RMJ 19 March 5

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5 ● Lakeland, vs Detroit

I didn’t ride the bus to Lakeland today. Instead, I picked up Cubby and we had a good discussion about managing.

I told him that I was not feeling very adept in the dugout yet. I talked about the process of relaying the signs, and about my problems with the lineup card.

“It’s frustrating,” I said. “Up in the booth, I would pencil a double-switch onto my scoresheet without hardly looking down. Now, I look at that card in the dugout as if it were a Rubik’s Cube. It can’t be as tough as I’m making it.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” he said. “It’ll start coming to you as you go along. You’ll get the hang of it.”

I was really feeling good about this guy. He seemed to have no ego problem; no bitterness. After five championships in eight minor-league seasons, he has had three interviews for big-league jobs. The last time he was a finalist, and the Astros’ old skipper, Terry Collins, beat him out.

Terry has an electric personality; Cubby is low-key. All he needs is a situation where a team is looking for a steady hand. But the Angels wanted to jack their team up — to add a little spark to their leadership. That’s what the Astros wanted when they hired Terry. When they hired me, they wanted to settle things down.

One of these days, Cubby will be in the right place at the right time. I think he will do a good job. One thing that might hurt him in interviews is that he isn’t big; isn’t fiery; isn’t glib. He’s just a regular guy.

I think many teams are looking for a media star, and he doesn’t fit the description. That’s too bad for him, but it could be just right for me. With all of his credentials, he could undermine me without feeling guilty. But I don’t think he will do that. I think he is a very solid guy.

 

I threw the baseball for the first time before the game today. Just played catch with Alan Ashby. It sure was fun. There are few things as enjoyable as a good game of catch. My son Ryan is old enough now that I can throw hard to him. I wonder how much longer I will be able to let him throw hard to me.

The game with the Tigers was disappointing. They came up with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat us by a run. It wasn’t the losing, or the score, that bothered me the most; I was concerned with our pitching. Not so much with the results as with the stuff: the raw ability.

Our offseason trades were supposed to have increased our firepower. I thought we would be deep in hard-throwing young pitchers. So far, all I have seen is the young pitchers. They may be hard throwers before the year is out, but they are not throwing hard yet. Maybe they will start throwing harder, but I doubt it. My hunch is that our scouting reports were a little optimistic on some of these guys.

Jeff Bagwell asked me if I wanted to go have a few beers some night and I said yes. Bagwell has already accomplished almost everything a player could ever desire. He was Rookie of the Year in 1991; he’s been an All-Star; he was the MVP of the league in 1994. 

Jeff is a serious-minded athlete. He is driven to succeed. The only thing he doesn’t have is a World Series ring, and that is the only thing he wants. I believe he can help me a lot in the clubhouse, if he endorses our program. But he is a thinking man, and he’s not going to just go along for the ride.

We need to come to a meeting of the minds, and I need to entertain some of his thoughts. I don’t mind that at all, because he will doubtless have some good ideas. But there will come a time when I will disagree with him, and insist that we go another way. It’s inevitable. That’s why I want to know what he is thinking, and establish a friendly-but-respectful relationship.

The other day I told him that I had been a fool, just like him: we both married beautiful blondes shortly after becoming big-league ballplayers. We both bought the sizzle and then didn’t like the steak. We commiserated and had a good laugh about our folly.

I look forward to spending a little more time with him.

 

This evening, Pat Murphy, our computer whiz, came over to see if he could get me set up on the Internet. His efforts were unsuccessful, but we did enjoy a nice cigar together.

Pat isn’t the only one who is into the cigar craze. Craig Biggio wants to use stogies as the currency-of-choice in our Kangaroo Court this year. He may get some opposition, but I’m all in favor of it. 

Sometimes a manager will fine a player, then give the money back at the end of the year if the player behaves. If we use cigars, they will know that their fines are not coming back; they will see them go up in smoke.

Murph and I had pasta for dinner, then we went to The Boo for a beer and another cigar. We missed Bagwell by 15 minutes. As far as I know, he is the first player to enter this sacred place. Guess he really did want to shoot the breeze, and I’m sorry I missed him. But it’s a good sign.

I don’t think he would have done the same for Terry. Our time will come.