Cracking the Code - The Unwritten Rules of Baseball

Robin Ventura, breaking one of the unwritten rules, "Don't charge the mound unless you know what you're going to do once you get there."


As one who has spent the better part of a lifetime around the game, it strikes me that many of the larger conflicts that develop are rooted around the breach of one of these unwritten rules.

They are tantamount to the rules of etiquette or code of conduct and they are breached at considerable risk to the transgressor. Unfortunately, it seems as if many times the transgressor is either unaware or does not fully understand or agree with the reason why the etiquette is in place and has survived through many baseball generations.

In the interest of promoting a higher level of peace, harmony and well-being among players and fans of all ages, I present some of the best lists of "Unwritten Rules" of baseball, that have been actually transcribed to parchment, for greater ease of understanding of baseball denizens of all levels of IQ and social sophistication.

Most of these have been passed along by word of mouth, grunts and groans and similar modes of communication preferred by Cro-Magnons who inhabit dugouts across the nation.

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Wed May 05 11:32am EDT

The 'Code': Ten unwritten baseball rules you might not know
By Jason Turbow


http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/The-Code-Ten-unwritten-baseball-rules-you-mig?urn=mlb-238853

1. Don't swing at the first pitch after back-to-back home runs

This is a matter of courtesy, respect for a pitcher who is clearly struggling, offering just a sliver of daylight with which to regain his senses.

2. Don't work the count when your team is up or down by a lot

This is true for both pitchers and hitters. Nobody wants to see the fifth guy on a bullpen's depth chart nibbling on the corners in the late innings of a blowout. Similarly, hitters are expected to swing at anything close. It's an effort to quickly and efficiently end a lopsided contest.

3. When hit by a pitch, don't rub the mark.

This one is all about intimidation or lack thereof. It's a hitter's way of telling the pitcher that his best shot — intentional or otherwise —didn't hurt. Pete Rose made a point of sprinting to first base after being hit, to ensure that he stripped all satisfaction from the pitcher.

4. Don't stand on the dirt cutout at home plate while a pitcher is warming up

Just as Braden dismissed A-Rod's attempt to enter his sacred space, the area around the plate is meant only for the hitter, and then only when it's time for him to hit. Should a pitcher be getting loose before an at-bat, it's strictly off-limits.


5. Don't walk in front of a catcher or umpire when getting into batter's box

This is respect, pure and simple. If the line from your dugout to the batter's box takes you between the pitcher and the catcher, walk around. Like the A-Rod incident, you'll likely never hear about this one until a player is called out for brazenly violating it.

6. Don't help the opposition make a play (bracing them from falling into the dugout, etc.)

In 1998, Dodgers left fielder Matt Luke braced Arizona's Andy Fox as the third baseman staggered into the Los Angeles dugout while chasing a pop fly. He knew the Code, but he had also been Fox's roommate in multiple levels of the Yankees' minor-league system, and was so tight with him that Fox had served as an usher in his wedding. Even then, he had his limits. "I waited until he made the play," said Luke in the Riverside Press Enterprise. "I wanted to prevent an injury. We're competing out there, and not for one second do I want to help the opposition."

7. Relievers take it easy when facing other relievers

The caveat to this piece of the Code is that for the most part, relievers don't step to the plate in close games, which gives their counterparts on the opposing team some leeway in their approach.

8. Follow the umpire's Code when addressing them on the field.

This is a book in itself. How one talks to umpires goes a long way toward getting favorable calls, or at least not getting thrown out of a game. ("That call was horse----" is generally acceptable; "You're horse----" is never acceptable.)

9. Pitchers stay in the dugout at least until the end of the inning in which they get pulled

This is purely about respect for one's teammates.

10. Pitchers never show up their fielders

This doesn't happen frequently, but when it does, players notice. One pitcher who made a habit of excessive body language on the mound was Gaylord Perry, who would put his hands on his hips and stare down fielders who made errors behind him.

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The unwritten rules of sports -- in writing
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF
Published 10:00 p.m., Tuesday, January 11, 2005


http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/The-unwritten-rules-of-sports-in-writing-1163966.php

Baseball

1.0. Don't embarrass yourself, your teammates or your opponent.

1.1. Never show up an umpire on balls and strikes.

1.2. Never steal a base when leading by a bunch of runs. Rickey Henderson was the all-time offender, once taking second base with the Brewers' defense playing back and his team leading 12-5 in the seventh inning. "There are certain things you don't do," Milwaukee manager Davey Lopes said. "You don't stop competing; what you stop doing is manufacturing runs."

