News item: St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter fanned ten Milwaukee batters over eight innings of work on Monday. Teammate Adam Wainwright fell just short the next night, as he retired a personal MLB-best nine Brewers hitters via strikeouts.
Carpenter’s Monday performance was only the second time a St. Louis pitcher has struck out as many opposing hitters in one contest since the start of the 2006 season. Not surprisingly, Carp delivered the previous 10+K outing, too. Back on June 13, 2006, he set his personal single-game high with 13 punchouts at Pittsburgh.
The rarity of such a feat causes the uninformed to nod their heads, noting the oft-discussed pitch-to-contact, groundball philosophy supposedly pushed by the Cardinals organization.
In discussing his long-time pitching coach Dave Duncan, Tony La Russa recently told me this:
“We always laugh when we talk about “The Dave Duncan Style”. It gets talked about a lot here in St. Louis – pitch to ground ball. Dave focuses on the abilities of the pitchers.”
In other words, when Duncan and La Russa are given strikeout pitchers, they are more than happy to take the Ks. In fact, over the first six seasons of this decade, the Cardinals amassed 34 occurrences in which the starter fanned ten or more.
The team’s average from 2000 through 2005 was almost six such games per season but as already noted, there have been just two in the 3 ¼ seasons since.
Not only were each of the Cardinals’ most recent 10K performances registered by Carpenter, but he also owns seven of the team’s last nine such games, going back to his St. Louis debut in the 2004 season. He authored four more during his Cy Young Award campaign in 2005.
Ten or more strikeout games by a Cardinals pitcher by season (2000-2009)
| Year | Total | Pitcher | # | Pitcher | # | Pitcher | # |
| 2009 | 1 | Chris Carpenter | 1 | ||||
| 2008 | 0 | ||||||
| 2007 | 0 | ||||||
| 2006 | 1 | Chris Carpenter | 1 | ||||
| 2005 | 5 | Chris Carpenter | 4 | Mark Mulder | 1 | ||
| 2004 | 3 | Chris Carpenter | 1 | Woody Williams | 1 | Matt Morris | 1 |
| 2003 | 1 | Matt Morris | 1 | ||||
| 2002 | 4 | Matt Morris | 2 | Chuck Finley | 2 | ||
| 2001 | 7 | Matt Morris | 4 | Darryl Kile | 3 | ||
| 2000 | 14 | Rick Ankiel | 6 | Darryl Kile | 5 | Andy Benes | 3 |
With his current total of seven 10K games this decade, Carpenter is just one behind the leaders, Matt Morris and the late Darryl Kile. Eight pitchers in total made the list.
Carpenter and Morris have the best single-game performances during the 2000s with 13 strikeouts. Chuck Finley and Mark Mulder each had a 12K outing.
Ten or more strikeout games (2000-2009) with bests by each pitcher
| Pitcher | # 10K | Best game |
| Matt Morris | 8 | 13 |
| Darryl Kile | 8 | 11 |
| Chris Carpenter | 7 | 13 |
| Rick Ankiel | 6 | 11 |
| Andy Benes | 3 | 10 |
| Chuck Finley | 2 | 12 |
| Mark Mulder | 1 | 12 |
| Woody Williams | 1 | 11 |
You may have noticed the fourth-place leader in the total number of 10K games, the only other one of the eight that is an active major leaguer today. In fact, he remains in the uniform as a current teammate of Carp, retired hurler Rick Ankiel. At the age of 20 and 21, the lefty had the best single-season for such feats during this time when he collected six in 2000 – a reminder of what could have been.
Striking out ten or more does not necessarily guarantee a win for the pitcher or his club. Carpenter has one of the seven losses taken, back in 2004, and two of the six no-decisions in these contests. Overall, the starters are 23-7-6 (.767) in the 10K games.
| Pitcher | Win | Loss | No dec | Win pct. |
| Andy Benes | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 |
| Mark Mulder | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| Matt Morris | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0.833 |
| Chris Carpenter | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0.800 |
| Rick Ankiel | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0.800 |
| Darryl Kile | 6 | 2 | 0.750 | |
| Chuck Finley | 1 | 1 | 0.500 | |
| Woody Williams | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | |
| total | 23 | 7 | 6 | 0.767 |
If he continues at his 2009 pace of one such game each fourth start, Carpenter will soon tie and then pass the Cardinals leaders in number of ten strikeout games this decade.
