The Book is Never Written

Guest Blogger: Inner-Sports

by Garret Kramer

Jordon is a fine young high school hockey player. As a sophomore he has worked his way up to his school’s varsity team that is competing in the state finals. In the exciting championship game, the score is 2-2 and there is 2:07 left on the clock when the unthinkable happens. In his quest to make a big play, Jordon reaches for the puck and accidently pulls down a player on the opposing team. The referee accesses a penalty for tripping. In disbelief, Jordon heads to the penalty box. His team must play down a man for all but seven seconds of the remainder of the period and perhaps the game. The coach complains and the school’s entire cheering section hurls insults at the ref. “How can you make that call at this point in the game!” “You stink, it’s not about you, let the kids play!’ As a result Jordon feels awful, he’s let his team, the coach, and the entire school down. He’s extremely upset as he skates to the penalty box to watch as his team’s penalty killers try to stop the opposition’s skillful power play.

But through the hysteria, something else happens to Jordon as he arrives at the penalty box door. He realizes that if he acts from a place of anger and also hurls insults at the ref, or bangs his stick, then he might be assessed an additional penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. His team will then be down for the first two minutes of overtime as well, if they make it that far. While still not happy with the ref’s call, Jordon sits calmly and notices something interesting. In their quest to score the decisive goal, the defensemen on the other team are both pushed way up into their offensive zone. If he gets the chance, maybe just maybe, there is an opportunity here. Jordon watches the clock as his teammates continue to kill the penalty: 20 seconds left, 15, 10, 5, penalty over, seven seconds to go score tied 2-2. Jordon jumps out on the ice, way behind the overly eager opposing defenseman. A teammate attempts to ice the puck, and guess what…? It lands right smack on Jordon’s stick. There are now five seconds remaining in a deadlocked state championship final game, and Jordon has the puck and nobody between himself and the opposing goalie. He sprints for the net, shoots for the top corner, and scores!

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No matter what the challenge, we just never know how things will ultimately turn out. Most of the time, the final work of art takes on an entirely different shape than the artist has planned! One secret to contentment is to find the worth and meaning in anything (and I mean anything) that has happened. When the penalty was called above, wayward thinking abounded. The coach, the fans, and even Jordon in the moment, perceived the circumstances as disastrous. After all, who could blame them, this was the state finals. And while the initial thought of disappointment is quite normal, Jordon somehow realized that the chance for something better truly existed. Like the title of this composition, the book is never written and a door is never truly closed. Grab onto this truth, settle your mind, and allow yourself to experience just how awesome the twists and turns of life will be!



Garret Kramer is the founder and Managing Partner of Inner-Sports, LLC. Inner-Sports evaluates and then coaches athletes of all ages on the behavioral characteristics that lead to peak performance on and off the field of play. Inner-Sport’s evaluative partner has created the behavioral assessment used at both the National Hockey League and the Major League Lacrosse scouting combines. Inner-Sports and Garret work with Baseball Factory players at select player development events.

Milton Bradley’s Mom should let Milton do the Talking

Rob Naddelman: Through a Parent’s Eyes

In September, the General Manager of the Chicago Cubs (Jim Hendry) decided that he had enough of Milton Bradley and sent him home for the remainder of the season due to “conduct that was detrimental to the team.” The decision was made towards the end of the season after Milton made some disparaging comments about the Chicago Cubs franchise and their fans.

This has been a disappointing year for Milton Bradley and the Chicago Cubs. After the 2008 regular season, the Cubs were the heavy favorite to win the NL Pennant only to be eliminated in the first round of the MLB playoffs. During the offseason, the Cubs tried to address what they considered to be a big weakness in their lineup, which was a lack of power from their left handed hitters. As such, they made a big push to sign Milton Bradley, the talented outfielder with a checkered past of anger issues and bouncing around between multiple franchises. Bradley was fresh off a huge 2008 campaign with the Texas Rangers making the All Star Team when he hit .321 and has an OPS of .999. The Cubs signed him to a multi-million dollar three year deal which had many baseball fans and executives scratching their heads. Nobody can question Bradley’s on field talents, but after having anger management issues and other off the field distractions, many wondered if he would fit in with the Cubs.

Bradley’s 2009 stats are a far cry from the 2008 numbers he put up. His average is .257 and his OPS is .775 while only appearing in 124 games. After Bradley was sent packing for the remainder of the season, on Sept 23rd ESPN.com ran a story that based upon the subject matter really surprised me. Milton Bradley’s mother came out in the media and tried to defend her son’s actions.

