HBO sports documentary films

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by toptentwist, May 23, 2012.

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  1. toptentwist

    toptentwist Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    Changing channels this morning, I happened to stumble across an HBO documentary that focused on Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

    It was absolutely fascinating... much more so than I would have ever expected.

    Things I didn't realize:

    1.) Larry Bird briefly attended Indiana University (presumably to play for Bobby Knight) but left fairly quickly because he didn't feel comfortable on the campus.

    2.) Bird and Magic played together on an international "Team USA" team in 1978 (prior to them playing against each other for the NCAA championship in 1979). The footage of the two of them passing the ball to each other multiple times was absolutely fascinating.

    3.) I realized that Bird was no where near as extroverted as Magic, but I wasn't aware how much he truly wanted to be out of the spotlight. Yet, he didn't shun competition, and always kept tabs on his most fierce competitor.

    4.) The lunch meeting at Bird's house where his mother served lunch to "Earvin" was very touching. Probably the first time the two truly came to understand each other.

    5.) Bird routinely mowed his own lawn outside his New England (?) home.


    Basically, *ANY* of these HBO specials that I've stumbled across have been very well worth watching.

    1.) the one about the 1972 US/Soviet olympic final game
    2.) the one about the 1985 Villanova NCAA championship
    3.) the one about Vince Lombardi
    4.) the one about Curt Flood
    5.) the one about the Broad Street Bullies hockey team

    Even the ones where I *thought* I knew the complete story have had many interesting twists and turns...

    I wonder if there's a way to tell my DVR to hunt these down.

    I can easily watch all of them repeatedly.
     
  2. Cheepnik

    Cheepnik Overfed long-haired leaping gnome

    Their sports documentaries are uniformly excellent. The one about Vince Lombardi was absolutely heartbreaking; he might have been the greatest winner football has ever seen, but he was a loser as a husband and father.
     
  3. toptentwist

    toptentwist Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX

    Lombardi clearly took some things for granted... including his own health.

    I think the documentary said he attended church daily. That surprised me.


    I suspect the way Lombardi valued his occupation more than his family,
    is an all too common tale. I'm not sure the kids are bitter today.
    The daughter clearly was able to tell her story with much gusto but
    it seemed like she was laughing about it when retelling her story.

    The son seemed to be a little more calm...


    The story by John Madden about how he went to see Lombardi give a seminar and he spent 8 hours passionately talking about ONE play was pretty interesting.

    The stories from his former players about how he learned to adjust were fascinating... he demanded things from his players but he also was willing to listen when they spoke up.
     
  4. Marty Milton

    Marty Milton Senior Member

    Location:
    Urbana, Illinois
    Looks like we have a duplicate thread going here.
     
  5. EdgardV

    EdgardV ®

    Location:
    USA
    Lombardi had a long religious history -- very devout.

    Seems like a disconnect that for as religious as he was, that he wasn't a better father and husband.
    Pure conjecture on my part, but I've often thought that Lombardi saw the Green Bay Packers as his family; and that is why he and they were so successful at winning.


    Lombardi's leadership was way ahead of his time on many issues. As far as winning football games, Lombardi held himself accountable FIRST, to simplify the path to success for his players. He held himself accountable for creating a winning environment, through his words, his attitude, his philosophy, gameplan, teaching and training his players. He determined that it would be more successful to have fewer plays, and to train his players to execute those plays to perfection. It may have been Jerry Kramer (#64 Packers All-Pro Right-Guard), who described a scenario of either, the opposing defense on the field had guessed out-loud what play the Packer offense was going to run, or that the Packer offense just came out and told them what play they were going to run, but either way, the defense couldn't stop the play, because the offense ran it so perfectly, time after time after time! You'd think that some contemporary head coaches would have learned the brilliance of this philosophy, and made it part of their approach, but I've never seen it.


