I think the most amazing part of all this was that Wells apologized considering he wasn't an apologist for many of his actions throughout his career. But in the midst of one of the greatest seasons in baseball history, Derek Jeter provided the leadership skills necessary to keep everyone focused and in agreement with each other. I think that the "El Capitan" angle gets overblown at times, but this is one clear example where Jeter's leadership was important. Although Joe Torre usually gets credit for keeping those Yankee teams focused and in agreement, you have to wonder how much his players--such as Jeter in this story--contributed to that clubhouse harmony.The [Upton-Longoria] incident brought to mind another confrontation between a rising star who, like Longoria, was 24 years old. Late in the 1998 season, the Yankees were playing at Baltimore, with New York having already wrapped up the division title, Joe Torre had taken to resting his regulars in the late innings, in preparation for the playoffs. David Wells was pitching against the Orioles, and in the sixth inning, Torre replaced left fielder Tim Raines and center fielder Bernie Williams with Ricky Ledee and Chad Curtis, respectively.
A pop-up was hit into short left-center field, and when the ball fell between shortstop Derek Jeter, Ledee and Curtis, Wells -- who had moved to back up bases, held his arms far out to his sides, his body language screaming, "Are we really trying?"
That was a team with many veteran players, from David Cone to Paul O'Neill to Joe Girardi to Tino Martinez, but it was Jeter who got in Wells' face about the gesture. And what he said, in so many words, was, "We don't do that kind of thing on this team." Wells was contrite, and apologized to the others involved.
It remains to be seen whether Upton will be as accountable, but it was a good sign for the Rays that somebody was moved to say something, and that it was Longoria -- who will be their Jeter for years to come -- who did the talking.
Picture from the Boston Globe
Posts
Longoria probably should have confronted Upton behind closed doors or he should approached Joe Maddon, who as the manager, has more of a right to call out a player during a game than a fellow teammate. However, there's no doubt in my mind that Longoria had the right idea. Upton has a history of showing a lack of hustle/focus at times, especially in relation to his natural talents. At this point, there's not much Longoria can do (if you watch the video, Upton is the one who had to be held back by Willy Aybar after Longoria has his moment). It is up to Joe Maddon to ensure that Upton understands that Longoria's message was appropriate.
ReplyDeleteIt's a great question about who should get credit for keeping all those Yankees teams calm, cool, and collected. I agree that Torre seems to get most of the credit, but if you think about it, he's usually credited for laying low and not matching his players' aggression with his own. In other words, Torre wins points for, in many situations, letting certain players deal with the problems that other certain players create.
ReplyDeleteIf Torre were in Joe Maddon's shoes, you know what he'd do? He'd let his young clubhouse leader, Evan Longoria, deal with his problematic outfielder, BJ Upton, so that he doesn't have to intervene and read Upton the riot act himself. It's problem resolution without having to directly resolve it. Except that Torre would get all the credit for being an "expert in player relations" while Maddon's wisdom will probably be mostly unrecognized.
The only thing is that Maddon has the power to bench Upton or recommend that the front office take action, whereas Longoria can only get on his case.
ReplyDeleteI think Maddon is best off handling it like Torre and letting the situation diffuse itself. But the problem with that in this situation is that Upton is a repeat offender and I think more drastic measures may be needed. He's already been benched for not hustling in the past and if this public spat doesn't change his attitude, I'm not sure what will.
ReplyDeleteAnd, after reading this, it seems that Maddon is a proponent of the self-policing: http://baseballmusings.com/?p=53809
ReplyDelete