Attanasio stresses seizing day
PHOENIX – Before his team’s first full-squad workout last spring, Milwaukee Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio delivered an impassioned, memorable speech to his players in which he implored them not “to eff up” the opportunity being given to prove they can play in the majors.
As it turns out, those players did not “eff up” that opportunity, which is why Attanasio had a different and even more hopeful message Tuesday morning during his annual address to the group.
“We tried to elevate things so we used the Latin phrase ‘carpe diem.’ To translate that, we may have gone to a little more vernacular,” Attanasio said with a smile. “Seize the day.”
The 2017 Brewers, in only the second full season of a massive rebuilding process, were one of the big surprises in the majors, winning 86 games and falling just one short of a post-season bid. Attanasio was so encouraged, he gave general manager David Stearns the green light to make huge acquisitions in Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich, two of the top all-around outfielders in the game.
With the bar obviously raised, internally and externally, Attanasio encouraged his players to embrace this previously unforeseen chance to do big things in 2018.
“This year can really be special, and last year was a lot of fun. So, if you can do something special and have fun, that’s rare in life,” Attanasio told the players. “Now that I turned 60, I’ve got some perspective on that. So, I tried to emphasize to the guys to embrace that.
“There’s a lot of talent in that clubhouse. That’s the most talent we’ve had since 2011, for sure. Almost every one of our young guys met or exceeded expectations last year. We’ve added a bunch of veterans who’ve had a lot of success. You put that together and it’s going to be fun.”
Even with the acquisitions of Cain and Yelich, there has been much speculation nationally that the Brewers would add a big-ticket starting pitcher. You can bet agent Scott Boras has been trying to get Attanasio to bite on his big free-agent pitcher, Jake Arrieta, but there has been no indication that will happen.
Asked how much he has heard from Boras, Attanasio smiled and said, “I talk to Scott.”
“We try to bifurcate the conversation,” Attanasio added, using a word you don’t hear in baseball a lot. “We’re always looking to add. But we don’t want that to mask that we’re really happy and excited about this group.
“We think this group right now, right here, can get to the playoffs. We expect to supplement at mid-season (if warranted). We will always do that if we’re in the hunt. But, that said, we’re always trying to make the team better.”
Connecting the dots: Entering his third full season as manager, Craig Counsell has some experience to draw upon when it comes time to make his opening address to the full squad.
While the delivery might vary from year to year, Counsell says the content largely remains the same.
“The message doesn’t really change,” he said. “The core of the message never changes for me and is never going to change. You say it in a different way.”
And what was the crux of that message?
“The most important word for me has been ‘connection,’ ” he said. “It accomplishes a lot for us and the players have taken ownership of it and it’s become important to them. That was a big step that they took for themselves last year, and they’ve really taken ownership of it.
“It’s a reason for some of the good things that we’ve got going, I think.”
The Brewers were indeed a tight-knit group in 2017, developing a strong bond in the early going that carried over the rest of the way.
It served them well in the second half of the season especially, when their lead in the National League Central was quickly erased by the Chicago Cubs. Largely inexperienced and never expected to contend initially, the Brewers eventually circled the wagons and weren’t eliminated from the postseason picture until Game 161.
Counsell’s talk hit home with Attanasio, who listed the theme of connection as a high point for him.
“Craig was awesome in talking to the guys and really building on (my message) in a very tangible way and the connectivity the players have with each other, and the importance of playing for each other and how that leads to winning,” Attanasio said.