Spring Training Survival Guide - 2/12/10 You've started a team, better yet a franchise, and now it's spring training time. You've got to make that franchise a winning one. What moves do you need to make? How do you make your team competitive? What makes a successful franchise so successful? Fortunately for you, I have all the answers...
1. Ace. The cornerstone of any successful franchise is an ace, and with the playoff format the way it is 1 great pitcher will always be better than 2 good pitchers. Hess, McKelvey, Josh Longo, and T.O. are among the pitchers whom have made a world series, virtually the best pitchers in the league over the last couple years. An ace allows you to build a team around him; take the Red Sox for example: Without their ace John Dyer, the 'Sox would be among the bottom feeders in the league, but with him they won a division championship. The same goes for the Athletics; they went from a 1-9 team in 2007 to a 6-6 team in 2008 that was within a whisper of making the HCS. Why such a dramatic improvement? They added an ace, Tom Tierney. An ace alone may not be able to win a championship, but they can certainly win a playoff series, and once you're in the playoffs anything can happen. Strong pitching gives a weak offense a chance to grind out a win, but weak pitching won't give an offense, no matter how strong, any chance to win.
2. Good Captain. This attribute is pretty underrated throughout the league, knowledge of how certain teams and players perform can be invaluable. Some teams look to take walks, others just come out swingin', some players are power hitters and others are contact hitters. A good captain plans well in advance for upcoming games and match-ups. The schedule comes out in April and you better believe that some captains will be breaking down their match-ups and setting up their rotation. Brian Kelly, a rookie captain last year, had the presence of mind to start his #2 pitcher opening day because their second game was against a better pitcher, giving his team the best possible chance to win both games. Teams like the Braves and Angels are the best in the league in strategising. They won't hesitate to intentionally walk someone if the batter behind him provides a better chance at an out. Compare this to a team whom merely shows up and doesn't even know who they're playing against and you'll see why the Braves and Angels are considered the best-run organizations. It all starts with the captain though, if the captain doesn't do all he can to win games, than the team wont be successful, it's that simple.
3. Defense. Defense is the new offense, errors in the outfield will cost a team more runs and more wins per year than a lack of hitting will. I'm not saying a good defense will win you a game, it won't, but bad defense will most certainly lose you a game. With the new overthrow rule in place defense is more important than ever. Accurate throws from first to third, proper positioning and shifting, home run robs and athletic outfielders all eventually add up. With the level of pitching as high as it is there's more low scoring games than ever, so it doesn't take a genius to figure out that giving away a run or two in the outfield will end up costing you big time. Defense isn't all about being "good" either, it's more about being smart. I've seen some of the fastest, tallest, most athletic outfields make dumb mistakes that cost them games. Skill helps but is useless in a situation where the wrong decision is made.
4. A 25 + 5 guy. I'm talking about home runs and RBI's. Every team that has ever reached a world series has had at least 1 player who hit at least 5 HR's and at least 25 RBI's. These numbers are pretty good indicators as to solid hitters, and lets face it at some point you gotta hit. It's almost never the amount of hits that wins a team a ball game, but rather timely hits that can win a game and break open a series. In the playoffs, especially as you go deeper, the pitching is tremendous and at times overwhelming so opportunities to score are few and far between. Meaning the team that takes most advantage of scoring opportunities will often win the series. Power hitters will win you regular season games, and occasionally provide clutch playoff home runs, but for the most part steady hitters who can put the ball in play are at a premium in the playoffs. Another thing to pay attention to if you're new to the league is OBP, for the most part a high OBP is more useful than a high average and the ability to draw a walk against good pitching is the same as the ability to hit good pitching.
5. Good Base running. Base running can become an art if you're good at it. Of course speed helps but even if you don't have the best speed you can still game plan in ways you wouldn't be able to in baseball. With a lot of speed and a lot of guts you can score from first on a single, in addition some teams choose to go first to third on all throws made by the infield. Also with the addition of the new overthrow rule and "halfway line" between second and third good base running can be even more of a weapon, not only can you advance all the way to third on an overthrow but understanding the rules about when you can advance home and when you cant will also give you an advantage. Of course all these base running maneuvers can be countered by well scouted defense, it just all depends who wins the chess match.