In closing, the individual summaries of the 36 performances follow. Andy Benes’ three 10K outings are especially notable in that they occurred in consecutive starts in June, 2000. The team had five that month as Ankiel and Kile each had one prior to Benes’ run.
| Pitcher | Date | Opp | G | StL | Opp | App, | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
| Chris Carpenter | 5/25/2009 | @MIL | L | 0 | 1 | GS-8 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | |
| Chris Carpenter | 6/13/2006 | @PIT | W | 2 | 1 | GS-7 | W | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| Chris Carpenter | 8/7/2005 | ATL | W | 5 | 3 | GS-8 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 | |
| Chris Carpenter | 6/25/2005 | PIT | W | 8 | 0 | SHO9 | W | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Chris Carpenter | 6/14/2005 | @TOR | W | 7 | 0 | SHO9 | W | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| Mark Mulder | 5/9/2005 | LAD | W | 4 | 2 | GS-7 | W | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| Chris Carpenter | 4/27/2005 | MIL | W | 6 | 3 | GS-8 | W | 7 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| Matt Morris | 9/3/2004 | LAD | W | 3 | 0 | SHO9 | W | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| Chris Carpenter | 8/26/2004 | @CIN | L | 0 | 1 | CG 8 | L | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Woody Williams | 8/18/2004 | CIN | L | 4 | 5 | GS-6 | L | 6 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 11 |
| Matt Morris | 4/5/2003 | HOU | L | 1 | 2 | GS-8 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | |
| Chuck Finley | 9/1/2002 | @CHC | L | 4 | 5 | GS-8 | L | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 12 |
| Chuck Finley | 8/21/2002 | PIT | W | 4 | 1 | GS-8 | W | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| Matt Morris | 5/8/2002 | @CHC | W | 3 | 2 | GS-8 | W | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Matt Morris | 4/23/2002 | @NYM | L | 3 | 4 | GS-7 | L | 7 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| Matt Morris | 10/4/2001 | @MIL | W | 10 | 3 | GS-6 | W | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Darryl Kile | 9/26/2001 | @HOU | W | 5 | 1 | GS-7 | W | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| Matt Morris | 9/19/2001 | MIL | W | 8 | 2 | GS-7 | W | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| Matt Morris | 7/14/2001 | DET | W | 3 | 2 | GS-8 | W | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 |
| Darryl Kile | 6/18/2001 | CHC | W | 6 | 2 | GS-7 | W | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Darryl Kile | 5/22/2001 | @MIL | L | 0 | 5 | GS-8 | L | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| Matt Morris | 5/2/2001 | @FLA | W | 4 | 2 | GS-9 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 11 | |
| Rick Ankiel | 9/13/2000 | @PIT | W | 9 | 5 | GS-7 | W | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| Darryl Kile | 9/7/2000 | MON | W | 6 | 1 | GS-7 | W | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Rick Ankiel | 7/27/2000 | ARI | L | 5 | 17 | GS-5 | L | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 10 |
| Rick Ankiel | 7/21/2000 | @HOU | W | 12 | 1 | GS-7 | W | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 |
| Darryl Kile | 7/2/2000 | HOU | L | 3 | 6 | GS-7 | L | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 10 |
| Andy Benes | 6/23/2000 | LAD | W | 9 | 6 | GS-7 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | |
| Andy Benes | 6/17/2000 | @LAD | W | 4 | 3 | GS-6 | W | 6 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| Andy Benes | 6/12/2000 | @SDP | W | 7 | 3 | GS-6 | W | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 |
| Darryl Kile | 6/7/2000 | KCR | W | 4 | 2 | CG 9 | W | 9 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| Rick Ankiel | 6/4/2000 | CLE | L | 2 | 3 | GS-5 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11 | |
| Rick Ankiel | 5/25/2000 | FLA | W | 7 | 6 | GS-7 | W | 6 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 11 |
| Darryl Kile | 5/23/2000 | FLA | W | 10 | 3 | GS-8 | W | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| Darryl Kile | 4/25/2000 | MIL | W | 7 | 2 | GS-7 | W | 7 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
| Rick Ankiel | 4/9/2000 | MIL | W | 11 | 2 | GS-6 | W | 6 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
Special thanks to statman Tom Orf for collecting this historical data.
I just read somewhere that Lohse won’t be making his start Friday. Bruised forearm or something. How did that happen?
lohse was hit by a pitch last start
After losing nearly two seasons to injury,Carpenter is back, as the strikeouts attest. Fans may lose sight of this, because of his chronic nerve vulnerability.
