Kevin Towers extolls “playing to the scoreboard”

We’ve talked a lot about the Diamondbacks’ embrace of “gritty” players this year. The latest: Dbacks’ GM Kevin Towers sat down for an interview with Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic and, during the part of the conversation about the team’s attitude -- and yes, Nick asks Towers about “grit” -- Towers brings up a new old thing when talking about his new kind of player:

They want to be there. It’s positive thoughts. They feel they’re going to come through. They thrive on it. There’s others that, they may not tell you, but you can tell in their body language and even in their approach. It’s a mind-set. It’s kind of what Gibby alludes to, which is very important, it’s playing to the scoreboard. What do I need to do right now to help my ballclub win? I think we were missing that the last two years. Those type of players who understood the game and the scoreboard and what you need to do to help your club win that particular night ...

The only other time we’ve heard about playing to the scoreboard or something like it is when folks have trotted out that lame, post-factual chestnut about how Jack Morris’ high ERA was a result of him “pitching to the score.” I can’t help but think that Kirk Gibson, a Morris teammate, somehow has carried that mysterious skill with him to Arizona and is now sharing its secrets with the Diamondbacks.

Look out, NL. There’s a team in Arizona that knows what time it is. Er, I mean what the score is.