled chest muscle that Molitor had during the 1981 season?
There is also danger.
Danger!
The Twins clubhouse became a place where you could collect a check without actually taking the field.
One of the early tests of Molitor’s tenure will be his handling of his best player, Joe Mauer.
The player for the Twins who is a catcher and has suffered many of the ailments that a catcher will traditionally suffer, including concussions and knee surgery? The same Joe Mauer who holds the Twins' record for most games played at catcher?
Both grew up in St. Paul. Both played baseball at Cretin High. Both had the early years of their careers defined by constant injuries. The difference between them is important. Molitor’s desire to play was obvious. Mauer’s is not.
This doesn't really make sense. How does Souhan know that Molitor's desire to play was obvious and Mauer's desire is not? Is Souhan also able to visually determine a player's desire, even going back 30 years? Or is he just writing this sentence in a weak attempt to push Molitor's injuries off as something he couldn't fight through in an effort to head off the obvious contradiction in painting an oft-injured ex-player-turned-manager as a guy who will force his players to fight through injuries.
When the guy making $23 million a year begs out of the lineup because of a bruise, it’s difficult for the manager to push others to play through pain.
Souhan is referring to Mauer leaving a game with a bruised right elbow. This happened on September 23 and he returned on September 25.
Molitor’s predecessor, Ron Gardenhire, believed in maintaining cordial relations with key players. That approach worked for most of a decade. It appeared to fail in recent years with Mauer.
Mostly playing catcher, Joe Mauer has played in at least 113 games in every year of his career except for 2011 and 2004 when he was called up from the minors. Catchers are banged up a lot and in 11 seasons Joe Mauer has played 210 games as the DH and 920 games as the catcher, while Molitor played 1173 games as the DH in 21 seasons. Just saying, it's a lot easier to get banged up as a catcher.
Can Molitor play the bad guy?
“Yes,” he said. “It is a necessary part of the job. But for me, it’s kind of like surgery. It’s kind of the last option. I want to reach people in different ways before that needs to be done. We all know that different players have different buttons that need to be pushed.
And hopefully Molitor can push the "Rub some dirt on it" button that his manager couldn't seem to be able to push for him early in his career.
“We can all talk nice and fluffy about, ‘Well, you can all get along, and then they’ll play for you.’ In reality, not everyone is going to fit into that mode. They’re going to challenge you along the way, and see where you stand. I will choose other things first, but yes, there will be times when you need to be tough.
Plus, winning. Paul Molitor will be trying to win games too. Don't forget that. It's a goal other managers tend to forget about.
Does Mauer expect to be managed differently? “Well, I’d like to think I don’t need a lot of managing, as long as I get in the lineup,” he said.
Which should happen since Mauer is still a really good hitter. That's getting lost in this discussion about how the Twins aren't a tough team and Joe Mauer left a game due to a bruise.
Does closer Glen Perkins, who is friends with Mauer and an admirer of Molitor’s, believe the new manager will have to push this group of players?
“I think that there’s an inherent respect for him that’s going to make guys do the things they have to do,” he said. “I don’t think there’s going to be any lackadaisicalness. With him, it’s the same thing as with Terry Ryan. When Terry walks into the room, you stand up and shake his hand. He commands respect. Paul Molitor is the same way. Nobody is going to feel right about trying to get away with certain things.
“The culture changes with just hiring him, and him being our leader. It’s a welcome change.”
"Pussies not allowed!" is what Glen Perkins is really saying. All of these Twins players who have been coddled are finally going to be forced to play through their injuries. Of course, Jim Souhan in typical talk-radio style only named one Twins player who he thinks has been coddled, but I'm sure there are many, many more that he just didn't have time to name in this column. After all, when indicating in the title there are multiple Twins players who are being coddled, it makes sense to only use the example one player, and for that one player to be the Twins catcher.
By the way, Yadier Molina (a guy I don't think anyone would state is not tough) has played in an average of 120 games per year in his career, while Joe Mauer has played in an average of 118 games in his career. The man who upholds all that is great and right in baseball, Brian McCann, has averaged playing in 124 games per year in his career. So catchers get injured and can't play in every game during a season. Now that Mauer has been moved to first, maybe the bar is higher, but he still has almost a decade of wear from playing catcher on his body. Not that it matters to Jim Souhan as he eats a pre-game spread and tosses back a Diet Coke before the game safely in the press box, it's just that Mauer isn't tough enough. Paul Molitor is obviously the cure.
Jim Souhan also wrote an article where he thought that Molitor should maximize the grit and toughness of the Twins team by hiring an entire coaching staff of Twins legends. What could go wrong?
All of the above were known for mental and physical toughness as well as success. They are all capable of keeping a clubhouse loose, or getting in a sluggish player’s face.
