Article: Do the Twins Need to Hire a Sports Psychologist?

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?32...s-Psychologist

I think this is a good idea. I was going to point out that the Twins have sometimes had their players consult with psychologists, but you pointed that out yourself.

I wonder how the Twins actually feel about this. They seem to discourage players from thinking too much (such as Kevin Slowey), but would they see a psychologist as making players think less in the field or think more? That could be an interesting debate.

Baseball, as much or more than other sports, has a large mental/psychological/emotional component that I think is largely left up to the individual player to handle. Each an experiment of one. It seems fairly logical that you'd want one of those six trainers to be a pro on the mental front. Think about how many professional golfers use visualization techniques to hone their focus and deal with situations mentally before they meet them head-on during play. I know for a fact that many elite/olympic level marathoners also visualize their race, how the perfect race would go and what happens if the rails come off at some point leading up to the big day. I could see how these techniques might help out Liriano and his rushing. On the Span/Morneau front - no one would blame Morneau if he's been in the dumps throughout his dealings with the post-concussion stuff. If he does have negative thoughts, they should be dealt with if he's to play his best. A sports psychologist may be of assistance there too.

Deja vous all over again, since I already commented on this on Andrew's blog, but since there is on going discussion here to, here is my (re)take:

I think there is somewhat of a common theme here... let's think of the players who were characterized as "head cases" the last 3 seasons:

Liriano
Mijares
Casilla
Gomez

What do they have in common? Pretty obvious. I think that the Twins better hire a Latino coach or 2 before they hire a Psychologist. They can afford that if they can afford
Nishioka's translator...

Thanks for the comments, guys.
As you mentioned, YLT, I could see a psychologist being especially beneficial for pitchers -- their "game" is so cerebral to begin with.
But Andrew, I think you're correct to suggest that the Twins old guard might not be overly thrilled about it.

"The mind is a strange thing, men. We must begin by asking it what is losing. Losing is a disease, as contagious as polio. Losing is a disease as contagious as syphilis. Losing is a disease as contagious as bubonic plague. Attacking one, but infecting all. But curable."