I'm late to the party, but I'd thought I'd have my crack at it, too.
Drew Olson, on Saturday, September 3rd, in the Journal-Sentinel (I promise I won't subject you to too much of this publication) suggested, in an article titled Attitude Adjustment, and I quote:
Whaaa? He's calling out the Brewers for not having the "eye of the tiger." For not wanting it bad enough. That if somehow they had a larger heart, they could will themselves more hits and strikeouts.
His example of a team with the "eye of the tiger?" The St. Louis Cardinals of course. Possibly the best team in baseball, one of the most talented squads, is winning games, not because Pujols, Edmonds, Walker, Rolen et al can hit with the best of them, but because they have the "eye of the tiger." Not only do they have the "eye of the tiger," but it allows them to lay down sacrifice bunts when they need a run. Never mind the fact that they have the best On Base Percentage in the National League, and only 6 more sacrifices than the Brewers, they have gritty, do-what-it-takes-to-win-at-any-cost players like "skinny little So Taguchi."
There is so much wrong with this article, from mentioning Apollo Creed, to a advocating (but not really) bean balls, to calling Prince Fielder the only hitter worthy of clutch situations, because of his "vibe" no less, that I don't have time to dissect the whole thing.
But I do want to hit at the heart of this writer's attitude problem, and the damage it does.
For the first it's the witch-doctor phenomenon. Drew writes:
See what he did there? He tells you that this quality is almost imperceptible, then he goes on to tell you what it is and how it can be acquired. Thanks for sharing your gift Drew.
As to the second, this kind of thing, from the Brewers beat reporter, only hurts the team. I'm not saying don't write negative things, by all means, have at it. Just don't make things up so that you can write negative pieces. There are rookies all up and down this team, guys who will be the face of the Milwaukee Brewers for a long time, and giving them a rap as losers- while legitimately chasing their first winning season in 13 years- before they've got a whole, and in most cases a half, season under their belt is irresponsible. These guys work their tails off, I see improvement daily, literally from game to game. You don't get that dramatic change from players simply going through the motions. What season has Drew been watching? Yesterday the Brewers had an optional batting practice. The ENTIRE team showed up, even the pitchers.
This is a great time to be a Brewer's fan and if Drew can't see the light at the end of this tunnel maybe he needs, as one Brewerfan.net poster put it, "An Employment Adjustment."