However, since he has so far this year given up precisely ZERO runs, his great pitching is becoming harder and harder to overlook. zero runs over two games might be a small n fluke. Over four games, its beginning to look like something good is going on. The Brewers are a strong hitting team, so to shut them down for 8 innings is impressive.
Since Glaus is completely out of action for $11MM and K Greene is iffy for $6.5MM, that is about 20 percent of payroll down the drain. Thus its nice to get some good pitching for Carpenter’s $16MM salary.
I have reminded myself about the annoying fiasco about Glaus’ shoulder. I hope it makes DeWitt and Mo, one-half as annoyed as it does Jumbo. They need to do a thorough review of their medical situation and figure out how best to try to prevent a reoccurrence with another player. Roger Clemens would call this “misunderestimating” an injury. Granted shoulders are tricky things, but the Glaus situation seems a fiasco. Why did Mo put out such an optimistic prognosis in January? Is this what he is being advised? Maybe he needs to hear better advice. Brian Walton can apparently provide better, at no charge, without even examining the patient. How can that be?
Back to Carpenter….Matt Morris had his peak season after Tommy John surgery. He missed one year, then spent a year as a reliever, before having his peak season. Carpenter has missed most of the past two seasons, but his TJ surgery has gone well and he is pitching masterfully. Thats a big lift for the Birds.
Was post number four actually written by JumboShrimp or did somebody discover his password?
I’m frustrated too, FWIW. Thurston had a nice game on Tuesday. Let’s hope he can build on that.
JS sometimes excoriates the Birds regarding medical issues. The Chris Duncan fiasco was last summer’s annoyance. JS does not like vets playing through injuries, while saluted for ability to endure pain. Good character guys like Brian Jordan grew unhappy, ultra pro Scott Rolen became disenchanted.
The new business model should change this in future, because the team should cultivate enough players, you dip down and use a healthy rookie rather than an ailing vet. This should cultivate a younger, less injury prone team, with more depth to accommodate injuries that still occur, while holding down salary costs, giving Mo financial flexibility to select where to add an expensive veteran.
There ain’t going to be no dad blamed expensive veteran Jumbo. That mean old B.H. Obama is watchin all them hiding place where BD likes to keep his stash. The team is on cash flow auto pilot.
They will put K.Greene on the 15 day soon.
The Cards are on the hook for K Greene’s 2009 salary. Putting K on the DL will do nothing to help BD add to his stash.
A lot of rich folks know how to stay a step ahead of the authorities. If they did not, they would not be rich, in the first place. Don’t worry, Westie, BD is too fleet to be caught by the flat feet.
Wrong!!!!!!!!! They went on the hook with eyes wide open. You think a pre-contract physical misses that much scaring. The DL just bides time before the deadline. Its already done. You underestimate the game at hand Jumbo. I’ll be in Frisco.
Westie, you can sometimes be a useful foil for discussion purposes. But this does not seem one of those times.
I suspect you mean “scarring.” But K Greene’s issues seem not physical, but emotional. Given our doctors, we have enough challenges with the physical, without having to find emotional scars too. Maybe you are mixing up K Greene and Glaus? You do seem muddled, even by your own high standards of muddle.
It would be swell to trade Glaus or KGreene. However, they would be hard to trade, as I have previously explained. If Glaus is restored to playable health, we need him and will not trade him. If not, who wants to trade for a guy and put him on their DL? Nobody.
KGreene may be more tradeable, if he can play on a part-time basis. A team looking to add more depth at SS could be interested, if willing to accept him as a part-time player for now. He is a rehab gamble.
Just to make sure you understand, putting someone on the DL does not relieve the team of having to pay their salary. The DL is not a cost savings. In fact, it can boost costs, if you have to promote a minor leaguer.
It probably seldom happens that players are traded when on the DL. Maybe it is against a rule or maybe it makes no sense for an acquiring team to want a guy who cannot play.
While enjoying Frisco, keep an eye peeled for men in white suits wih butterfly nets.
I think Tony has become even more conservative on pitch counts and more agressive in using his 12 and 13 man pitching staffs. Also I think they have assembled a pitching staff that is pitching more to contact than a young Ankiel would have.
And Carpenter has been missing for those dry years.
Watch and learn Jumbo. Self Mutilation Syndrome is a by product of childhood trauma, abuse etc.