And that's really what it is all about, getting in a player's face. Boy, Jim Souhan really wants to watch grown men get yelled at, doesn't he?
Just as Molitor can teach a young player the proper footwork required to steal bases in the majors,
"Run in that direction and then slide once you get close to the base."
Guardado could show his own game films
That sounds like a good use of time. "Hey everyone, come see how good I pitched! No bitching about watching me pitch for two hours or else Paul Molitor will get in your face. I'm keeping it loose now, but when Jack Morris comes in raging that you aren't watching my game film, it's on you to calm him down."
while demonstrating that velocity is not a prerequisite to pitching well in the big leagues.
"Throw slower and success will come."
Isn't that the direction baseball is headed? Softer throwing relievers?
Gladden can explain how he learned to expertly play left field,
"When the ball was hit to me, I used my legs to run and catch it. Here, now you try."
Morris and Blyleven can take apart games pitch by pitch.
And Morris will always complete every game he takes apart pitch by pitch, just like he completed every game he started in the majors...including GAME 7 OF THE 1991 WORLD SERIES.
Most big-league coaches are happy to have a job and hold little leverage. The Twins would have to woo Morris or Blyleven away from good broadcasting gigs offering scheduling flexibility. That would be expensive.
(Twins management) "Bert, you can fart in the clubhouse."
(Bert Blyleven) "It's a deal."
(Twins management) "Jack, you can tell stories about GAME 7 OF THE 1991 WORLD SERIES and we will put a good word in for you to the Veteran's Commit---"
(Jack Morris) "It's a deal."
The organization strives to keep its best players close; they can’t get much closer than wearing a uniform in the dugout during games.
The dynasty would then begin. Now Paul Molitor is going to go get in someone's face which will cause fear in the player, followed by admiration.
The amazing thing about Paul Molitor's recent bat-o-rama is not that he has hit in 33 straight games but that he has played in 33 straight games.
I'm sure Molitor's injuries were just a result of him playing too hard and trying too hard not to coddle himself. The idea a player who was famous early in his career for being injured no longer allowing Twins players who are injured to be coddled is funny. From the first article I linked, here is a list of Paul Molitor's ailments from 1980-1986:
Molitor was voted to the American League's starting lineup for the 1980 All-Star Game but had to excuse himself. A pulled chest muscle forced the Milwaukee infielder to miss almost a full month of play, from June 24 to July 18.
In 1981, Molitor tore ligaments in his left ankle May 3 and was on the disabled list until July 12.
In 1983, a wrist injury bothered him all season, and his batting average, hit and RBI totals fell way off from the year before.
In 1984, Molitor hurt his right elbow in spring training, played 13 games before undergoing surgery May 21, and never came back.
In 1985, Molitor made the All-Stars again, but spent Aug. 13-29 on the disabled list with a sprained ankle.
In 1986, Molitor hurt his hamstring, was put on the disabled list from May 10-30, hurt it again three days later, and returned to the disabled list from June 2-17.
I'm sure Jim Souhan thinks all of these injuries were from trying too hard and trying to be gritty enough to continue playing. There is nothing wrong with being injured and I am smart enough to understand Molitor can't rub dirt on his injuries and come back in the game. Unfortunately, Jim Souhan forgets about Molitor's past and decides that the coddling of Twins players has to stop...and Molitor is the guy to do it, while conveniently ignoring that Molitor had his own injury issues.
As a player, Paul Molitor demonstrated competitiveness not with gestures or celebrations, but with stone-faced, head-first slides into spikes.
He slid "into spikes" as a player? That seems unnecessary to prove his toughness. The bases don't even have spikes on them, yet Molitor slid into bases with spikes anyway. That's toughness.
In 2001, he hinted at the fires within. The baby Twins, having led the American League Central for most of the season, were ambushed by a veteran Indians team in Cleveland late in the season. Molitor, then coaching under Tom Kelly,
Tom Kelly, a known pussy who somehow managed to ride the grit of Jack Morris and Frank Viola to two World Series titles.
thought the opponents and umpires were displaying disrespectfulness to his team. It took multiple people to keep him from bursting onto the field to physically make a point.
Leadership is physically assaulting an umpire and the opponent.
Last season, as the Twins lost 92 games, Molitor — promoted from coach to manager on Tuesday — again tried to remain below boiling temperature.
“There were times last year when we’d get on the team bus after a loss and Paul would look over at me and just shake his head,” Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said. “He had that look in his eye, like he was ready to explode. And I know that look, because I was sitting on that bus thinking, ‘That was a game we should have won.’
If it weren't for the group of nine human vaginas on the field who can't play through injuries, these games would have been won. This isn't ballet guys, it's baseball. Suit up and play baseball...unless you can't like Molitor couldn't earlier in his career in which case that was fine for him, but totally isn't fine the current Twins players.
