Play as a team

On yesterday’s “Pardon the Interruption” on ESPN, Mike Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser discussed the affect of A-Rod and Nomar.

Regarding A-Rod, after he left the Mariners, they got better. After he left the Rangers, they got better. After arriving in New York, the Yankees pulled off the largest collapse in history. Because of A-Rod? I doubt it.

But the in the case of the Rangers, being relieved of A-Rod’s stifling salary opened up opportunities for that team to make smaller changes that caused an overall improvement.

Meanwhile the Red Sox, after trading away Nomar, went on to win the World Series for the first time in 86 years. Even though Nomar was at one time an icon in Boston, apparently his attitude had soured this season after being dangled as trade bait over the off season. After the trade, the Sox really seemed to come together as a team and played outstanding ball for the last half of the season.

After the sweep, I noticed that the Red Sox players all said pretty much the same thing in their post game interviews. All of them acknowledged the team as a team, and each player did his part for the team. There was very little individuality in their play and their comments.