Greene succeeded for a time against his self esteem issues, but when SD fell apart, so did he. Tony unknowingly put Greene through the ringer by his constant lineup changes, which for most teams is a sign of positive recognition of performance. When the Cards slumped, he took it on himself. He finally hit the bench because of a stiff wrist on his throwing hand. Self induced? He wears sleeves even in hot weather to cover the scarring from constant cutting and puncturing. He might have come to grips with this in private. Maybe focused for another shot at playing. Thats all over with now. Look at his face. He is an child exposed again. To release him would give him a chance. To place him on the DL, moan about our hard luck, then milk him for sympathy from the fans on how tough it is to be an impoverished owner is a DeWitt thing. Deal with it. DeWitt is occupied elsewhere at the moment. He is trapped at the nexus of this torture, weapons of mass destruction cover up, amongst other things. They may trade, but they won’t spend.
WC, I think it is unfair to blame TLRs lineup changes even partially for Greene’s ongoing behavior. I also disagree that placing him on the DL would be a sympathy move by ownership. The Cardinals invested two prospects and $6.5 million on Greene’s services. They would lose all that by releasing him and there is no assurance he wouldn’t continue the self-destructive actions no matter where he was employed.
No blame…………. just an unforeseen variable to this unusual phenomena. We are facing the same kind of dilemma that SD faced Brian. When they filed their grievance with the league office, I believe they were making a case for the self mutilation problems being at the core, not anger management. One way or another, they did it very publicly, trashing any value Greene might of had in their market place. Because of how this has been played, it is unlikely that anyone else offers for him now. In all likely hood, he is finished in MLB, at least as a high salary player. This particular illness if very complex and debilitating. Its cure is not a likely one in any type of high stress environment. They don’t medicate this one. Its sad.
You know as well as I do he had know future here. In many ways, admitting a bad judgment and letting him go into seclusion, at least gives him a chance to get it together. That is unlikely as his purpose now has been served anyway. You guys still seem to believe that BD is sold on giving Albert 250 mill. I don’t thinks so. He is a political activist and I believe he has already made up his mind.
While we don’t know what SD said in their grievance, they did not release externally the information about Greene cutting himself. That was disclosed by the press in StL. The Padres certainly lost the use of a very highly paid player due to some kind of self abuse for a considerable part of last season. Filing a grievance was a serious matter, but so was the problem.
I do agree that the most recent news coupled with his subpar play has trashed Greene’s trade value as well as his value as a free agent this coming winter. I am surprised that professional help has not been successfully applied. This is bigger than baseball for this young man.
If you would like to study the situation Brian, try googling self mutilation with Greene’s name. Maybe modify that search a bit when you get into it. They’re PR apparatus went after him for a bit, probably thinking they may even get his contract nullified. They got the message from the union in a hurry on that one. He came in here in pretty good shape only to find Tony’s penetrating emotionality and fatherly postures, while attractive, unnerving. I admire the way Tony has tried to deal with this. As a coach- mentor. In the end BD/MO will take as much cover as they can protecting the real issues. Tony and management are still at odds. This is what it looks like. Money isn’t even an issue here, as in the Kennedy case. Glaus’s condition is much more complicated than the publics perception. Just like Mulder squirming under his July start, Glaus will be looking to his own health and career aspirations. If he appears in June, he loses control. He he waits out the deadline, he is essentially a FA, playing to up his own value.
Brian, I am compassionate towards all life. I rescue insects from the bathtub. I feel for BD’s learning experiences like anyone else’s. He can still get right with his life, but he hasn’t started yet. He is in some deep s–t right now in the world at large. He may soon learn the price of being a wimp in the big boys club.
There is one thing that is coming to mind about Tony. He has been looking for an impact player for a long time. In many ways I still feel like he is campaigning. Barden was tearing up the world at 3rd in April. I felt, like some other folks, that here was a find. Maybe the solution to a problem. The kid was starting to wear it. Just as suddenly Tony platooned him out of existence, almost saying “hey, this isn’t my guy”. That was very similar to his treatment of Ludwick last year. He just sat him down when he was smoking. Tony is a player here. Don’t think MO/BD aren’t aware of it. He knows how they were trying to limit his options by trading Ludwick and Shu this winter. And whether your aware of it or not, they were offered to SD, who declined in favor of the player to be named. Do the math, 2 mill for Ludwick, avoiding the 4 mill arbitration, is the 6 mill that was in play. The loss of Boggs, Ludwick, and Shu to the Rockies leaves about the same deficit on Holiday, because there wouldn’t have been a shortstop signing were that the case. That wasn’t about baseball, it was about creating payroll flexibility in 2010. BD is playing his own game with the self esteem accolades coming from his peers, not the public.