As a parent, I know it is hard to draw boundaries at times when it comes to your children. All parents want to defend their children, no matter what they do, because we love them unconditionally. However, as a professional athlete that is being paid a substantial amount of money, isn’t it time to step back and allow your son to do the talking to explain his actions? At Baseball Factory, we encourage our high school players to address confrontation head on with their coaches or teammates and advise parents to step into the background. At some point, the students need to learn to interact with authority figures and deal with these situations. As a Major Leaguer, isn’t Milton ready to step up and be accountable for what he says and does? I imagine that his mother felt she was trying to do right by Milton, but it just isn’t appropriate in my mind for her to do this. If she was questioned by the media, the simple answer could have been to say that it is more appropriate for Milton to answer these questions.

Even though as parents we are well intentioned, sometimes we do more harm than good when we try to help our kids. While it is in our nature to step up and help our kids when they are in need, sometimes no action is the best course of action.

Rob Naddelman is the President of Baseball Factory. Naddelman is a former two-time All Ivy League Third Baseman at the University of Pennsylvania, where he competed in a College World Series Regional. He has served as the President of Baseball Factory for the past 13 years, and also is the Executive Director of Baseball Factory's charitable arm The B.A.S.E. - H.I.T. Foundation. Naddelman and Steve Sclafani (CEO) have been featured in Business Week and CNN for their work in building Baseball Factory into the nation's leader in player development and college placement.

A Storm for the Ages

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?

What was Major League Baseball thinking last night? It was raining cats and dogs in Philadelphia, yet the game raged on as if there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There were visible puddles in the infield, but it took until the bottom of the sixth inning for the umpires to intervene.

Do you think the game would have been stopped earlier if the score was tied, and not 2-1 in favor of the Phillies? Bud Selig said after the game last night that he would not allow a team to win a World Series championship because of a rain-abbreviated game. This is much easier to say when the game was suspended in a 2-2 tie.

Selig and the MLB officials clearly did not want to deal with any controversy that would have come into play had the game been suspended in the bottom of the fifth with the Phillies leading 2-1. I don’t know if there was any video footage, but I would guess that Selig was giving out high fives to everyone in the MLB suite after Carlos Pena tied the score with a single in the top of the sixth.

I think that the situation could have been handled differently and the bigwigs within MLB should have had a “contingency” plan in effect at the start of last night’s game. But, in the end, MLB did make the right decision and have set up some great suspense heading into tonight’s re-start.

Hopefully they have analyzed all of tonight’s options and informed each team of the plans, whatever they might be. They avoided a PR nightmare last night, thanks to Pena, but if they aren’t truly prepared for tonight’s game, it may turn out that they just delayed the inevitable harsh criticism.

Only time will tell.


Jason Budden is the Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Baseball Factory. Jason joined the Baseball Factory in 1997 while still a junior in high school. After going through the Baseball Factory's college recruiting program he was placed at Johns Hopkins University where he played two years of college baseball before graduating with a degree in Economics. After working part-time at the Factory throughout college, Jason joined the team as a full-time employee in January 2002 when he was promoted to Director of Marketing. He currently oversees all marketing projects and sponsorship opportunities at Baseball Factory. He is also in charge of development and marketing for Baseball University, the leader in online baseball education and a division of Baseball Factory.

Playoffs Disappointing for Top Teams

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?

The Cubs and Angels came into the playoffs as the consensus favorites for both leagues, but will have to wait until next year for another shot at the title. As the divisional round of the playoffs come to a close, let’s take a look at each series:

Cubs vs. Dodgers
What happened? The Cubs were the best team in the National League for most of, if not all of the regular season, yet they looked more like the Seattle Mariners during their series against the Dodgers. As a team, they struggled on offense, especially their top players. Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez and Geovany Soto were 5-36 combined in the series. It didn’t help that they committed six errors during the three game sweep, including four errors during Game Two.

On the other hand, the Dodgers are looking more and more like the team to beat. Led by Manny Ramirez, the series never looked in doubt. With arguably the best bullpen left in the playoffs, the Dodgers can see a title getting closer and closer.

Phils vs. Brewers
Not quite as lopsided, the Phils were able to take advantage of a Brewers team that seemed to run out of steam. This time, C.C. Sabathia wasn’t able to deliver on three days rest. He has been a machine during the last month of the season, basically putting the Brewers on his back and carrying them into the playoffs. In the end, pitching performances by Cole Hamels, Brett Myers and Joe Blanton led the Phils into the NLCS. The starting pitchers for the Phils gave up only five runs in 25 innings. Mix in key two out home runs by Shane Victorino and Pat Burrell and the Brewers were overmatched.

Rays vs. White Sox
Similar to the Phils/Brewers series, this one never truly seemed in doubt. The Rays looked very strong in taking games one and two in Tampa. Good performances by the starting pitchers and especially by the bullpen, plus timely hitting from Evan Longoria, Akinori Iwamura and B.J. Upton. The White Sox seemed a bit worn down after battling the Twins for the AL Central crown. They even admitted after the series that they lost to a better team in the Rays.

