Jon Heyman: A fair number of people around basebal believe the Cubs' job is David Ross' if he wants it. The bigger question may be: how badly does he want it?
Love, love, love.
From The Players Tribune, August 4, 2016
Rizzo
I actually first met Rossy a few years ago when he was still with the Red Sox. We were both in Bristol doing the ESPN car wash. We had lunch one day, and for like an hour and a half, he was talking baseball, and I was just sitting there … listening. The next time I talked to my agent — who was also Rossy’s agent — I said to him, “That’s exactly what we need in our clubhouse to become a better team: A guy like David Ross.” Thankfully, we ended up signing him before last season.
Ross
Yeah. You guys already had a great group when I got here. But I think what this team was missing was confidence. Like, when you’re a young group — which you guys are — it’s O.K. to be good and to say that you’re good. But that’s hard to do when you don’t know what being good looks like. So when Jon Lester and myself come in, coming off a World Series, it’s different. Jon and I have seen winning. We know what winning looks like. So we come into this locker room last year and look around like, This guy’s a winner. That guy’s a winner. Rizz is a winner. KB’s a winner. It gives you guys the confidence to come together and do all the things that winning teams do.
Bryant
Yeah. I just think it’s like … you always wanna do well individually. But any time you talk to Rossy, you see that he doesn’t care about the individual stuff. He wants a ring. So when you’re a young guy and you see this guy who — it’s his last year, and he just wants to win. That’s infectious.
AND
Rizzo
Yeah … so … even on the field, when it’s all business, I can still have a good time. Where Rossy over here can’t, haha.
Ross
No, I can’t. I don’t have a good time when I play. I have a good time when it’s over and we win. You guys know that. I’m not enjoying myself out there … I’m all stressed out.
Bryant
No, you enjoy it.
Ross
Yeah, I do enjoy it. I’m just out there trying not to be the weak link.
AND
Bryant
I’m still quiet. I just like to sit back and listen. I learn a lot by listening. That’s just how I’ve always been.
Ross
Yeah, but you’ve gotten a lot better this year. You’re coming out of your shell a lot more. Like when we were in Miami and you came down to me and started talking to me about hitting. And I’m like, Why’s this dude coming to me — a career .220 hitter — to talk about hitting? Haha …
Bryant
It’s because you’re one of the guys who’s behind the plate who knows how to get me out. And that Marlins series was one where I wasn’t feeling comfortable — and of course, we’re facing Jose Fernandez throwing like 99, which doesn’t make it any easier to get comfortable. And I remember you said to me, “Just take some pitches till you get a strike.”
Ross
Yeah. One of those simple things you just forget when you’re in the heat of the moment.
AND
Ross
That’s another thing about grinding every day. It’s easy to go on autopilot and start overlooking the details — the little things. Me? I’m not playing every day. So it’s easier for me to think about those kinds of things from the bench. I can sit there and think, Why is KB swinging at every pitch? He’s super aggressive today. I wonder why. And if you come to talk to me, those are the things I’m able to impart on you. I’m just not gonna come to you and start coaching you. You gotta come to me.
AND
Rizzo
But that’s the thing. Especially during the year and during the grind, I didn’t even realize how much you’d done for me. I mean … I did … but then when you really get to reflect, you’re like, Holy ****, he taught me this and that, and now I know why we do this a certain way. That’s something I never had before in the big leagues, and I appreciate that. And for KB, that’s all he knows now. So it’s easy for him to just carry himself that way and be that example for the guys who are gonna come up after you’re long gone.
