On consecutive days, two teams clinched playoff spots at Wrigley Field. First, it was the Braves. Next, it was the Pirates who are in the post season after a 21 year drought.
Former major league pitcher Jamie Moyer was on a sports cable talk show promoting his new book. When he was asked about his long major league career, he indicated that one of the reasons he lasted so long was that he took "preventative rehab" before he ever got injured. He explained that he did the same type of rehabilitation exercises that a pitcher would have to do to recover from an injury even though he was not injured in any way. It was a means of strengthening the body's weak points.
Moyer never had blazing fast ball stuff. Another reason he lasted so long was that he was not a thrower, but a pitcher. He learned early on how to "set up" batters to make outs, whether it was on a strike out or inducing a ground ball to a fielder.
Moyer spent half his life, 25 years, playing major league baseball. His career record was 269-209, 4.25 ERA, 1.322 WHIP and career 50.2 WAR. No one considers him a Hall of Fame candidate, but his was a durable starting pitcher.
Because of his long experience in the majors, he does have critical insight into the game. One of the most important aspects of the game Moyer said was the mental component. He said that "losing will beat you up." Players don't want to lose but after a long losing time period, losing becomes part of the team culture. Losing wears out players, coaches and managers like Lou Piniella, who had some success with the Cubs, but the pressure of two losing seasons aged him considerably until he retired.
The current Cubs team will have played another lost season. Moyer did not specifically blame Sveum for the plight of the Cubs. Moyer even thought eventually that the Cubs could turn things around like the Pirates have done.
But reading between the lines it is clear that consistent losing does have a negative clubhouse effect on players and coaches. A losing culture wears down players to the point of losing concentration, pulling back on effort or hustle, and studying opponents less and less. Human nature is that if you are probably going to lose, what is the point of trying harder? That negativity is like an anchor around players necks; an unseen but real handicap to team performance. The wear and tear of losing can fray nerves as has been seen in the Cub dugout in the last week.
Moyer believes the mental aspect of professional sports is overlooked. Players concentrate on individual things such as personal stats, hitting home runs . . . . but those are small things compared to understanding the mental aspects of the game and being able to control them (put aside a bad game to be able to start each game as Day One of the season).
The Cubs have fallen back into the downward spiral of habitual losing. The young talent that has been brought up as "core" players for the future have been caught up in the losing tradition. This may be the biggest setback for the franchise going forward.
