We wouldn’t make a very good Major League ballplayer, and not just because of the obvious lack of skill. See, apparently you are not supposed to keep an eye on how your opponent is doing. That’s what Ron Gardenhire says, and it makes some sense: “We’re not going to worry about what those guys do [in Chicago]. We can’t. It’ll eat you up. You have to play your games and win your games, and if you do that, everything works out pretty good.”

Probably true. But totally against our human nature. Yes, the only thing under the Twins’ control is the game they are playing. But we have to wonder if it drives players crazy. Does Justin Morneau nudge Jason Kubel in the dugout and quietly say, “Hey, the Jays just went up 3-2,” like every savvy member of the sporting audience? Or are they truly supposed to block everything out and play with blinders for nine innings? We can’t seem to go 5 minutes without hitting refresh, so we’re not quite sure how a player with something actually at stake could do it. We would think looking at the other team’s score could be a healthy thing if handled properly: 1) If the team is losing, you are extra motivated to win and gain ground. 2) If the team is winning, you are extra motivated to win and keep pace. Like it or not, what the White Sox do is half of the Twins’ destiny. It might not be the part they control, but it’s there.

Also: We’re not quite sure who the resident smart-[redacted] is in the clubhouse right now, but we would love it if during the White Sox series late in the season, that player came up to Gardenhire and said, “Skip, we are winning 8-1. And, while I know this goes against what you said, I took a look at the White Sox score, and they are losing 8-1.”

So, the questions:

1) If you were a player, could you really focus in on the task at hand without looking at how your rival was doing?

2) Do you think Twins’ players actually heed Gardenhire’s words or do they sneak a peek at other scores?

3) How much of a psychological impact does knowing the score of another game have on the game at hand?

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[Image provided by our former college roommate, El Capitan, who surfaces every so often with some mumbo-jumbo about his beloved Packers. That is his poor child, who doesn’t have a chance in life].

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 7:34 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.