Marty Lurie Talks San Francisco Giants Baseball
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Yanks Have Pinstripes, A's Have……


Batter Up June 18th, 2006

When the Yankees bring in new players they immediately become more effective major leaguers.

How come?

Is it the aura of playing the game where Babe Ruth, Joe Dimaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Lou Gehrig graced the diamond? Or is it the tradition of playing for a franchise that has dominated baseball for the past 90 years?

Whatever the answer most players who come to the Yanks become championship caliber players over night.

Is the same thing happening in Oakland?

Click below for more!Absolutely.

Here’s how the A’s develop a winning team even when adding new players each season.

The manager and the coaches will not tolerate unprofessional play. When you put on the Green and Gold you better be ready to play team oriented, hustling hard- nosed major league baseball.

You must play at the highest professional level.

How else can you explain the immediate impact of players such as Jay Payton, Bobby Kielty, Marco Scutaro, Adam Melhuse, Frank Thomas, Mark Kotsay, Keith Foulke, Billy Koch, Justin Duchscherer, Kiko Calero, Brad Halsey, Kirk Saarloos, and Jason Isringhausen, to name a few.

Players with something to prove.

The list stretches over eight seasons.

Remember Cory Lidle, Gil Heredia, Terrence Long, Scott Hatteberg, and John Jaha.

The names changed, but the results didn’t.

Look at the players who broke in as rookies. Eric Chavez, Jason Giambi, Ramon Hernandez, Miguel Tejada, Bobby Crosby, Mark Ellis, Huston Street, Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, and Tim Hudson.

They all became stars.

Why because Art Howe, Ken Macha, Ron Washington, Brad Fischer, Mike Quade, Rick Peterson, Rene Lachemann, Bob Geren, Terry Francona, and Curt Young among others taught these players how to win on the big league level.

These baseball men rejuvenate careers. They teach rookies how to play winning major league baseball.

The staff settles for nothing less than winning grind it out baseball.

The Yankees have the pinstripes, a certain way to get a new a player’s attention.

The A’s have baseball men who earned their spot in the game through dedication and hard work. These men grab the new players and teach them how to play baseball the old fashioned way.

It happens every spring no matter how the roster changes.

Sometimes it takes two months, sometimes three, but you know it is going to happen. The big winning streak is right around the corner.

Say what you want about the A’s offense.

The hit and run, the stolen base these strategic moves are not part of the manager’s arsenal. The A’s style of ball is to wear down the opposing starting pitcher, put the pressure on the other team to make mistakes, and to swing at a pitch that is within the strike zone, hopefully driving it out of the park.

The staff gets a man’s attention very quickly. Do it our way or else! Ever see an Athletic not hustle during the game? Give away an at bat?

Check out the camaraderie in the dugout. No pushing and shoving among teammates. True team spirit.

The Tigers have achieved success this year under the guidance of manager Jim Leyland. Leyland, a baseball lifer, has an approach to the game that mirrors the A’s.

The Orioles championship teams of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s under Earl Weaver and Cal Ripken Sr did it this way too.

When the going gets tough, the A’s get going.

June is the month when the dedicated baseball players take over. The best teams win with pitching and defense. The clutch hits start to fall. The grinders win.

The A’s develop tough baseball players. The team’s winning attitude comes from the manager and his staff. They are the drill sergeants.

It’s just a matter of time each year until this type of player wins baseball games.

The A’s play better baseball than their opponents as the race heats up, it’s as simple as that.

It happens this way ever year and it’s not an accident.

0 comments

1 Anonymous { 06.18.06 at 3:42 pm }

Marty
you are a great observer of the game. You are quite right in the way the A’s approach the game. The players will go all out and give the team 100%. Of course, they will make a blunder now and then but they are sound in the fundamentals of the game. It has been a joy to watch the good caliber of play for the last 20 years.

Jerry F

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