Eric Wedge Is Making Things Up

From yesterday's introductory press conference:

"I love the energy in this city and in this field," Wedge said. "There's something about this place. When you're on the visiting side, there's some energy and electricity that not everybody has."

There is electricity. There's a lot of it, to power the lights and the scoreboards and the phones and the concessions and everything. And maybe Safeco consumes more energy than some other stadiums do, because it's all big and expensive. If that's what he's referring to, then, cool, that's kind of weird but okay.

But if he's referring to the Safeco environment, I don't see how this isn't just lip service. Let's be honest with ourselves. Safeco is tame. It's polite, and it's quiet. There are other teams with similar atmospheres, like San Diego or Arizona, and Seattle doesn't have the worst atmosphere in the league, but it isn't a selling point. It's always the first thing people criticize when they go to Safeco for the first time, and for good reason. With rare exception, the crowd usually sounds like a few thousand people chatting.

And it's worth noting that, during his time as manager of the Indians, Wedge never experienced a single Safeco sellout. This game didn't even have any attendance. Maybe I'm wrong and Safeco actually generates a ton of noise, and it's all funneled efficiently into the visitor's dugout, but I'm skeptical. I think Wedge was just trying to be nice.

Later on:

His idea of an Eric Wedge-type player?

"Hard-nosed, consistent, passionate and prepared," Wedge said.

In all seriousness, Wedge has said the right things and given the right impression. It's just a press conference and he hasn't actually had to do anything yet, but he seems straight-up, and committed, and he has the demeanor of a man who doesn't let things slide. He's going to want this team to tighten up, and any player who doesn't get with the program is going to find himself on the outside looking in.

Will it work? Who knows. But it'll be different.