“They played better than us. There’s no doubt. They pitched better. They execute better. They got big hits,” White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “They really did a tremendous job.”

Whether right or wrong, Guillen is never shy to voice his opinion. This time he got it spot on.

Angels vs. Red Sox
What a great series, especially if you are a Red Sox fan. Each game was close and exciting. Game One was dominated by two aces, Jon Lester for the Red Sox and John Lackey for the Angels. Lackey made one mistake, giving up a two-out home run to Jason Bay. Lester didn’t make a mistake, striking out seven while walking only one. In game two, J.D. Drew returned from injury to hit a two-run game winning home run in the top of the ninth. The home run came off of Francisco Rodriguez, the Angels closer who in 2008 set the single season record for saves in a season with 62.

The Angels pulled out a 12th inning victory over the Red Sox as the series returned to Boston for Game Three, setting up even more suspense for Game Four. Lester and Lackey returned to duel again and once more, Lester got the better of the matchup. Lester went another strong seven innings giving up no runs while striking out four. Lackey again gave up two runs to the Red Sox and left the game behind. The Angels rallied and got two runs off the Red Sox bullpen, but in the bottom of the 9th inning, the Jed Lowrie came through with an RBI single, driving in Bay who had doubled.

Both League Championship Series should provide us with some suspense and fireworks. The Red Sox and Rays are very familiar with each other and there is no love lost. The Dodgers are arguably the hottest team in baseball, but are going up against a team and a city that are anxious for a championship.



Jason Budden is the Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Baseball Factory. Jason joined the Baseball Factory in 1997 while still a junior in high school. After going through the Baseball Factory's college recruiting program he was placed at Johns Hopkins University where he played two years of college baseball before graduating with a degree in Economics. After working part-time at the Factory throughout college, Jason joined the team as a full-time employee in January 2002 when he was promoted to Director of Marketing. He currently oversees all marketing projects and sponsorship opportunities at Baseball Factory. He is also in charge of development and marketing for Baseball University, the leader in online baseball education and a division of Baseball Factory.

Yost Fired with 12 Games to Play

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?

When taking a closer look at the playoff race, there were a lot of factors that I considered. Opponents down the stretch, momentum, home vs. away games, and even the Republican National Convention. But this late in the season, I never thought to consider a coaching change for a contender. On Monday, the Milwaukee Brewers announced the firing of manager Ned Yost. The Brewers currently have an 83-67 record, putting them in second place in the National League Central and tied for the NL wild-card lead.

So what’s the problem? Well, the Brewers have lost 11 of their past 14 games including a four-game sweep at the hand of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Brewers came into the month of September with a 5 ½ game lead in the wild card and entered the series in Philly with a four game lead. But the bats have gone quiet and the young Brewers team is stuck in a tailspin.

So what’s the answer? Firing your manager with 12 games left in the season? Really?

Don’t the players play the game? Is this move really going to make Ryan Braun immediately bounce out of a 2-30 slump? I can’t imagine that he shows up to the ballpark tomorrow and takes a different approach at the plate because Yost is no longer in the dugout.

Was it Yost’s poor management that caused Ben Sheets to put 12 Phillies’ runners on base in six innings pitched, allowing five of them to score? Does Sheets look in the mirror tomorrow and think, “Wow, they fired Ned, I really better start trying harder. They mean business.”

Come on! This is such a desperate move by a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs since 1982. What a classic knee-jerk reaction. I understand that Yost might be getting a bit tight as the playoff race heats up, but wouldn’t you? I’d be a bit more nervous and stressed out too if my team started choking.

The owners are so quick to blame the manager when a team goes in a slump.But hey, maybe I’m not getting all the facts. Maybe Yost wasn’t giving good motivational speeches. Maybe he didn’t hold enough closed door meetings to stress the importance of the playoff race. Maybe he forgot to remind the team that when they lost, it actually hurt their chances of making the playoffs.Give me a break!

If they wanted to change the players’ current losing ways, they would have been better suited changing the playlist on the stereo, not the manager in the dugout. They need to adjust the mindset of the players, and just because firing the manager is the “extreme” decision, doesn’t make it the right one, regardless of the outcome.

Jason Budden is the Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Baseball Factory. Jason joined the Baseball Factory in 1997 while still a junior in high school. After going through the Baseball Factory's college recruiting program he was placed at Johns Hopkins University where he played two years of college baseball before graduating with a degree in Economics. After working part-time at the Factory throughout college, Jason joined the team as a full-time employee in January 2002 when he was promoted to Director of Marketing. He currently oversees all marketing projects and sponsorship opportunities at Baseball Factory. He is also in charge of development and marketing for Baseball University, the leader in online baseball education and a division of Baseball Factory.

Down the Stretch They Come

Jason Budden: Un-Common Sense?