    Lombardi was characterized by the media and the NFL as a tough, no-nonsense, demanding coach who yelled a lot. While some of that was true, in the 1960's, it was not fashionable for men to talk about love, especially not men who played football, and in the NFL. So the media didn't focus on the well rounded, loving, encouraging leader Lombardi really was. Lombardi actually talked about and expressed love quite a bit. He knew that leaders had to be balanced in their approach. Positive reinforcement was part of his scheme, but few talk about it. In fact, Lombardi's TRUE approach can, and is applied to general business success today. Some little known quotes from Lombardi:




    • "The new leadership is in sacrifice, it is in self-denial, it is in loyalty, and it is in love, it is in fearlessness, it is in humility, and it is in the perfectly disciplined will." ---

    • “A leader must identify himself with the group, must back up the group, even at the risk of displeasing superiors. He must believe that the group wants from him a sense of approval. If this feeling prevails, production, discipline, morale will be high, and in return, you can demand the cooperation to promote the goals of the community.” ---

    • “Leaders need to balance toughness and love. Toughness emerges from discipline; love emanates from mutual respect, loyalty and teamwork.” ---


    • “It is essential to understand that battles are primarily won in the hearts of men. Men respond to leadership in a most remarkable way, and once you have won a mans heart, he will follow you anywhere.” ---

    - V. Lombardi

    Lombardi wasn't only a hard driving task master that demanded perfection. Players tell stories of how Lombardi would indeed bust their chops all day in practice, but then in the locker room, come up to them, put his arm around them, and tell them that if they keep developing the way they did today, their going to become the best player in the NFL!

     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2014
  6. toptentwist

    toptentwist Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    What's fascinating about Lombardi and several other ultra-successful coach types is that they seem to win at any level - with any set of players.

    It's the ability to create that environment you speak of... where the players believe they CAN win... and understand how to put the hard work in...

    But it was also that Lombardi was constantly evolving his thought... adapting his methods for each level - and each set of players.

    I was fascinated by the part where Bart Starr says he had a private discussion with Lombardi about how he doesn't mind being yelled at - but that it was ultra important to his team-mates... that they not SEE Lombardi yelling at his field general... so they could have complete confidence in Starr.

    Apparently Lombardi saw the wisdom in this and never publicly berated Starr again...

    Lineman like Kramer didn't need this kind of treatment... you could yell at them all day long - and it didn't disturb the confidence of the team.
     
    EdgardV likes this.
  7. live evil

    live evil Senior Member

    Location:
    ohio
    Did anyone else see the one about Chucky Mullins that aired the other night?

    I turned on the TV just as it was starting, and I had no intention of watching it, but I sat there for 90 minutes completely rivetted. I was not familiar with this story. I would urge everyone to watch it if they have a chance. I did not see any future listings the other night when I went looking for it. The titel is "It's Time." It's part of a documentary series focusing on the SEC.
     
  8. EdgardV

    EdgardV ®

    Location:
    USA
    I couldn't locate the exact quote, but I recall someone quoting Lombardi, when talking about the 40 or 44 man roster, as saying, "Now I just need to find 44 different ways to win."

    In other words, he respected each player as an individual, and worked with each individual to become their best.
     
  9. EdgardV

    EdgardV ®

    Location:
    USA
    In fact Lombardi told his players,

    "You will be successful
    if you focus on three things,
    and three things only:
    Your God,
    Your family, and
    The Green Bay Packers... and in that order."


    — Coach Lombardi
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2014
  10. RockWizard

    RockWizard Forum Resident

    One of my favorites is When It Was A Game Volume 1-3. The footage is priceless.
     
  11. CusBlues

    CusBlues Fort Wayne’s Favorite Retired Son

    Absolutely. All three are great. It is one of the only baseball documentaries I know of that uses no statistics to tell the story.
     
  12. toptentwist

    toptentwist Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    I coached a baseball team one year.

    I did it completely different than most. I took all of the things I had ever seen that I thought was wrong and I did something specific to correct what I thought was wrong, things I remembered went wrong on previous teams.

