April 23, 2002
Team Chemistry:
Sometimes Rob Neyer makes me feel redundant. Here's a column about effect of Lofton's leaving on the Cleveland clubhouse. Basically, the Indians say they have better chemistry without Kenny's music blarring. Rob points out, correctly, that the Indians did pretty well with Lofton being a cancer in the clubhouse.
I don't know how many times I've sat in on meetings where some former player talks about the importance of chemistry. Every time I'd point to the A's of the early '70's and the Yankees later in that decade. Both teams had Reggie Jackson. Some of you may have heard that Jackson is not easy to get along with. That is a huge understatement. I've seen Reggie in action, and it's much worse than you've heard. But he was a great ballplayer, and his teams won. If I'm putting together a team, I want a lot of Reggies and Barry Bonds and Rickey Hendersons, who want to win, and don't care if they hurt your feelings in reaching that goal. I don't want them as friends, but I want them on my team.
Posted by David Pinto at
11:12 AM
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Baseball