“We won 70 games last year. I think we should have won 78. To go from 78 to 88, or something close, I don’t think that’s unreasonable. I think we should be competitive this year.”
At his first news conference as manager, Molitor said: “I’m coming here to win.”
BREAKING NEWS: A newly-hired manager states his intention is to win baseball games.
His first order of business should be introducing a new mentality to the clubhouse.
A mentality like cocaine use to work through any tired feeling or marijuana use to numb any pain the players may have?
During their four consecutive losing seasons, the Twins tried to exercise caution with injured or bruised players. Anyone complaining of an ache was given an extra day or two off. There is logic in that approach.
You mean an ache like an injured hamstring that Molitor had during the 1986 season? Or an ache like a pulled chest muscle that Molitor had during the 1981 season?
There is also danger.
Danger!
The Twins clubhouse became a place where you could collect a check without actually taking the field.
One of the early tests of Molitor’s tenure will be his handling of his best player, Joe Mauer.
The player for the Twins who is a catcher and has suffered many of the ailments that a catcher will traditionally suffer, including concussions and knee surgery? The same Joe Mauer who holds the Twins' record for most games played at catcher?
Both grew up in St. Paul. Both played baseball at Cretin High. Both had the early years of their careers defined by constant injuries. The difference between them is important. Molitor’s desire to play was obvious. Mauer’s is not.
This doesn't really make sense. How does Souhan know that Molitor's desire to play was obvious and Mauer's desire is not? Is Souhan also able to visually determine a player's desire, even going back 30 years? Or is he just writing this sentence in a weak attempt to push Molitor's injuries off as something he couldn't fight through in an effort to head off the obvious contradiction in painting an oft-injured ex-player-turned-manager as a guy who will force his players to fight through injuries.
When the guy making $23 million a year begs out of the lineup because of a bruise, it’s difficult for the manager to push others to play through pain.
Souhan is referring to Mauer leaving a game with a bruised right elbow. This happened on September 23 and he returned on September 25.
Molitor’s predecessor, Ron Gardenhire, believed in maintaining cordial relations with key players. That approach worked for most of a decade. It appeared to fail in recent years with Mauer.
Mostly playing catcher, Joe Mauer has played in at least 113 games in every year of his career except for 2011 and 2004 when he was called up from the minors. Catchers are banged up a lot and in 11 seasons Joe Mauer has played 210 games as the DH and 920 games as the catcher, while Molitor played 1173 games as the DH in 21 seasons. Just saying, it's a lot easier to get banged up as a catcher.
Can Molitor play the bad guy?
“Yes,” he said. “It is a necessary part of the job. But for me, it’s kind of like surgery. It’s kind of the last option. I want to reach people in different ways before that needs to be done. We all know that different players have different buttons that need to be pushed.
And hopefully Molitor can push the "Rub some dirt on it" button that his manager couldn't seem to be able to push for him early in his career.
“We can all talk nice and fluffy about, ‘Well, you can all get along, and then they’ll play for you.’ In reality, not everyone is going to fit into that mode. They’re going to challenge you along the way, and see where you stand. I will choose other things first, but yes, there will be times when you need to be tough.
Plus, winning. Paul Molitor will be trying to win games too. Don't forget that. It's a goal other managers tend to forget about.
Does Mauer expect to be managed differently? “Well, I’d like to think I don’t need a lot of managing, as long as I get in the lineup,” he said.
Which should happen since Mauer is still a really good hitter. That's getting lost in this discussion about how the Twins aren't a tough team and Joe Mauer left a game due to a bruise.
Does closer Glen Perkins, who is friends with Mauer and an admirer of Molitor’s, believe the new manager will have to push this group of players?
“I think that there’s an inherent respect for him that’s going to make guys do the things they have to do,” he said. “I don’t think there’s going to be any lackadaisicalness. With him, it’s the same thing as with Terry Ryan. When Terry walks into the room, you stand up and shake his hand. He commands respect. Paul Molitor is the same way. Nobody is going to feel right about trying to get away with certain things.
“The culture changes with just hiring him, and him being our leader. It’s a welcome change.”
"Pussies not allowed!" is what Glen Perkins is really saying. All of these Twins players who have been coddled are finally going to be forced to play through their injuries. Of course, Jim Souhan in typical talk-radio style only named one Twins player who he thinks has been coddled, but I'm sure there are many, many more that he just didn't have time to name in this column. After all, when indicating in the title there are multiple Twins players who are being coddled, it makes sense to only use the example one player, and for that one player to be the Twins catcher.
