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Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Sain best pitching coach ever
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
When I sat down to talk pitching with Leo Mazzone, I knew I was going to get another chapter and verse on Johnny Sain. Mazzone was the Biblical Timothy to Sain’s Paul. Every time the Braves visited Chicago, Mazzone never failed to call on the old pitching coach, then retired and in failing health but never too sick to talk pitching, and the Braves pitching coach would chirp happily, “What I am is everything Johnny Sain taught me.”
Sain died Tuesday in Downers Grove, Ill. He was 89.
Higher praise came from higher authorities, like this celestial endorsement from Jim Brosnan, who could write as well as pitch. “Johnny Sain did for pitching in the ’60s what Babe Ruth and the lively ball did for hitting in the ’20s,” which is just about as unlimited an endorsement as a fellow could make.
But Jim Bouton topped Brosnan, before he turned informant and wrote his tell-all book on players and their sinful ways. “Johnny Sain is the greatest pitching coach who ever lived,” he said.
Sain was a former automobile mechanic from Arkansas who had his finest seasons with the Braves in Boston, four seasons of 20 wins or more, one season a 300-inning toiler, and a 1-0 victory over Bob Feller in the 1948 World Series. It was in the pennant race that season, teaming with Warren Spahn, that one of the most durable catch-phrases of baseball was created: “Spahn and Sain and pray for rain,” or thereabouts.
The right-hander was traded to the Yankees, who needed pitching help in 1951, and subsequently closed his career with Kansas City, finishing with 139 victories and a 3.49 ERA. In 1954, he became one of the pioneers of the “save” statistic with 22.
Just what it was about Sain that made him the model of coaching isn’t easily defined. His philosophy: “Pitching coaches don’t change pitchers, we just stimulate their thinking. We teach their subconscious mind so that when they get on the mound and the situation arises, it triggers an automatic physical reaction.”
Whatever his style, it didn’t always set well with some managers. No matter how many 20-game winners he developed, he often found himself out of a job, fired by some jealous boss. He was popular with pitchers, though. He didn’t make them run, and most pitchers hate running. Art Fowler, an average pitcher who later became a coach himself, once said, “If running would make a pitcher out of you, Jesse Owens would be in Cooperstown.”
As he moved into coaching, Sain distinguished himself by developing 20-game winners by the herd, Whitey Ford, Ralph Terry, Mudcat Grant, Jim Kaat, Earl Wilson, Denny McLain, Wilbur Wood, Stan Bahnsen and Mickey Lolich among them.
Lolich came under Sain’s hand at Detroit, and after Sain had been fired, Lolich said, “Johnny loves pitchers. He believes pitchers are unique, and only he understands them.”
Still, managers kept firing him, one after another, and it was at Richmond, in the Braves farm system, that Mazzone came under Sain’s magic touch and became a disciple. There have been pitching coaches who create an aura about their work, but none with the influence of Sain. “A ball was just a ball until he put that ball in your hand,” Dave Boswell said. “It had possibilities you never dreamed of.”
Sain had one other manner the average fan would applaud. He rarely went to the mound to counsel a suffering pitcher. If what his careful teaching hadn’t taken hold over the long haul, he couldn’t rebuild him in the middle of a game.
Permalink | Comments (9) | Categories: Braves / MLB, Furman Bisher
Falcons’ fate all depends on Vick
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Flowery Branch — Between all of the talk about having backups with experience, and not being the same team as a year ago, and, “Wow, that might’ve been our best practice of the year today!” there is something you need to know about the Falcons: This is not where they wanted to be.
They have a defensive front seven battered by injuries, which means they can only create pressure with blitzes, which results in exposing that soft gooey under belly, which leads to Jon Kitna looking like Otto Graham.
They have a secondary with an oft-maligned starting cornerback (Jason Webster) the head coach remains blindly loyal to, despite blinding production by opposing receivers. They’ve lost one of their inspirational leaders (Kevin Mathis), which means forcing into the lineup a rookie, Jimmy Williams, who thus far has not lived up to billing in practices.
