Author Topic: Nationals vs Pirates, Game 4  (Read 23706 times)

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Offline sportsfan882

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Re: Nationals vs. Pirates, Game 4
« Reply #100: May 21, 2009, 07:12:37 PM »
Acta held a closed-door motivational meeting prior to tonight's game:

Quote

Prior to tonight's game with the pirates, manager Manny Acta had a closed door meeting with his team.

The purpose for the meeting was simple, try to get the team on the same page and back to playing flawless, winning baseball.

"Just a week ago on the west coast, we were a better team than we are right now," Acta said. "It was a group thing to pump up the guys that are down right now in our bullpen. We have gone through some tough times, you have to grind it out and the storm will pass.

Since Acta became manager in 2007, the team has been through more downs than ups and he wants the players to remain positive, even during a rough stretch like the current seven-game losing streak.

"We want to make sure the guys are upbeat and their attitude was right," he said. "Everyone knows the problems we are having; we win as a team and lose as a team. We are struggling because of our bullpen and our defense."

Here is a little more from Acta's pre game meeting with the media.

Q: Will you look for guys in the clubhouse to make sure things are holding together?
A: I need guys that can throw strikes, get people out and guys that can catch the ball. This is not about leadership. You can talk as much as you want and we still need to hold the leads and catch the ball. If we would have been doing that, the question about leaders in the clubhouse wouldn't even come up. For years I said that over here. I have enough guys to lead by example and do the things right. It's not about guys speaking up, it's black or white, it's not a grey area, we haven't been pitching well out of the 'pen and we haven't been catching the ball. That's what we need. I don't gain anything by someone getting up today at this meeting and rallying the troops and then going out there and blowing a 5-run lead. That's not what we need here.

Q: Do you think that message got across?
A: I think so but I wasn't yelling and screaming, but I think they understand and they need to hear it, all of us. All of us need to hear it sometimes stuff like that. They need to know that they were better seven days ago. And they can't believe everything they hear or that's being said around them.

Q: In this day and age, does yelling and screaming work?
A: I don't believe so, I don't think so. A few people feel that that works, but it doesn't. Try it at home with your own kids. You don't need to yell and scream to get your point across to people. It's so silly because how many championships has Joe Torre won in NY? Was he yelling and screaming and ripping bases out and throwing it all over the place? Did the yelling that Lou [Pinella] does work in Tampa? It didn't right? The yelling and screaming had nothing to do with the players. It will sell a few videos and it will make a few people happy, but that's about it. I'm not a believer in it, I yell and scream when I have to; I'm not going to do it in front of you or the fans, and that's the way it is. How many Super Bowls has John Gruden won? One! How many has my man [Tony Dungy] won? One! Then screaming and non-screaming, level off. I am who I am and I'm not going to change. I think I can motivate people with out getting in their face and pulling their ears.

Let's see if his speech translates to a win tonight.