Collapse '06: The Joy of Sox theory in a nutshell
The recent collapse of the 2006 Red Sox in an unprecedented rash of injuries and illnesses does have one tiny bright side – it illustrates once again the theory behind our movie: that subtle energy dynamics can influence team performance. Our focus in the interviews that we’ve already filmed has been on the concepts that explain the positive impact of that energy – using the 2004 Championship to illustrate the value of team cohesion (“chemistry”), fan support at Fenway (the “electricity” in the stands) and at home (the nonlocal prayers of Red Sox Nation), and the special magic of Fenway itself (as a shrine-like “conditioned space”). The energetic dimension of these factors will be highlighted in our documentary, and it’s been fun to learn about how they each contributed to the team’s success.
Unfortunately, when a team’s energy component goes missing (as they say on CSI), it can have just as dramatic an impact, but in the wrong direction. What has happened to the Red Sox in the last few weeks is an unprecedented example of positive energy draining away from a group, with disastrous effects. It’s a vivid example of how group coherence is always in a state of flux, and when the tide goes out, it can go out quickly. What started with a few key injuries has cascaded into a burst levee (a fitting image, with the Katrina anniversary at hand). And I’m thinking that the timing of the Sox’ medical epidemic has something to do with the loss of the energy support that had been ever present for the Sox in recent years. So here’s a quick overview of the situation at hand, an energy-based way to look at recent events.
At the All Star break in July, the team was well-positioned to make the playoffs, with a few injuries seemingly under control and the key players at the ready. But that control was an illusion, a house of cards – since catcher Jason Varitek’s knee injury on July 31 started the slide, the team has won 9 and lost 22. We’ve now discovered that the Sox were simply stretched too thin to withstand any more stress.
The Yankees’ 5-game sweep last month was our last realistic chance to resurrect the season. Since that ugly series, the team has seen a whole array of medical problems: its star player hospitalized with cardiac arrhythmias (Ortiz), its cleanup hitter out with tendinitis of the knee (Ramirez), 3 other regulars out with minor injuries, an epidemic of flu sweeping the clubhouse (even mainstream docs know that prolonged stress weakens the immune system and opens the door to infections like the flu), and then most shockingly yesterday, a 22 year-old rookie (Lester) diagnosed with lymphoma. Even the Boston Globe entitled a recent editorial “Cursed Reversals”, as it highlighted just how unusual and inexplicable this recent downward spiral has been.
And Red Sox Nation knows it’s over. Everywhere I go, people have concluded that the Sox won’t make the playoffs this year. The team itself seemed to agree a few days ago when it traded pitcher David Wells – 43 years old, but currently one of its few reliable pitchers – to a National League team that needed help for its pennant run. Signs of ebbing fan support are legion: Sox tickets are now offered on eBay and craigslist at well below cost. The record streak of home sellouts at Fenway is now in jeopardy, and the new Sox-themed state lottery tickets have suffered a 30% drop in sales in the past two weeks. Just like the lack of zip I felt at Fenway at a recent game (see the Aug. 26 post), these signs all point to a withdrawal of attention from the team by Red Sox Nation.
Of course, energy flow is a two way street between team and fans. A cohesive team that radiates success will attract more fan support, which the team can then feed off to further enhance its internal chemistry. But this team lost much of its inner group cohesion in the last year or so. Its overall sense of “joie de vivre” has waned, replaced with a sense of workmanlike efficiency. The offseason loss of emotional sparkplugs like Johnny Damon and Kevin Millar did real damage to the team’s energy chemistry. Chemistry is usually a side effect of any general manager’s strategy to build a successful team – desirable, but not a primary goal. However, I think team chemistry was a key to the success of the 2004 Sox, but it’s not talked about much anymore. For example, the only recent plug I’ve seen for Kevin Millar’s value to the team was actually on a parody website (maybe that’s telling me something!), in a recent Call of the Green Monster post called “Red Sox Hire Kevin Millar to Boost Team Morale.” Not!
So I’m saying that it’s easier to buffer against stress with a happy (and happy-go-lucky) team than a grim one. It’s not a matter of will power – our guys give 100%, but you can’t force yourself to get into the Zone. Like Yoda said, “Do, or do not. There is no try”. Already weakened by key injuries, and lacking the critical mass of top quality players to get back in the groove, the Sox can’t even take advantage of any remaining afterglow of fan support. And when that fan support itself dwindles and the fans’ tone becomes one of pessimism rather than hope, there are even fewer resources for a team to call on as it tries to pull itself out of a slump.
