Mark Grace speaks out!

[BC867]

In this morning's Az Republic, Dan Bickley reported that Mark Grace said, among other things, "We've got plenty of fellas that believe in superstitions, but the only voodoo that works is preparing yourself day in and day out, trying to get a scouting report on what a pitcher is going to do.

"If it's a bad game plan, that's alright because a bad game plan is better than no game plan. And I think there's been alot of non-game plans out there."

Bickley added that Grace made it clear he was not blaming the hitting coach.

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Is Mark being diplomatic, by adding a one-line disclaimer that it's not the responsibility of the hitting coach?

Is he saying that a game plan is the responsibility of the ballplayers? Or is he referring to the Manager?

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In the same article, Bickley pointed out that "Brenly has scrambled, using 113 different lineups in 127 games." In that criticism, I read "scrambled" as the opposite of "game plan".

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Not too long ago, Mark Grace announced that he would rather pursue a career leading to Manager, instead of announcer.

It sounds like Gracie has taken the first step, speaking out about lack of a game plan. I don't think he's blaming that on the players!

 

[Stan C]

Funny, I kind of read it the other way, that the ball players were not preparing themselves for each pitcher, etc.

 

[BC867]

I did quote sort of selectively. Stan C.

But is it the responsibility of each player to find scouting reports and determine an effective approach for the team?

That leadership should still come from the Manager and his staff.

It's interesting that Dwayne Murphy was quoted in the article as blaming Joe Garagiola, Jr., for the team's batting problems. Does he hope to stick around by challenging the General Manager?

It didn't work for Buck Showalter and it's certainly not going to work for Murphy.

Speaking of the Little General . . . Bob Brenly has sure turned into the Anti-Buck. Remember when he threw Showalter's book of rules on the floor.

We've gone from a Manager who was a control freak to one who has no control. * Neither extreme prevails! The answer is somewhere in the middle.
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* It was painful in the almost no-hitter to watch our batters still first-pitch swinging.

Does anyone other than Craig Counsell know how to, or want to, work a pitcher? Apparently not our Manager and Batting Coach.

 

[FanOfTheGame1]

Yet another example of Grace working the media, and perhaps vice versa, to get exactly the right quote out there to suit his agenda... whatever it may be.

His unwillingness to retire before the season, and then his arrogance in hanging onto a valuable roster spot, will long be remembered.

 

[BC867]

Originally posted by FanOfTheGame1
Yet another example of Grace working the media, and perhaps vice versa, to get exactly the right quote out there to suit his agenda... whatever it may be.

His unwillingness to retire before the season, and then his arrogance in hanging onto a valuable roster spot, will long be remembered.

I would like to see Gracie retire now. I would really like to see him retire now and be named Batting Coach!

I have a feeling that his hanging on to a roster spot is more the doing of management, feeling that his experience would be helpful in the post-season.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but I believe that it could be the cause.