John Kruk to me has made Baseball Tonight on ESPN fun to watch. I like to hear what he says and doesn't say sometimes. He doesn't try and sugar coat things, he just says it like it is.

Kruk has a good piece asking why more ex-players aren't working in baseball. The most important thing he talks about is team chemistry.

What I'm saying is that most of these guys focus too much on talent, and there's so much more to playing the game than talent.

There's the rigors of playing a whole season. How a guy handles failure in front of 35,000 people. How he fits in with the team.

Now love them or hate them, the Yankees do this better than anyone. And no, it's not because of George Steinbrenner's checkbook.

They don't bring in anyone that the current roster doesn't want. When they traded for Roger Clemens, they asked Derek Jeter what he thought. When they got A-Rod, you better believe they talked to Jeter again, third base or no third base. Why just Jeter? Because that's who they are building the team around, and he speaks for everyone. He's been around long enough to know who is going to work in this clubhouse.

I am a huge Arizona Wildcats Basketball fan from all my years growing up in Arizona, and the one single reason Lute Olson fields a top notch team every year is because during the recruiting process he lets the potential recruit hang out with his current players. Those players then report back to Lute Olsen and he asks them how he would fit in with the current team. Olsen has passed on quite a few Blue Chip high schoolers because his current roster simply did not like the person for whatever reason.

I believe a team that plays together is better than a team that plays like a bunch of individuals. Even if the team that plays like individuals is considered superior. Ask the Detroit Pistons how playing like a team can triumph over the star studded lineup of individuals the Lakers put on the court.