The Mentality of Mediocrity: A Chance to Win
The mentality of mediocrity has taken over the Yankees and now it has taken over the media, if one considers the tabloid rags that cover the team that is "looking back, looking forward" part of the media. After Al Leiter, formerly of New York's other team and most recently of the team that defeated a somnambulant Yankees team in the 2003 World Series faced fifteen Indians and walked five of them a few nights ago, allowing five runs in two innings, the lead story in the New York taboids bemoaned the fact that the veteran lefty didn't give his team a chance to win against the Indians.
Now step back and think. A chance? A chance? What kind of garbage mentality is this? All the Yankees want from their starting pitcher is a chance? Is that what they wanted from David Cone or David Wells or Andy Pettitte or Roger Clemens?
A starting pitcher is not supposed to go out there to give his team "a chance" to win. A pitcher who does that is a loser. A starting pitcher is supposed to go out there and beat the other team. If his team scores one run, his job is to pitch a shutout. If he give up a run, he was beaten. He did NOT pitch a successful game. He did not win. There is no "almost" in winning. It is an absolute. The Yankees have not ever been satisfied with consolation prizes---until now. There is no consolation in not winning.
Randy Johnson has been one of baseball's most dominant pitchers. Every time he goes to the mound, his team expects him to pitch a shutout. Opposing batters consider making contact a victory. At least, that was the Randy Johnson until this season. Now, Yankees' manager Joe Torre is willing to accept that the Yankees will have a chance to win every time Johnson starts. How upsetting.
A old expression that was used to describe pitchers with a losing mentality was that "he pitches just well enough to lose." If such a pitcher's team scores two runs, he will allow three. If his team scores five runs, he will yield six.
One pitcher wins and one pitcher loses. As long ago as 1905, when the New York Giants beat the Philadelphia Athletics in five games to win the World Series, pitching well enough to give your team a chance to win wasn't good enough. It never is.
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