just got home from the game. it was fun.... sec 129 row 1... the general john mccalin was in sec 128. no AMR
I see your pessimism. I'll still take a fearless closer over a mentally-broken, fearful Lidge any day.
Ah, the good old amateur sports psychologists, deciding they know "fearless" and "fearful" by a few expressions. That Tim Duncan guy really lacks passion, huh?
I guarantee you there are at least a few "expert" sports psychologists that would say the same thing about Lidge. Either way, I definitely like Valverde's mentality over Lidge's and I think mentality is an enormous part of closing.
I'd sure like to see these "experts" you're referring to, as well as your definition of mentality and the criteria you use from your couch to determine what it entails. I do prefer Valverde's better mechanics and his better diversity of pitches to that of Lidge. If Valverde is the better closer this year, and I think and hope he will be, that is the reason -- not any idiotic psychobabble mental BS.
Absolutely, and I apologize if that came off a bit harsh. The reason I'm a little defensive of Brad's late swoon last season (remember, he was terrific until early August) is that the media didn't report well what was going on in the clubhouse. He was never the same after he "tweaked" his knee -- walking on one leg all over the place, ice everywhere for what seemed like hours before each game... he wasn't right. He told me in not direct language that he was in a lot of pain, but couldn't quit on the team. Later in the season, he obviously favored it more and more, and it ended up influencing his mechanics to a similar point to where they were in 2006. But it's a *sexier* story for the AP and Chronicle folks to make him sound like a headcase instead of giving a fair and accurate picture of what was going on behind the scenes, and that's what they did. So, my apologies for sounding overly angry toward you -- it's more a lingering frustration of mine related to how the media covered it.
damn hope towles is not injured. I think maybe every MLB player needs to wear the bagwell wrist protector.
