“Aggressive” Mistakes

[RL04]

I’ve never been a fan of approving of or forgiving so-called aggressive mistakes.
It’s heard all the time on football telecasts.  A player commits a penalty and the announcer says the coach will forgive him because it was an “aggressive mistake.”

I don’t buy it.  A mistake is a mistake.  The point of the game is to win.  Not to make mistakes.

So, in a game, that the Nats should have won (Dodgers extra innings) but committed many mistakes, what do we hear?  Well, they were aggressive mistakes so they should be forgiven.

I call them dumb mistakes.  These are major league players!  They’re not in Little League any more.  They don’t know how to run the bases!?

And, even if so-called aggressive mistakes are forgiven, the players should not have it both ways.  If you’re gonna forgive Morgan because he tried to stretch his hit into a triple and made the third out then you can’t forgive Stammen for being lackadaisical, slowing down and high-five’ing.

He should be fined.  Stammen is getting paid a lot of money to play a game.  If he doesn’t want to run the bases, I offer to take his place.

[HalfSmokes]

He should be fined.  Stammen is getting paid a lot of money to play a game.  If he doesn’t want to run the bases, I offer to take his place.

Isn't he making league min?

[Evolution33]

If you think of agressive mistakes as just mistakes then you will end up like Manny Acta instead of seeing situations as risk vs reward you only see failure.

[DPMOmaha]

I think you're confusing an aggressive "mistake" with a lack of situational awareness.  I'll use Nyjer Morgan as an example for both.  He's missed a couple of line drives that have hit off his glove and have cost the team a couple of runs and maybe even a game.  It's a play he is more than capable of making but he's missed a couple.  He's being aggressive and it didn't work out.  But in the case of him being too aggressive and getting thrown out at 3rd, that was a case of him not being aware of the situation and pushing the issue just a little too far.  I put that on him more than I do on Stammen.  Normally, I really won't have an issue with Nyjer pushing the envelope and forcing the defense to make a play and sometimes they do.

[wpa2629]

Give me mistakes of aggression over mistakes of complacency any day. I love that this team takes risks and forces the other teams to make plays. Even if some of them go wrong, I much prefer that than the slaughtered lamb mentality we had here in the past.

[HalfSmokes]

Give me mistakes of aggression over mistakes of complacency any day. I love that this team takes risks and forces the other teams to make plays. Even if some of them go wrong, I much prefer that than the slaughtered lamb mentality we had here in the past.

for this type of team I agree. This team doesn't have the talent to play every play by the book and be confident that they'll compete. They need every edge they can get and sometimes risks come back to bite you

[wpa2629]

for this type of team I agree. This team doesn't have the talent to play every play by the book and be confident that they'll compete. They need every edge they can get and sometimes risks come back to bite you

Exactly, it would be silly for the Yankees to take the risks that the Nats do, but we're not at that level (yet)  We need all the hustle, scrap, risk we can muster. Personally, I'm digging it.

[HalfSmokes]

Personally, I'm digging it.

it's fun to watch

[Evolution33]

Without speed players like Nyjer are basically useless. They aren't Albert Pujols nor will they ever be. Sure he will get thrown out every now and then but if he stops taking risks then he is really no good to anyone. Every team would love to have complete players at every position, but we have one in Ryan Zimmerman. Complaining about Dunn striking out or Nyjer getting thrown out is taking away from what they are there to do.

[NatsDad14]

Without speed players like Nyjer are basically useless. They aren't Albert Pujols nor will they ever be. Sure he will get thrown out every now and then but if he stops taking risks then he is really no good to anyone. Every team would love to have complete players at every position, but we have one in Ryan Zimmerman. Complaining about Dunn striking out or Nyjer getting thrown out is taking away from what they are there to do.

That is so wrong. Without factoring in his speed, Morgan is a top 3 CF in the league.

[Evolution33]

That is so wrong. Without factoring in his speed, Morgan is a top 3 CF in the league.

That says more about the lack of depth of center field in the league. Mclouth, Kemp, Rasmus, Ross, and Victorino are all guys I would say are better than Morgan. I still like Morgan but his speed allows him to turn doubles into triples and go from first to third more than slower players.

[NatsDad14]

That says more about the lack of depth of center field in the league. Mclouth, Kemp, Rasmus, Ross, and Victorino are all guys I would say are better than Morgan. I still like Morgan but his speed allows him to turn doubles into triples and go from first to third more than slower players.

He is easily the best CF in the league. Factor that in with his good offense, only Matt Kemp has a case as being better.

[RL04]

Complaining about Dunn striking out or Nyjer getting thrown out is taking away from what they are there to do.

Nyjer is not there to kill rallies.

And getting thrown out at third is the easiest way to kill a rally.

I love Nyjer.  I just want him to play a little smarter, that's all.

[RL04]

Isn't (Stammen) making league min?

I don't know what Stammen is making.

But the MLB minimum is $400,000, isn't it?

To me, that's a lot of money to play a child's game.