Not only is that support waning, but the team’s internal strain makes it an energetic mismatch to the fans’ loving support. The team is like a tuning fork that’s tuned to the wrong emotional note (struggle, strain), and can no longer resonate as fully to the fans’ note (love, optimism). Maybe the team’s own emotional heart developed an arrhythmia when David O. tried too hard to do it all himself – Papi’s palpitations symbolized how out of synch the whole season had gotten. Without the energy foundation of joyful team chemistry and fan support, the row of dominos just toppled. When a team is so physically and energetically depleted, it’s pretty damned hard to recover.
Unfortunately, when a team’s energy component goes missing (as they say on CSI), it can have just as dramatic an impact, but in the wrong direction. What has happened to the Red Sox in the last few weeks is an unprecedented example of positive energy draining away from a group, with disastrous effects. It’s a vivid example of how group coherence is always in a state of flux, and when the tide goes out, it can go out quickly. What started with a few key injuries has cascaded into a burst levee (a fitting image, with the Katrina anniversary at hand). And I’m thinking that the timing of the Sox’ medical epidemic has something to do with the loss of the energy support that had been ever present for the Sox in recent years. So here’s a quick overview of the situation at hand, an energy-based way to look at recent events.
At the All Star break in July, the team was well-positioned to make the playoffs, with a few injuries seemingly under control and the key players at the ready. But that control was an illusion, a house of cards – since catcher Jason Varitek’s knee injury on July 31 started the slide, the team has won 9 and lost 22. We’ve now discovered that the Sox were simply stretched too thin to withstand any more stress.
The Yankees’ 5-game sweep last month was our last realistic chance to resurrect the season. Since that ugly series, the team has seen a whole array of medical problems: its star player hospitalized with cardiac arrhythmias (Ortiz), its cleanup hitter out with tendinitis of the knee (Ramirez), 3 other regulars out with minor injuries, an epidemic of flu sweeping the clubhouse (even mainstream docs know that prolonged stress weakens the immune system and opens the door to infections like the flu), and then most shockingly yesterday, a 22 year-old rookie (Lester) diagnosed with lymphoma. Even the Boston Globe entitled a recent editorial “Cursed Reversals”, as it highlighted just how unusual and inexplicable this recent downward spiral has been.
And Red Sox Nation knows it’s over. Everywhere I go, people have concluded that the Sox won’t make the playoffs this year. The team itself seemed to agree a few days ago when it traded pitcher David Wells – 43 years old, but currently one of its few reliable pitchers – to a National League team that needed help for its pennant run. Signs of ebbing fan support are legion: Sox tickets are now offered on eBay and craigslist at well below cost. The record streak of home sellouts at Fenway is now in jeopardy, and the new Sox-themed state lottery tickets have suffered a 30% drop in sales in the past two weeks. Just like the lack of zip I felt at Fenway at a recent game (see the Aug. 26 post), these signs all point to a withdrawal of attention from the team by Red Sox Nation.
Of course, energy flow is a two way street between team and fans. A cohesive team that radiates success will attract more fan support, which the team can then feed off to further enhance its internal chemistry. But this team lost much of its inner group cohesion in the last year or so. Its overall sense of “joie de vivre” has waned, replaced with a sense of workmanlike efficiency. The offseason loss of emotional sparkplugs like Johnny Damon and Kevin Millar did real damage to the team’s energy chemistry. Chemistry is usually a side effect of any general manager’s strategy to build a successful team – desirable, but not a primary goal. However, I think team chemistry was a key to the success of the 2004 Sox, but it’s not talked about much anymore. For example, the only recent plug I’ve seen for Kevin Millar’s value to the team was actually on a parody website (maybe that’s telling me something!), in a recent Call of the Green Monster post called “Red Sox Hire Kevin Millar to Boost Team Morale.” Not!
So I’m saying that it’s easier to buffer against stress with a happy (and happy-go-lucky) team than a grim one. It’s not a matter of will power – our guys give 100%, but you can’t force yourself to get into the Zone. Like Yoda said, “Do, or do not. There is no try”. Already weakened by key injuries, and lacking the critical mass of top quality players to get back in the groove, the Sox can’t even take advantage of any remaining afterglow of fan support. And when that fan support itself dwindles and the fans’ tone becomes one of pessimism rather than hope, there are even fewer resources for a team to call on as it tries to pull itself out of a slump.
Not only is that support waning, but the team’s internal strain makes it an energetic mismatch to the fans’ loving support. The team is like a tuning fork that’s tuned to the wrong emotional note (struggle, strain), and can no longer resonate as fully to the fans’ note (love, optimism). Maybe the team’s own emotional heart developed an arrhythmia when David O. tried too hard to do it all himself – Papi’s palpitations symbolized how out of synch the whole season had gotten. Without the energy foundation of joyful team chemistry and fan support, the row of dominos just toppled. When a team is so physically and energetically depleted, it’s pretty damned hard to recover.
posted by Rick Leskowitz,MD at 9:48 AM
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