Millar: Lou's disorganization hurt team

[Guest]

That's a weird and incorrect thing to say.

Nobody struck out or dropped a popup because the lineup wasn't posted early enough, therefore none of this intangible team chemistry crap matters in baseball.

 

Agree or disagree?

 

finally you're understanding

So Kevin Millar and Alfonso Soriano really need to pay attention to what you have to say about what does and doesn't impact players' and teams' performance in MLB then? Since you know better than them.

 

Simply amazing.

[Sammy Sofa]

Something tells me that davearm is the type of person who would scoff at anything Soriano does or says in regards to baseball except at times like this.

[Banedon]

It's pretty obviously a language issue.

 

I didn't think it was obvious, but I could see that being the case. I'm not a Soriano hater or anything...the comment just kinda rubbed me the wrong way. I'll get over it fast if he keeps hitting like he has so far.

[tfarks]

I'm sure Lou just got drunk and fell asleep, can't blame him.

[bukie]

It's pretty obviously a language issue.

 

I didn't think it was obvious, but I could see that being the case. I'm not a Soriano hater or anything...the comment just kinda rubbed me the wrong way. I'll get over it fast if he keeps hitting like he has so far.

I'm not sure the .667 SLG is sustainable, but everything else to this point probably is.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I'm sure Lou just got drunk and fell asleep, can't blame him.

 

and ate doughnuts. because hes fat. and fat people like doughnuts.

[erik316wttn]

It doesn't surprise me if it's true. At least to me (and I know to an awful lot of people here) it seemed like Lou just plain didn't give a damn anymore.

[rocket]

That's a weird and incorrect thing to say.

Nobody struck out or dropped a popup because the lineup wasn't posted early enough, therefore none of this intangible team chemistry crap matters in baseball.

 

Agree or disagree?

 

finally you're understanding

So Kevin Millar and Alfonso Soriano really need to pay attention to what you have to say about what does and doesn't impact players' and teams' performance in MLB then? Since you know better than them.

 

yes

[Cubbie Swagger]

"[Mike Quade] is different. If you're off on Friday, he told me like two or three days before. So that makes me play more hard for him, because he has a lot of respect for me.

Wow, what a team player.

 

For the record, team chemistry does exist in baseball. Is it exaggerated? Absolutely. But players do perform better when they are happy. When people are depressed and frustrated it tends to affect their play on the field. I don't see how anyone can really argue that.

[Sammy Sofa]

Because "unhappy" players are usually that way because they and/or the team are performing poorly, not vice-versa.

 

And how is that quote indicative that he isn't a "team player?" Plus, again, language barrier.

[Old Style]

I'm sure Lou just got drunk and fell asleep, can't blame him.

 

and ate doughnuts. because hes fat. and fat people like doughnuts.

Damn straight we do.

[Cubbie Swagger]

Because "unhappy" players are usually that way because they and/or the team are performing poorly, not vice-versa.

 

And how is that quote indicative that he isn't a "team player?" Plus, again, language barrier.

I agree that poor team performance is often times the cause of low team morale, but that low team morale does then make the problem worse. It's like what came first, the chicken or the egg? :D

 

I'm aware that Soriano is from Mexico, so I did take that into account. My point about him was that he was openly admitting that he tries harder when he is happy with his manager and maybe suggesting that he slacks off when he is displeased with his manager. Not to make a big deal of it or anything.

[javy knows my name]

Because "unhappy" players are usually that way because they and/or the team are performing poorly, not vice-versa.

 

And how is that quote indicative that he isn't a "team player?" Plus, again, language barrier.

I agree that poor team performance is often times the cause of low team morale, but that low team morale does then make the problem worse. It's like what came first, the chicken or the egg? :D

 

I'm aware that Soriano is from Mexico, so I did take that into account. My point about him was that he was openly admitting that he tries harder when he is happy with his manager and maybe suggesting that he slacks off when he is displeased with his manager. Not to make a big deal of it or anything.

 

Hahahaha

[Sammy Sofa]

Because "unhappy" players are usually that way because they and/or the team are performing poorly, not vice-versa.

 

And how is that quote indicative that he isn't a "team player?" Plus, again, language barrier.

I agree that poor team performance is often times the cause of low team morale, but that low team morale does then make the problem worse. It's like what came first, the chicken or the egg? :D

 

Personally I think team morale has little to with the performance on the field. If the talent and health is there it will usually overcome. There's been plenty of winning and championship teams that were made up of guys that didn't get along or downright hated each other or had scattered malcontents or unlikeable guys in the clubhouse/locker room. There's also tons of losing teams that get along great and are the best bunch of supportive buddies you've ever seen. Sure, ideally you want the players to get along or at least tolerate each other, but at the end of the day if they can perform they're going to regardless of who is friendly and who is a jerk, especially when it comes to a sport like baseball that is so reliant on individual performances. When it's moment of truth time, be it hitting or pitching catching the ball or throwing for the out I highly, highly doubt that that player is going to be thinking about a teammate they don't like. There's an almost complete disconnect.

 

I'm aware that Soriano is from Mexico, so I did take that into account. My point about him was that he was openly admitting that he tries harder when he is happy with his manager and maybe suggesting that he slacks off when he is displeased with his manager. Not to make a big deal of it or anything.

 

Again, it's tremendously unlikely he actually meant it as you put it and his statement was a result of his grasp of English.

[XZero771679666304]

"Chemistry" and morale are certainly overstated by many, but they aren't meaningless, either (IMO). Players are not automatons who will perform at the same level regardless of what is going on around them.

 

But I think the notion that unpredictability and inconsistency from the manager could adversely impact the team has real merit. An idealist might say it would force players to prepare to the maximum every day, but that's not realistic. People take comfort in certainty, and unpredictability almost always has adverse effects.

