Don Kalkstein, the Red Sox mental performance coach, could very well be the proud owner of two championship rings from two different teams in two different sports by the time this season is done. Along with hoping to make a run at the World Series title with the Red Sox, he is also closely monitoring the success of the Dallas Mavericks. It just so happens that Kalkstein spent the offseason performing duties similar to that of his job with the Red Sox with the first-place Mavs.
Of all the players Kalkstein works with in Dallas he said that Dirk Nowitzki is the most receptive to the benefits of the coach’s instruction. “He’s like a sponge,” Kalkstein said. Proof ofNowitzki’s embrace of the mental side of the game, said Kalkstein, is his court awareness. According to the Sox instructor, Nowitzki’s ability to see the entire court has improved exponentially over the last few years because, in part, to his commitment to working on his mental approach.
You can be assured that some of the same results can be found with the Red Sox, even if they won’t be advertised in the box score.
Another interesting conversation I had today was with Jon Lester. During the offseason I had tracked down the name of the person who was involved in the Storrow Drive accident which led to Lester getting his back checked out. While I couldn’t get in touch with the driver of what was a 1993 Acura, it did make me want to find out the rest of the story fromLester. He said that the fender-bender, which happened before the first of the Red Sox’s five-game set against the Yankees in mid-August, took place just before the Kenmore Square exit and did damage only to the other driver’s automobile. Because he was slated to pitch in two hours, the State Police helped expedite the information-gathering process, allowing the pitcher to make his start. As it turned out, it was partly because of that accident that Lester got his back checked out and discovered he had a form of lymphoma.
I can’t say enough how impressed I am with Lester this spring. He not only has been working out without a hitch, but has handled perhaps more interview requests than anybody but Matsuzaka with great aplomb.
Although he will always deflect it, one man seen roaming the complex during workouts, Allard Baird, deserves a tremendous amount of credit for helping identify and scout the newly-signed free agent. The former Kansas City Royals general manager is viewed as one of the game’s best talent evaluator, and the Red Sox put him to good use last season. According to Baird, the process of targeting potential acquisitions began for the Sox back last July.
Baird told an insightful story when it comes to the art of scouting. He said that you’re taught to always judge off your scale, or what you determine to be in between the best and worst of any attribute. But one of the first players he scouted early in his career, Tom Gordon, put the scale for judging curveballs on an unreasonable level. It left Baird wondering why he couldn’t find anybody throughout the rest of his travels who could live up to the curveball scale set by Gordon.
Judging by his long-toss the other day, it looks as though Matsuzaka has set the scale for at least one thing this spring. I, on the other hand, has set the scale for having the smallest rental car.
Will post once more tonight, so get your questions in …
Clck here to read today’s column “The man who was once Manny”
