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4th and 5

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    Gammons: For some of the best players in the game, insecurity is a powerful tool

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    By Peter Gammons  Oct 8, 2018comment-icon@2x.png 22 save-icon@2x.png

    One afternoon this week, some of his Red Sox teammates and coaches were making light of Mookie Betts, their likely MVP and most unassuming friend. “Mookie needs to be reminded that he’s as good as he is,” said one coach. “It’s refreshing. It’s motivating. But he doesn’t think of himself as a star. Just the opposite.”

    “I don’t think he thinks he’s very good,” said Betts’ science-of-hitting companion J.D. Martinez.

    So I asked Betts: “Do you realize what you’ve become?”

    He laughed, put his head down, then shook it. “I’m not someone who talks about myself.” He laughed a little more. I told a couple of teammates that he has no idea that in 2016 and ‘18, Betts and Mike Trout will have finished 2-1 and 1-2 in the MVP voting and Wins Above Replacement science. The conversation turned to the insecurity that envelops most people that play major league baseball.

    I offered Mookie a story: “A couple of the great Orioles pitchers who played with Cal Ripken when he came up, and were around when he became one of the most respected faces of the game in the nineties, used to say, ‘The most insecure person on earth is Cal Ripken.'”

    The story continued: How the pitchers believed that insecurity motivated Ripken to show up, hurt, sick, whatever, to play every day for years, begin the post-strike rehabilitation of the game in 1995, sign autographs for hours after games. When he broke Lou Gehrig’s record on national television with Bill Clinton in the booth with Chris Berman, he was still was willing to get to Camden Yards at eight the next morning — a scheduled day off — to sit down and do a “Sunday Night Baseball” interview … and thanked us as he left the room. Before the Joe Torre Yankees, and before McGwire and Sosa, Cal Ripken’s insecurities helped baseball crawl from the wreckage of the winter of 1994-95.

    Look, baseball is inherently insecure. Leading the league in hitting at .346 also means failure at a .654 rate. Slug .691 with a 1.139 OPS and 23 homers before the All-Star Break, and then go .571/995/9 in the same categories after the break (in 20 fewer games) and there are questions demanding answers.

    Martinez, who has crafted two straight mind-boggling seasons, came up with the Astros and was once benched for swinging at a first pitch, knows all too well the role insecurities play with baseball players, and probably most athletes. Martinez, who as rookie encountered a veteran star in the clubhouse who refused to give him even a second of time or help, is considered by his peers as the model teammate. He, Betts and Mitch Moreland will take any player and include them in their long hours of video, batting cage and on-field preparation; ask Rafael Devers.

    He and Betts have video guru Billy Broadbent take a small camera to the cage during batting practice and tape their swings. “Sometimes I get back inside, look at the video and tell myself, ‘those swings were terrible, this could be a tough night,’ then often go back in the cage indoors and try to fix it,” Martinez says.

    “I’ll see something,” says Betts, “and try to fix it even if it’s right before the game.”

    When infielders come out for early work with infield coach Carlos Febles, Betts will often come out and work at his original middle-infield position. “I think getting rid of the ball as an infielder helps in charging and quickly releasing throws from the outfield, especially from angles,” says Betts. “And you never know when we’re in an extra-inning game and they need me to come in to play the infield.” Indeed, it happened this season. Six innings, two chances, two assists at second base.

    Red Sox coaches and teammates talk about the consistent daily preparation of Betts and Martinez, much like the Yankees would talk about how Derek Jeter used to say, “I take BP the same way every day,” and how the Angels marvel at Trout’s unswerving game and work ethic (“If his heartbeat could be charted, it would be a straight line, without any lines going up or down,” said one of his former coaches). Same for Joey Votto, of whom his former teammate and constant admirer Bronson Arroyo says, “He’s so devoted to concentrating on his preparation, he has something like 10 names on his phone’s contacts list so he can’t be interrupted.”