    I started with first base. I was tired of watching every coach I'd ever seen put the tallest kid on first base... no matter how bad he was with his hands. The year previous, my son's team had a horrible first baseman. He'd drop the ball every time.

    Our league had a draft, where they had every kid in the league go through a sequence at several positions... one position was shortstop... another was at the plate... and I think maybe another was in the outfield... the goal was to see who could hit, who could field a grounder, and who could catch a flyball... or who could do all three....

    They actually handed all of the coaches sheets of papers with spots for us to mark what we thought of each kid at each spot during the try-out.

    But what ended up happening was after a kid fielded some grounders, he would circle around and handle first base - not to be evaluated at first base - but simply to give the kids fielding at shortstop a person to throw to.

    During this exercise, I noticed that one relatively short kid would never leave the base - he would ssssttttttrrrrreeeeetttcccch as much as
    was necessary. And he didn't seem to EVER drop the ball. So I created an extra column on my sheet of paper and wrote down "1st base" and this kids name.

    I drafted him very high in our little draft. No one else even paid attention to him. But I wanted him because I'd seen too many tall kids for years with concrete hands.

    And I walked right up to him at the beginning of our first practice and said "YOU are are first baseman... " He kind of looked at me stunned... expecting to be banished to the outfield... but I told him... "look, you were clearly the best I saw and I want you in a position that's important... can you lock down that spot for me??"

    And he said "Yes !" and I never had a problem with that spot all year... even if he didn't look like the prototype first baseman.

    From that point forward, I was like "OK... one spot down, eight more to go...." and then I just continued from there.

    I had a really really short kid who wanted to pitch... but he threw the ball straight down the pipe every time. Kids hit the ball off of
    him, because it was like hitting on a tee... but I tried him at thirdbase because he seemed like he could get the ball to 1st base in the
    same spot EVERY time.

    Another position down... both positions were rock solid all year long... both positions filled by a kid who NO ONE else would have
    considered because they didn't LOOK the part.

    Batting order ??? I did it entirely based on speed.

    I lined the kids up - told them we were going to race forty yards and back, and the person who comes in last would be told to
    leave the group.

    Kid who came in last place on the second race... he leaves the group.

    And so on... as I wrote down the sequence that kids fell out of the group.

    The kid who wins this war of attrition, never losing 12 or 13 races... he's my fastest... and I wanted him batting first. Next kid, who survived every race (but one)... I want him batting second.

    I then explained tho the kids what I was DOING with these race results. And why they were batting in the spot where they ended up.

    My thought was I wasn't worried about pure bat skills... I didn't want ONE kid on the team who questioned "why?" he was batting 3rd or 6th ? or 9th ? Quite simply, the kids who EARNED it, got to come to the plate first.

    This was largely because when I was a kid I was always asking "Why is HE batting in THAT spot??" It was a useless question then and it was a useless question now. I didn't want kids wondering about it. Or parents.

    When the kids got to the base, I did a drill with them where I told them "take the largest lead you think you can" and then I would have them try to scamper back when a pick off came over (from a coach). If they made it back safely, I would then mark a spot in the dirt and say "Ok... do it again, but go further this time...." and we would repeat until they were finally too far and couldn't make it back.

    But when I was done - I would point out that they could actually get a LOT farther away from the base than they thought they could.

    And I told them... I want an aggressive team... there's nothing more FUN in life than getting on first base, and then stealing second, and then stealing third, and if you REALLY want some fun - steal HOME.

    I told them when they get on first - there was only ONE signal I had and that was "red light"... by that I meant they had the green light to steal on ANY pitch... but if there was a situation where I thought it was not a good idea, I might give them a "red light" signal.

    This is exactly backwards to the way every coach (at the kids level) does it.

