We have become so stat conscious that we forget the teams still have to play each other on the field.

Some of the things I have learned since playing in the playoffs and World Series is the importance of having a solid game plan and sticking to it. Let's just take the Tigers and A's in Game 1 of the ALCS.

What many people may not know is that both teams have been scouting each other for a month leading up to the series. Teams that think they may be going to the playoffs send out advance scouts a month before the end of the season in preparation for the postseason. Knowing that might help you understand why the Detroit batters knew exactly what to look for and how to attack Barry Zito and the A's at the plate.

It's the little things that may help you win a ballgame ... what count Zito throws his curve the most, what count he throws his changeup, etc. Not that you want your players to overthink while they are in the middle of the game, but prior knowledge is huge when you're in a seven-game series. Much of this information isn't as easily obtained during the course of the year.

Yes, we've all heard about Kirk Gibson knowing when Dennis Eckersley was going to throw his backdoor slider. To get tiny but important details like that, as many as three scouts per team follow possible playoff teams for the last month of the season.

I spoke with Phil Garner yesterday about last year's NLCS and the Astros' approach to beating his opponent. As it turned out, it was very much like our team approach when the Reds faced the Pirates and A's back in 1990. It's not just formulating a game plan. It's making adjustments on the fly because every out, every pitch can have such a huge impact on one week in your baseball life.

Against Pittsburgh, we wanted to take Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla and Andy Van Slyke out of the equation. If we could stop them, we would take our chances with the rest of their lineup. Against Oakland it was Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, Carney Lansford and Dave Henderson. We knew Ricky Henderson would do his thing, so we let him. We knew we had to get to Dave Stewart and Bob Welch early to take their bullpen out of play.

The numbers are great to know, but knowing how to pitch to someone, how to set up your defense and make sure you pitch to the other team that way are things that can win you a championship. I know, I was blessed to be a part of such a team.

Just so you know, Bonds, Bonilla and Van Slyke went 12-for-63 against us in the World Series. Canseco went 1-for-12 with a home run and McGwire was 3-for-14 with no homers or RBIs. Lansford went 4-for-15 and Dave Henderson went 3-for-13. Rickey Henderson went 5-for-15 with three stolen bases.

In a recent Harris Poll, 33% of the adult sports fans said they like football the best. Only 14% said baseball was their favorite sport. It's not surprising, football is the king of sports in this country. But baseball is always going to be America's pastime.

With the Collective Bargaining Agreement up in December this year, maybe baseball should look at going back in time to make a few slight changes that could get more adults to pick baseball over football.

It's easy to say from my point of view that the season is way too long. I do a daily show on XM with Kevin Kennedy 12 months a year Monday through Friday ... 3 hours of baseball. Now Kevin and I love the show and so do our listeners, but I'm talking about the passive fan, the family man, who when his teams in baseball are out of the playoff picture September 1st and has to choose where to spend his or her hard-earned money, he will go to football games, college and/or pro. 

I don't blame him. What, after 140 games and 30+ spring training games, they are supposed to keep watching meaningless games? No way ... it's time to be proactive.

Lets go back to 1961, when baseball went from a 154-game schedule to 162. Let's keep interleague play and wild-card teams, but let's shorten the season and add another round of the playoffs and two more wild-card teams. That way we don't lose fans to football because more teams and their fans will have hope after September 1st. Nothing beats playoff baseball, not even the NFL in the beginning of the season.

A couple of seasons have passed since the Los Angeles Angels made two of the worst moves in recent history. They let the heart (David Eckstein) and soul (Troy Glaus) of their championship team go to other teams.

Eckstein, who many, including me, think is one of the hardest working and toughest playing shortstops in the game today. Not only is he one of the best leadoff men in baseball, but his all-out hustle all the time is an example of how this game is meant to be played.

Last year, when he went to St Louis, he helped propel the Cardinals to the best record in baseball and is now a fan favorite, second only to Albert Pujols. At present time, he is leading the Cards in hits with 69, has scored 34 runs and is hitting .330 with a .402 OBP. He has four errors in 52 games, and the Cardinals are in first place by five games and have a record of 34-19.

The soul of that championship team, Troy Glaus, one of the best power hitters in the game, was also let go. All he did in Arizona was hit 37 HRs and drive in 97. This year after being traded to Toronto, Troy has 17 HRs and 44 RBIs through 50 games, and the Blue Jays are right in the thick of things in the AL East, just 2.5 games behind Boston and NY. If you compare the five players that have tried to fill his shoes at third base in Los Angeles, it's almost sad. OK, it is sad. Those five players have hit .198 with four HRs and 15 RBI while committing 10 errors to Troy's four.