    Asked if insecurity can result in daily preparation that, in turn, creates consistency, Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers replied, “No question. Maintaining consistency over the season, through the schedule, through slumps, through injuries, is a huge part of the game. Believing that you have to maintain that preparation. Going to the park thinking you can succeed on talent alone is dangerous. It happens to some players. It may be why some fail.”

    “I’m not good enough to show up at the park and just go out there and play,” Betts says.

    “I know what it’s like to not be very good,” says Martinez.

    Betts is the best defensive right fielder in baseball, and he still keeps his defensive cards in his back pocket every inning of every game.

    After Albert Pujols’ great rookie season, the next spring training he worked even harder. “If I can go from A ball to the big leagues, there’s someone else who believes he can do the same thing and take my job,” said the future Hall of Famer. Pujols still remembers the names of those who doubted him as a kid growing up in Kansas City, driving his incredible work ethic and preparation. Dustin Pedroia is the same way. And even though Justin Verlander walks to the mound like he’s on the red carpet, one of his former managers says, “He’s actually really insecure. There’s nothing he hates more than not being great, and the video and work he puts in is to get to the mound and prove he is great. He is driven.”

    Alex Rodriguez was one of the most insecure players I ever met, but it fueled his commitment to the work and willingness to help young players. Self-doubts drove Dennis Eckersley to greatness, visible in his exuberance when he struck out opposing batters.

    And on and on. One Monday this summer, after Betts had a huge weekend on the road, the opposing manager told me, “I can’t believe Red Sox coaches are telling me that Mookie Betts really doubts how good he is. He may be the greatest all-around player in the game.”

    Mookie Betts had a 10.9 WAR this season; when Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941, his WAR was 10.6. While Williams may have been the greatest hitter who ever lived, he admitted he was so worried about slumps that when he had a couple of off days, he would take extra BP and keep hitting until he hit the screen in front of the pitcher 25 straight times. “If I got to 21 and hit a pop fly,” he said, “I started over again at zero.”

    Mookie had 84 extra-base hits in 136 games. The last player to have as many as 84 extra-base hits in fewer than 140 games was Joe DiMaggio in 1941 (56-game hit streak, MVP).

    Boston teammates say Betts gets more excited when a teammate does something dramatic or extraordinary than when he does it himself. “It’s part of the fun of the game,” Betts says. “It’s about winning as a bunch of friends.”

    But, as clubhouse attendants and folks at The Commonwealth Hotel will tell you, the one thing outside of preparing and playing that occupies his time is the dedication to something bluesman Buddy Guy long ago preached.

    “I was raised to believe that one thing that counts most in life,” says Betts, “is to treat everybody the way you want them to treat you.”

    (Top photo of Betts: Alex Trautwig/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

     
  2. NSIAP

     

     

     

    Stark: The Astros are back in October, and even better than you realize

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    By Jayson Stark  Oct 8, 2018comment-icon@2x.png 55 save-icon@2x.png

    CLEVELAND – It probably hasn’t dawned on you yet what you’re watching. That might be because you haven’t been watching the 2018 Houston Astros at all.

    They just played their Division Series games at lunchtime, so TV could get them out of the way so they wouldn’t upstage (ahem) The Main Event. Because they’re not the Yankees. They’re not the Red Sox. They’re not the Dodgers.

    They’re just the defending World Series champions. That’s all. But really, it’s not. If that’s all you think the 2018 Astros are, Alex Bregman would like a word.

    How good is this team? How potentially historically great is this team?

    “To be honest with you?” the Astros’ effervescent third baseman said Monday, after his team had finished decimating the Indians, 11-3, to finish off an ALDS sweep. “Think about it, OK? [José] Altuve goes down. [George] Springer goes down. [Carlos] Correa goes down. And we won 103 games, OK?

    “If those three don’t go down and [they] play a full season,” Bregman said, staring three members of the media right in the eyeballs, “we’re looking at the most wins in the history of the game.”

    It’s hard to say what reaction Bregman expected. Maybe enthusiastic agreement. At the very least the sight of his audience’s heads nodding up and down.

    Instead, however, he got laughter. Not acceptable.