    I flat out told my team... I don't CARE if you get thrown out TRYING to steal. You will NEVER hear me complain if you push yourself to do something. If you get thrown out... big deal... I said all you will did is make the spot nice and empty for your teammate behind you.

    My team ran like the wind... the slowest kid on the team would steal bases... my bottom of the order kid believed in this and even HE stole bases... much to the amazement of the other teams, they had never seen a chubby kid in the last spot steal a base... it was like watching Dumbo fly. I remember the opposing catcher stood up and WATCHED... too amazed to remember to throw the ball.

    I elected captains... not something the league said we were supposed to do... something I thought was important...

    And my criteria to be nominated for captain ? I pulled each nominee aside, told him to look back at the rest of the team and tell me the name of every other kid on the team. Those who thought they were captain material, but didn't know the name of every team-mate, I sent back to the bunch.

    My feeling was we had been practicing for three weeks, if you don't know everyone else on the team by now, you excused yourself from a position of leadership. It's funny - I've seen many teams where no one knows the people are at the end of the bench.
    That's a problem... I wanted a team where every player could look at the plate and say "Let's go Jason!" or "Let's go Kevin!" or whoever... it really DOES matter if every kid is thinking about every other kid.

    When we played, I was LOUD... EXTREMELY loud... but never angry... or bitter or even upset... just LOUD so everyone could hear me. The boys followed.

    But my best decision ? It was early on the in the season... during the second game, and I realized that the kids were getting a little out of hand in the dugout. These were older boys... around 13-14... and some of them had foul mouths... which they inherited from their parents... they wouldn't cuss at the umpire or the opposing team... but when I looked over, as I stood at the third base coaching area,
    i could tell my dug-out was in disarray... and the potty mouth thing was one of the reasons... my solution ? I called one of the moms up, I explained to her that I didn't want a "boys club" in the dug-out and I wanted a female in there so they would behave. She
    amazingly understood what was needed. And I never told the kids "we have a new coach".... I told her to just wander in the dugout and don't leave... which she did beautifully... and the kids all of sudden became well behaved young men.

    And much to my amazement she found ways to offer coaching advice... I was delerious the day I heard her walk up to our best slugger (who was new to the league) and say to him "Sean, I've been watching this kid pitch for five years now... he ALWAYS throws his first pitch right down the heart of the plate. Don't hestitate. Don't even think about it. Know that's where the ball is going and crush it!"

    The result... first pitch down the center of the plate - sent quickly over the left field home run fence !

    And this great piece of advice came from someone who had never coached... but had been watching closely - and knew how to help.

    Did we win the championship? Yes and no.

    We had the most wins for the year, prior to the championship game. And I knew that even if we lost - we would STILL have the most wins for the year.

    We lost the championship game... to a team I think clearly had more talent. I lost our shortstop because he had a prior commitment, and our third baseman mysteriously failed to show up for the final game.... but the BIG reason we lost the final game was I took the kid who had broken his arm - and sat in the dug-out all season cheering on his team-mates - and would have been one of our pitchers if his arm wasn't in a cast - and said to him "How's your arm feel ?" before the game.

    I gave him the start... even though I wasn't sure he could handle it. I gave him the start because he had been a great team-mate all year.
    I gave him the start - because it meant more to me to reward this kid who had been to every practice and every game sidelined with an injury - than it did for us to win the "championship". One of the other coaches was upset with me... tried to talk me out of it. But I was adamant that I would pull him quickly if necessary.

    He did ok... I think he gave up three runs... two of which we got back when we batted... but we ended up losing by one run.

    If I had gone with my usual ace, I think they wouldn't have gotten those three runs...

    But did it MATTER, no.

    I wanted to see glory, not a win.

    Lombardi said that he expected his team to relentlessly pursue perfection... without ever achieving it.

    I wasn't thinking of that quote during that season - but that WAS the environment I created for the team.

    To me the most amazing thing was when we came back from a 5 or 6 run deficit in the bottom of the last inning against the team we ended up losing to later in the championship game.

