Studies - Ground Balls / Line Drives vs Fly Balls

Most NCAA Division 1 studies indicate the following:

30% of all grounders are base hits and over 40% of the time result in the batter getting on base

80% of all line drives are base hits resulting in the batter getting on base 80% of the time

Only 20% of all fly balls, including home runs, are base hits, resulting in the batter getting on base just under 30% of the time. There's just something about forcing a player to cleanly field a ground ball, make an accurate throw to another player who then has to make a clean catch. More things can go wrong for the defense, and right for you!

High on-base percentages followed by hits are what win ball games

Baserunning - Washington Nationals

The Nationals' new focus

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo wants his team to run more. That doesn't always mean more stolen bases. That means better focus and more aggressiveness on the bases.
"It's a mindset," Rizzo said. "Last year we ranked 30th in scoring from second base. That told me we had to be more athletic, but it also told me we have to be more aware and more aggressive on the bases -- secondary leads, looking to take the extra base. ... [Third-base coach] Bo Porter has been a big part of bringing that kind of aggressiveness this spring.

"We also added veterans like Jerry Hairston and Jayson Werth, guys who are not just good base runners but also who share what they know with the younger guys. Jerry Hairston said every time he gets on first base he checks the position of the outfielders. I asked some of our younger guys if they ever did that and a few of them told me they never had heard of it."

Leadership (special attention to the highlighted portion)

Carlos Pena

MESA, Ariz. — He has been with the club only a few weeks and might not even be around in November, when the one-year deal his agent called a "pillow contract" ends.

But Carlos Pena already has melded in seamlessly in the Cubs' clubhouse and felt comfortable enough to join Marlon Byrd in calling a players meeting Thursday at HoHoKam Park, after the Carlos Silva-Aramis Ramirez dugout scuffle the day before.

Despite the commotion, Pena said it is one of the more enjoyable clubhouses he has been in during his career.

"Some other clubhouses are a little more businesslike," he said. "I don't think that's necessarily good. I like guys who love the game, who appreciate they're a big-league player and they never take it for granted and enjoy themselves like they were kids. This is that kind of clubhouse."

"You love being here. You can't wait to wake up and go out and play. That's what this clubhouse is like. That type of mentality stands out. I've been in a lot of great places, but this is one of those teams that has it. Very cool. I have been very impressed."

Asked Friday about leadership potential, manager Mike Quade named Byrd, Ryan Dempster, Kerry Wood and "the two guys from Tampa Bay" — Pena and Matt Garza — as the kind of veterans who "can command the kind of respect where you would like to think players are listening and keep things together."

Wood, who has rejoined the team after a two-year absence, said it's too soon for leaders to emerge and for chemistry to form.

"It's tough to get a read to where it fits for the first two weeks," he said. "We're split up into different groups. We've only been together for four days and we're still split up. Half the team goes home when they're not playing. It's really tough to see that. Once we cut (the roster) down a little bit and start staying for the majority of the games, the everyday guys are there, guys will have a better read."

Dempster, Derrek Lee and Ted Lilly were seen by management as the three leaders the last two seasons. But Lilly was traded in July and Lee in August, leaving a vacuum. Pena, who is on his sixth major league team in 11 seasons, eschews the label, saying he only wants to foster a family atmosphere in the clubhouse.

"I don't particularly care about that at all," he said. "I'll take that as a compliment when someone says 'Carlos, you are a leader.' I say 'thank you,' and that's where it ends. It's all about being a family and feeling comfortable enough that if I have a suggestion to make to my teammate, or he has one for me, we can do it like we're brothers.

"That's the type of energy I want to give off to my teammates — that togetherness, and familylike atmosphere. If a teammate says, 'Carlos, I think you should've hustled, should've ran harder on that ground ball, but you jogged,' I'd be like, 'Did I? My bad. You'll never see that again.' I want a teammate to feel comfortable enough to say that to me. And I want to feel comfortable to say it."
Pena believes that kind of comfort zone is necessary for the Cubs to succeed. Everyone needs to be able to call each other out and take some constructive criticism.

"That goes a long way," he said. "It's extremely powerful. I want to make sure if I'm telling you this, I also embody it.

"We're trying to set a tone, make sure we get together and communicate well. Stuff like leadership? Those are just labels."

psullivan@tribune.com

Leadership - Hard Work

"Leaders aren't born they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal." Vince Lombardi

Something to think about!

     “There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results.”