By the way, Yadier Molina (a guy I don't think anyone would state is not tough) has played in an average of 120 games per year in his career, while Joe Mauer has played in an average of 118 games in his career. The man who upholds all that is great and right in baseball, Brian McCann, has averaged playing in 124 games per year in his career. So catchers get injured and can't play in every game during a season. Now that Mauer has been moved to first, maybe the bar is higher, but he still has almost a decade of wear from playing catcher on his body. Not that it matters to Jim Souhan as he eats a pre-game spread and tosses back a Diet Coke before the game safely in the press box, it's just that Mauer isn't tough enough. Paul Molitor is obviously the cure.
Jim Souhan also wrote an article where he thought that Molitor should maximize the grit and toughness of the Twins team by hiring an entire coaching staff of Twins legends. What could go wrong?
On Tuesday, the Twins, for the first time, hired a Hall of Fame player to be their manager.
Why stop there?
Why not surround Paul Molitor with other famous former Twins?
Greg Gagne for hitting coach! It's the only way to win. Jeff Reardon for pitching coach!
Why not hire coaches who will inspire admiration, if not fear, in the Twins clubhouse?
"Admiration, fear...they are pretty much the same thing," said the future dictator of a Communist country.
Traditionally, major league coaches earn their jobs through years of minor league work and organizational loyalty.
The
advantage Molitor has now, and has enjoyed as a minor league instructor
and spring training coach, is that his reputation precedes him. If a
young player doesn’t know who he is, someone like Glen Perkins or Brian
Dozier will tell that player, “Listen to this guy. He’s in the Hall of
Fame, and he got there with his brain.”
That's a great story, Jim. Actually Paul Molitor got in the Hall of Fame with his ability to hit a baseball, but it sounds much, much cooler to say he got there with his brain.
In an otherwise empty Twins spring training
clubhouse in 1996, I was interviewing Chuck Knoblauch when Ron
Gardenhire, then a coach on Tom Kelly’s staff, came in and told
Knoblauch he was wanted on the field. Knoblauch said, “In a minute,” and
didn’t move.
Gardenhire, angry, left. Knoblauch said, “What’s he gonna do? He’s just a coach.”
Then Knoblauch went on the field and threw the baseball into the stands when trying to scoop the ball to the shortstop for a double play.
Knoblauch was being a jerk. He was also correct:
The average major league coach wields little actual power. The average
major league coach is seen as part valet, part worker bee.
Now imagine
a clubhouse filled with young players, run by a manager named Molitor,
and coaches named — take your pick — Dan Gladden, Jack Morris, Bert
Blyleven or Eddie Guardado.
Oh yeah, that's a great point. With guys like Gladden, Morris or Guardado in the locker room players will be like, "I don't know who the fuck that guy is because he isn't in the Hall of Fame like Paul Molitor is, but I am definitely going to respect that guy because they are the average major league coach that wields little power."
My ideal Twins staff would be Molitor, Brunansky, Guardado as bullpen
coach, Gladden as outfield coach and Morris or Blyleven as pitching
coach.
Basically, Jim Souhan's ideal Twins staff has almost no experience actually being a coach at the major league level. I can't imagine how that wouldn't work out.
The Twins would need to hire a Latin American former player who could
communicate with the team’s Spanish-speaking players, and Molitor could
use a veteran bench coach.
That's a great point. Who can speak to all the Mexicans? Perhaps Rick Aguilera? Sure, he ain't no Mexican, but as long as he can spit a few words of Spanish out I'm sure it will appease everyone. What are the Mexican players going to do anyway? Paul Molitor ain't having any bullshit in his clubhouse, including any bitching about the fact there ain't no Spanish-speaking coaches. Go home if you won't play hurt and or you think that you need a translator! Paul Molitor and Jack Morris never needed a translator and neither do you!
All of the above were known for mental and physical toughness as well as success. They are all capable of keeping a clubhouse loose, or getting in a sluggish player’s face.
And that's really what it is all about, getting in a player's face. Boy, Jim Souhan really wants to watch grown men get yelled at, doesn't he?
Just as Molitor can teach a young player the proper footwork required to steal bases in the majors,
"Run in that direction and then slide once you get close to the base."
Guardado could show his own game films
That sounds like a good use of time. "Hey everyone, come see how good I pitched! No bitching about watching me pitch for two hours or else Paul Molitor will get in your face. I'm keeping it loose now, but when Jack Morris comes in raging that you aren't watching my game film, it's on you to calm him down."
while demonstrating that velocity is not a prerequisite to pitching well in the big leagues.
"Throw slower and success will come."
Isn't that the direction baseball is headed? Softer throwing relievers?
Gladden can explain how he learned to expertly play left field,
"When the ball was hit to me, I used my legs to run and catch it. Here, now you try."
Morris and Blyleven can take apart games pitch by pitch.
And Morris will always complete every game he takes apart pitch by pitch, just like he completed every game he started in the majors...including GAME 7 OF THE 1991 WORLD SERIES.
