Stop the Presses

The Dodgers just scored a run....first one in 28 innings. And they scored the run before 10 am PST. It's the first time in 40 years that they were shut out 3 times in a row. But it's worst than that...the last fourteen games have seen almost no production. No one gets concerned over a three or four game stretch but when that stretch turns into a pattern than there is a problem.

Last year after the all-star break they lost 14 of 15 or 13 of 14....whatever....it was ugly and everybody basically wrote them off. But they rebounded and made the playoffs. This negative stretch will test the mind power of Bill Mueller..the new batting coach.

Mind power in this type of situation is the difference between a season being successful and a season being lost.

If the batting coach can remind each player about positive swing thoughts and make sure that those swing thoughts are practiced each and every time one approaches the plate....then it will be ok. If on the other hand....the funk takes over and the pattern sets in and hits don't appear than it's very hard to have positive swing thoughts when walking to the plate and generally one in that mind set is just happy not to strike out.

It's a small science....the art of hitting a baseball....and each scientist has to develop their own test for success.

I note one very important flaw when people aren't hitting. The opposite field hit becomes a rare event.

The idea of being patient is much easier in the beginning of the season when energy is abundant...as the season starts wearing on the stamina...the reflexes get questioned and the reaction to a pitched ball happens sooner than it should.

We watch hitters take soft swings and ground the ball to short or second.....we stop seeing hitters take aggressive swings and before the dust settles.....long dry stretch turns into a long dry pattern that turns into.....maybe next year.

I don't want that pattern to be how I remember the 2007 baseball season and the only person who can fix this is...

Bill Mueller......and since he didn't even want the job....I'm not sure it will work for him. I've read that he is a nice guy and a smart guy....but let's face it....he's no Mickey Hatcher.

We just have to see if he knows how to ask the right questions of each player before they go up to bat. If he doesn't like to bother batters than we have a deep problem.....because if the batters could do this on their own....they would never enter the world of funk, the bad stretch and would completely avoid any negative thing that resulted in a bad pattern....that ended with a season being considered....a losing season.

Most major league players are great athletes but they aren't necessarily great at figuring out what makes something go wrong....because mainly in their lives.....everything has gone great.

850 men playing Major League baseball out of 300,000,000 people....making huge amounts of money.....and when one tries to talk about things going wrong....it doesn't sink in.......because really when you get right down to it......nothing is wrong.

And that's why the jury is out on Bill Mueller.......can he discuss the moment of response with a batter.....can he convince them that they still have great reflexes, even in the dog days of summer......can he do the job that he doesn't even want?

It's a job that Tommy Lasorda did extremely well and he never even had that job.

How to get a hitter to narrow the focus down to one exact moment.

It's a trick

and only time will tell if Mr. Mueller has figured out how to teach that trick to a bunch of wealthy men playing baseball.

I'm watching and would be willing to help out in any way possible.....I might be helpful directly behind home plate during the next home stand.

Call me.

MIchael Timothy McAlevey