1.3. Never show up an opposing pitcher after hitting a home run off him. This is includes such no-nos as Ruben Sierra's funky-chicken dance step and Jeffrey Leonard's one flap down. Taking a long time to get around the bases is considered taboo. Scott Rolen of the Cardinals is one who does it the right way -- drop the bat and run around the bases.

1.4. Always run onto the field in support of your teammates or players after a fight breaks out. Indians manager Charlie Manuel once was suspended for two games for running onto the field from the clubhouse.Manuel had been ejected from the game but said he could not in good conscience stay in the clubhouse while his players were throwing haymakers.

1.45. Don't fraternize with opposing players.

1.45. (a) Players who don't run onto the field in support, or who fraternize with opposing players, shall be fined by a kangaroo court.

1.45. (b) Kangaroo courts shall exist in every major league clubhouse and operate by their own set of unwritten rules. See Jay Buhner, Mariners, 1988-2001.

2.0. Play the game the right way.

2.1. Never lay down a bunt to break up a no-hitter. Ben Davis, then with the Padres, did this against Curt Schilling, then with the Diamondbacks, in the eighth inning of a 2001 game. The single brought the tying run to the plate, but Davis was heavily criticized -- even his manhood was called into question. "Ben Davis is young and has a lot to learn," Arizona manager Bob Brenly said. "That was just uncalled for."

2.2. When breaking up a double play, always go in with a clean slide. Rangers catcher Pudge Rodriguez went out of his way to take out Cleveland shortstop Omar Vizquel in 1994; Vizquel suffered torn knee ligaments, spent seven weeks on the DL, and the Indians were fighting mad.

2.3. Always throw a fastball on a 3-0 count.

2.35. Never swing at a 3-0 pitch when your team has a comfortable lead.Vladimir Guerrero swung at a 3-0 offering in a 2001 game against the Mets with his team leading 10-0, and pitcher Turk Wendell promptly drilled him.

2.4. Never put the tying or go-ahead run on first base.

2.45. Unless you are playing the Giants and Barry Bonds represents the tying or go-ahead run.

2.5. Never make the first or third out of an inning at third base.

2.6 Always run out ground balls, even routine ones. Hustle in, hustle out. This rule does not apply to all; Ken Griffey Jr., for example, never read the unwritten rules during his stay with the Mariners.
2.7. Never interrupt a pitcher's focus by talking to him before a start.

2.75. Applicable to broadcasters and players alike, never mention "no-hitter" when a pitcher has one working.

2.8. Never steal another team's signs -- or at least never get caught doing so. It is particularly taboo for the batter to peek at the catcher's signs from the batter's box. Stealing signs from second base is considered gamesmanship but still requires retribution.

2.9. Pitchers must work inside to keep opposing batters honest but must never throw at a batter's head.

2.95. Pitchers must retaliate for egregious acts committed by opposing pitchers.

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The Book of Unwritten Baseball Rules

In 1986, Baseball Digest published one of the absolute best lists to ever appear about the game of baseball. The Book of Unwritten Baseball Rules was a collaborative effort and is quite comprehensive. These are the rules that serious fans already know and new fans need to learn in order to speak baseball.

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/liunwrit.shtml

The Book of Unwritten Baseball Rules

by Baseball Digest (1986)


