The News-Herald's Jim Ingraham had an outstanding view of the Indians that matches something I've been saying for a while: The Indians lack a leader who will grab people by the throat when needed. It's not a matter of yelling and screaming, it's a matter of leadership. "Indeed," Ingraham writes, "if there is one thing that stands out most about this Indians team it's how docile it is. Where's the outrage? Where's the fight? Isn't anyone embarrassed yet? How many more losses will it take? The manager, for crying out loud, had to TELL the players to hold a players-only meeting because apparently all those leaders in the clubhouse didn't feel like the season had been circling the drain long enough yet to call one on their own."
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Maybe its because the players have seen what happens if they stray from the Wedge/Shapiro line… I don't miss Brandon Phillips or Milton Bradley, but how much did burying Ryan Garko in the doghouse last season accomplish? In spite of the "lesson he was taught" he still led the team in RBI.
I can sympathize with the players: at a certain point, what's the use? You've done everything that you can, but the person making the final decision is the one with all the control. You can go out and play your tookus off, but if it the third Tuesday of the month and we're wearing the blue tops, maybe I'm not slated to be in the lineup for whatever reason.
At my job I can try and contribute, make suggestions, do extra, etc., but at the end of the day, convincing my boss that I'm not hear to be his captive audience because he's starved for attention is a battle I've been fighting for four years. So I just hide at my desk and plug away at the menial tasks I'm given because that's apparently (a) all I can handle and (b) all that is expected of me.*
When there is no goal, no direction, how are you supposed to act/react?
(*Sorry if that was a little too much TMI)
Ingraham nailed it, regarding docile, similar personalities….or LACK of personalities. But this is the group that was assembled and cultivated by Wedge and his superiors. It does seem that any time a player speaks up or swerves from the company-line policy, he's shipped out.
That said, there's still no excuse for the lack of performance and production. These men are being paid millions of dollars to hit and pitch. WHY do they have to be told how to "approach" an at-bat or "follow thru in an arm-slot" time after time? Don't they have any pride at all? I've seriously lost so much respect for this group of players, because they roll over and play patsy each Spring, or disappear for weeks and months at a time.
I love these types of arguments because they're so damn stupid. If you're a loudmouth, you're a "clubhouse cancer." But if you're "quiet," you're lacking in leadership.
If they were winning, the stupid "leadership" argument wouldn't even be an issue. Only the media dredges up these stupid things. Who are the big-time current "leaders" of the Texas Rangers, the ghost of Rafael Palmero and Hafner's old drug dealer?
Last night, did the Indians lose because they lack a "leader," or because Kerry Woods pitched like Ernie Camacho? Idiotic.
Baseball is an individual game pretending to be a team game. You hit, you run, you throw, you catch. A Frisbee dog could lead a baseball team.
Did I misspell that finger-wagging fruit's name? Oh, who cares.