Most big-league coaches are happy to have a job and hold little leverage. The Twins would have to woo Morris or Blyleven away from good broadcasting gigs offering scheduling flexibility. That would be expensive.
(Twins management) "Bert, you can fart in the clubhouse."
(Bert Blyleven) "It's a deal."
(Twins management) "Jack, you can tell stories about GAME 7 OF THE 1991 WORLD SERIES and we will put a good word in for you to the Veteran's Commit---"
(Jack Morris) "It's a deal."
The organization strives to keep its best players close; they can’t get much closer than wearing a uniform in the dugout during games.
The dynasty would then begin. Now Paul Molitor is going to go get in someone's face which will cause fear in the player, followed by admiration.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
4 comments Tom Powers Calls Out the Twins From the Safety of a Press Box
I was going to post something by Gene Wojciechowski and how he hates the NCAA, but when I ran into the following column by Tom Powers all bets were off. He basically calls the Twins a bunch of pussies for having injuries. He probably wrote this as he ate nachos and drank his 8th Diet Coke safely in the press box with the only real dangerous injury he's had to rebound from in his job being a paper cut.
First of all, I apologize if this column isn't very good. But it was cold at Target Field on Wednesday night, and I couldn't get loose. Despite cracking my knuckles several times, it just didn't feel right.
Oh, I get it! He's making an excuse for writing a poor column just like the Twins make excuses for their injuries! His hands not being able to get warm is the best possible excuse for his brain not working properly to write a good column is exactly like the excuse a Twins player might use for not playing due to an injury. They are the exact same! Exactly. There's no difference.
It happens. Ask Delmon Young of the Twins. Delmon pulled himself from the lineup Wednesday night because he couldn't get loose. Despite hitting balls 20 rows deep into the stands during batting practice, he went over to manager Ron Gardenhire and said he couldn't go.
Man up Delmon. Quit being a little girl. If you can hit the ball deep into the stands, you can play in a game. I am sure Powers' recalled observation of Young hitting 20 balls deep into the stands isn't affected at all by his point of view that Young is being a wimp by not playing.
After the contest, the Twins put Young on the disabled list, which is where he should have been a long time ago.
Ok, so now Delmon Young, the guy who hit 20 balls deep into the stands in batting practice as related by Tom Powers in his anecdote proving he could have played in the game, should not have been in the game according to Tom Powers. He should have been on the disabled list. So far let's go through what Tom Powers is saying:
-The Twins use too many excuses when they have injuries.
-Delmon Young used an injury excuse before a game even though he looked like he could have played. He is one of the excuse-making players.
-Delmon Young is really injured so he should be on the disabled list. So his excuse was valid, but otherwise the Twins make too many excuses.
So the problem is players like Delmon Young are using excuses to not play in games, even when the injury is admittedly a valid one? I'm confused. So should Young have played or not? Tom Powers admits he was injured and should be on the disabled list, yet seems to indicate Young should have played because he hit 20 balls deep in the stands during batting practice.
He's missed six straight games with sore ribs, all the while insisting his return to the lineup was right around the corner. In fact, he asked Gardenhire to play him in left field instead of using him as the designated hitter on Wednesday. He figured he would be able to "stay loose" by running around in the outfield.
He's just like Michael Young, just less heroic. All Delmon Young wants to do is get on the field. So Young not only was trying to play through his rib injury, but he also insisted he play in the field? Clearly, this was a move designed to not get on the baseball field and milk an injury.
So far, Tom Powers has criticized Delmon Young for not playing in a game and trying to play in a game. I have no clue what would satisfy Tom Powers at this point, other than for injuries to players resulting in immediate execution of that player.
Then he bailed.
The Twins have to quit babying these guys. Either they can play or they can't.
Get on the field or get off the field. Don't try to play through injuries, don't try to determine the severity of injuries. Once a player gets injured, the Twins have 20 minutes to decide whether that player will play the entire season or go on the disabled list. 20 minutes should be enough time says Dr. Powers.
The problem is that guys walk into Gardenhire's office and tell him when they can play and when they can't. To me, that's a case of overcommunication. Unless the trainer specifically says a certain player needs to sit out, Gardenhire should just make out his best lineup and expect his players to go out there and perform.
I am not in the Twins clubhouse, but I would imagine Gardenhire does make out his best lineup and expect the players to perform. It doesn't make sense to send players who are injured out there because that won't lead to success. It will lead to more injuries and the failure of the team to win games. Maybe the Twins baby injuries at certain points, and I am not a doctor, but there are certain injuries that are day-to-day and may take time to heal while the player plays. There may also be cases where the team wants to hold the player back until they know how the injury feels in a couple of days.