Unwritten Rules

1 Never put the tying or go-ahead run on base.
2 Play for the tie at home, go for the victory on the road.
3 Don't hit and run with an 0-2 count.
4 Don't play the infield in early in the game.
5 Never make the first or third out at third.
6 Never steal when you're two or more runs down.
7 Don't steal when you're well ahead.
8 Don't steal third with two outs.
9 Don't bunt for a hit when you need a sacrifice.
10 Never throw behind the runner.
11 Left and right fielders concede everything to center fielder.
12 Never give up a home run on an 0-2 count.
13 Never let the score influence the way you manage.
14 Don't go against the percentages.
15 Take a strike when your club is behind in a ballgame.
16 Leadoff hitter must be a base stealer. Designated hitter must be a power hitter.
17 Never give an intentional walk if first base is occupied.
18 With runners in scoring position and first base open, walk the number eight hitter to get to the pitcher.
19 In rundown situations, always run the runner back toward the base from which he came.
20 If you play for one run, that's all you'll get.
21 Don't bunt with a power hitter up.
22 Don't take the bat out of your best hitter's hands by sacrificing in front of him.
23 Only use your bullpen stopper in late-inning situations.
24 Don't use your stopper in a tie game - only when you're ahead.
25 Hit behind the runner at first.
26 If one of your players gets knocked down by a pitch, retaliate.
27 Hit the ball where it's pitched.
28 A manager should remain detached from his players.
29 Never mention a no-hitter while it's in progress.
30 With a right-hander on the mound, don't walk a right-handed hitter to pitch to a left-handed hitter.

The Book of Unwritten Baseball Rules by Baseball Digest

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The codes of baseball
by Tim Kurkjian
ESPN The Magazine


http://espn.go.com/magazine/kurkjian_20010531.html

Baseball codes of conduct have existed since the days of Ty Cobb, who might have invented some of them. They are unwritten but strict -- violation of one often will get you a 90-mph fastball in the ribs. Some codes are archaic, outdated and stupid, but baseball is nothing if not soaked in tradition. What was good for Wagner, Cobb and Ruth is good for A-Rod, Ichiro and McGwire.

Here are a few of the codes:

Never break up a pitcher's no-hitter with a bunt late in a game.
This is preposterous. OK, if the score is 12-0 with two outs in the ninth inning, maybe dropping a bunt isn't the manliest thing to do. But last Saturday night, Arizona's Curt Schilling had a perfect game in the eighth when Padres catcher Ben Davis bunted for a hit in a 2-0 game. Schilling, who had paralyzing stuff that Davis could barely see let alone hit, finished with a three-hitter. D-Backs manager Bob Brenly, always a smart, reasonable voice, called Davis' play "chicken (----)."

It wasn't. Ask any manager, including the Tigers' Phil Garner, and they'll tell you there was nothing wrong with what Davis did. Late in any 2-0 game, not just no-hitters, good hitters are occasionally given the take sign on 2-0 just to get someone on and get something going. That's what Davis and the Padres were trying to do -- they're in a pennant race and they were trying to win an important game. Since when is an opponent's personal achievement more important than trying to win a game? And what's wrong with asking a pitcher to field his position?

Don't steal a base when your team is comfortably ahead or behind.
Another confusing code. Someone please define "comfortably." In this era of unconscious offense, what is it? Five runs, six runs, seven runs? What about at Coors Field, where every game is always close -- is it 10 runs? 15 runs? Granted, stealing a base when your team is ahead 15-0 is excessive. But last year, Colorado's Tom Goodwin stole a base when his team was ahead 9-1 at Coors, then got two pitches thrown over his head. The Rockies won that game 12-10.

Also, when a team is behind by, say, 10 runs, it often stops holding on the runner at first base. That is basically inviting the runner to steal, but he almost never does because that would be rubbing it in -- when a team does that, they're guaranteed to get someone hit. Yet by playing behind the runner, the first baseman can cover more ground, take away holes and take away hits.

This happened last season to the Rockies. Todd Hollandsworth came to the plate in what appeared to be a certain blowout win for Colorado. The opposition didn't hold the runner at first, Hollandsworth hit what would have been a run-scoring single had the first baseman been holding the runner. Instead, the first baseman made the play, preventing a run. The Rockies won that game 10-9. You cannot not hold a runner, then get upset if he steals. You can't have it both ways, but with the unwritten code, teams want it both ways.

In a fight, everyone must leave the bench and the bullpen.
Actually, we have no problem with this. No teammates are closer than they are in baseball because there are so many games and players spend so much time with one another. As corny as sounds, they become family, and when a family member is in a fight, everyone joins in. If a player doesn't run on the field, even if it's just to dance with the enemy, he might get fined and certainly will be ostracized by his teammates.

