Fundamental Baseball.
Eric Wedge answered Tom Hamiltons question about a hit and run situation in yesterdays game and out came the just absolutely infuriating answer of "we've started to do plays like that, some work, some dont. nows the time for fundamental baseball"...
Now is the time? NOW? Your ballclub Mr. Manager is in 4th place with a record of 40-46 staring up at an 18 1/2 game deficit in JULY. its not called spring training because it sounds fun. Read spring training very carefully and tell me what you see.
The more telling and even more frightening thing is that alot of these guys were coached by Wedge in the minors where they should have had these things drilled into them. Victor has terrible mechanics and arm strength for a catcher. Peralta has shown all of his defensive weaknesses this year. None of our pitchers know how to hold runners. None of our guys can bunt.
Mark Shapiro is constantly heard talking about the future being bright because of the players that are in the minors all the while never getting to see these "prospects" come to fruitition. A select few get called up and look absolutely lost, a severe indication that our coaches down there arent worth a shit either. They are not being taught how to play baseball.
Is Shapiro lying? is this so called "future" completed overrated because he went after offensive talents only that cannot play defense or play fundamentally sound ball?
I just hope there arent actually any wedge supporters anymore, after this comment if there is then these people just dont get it or this game.
I cant believe I'm going to praise them but this is why those white sux teams of the mid to late nineties were good, but never great. They relied on power and the home run and forgot that speed and a good glove were really the difference. Dye and Konerko arent the fastest players, but they're smart and extremely good defensively. oh, and they both know how to bunt.
In came Ozzie Guillen. He single handedly dismantled that team. Out with Carlos Lee, Frank Thomas, and Magglio Ordonez. In with players like Scott Podsednik, Tadahito Iguchi, and Pablo Ozuna. The 3 new additions are not gold glovers (Iguchi might become the exception here) by any means but they are fast, can bunt, and can get on base in the blink of an eye.
forward to 2005. it seems every other team didnt get the memo that "small ball" could actually still be played and USED to win. defenses didnt know how to play Chicago and were flat out, out hustled.
Jack Mckeon (anyone know if he'd be interested in a job?) came to the marlins in mid season 2003 when it seemed any hopes at all had been ruled out; his "small ball" approach won the world series.
Joe Giradi is doing the same thing in florida right now. He is almost a spitting image of Guillen with his managerial approach. He makes his players responsible and does not accept excuses. Joe is going to be a great manager and the marlins in a few years are going to be a dangerous team.
Giradi thought he had walked into a gold mine when he accepted the job only to see a massive fire sale take place. Mike Lowell, Carlos delgado, Juan Encarnacion, Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett to name a few, were traded for younger players not even close to being ready for the big leagues. The oldest player on their present roster isnt even 37.
The Marlins became a Triple A team literally overnight and were left with no choice but to field players that are big leaguers by mere circumstance. Florida will lose 100 games, thats no secret and Giradi knows it but they are way ahead of schedule already tearing off win streaks of 5 or more games including 9 games.
The talent they have on that team may exceed any of what Cleveland may have in their entire system. Instruction, Drills, good coaching and supervision really do work wedge.
I just dont get why we cant find a manager like these 3 guys. we'd be in first place. there is too much talent on this team to let a season like this become the norm.
Now is the time? NOW? Your ballclub Mr. Manager is in 4th place with a record of 40-46 staring up at an 18 1/2 game deficit in JULY. its not called spring training because it sounds fun. Read spring training very carefully and tell me what you see.
The more telling and even more frightening thing is that alot of these guys were coached by Wedge in the minors where they should have had these things drilled into them. Victor has terrible mechanics and arm strength for a catcher. Peralta has shown all of his defensive weaknesses this year. None of our pitchers know how to hold runners. None of our guys can bunt.
Mark Shapiro is constantly heard talking about the future being bright because of the players that are in the minors all the while never getting to see these "prospects" come to fruitition. A select few get called up and look absolutely lost, a severe indication that our coaches down there arent worth a shit either. They are not being taught how to play baseball.
Is Shapiro lying? is this so called "future" completed overrated because he went after offensive talents only that cannot play defense or play fundamentally sound ball?
I just hope there arent actually any wedge supporters anymore, after this comment if there is then these people just dont get it or this game.
I cant believe I'm going to praise them but this is why those white sux teams of the mid to late nineties were good, but never great. They relied on power and the home run and forgot that speed and a good glove were really the difference. Dye and Konerko arent the fastest players, but they're smart and extremely good defensively. oh, and they both know how to bunt.
In came Ozzie Guillen. He single handedly dismantled that team. Out with Carlos Lee, Frank Thomas, and Magglio Ordonez. In with players like Scott Podsednik, Tadahito Iguchi, and Pablo Ozuna. The 3 new additions are not gold glovers (Iguchi might become the exception here) by any means but they are fast, can bunt, and can get on base in the blink of an eye.
forward to 2005. it seems every other team didnt get the memo that "small ball" could actually still be played and USED to win. defenses didnt know how to play Chicago and were flat out, out hustled.
Jack Mckeon (anyone know if he'd be interested in a job?) came to the marlins in mid season 2003 when it seemed any hopes at all had been ruled out; his "small ball" approach won the world series.
Joe Giradi is doing the same thing in florida right now. He is almost a spitting image of Guillen with his managerial approach. He makes his players responsible and does not accept excuses. Joe is going to be a great manager and the marlins in a few years are going to be a dangerous team.
Giradi thought he had walked into a gold mine when he accepted the job only to see a massive fire sale take place. Mike Lowell, Carlos delgado, Juan Encarnacion, Josh Beckett, A.J. Burnett to name a few, were traded for younger players not even close to being ready for the big leagues. The oldest player on their present roster isnt even 37.
The Marlins became a Triple A team literally overnight and were left with no choice but to field players that are big leaguers by mere circumstance. Florida will lose 100 games, thats no secret and Giradi knows it but they are way ahead of schedule already tearing off win streaks of 5 or more games including 9 games.
The talent they have on that team may exceed any of what Cleveland may have in their entire system. Instruction, Drills, good coaching and supervision really do work wedge.
I just dont get why we cant find a manager like these 3 guys. we'd be in first place. there is too much talent on this team to let a season like this become the norm.
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