    “No. Honestly,” he said, emphatically. “I’m being honest here.”

    More laughs. So he glanced around the room. He caught the eye of the Astros’ Special Assistant to the General Manager, Player Personnel, Kevin Goldstein, who had just wandered into the conversation.

    “Am I wrong?” Bregman asked Goldstein, and everyone else within earshot, before he literally began shouting. “AM I WRONG?”

    More laughs.

    “You’re wrong,” Goldstein told him, finally. “But I love you.”

    “Nobody says right,” Bregman muttered, then turned to Goldstein yet again. “Would we have the most wins in the history of the game if those three don’t go down?”

    “Whatever you say is right,” Goldstein conceded, not totally seriously, with the knowledge he was dealing with a man it’s very hard to say no to.

    “So it would be the most,” Bregman said, once he had that opening, “since when – the 1927 [freaking] Yankees?”

    All right, let’s introduce some quick facts here. It would not have been the most wins since the 1927 [freaking] Yankees. They “only” won 110. The correct answer would have been the 2001 [freaking] Mariners and 1906 [freaking] Cubs. Who won 116 each.

    But now that we have that out of the way, we’re not sure he’s wrong in concept. Because the 2018 Astros are special. And here’s where we point out how special they are, with the assistance of The Athletic’s stats-and-info guru, Katie Sharp.

    These Astros finished the regular season with a plus-263 run differential. Amazing. That’s the third-best differential in the 58-year era of 162-game schedules – behind only the 1998 [freaking] Yankees (plus-299) and 2001 [freaking] Mariners (plus-300).

    But wait. We mentioned the Astros are the defending World Series champions, right? So that run differential also happens to be the greatest by a defending champion in over seven decades – since Joe DiMaggio’s 1942 [freaking] Yankees put up a plus-294.

    Finally, speaking of defending champions, the Astros won 101 games last year on the way to the World Series parade, then came back and won more games this year (103). That, ladies and gentlemen, is incredibly rare and incredibly difficult. In fact, only two other teams have ever done that (i.e., win 100-plus, win the World Series and then win more games the following season). That would be those ’42 Yankees again and Connie Mack’s 1930 Philadelphia A’s.

    Year Team W L Next Yr W Next Yr L Result
    2017 HOU 101 61 103 59 ?
    1941 NYY 101 53 103 81 Lost WS
    1930 PHA 102 52 107 45 Lost WS

    Pretty cool company, wouldn’t you say? But now let’s point out something important that separates the 2018 Astros from those 1930 A’s and 1942 Yankees. When those teams won the World Series, the entire postseason lasted a week. One best-of-seven series. Thanks for playing. Have a great winter.

    Nowadays, it doesn’t work like that. As you may have noticed, in the wild-card era, the postseason is a grueling four-week marathon – compounded by night after night of late starts, later finishes, high-stress at-bats and multi-time-zone travel. It takes its toll.

    Why has no team in the wild-card era, other than the 1998-2000 Yankees, repeated? We repeat: It takes its toll. And it has taken its toll on this Astros team.

    “These guys are banged up, man,” Bregman said. “There’s no way around it. “You see guys taking swings and grimacing. You see Altuve hitting a double and limping into second base. I mean, you all see it. It’s not like everyone feels great.

    “When you play into November,” he said, his voice rising again, “we understand why it’s so hard to repeat. When you play into November, your body is banged up.

    As much as Bregman would love for us all to play his what-if game and add, oh, 20 theoretical wins to the Astros’ total in our heads, that game is impossible to play. But he does have a point.

    The lineup they ran out there Monday in Game 3 against the Indians was the lineup they would have expected to play more than any other this year (aside from the DH, Tony Kemp). This was the lineup you would have read about in March in all the season previews:

    Springer CF
    Altuve 2B
    Bregman 3B
    Gurriel 1B
    González LF
    Reddick RF
    Correa SS
    McCann C

    But you know how many games the Astros ran those eight guys out there in those spots during the entire regular season? That would be eight. Eight!

