Monday Links:
- Siegel: Maple Leafs hold players only meeting after another embarrassing home loss
We’re eight games into the new season, but in many ways it’s like 2013-14 Leaf hockey never left.
- The Guardian: Billy Beane’s five lessons for success
Here’s a great quote worth highlighting from Billy Beane in this article, and it’s notable because things like the culture and character of the team often become popular focal points in this market when things aren’t going well:
[quote_box_center]I have always viewed culture and chemistry as a by-product of success. If you put the performances on the field the culture will follow. I have seen very few really good teams who don’t have a good culture, and very few poor teams that have a good culture.
When we are bringing in staff, the character and type of person they are is certainly important. We use ‘soft’ scouting to evaluate a player’s personality as well as ‘hard’ scouting, through our proprietry analytics, to assess their quality. But we always remember this: there’s plenty of good baseball players who weren’t necessarily great team-mates but they were great players on great teams and ultimately that is what you are trying to achieve.
As a guy who runs a small business, I have to make sure I have return on my investment. I don’t have the ability to quantify chemistry or culture. And because I can’t, I’m not going to invest in that alone. I’m going to invest in facts. If you win you will create a good culture – so concentrate on the most important things to winning. If I have a small amount of capital to invest I will invest in trying to win and hopefully the chemistry and culture will follow.”[/quote_box_center]
- PPP: Cox Block Presents — Sucking in the ’70s
Latest podcast from Godd Till and Kim Jorn over at PPP. - VLM: Bruins looking to survive without Chara — Could the Leafs do the same without Phaneuf?
Absolutely not. But they’re not surviving with him, either. - Toronto Sun: Home no haven for Maple Leafs
2-0-1 on the road, 1-4 at home. Kind of reminds me of last season’s collapse insofar as the team seems to only play tighter and worse at the ACC, where the atmosphere is already getting toxic. Not good.
What happens if the Leafs lay an egg tomorrow with Buffalo in town? - Toronto Star: Maple Leafs send Stuart Percy down to the Marlies
Played just 10 minutes versus Boston. 7D appears to be done for now. - Puck Daddy: Canada’s songbird Anne Murray tweets ‘I wish the Maple Leafs were better.’
Might just forget the rest of it and embed that tweet into all of our game reviews from now on. Or this.
