Ken Davidoff's baseball insider

Ken, it is nice that Mike Schmidt did this. But, he should know that as well intentioned as he is, what he wrote probably won't even register with the players. I coached high school kids for many years and whenever one of the legendary school greats returned and gave them a similar note or a quick pep talk it didn't really carry any weight. Players know what the job they must do and this stuff might make a good story but has little or no practical effect, IMHO. It might be useful to fire up the Mets, though.

This is just what the Mets need - someone to hit them over the head with the 2x4 that was September 2007. He just left a pile of trouble in Charlie Manuel's lap.

Even though I am not a fan of the Shea team, I will root for the Mets to shred the Phils!

Post-season...Schmidt played in 36 games, 140 AB's, 4 HR's, 16RBI, .236..304/.386.

Think small in the big situations, but don't come up small.

Ken, who was the note e-mailed to?

Way to go, Bob! I had no idea that Smitty was so "clutchless" in the postseason! Still, he's right about basic tactics when facing the Amazins: work the count and take some walks. (Presumably, he means that the sooner the Mets bullpen is involved in the game, the better.) The rest of the rhetoric is nonsensical.

Since the conversation turned to radio interviews a little earlier, I encourage everyone to check out any Max Kellerman and Steve Phillips on the 1050 web site. I probably mentioned this once before, but, in particular, Kellerman's 7/29 skewering of Phillips is priceless.

http://query-origin.andohs.net/8000A6/content-root3.andomedia.com/origin/mp3/stations/1367/kellerman/kellerman080730.mp3

Approximately 40% of the way through, you'll hear the interview.

Ken -

I went to school in Phila (1979-83) and my roommates and friends were enamored with Mike Schmidt.

Sorry but I never jumped on the bandwagon. I thought he was a blowhard.

Anyways, I think behind closed doors Manuel stokes the fire. The only way to make last year's nightmare go away is to drive it home this year....play each game like your in second place.

Ken -

I noticed David Lennon has his own blog. He's not seeing nearly the traffic (posts) that you do.

Give him some advice...he's too taciturn.

Jim, I don't know precisely to whom Schmidt sent the e-mail - obviously a Phillies employee.

Gerry, Dave is a colleague and a good friend. He has good stuff on the blog and does a great job on his weekly "Mets Insider," which runs in Friday's newspaper.

OK. I didn't know if this went out to a cross section of reporters. That would have been even worse, although this is bad enough. Is Schmidt completely retired now or is he involved in some type of baseball-related work? Does anyone know?

Jim, Schmidt is listed in the Phillies' media guide as a part-time hitting instructor. And yeah, to make it clear, he didn't e-mail this to the media. The Phillies posted it on their door for all to see.

I said on this blog about a month ago that the Phils don't have enough starting pitching to hold off the Mets. Even with injuries now, the Phils don't have enough pitching to catch the Mets ( and my favorite NL team is the Phillies and I despise the Mets)
I think the Phillies players know who Michael Jack Schmidt is since his number is up on their wall.

Mike Schmdit adding fuel to the fired with his comments. Were see if this will be a positive or a negative for the Phillies.

Oh, I am sure that every Phillies player, and probably every big league player knows who Mike Schmidt is. I just don't think an e-mail from him will help a batter in the box facing a 95 MPH fastball. Wasn't George Steinbrenner big on pep talks earlier in his ownership? I recall reading about him making a tape recording and demanding it be played in the lockerroom for players. I can't remember who the manager was? Billy Martin? Martin must have laughed hysterically.

Best clubhouse sppech I ever heard was by Rocky Bridges, AAA manager for the Giants in Phoenix.

" To play on my teams, I only have three rules. Number one, if you get sunburned or hungover and can't play, you're fined a day's pay. Number two, I don't want to be woken up by a phone call from the hotel detective in the middle of the night. Number three, if the big feller is sneexing, you probably have the clap - go see Harry the trainer. That;s it, let's go work out!"