WC, the idea that the Cardinals offered Ludwick and a minimum salaried Schumaker to San Diego instead of two minor league relievers makes no sense whatsoever.
The offer was the side armer Worell with Ludwick for 2mill or Shu for 1 mill. Not both. SD owner shut down any chance at a acquisition for obvious reasons now. The whole purpose was to create room for Rasmus and the youth movement. That is what motivated Tony into the far fetched strategy we eventually adopted to keep Shu from further roster plays. SD GM announced only the positions and money, not the players names on the market wire, baiting for any competitive offer as is the custom. Colorado used the names and they got leaked which cost Mo allot of grief. Thats all history. What is interesting today is Bernie creating a little distance between BD+Luhnow and Mo. Very interesting development for the observant fan. A gambit by BD maybe? Preparing to sacrifice a piece? Time will tell. BD can’t use any money of his own. He is financially independent of the team at this point is my guess, as a precaution.
WC, you really need to stop it with this assertion that the Cardinals wanted to just dump Ludwick. It made no sense before they made the decision not to do it and it makes no sense now. It just sounds silly to keep repeating it.
Be wary of taking reasonable concepts and driving them to preposterous conclusions, if only for Jumbo’s cardiovascular health.
Twice! BD is focused on numbers, not players. Mo makes is look as good as he can Nut. It only seems like Dumping because Luddy is showing an upside. I don’t mind him. Problem is, Tony is back to last years line-up with Chris batting second. It won’t work long term, I think. Albert should be completely relaxed. He’s not. The next few weeks will be telling. Lets watch.
I have relatively few disagreements with your on-field analysis. I’m just a little bit more skeptical that you view the front office doings and other presumed personal motivations with unbiased eyes. Very few of your forays into that area tend to pass the sniff test.
Depends on the nose Nut. Most of the folks here have needs supporting a believe system. Your need is that the Cardinals should be all about baseball and pine tar with bags of seeds thrown in. Rich tradition mixed with gratifying memories. Something happened to the Cardinals as it has happened to the whole country. Men like BD have lost their way.
I’m working on impulse power now, helping to shelter Brian’s good reputation I hope. It isn’t in my interests to cause trouble by escalating this dialog more than I clumsily do. We are all here for a reason. Yours to enjoy depth in your fan participation. Me not so much. I am a political activist, especially as it pertains to the politics of winning. I profit by the experience I can honestly say. I will travel to SF tomorrow to sample the the team vibe. Yes, I am highly Biased. That bias defines the boundaries of thought and action. Skepticism often illuminates the boundaries of sanctuary. I seek none.
Westie, I have wondered if you are familiar with the mental health profession, as a shrink or patient or both. Activist or zealot makes some sense, since activists seem fired up about something and do not seem obliged to let facts stand in the way of the cause. You mention skepicism and how you need none. My faith, on the other hand, is in skepticism, caution about claims of facts and about what to believe.
I agree most people have beliefs. To do so seems normal.
You “honestly” say you “profit” via your activism. Hmm. Maybe by devoting surplus energy to baseball, you can save moola otherwise spent on other therapies?
I am skeptical DeWitt has “lost his way” at least as regards baseball. I think he found a vision, once was blind, but now doth see.
I am unsure Nutlaw is all about the pine tar. I would like to do Nutlaw the honor of assuming there may be much more to Nutlaw than just liking pine tar.
Westie, in post 0 at 601 pm, you allege San Diego disclosed the Cards offered a relief pitcher and an OF, for K Greene plus $2MM. If this were true, it sounds like an assumption on your part that the unnamed OF was Ludwick; you later heard his name reported in discussions about Holliday, so you may assume it was he mentioned with San Diego. This guess may be right, but it may also be wrong. Its an uncertainty.
San Diego has had problems with CF. They took Edmonds the year before, released him. SD as a possible destination for CF Schumaker is plausible. It was no surprise the Cards were willing to deal OFs last winter, probably any one of among Skip, Rick, Luddy.
Since Schumaker is less costly than Ludwick in terms of salary, he could be worth more within the economic context of a trade, even if it were also the case that Skip is not worth more than Luddy in terms of baseball contribution. This seems counter-intuitive, but may not be wrong.
You may assume because the Cards offer someone in trade that they want to get rid of him. and this is why you assumed they would even go so far as to release Ludwick, an all-star only getting paid $4MM. This was absurd and in due course was revealed to be mistaken.