Those are just some numbers, but if you really measure the two men, it's not just the play but their leadership qualities which can't be measured. The Angels are 23-30 through 53 games and have no other power threat other then Vlad Guerrero. I know many teams think it's all about the money and all about the future prospects, but if you look back on just these two moves, I think they speak for themselves. You never know what you have until it's gone. Sometimes players like Glaus and Eckstein deserve more respect then just money.

People are asking, what's wrong with Brad Lidge and why is Albert Pujols so good?

In a word, confidence.

Baseball is played by men who by most accounts are almost all in the same talent range, with maybe a select few above the rest as far as ability. Now some people might think they could play on the same field as some major leaguers, but don't kid yourselves, these men are so talented they can hit a 95-mph fastball, or keep their hands back long enough to pick up an 88-mph slider and have enough power to hit it 400 feet.

Now once they all get to The Show they are almost all on the same level, but confidence is what makes All-Stars and lack of confidence is what ultimately results in others being sent back to the bushes.

There's nothing wrong with Brad Lidge that a confidence boost couldn't cure.

Brad Lidge hasn't lost anything on his fastball or his slider. I watched him Monday night and he was throwing an easy 97, but once your level of confidence goes down, even just a slight bit, lifetime .250 hitters become a problem. They look like they could all crush your best pitch, so you start to doubt yourself and go against what made you an All-Star.

What's worse is that everyone has an opinion on how you can get the "C" word back. Now there's too many voices in your head and you are really in trouble.

Now my advice for Brad or anyone who needs a little help is KISS -- Keep it Simple Stupid. Golfers use it, and it gets them back on track. Just get the ball, pick up your catcher and try and throw it right through him like you used to. Block out all the other voices except your own, and KNOW that no one is going to hit your stuff. Listen, there's no easy way to explain this except when I asked Pete Rose about hitting, and he told me he never changed his batting stances. He said that he KNEW he would come out of a slump.

Confidence, it's easy to say, but hard to keep. I was watching Albert Pujols the other night. He missed badly on one pitch, then took a second or two outside the batters box and talked to himself. I think he basically told himself to calm down, and on the next pitch hit it 450 feet over the fence. It was all about confidence. And because he had it, Albert KNEW that only he could beat himself.

The last week of spring training is always the hardest, but not just for the players, how about the general managers of 30 baseball teams?

How many sleepless nights do you think the teams GMs have had this spring? Think about it.

For starters, it was the first time the World Baseball Classic was held. For a general manager, this was truly a nightmare. Yeah, it was great for baseball, but how about if you just signed someone like Johnny Damon. You see him for a few days in camp with his new teammates and then boom, he's playing in the tournament. Then you get a phone call, "Hey my arm is sore and I can't play." That's got to make you sick.

Then there's the trading for new guys, trying to build a winner, trying to get players to make it through spring training healthy. How would you like to be J.P. Ricciardi with the Toronto Blue Jays? You sign some big name free agents more on promise than on talent. One of those players has had a history of arm injuries and then he gets hurt in spring training. How does that $55 million dollar signing feel now?  

Thankfully it was some scar tissue breaking up in A.J. Brunett's elbow but do you think J.P. slept the night before the MRI? Brian Cashman of The New York Yankees has a few rings to fall back on, but how about if you're Bill Stoneman with the Los Angeles Angels, and your players are dropping like flies, some guys are in The World Baseball Classic and you haven't even started the season?

Tough job isn't it?

It's not fantasy baseball, this is for real. Real money, real players and really big worries.

I just talked to Jim Hendry on the radio show I do with Kevin Kennedy on XM. The Cubs haven't won a championship in almost 100 years and his two star pitchers, Kerry Wood and Mark Prior, must give him plenty of rest. Yeah right. One or both might start the year on the DL, and he's in the last year of his contract, he traded three young pitchers for Juan Pierre, who is hitting .273 this spring and is coming off a down year. Plus he will be starting young players in the field and really doesn't have a front line closer.

Still, I respect the hell out of Jim because he doesn't make excuses; he says they should still win the NL Central. He also had to cut players to get down to the 25 man final roster and long time star Marquis Grissom decided to hang it up.

Imagine having to call players in and say you aren't good enough to play anymore, or we have to send you down, or you need more seasoning. I have to tell you, I have nothing but respect for GMs because I felt it was tougher on them than it was on me when they had to tell me it was hard to leave.

Let me leave you with this, for 14 straight years the best GM has been John Schuerholz of the Atlanta Braves. Last year he had 13 different rookies play during the season and the Braves won the division again. Now some will say, but they've only won one championship despite 14 consecutive division titles. I say they've left spring training 14 times and done just exactly what Mr. Schuerholz gave them a chance to do.

Being a GM may be the toughest job in the big leagues. OK it is.