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It is self-evident that sports coaching begins and ends with positive visuals.
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Jarrod Washburn (as opposed to Hypothetical Player X) was ready to QUIT the game as he pitched in 2008.   That is not a state-of-mind that associates with peak performance.
Washburn is obviously in a vastly better state-of-mind in 2009.  His motivation is far better and, opaquely to sabermetricians I guess, this has correlated with peak performance.
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I don't know about you, but if it's me in Washburn's shoes, $50M is a factor in my motivation.  ...there might be a Yogi in Tibet somewhere who doesn't care much about a $50M contract, but the rest of us care about money very much.
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I don't know if any of that is sabermetric, but it is all self-evidently true.  :- )