"He might get beat up," says one NL player. Indians manager Charlie Manuel was recently suspended for two games for running on the field during a fight -- he had earlier been ejected from the game, and wasn't allowed to go on the field. But he did anyway, saying that there's no way he wasn't going to stay in the clubhouse while his team fought.

Don't show up the pitcher after hitting a home run.
This code gets broken every night. Now, players flip their bat after a home run, they stand at home plate and gaze at the ball's flight, they take three minutes to circle the bases. If anyone had ever done that to Bob Gibson, he would have drilled the next guy, then he'd have drilled the hitter the next time he came to the plate, too.

Break up a double play with a good, clean, hard slide.
Anything beyond that is unacceptable. No roll blocks. No spikes in the air. No sliding 10 feet to the outside part of the bag. Nothing that could destroy a middle infielder's career. Those guys' knees and legs are exposed, they often can't see the runner coming, they deserve and expect contact, but nothing that could bust a knee in half. Pudge Rodriguez rolled Omar Vizquel a few years ago, knocking him out for a couple months: we've never seen then-Indians manager Mike Hargrove madder than he was that night. There is also no reason to kill middle infielders when it's obvious that there will be no throw to first on the play. Yet that still happens.

Don't show up an umpire on balls and strikes.
Umpires are, on the whole, very good at what they do. If they miss a call, a hitter can tell them, but do it without looking at him, or gesturing. That gets everyone in the ballpark on the umpire. As a pitcher, if an ump misses a pitch down the middle, do what Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins used to do: don't even flinch, just keep on pitching. As good as umpires are, they're human. If you embarrass them, they'll embarrass you. They'll call you out on a bad pitch if you make them look bad.

As a hitter, don't peek at the catcher's signs, or where he's setting up.
The Mets' Tsuyoshi Shinjo did this earlier in the season. That's why he got hit in the back by St. Louis' Matt Morris on April 27.

In a blowout game, never swing as hard as you can at a 3-0 pitch.
Again, this is about showing up an opponent, a point we certainly understand. Yet at times, we show too much pity for the losing team. These are professionals, the best in the world, they're making $2 million a year on average; if they can't take getting embarrassed once in a while, that's tough. The idea is always to play every play, every out. There should be no giving up in baseball.

Remember our Veterans -- past and present -- this Memorial Day. THANK YOU!!

Remember the valiant service of those past and present.
Remember those who paid -- and continue to pay -- a price we can never repay.

