What Motivates Anyone?

I have lost my love for Football almost completely. The fact that it is a violent game that produces many devastating injuries is a big part of it. It started when my son was a Freshman in high school and won a State Championship. He was not a starter but was on the Scout Team and the seniors loved to beat on them like rented mules. He was 5′ 6′ and 160 pounds and they threw him around like a rag doll.

But he always got up and by the time he was a Senior, he was 6′ 1″ and 245 pounds and a beast! He could not be stopped. He was the Fullback on offense and played the “Elephant” on defense. He won another State Championship as a Senior, but this time it was “his team” as he was All-City, All-Conference, and All-State. At the Awards Banquet when he was named the MVP, the coach said he was the “heart and soul of the team.” I looked forward to four years of college where (in 4th grade) he promised me he would win the Heisman Trophy. I admit to being biased, like any father, but down deep, I knew he could do it. However, I was also afraid of the price he would have to pay. He has the heart of a Champion. Here he was, running onto the field in the State Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

I always envisioned that he would be a left-handed pitcher, but baseball just wasn’t his gig. He tried and just did not like it. No way – no how. Basketball was my best sport, although I loved baseball more, but he just was not a basketball player either. He can still dunk handily… and that’s probably his best shot. My oldest son who is 32 can still dunk… he just can’t remember when I could although he remembers watching me play.

So, anyway I was shocked when my youngest son said: “Dad, I am not going to play football in college.” He walked away from some big scholarships in the process. Well, the truth was I was shocked… and relieved. He said, “I want to walk when I’m your age.” I’ll be 66 soon and years of tennis, baseball and basketball have created arthritis in my hips, back, knees and lately, my upper back and neck. Whenever I try digging with a shovel or use a chain saw he says “Dad, let me do it” and he does.

He is now the Sales Manager at US Water Systems (at 20 years old) and has made some big lifestyle changes since quitting football. He is now 6’1″ and 188 pounds. He has dropped almost 50 pounds and feels so much better. It was him that called me last night (thinking I was still at the Colts Game) and said: “Dad, Andrew Luck is retiring… and I get it.” Yes, he does! Andrew is walking away from $58 million because he is married, has a child on the way and knows that football is a violent game that incapacitates many. Andrew Luck is a very intelligent person and knows there is so much more to life than football. He just is no longer “all in!” The timing is poor, but what’s a guy to do? As a Colts fan, I hate it, but as a human being, I get it. I too am moving away from football as a fan. That’s just me. We left the game last night in the middle of the second quarter.

The Indianapolis Star’s Greg Doyle wrote this:

“For the last four years or so,” Luck said, “I’ve been in this cycle of injury, pain, rehab – injury, pain, rehab – and it’s been unceasing, unrelenting, both in-season and offseason. And I felt stuck in it, and the only way I see out is to no longer play football. It’s taken my joy of this game away.”

Luck was booed off the field Saturday night when the Colts played the Chicago Bears in the third preseason game, the news of his retirement breaking on Twitter during the second half. The fans who stuck around, they booed Luck off the field. And he heard it.

“Yeah,” he said, “it hurt. I’ll be honest. It hurt.”

Even so, Luck sounded like a man at peace, a man who has stared into the abyss and turned away. Football, once his favorite hobby, the source of such childlike joy, had become his dark place. He said he had been thinking about retiring for about 10 days, calling it “a moment of clarity” when the idea finally started to take shape. He said he’d been tired.

“I feel exhausted,” he said, sounding very much that, “and quite tired.”

When you lose your passion for anything, it’s hard to keep on keepin’ on. It sucks… especially the timing. Season ticket holders are revolting. I get it, but Andrew has to live his life for him, not them. Maybe his career is over… or maybe it’s just over for a time. We shall see. Jacoby Brissett will surprise you but there are two words to remember for the Colts moving forward: Chad Kelly! He is a reformed (allegedly) knucklehead who reminds me so much of Bret Farve. I predict he will be the Colts starting QB by week #6.

What motivates Andrew Luck? What motivates anyone? What motivates my son? What motivates the Dodgers? I’ll answer that. What motivates Kenley Jansen? I’ll try and answer that.

The Dodgers, from the 25th man on the roster to Clayton Kershaw all have one common goal: Win the 2019 World Series. They all know that anything less renders the season futile. This is the best Dodger team I have ever seen, but it also has another important aspect: The insiders who know, including Andrew Friedman, Molly Knight, MLB Reporters, and the beat writers all say that this is the best lockerroom culture in all of baseball. It’s no secret that three players who went to Cincinnati were lockerroom problems to some degree. Those days are gone and this group is all singing out of the same hymnbook.