    That was amazing... and it was because these kids BELIEVED it was possible...

    I'd even go far as to say, they EXPECTED to see the impossible.

    As did I... which is why I started someone who hadn't pitched all year in the biggest game of the year.

    Maybe that kid will remember THAT thrill more than what it would felt like to win the trophy.


    I never coached again... actually I never MANAGED again... I tried being a coach the next year, but I was much better at being the big cheese, not the little one.




    (ok... I'm down from my soapbox now) LOL
     
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2014
    EdgardV likes this.
  13. EdgardV

    EdgardV ®

    Location:
    USA
    Sounds like a great approach. One that was based on thinking rather than following the status quo. You had a lot of creative insight, that worked well at that level.

    How did you choose her? Had you spoken with the parents enough to sense she might be good, or was it arbitrary and you just got lucky?

    Sounds like you had a positive impact on the kids. You taught them not only how to play baseball, and even how to win, but how play as a team, how to think about many things, particularly about their teammates, and how there are priorities beyond winning, especially at their level.

    Helpful note: Awfully long read. May have helped to divide it into sections, and as a newspaper or magazine might do, give each section a sub-head in bold. Really helps your reader a lot. But even so, it was enjoyable.

    Too bad HBO doesn't take more money and initiative to produce sports documentary's on unique Little League stories like yours. ;-)
     
    Last edited: Oct 3, 2014
  14. Commander Lucius Emery

    Commander Lucius Emery Forum Resident

    Lombardi was also a guy who traded Jim Ringo because he dared to bring an agent to a contract negotiation, referred to Jim Taylor as "that other fellow" because he signed with Atlanta yet left Green Bay because he could get a piece of the Redskin franchise.
     
  15. EdgardV

    EdgardV ®

    Location:
    USA
    Yeah. I think Lombardi was big on trust in relationships. They had to be one on one. Bringing in an agent appeared formal, creating a barrier, and distrustful. So even though Ringo was a very talented player and very valuable on the field, Lombardi saw it as crossing a line, and not only unacceptable for their relationship, but potentially setting a bad precident for the rest of his team. High principles, lots of integrity.
     
  16. CusBlues

    CusBlues Fort Wayne’s Favorite Retired Son

    Wow. Great post. I actually forgot what the thread title was I was so enthralled. You obviously know young men and baseball very well. Your solution to the potty mouth dugout was elegant (no pun intended).
     
  17. toptentwist

    toptentwist Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX

    I had to think about how I picked her

    Most of the moms would simply drop their kids off and then return a few hours later to pick the son up.

    I think I spotted her hanging around the field.

    I know I was very disappointed with how we lost our second game. Not disappointed that we lost, but disappointed that we didn't handle losing gracefully. The potty mouth thing was mostly one kid - and I remember not being very happy with his dad - who was kind of wanting to run the team as an assistant coach.

    He clearly had more experience than me, but I wanted to do things differently - as I talked about in my previous post.

    I don't remember the specifics about the loss - but I seem to remember the dad was cussing and it wasn't something I wanted for our team. It was going to be a disruptive force.

    I called for a team meeting about 90 minutes before our next game - and when I sent the email announcing the early arrival time, I said something mysterious along the lines of "Don't be late" followed by "You WON'T be pleased if you are late."

    It sounded like I had a big stick - but the reality is I didn't - nor would I have tried to use one.

    The kids probably thought I was going to make them run extra sprints or something crazy. That was never my intent. I just wanted to tell them that I expect them to win gracefully and lose gracefully.

    But after I sent the email to the parents, I decided I was on thin ice because I wouldn't be able talk for 90 minutes... so I decided that I would put together a questionnaire and hand it to the kids.

    The questions were all soft things:

    1.) Whose your favorite baseball player ?
    2.) What's your favorite stadium ?
    3.) Do you like school?
    4.) What's your favorite subject at school?
    5.) Do you plan to go to college? If so, where ?
    Etc.