    They also went two full months (June 26 to Aug. 26) without ever being able to write out a lineup card that included Springer, Altuve and Correa at the same time – and often included none of the above.

    And they still won 103 games – with the third-best run differential in the expansion era.

    Wow.

    All of which is a long, detailed way of saying: You know what? Alex Bregman might not be wrong. Or, if we’re not going to go that far, we think it at least says this:

    This is a team that won the World Series last year – and there’s an easy argument that it’s even better now.

    “Yeah,” said Justin Verlander. “I think there is. I mean, obviously, the postseason is a little bit of a coin flip. The best team doesn’t always win, especially in a five-game series….But in my opinion, this is the most complete team in baseball.”

    Statistically, it’s not the same group offensively. But if it could weather this many injuries and still win 103 games, “it just speaks to how good this team is,” Verlander said. “How deep it is. How talented it is. Like I said, I think we’re the most complete team in baseball. And that’s where it really shows.”

    Across the room, Bregman ticked off the names of the impact players who weren’t even here a year ago: Gerrit Cole … Ryan Pressly … Roberto Osuna … Martín Maldonado. They’re all upgrades on the men they replaced, with all due respect to those men they replaced, men who helped them win it all.

    And this team, with those players, just obliterated a really good Indians team. Held them to 13 hits in three games. Held them to zero hits in three games with runners in scoring position. Spun off back-to-back games (Games 1 and 2) of three hits allowed and double-digit strikeouts – something nobody had done to the Indians in consecutive regular-season games in 31 years.

    But that’s just the pitching staff. Meanwhile, the Astros rolled out a lineup that hit a ridiculous .327/.421/.614/1.036 as a team in this series. And you don’t see that much – by which we mean ever.

    That’s the best OPS any offense has ever had in a postseason series of any length. And that .421 on-base percentage is tied with the 1932 Yankees for the best OBP any team has ever had in a postseason series. Yeah, we said ever.

    So that’s what these Astros have accomplished so far. Now they await whatever AL monster shows up next. Red Sox? Yankees? They don’t much care.

    “I’ll just say,” Bregman said, with a knowing grin, “that if you like the game of baseball, if you like two of the best playing each other, you’re going to tune into the ALCS.”

    But until you do, it probably won’t dawn on you what you’re watching. On one side of the field will be a team that won over 100 games. And on the other will be the defending champs, highly motivated to prove that someone else should have been playing this week at 1 in the afternoon – and even more motivated to prove they’re still the best baseball team on planet earth.

    But seriously, is it really possible that the 2018 edition of the Houston Astros could actually be better than the team that just threw itself a parade last November?

    “Well,” said Alex Bregman, “there’s only one way to find out.”

    (Top photo:  Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

    Boom! Glad you really enjoyed it.
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    Jayson Stark has covered baseball for more than 30 years – first at the Philadelphia Inquirer, then at ESPN and ESPN.com, and now at MLB Network and WatchStadium. He is the author of three books on baseball, has won an Emmy for his work on Baseball Tonight and is a two-time winner of the Pennsylvania sportswriter-of-the-year award. In 2017, Topps issued an actual Jayson Starkbaseball card. Follow Jayson on Twitter @jaysonst.
    • Like 1
  3. On 10/4/2018 at 1:05 PM, Red Six said:

    I'm surmising here because I don't want to dig through all the information sources, but the marijuana was found pursuant to search warrant, and search warrant returns become part of a court record. Notice I didn't say "the" court record, because the search warrant is returned to whomever issued it -- so if a Dallas muni judge issued it, it goes back to Dallas Municipal Court, if a Dallas County district court judge issued it, it returns to the district judge, etc. Sometimes it will be on file with the criminal case, but most of the time it won't because search warrants typically issue before a court has jurisdiction under indictment. At any rate, it is accessible short of a judge's sealing it, which is extraordinary and rarely happens.

    But what about the 9-1-1 call? Isn't that a "public record"?

