Quote: The Phillies are Tough
In a recent report for SI.com, Jon Heyman suggests a few ways the Dodgers could improve for next season, such as, “Toughen up.”
Heyman quotes an anonymous player on the Dodgers, who said of the Phillies:
“Those guys over there, they are tough. (Shane) Victorino is a tough SOB. And (Chase) Utley, he drops a knee whenever the runner comes in at second. When Larry Bowa managed those guys he warned (Utley) that guys would get mad if he drops a knee on (baserunners), and Utley told him, ‘I don’t give a —-.’”
Dodgers GM Ned Colletti told Heyman the Phillies play the game hard, “and they play it that way all the time.”
…this idea of being ‘tough,’ it’s something i bet we hear a lot about over the next few months, because i think it’s something the Mets are very aware of and something they believe needs to be instilled in their own players… the thing is, i have no idea how that happens… or, if it even matters… for instance:
In an interview with WEEI in Boston, as transcribed the Boston Globe, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein talked about the 2009 Red Sox, who did not make the playoffs, and their ‘personality,’ saying:
“It’s basically the same team that we had in 2008. If we get one clutch hit in the 2008 ALCS Game 7, we’re going to the World Series, probably winning it… if the 2004 team, if Tony Clark’s ball doesn’t bounce into the stands, and we lose that series, you’re saying this team had too much personality. This personality was out of control. I understand it. There’s a human phenomenon where you want to sort of attribute personal characteristics to groups and say that they have this personality or they lack this characteristic. The reality is we can’t build a team based on, sort of, psychobabble. We build a team, try to get 25 high character guys. The bottom line is this team had a great personality. It was just calm outwardly, on the field, very professional. Behind closed doors they had a ton of fun. There were a lot of leaders. They showed up hard to play every single day. We won 95 games in a really tough division. Had we performed better in the playoffs, no one would be talking about our personality.”
…that said, there is not a single player on the Mets i can name who i expect to see run over a catcher, or ‘drop a knee,’ or hit a batter on purpose in retaliation… but, like epstein is suggesting, i don’t know how any of this actually equates to wins… i mean, i know it is more fun to watch a ‘tough team,’ but would i watch a tough team that loses, and just has really bad talent… what’s more, the Yankees are dominating right now, and i have never heard anyone describe them as ‘tough,’ so i don’t know what one has to directly do with the other… but, i do think the Mets have shown a lack of mental toughness, especially the previous two Septembers, and i just don’t think that sort of thing changes unless you bring in a new manager and new players…
…in the end, i suspect winning creates a swagger, which evolves in to a confident, sort-of cockiness, which turns in to a ‘tough,’ aggressive style of play, like the 1986 Mets, or these Phillies, i suppose… Willie Randolph talked a lot about the importance of swagger, and the team had it in 2006, but they were also winning… so, did they win because they had swagger, and ended up playing ‘tough,’ or were they tough and had swagger because they were confident and winning…
…Jerry Manuel said his team would have swagger, when he took over for willie and talked a lot about being ‘gangsta,’ but his team too fell apart in September, and then literally fell apart in 2009, and now they are described as being ‘soft,’ and look like they play scared…
To read more from Heyman, including updates on Bobby Valentine’s interview with the Indians, the next Padres GM, and how to deal with MLB umpires, read the rest of his report for SI.com, here.