    I then personalized each questionnaire - so I knew which set of pages were going to be given to each kid.

    The reason I did this is I asked them something about each position on the field. On the last page,
    I think I listed each kids name on one side... and 8 positions on the field on the other side.
    And I told them to draw a line showing who they thought should play each position.

    Like if someone thought Sean should be the catcher, he would draw a line from Sean's name to the spot
    saying catcher. Just match the names on the left, with the positions on the right.

    Note that they would only get one choice for each kid. I think I did this because I wanted them to
    realize it's a balancing act to put together a score card. It seems easy until you actually DO it.

    I also left out pitcher from the list... and I left out each kid's name from HIS (personalized) sheet.

    The basic idea was if Johnny thought he belonged at shortstop, there was no way for Johnny to make
    this known on HIS piece of paper.

    I didn't want anyone nominating pitchers. That position is too tricky.

    The kids noticed pretty fast that their name was missing. "Hey, why isn't MY name on this sheet?"

    And I would reply, "Yes - it IS - your name is on the FIRST page.... I want to know where you think
    your team-mates should play - not where you think YOU should play. Your team-mates will be telling
    you the same thing."

    I'm not sure what I did to handle the fact that we had more than 8 kids... maybe I listed extra outfield
    positions (like 6, instead of 3... for a team of approximately 13 kids)

    All of this was my idea...

    Again, it was my way of correcting for things I had seen when I played. Every kid on every team I had
    ever played on usually knew what kids belonged at each position. Let's just FORMALIZE this knowledge.

    The rest of the answers were fascinating... I quickly realized that each kid DID take baseball seriously...
    or was serious enough to let me know he was a Cubs fan and dreamed of playing at Wrigley Field, or
    wanted to be Mark McGwire - or - whoever...

    I think a couple of parents called me before the meeting and said "Why the early arrival?"

    In retrospect, I think the mom who became our dug-out mom called me and pleaded that her son had
    band practice and couldn't make it on time. I said to her "No problem..." and told her I would email
    her the questionnaire that I would be giving out to the team.... "Just have him bring it filled out... please"
    I think I then started talking to her about my disappointment with the boys and their behavior and I decided
    they needed a chaperone and I asked her if she wanted the job.

    I was very clear I didn't want a mom that was going to organize the snacks or design a team blanket.
    They do that in T-ball and it's not really related to the team - it's more a way to give some parents something
    to do...

    I told her I need someone who will expect the boys to be young men - and make sure they behave accordingly.

    She understood - so I handed her the job.


    What was funny, was their was overwhelming consensus about where each kid thought the other kids should
    play... basically everyone thought the same kid should play shortstop... and everyone thought my choice for
    first baseman was correct, etc.

    I might have also asked the following question...

    Q: You are standing on 1st base and you represent the winning run in the bottom half of the last inning in a hard fought battle, what team-mate do you want at the plate ?

    This was my way of finding out who the kids thought should bat in the clean-up position.

    I wanted to adhere to batting order derived from speed for all spots BUT number 4 in the line-up.

    I remember announcing the results of the quiz after they handed them back in. (NO, I'm not a school teacher - LOL)

    I think I might have left out an announcement for the clean up hitter. I might have said something like I'm going to
    try several kids and see what works the best...

    I remember telling the kids that I take statistics seriously and that I would know their batting averages, RBIs, etc and that
    I would be giving out awards at the end of the season for things like "highest batting average" "most stolen bases" "most
    RBIs" etc.


    Talking about this, even I'm surprised at how well thought out this seems.

    But it wasn't... I was just making it up as I went along.

    My guiding principle was that TEAM means everything. Individuals only mean something when they are put into a spot
    that allows them to succeed, for the benefit of the TEAM.


    The kid with the potty mouth, barely answered my questions... I think he put a "----" down on the page in many places.
    My guess is he hated what I was doing....

