When the Cardinals were 10-1/2 games back on Aug. 26, following a sweep by the Dodgers, Chris Carpenter stepped forward and gave the team a tongue lashing. This is a story about true leadership. The Red Sox should take notes:
"We just weren't playing well. We didn't look good when we were playing, and it wasn't just me that felt something needed to be said," Carpenter told the media before World Series Game 4. "It was about continuing to play hard, doing the best we can. At that time, Milwaukee was doing their thing ... and there was a lot of angst in what was going on in our clubhouse with the race, with our team, and the expectations of what we had. We didn't want to lose those expectations, even though everybody had written us off. We might not catch Milwaukee, we might not catch Atlanta, but let's go ahead and do everything we can to, one, not embarrass ourselves because we have a great ballclub.
"Let's not embarrass our coaches that worked their butts off to help us win. Let's not embarrass our organization and our fans. Let's at least make it look respectful. And that was it. A few other guys spoke, and we started playing better."
"We just weren't playing well. We didn't look good when we were playing, and it wasn't just me that felt something needed to be said," Carpenter told the media before World Series Game 4. "It was about continuing to play hard, doing the best we can. At that time, Milwaukee was doing their thing ... and there was a lot of angst in what was going on in our clubhouse with the race, with our team, and the expectations of what we had. We didn't want to lose those expectations, even though everybody had written us off. We might not catch Milwaukee, we might not catch Atlanta, but let's go ahead and do everything we can to, one, not embarrass ourselves because we have a great ballclub.
"Let's not embarrass our coaches that worked their butts off to help us win. Let's not embarrass our organization and our fans. Let's at least make it look respectful. And that was it. A few other guys spoke, and we started playing better."
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