RMJ 24 March 10

MONDAY, MARCH 10 ● St. Petersburg, vs St. Louis

I was still a little miffed when I woke up this morning.

On the way to St. Pete, I discussed the matter with Cubby again. He seemed to think that if I wanted to speak out on the lack of hustle, I should have my say.

“Better too soon than too late,” was his advice. I think I’ll take it.

Tomorrow is the last day in camp for eight of the pitchers. I might as well share my thoughts with everyone who has been in camp.

When we got to the ballpark, I discussed the issue with Bill, Ash, and Vern. Vern was a little surprised, but no one advised against speaking up.

 

Naturally, the game was one of those uplifting affairs that will be hard to follow with hard words.

It was obvious from the beginning that John Hirschbeck, the home plate umpire, was going to have

a large strike zone. If the pitchers could hit their spots, the hitters would have trouble hitting the pitches. That’s pretty much the way it went.

Donovan Osborne started for the Redbirds. Derek Bell homered off him in the first. After that, Osborne was practically flawless.

Donne Wall had first-inning problems too, but he escaped with one run. It stayed that way until the top of the tenth.

In the interim, I learned a valuable lesson about counting the extra men.

Because this is a relatively long trip, I brought a skeleton squad, and could have come up a man short. By the seventh inning, I was out of players, except for pitchers. If someone got hurt, I was going to have to play a pitcher in the field. Luckily, no one was injured.

In the top of the tenth, Ken Ramos led off with a walk. When Hidalgo popped up, Billy Wagner had to hit, though he was not going to pitch any more.

I put the bunt sign on. After one failed attempt, he put down a good one, and the third-baseman threw the ball away down the rightfield line. Ramos came around to score the lead run, and Wagner made it to third.

On the second pitch to Eric Christopherson, I signaled for the squeeze play. Cubby did a double-take, then relayed the sign. Eric acknowledged, and all systems were GO. The pitch came in high-and-tight, and Eric did a miraculous job of getting the bunt down. The players on the bench leapt to their feet with joy.

It was a real charge, but in the midst of it, I had a sickening feeling.

I had sniffed out a good situation, but I forgot who was running at third. I can ill-afford to lose Wagner, and this is a play where the runner can get hurt. The chances for injury are not great if the hitter acknowledges the sign, but still, there is some risk.

I doubt I would have signaled for the play if I had considered this possibility. It was just another example of how lucky you can get if you are aggressive.

 

After the game, Vern told me that there was to be a Players Association meeting at 9:30 in the morning. That made me think twice about my meeting with the players.

I called our equipment manager, Dennis Liborio, when I got home and confirmed the meeting. We had asked them to hold it at 9 a.m. so we could start our practice on time. I guess they either ignored our request or denied it. I wouldn’t be surprised either way.

Now the question is: Do I have my meeting anyway, and miss even more of the workout? Or do I save it for later? I will make that decision tomorrow. But I will record my thoughts now, so that I am prepared.

           

Those of you who are with the club this year will find that I am not big on meetings. But a few things have been bothering me lately, and I would like to bring them to the surface now, before they become habits.

My biggest concern is that we are losing our vital energy. I know it has been hot. We haven’t had any rain days to let the body recover. But all of you know it will be hot this summer too, and if it doesn’t rain, we will have to go through a stretch like this again.

So far, Bill Virdon is the only one who has called anyone on lack of hustle. The straw that broke the camel’s back for me was day-before-yesterday in Winter Haven. After the game, the remaining players were told to jog up and sprint back six times. Some did, but some didn’t. A few guys, including some rookies, just jogged up and back.

Bill said that we would keep running until we ran hard. Still, several players slacked off. I know the guys who were running hard didn’t appreciate their lazy teammates one bit that day. I was really pissed when I heard about it.         

But it’s not just the things I have heard, but also some things I have seen. Bill is the only one who has been outspoken, but I have talked to the other coaches, and they have all seen things they don’t like regarding teamwork and hustle.

Let me go over the list, without mentioning any names. I’m sure you will know if I am talking about you.

1. We have players who don’t do their stretching and warmup running before practice. This is especially destructive when it is veteran players. What do you think the guys who are in big-league camp for the first time think when they see this? I’ll tell you: They think that this is what you do if you’re a big-league ballplayer. You defy authority, because you are bigger than the team.
2. I have seen a guy make a sensational play to get a pitcher out of trouble, and I have seen that pitcher walk right by that guy without shaking his hand or patting him on the back. I have also seen a guy who made an error fail to acknowledge a pitcher who saved the unearned runs from scoring. This is a team, in case you haven’t noticed. If you don’t care about your teammates, maybe you better take up another sport — because you will not be welcome here.
3. I have seen players beg off from running, because of injuries. Then when I asked the trainers about it, they have told me that the player is healthy enough to run.
4. I have seen guys struggle with their fielding or bunting, but when I asked the coaches if they are doing any extra work, they tell me “no.” Still, we have guys who want extra hitting.

It seems to me that a lot of guys are only interested in the individual things that will make them money. They are not too keen on team plays that don’t show up on the stat sheet. Everyone pays lip service to The Ring, but no one wants to sacrifice for it. We go through the motions on fundamental drills and bunting practice, even though these little things can be the difference between first and second place. We have already won two games this spring by putting down bunts. The little things count for The Ring, even if they don’t count on your paycheck.

5. I have seen veteran players fail to advance an extra base when it would have been easy. I know the same players would advance during the year. Why not now? What do the young guys who will be playing in Tucson and Jackson think when they see this? Is this the kind of baseball we want to play in our system? Or do we think we can just turn it on when the bell rings? Well, let me tell you a little story:

I was a very young pitcher when I won 20 games. The next spring, I was on top of the world. I thought I could just coast through spring training, playing golf and having fun. Well, I started off 0-4 in April, and it took me the whole season to turn my record around, even though I started bearing down in May (exaggeration for emphasis). Luckily, we didn’t finish a game or two out of first that season. Think how I would have felt if we did.

When I was a player, the Red Sox were known as a “country club” team. They had lots of privileges, and short work days. I believe we can have short work days, if they are intense. I believe we can have lots of privileges if we earn them.

So far, no one has been shy about asking to drive to and from the road games. No one has volunteered to stay for the whole game after they have been excused. To tell the truth, it is a long season, and I don’t expect a lot of false hustle. I’m happy to give you guys a little slack.

But it’s about time you give me, your coaches, and your teammates, the best you have to offer when you are on the field. I’m going to tell you this right now — and if I fail to live up to it, I want you to call me on it:

I will never criticize you in the media. What I have said here, stays here. If we are to be a good team, we have to pull together like a family. We may have our disagreements, but when it comes down to it, it’s us against the world.

I think we have a chance to win this year. And it’s likely to take most everyone in this room to get it done. Some of you may start in the minors, and come up to help us win. That’s why it is important that we establish our commitment to excellence here at spring training — even though the games don’t count.

I am not managing to win, but I am trying my best to get myself and the team ready. That is my commitment. I’m expecting you to help me by doing your part. 

Are there any questions?

 

I don’t know that it will come out quite like that, but that is the gist of it.

I have been thinking of it for two days now. It only took me five minutes to write it.