    But I didn't hold a grudge, I eventually came to the conclusion that he was our pitching ace - and that's how I used him -
    despite the fact that I really didn't want to reward him... my thought was if he gave us the best chance to win by
    being on the mound, it was about what he could provide to the TEAM, not what I thought about him personally.

    I remember starting this 90 minute meeting by saying something like

    "As far as I'm concerned, we have NO pitchers... and I'm desperately trying to find several... but what I need to do is
    eliminate any and all debate about OTHER positions"


    The parents were all there... I think they were worried the meeting would be all fire and brimstone - and they were amazed to see me
    handing out pencils and paper - and asking about things unrelated to baseball (like school).

    A couple of the parents piped up with some comments... none that were unreasonable... I mostly remember one parent said
    it was difficult to get her kids there early... and I deflected that comment by apologizing and saying the only penalty for non
    attendance is that her son would have lost an opportunity to voice his thoughts....

    You should have seen the puzzled look that got - LOL


    But the KIDS got it.

    I never had a problem for the rest of the season.

    I only had one very wierd moment as we were shaking hands after the championship game.

    But that's a whole story unto itself
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2014
  18. toptentwist

    toptentwist Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX
    One other funny thing I had happen during that season.

    The kid with the strongest arm was our catcher.

    I wanted him to be a pitcher... but he was too nervous.

    When he got on the mound, it was clear he was all jitters... and he had problems throwing strikes.

    I started him once at pitcher - and it was a disaster.

    But as the season wore on, it was clear I needed to identify a reliever.

    At the youth level, there is a maximum number of pitches a kid can throw in a game - and maybe even
    in a week. So even if you have an "ACE", you really need two or three...

    Most teams know who their ACE pitcher is, and they hope he gets enough outs before he hits his pitch count
    limit (which is around 75 or 80). What usually happens is if the ACE gets to that limit, someone else comes
    in and the dynamic of the game changes drastically.... because most coaches have used their next best pitcher
    in the previous game...

    So losing a pitcher around the 5th or 6th inning in a 7 inning game can be very painful... you go from a lock
    down situation, to a 'why can't we get an out?" situation.

    One day, out of desparation, I was out of pitchers - so I went back to my catcher - knowing full well about his
    jitter problem - and told him "good luck - we need the outs - do your best"

    But what was funny was he was not nervous at all about coming in to the game late.

    It was very clear to me why some guys are starters, and others are relievers. It's all mental.

    Maybe he needed five innings behind the plate to "warm up"... but when I pulled him out from behind the plate,
    and put him on the mound after our ace - it worked beautifully. I guess he wasn't worried about making it
    thru a whole game... he just whipped the ball to the plate - like he did to 2nd base during a steal attempt.

    It was a beautiful thing to pull your ACE and replace him with a relief pitcher that was actually more difficult for
    the other team to hit. No one else in the league had even contemplated cultivating a relief pitcher.

    And the beautiful thing is since he only came in for maybe 6 outs at the end of the game - he was usually
    available (not in conflict with the weekly pitch counts)

    Even better, this boy seemed to really ENJOY pitching more if the bases were loaded.

    I asked him about it, and he replied "I just laugh when that kid at third base is trying to distract me with
    his little dance... if I have the ball, he ain't going home... and I just IGNORE him"

    One of the other coaches noticed he was unflappable... gave him a big hand shake after the game and a huge
    compliment... something like "YOU are a great pitcher!" I always appreciated that he did that. His team
    lost, and he was giving our player a huge (heart felt) kudo.

    I kind of laughed to myself and said "Just don't put him on the mound in the first inning" - LOL
     
  19. toptentwist

    toptentwist Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Houston, TX

    That "----" was meant to represent a line.

    He just put a line on the page... enough to mark the whitespace - but no words.


    I was thinking some of you might have noticed I used four dashes and assume I meant he wrote a naughty four letter word.

    No, he wasn't THAT bad.
     
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