 

Plus when your leader has a half assed, disengaged approach, that's going to rub off. We can go on about "these players make so much money they should always give their max effort, etc.", but at the end of the day, they are human, and often not that bright.

 

None of this should be surprising, since many here commented on how disinterested and aloof Lou looked late in his tenure. This is just some confirmation of that.

[Sammy Sofa]

"Chemistry" and morale are certainly overstated by many, but they aren't meaningless, either (IMO). Players are not automatons who will perform at the same level regardless of what is going on around them.

 

But I think the notion that unpredictability and inconsistency from the manager could adversely impact the team has real merit. An idealist might say it would force players to prepare to the maximum every day, but that's not realistic. People take comfort in certainty, and unpredictability almost always has adverse effects.

 

Plus when your leader has a half assed, disengaged approach, that's going to rub off. We can go on about "these players make so much money they should always give their max effort, etc.", but at the end of the day, they are human, and often not that bright.

 

None of this should be surprising, since many here commented on how disinterested and aloof Lou looked late in his tenure. This is just some confirmation of that.

 

Right, and I think that's significantly different than what people are typically talking about when it comes to "chemistry," which is in regards to the players getting along. Someone's capability as a leader is very, very different.

[bcl412]

To me chemistry is important in sports like basketball, football and hockey. It's less important in baseball because baseball is an individual game disguised as a team sport. Sure you may hate everyone of your teammates and your manager but I don't see how that will effect your ability to hit a baseball because at the end of the day, it's still you vs the pitcher and that's it.

 

I could see a guy dogging it at the plate because he hates his teammates but even that seems rare to me because there are plenty of selfish reasons for a player to be successful. A poor season at the plate could cost a guy a lot of money.

[Illini Iceman]

Dempster seems to love Quade and he is also a buddy of Millar so I am going to go out on a limb and say Dempster fed him some of this information.

[17 Seconds]

most surprising thing in the article to me-

 

The Cubs held a meeting last season to ask Piniella to post the lineups sooner.

 

"We like to know when we play," Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano said Monday. "We asked him in Atlanta, 'Let us know when we play, and when we have a day off.' And he said, 'Yes,' but he never did it. That doesn't make everybody comfortable.

 

 

they held a meeting to ask him to post the lineups sooner?

Edited April 6, 2011 by 17 Seconds

[davearm2]

"Chemistry" and morale are certainly overstated by many, but they aren't meaningless, either (IMO). Players are not automatons who will perform at the same level regardless of what is going on around them.

 

But I think the notion that unpredictability and inconsistency from the manager could adversely impact the team has real merit. An idealist might say it would force players to prepare to the maximum every day, but that's not realistic. People take comfort in certainty, and unpredictability almost always has adverse effects.

 

Plus when your leader has a half assed, disengaged approach, that's going to rub off. We can go on about "these players make so much money they should always give their max effort, etc.", but at the end of the day, they are human, and often not that bright.

 

None of this should be surprising, since many here commented on how disinterested and aloof Lou looked late in his tenure. This is just some confirmation of that.

 

Right, and I think that's significantly different than what people are typically talking about when it comes to "chemistry," which is in regards to the players getting along. Someone's capability as a leader is very, very different.

Who ever struck out or made an error because of Piniella's (or anyone else's) capability (or lack thereof) as a leader?

 

Link to the boxscore please.

 

Look either this intangible stuff matters, or it doesn't. You don't get to pick and choose which elements impact a player's psyche in a meaningful way and which don't, and say one is "very very different" from another. That's total BS.

[Neuby]

You come to the ballpark ready to play everyday plain and simple.

[Bote McBoteface]

How about we all agree to this:

 

No dropped flyballs or strikeouts were caused by Lou posting the lineup late. True.

 

However, having a manager that is so disinterested that he can't even post the lineups on time even after the players have a meeting with him to discuss it can hurt your team.

[XZero771679666304]

Who ever struck out or made an error because of Piniella's (or anyone else's) capability (or lack thereof) as a leader?

 

Link to the boxscore please.

 

Look either this intangible stuff matters, or it doesn't. You don't get to pick and choose which elements impact a player's psyche in a meaningful way and which don't, and say one is "very very different" from another. That's total BS.

 

Going to work not knowing if you or someone else is going to make a presentation and not doing as well as a result is not the same as screwing it up because you don't get along with a couple co-workers. Inconsistency, uncertainty and the effects of poor leadership have been demonstrated time and again to be detrimental in virtually all scenarios. They certainly have more merit than more ephemeral contrivances like "clutch", "grit", "knowing how to win" and chemistry in an individual sport.

 

Lumping all the "intangible stuff" together and saying it all has merit or none of it does is just ludicrous.

[XZero771679666304]

You come to the ballpark ready to play everyday plain and simple.

 

That sounds good, but it's easier said than done. And being inconsistent to keep guys on their toes might be a nice coaching tactic at lower levels of sport, but at the highest level where winning is everything, it'd be pretty damned stupid. And from what I gather, it's also pretty rare not to post lineups early.

 

But I suspect Lou just wasn't into it towards the end.

[Cubbie Swagger]

How about we all agree to this:

 

No dropped flyballs or strikeouts were caused by Lou posting the lineup late. True.

Sure it's easy to make a simple statement like that, but it's likely not just the lineup issue that people were unhappy with. As far as "chemistry" in the sense of players playing well together then I'd have to say that doesn't matter very much in baseball. But as far as players' moods, I think it can be extremely important. No matter what sport it is, individual or team, your mindset DOES affect your performance. I know that for me personally, when I start getting frustrated with myself or my team, I am much more likely to strike out or shoot an airball or whatever it is. Then the problem just snowballs.