Troy Tulowitzki

Describes motivation process for creativity with emphasis on intrinsic motivation by Corey K Katir

Troy Tulowitzki is the pulse of the Rockies. He doesn’t need to be the happy face. At 27, Tulowitzki wants to be a better teammate, a better leader.

“The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again…..” A. Bartlett Giammati Thereas nothing as foolish as trying to pick a 162 game baseball season. A This is the first year that I’m not predicting the Red Sox to … Continue reading →

There was a lot to like for the Mariners in this one — strong starting pitching by Jason Vargas, and a 14-hit attack led by Kyle Seager and Jesus Montero with three each. Seager had a two-run homer and drove in three. The Mariners were 6-for-10 with runners in scoring position, a dramatic reversal of a troubling trend.

MARINERS NINTH: They go down in order, and it will be Steve Delabar on the mound to finish it off. 10-3 Mariners.

ROCKIES SEVENTH: Vargas was one strike away from getting away unscathed from a one-out Jason Giambi double, but Jordan Pacheco singled to left for the first Rockies run in 16 innings this series. Wilin Rosario followed with a two-run homer, and it’s 9-3.

MARINERS SIXTH: The M’s blew it open with four runs, highlighted by a two-run double by Dustin Ackley, followed directly by Casper Wells’s two-run single. 9-0 Mariners.

ROCKIES FIFTH: It’s an official game now, which could be meaningful given iffy weather forecast. Vargas has brilliant one-hit shutout going. Incredible starting pitcher by Mariners in this series. 5-0 Mariners.

MARINERS FOURTH: M’s have offense rolling today. Brendan Ryan gets a one-out triple and scores on Jason Vargas’s single over the drawn-in infield. 5-0 Mariners.

MARINERS THIRD: Mariners add two more runs, all after the first two hitters struck out. Wells worked a 3-2 walk, Ichiro reached on an infield single, Montero lashed a liner into center for one run, and Seager singled in another. That’s three RBIs today for Seager. 4-0 Mariners.

ROCKIES SECOND: Vargas issues leadoff walk to his former Long Beach State teammate Troy Tulowitzki but gets three fly outs. 2-0 Mariners.

MARINERS SECOND: Kyle Seager, who has emerged as the Mariners most productive offensive player, blasted a two-run homer to right after Montero worked a walk on a 3-2 pitch. That’s five homers and 25 RBIs for Seager. 2-0 Mariners.

ROCKIES FIRST: Vargas gets the Rockies 1-2-3 without a ball leaving the infield. He’s coming off a game in Boston in which he gave up five runs in six innings. 0-0.

MARINERS FIRST: Rookie Christian Friedrich, making his third career start, gets the Mariners in order. He was Colorado’s first-round pick in 2008 out of Eastern Kentucky University and is 1-0 with a 1.38 in his first two starts, with 17 strikeouts in 13 innings. Read more…

1. The contract negotiations between Derek Jeter and the Yankees after the 2010 season were quite contentious. Jeter felt like he should be paid for all that he had meant to the organization for such a sustained period and to do otherwise was to be disrespectful. The Yankees, conversely, felt they should only pay him for what he was and was likely to be, which to all historic comparisons and to any eyewitness account of what Jeter looked like in 2010 suggested a steadily declining player.

The Yankees felt that even what they ultimately agreed to was an overpay: A three-year, $51 million contract that they saw as a compromise between what he was worth (they thought about $8 million a year) and his importance in team history. There is an $8 million player option for 2014 and the Yankees figured it was mere window dressing to throw in escalators based on accomplishments. For example, the option would climb from $8 million to $12 million if Jeter wins the MVP at any point from 2011-13 or to $10 million if he finishes from second to sixth.

Except all of a sudden, Jeter has turned back the clock and a if anything a appears underpaid. If the season stopped today, he probably would finish in the top six in the AL MVP and trigger an escalator. Of course, the season does not conclude today. Jeter is 37, turns 38 in June and there is a lot of schedule left for an older player at a demanding position.

But this is not just about April 2012 any longer. Jeter has now sustained a brilliant performance since early July of last year. The transformation from fade to fantastic has been stunning. He believes it was about work done with his personal hitting guru, Gary Denbo, while Jeter was on the disabled list. Joe Girardi feels that Jeter had weight removed from his game when he reached 3,000 hits.

Whatever the reasons, understand that Jeter was not below-ordinary for just a week or two. From June 2, 2010 until July 4 of last season a a period of 704 at-bats for Jeter and 169 games a he hit .253. That is more than a season of at-bats for a player who was a metronome when it came to hitting over .300 in his career. Among players who had at least 500 at-bats in that period, Jeter ranked 151st in batting average, which placed him between Jeff Francoeur and John Buck a not exactly the position or company with which he was familiar.