An offensive line that already had protection issues and occasional run-blocking problems has lost one lineman (Kynan Forney) for the season. They lost another lineman for four games because of steroids. And for all we know, when the purified Matt Lehr returns, he may resemble Don Knotts.
No. This is not where the Falcons want to be. They are 5-3 with issues. Last season they were 6-2 at the turn with seemingly fewer flaws. Then came the sinkhole.
Nobody wants to talk about last season, least of all Michael Vick. That’s fine. But Vick should know this: No NFL team starts the season with a large margin for error, and the Falcons’ margin has evaporated. For them to make the playoffs, the onus is on the quarterback even more today than in the past.
That doesn’t mean Vick needs to throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns every week. It does mean he can’t be spectacular one minute and then breathe life into a comatose opponent the next, as was the case last Sunday in Detroit. Vick turned the ball over three times. He fumbled on the Falcons’ first possession, leading to a Lions touchdown. Backed up to the Falcons’ four-yard line on the fourth possession, he threw an interception that led to another TD. A 17-7 deficit mushroomed into a 30-14 loss to a 1-6 team.
Vick became irritated Wednesday when asked about mistakes in the Detroit game. Either he is sick of hearing about the subject from coaches in film sessions, or he considers avoiding the topic altogether can result in some sort of spiritual cleansing.
“I fumbled the ball once and threw interceptions,” Vick said. “I’m not perfect. Turnovers are gonna happen. Can you overcome it? Yeah. But I’m not perfect to a point where I’m going to go four or five games in a row and not make a mistake. It is what it is, we lost the game and I’m not talking about last week anymore. It’s all about Cleveland. So if you have any questions about the Cleveland Browns, shoot them at me.”
Yes, the Browns. They are a team the Falcons should defeat this week. But then, at 2-6, they have the same record as the Lions.
The NFL is a league short of predictable results. The NFC has been the extreme of that. Dallas beats Carolina, then loses to Washington. Chicago starts 7-0, then losses to Miami. The Falcons beat Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, then lose to Detroit.
But this much seems certain about the Falcons: Their problems on defense are not going away. Even if John Abraham returns, and that’s not an automatic after groin surgery, he won’t be the same at end. Linebacker Ed Hartwell is not a guy who can be counted on after Achilles and knee injuries. He has been a Falcon for 24 games but played only five full ones and parts of two others.
The Lions thought so little of everybody else that they often triple-teamed end Patrick Kerney. “It was a real treat,” he said with sarcasm. “I was actually screaming at their tight end to go out for pass routes instead of staying in and blocking. I’m sure it was fun being one of the three instead of being the one.”
It’s up to Vick. Again. Projecting with this team has proven futile. But injuries have left the Falcons with little room for error. And if Vick can’t be perfect for one side, he just can’t help the other.
Permalink | Comments (93) | Categories: Falcons / NFL, Jeff Schultz
Tech hoops will bounce back
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
It was a fluke, and everybody knows it, from the rest of the ACC to most prognosticators in college basketball.
There was the winless streak on the road during the ACC season. There were the nearly 18 turnovers per game to finish last in the conference. There were the 72 points per game scored by opponents to finish next-to-last in the conference.
Those things weren’t indicative of a trend for Georgia Tech basketball. They were the results of the Yellow Jackets losing proven point guard Jarrett Jack to the pros and having a bunch of young players lacking the court savvy to finish games.
Jack still is in the pros, but Javaris Crittenton isn’t quite there yet. Crittenton is the super freshman who will run the Jackets from the point this season.
Then you have forward Thaddeus Young, another freshman standout for the Jackets. More importantly, you have those young players from last season’s Tech team who are a year older and a year more mature.
You add all of that to Paul Hewitt, a proven winner as a coach, and you have why the Jackets are ranked in the top 25 of most polls. And why they’ll move higher than that throughout the season.
Permalink | Comments (23) | Categories: Quick Hit, Terence Moore
