bd811
06-04-2002, 10:10 PM
MILWAUKEE--Sammy Sosa and Don Baylor are campaigning to bring back fitness instructor and mental guru Mack Newton to revive a sagging team.
And Cubs president/general manager Andy MacPhail said Monday he is willing to consider rehiring Newton, whose contract wasn't renewed for this season after some Cubs complained about working with him in 2001.
''I'm open-minded about it,'' MacPhail said. ''Whatever helps the team, I'm for.''
As for Newton, he's waiting for the phone to ring in Arizona. ''No one has contacted me, but I haven't ruled anything out,'' he said. ''It bothers me that the team is not winning. ... I'm still involved heart and soul and want the guys to do well. We could have built this year on last year. I'm flattered that Sammy thinks I could be helping him.''
Sosa misses Newton's help in mentally preparing for a long season. He wants his new teammates to experience that same lift.
''He can wake us up and take us to another level,'' Sosa said. ''If they take that chance again with Mack, it would be good for our team. I don't understand what happened with him last year or why they got rid of him. With him, first it's mental and second it's physical.
''From my first meeting with him [during spring training in 2001], I could see he was the guy we really needed to make this team better in a lot of different ways with mental preparation. He also gives you good exercises to make sure you don't get hurt. He was somebody I'd been looking for a long time.''
Sosa pointed to the differences in how this team came out of the starting gate compared with last season's Newton-shaped squad.
''The first month last year, this team played like it was June or July,'' Sosa said. ''The first month in Chicago last year was cold, too, but everybody was playing because we were in shape. That's why we started so well.
"I might not agree with some things he said, but he deserved credit last year. And if we had had him all year, we might have finished in the playoffs because of the mental preparation. When you are ready to play mentally, you don't have any problems.''
However, some Cubs revolted against Newton last season. Pitching coach Oscar Acosta created bad blood by lobbying against Newton on behalf of his pitchers. When Baylor pushed out Acosta at the end of last season, Kerry Wood, Jason Bere and Kevin Tapani were the most vocal backers of Acosta and had some biting comments about Newton.
With Sosa pushing so strongly for Newton's return, Baylor and MacPhail plan to talk again soon about the topic.
''We didn't get any further than that a month ago,'' Baylor said of mentioning Newton to MacPhail, ''but I know I have thought the same way as Sammy. Once guys got through the mental part of spring training [in 2001], they could handle just about anything--the cold weather or whatever. I heard more this year about the cold weather, but we got past that last year.''
Newton knows he offended some Cubs players, some of whom are no longer with the club.
''The mental part is what I was there for,'' Newton said. ''That's what caused me so much trouble. I was trying to get players to look inside themselves by talking about such things as anger, but a lot of people took it that I was questioning their personal behavior and habits. Even though some of what I said might have troubled Sammy, it didn't bother him. He saw it as a way to get better.''
Baylor would advise Cubs players to take away only what they require from Newton.
''Some guys resented Newton's teachings, but just take what's good for you and throw out the rest,'' Baylor said. ''Some guys thought it was more preaching to them than anything. What I miss the most is that the guys this year didn't have the opportunity to take in some of what Mack teaches.
"The mental part is the toughest part of 162 games. I've talked to Mack a lot, maybe five times last month. He's a Chicago guy, and he wants his team to win.''
And Cubs president/general manager Andy MacPhail said Monday he is willing to consider rehiring Newton, whose contract wasn't renewed for this season after some Cubs complained about working with him in 2001.
''I'm open-minded about it,'' MacPhail said. ''Whatever helps the team, I'm for.''
As for Newton, he's waiting for the phone to ring in Arizona. ''No one has contacted me, but I haven't ruled anything out,'' he said. ''It bothers me that the team is not winning. ... I'm still involved heart and soul and want the guys to do well. We could have built this year on last year. I'm flattered that Sammy thinks I could be helping him.''
Sosa misses Newton's help in mentally preparing for a long season. He wants his new teammates to experience that same lift.
''He can wake us up and take us to another level,'' Sosa said. ''If they take that chance again with Mack, it would be good for our team. I don't understand what happened with him last year or why they got rid of him. With him, first it's mental and second it's physical.
''From my first meeting with him [during spring training in 2001], I could see he was the guy we really needed to make this team better in a lot of different ways with mental preparation. He also gives you good exercises to make sure you don't get hurt. He was somebody I'd been looking for a long time.''
Sosa pointed to the differences in how this team came out of the starting gate compared with last season's Newton-shaped squad.
''The first month last year, this team played like it was June or July,'' Sosa said. ''The first month in Chicago last year was cold, too, but everybody was playing because we were in shape. That's why we started so well.
"I might not agree with some things he said, but he deserved credit last year. And if we had had him all year, we might have finished in the playoffs because of the mental preparation. When you are ready to play mentally, you don't have any problems.''
However, some Cubs revolted against Newton last season. Pitching coach Oscar Acosta created bad blood by lobbying against Newton on behalf of his pitchers. When Baylor pushed out Acosta at the end of last season, Kerry Wood, Jason Bere and Kevin Tapani were the most vocal backers of Acosta and had some biting comments about Newton.
With Sosa pushing so strongly for Newton's return, Baylor and MacPhail plan to talk again soon about the topic.
''We didn't get any further than that a month ago,'' Baylor said of mentioning Newton to MacPhail, ''but I know I have thought the same way as Sammy. Once guys got through the mental part of spring training [in 2001], they could handle just about anything--the cold weather or whatever. I heard more this year about the cold weather, but we got past that last year.''
Newton knows he offended some Cubs players, some of whom are no longer with the club.
''The mental part is what I was there for,'' Newton said. ''That's what caused me so much trouble. I was trying to get players to look inside themselves by talking about such things as anger, but a lot of people took it that I was questioning their personal behavior and habits. Even though some of what I said might have troubled Sammy, it didn't bother him. He saw it as a way to get better.''
Baylor would advise Cubs players to take away only what they require from Newton.
''Some guys resented Newton's teachings, but just take what's good for you and throw out the rest,'' Baylor said. ''Some guys thought it was more preaching to them than anything. What I miss the most is that the guys this year didn't have the opportunity to take in some of what Mack teaches.
"The mental part is the toughest part of 162 games. I've talked to Mack a lot, maybe five times last month. He's a Chicago guy, and he wants his team to win.''