Wheither or not Schmidt's words will inspired the Phillies down the stretch, we won't know for sure. Meanwhile Brett Myers has become a different pitcher since he started the season 3-9 and was send down to the minors. Since he came back from the minors, Myers is 6-1, including tonight's win over the Mets where he shutout the Mets for 8 innings.

Bob Tufts,

I remember having a Rocky Bridges baseball card at one point in my youth.
If he was playing today, we'd have to make him an 8th inning reliever with a name like that.

And as far as inspirational speeches go, sorry Mike Schmidt and sorry Rockey Bridges.
The GREATEST inspirational locker room exhortation was delivered by this legendary hockey coach.

Right here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz3KpY5lrRc

Bob, do big league players think motivational speeches are a bunch of bull or do they like them? What about team meetings?

Classic stuff Islanders. I think a good pep talk can work. I remember giving the ball away in Game 1 of the finals in OT, and the guy going on a breakaway and scoring. I dont know if I've ever felt worse athletically. We had to wait almost two weeks for Game 2, I was depressed for those two weeks. Game 2 comes and I'm driving to the game and feeling miserable. All of a sudden on 95.5 I get the best pep talk of all time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LODkVkpaVQA

I played awesome that game. We still lost ;(

But the best pep talk of all time, which Islanders will know well. After the Americans beat the Russians, they are losing to Finland in the Gold Medal Game. Their down 2-1 going into the 2nd period and Herb Brooks comes in to the lockerrom and says, "Boys, if you lose this game, you will take it to your grave. Your (ahem) freaking (not really freaking) grave!"

They ended up winning 4-2.

I know Ken blogged earlier this week about the late season spark Joe Torre might have always given the Yankees that was missing this year. Well, our great manager who now stands on the top step of the dugout and drives a nice convertible car in Beverly Hills in his new lifestyle on commercials seems to be doing it again (although the Dodgers should be a better team than Arizona) six in a row and half a game out of first place. I'd love to see them get in with a .510 record and the Cubs not get in.
Tad Iguchi will make the difference for the Phillies :( He actually played really well for them last season after he came over.

Bob, on the pep talk issue: Do you think there is a difference between physical/contact sports and a non-contact sport such as baseball when it comes to the effectiveness of a rah-rah speech or signs on a bulletin board. Are pros capable of zoning in on their own or do they sometimes need these groups sessions?

Both the Dodgers and the Yankees are 3.5 games worse than they were a year ago. The difference is the strength of division opponents. Tampa Bay has blossomed and Boston remains strong while the NL West is as weak as Chris Russo's skill in pronouncing multi-syllable words.

I am not displeased with Joe Girardi's performance as manager. I think he and Dave Eiland have done good work with the pitching staff, especially considering the substantial number of injuries.

I continue to believe one or two of his coaches will be replaced after the season. I do not believe Willie Randolph will return as third base coach although I feel Bobby Meacham has a better than even chance of being dismissed.

Girardi needs a few more years to grow into one of the game's better managers. I really don't believe Joe Torre would have done any better with the 2008 Yankees and might have actually been a few games worse.

Jim - you canot manage/motivate baseball players the same way as football players. The length of the season means that at some point your voulme and intensity of your speech will be tuned out - it probably happens in the NBA (if they even listen to begin with!).

Contact sports are easier - you just tell players unless they are flying around and leveling people they're not doing their job.

Team meetings are a waste - the best team meeting is for lot of players to go to the bar and vent to each other - and then the veterans make sure that all drop the subject and go play the next day.

Managers tipping over the food table, throwing things - it's actually funny and doesn't address the situation. Managing is still a teaching position, so you have to address it when it happens, if it is a rule or team violation enforce it immediately without preference and go over the error the next day in practice or a minor team meeting.

Bob, I agree 100% and hoped/believed you would write what you did. As you said, baseball cannot be compared to other sports where such talks might be effective. The game is paced differently and has many other unique characteristics.

I also agree with your statement that "Managing is still a teaching position . . ." I always took exception when people would attack a colleague of mine and say "He's a coach not a teacher," and defame the guy as someone that cared just about athletics. Coaching IS teaching. Many coaches are much better teachers than pure classroom teachers who are book smart but don't know know how to convey that knowledge to others.