Trades are made to alter the structure of teams, to fill needs and remove surpluses. A trade offer does not necessarily imply a team dislikes a player being offered in trade and will otherwise release him. The player being acquired has a salary too, in K Greene’s case, about $2.5MM more than his predecessor, so a team weighs its choices as to how to shoulder this cost increase.
Westie seems to suggest that there would have been scarring on K Greene’s arms when he was given a physical as part of completing his trade, therefore the Cards knew full well about his non-traditional morale building methods. However, the trade was in the off season, he had not been playing for months. He could well not have been frustrated or motivating himself via punishment.
Next point: Brian Barden is not the impact guy TLR would like to add. TLR wanted Jason Bay, who has done well in Boston, or Matt Holliday, who has not been doing as well so far with the As. Barden can be a useful contributor in a part-time capacity. He is not a star, so your notion that TLR wanted to cool down the shining star of Barden happens to be incorrect. (You can pay attention to the team, but your interpretations of what you see or hear via rumors can be, sad to admit, flawed.)
Going back to KGreene. Lots of players do things to motivate themselves to perform within a demanding profession. A few may not wash their “lucky” undershirt. Another superstition might be to avoid stepping on a chalked line. Some used to pop greenies. Lots of guys can get prescriptions to HGH, so as gain its invigorating benefits. Some pitchers throw spitters. In short, lots of guys try to find an extra edge, real or imaginary. Even the latter can be helpful for morale. I haven’t read up on him, but it sounds like KG may drive himself by self-discipline, punishing himself if he does not perform as well as he would wish. This is, I hope, unusual, but its understandable. Before football games, guys jack themselves up into a helmet-bashing frenzy so as to mete out the violence required. Greene had a great 2007. This sets a high bar of expectations among fans and in the player. Pitcher Steve Blass went from MVP of a World Series one fall to a basket-case the next spring. Past success can create a huge burden to try to live up to.
Its probably a good and healthy thing for some stuff about KGreene to come out. His methods of motivation may be unusual, but trying to motivate yourself to do well is commonplace. He needs to develop some new technques for motivation and for coping with the frustrations normal to the game. He is a pretty good ballplayer, as is well established. There should be no reason Greene cannot learn some new motivational approaches, though how long this would take, I have no idea.
TLR is an astute judge of people. He has seen thousands of players through the years. He knows each are individuals, with different strengths and weaknesses. So he will try to work with Greene to devise a plan to try to help him overcome difficulties and get back to his strengths. This is what we would try to do with any player, whatever his issue.
Wild imaginings about DeWitt looking for sympathy about KG are, ironically, a way you reveal a weakness (or in your lingo a bias.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-harm
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2003/10/10/loc_ohdewitt10.html
Some reading Jumbo……..I’m off to the games. Will explain latter. Thanks for writing your thoughts.
You can read forever on medical topics. Surf around a bit. Pay attention to the dates in article 2 and other articles on that page.
Sheesh, WC. You offer a six-year-old article that confirms that DeWitt received a two-year appointment to serve on an intelligence committee under Bush. It is hardly a news flash that the two are close.
So what? (I mean that rhetorically. I am hoping you don’t actually respond as I am aligned with those interested in talking baseball here, not politics. That is out of bounds on this blog, as is religion. All this cloak and dagger intrigue is a bit tiring to say the least.)
Do enjoy the ballgames. I hope you come back refreshed and ready to talk baseball.
WC, I know a few things about civilian advice to our nation’s leaders on matters of intelligence, and science and technology. They go back further than Ike, though Eisenhower made wise use of advisers and many continuing institutions were set up during his time.
I would commend to you a book by a NYTimes reporter, Secret Empire. Very well done. In a world with hydrogen bombs and intercontinental ballistic missles, Eisenhower wisely put a great emphasis on obtaining the best possible facts about potential adversaries, so that decisions might be in so far as possible based on facts rather than worst case assumptions about the unknown.
The Board on which DeWitt served is, if I recall correctly, a sounding board of distinguished civilians with management experience. It could have university presidents, lawyers, doctors, corporate officers, or officers of large NGOs. Its probably bi-partisan in make-up, though friends of one president will likely resign when the next takes office. If Bush knows DeWitt and respects him, it makes sense he was added to a quiet sounding board.
The DoD and intelligence agencies are large institutions, so the contributions of any one member to what is only an advisory board are probably not a big deal. For a guy like DeWitt, its probably his version of jury duty. He takes some time out of his life to try to render service to his country, by attending some infrequent and probably NOT fascinating meetings. Its a way to render public service.
Can we PLEASE end this non-baseball talk? PLEASE!