They Said What?

 

The Cubs spent five weeks looking for the right manager to get their message across.  Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Rick Renteria, who said, “We’re so excited about the potential, the idea, and the coming of fruition of truly winning and taking this Cubs Nation to the next level” and “I hopefully take this responsibility with a lot of pride and understanding that everybody will possibly count us out.”  Well put, Rick.

But Theo Epstein is right about the importance of being on-message.  I cringe whenever make-believe coaches talk about “opening up your hips too soon” or the right way “lock and load” for a swing.  Throw in the passive voice and an overreliance on adverbs, and you’re asking for trouble, as well as a new manager, before long.

Players almost always try to listen, and they get the message, whether intended or not.  I saw that with Clare, never more so than after a scrimmage where she went 5 for 6, with a homer and two doubles.  At the end of practice, Coach called everyone together and said:  Look at what Clare did, and she’s not that athletic.  Yes, smoke will come out of human ears just like in the cartoons.

On a possibly related note, the non-athlete athlete visited for Sunday dinner yesterday, so you know MLB Network got turned on at some point.    Two rooms away, I could hear my daughter shout at the television, “Go home, Barry Bonds.  No one likes you.”   

Now, that’s effective communication.