However, from July 5 through last nightas game a a period of 325 at-bats and 78 games a Jeter hit .342. That is more than a half a season of at-bats. Among players with at least 250 at-bats in that period, Jeter ranked sixth in batting average, which placed him between Matt Kemp and Troy Tulowitzki a exactly the company with which he is familiar. In fact, the two players who were in front of him, Ryan Braun and Kemp, finished 1-2 in last yearas NL MVP balloting.

Considering the dismal history of older shortstops, I definitely believed Jeter was in his decline phase and needed to be de-emphasized. In particular, I believed he needed to be dropped toward the bottom of the lineup or be given more off-days when the Yankees faced righty starters. In that period from June 2, 2010 through July 4, 2011, Jeter hit just .232 against righties with a .297 on-base percentage and a .287 slugging average. But in those next 78 games, Jeter hit .307/.361/.395 against righties.

And also what cannot be ignored is that Jeter is hitting for impact again. In that long stretch of futility, he managed 37 extra-base hits in 704 at-bats and averaged a homer every 100.57 at-bats, which led to a .330 slugging percentage. You want to know how bad that is? Remember the former, power-deficient Yankees shortstop, Alvaro Espinosa? His career slugging percentage was .331.

Since last July 5, Jeter had 29 extra-base hits in 325 at-bats and was averaging a homer every 46.43 at-bats, which has led to a .483 slugging percentage, which would tie for the second highest in Jeteras own career. Yogi Berraas career slugging percentage was .482.

2. From July 5 of last year, Jeter had an .874 OPS, including 1.071 this season through Mondayas game. If he maintains anything like this kind of production for a full season, he will all but flout history.

For this is Jeteras age-38 season since he turns that age before the midway point of the schedule. In major league history, just two shortstops in their age-38 season or older topped even an .800 OPS in a year in which they qualified for the batting title: Honus Wagner (.891) in 1912 and Luke Appling (.833) in 1949. In fact, Wagner and Appling are the only two shortstops to defy age and remain productive. They have six of the seven highest OPS totals for a shortstop 38 or older. Omar Vizquel has the other, having produced a .749 OPS in 2006.

That Jeter is in the conversation with Wagner and Appling should serve as a reminder about something else: So often in describing Jeter the tendency is to fixate on his intangibles. And while those are valuable, we should not forget that Jeter is tangibly one of the greatest players of all time and on the very small list of greatest shortstops ever.

3. Bobby Valentine is a provocateur. He loves the sound of his own voice and loves it most of all when it is nettling others. He does not mind the uncomfortable moment or confrontation. In fact, he seems most uncomfortable with peace and quiet.

There are times he is calculating and offers an edgy comment or three with the desire to unsettle his surroundings whether that is his front office, his own clubhouse, the opponent or even the media. And there are times simply because he is Valentine that he is hardwired to offer opinions in just such a way that they have an incendiary quality. The guy just does not do boring well. He does not do sermons from the big baseball book of clichA(c)s.

In a firestorm on Patriots Day in Boston, Valentine insisted that he was not trying to ignite a slumping Kevin Youkilis when he told a TV station on Sunday, “I don’t think he’s as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason.” Valentine claimed he misspoke and was trying to respond specifically about Youkilisa swing. That is borderline farfetched. Valentine has been a manager in many places for a long time. One of those places was Japan, so he understands the importance of being understood exactly. He also worked in the media as an analyst for ESPN. In other words, he knows how to communicate clearly. So it is possible that he botched his words. But not probable.

I will say this: When Valentine took over as Mets manager he clearly came to believe some veterans who seemed to have firm locks on jobs were not winning players. He worked behind the scenes a often without much subtlety a to get those players off the roster. Now Valentine is an excellent judge of baseball talent; in fact, by far the best I have ever seen among managers. And that is the dichotomy of the man. He has this skill to read who can and cannot play. But he can lack patience and tact in wanting to make the clubhouse conform to his vision a immediately.

Is this happening with Youkilis? I have no idea. Youkilis has been a part of two championship teams in Boston and his passion is something that has never been publicly questioned before. Conversely, his body has betrayed him in recent seasons and it is possible he is fading. The Red Sox have a third base prospect in Will Middlebrooks who appears near ready for the majors and Youkilis can be a free agent after this season.

It is possible that what Valentine said had nothing to do with all of that. But it had something to do with something. Valentine talks a lot. But it is rare that he talks and it has no message or meaning.

Standing atop the steps in the dugout waiting for his next at-bat, Troy Tulowitzki never saw the line drive coming off Colorado teammate Dexter Fowler’s bat.

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