A "personable" manager in John Yates, who has a "great" reputation. A team captain in catcher Cisco Arreola. A good cadre of second-tier leaders. Even a "prankster" or two. Not to mention renowned clubhouse asshole Brendan Kerndl to keep everyone guessing. All of this adds up to a Talons clubhouse whose morale rating is literally off the charts, topped out at "Ecstatic" with the blue bar all the way filled. Every single player is happy and in a great mood. Talons Assistant GM Stu Coates is constantly bombarded with extension requests from players who want to stay here.
So what good does all that do? Does all of this Kumbaya translate into wins?
On one hand, having a good clubhouse morale reduces team distractions. The camaraderie in effect diffuses arguments before they can start. The guys are even known to have barbeques at each others' mansions during off days in Phoenix. There are no disruptive, selfish, or outspoken players. And many have even said that Kerndl's legendary prickly personality is mostly for show anyway. It's all happy, all the time, and may have contributed to the team's +4 Pythag record.
But other teams have a +4 Pythag as well, and its really not that far outside the realm of chance. What if the team is too soft? You gotta get MAD once in a while. The great Patches O'Houlihan once said: "You gotta get angry! You gotta get MEAN! That's the only way you can win!" The Talons, apparently, just don't get angry. Does that affect their play on the field? Where is the passion, the grit, the determination? Maybe you just gotta have a team full of pissed off guys every now and then in order to dig out a tough win. And as we saw in the first round of the playoffs (especially Game 4, an extra inning loss that allowed Vegas to tie the series 2-2), that just didn't happen.
You know what they say about "Nice Guys".
