导出博客文章MS Dhoni, Indias limited-overs captain, believes his break from international
cricket has given him ample time to work on his fitness. Dhoni, who retired from
Test cricket in December 2014, was last involved with the national team during a
short limited-overs series in Zimbabwe in June.When you have a break, its easy
to maintain fitness because theres enough preparation time, Dhoni said in
Lauderhill ahead of the first Twenty20 against West Indies on Saturday. There
has been a lot of rain in India, which is a good thing since we needed that. So
I trained indoors with the bowling machine when it came to the skill
aspect.Dhoni, who will be involved in just a handful of games in India colours
this season owing to a prolonged Test run at home from September to March,
believes the breaks have helped him remain fresh in his quest to prolong his
international career.During a packed season, maintaining fitness becomes tough
because you cant put too much effort into it. Youre constantly monitoring
workloads. When you have a break, you can plan your schedules. Thats what Ive
done so that it helps prolong my career. Overall, its important to relish the
in-between time.Back from the break during which he had briefly mentored his
state side Jharkhand at a first-division tournament in Chennai, apart from
promoting his yet-to-be-released biopic, Dhoni is now faced with the prospect of
facing the current World T20 champions, which he felt would be quite a
challenge.West Indies is an extraordinary team in the limited-overs format, he
said. Sometimes having one allrounder can give you balance. They have two or
three. Power-hitters become crucial in the smaller formats, and they have so
many of them. They also play an entertaining brand of cricket, so it will be a
challenge for us.Among the things he is most looking forward to on his return,
Dhoni said, was the opportunity of working with new head coach Anil Kumble, from
whom he had taken over the Test captaincy in 2008.He is a straightforward guy
who will tell you what he has to to your face, Dhoni said. I learnt a lot from
him while playing with him. One of the things that struck me was how he planned
dismissals and went about his game. I was amazed at his consistency and the
thinking aspect he brought to the game. It will also help him as a coach because
you cant have the same plan across different formats.I feel, the more time I
spend with him, the more Ill get to know him. Ive known him as a player. Now, I
will know him as a coach. Weve seen previously how people are slightly different
in both cases. Hes calm, composed and confident, and that will only help the
team.
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contained no breaks of serve. WALDORF, Maryland -- The first thing Courtney
Knichel typically does when she arrives in her office on a Saturday afternoon is
change into a pair of Converse sneakers. Saturdays with the Southern Maryland
Blue Crabs involve manual labor, even for the general manager.But today, thats
not the first thing Knichel does when she arrives for work at Regency Furniture
Stadium in Waldorf, Maryland. Before she can lace up her chucks, marketing
manager Austin Gore is waddling up to her. His head is poking out of a bulbous,
furry, blue mascot suit; his huge, red clown shoes are awkwardly scuffing along
the hallway; and in his giant, blue hands, hes carrying papers for her to look
over.Hes dressed as Pinch, the Blue Crabs mascot, for the team photo later in
the afternoon -- but he also needs to make sure all the names are spelled
correctly in the in-game videos. In between lacing up her shoes, Knichel
corrects the spelling of McCullough to McCawley.Welcome to the Southern Maryland
Blue Crabs, an independent league baseball team in Waldorf, Maryland. While
theyre based about 30 miles from Nationals Park and 60 miles from the Baltimore
Orioles Camden Yards, theyre a world away from both. In baseballs backwater,
Knichel is breaking ground as the only woman general manager in the Atlantic
League.***Knichel, 29, started at the bottom of the Blue Crabs organization. A
native of Charles County, Maryland, Knichel became a marketing intern for the
Blue Crabs in 2008, when the organization formed; she was fresh out of college
when her mom signed her up for a summer internship. During a year-end sorority
party, Knichel received a call from the then-nascent Blue Crabs, offering her an
internship. She wrote the details down on a nearby napkin.Unsure of what her job
really entailed, Knichel showed up on her first day in heels to look
professional. She spent the evening picking up trash in the stadium, because in
2008, for a fledgling independent baseball team, marketing intern really meant
grunt laborer.Knichel was quickly introduced to a job with long hours, but it
turned out to be much more than that. When the original marketing manager was
fired in May of the first season, Knichel took over. She had been with the team
for just a few months. It was mayhem.I had no idea what I was doing, Knichel
said. That whole first summer I taught myself everything.For the next eight
years, she steadily worked her way up the ladder for the Blue Crabs -- marketing