With a little over 20 games remaining in the Major League Baseball season, let's take a look at the races, especially those that are heating up:

American League East
After losing two of three against the Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays are only 3.5 games ahead of the Red Sox. While they are looking very good to make the playoffs, a division title could be a huge difference maker when the playoffs start. While the division winner will draw either the White Sox or the Twins, the Wild Card team is going to have to face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (I still have a tough time not calling them just Anaheim). I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have to face Gavin Floyd, Mark Buehrle and Javier Vazquez than John Lackey, Ervin Santana and Joe Saunders.

The Yankees are 11 back of the Rays in the division and 7.5 games back of the Red Sox in the Wild Card. Stranger things have happened (see last year’s run by the Clint Hurdle and the Rockies), but let’s just think about it this way: If the Red Sox finished the season losing 15 of their final 23 games, the Yankees would need to go 16-6 down the stretch to make the playoffs. If the Red Sox go 11-12, the Yankees would have to go 19-3.

American League Central
I’ll be interested to see how many Twins fans vote for Senator John McCain this fall in the presidential election, if they end up missing out on the playoffs. McCain (image below and to the left) was seen waiving good bye to the Twins' playoff chances. I jest, but the Twins were sent packing on a 14-game road trip because of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, MN. They finished 5-9 on the road trip and may have lost the momentum needed to overtake the White Sox, who have a 1.5 game lead in the AL Central. The Twins schedule down the stretch looks promising with home series against Detroit, Kansas City (six games) and the White Sox in late September. They do however have to hit the road again including a three game series in Cleveland (18-7 over their last 25 games) and a four game series in Tampa Bay.

The White Sox host the Angels, Toronto, Detroit and Cleveland, while making trips to New York, Kansas City, and Minnesota. Neither team seems to have an edge, and with only 1.5 games separating the teams, that late series in Minnesota could determine the division title.

American League West
The Angels had this locked up in May. Seriously, I’m not kidding. At this point they hold a slim, 17 game lead over the Rangers.

American League Wild Card
We talked about what the Yankees would need to do to catch the Red Sox, but what about the Twins. They have a bit better chance, but again, with a 5.5 game lead over the Twins the Sox would basically need to collapse. It could happen, but don’t count on it.

National League East
Things are eerily similar to last year. The Mets have a lead and are growing it, but injuries to Pedro Martinez, John Maine and Billy Wagner are definitely a cause for concern. Can the Mets hold on? They’ve won four in a row and seven of their last 10, but the Phillies are very much alive only three games out of the lead. This weekend will be key as the Phillies make their last ever visit to Shea Stadium. This is the last time the Mets and Phillies will square off during the season, so this could determine the winner of the division.

National League Central
The Cubs have lost five in a row, but still have a five game lead in the NL Central. It definitely helps that the Brewers have lost four in a row. With Carlos Zambrano and Rich Harden both missing starts, Cubs fans are a bit on edge, but they should make the playoffs. The Cubs and Brewers will face off six times down the stretch, including the final series of the regular season in Milwaukee, giving the Brewers a chance at overtaking the division title.

National League West
Arizona holds a 1.5 game lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers going into their three game weekend series that starts tonight in LA. This is the last time the Diamondbacks and Dodgers will face off this season and it will likely provide one team with momentum for the remainder of September. However, the Rockies are still lurking, only six games back of Arizona. They have nine games left against the Diamondbacks and Dodgers and considering the run they made in 2007, nothing is out of the question.

National League Wild Card
Milwaukee is currently sitting four games up on Philly, five on St. Louis and six on Houston. The Brewers will head to Philadelphia in a week for a four game series. If they are still only up by four, this could get interesting. St. Louis has put together a magical season and they will need some of that magic in order to get into the playoffs. Houston was written off for dead earlier this summer but they have gone 20-7 over their past 27 games and have put themselves back in the Wild Card Race. Jumping over three teams during the final three weeks of the season will be a challenge, but 16 of their final 22 games are against teams with losing records, so don’t count them out.

Since I love to make predictions:

AL East – Boston Red Sox
AL Central – Chicago White Sox
AL West – Anaheim
AL Wild Card – Tampa Bay Rays

NL East – Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central – Chicago Cubs
NL West – Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card – Milwaukee Brewers


Jason Budden is the Vice President of Operations and Marketing at Baseball Factory. Jason joined the Baseball Factory in 1997 while still a junior in high school. After going through the Baseball Factory's college recruiting program he was placed at Johns Hopkins University where he played two years of college baseball before graduating with a degree in Economics. After working part-time at the Factory throughout college, Jason joined the team as a full-time employee in January 2002 when he was promoted to Director of Marketing. He currently oversees all marketing projects and sponsorship opportunities at Baseball Factory. He is also in charge of development and marketing for Baseball University, the leader in online baseball education and a division of Baseball Factory.