That was Cubs manager Lou Piniella's reply to a reporter's question yesterday at the press conference following a particularly tough 4-3 loss to their divisional and geographical rivals, the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Cubs had gone into the 9th inning leading the Brewers 3-1. Starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano had been dominant (and also contributed to his own cause by hitting a home run), as had the pitcher who relieved him, Carlos Marmol. When it came time to use a pitcher whose first name wasn't Carlos, though--in this case, closer Kerry Wood--the game fell apart.
Wood hit the first batter he faced, never a good way to start an inning. The next batter drove the ball to left field, where Alfonso Soriano, fresh from a stint on the disabled list with a calf injury, couldn't catch up with what turned out to be a double, putting runners on second and third. A ground ball drove in the runner on third base, and the next two batters got on base (via a single and a walk), followed by a double over the head of right fielder Kosuke Fukodome, which drove in two more runs. Game? Over.
In a post-game interview, Soriano said he'd gotten "a good jump" the the ball hit his way, but the replay told a different story: He looked as tentative and awkward in the field as he had looked impatient and unpolished at the plate, looking at a total of seven pitches in his four at-bats and grounding out all four times.
Piniella has stubbornly insisted on sticking with Wood as his closer, even though he's blown three out of his seven save opportunities, and with Soriano as his leadoff hitter, even though he displays little patience when swinging at pitches and has seen his speed decreased by a series of leg injuries. Many fans and sports commentators believe that Marmol would be a more effective closer, and that a number of other hitters in the Cubs lineup (like Fukodome or Reed Johnson) would be a more effective leadoff hitter than Soriano.
It was a question about why Piniella hadn't taken Soriano out of the game for a defensive replacement that prompted Piniella's heated response: "You think I'm stupid or something?"
Doing the same thing over and over again--like sticking with Soriano and Wood in roles that ill suit them--and expecting a different result isn't the popular definition of stupidity, lou.
It's the popular definition of insanity.
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Piniella suffers with the same problem that plagues too many sports managers and coaches: stubborn pride. Instead of accepting that a gameplan is not working and is unlikely to ever work, these dudes take their egos into overtime. They either embark on lengthy, impotent defense of their decision, or they give pithy, sometimes angry, always meaningless, replies to criticism ("Rex is our quarterback"), leaving fans and the media way pissed. Some of these people seem really intelligent and usually appear to have the managerial skills needed to justify their gross salaries. Just don't question thier calls.
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