MEMORIAL DAY
~~~
Remember the fallen … the price was so great.

And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier's tomb, and beauty weeps the brave. -- Joseph Drake

The dead soldier's silence sings our national anthem. -- Aaron Kilbourn

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. -- Joseph Campbell

LeBron James' Flop A Heat-Bulls Lowlight - The Deep Dish - SB Nation Chicago

SERIOUSLY. I agree with Mr. Smith. LeBron's newly adopted fans like Dan Leberetard can apologize for LeBron all they want, but it doesn't change the fact that the dude is 6-8, 255 and can't be touched. I'm sure Miami-fan remembers the Hack-a-Shaq days when Shaquille was just pummeled to death and got no calls. Now the referee pendulum seems to have swung entirely in the other direction.

Just one in a series of missed calls that changed the outcome of this game. Not the series, because the better, more complete team won the series. But the direction and ultimately, the outcome of this game was changed -- not by the players -- but by the referees. And that should never happen in a game of this magnitude, a season-ender for Chicago. The NBA should look at this crew very closely.


LeBron James' Flop A Heat-Bulls Lowlight - The Deep Dish - SB Nation Chicago:

"LeBron James' Flop A Heat-Bulls Lowlight
by Michael David Smith • May 27, 2011 8:18 AM CDT

If you don't want American sports to turn into European soccer, where players are embarrassing themselves with horrible acting and pretending to get hurt when their opponents haven't even touched them, then you didn't like LeBron James' flop on Thursday night.


James decided to pretend he was hurt after he grabbed a rebound. The Bulls' Derrick Rose stuck his hand in James' direction, and James' reaction indicated that Rose had poked him in the eye, but the replay showed that James had just done a bad acting job, and the referee bought into it, calling it a foul on Rose.

Frankly, James should be embarrassed, and the NBA needs to do something about all the flopping. Technical fouls and fines should be assessed to players who pretend to be hit when they weren't. For the sake of the integrity of the game, players can't go around faking injuries.

James is a great player, but on this one he proved that he was just a good enough actor to fool an NBA referee into seeing a foul that wasn't there.

The video is below."

Star catcher Buster Posey likely out for year - MLB - Yahoo! Sports

Any chance the Giants had to repeat as World Champions may have just been helped off the field last night. I agree with what Posey's agent had to say about the play, but the chances of any "slide-rule" changes being made at the major league level as slim to none.

Star catcher Buster Posey likely out for year - MLB - Yahoo! Sports:

"SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—Giants star catcher Buster Posey(notes) is likely out for the season with a fractured bone in his lower left leg suffered when Florida’s Scott Cousins(notes) crashed into him at home plate.

The Giants announced Thursday that Posey was placed on the disabled list with the injury, a night after he was crushed by Cousins while trying to block the winning run in the 12th inning against the Marlins. He also was scheduled to have an MRI.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy said the team was still in shock over the loss. He called on Major League Baseball to review the long-standing rule on collisions at the plate, which are as much a part of baseball tradition as peanuts and Cracker Jacks."

The sports science show did a neat demonstration of the forces involved in a hit such as this and it demonstrates why these plays are banned at any level where the players are not drawing a paycheck.

Barry Bonds to Pay for College of Beaten Giants Fan's Kids - FoxNews.com

Good stuff. Way to go, Barry.

Barry Bonds to Pay for College of Beaten Giants Fan's Kids - FoxNews.com: "The all-time home run king still has some pop left in his bat.

Former San Francisco Giants great Barry Bonds will pay for college for Bryan Stow's kids, according to NBCBayArea.com. Stow is the Giants fan who was severely beaten and left in a coma outside of Dodgers Stadium last month.

Stow family attorney Thomas Girardi tells the website that Bonds made the pledge to Stow's son and daughter after visiting the family in the hospital April 22."

According to Deadspin:

http://deadspin.com/5805284/barry-bonds-will-pay-to-send-beaten-giants-fans-kids-to-college

Stow's lawyer spoke to NBC Bay Area to reveal the Bonds story:

Stow family attorney Thomas Girardi said that former slugger Barry Bonds has donated to pay for their college education. He said the family has talked about turning other donations back to the fans if this suit is successful, but said the gift of a college of education is something they treasure and will keep.

Bryan is a single father. He has a son and a daughter who are both in grade school.

Bonds visited Stow on April 22, while he was still in a Southern California hospital.

Sources close to Stow told NBC that Bonds also spent an hour in Stow's room and left a signed baseball bat for Stow's children. At the time, there was no mention of a donation to a college fund.

It's kind of noteworthy, too, that Bonds did this over a month ago—shortly after the verdict came down in his stupid trial—and that he didn't say anything about it to the press. Stow's lawyer mentions it here only because the family was so excited to have such a gift AND from a Giants icon, to boot.

So, please, a moment of thanks for Bonds's generosity, before you return to cursing him for eternity.

P.S. Reportedly, Giants ace Tim Lincecum also donated $25,000 to the Stow family fund.

from YahooSports.com