What motivates Kenley Jansen is a bit more complicated as he has health issues that can cloud his future. He has a wife and kids that he wants to enjoy and he also wants to win a World Championship for his Band of Brothers. To be a closer is to be an adrenaline junky. When you are closing out a game, that adrenaline is pumping like a pumper fire truck.

To also be a closer, you have to trust your stuff and right about now, Kenley doesn’t have confidence in his slider. Both hits he gave up yesterday were on sliders. That doesn’t mean he should never use it, but he should use it for “effect.” He just needs to show it to put it in the hitters head that he has to look for it. Let’s look at Kenley’s 9th inning:

• Gregorius:
  • 1st Pitch – 93 MPH Cutter
  • 2nd Pitch – 94 MPH Cutter
  • 3rd Pitch – 95 MPH 4-Seam Fastball
  • 4th Pitch – 94 MPH 4-Seam Fastball
  • 5th Pitch – 92 MPH Cutter
  • 6th Pitch – 93 MPH Cutter (Strikeout)
• Torres
  • 1st Pitch – 94 MPH 4-Seam Fastball
  • 2nd Pitch – 82 MPH Slider
  • 3rd Pitch – 94 MPH 4-Seam Fastball
  • 4th Pitch – 83 MPH Slider (single)
• Gardner
  • 1st Pitch – 91 MPH Cutter
  • 2nd Pitch – 92 MPH Cutter
  • 3rd Pitch – 81 MPH Slider (single)
• Urshela
  • 1st Pitch – 94 MPH 4-Seam Fastball (Fielder’s choice – screwed up play)
• Tauchman
  • 1st Pitch – 93 MPH Cutter
  • 2nd Pitch – 92 MPH Cutter
  • 3rd Pitch – 94 MPH 4-Seam Fastball (strikeout)
• Sanchez
  • 1st Pitch – 92 MPH Cutter
  • 2nd Pitch -96 MPH Cutter
  • 3rd Pitch – 95 MPH Cutter
  • 4th Pitch – 94 MPH Cutter (strikeout)

So, for everyone BLASTING Kenley for not throwing his slider more and not “obeying” the catcher, maybe Kenley is right, but I don’t think he should throw 8 cutters in a row to a batter… as he did to Tellez. Maybe Kenley is more right than the catcher or the Dodgers on this. He threw three sliders yesterday and two of those were for hits.

I think the issue is not that he should throw his slider more. The issue is to change up pitches and change the bitters line of sight. His slider is not good and should only be thrown for “effect.” I wonder if he could throw a curve? Bounce it… It’s not about using the slider more. It’s about changing location and line of sight and mixing in an occasional 4-seamer. Last night was a big confidence booster for Kenley and his cutter was as good as I have ever seen it. I don’t pronounce him “back” or “fixed” but he is a step closer. If he gets “back” this Much-Maligned Dodger Bullpen could be one of the team’s strengths.

Dodger Notes

• The Dodger bullpen ERA is now #6 in MLB, as they pulled ahead of the Yankees. I know some of you hate that stat, because it doesn’t fit your narrative.
• The Dodgers now have 86 wins. That’s 2 wins better than the Yankees and the Astros. There was actually a moron on another board who took the “under” on 85 wins for the team.
• The biggest difference between the Dodgers and the Yanks and Astros is “run differential.” The Dodgers have a 218 + differential while the Astros are +188 and the Yankees are +148. Here’s a tip: Watch the Yankees bullpen crumble with overuse down the stretch. The Astros are also hurting with Ryan Pressly out.
• Austin Barnes is catching today because Clayton loves throwing to him and their level of familiarity.
• Some thought I was crazy when I said Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin might make a difference THIS year… and here they are – making a difference.
• Russ Martin is on bereavement leave due to his grandmother’s death.
• I think Hyun-jin Ryu is fatigued and should skip his next start.
• Gavin Lux went 2-5 and remains at .407.
• Edwin Rios blasted his 27th HR for OKC.
• Jeter Downs was 2-3 at Tulsa, as he also walked twice and drove in 2 runs.
• Conner Wong remains hot as he went 3-5 and played 3B the entire game.
• Marshall Kasowski is back and pitched 2 shutout innings (2.08 ERA).
• For anyone who wonders why Jedd Gyroko is on the team, there are two reasons: (1) The Dodgers need another lefty killer on the bench in case David Freese can’t come back (and he may not); and Jedd (for his career) has a .271 BA/.344 OB% and .806 OPS against LHP. That’s why!

For some reason, this song resonates with me…