We keep hearing that Justin Morneau is completely recovered from postconcussion syndrome. Yet after an off day Monday followed by a rainout Tuesday, Gardenhire said Morneau needed a DH day instead of playing first base.
At least his bat is still in the lineup. That's a positive, right?
OK, he's had the flu. It must be one hell of a flu, lasting more than a week. And he's not the only one.
I guess Tom Powers has never had the flu. The lingering effects can last more than a week and if the flu is still properly treated the person isn't necessarily ready to participate in a physical activity.
"We've got a bunch of guys sniffing and coughing up there," Gardenhire said, nodding toward the clubhouse.
I'm pretty sure at some point Ted Williams sniffed and Willie Mays coughed in the locker room. I don't think having the flu or having a cold has happened to the modern baseball players. I can't believe he just actually wrote these two sentences.
"Did Sandy Koufax ever have diarrhea?" "Did anyone ever catch Whitey Ford drinking water? Then why does Justin Morneau need to stay hydrated?"
Before Wednesday's game, Gardenhire didn't even know which pitcher would start the second contest of today's doubleheader. At first, he thought it might be Eric Hacker. A dozen pitchers on his staff and yet one doubleheader throws the whole world off kilter.
The dozen pitchers on Gardenhire's staff all can't start a baseball game and be expected to go five innings. Some of the pitchers are closers, some are middle relief, and some are starters who have pitched recently. There is a reason a manager closely plans out the pitching schedule.
After all, we wouldn't want anyone to pitch on "short rest."
If a pitcher pitches in the second game of the doubleheader on short rest, considering there aren't a lot of breaks in a team's playing schedule, he will either take a rest before his next start or work on short rest for a longer period of time. I'm not sure this is desirable. So given injuries and the fact most of the pitchers on the staff either (a) would be on short rest or (b) can't start a game without wearing out the bullpen, it may be difficult for Gardenhire to find a pitcher to pitch the second half of a doubleheader.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that Carl Pavano also has the flu and has been pushed back a day.
Did Ted Williams ever sniffle? Did anyone see Cy Young have to blow his nose?
Hacker was Plan A. Unfortunately for Gardenhire and the Twins, Francisco Liriano was so horrible on Wednesday night that Hacker had to warm up in the very first inning. He ended up coming in to pitch in the fourth.
Well, then Francisco Liriano could have pitched the second half of the doubleheader...assuming he wasn't such a pussy of course.
The Twins' approach to injuries can be summed up in three words: caution, caution, caution.
It's not like the Twins have a bunch of money tied up in these players or anything. A cautious approach to injuries with inexpensive assets like baseball players is just pure madness. They should just blindly force the players to get out on the field with little regard to their injuries.
How do you feel? Think you might play today? Want to give it a try?
Sounds like we have ourselves a frustrated Twins fan here and not a sportswriter who covers athletes for a living.
Enough! Gardenhire needs to do what Vince Lombardi used to do as coach of the Green Bay Packers. Just barge into the trainer's room, tip a couple of tables over and order everybody out.
If Ron Gardenhire's goal is to lose the entire team and alienate his players in an attempt to get fired, this is definitely the best course of action. While he's at it, he could expose himself to fans who are entering the stadium, that would be effective to get him fired as well.
Once Gardenhire starts knocking over tables the Twins players will immediately start thinking things like,
"Man, my ribs don't hurt so bad. I'm glad our manager's immature display of frustration and anger helped me to understand my injury isn't quite as bad I believe it is. After all, he knows better than I do how I feel physically. I am going to start playing harder for him because he is so understanding of my personal situation and health."
As Lombardi would scream: "Nobody is injured here!"
I did an internet search on this phrase and I can't find where this was a popular sentence uttered by Vince Lombardi. I guess Tom Powers means Lombardi would have uttered this sentence if he had ever uttered this sentence. One thing is for sure, Lombardi would have had no patience for a guy with the flu and post-concussion syndrome. That made him an excellent head coach apparently.
Then write their names into the lineup and refuse to take them out unless the medical staff advises otherwise.
Another great idea! I feel like this part of the column comes from a terrible made-for-television movie where a fed-up, aging manager is put in charge of a young team that is so used to be pampered they don't understand the hustle and dedication being a great baseball player involves. The manager then throws a hissy-fit by flipping over tables and berates the injured players on the team which ends up, against all reason, actually making the team like him more and causing them to realize they aren't dedicated enough to winning. Eventually, the team wins the World Series as the star pitcher pitches a complete game with a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder...but the power of knocking over tables and irrationally berating injured players pulls him through.
Oh, and even though I couldn't get loose, I managed to muddle through and do my job. Not everybody at Target Field on Wednesday night can say that.
