Baseball is a game of statistics. It’s a game of strategy-in-action, but not like in football or basketball where one athlete’s mistake can be covered up by the superb play of another. In baseball, everyone’s alone in the spotlight, all the time. Casual observers suggest that it’s not a team game. But battery strategies, defensive shifts and the ever-popular (and rarely well-executed) hit-and-run suggest otherwise. Baseball is THE team game, if for no other reason than that, for half the game, players sit on a bench together, their only entertainment seeing who can blow the biggest bubble, spit a dissected sunflower seed the farthest or can stuff the most chew in their mouth.
It may not look like a team game on the surface, but when a team loses, they lose together. At least they should. The powerful presence of Dustin Pedroia notwithstanding, there have been no silver linings – Papi’s washed up (we think), Lowell’s angry, the guys the team brought in as cogs in the defensive machine have committed 5 of the team’s 10 errors, the entire opening day starting outfield is hurt (if you think Drew’s back is 100%, you’ve been drinking too much from the Charles) and management/ownership had to buy stock in Swiffer dusters just to find the panic button recently. But they’ve taken it as a team, from the front office to the coaching staff to the guys on the field – I’m fairly sure Papi’s the only one who hasn’t said anything about it to the media. It would be easy to place blame, to point fingers or make excuses. But this team under Francona has never done that, and this squad will be no exception. Maybe the new guys are having some trouble getting acclimated; maybe Ellsbury and Buchholz miss their old numbers; maybe they’re taking a lesson from last year’s Yankees and getting their losing out of the way early. Take it with a grain of salt: The Yankees are good. The Rays are better. But this team will win 92-98 games. They’ll make the playoffs, and they might even win when they get there. But whatever they do, they’ll do it as a team.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