LHP Jeremy Affeldt visited hospitalized Giants fan Bryan Stow, who is in critical but stable condition after a brutal beating in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium, at San Francisco General Hospital on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. Affeldt told the AP that Stow opened his eyes and seemed responsive when Affeldt introduced himself, held his hand and said a prayer for his recovery.

10 Babe Ruth Facts Every Baseball Fan Should Know

An interesting article about the Sultan of Swat sent to me by a reader at the website Collegecrunch.org. I was not aware of a couple of the tidbits of information and I thought I was a pretty good student of the game. Collgecrunch.org is a site that has information from some of thee online college course providers around the country, but they also have some interesting sports articles listed on their site. Check them out.

From the mailbox:

Hi Charles,

We at Collegecrunch.org recently came across your blog and were excited to share with you an article “10 Babe Ruth Facts Every Baseball Fan Should Know” was recently published on our blog at (http://www.collegecrunch.org/feature/10-babe-ruth-facts-every-baseball-fan-should-know/), and we hoped that you would be interested in featuring or mentioning it in one of your posts.

Either way, I hope you continue putting out great content through your blog. It has been a sincere pleasure to read.


Sincerely ,
Florine Church

10 Babe Ruth Facts Every Baseball Fan Should Know:
"These are just a few of the indelible marks he left on America's pastime.

1. Ruth was bestowed the nickname 'Babe' once he joined the Orioles: Nineteen years old and fresh out of St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys, George Herman Ruth, Jr. signed with the then-minor league Baltimore Orioles, his hometown team, for $250 in 1914. In order for the contract to be valid, Jack Dunn, owner and manager of the team, became Ruth's legal guardian — 25 was the age of majority at the time. When Orioles players first encountered Ruth, they referred to him as 'Jack's newest babe,' which thereafter stuck as 'Babe' publicly. Interestingly, as his career progressed, his teammates refused to call him by 'Babe,' instead calling him 'Bam,' 'Jidge' and 'The Big Fellow.'

2. Ruth could've been a Philadelphia Athletic: Before the Red Sox jumped at the opportunity to acquire Ruth for cash, Dunn dangled him in front of Connie Mack, then the Athletics manager and part owner, who elected not to send $10,000 in exchange for Ruth, Ernie Shore and Ben Egan. Although the Athletics were the defending World Series champs and were in the process of winning their second consecutive AL championship, the organization was undergoing financial problems, and the team was dispersed after the season, resulting in eight straight last-place finishes starting in 1915. New York Giants manager John McGraw was angered that he wasn't offered Ruth, and chose to never do business with the Orioles again. That decision eventually cost him Lefty Grove.

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Giants sweep Rox...Happy 80th to the Say Hey Kid

Still the best all-around player to EVER lace up a pair of cleats!!!

The best thing about being a Giants fan, even better than winning the World Series last year, is we have Willie Mays. Much love, and many more.

We played stickball in the streets the same as Willie and the city kids. Can you imagine kids being asked to play baseball today with a broomstick and a Spaldeen?

What's a Spaldeen you ask? You probably see them in a clearance bin at Wal-Mart. The best tool for teaching kids "soft-hands" skills needed to field the ball, whether it be grounders or fly-balls. Nowadays, you pay $50 or more for some modern gadget marketed to "teach" kids how to field. Spaldeens are probably less than a dollar each. Do the math.

And here's stickball, back in the day. The more things change...indeed. I'm not sure youth sports are significantly better than the days that my brothers and I used to gather our neighborhood friends together, go out to a field by ourselves and play ball for hours on end.

We learned more about the game and ourselves than we did playing organized ball, IMO.

Seems like days like this our gone, a relic of a by-gone era. Sad really. I must be getting old.

https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/spaldeen/

Stickball on the streets of Brooklyn
June 29, 2009
Like egg creams and nickel subway rides, stickball is one of those long-gone cultural touchstones that New York City old-timers often wax nostalgic about. But you know, the game sure looks like a lot of fun.

No coaches. No expensive gear. No adults. All you needed was a car-free side street (not hard to find before the 1950s, when few city residents had cars), a broom handle, and a “spaldeen”—a small pink rubber ball made by the Spalding sporting goods company—and you were good to go. Chalk to outline bases or the strike zone was optional.

Simply known as "The Catch" - 1954 World Series



Say Hey! Willie Mays

Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D.: The Trouble with Bright Girls

This is interesting stuff. For male coaches of female players or dads with daughters in sports, something to think about.


The Trouble With Bright Girls
Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D.: The Trouble with Bright Girls:

For women, ability doesn’t always lead to confidence. Here’s why.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-science-success/201101/the-trouble-bright-girls

Successful women know only too well that in any male-dominated profession, we often find ourselves at a distinct disadvantage. We are routinely underestimated, underutilized, and even underpaid. Studies show that women need to perform at extraordinarily high levels, just to appear moderately competent compared to our male coworkers.