    Yes. However, until it is placed in evidence in court, it is not necessarily accessible. Release of this information is governed under the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA). The TPIA has myriad exceptions for release. Some items are confidential by law, and others can be withheld if the agency wishes to do so. The law enforcement exception permits an agency to not release information that is related to the investigation or detection of a crime. That information is not confidential, which mandates withholding; it is an exception, which is discretionary with the agency.

    The 9-1-1 call in this case is likely related to an ongoing investigation. The agency that holds it can release it or withhold it, subject to the ruling of the AG. But 9-1-1 calls often are released soon after an alleged, high-profile crime is committed. So why is the agency refusing to release the 9-1-1 call in this case?

    <shoulder shrug emoji>

    Well I was going to type this, but no need now. This is the correct answer.

  4. On 10/1/2018 at 11:29 AM, TexTexTex said:

    Herman will show up for the big games as he always does, he has had OUs number since that ass whooping he gave Stoops while at Houston.  LJ will run some wildcat, Orlando will have Kyler's head spinning and we will beat those dirt dobbing, redneck, Toby Keith loving Sooners into oblivion.  Afterwards, they will drive their houses back to Oklahoma in shame.

    Bartender, I'll have what he's having, but make mine a double.

  5. 3 hours ago, 4th and 5 said:

    I’ve searched Healdsburg with no luck. But gottdam we’ve found some wine

    I realize this in not the appropriate thread but according to my Instagram......

     

    Angie Varona is in Calistoga 

  6. 3 hours ago, Bert Orange said:

    Bottle of Elmer T Lee at the local grocery store here in Santa Rosa for only $149.  I’m gonna hard pass there. 

    I’ve searched Healdsburg with no luck. But gottdam we’ve found some wine

    • Like 1
  7. 52 minutes ago, TKthunder2 said:

    They are still getting beat on deep coverage assignments but we’ve gotten lucky with some trip ups, shoestring tackles or last minute PBUs but it’s happening far too often for my comfort.  Still it’s been a great improvement in just a few games.

    This. Extraordinary talent out there, but there are a lot of fuck ups. Boyd and Davante look like all world and dogshit on back to back plays. 

  8. 10 hours ago, Quagmire said:

    I can’t imagine anything much worse than sitting in prison for something you didn’t do

     

    I can. 

    How about your wife getting killed on your 32nd birthday, you’re wrongfully convicted of her murder by a DA who hid exculpatory evidence, your son thinks you did it and tells you he doesn’t want to see you anymore, and you spend 25 years in prison while the new DA does everything thing he can to fuck over your lawyer’s attempt to prove your innocence, while the real killer goes on to commit multiple felonies, including another murder.

    • Like 3
  9. 6 hours ago, bernorange said:

    So, DMN confirms Jean's body was near the couch.  He did not open the door for her.  IMO, that lends some credibility to her story.  Doesn't justify the shooting of course, but it sounds like a tragedy of unfortunate events rather than something premeditated.

     

    He might have opened the door, and backed away, and then gotten shot. He might have opened the door and gotten shot, staggered back and fell in the living room.

    4 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

    the positioning of the furniture in the living room will be important-  was jean facing her and the tv facing away from her?  if so she should be clearly able to see him and what he was holding.  was the tv facing her?  if so she could say she was blinded by the tv and just saw the silhouette of someone with something in his hand, backlit by the tv.

    As I pointed out a page or two ago, visibility and perception is going to be a key issue for the "reasonable belief" element of her defenses. As to him, his movements, the interior of the apartment, etc.

    • Like 1
  10. https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2018/09/20/suge-knight-agrees-serve-28-years-after-pleading-manslaughter/1373863002/

     

    Knight collapsed during one court hearing, two of his former attorneys were indicted on witness-tampering charges, and his fiancee pleaded no contest to selling video of Knight hitting the two men with his truck.

    His attorney Albert DeBlanc Jr., appointed by the court five months ago, was his 16th, and Knight tried to fire him and get yet another lawyer just a day before the deal was reached. DeBlanc declined comment Thursday.

    While awaiting trial, Knight was also accused of threatening "Straight Outta Compton" director F. Gary Gray.