assistant, then marketing manager for four years, then assistant GM for three
after that. When Patrick Day, the previous GM, left to take over the New Britain
(Connecticut) Bees in December 2015, Knichel was the natural successor.Its not
like it was, [Courtney] hasnt been around the game, but lets give her a shot,
manager Jeremy Owens said. Shes been here. Shes seen.The Blue Crabs released a
short statement about the management change in March, but there was little
fanfare.***Its four hours from game time, and the issue is tables.The Blue Crabs
sell tables along the stadiums concourse for local vendors during games. But
folding tables, as it turns out, are worth their weight in gold: the players
need them for the clubhouse, concessions needs them to set up, the front office
needs them in the main office.But right now, the game-day staff needs 25-odd
tables for the vendors, and corporate sales manager Jason Sproesser protests,
saying they dont have enough. Knichel tells him simply: Figure it out.At first
glance, Knichel appears part-stereotype: Her hair is perfectly curled and she
wears a large, monogramed necklace. Her office is not only decorated with nine
years worth of Blue Crabs momentos, but also with a pink base from a breast
cancer awareness event and a mug scrawled with Worlds best lady boss in pink
script. On the wall behind her desk, theres a framed picture of the Blue Crabs
opening pitch.If that clashes with the summer boys culture of baseball, Knichel
does not care -- she has a vision for what she wants, and shes quick to respond
if she sees something out of place.Earlier this year, Knichel was visiting the
locker room after a game to talk to Owens. As she usually does, she called out
before entering to make sure all the players were at least decently dressed. As
Knichel walked in, a first-year player made a crack, miming her peering through
her fingers to see the supposedly naked studs in the locker room. Knichel
stopped.I was like, Dude, Ive worked here nine years, she said. If I wanted to
look at d--ks, Id have looked at d--ks, you know?The locker room fell silent,
and the player was so subdued he later worried if he was going to get released.
Knichel went on with her meeting.People say stupid stuff, said Brian Bures, a
three-year veteran among the pitching staff. Shes handled it as well as she can,
I think. Youre going to get a reaction, because thats just how it is.Baseball as
a whole -- and most especially the major leagues -- has long had a diversity
problem. The all-womens league of the WWII era is long gone, and with the advent
of softball, its rare that a woman makes her way onto a professional baseball
team.The path to broadening executive and front-office positions beyond men has
been tortuously slow. Some major league teams employ women at senior levels,
particularly in marketing. But there are only a few women in player personnel or
baseball operation roles. Linda Smith of the Kansas City Royals is one of a
handful of women with direct input into player personnel decisions at the major
league level.Kim Ng made waves after getting hired as an assistant GM by the
Yankees and Dodgers, and she has been mentioned in several GM openings. She has
been rumored to be the best candidate for the first female MLB GM.Minor league
teams have seen a number of women as general managers -- though they typically
dont make player personnel decisions; those are handled by the teams parent
organization. A few hours down the road from Knichel and the Blue Crabs, Blair
Hoke is GM of the Pulaski Yankees, a Rookie League team.With the Blue Crabs,
Knichel decides who gets signed, who gets promoted and who gets released. Shes
in charge of the bottom line, and that means when a player has to be acquired or
released, shes in on the deal.On this day, Knichel is finalizing the reelease of
high-profile player Fred Lewis, a one-time MLB journeyman.dddddddddddd Lewis has
been injured most of the season. The Blue Crabs say hes cleared to play. Lewis
says he still cant go and is still in pain. He hasnt shown up in a while and
didnt show up for the team picture.Thats it, Knichel said after Lewis was a
no-show for the team picture, though shed already made the decision to release
him. Lewis official release came through the wire after Saturdays game.With that
decision and countless other personnel moves, Knichel has already (quietly)
broken barriers. She may break more.On the weekly teleconference with other
league GMs, Atlantic League president Rick?White called everyone guys or fellas.
Knichel is the only person on the call whos not a man.Halfway through this
season, White emailed Knichel to apologize -- hed totally forgotten there was a
woman on the call.I told him I dont mind, Knichel said. I know Im playing ball
with the boys.Knichel is also dead-set to have things her way, and shes
single-minded in her standards. If there needs to be 25 tables on the concourse,
there are going to be 25 tables on the concourse. If the sales team needs to
make 50 calls a day, Knichel says she doesnt expect to hear why its not getting
done.Courtney is really strong-willed, said accounting manager Samantha Slovik.