But in my experience, smart and talented women rarely realize that one of the toughest hurdles they'll have to overcome to be successful lies within. Compared with our male colleagues, we judge our own abilities not only more harshly but fundamentally differently. Understanding why we do it is the first step to righting a terrible wrong. And to do that, we need to take a step back in time.

Chances are good that if you are a successful professional today, you were a pretty bright fifth grade girl. My graduate advisor, psychologist Carol Dweck (author of 'Mindset') conducted a series of studies in the 1980s, looking at how Bright Girls and boys in the fifth grade handled new, difficult and confusing material.

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She found that Bright Girls, when given something to learn that was particularly foreign or complex, were quick to give up; the higher the girls' IQ, the more likely they were to throw in the towel. In fact, the straight-A girls showed the most helpless responses. Bright boys, on the other hand, saw the difficult material as a challenge, and found it energizing. They were more likely to redouble their efforts rather than give up.

Why does this happen? What makes smart girls more vulnerable and less confident when they should be the most confident kids in the room? At the 5th grade level, girls routinely outperform boys in every subject, including math and science. So there were no differences between these boys and girls in ability, nor in past history of success. The only difference was how bright boys and girls interpreted difficulty -- what it meant to them when material seemed hard to learn. Bright Girls were much quicker to doubt their ability, to lose confidence and to become less effective learners as a result.

Researchers have uncovered the reason for this difference in how difficulty is interpreted, and it is simply this: More often than not, Bright Girls believe that their abilities are innate and unchangeable, while bright boys believe that they can develop ability through effort and practice.

How do girls and boys develop these different views? Most likely, it has to do with the kinds of feedback we get from parents and teachers as young children. Girls, who develop self-control earlier and are better able to follow instructions, are often praised for their "goodness." When we do well in school, we are told that we are "so smart," "so clever, " or "such a good student." This kind of praise implies that traits like smartness, cleverness and goodness are qualities you either have or you don't.

Boys, on the other hand, are a handful. Just trying to get boys to sit still and pay attention is a real challenge for any parent or teacher. As a result, boys are given a lot more feedback that emphasizes effort (e.g., "If you would just pay attention you could learn this," "If you would just try a little harder you could get it right.") The net result: When learning something new is truly difficult, girls take it as sign that they aren't "good" and "smart," and boys take it as a sign to pay attention and try harder.

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We continue to carry these beliefs, often unconsciously, around with us throughout our lives. And because Bright Girls are particularly likely to see their abilities as innate and unchangeable, they grow up to be women who are far too hard on themselves -- women who will prematurely conclude that they don't have what it takes to succeed in a particular arena, and give up way too soon.

Even if every external disadvantage to a woman's rising to the top of an organization is removed -- every inequality of opportunity, every chauvinistic stereotype, all the challenges we face balancing work and family -- we would still have to deal with the fact that through our mistaken beliefs about our abilities, we may be our own worst enemy.

How often have you found yourself avoiding challenges and playing it safe, sticking to goals you knew would be easy for you to reach? Are there things you decided long ago that you could never be good at? Skills you believed you would never possess? If the list is a long one, you were probably one of the Bright Girls -- and your belief that you are "stuck" being exactly as you are has done more to determine the course of your life than you probably ever imagined. This would be fine, if your abilities were innate and unchangeable. Only they're not.

No matter the ability -- whether it's intelligence, creativity, self-control, charm or athleticism -- studies show them to be profoundly malleable. When it comes to mastering any skill, your experience, effort and persistence matter a lot. So if you were a Bright Girl, it's time to toss out your (mistaken) belief about how ability works, embrace the fact that you can always improve and reclaim the confidence to tackle any challenge that you lost so long ago.

The more things change...

Let's review. Not sure much has changed, at least not for the better. IMO, this guys analysis of the situation was spot on back in 2009.

Quote of the Day:

"We have failed bankers giving advice to failed regulators on how to deal with failed assets. How can it result in anything but failure?" -- William K. Black

Quote of the Day - Second Place

"If cheaters prosper, cheaters will dominate. It's like Gresham's law: Bad money drives out the good. Well, bad behavior drives out good behavior, without good enforcement." -- William Black

From Barrons.com

The Lessons of the Savings-and-Loan Crisis
William Black, Associate Professor, Economics and Law, University of Missouri, Kansas City
By JACK WILLOUGHBY |
MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2009


http://online.barrons.com/article/SB123940701204709985.html#articleTabs_panel_article%3D1

Barron's: Just how serious is this credit crisis? What is at stake here for the American taxpayer?

Black: Mopping up the savings-and-loan crisis cost $150 billion; this current crisis will probably cost a multiple of that. The scale of fraud is immense. This whole bank scandal makes Teapot Dome [of the 1920s] look like some kid's doll set. Unless the current administration changes course pretty drastically, the scandal will destroy Barack Obama's presidency. The Bush administration was even worse. But they are out of town. This will destroy Obama's administration, both economically and in terms of integrity.

So you are saying Democrats as well as Republicans share the blame? No one can claim the high ground?

We have failed bankers giving advice to failed regulators on how to deal with failed assets. How can it result in anything but failure? If they are going to get any truthful investigation, the Democrats picked the wrong financial team. Tim Geithner, the current Secretary of the Treasury, and Larry Summers, chairman of the National Economic Council, were important architects of the problems. Geithner especially represents a failed regulator, having presided over the bailouts of major New York banks.

So you aren't a fan of the recently announced plan for the government to back private purchases of the toxic assets?

It is worse than a lie. Geithner has appropriated the language of his critics and of the forthright to support dishonesty. That is what's so appalling -- numbering himself among those who convey tough medicine when he is really pandering to the interests of a select group of banks who are on a first-name basis with Washington politicians.

The current law mandates prompt corrective action, which means speedy resolution of insolvencies. He is flouting the law, in naked violation, in order to pursue the kind of favoritism that the law was designed to prevent. He has introduced the concept of capital insurance, essentially turning the U.S. taxpayer into the sucker who is going to pay for everything. He chose this path because he knew Congress would never authorize a bailout based on crony capitalism.

Geithner is mistaken when he talks about making deeply unpopular moves. Such stiff resolve to put the major banks in receivership would be appreciated in every state but Connecticut and New York. His use of language like "legacy assets" -- and channeling the worst aspects of Milton Friedman -- is positively Orwellian. Extreme conservatives wrongly assume that the government can't do anything right. And they wrongly assume that the market will ultimately lead to correct actions. If cheaters prosper, cheaters will dominate. It is like Gresham's law: Bad money drives out the good. Well, bad behavior drives out good behavior, without good enforcement.

More recent analysis from David Stockman. This guys just absolutely nails it right here. So of course, he will be marginalized in some fashion by the MSM and TPTB. Just another kook, I guess.

The Case for the Gold Standard

by David Stockman
This talk was delivered at the New York Historical Society on May 8, 2011.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/stockman7.1.1.html

It took 200 years to build and perfect the classic gold standard system; then it was destroyed in about seven weeks when the Guns of August 1914 thundered across Europe;.....Fortunately, Churchill’s defense of democracy also applies to the daunting task at hand: To wit, the classic gold standard is the worst possible monetary system – except for all of the alternative inflation-generating, savings-destroying, debt-breeding, bubble-emitting and boom and bust-prone systems which have been tried in the 100 years since its demise. Hence, we offer six present day monetary vices which are curable by gold:.......the gold standard wouldn’t have allowed the US to incur nearly 40 straight years of massive current account deficits and to live high on the hog for decades by running a $7 trillion tab against its neighbors..........The gold standard tamed the demon of debt by delegating the pricing of money to the marketplace of savers and borrowers, not to an administrative board of interest rate riggers and manipulators......The gold standard was an honest regulator of Wall Street greed. Under gold, we did not seek Bernanke-style faux prosperity by levitating the Russell 2000; nor did we crucify Main Street on a cross of obscurantist theory like the Taylor Rule whereby the Fed naively gifts Wall Street with limitless zero-cost funding for leveraged speculations in commodities, currencies, derivatives and equities; nor did we punish people who invest in savings accounts out of an abundance of caution while placing a central bank "put" under those who speculate with reckless abandon........The gold standard made the world safe for fractional reserve banking. To be sure, banking – which is to say, scalping a profit from the interest spread between loans and deposits – is the world’s second oldest profession......The gold standard made the world safe for fiscal democracy because chronic budget deficits generated immediate pain. If financed from savings, deficits caused higher interest rates and squeezed-out private investment; and if financed by central bank credit, they caused a deflationary drain on gold. Nowadays, however, central banks have become monetary roach motels – places where treasury bonds go in but never come out....

Crony Capitalism Strikes Again
How the Federal Reserve is juicing speculators... again
by David Stockman
March 24,2011

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig11/stockman6.1.1.html