What factors determine consistency?

[ULexcite]

Nice to see this thread get beyond "fan speak" fourth cousin to "coach speak" I was thinking early in the season the freshman would never relax after they saw the seniors get pulled. I was wrong becase they started to relax at the end, just not Saturday. LSU's strength this season was starting and staying with the struggling lineup.

[RustyR]

Very well put dad04

[RustyR]

Hate to say this, but when you make 3 errors in a game and you have been playing baseball since you were 5 and you need someone to say hay you sucked last game and you need to take some extra ground balls. The type of leadership you speak of should be the coach telling the player that stuff. As, for the yankees atleast half of there team is 30 or over. Jeter, Damon, Giambi, Matsui, Abreau, pitchers Riveria, Pettite, Mussina, they do have some young guns, but if thats not enough leadership to make them win, I dont know what is. One last note if you have a kid throwing 93 in bullpen or you have a kid that can hit 10 hrs in practice and they cant do it in a game. Leadership wont help that. The only thing that can cure that is Boys town lol.

[CajunRage]

Baloney. The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is in the leadership business. They have recruited and made leaders for 300 years and done well at it (see WWII, etc.). Why is it that their baseball team is one of the least successful year, after year after year. Their RPI this year is #188 out of 296, actually a very good year for them. Another leadership factory Navy has an RPI of #207 and the other leadership factory Air Force is at #270, out of 296 teams. These teams eat, sleep and pizz leadership, but can't play their way out of a paper bag. Leadeship is so overrated in a teams succes, its not funny. My talented team beats your leaders 99 out 100 times. If leadership really mattered, then Army goes to Omaha every year.

You have no idea what leadership in sports is. Army does not recruit baseball players. That is why they don't win. I'm not saying put Joe Blow who's 4'11" 100lbs in because he is a good leader. There is a reason Devon Bourque and Justin Morgan got a shot at playing. They were leaders on the field and they could hold there own. They led by example. They were not the best players at their position (hitting + fielding) at any point during their career. This year's team was full of players walking around not hustling. There was no life in the dugout. That is not the coaches job. It is not his team. It's the players' team. They had no heart. I'm not going to say the players name, but I was at Legend's after the game. This player just played his last collegiate and career game. He was less than stellar this season as well as the end of last season. What was he doing? Picking up a gallon of margarita to go party. I played with a lot of heart, and no I did not play past the high school level, but I was still sitting in the dugout an hour after my last game.

[CajunRage]

Hate to say this, but when you make 3 errors in a game and you have been playing baseball since you were 5 and you need someone to say hay you sucked last game and you need to take some extra ground balls. The type of leadership you speak of should be the coach telling the player that stuff. As, for the yankees atleast half of there team is 30 or over. Jeter, Damon, Giambi, Matsui, Abreau, pitchers Riveria, Pettite, Mussina, they do have some young guns, but if thats not enough leadership to make them win, I dont know what is. One last note if you have a kid throwing 93 in bullpen or you have a kid that can hit 10 hrs in practice and they cant do it in a game. Leadership wont help that. The only thing that can cure that is Boys town lol.

The point of the yankees comment was that a ton of all-stars don't ensure a win and this year proves it.

[BleedsTabasco]

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will" Vince Lombardi.

I do believe it starts with talent and goes from there. Coach Lombardi knew what it took to win on a consistent basis more than most folks. There must be the will to win on the players part and then the willingness to DO what it takes to win. As usual Dad04 makes some good points as do most of the post in response to this thread. There have been some personal jabs at particular players which is not at all what I was looking for. Players and coaches come and go...what are the FACTORS?

And to some of you out there, if you have never been in combat (which I have not) then please don't insult a combat veteran or Purple Heart recipient by saying you know what its like because you watched Saving Private Ryan! Don't confuse playing with G.I. Joes, R.O.T.C. or even Basic Training with combat.

I hope to hear many more of your thoughts on this topic because I find it intriguiing. Reach deep people and put some thought into it - I know MOST of you can do it!

[cajunbaseball1]

_ Leadership gets Long, Benzel, Fontenot, Hicks to take more ground balls every day until their defense is flawless. Leadership gets guys in the cage enough that they can at least put the ball in play with 2 strikes. Never doubt leadership.

Let's see... healthy, talented yankees haven't done squat in what is it now 8 years? Why do teams in the pros sign 40 year old pitchers? It's because their leadership skills surpass anything a 20 year old fireballer can do. _

So a leader goes to school 15 hours a week (not to mention some of these players actually have a degree they are trying to get in a tough major). Practice and games 30 hours a week. Then after that he's supossed to go help Long, Benzel, Fontenot, Hicks get more groundballs so their defense is flawless?

1. Sounds like a coaches job to me.
2. With 45 hours a week trying to get themselves ready to play every week so you can drink your pitcher of beer and criticize on a message board where do you suggest they should sacrifice their time? School or getting themselves ready to play?

Also, very bold of you to attack players who have worked their ass off 1, 2, 3, even 4 years on a message board where you can say whatever you want without anyone knowing who you are. Maybe you should spend less time in bars stalking baseball players?

[CajunRage]

So a leader goes to school 15 hours a week (not to mention some of these players actually have a degree they are trying to get in a tough major). Practice and games 30 hours a week. Then after that he's supossed to go help Long, Benzel, Fontenot, Hicks get more groundballs so their defense is flawless?

1. Sounds like a coaches job to me.
2. With 45 hours a week trying to get themselves ready to play every week so you can drink your pitcher of beer and criticize on a message board where do you suggest they should sacrifice their time? School or getting themselves ready to play?

Also, very bold of you to attack players who have worked their ass off 1, 2, 3, even 4 years on a message board where you can say whatever you want without anyone knowing who you are. Maybe you should spend less time in bars stalking baseball players?

Pathetic.

If they can't handle going to school and playing baseball, they shouldn't play. Being on the team is a privilege, not a right. They are on this team because they are elite players out of high schools across the country. If there is not enough pride to better themselves, then get off the field.

I worked my butt off for four years so that I can buy tickets to games and have a beer with my friends. Stalker? Pathetic? Hi Kettle, my name is Pot.

[Dad04]

You know when they win. You know when they don't. That's about it, though. Peace.

[cajunbaseball1]

_ If they can't handle going to school and playing baseball, they shouldn't play. Being on the team is a privilege, not a right. They are on this team because they are elite players out of high schools across the country. If there is not enough pride to better themselves, then get off the field.

I worked my butt off for four years so that I can buy tickets to games and have a beer with my friends. Stalker? Pathetic? Hi Kettle, my name is Pot. _

Ok how many hours a week is enough pride? 40? 50? 30 is damn near no heart. I don't know how they even won 30 games this year only working on their craft 30 hours a week. How can these guys sleep at night knowing they are letting down people like you getting wasted in the stands, in bars, and at work? Go sit in your bleacher seat, shut your trap and come back when you've worked on your posting and stalking skills 30 hours a week.