How brave. Tom Powers was sitting in a seat watching the game when he was "injured" by being cold. The Minnesota Twins players not only had to endure the cold that wiped out Tom Powers, but they also had to muddle through and do their job, which consists of performing physical tasks, while having an injury that prevents them from being at their 100% physical best.
I wish this column was a parody or making fun of the Twins fans for wanting injured players to play, but somehow I know that isn't the case.
First of all, I apologize if this column isn't very good. But it was cold at Target Field on Wednesday night, and I couldn't get loose. Despite cracking my knuckles several times, it just didn't feel right.
Oh, I get it! He's making an excuse for writing a poor column just like the Twins make excuses for their injuries! His hands not being able to get warm is the best possible excuse for his brain not working properly to write a good column is exactly like the excuse a Twins player might use for not playing due to an injury. They are the exact same! Exactly. There's no difference.
It happens. Ask Delmon Young of the Twins. Delmon pulled himself from the lineup Wednesday night because he couldn't get loose. Despite hitting balls 20 rows deep into the stands during batting practice, he went over to manager Ron Gardenhire and said he couldn't go.
Man up Delmon. Quit being a little girl. If you can hit the ball deep into the stands, you can play in a game. I am sure Powers' recalled observation of Young hitting 20 balls deep into the stands isn't affected at all by his point of view that Young is being a wimp by not playing.
After the contest, the Twins put Young on the disabled list, which is where he should have been a long time ago.
Ok, so now Delmon Young, the guy who hit 20 balls deep into the stands in batting practice as related by Tom Powers in his anecdote proving he could have played in the game, should not have been in the game according to Tom Powers. He should have been on the disabled list. So far let's go through what Tom Powers is saying:
-The Twins use too many excuses when they have injuries.
-Delmon Young used an injury excuse before a game even though he looked like he could have played. He is one of the excuse-making players.
-Delmon Young is really injured so he should be on the disabled list. So his excuse was valid, but otherwise the Twins make too many excuses.
So the problem is players like Delmon Young are using excuses to not play in games, even when the injury is admittedly a valid one? I'm confused. So should Young have played or not? Tom Powers admits he was injured and should be on the disabled list, yet seems to indicate Young should have played because he hit 20 balls deep in the stands during batting practice.
He's missed six straight games with sore ribs, all the while insisting his return to the lineup was right around the corner. In fact, he asked Gardenhire to play him in left field instead of using him as the designated hitter on Wednesday. He figured he would be able to "stay loose" by running around in the outfield.
He's just like Michael Young, just less heroic. All Delmon Young wants to do is get on the field. So Young not only was trying to play through his rib injury, but he also insisted he play in the field? Clearly, this was a move designed to not get on the baseball field and milk an injury.
So far, Tom Powers has criticized Delmon Young for not playing in a game and trying to play in a game. I have no clue what would satisfy Tom Powers at this point, other than for injuries to players resulting in immediate execution of that player.
Then he bailed.
You know what? This is getting ridiculous. Hey guys, just go play baseball. We're all sick of hearing about tweaks, strains and IV bags. Suck it up and play!
Or don't play if you should be on the disabled list. The point Tom Power is trying to make is that you are all pussies and need to man up and play baseball...unless you should be on the disabled list, in which case don't even DARE to try to warm up and play in a game. He'll criticize you for that too.The Twins have to quit babying these guys. Either they can play or they can't.
Get on the field or get off the field. Don't try to play through injuries, don't try to determine the severity of injuries. Once a player gets injured, the Twins have 20 minutes to decide whether that player will play the entire season or go on the disabled list. 20 minutes should be enough time says Dr. Powers.
The problem is that guys walk into Gardenhire's office and tell him when they can play and when they can't. To me, that's a case of overcommunication. Unless the trainer specifically says a certain player needs to sit out, Gardenhire should just make out his best lineup and expect his players to go out there and perform.
I am not in the Twins clubhouse, but I would imagine Gardenhire does make out his best lineup and expect the players to perform. It doesn't make sense to send players who are injured out there because that won't lead to success. It will lead to more injuries and the failure of the team to win games. Maybe the Twins baby injuries at certain points, and I am not a doctor, but there are certain injuries that are day-to-day and may take time to heal while the player plays. There may also be cases where the team wants to hold the player back until they know how the injury feels in a couple of days.
We keep hearing that Justin Morneau is completely recovered from postconcussion syndrome. Yet after an off day Monday followed by a rainout Tuesday, Gardenhire said Morneau needed a DH day instead of playing first base.
At least his bat is still in the lineup. That's a positive, right?
OK, he's had the flu. It must be one hell of a flu, lasting more than a week. And he's not the only one.
I guess Tom Powers has never had the flu. The lingering effects can last more than a week and if the flu is still properly treated the person isn't necessarily ready to participate in a physical activity.
