Having hit the fewest "HR's" in the majors last season, the Mets' brass came up with one solution, cut the Center Field fence in half....hold your applause please. They also decided that adding a power hitter like Jason Bay was also a good first step.
But what else can an organization do to help it's team increase it's power?
Recently, Rob Neyer blogged about the Mets attempting to "pull back from opposite-field hitting"...and to focus more on pulling the ball. This seems to be a lot to ask of one team.....wait for it, now let the applause pour in.
The focus, however, should be on the players staying healthy and getting used to playing at Citi Field. The winds, the outfield walls, the odd dimensions and the obvious uncomfortableness of playing in a new place, coupled with all of the injuries, all seemed to contribute to the Mets lack of power last season. Pushing players to pull the ball more, in this bloggers mind, could have an adverse effect on how they approach hitting all together. It could put more pressure on the hitters to try different things, while they are returning from injuries and attempting to figure out Citi Field. Howard Johnson, the Mets hitting coach and former hard-hitting third baseman, feels that there needs to be a change in how aggressive the hitters are going to be. That is an understatement Ho-Jo!
Johnson said, "It would be like in football, and all you do is try to complete five-yard passes. You have to stretch the field at some point." Thank you Ho-Jo for explaining that, people have been running around, all very confused about how the NFL compares to hitting in the Major Leagues. Hopefully, Ho-Jo can make an impact on the players. Hopefully he is helping them hit for average as well, so that when this "surge" of power miraculously appears, there will be guys on base to score more then the one run the Mets were used to last season.
If the pitchers behind Johan Santana somehow come alive and execute, the Mets hitters should be more relaxed and aggressive at the plate. There are so many factors involved, when it comes to re-tooling an organization that has just gone through a serious drought. All the Mets fan around the world are hoping that the coaches, managers, trainers and players that have been put into place are going to (pun intended) "step up to the plate".
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