Jim - I'ne taken a buyout from my firm and am going to try to go into teaching - preferably a boarding school, where you can see how kids react in the classroom, on the field, in the public areas and simply eating lunch.

You can see them in different environments, find out early if something's wrong and then have the opportunity to address any issues (or remind kids of their strengths) and how to develop coping mechanisms on how to deal with it.

Sports is great as a teaching tool if you get kids to realize that it's simply a controlled environment where success or failure isn't life or death despite the parents and coaches insanity - you will fail as many times as you win and it's how you respond that it important. You can learn that on a JV squad or a deluxe travel team.

Bob I see many different types of teaching. But the teaching that annoys me the most is when they say it doesn't matter if you win or lose. Its true that as a kid winning should matter less than when you're an adult, but I feel if you're playing sports you should have a desire to win. Some of my favorite wins of all time came on my Little League team and I would hate to not have those memories.

But obviously trying your hardest and being a good selfless teammate is the most important lesson. All while having fun.

BTW, I meant the 3rd period not the 2nd with the Herb Brooks thing.

Bob, when I was coaching wrestling there was a kid on the team who I first met when he was in second grade. The teachers disliked him even then because he was a pain in the neck in the classroom and around the school. When he was in fourth or fifth grade a teacher told me that the only school (college) this particular kid would ever end up in was reform school. I maintained contact with him even when he wasn't in my class. When he reached high school I coached him on the wrestling team. Wrestling can be a sport of extreme highs and lows, throw in the need for difficult weight control and it becomes a real challenge.

After his junior year he decided to drop down one weight class - something almost unheard of for kids that are growing. He increased his muscle mass and decreased his fat content. In the summer he went to Iowa for a month of training. During his senior year he would go on 10-15 miles runs on Sundays. He was very committed to the "match plan" each time he competed and followed the coaching advice to the last detail. By the time he qualified for the state tournament he was still completely undefeated. I’ve had kids in this same position before and many couldn’t handle the pressure to win and cracked. In the state tournament many kids are undefeated.

Years earlier his parents invited me to dinner at their house several times and grilled me on my philosophy, etc. Satisfied, they put their trust in me. In the week leading up to state tournament this kid practiced very hard. Of course, everyone kept harping on winning and the “need” for him to be a state champion. Teachers, other wrestlers, alumni, the parents of other athletes, coaches, etc. You could see the pressure building.

Every day after practice I took him to a book store, where he chose to thumb through books on philosophy. I talked to him and drilled home the idea that his worth as a human being was not dependent on him winning. That if he didn’t win the state championship he would be the same person. Winning doesn’t change who you are. Once he bought into that the pressure evaporated completely. He was loose. It served him well in one particularly hectic match in front of 6,500 people in a small arena.

Bottom line: He won all four matches in the state championship, won the title, ended up with a full scholarship to a NCAA D-I school, went on to graduate from law school, passed the bar exam the first time and now works in the DA’s office. At least 10 different teachers told me he would never make it and were astonished to hear he was in college, in law school in the DA’s office, etc. Sports taught this kid discipline, but I am convinced that a de-emphasis on winning allowed him to become a real champion.

Bob, what subject are you interested in teaching, when do you want to start and where (metro area?) do you want to work? I admire what you are doing. From what I sense about you, the students you come across will be very fortunate to have you as their teacher. The positive influence you can have on these young people is simply enormous. You can really be a force for good. Someone who I last coached more than 10 years ago and who graduated in 1998 recently sought me out from California to discuss a change of career. The phone call last 90 minutes. A couple of weeks later he sent me an e-mail to profusely thank me for helping him avoid what would have been a terrible and costly mistake. Everyone needs someone they can trust and respect. Some of these bonds will last for decades, if not a lifetime.

Jim - New Englnd to DC is my target zone. I'd like to teach US History and Economics.

My high school baseball coach Harry Jameson was one of those transformative forces in my life. I'd love to approach part of the influcence that he had on his students and players.