"We've got a bunch of guys sniffing and coughing up there," Gardenhire said, nodding toward the clubhouse.
Did Ted Williams ever sniff? Anyone ever hear Willie Mays cough?
"Players were tougher back in my day. Back in my day, there was no coughing or sneezing. Players simply threw up rather than cough."I'm pretty sure at some point Ted Williams sniffed and Willie Mays coughed in the locker room. I don't think having the flu or having a cold has happened to the modern baseball players. I can't believe he just actually wrote these two sentences.
"Did Sandy Koufax ever have diarrhea?" "Did anyone ever catch Whitey Ford drinking water? Then why does Justin Morneau need to stay hydrated?"
Before Wednesday's game, Gardenhire didn't even know which pitcher would start the second contest of today's doubleheader. At first, he thought it might be Eric Hacker. A dozen pitchers on his staff and yet one doubleheader throws the whole world off kilter.
The dozen pitchers on Gardenhire's staff all can't start a baseball game and be expected to go five innings. Some of the pitchers are closers, some are middle relief, and some are starters who have pitched recently. There is a reason a manager closely plans out the pitching schedule.
After all, we wouldn't want anyone to pitch on "short rest."
If a pitcher pitches in the second game of the doubleheader on short rest, considering there aren't a lot of breaks in a team's playing schedule, he will either take a rest before his next start or work on short rest for a longer period of time. I'm not sure this is desirable. So given injuries and the fact most of the pitchers on the staff either (a) would be on short rest or (b) can't start a game without wearing out the bullpen, it may be difficult for Gardenhire to find a pitcher to pitch the second half of a doubleheader.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that Carl Pavano also has the flu and has been pushed back a day.
Did Ted Williams ever sniffle? Did anyone see Cy Young have to blow his nose?
Hacker was Plan A. Unfortunately for Gardenhire and the Twins, Francisco Liriano was so horrible on Wednesday night that Hacker had to warm up in the very first inning. He ended up coming in to pitch in the fourth.
Well, then Francisco Liriano could have pitched the second half of the doubleheader...assuming he wasn't such a pussy of course.
The Twins' approach to injuries can be summed up in three words: caution, caution, caution.
It's not like the Twins have a bunch of money tied up in these players or anything. A cautious approach to injuries with inexpensive assets like baseball players is just pure madness. They should just blindly force the players to get out on the field with little regard to their injuries.
How do you feel? Think you might play today? Want to give it a try?
Sounds like we have ourselves a frustrated Twins fan here and not a sportswriter who covers athletes for a living.
Enough! Gardenhire needs to do what Vince Lombardi used to do as coach of the Green Bay Packers. Just barge into the trainer's room, tip a couple of tables over and order everybody out.
If Ron Gardenhire's goal is to lose the entire team and alienate his players in an attempt to get fired, this is definitely the best course of action. While he's at it, he could expose himself to fans who are entering the stadium, that would be effective to get him fired as well.
Once Gardenhire starts knocking over tables the Twins players will immediately start thinking things like,
"Man, my ribs don't hurt so bad. I'm glad our manager's immature display of frustration and anger helped me to understand my injury isn't quite as bad I believe it is. After all, he knows better than I do how I feel physically. I am going to start playing harder for him because he is so understanding of my personal situation and health."
As Lombardi would scream: "Nobody is injured here!"
I did an internet search on this phrase and I can't find where this was a popular sentence uttered by Vince Lombardi. I guess Tom Powers means Lombardi would have uttered this sentence if he had ever uttered this sentence. One thing is for sure, Lombardi would have had no patience for a guy with the flu and post-concussion syndrome. That made him an excellent head coach apparently.
Then write their names into the lineup and refuse to take them out unless the medical staff advises otherwise.
Another great idea! I feel like this part of the column comes from a terrible made-for-television movie where a fed-up, aging manager is put in charge of a young team that is so used to be pampered they don't understand the hustle and dedication being a great baseball player involves. The manager then throws a hissy-fit by flipping over tables and berates the injured players on the team which ends up, against all reason, actually making the team like him more and causing them to realize they aren't dedicated enough to winning. Eventually, the team wins the World Series as the star pitcher pitches a complete game with a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder...but the power of knocking over tables and irrationally berating injured players pulls him through.
Oh, and even though I couldn't get loose, I managed to muddle through and do my job. Not everybody at Target Field on Wednesday night can say that.
How brave. Tom Powers was sitting in a seat watching the game when he was "injured" by being cold. The Minnesota Twins players not only had to endure the cold that wiped out Tom Powers, but they also had to muddle through and do their job, which consists of performing physical tasks, while having an injury that prevents them from being at their 100% physical best.
I wish this column was a parody or making fun of the Twins fans for wanting injured players to play, but somehow I know that isn't the case.
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