Shes on a path, and she knows what shes set out to do.Knichel is one of a few
women in senior management at the Blue Crabs front office -- Slovik is in her
third year as accounting coordinator, and Alexandra Wohlenhaus is the box office
coordinator. Both describe Knichel as approachable but unmistakably
headstrong.Wohlenhaus, Slovik and Knichel make the Blue Crabs something unusual:
a baseball front office with women in all of the senior management positions.
All three started as interns with the Blue Crabs, and each has been promoted
within the system. Knichel says it wasnt some grand scheme or vision -- just a
result of the most driven and organized rising in responsibility.I didnt bring
those girls in because girls are better, Knichel said. But are these girls
better? Kind of, yeah.***Knichel may be on baseballs outer rim, but there are
still occasional brushes with the big time.Earlier in 2016, the Blue Crabs were
involved in a swirl of rumors around minor league moves. The Batavia Muckdogs,
operating at a significant loss and struggling with flagging attendance, were
for sale.A group of local investors wanted to bring the Batavia Muckdogs to
Waldorf as a Nationals affiliate -- but the deal fell through because of a lack
of agreement between the Nationals and the Orioles, both of whom had to approve
the deal because Waldorf is in the territory of both organizations.What would
have happened -- or what still might happen -- is totally up in the air to
Knichel. She said she has no idea whether a minor league organization would
incorporate some of the Blue Crabs front office or bring in their own people.But
Knichel and White both said they were confident that the Blue Crabs would remain
in Southern Maryland through the 2017 season and likely through the 2018
season.***During the afternoons leading up to game days, Knichel takes a lap
around the stadium. She circles every inch of the place, putting up placards
that have fallen down, straightening umbrellas, pulling down signs still up from
yesterdays game.I like to do it every day, to make sure everything is good,
Knichel said.In her first days and weeks as GM, Knichel struggled with
micromanaging. Everything had to be perfect -- and nobody could do it better
than she could.Ive learned to relinquish duties, Knichel said. And if something
goes wrong, thats okay.Micromanagement is an understandable issue for Knichel,
who has worked her way up the ladder in Waldorf. After nine years, this is home
-- even at the fringes of a sport that is still struggling with the concept that
women are just as qualified to run the show as men.She happily shows off the
features shes most proud of: the kiddie wading pool just off the outfield that
she had re-filled this year for the price of one outfield sign, the picnic
tables along the concourse she had installed, the staff members spaced out along
the concourse acting as de facto ushers and concierge.Knichel remembers putting
seats together minutes before the gates opened for the first-ever Blue Crabs
game.Now, Regency Furniture Stadium, which shares a parking lot with a metro bus
stop and whose concrete is chipped and siding is starting to peel, is the place
she doesnt want to leave.She knows this ballpark better than everyone,
Wohlenhaus said.This, Knichel said, is a place thats very special to me.On this
particular Saturday, Knichel is standing along the third-base concourse. People
started lining up outside the gates well before they opened, and theres not a
rain cloud in sight. Today will be a good day.The Blue Crabs averaged about
3,500 in attendance in 2014 and 2015, good for the top 10 of independent league
baseball. On a good Saturday like today, the park might bring in 5,000 or
more.The chucks get some good use: just before the gates open, it turns out the
Blue Crabs are, as usual, one table short. So Knichel hustles down to the
clubhouse and helps haul the final table into position. When another vendor
requests some chairs, she ducks into a concourse closet and finds a few for
them.Shes not joking when she says she knows everybody -- dozens of people come
up to her to say hello and to chat with her for a few minutes during the game.
Theres the owner of the local Chick-Fil-A, a big sponsor; theres the guy who
runs a local haunted house; and Knichels mom scolding her for missing church two
Sundays in a row.Tonight is a good night, though. The stadium is full, and
Knichel is able to present a local charity with a check for more than $5,000.
Whats more, the Blue Crabs win 5-3. After the game, there are fireworks and a
party on the field. But its already 10 p.m. and most of the young families head
home.Knichel is still on the field, and good thing she wore her chucks. Some of
the fireworks from the postgame show blew onto the field, and somebody has to
pick them up. ' ' '
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