Here's the quote:
"I still don't have a good feel about their club," one former Yankees player said. "They'll have a great statistical club, but I still think they're so away from what made them great. They don't have enough down-and-dirty guys like (Scott) Brosius, Tino (Martinez) and (Paul) O'Neill."The word grinder gets thrown around a lot but is rarely defined. For those wondering, the dictionary says that a grinder is "an athlete who succeeds through hard work and determination rather than exceptional skill." I also hear it used a lot about guys who grind out at-bats, but in this case I believe the former Yank is referring to the former.
Yes, it's always nice to have overachievers on your team, but I don't think that's what's going to make or break you as a championship team. Having overachievers certainly made the dynasty Yankees more likable, but it didn't MAKE the dynasty Yankees.
I agree that the those teams had a lot of grit and played the game as hard as it could be played. The grinders mentioned in the quote were certainly a reason for it, but so were players Derek Jeter and Bernie Williams. I also don't think the '09 team will be lacking that grit as much as some recent Yankee teams have. This team is full of guys who play the game the right way, and give it 110% on every play.
Will they be lacking overachievers? It's possible, but you never know. I'm sure no Yankees fans thought Paul O'Neill would turn into the hitter he became or that Scott Brosius would have the kind of year he had it '98. Let's see what guys like Xavier Nady, Brett Gardner, and Nick Swisher can do. Maybe they can be this team's "grinders."
I also wonder who that anonymous former Yankee was. A real Yankee wouldn't hide from that statement. Coward.
7 Comments:
i think we have enough grinders, especially compared to the last 7 years. with Damon, Swisher, Nady, Gardner, Teixeira, Jeter and Posada at times, I think we have enough grinders out there. I think the lack of focus from Cano and Melky gave us a bad label, but i think they'll be more focused. we dont need everbody to be "grinders " to win, we need players to come through when the pressure is on and come up clutch, and for the last 7 years numerous yankee players havent done that.
Regardless of how much we talk about what more we need to win a ring, it all boils down to who the hottest team is in the playoffs. There are so many factors that people overlook, I can guarantee you that even a perfectly balanced team with the right amount of "over achievers" and "grinders" will NOT win a ring if there's a hotter team in October.
Also, I'm not 100% certain that the Yanks will win it all this year, ONLY due to my views on the hottest team in October BUT I can guarantee that this is the best Yankees team put together post-2000. I just hope the health factor is insignificant for us this year unlike last year.
nothing in the playoffs is guaranteed now in days. what's the difference between having grinders who overachieve and young talented studs like the DRays had? its all overblown and overrated. The best team makes it to the playoffs, the hottest team wins it all. that's it. there is no set formula. having a team of overachievers won't guaranteed you will make it year in and year out.
The Yanks should see more pitches this year, especially with Tex and Swish added, but finally having some younger pitchers who can throw a lot of quality innings is gonna be the biggest difference.
I agree with all of you. There are many more factors involved than just having "grinders" on the team.
Who's hot in October, who has the best pitching, etc. etc. are all very important.
But the real question is, who is the anonymous former Yankee?
Good timing. That's how you win once the postseason arrives. Good pitching, good hitting in the playoffs.
This team chemistry and grinder stuff is just a way to try and have control over something that's almost totally luck once you reach the postseason. The best team doesn't always win.
The Yankees didn't miss the playoffs last year because they didn't have Scott Brosius. It's because they had 1,325 key injuries... and still won 89 games. Pavano, Rasner, and Ponson started over 25% of the Yankees games, and Pettitte was 14-14. That's all you really need to know.
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