Talking-to right tonic for Lawrie
Homers in loss to Yankees following chat with Farrell
It appears there’s common ground between Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie and manager John Farrell.
The skipper conducted his exit meeting with Lawrie before Sunday’s game against the New York Yankees, and in speaking to the media afterwards, both parties agreed the pivotal subject involved reining in Lawrie’s natural aggressiveness.
“Brett, he’s learned in a number of ways,” Farrell said after Lawrie had a big day, collecting a home run and three hits in a 9-6 loss to New York. “He’s dealt with a prolonged stay on the disabled list. He’s learned from some of the emotion inside the game . . . how to get a handle on it, and it’s a work in progress as it is for every player — what’s the right level of intensity, how and where does it help him make an in-game decision — and that’s still going on for him.”
Lawrie, while refusing to divulge exact details, said the meeting went over the “highs and lows of the season.” But there was little doubt Farrell addressed the baserunning gaffes that have become a by-product of Lawrie’s aggressive style of play.
“Nothing earth-shattering, he’s our manager and we talked about what we go through,” the 22-yearold Lawrie said. “He’s a good guy, and you talk positives and negatives in the season. I thought I played the game hard. . . . Sure, I made some mistakes but you learn from them and try to get ready for next season so you’ll succeed and not make those mistakes again.”
Some of Lawrie’s more regrettable moments — such as the helmetsmashing incident in front of an umpire in May and several costly outs on the basepaths throughout the season — left the impression of an incurable rift between the third sacker and his manager.
Lawrie, though, repeatedly mentioned his mistakes in a post-game scrum and the fact that he needs to learn from them, often sounding like he was paraphrasing Farrell’s points from the meeting. “Learn from the mistakes you make, play the game hard, play for the team, but the little things that go wrong in the game, you have to suck it up there,” Lawrie said.
“Obviously, I had a couple of baserunning things . . . and you just have to work on every part of the game so when the season starts up again, you keep those things down.”
Farrell said he had numerous conversations with Lawrie this season about being overaggressive. Team management wants Lawrie to filter out mistakes while maintaining the aggressiveness that defines his style.
“When you try to find an optimal level where he can let his skills come out . . . that (intensity) can take away some of that from him,” Farrell said.
“You want players to be themselves. You can take a bit of (a lesson) from any number of players but it’s important to not forget who you are. He’s got strong beliefs, and that’s a good thing. “Being in constant communication, that’s where you make headway, adjustments. . . . He’s headstrong — and that’s not a knock on him in any way. We talk about the way he conducts himself. It’s an area of importance for everyone, including Brett.” Farrell said they also talked about Lawrie’s stardom. The popular native of Langley, B.C., was prominently featured in the Jays’ ad campaign this season and remains a big draw at downtown autograph sessions. He’s also well entrenched in the Twitterverse, with about 158,000 followers on his account. “One thing we continue to stress is how baseball has to be one of the top three priorities in a player’s life,” Farrell said. “The game has to be a priority and not a vehicle to a lifestyle. Baseball affects life. There’s instant gratification, instant media, ways to connect to a larger world, and it’s even more challenging today. And it’s not just in baseball, but it’s more challenging today . . . to maintain a core set of values.” Farrell sees Lawrie moving from the leadoff spot to third in the batting order. “I think in time he’s a No. 3 hitter. His skill set still profiles that way,” Farrell said. “Brett is still a strong consideration in (the leadoff ) slot for next year. You can go over a lot of things, but you go back to on-base percentage and it’s a strong consideration as to who is at the top of the order. Getting on base is obviously important to setting up Edwin Encarnacion, Jose Bautista, Adam Lind.” The manager, like many Jays fans, expected more extra-base hits out of Lawrie despite a month-long layoff with an injury to his oblique muscle. “Things happened to take a bit away,” said Farrell. “I think he’s so intense he has to work through these situations, and it takes time sometimes for this to translate.”