     

     

  11. Nor have we really discussed defense of property

     

    
     

    SUBCHAPTER D. PROTECTION OF PROPERTY

     

    Sec. 9.41. PROTECTION OF ONE'S OWN PROPERTY. (a) A person in lawful possession of land or tangible, movable property is justified in using force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to prevent or terminate the other's trespass on the land or unlawful interference with the property.

    (b) A person unlawfully dispossessed of land or tangible, movable property by another is justified in using force against the other when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to reenter the land or recover the property if the actor uses the force immediately or in fresh pursuit after the dispossession and:

    (1) the actor reasonably believes the other had no claim of right when he dispossessed the actor; or

    (2) the other accomplished the dispossession by using force, threat, or fraud against the actor.

     

     

    Sec. 9.42. DEADLY FORCE TO PROTECT PROPERTY. A person is justified in using deadly force against another to protect land or tangible, movable property:

    (1) if he would be justified in using force against the other under Section 9.41; and

    (2) when and to the degree he reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary:

    (A) to prevent the other's imminent commission of arson, burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, theft during the nighttime, or criminal mischief during the nighttime; or

    (B) to prevent the other who is fleeing immediately after committing burglary, robbery, aggravated robbery, or theft during the nighttime from escaping with the property; and

    (3) he reasonably believes that:

    (A) the land or property cannot be protected or recovered by any other means; or

    (B) the use of force other than deadly force to protect or recover the land or property would expose the actor or another to a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.

     

  12. Been busy defending the Constitution today, been trying to get around to this section of Chapter 9 of the Penal Code that addresses use of force by peace officers

     

     

    SUBCHAPTER E. LAW ENFORCEMENT

     

     

    Sec. 9.51. ARREST AND SEARCH.

    (a) A peace officer, or a person acting in a peace officer's presence and at his direction, is justified in using force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to make or assist in making an arrest or search, or to prevent or assist in preventing escape after arrest, if:

    (1) the actor reasonably believes the arrest or search is lawful or, if the arrest or search is made under a warrant, he reasonably believes the warrant is valid; and

    (2) before using force, the actor manifests his purpose to arrest or search and identifies himself as a peace officer or as one acting at a peace officer's direction, unless he reasonably believes his purpose and identity are already known by or cannot reasonably be made known to the person to be arrested.

    (b) A person other than a peace officer (or one acting at his direction) is justified in using force against another when and to the degree the actor reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to make or assist in making a lawful arrest, or to prevent or assist in preventing escape after lawful arrest if, before using force, the actor manifests his purpose to and the reason for the arrest or reasonably believes his purpose and the reason are already known by or cannot reasonably be made known to the person to be arrested.

    (c) A peace officer is justified in using deadly force against another when and to the degree the peace officer reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary to make an arrest, or to prevent escape after arrest, if the use of force would have been justified under Subsection (a) and:

    (1) the actor reasonably believes the conduct for which arrest is authorized included the use or attempted use of deadly force; or

    (2) the actor reasonably believes there is a substantial risk that the person to be arrested will cause death or serious bodily injury to the actor or another if the arrest is delayed.

    (d) A person other than a peace officer acting in a peace officer's presence and at his direction is justified in using deadly force against another when and to the degree the person reasonably believes the deadly force is immediately necessary to make a lawful arrest, or to prevent escape after a lawful arrest, if the use of force would have been justified under Subsection (b) and:

    (1) the actor reasonably believes the felony or offense against the public peace for which arrest is authorized included the use or attempted use of deadly force; or

    (2) the actor reasonably believes there is a substantial risk that the person to be arrested will cause death or serious bodily injury to another if the arrest is delayed.

    (e) There is no duty to retreat before using deadly force justified by Subsection (c) or (d).

    (f) Nothing in this section relating to the actor's manifestation of purpose or identity shall be construed as conflicting with any other law relating to the issuance, service, and execution of an arrest or search warrant either under the laws of this state or the United States.

    (g) Deadly force may only be used under the circumstances enumerated in Subsections (c) and (d).

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