Our friend, Adam Rubin, of the New York Daily News, reports about some ideas interim manager, Jerry Manuel is implementing, which I agree with.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2008/06/18/2008-06-18_jerry_manuel_pitches_in_to_help_david_wr.html
Rubin's full article, "Jerry Manuel pitches in to help David Wright's hitting," is at the Daily News web site, portions of his article are below...
Manuel spent his second afternoon as interim manager working David Wright to near-exhaustion. Roughly 4-1/2 hours before Wednesday night's first pitch, Manuel rapidly fired balls to the plate during a session that lasted three times longer than a typical early workout by Wright's estimate.
It paid off, as Wright delivered the game-tying single in the ninth inning off Francisco Rodriguez, driving in Reyes with his third run of the game. That allowed Damion Easley to win it, 5-4, with a homer in the 10th.
The extra tutoring session's theme: becoming more selective at the plate.
(Hooray ! Completely agree. The Mets, overall, need to be more selective, draw more walks, and wait for pitches, that they feel are in areas that they can hit hard, and drive for extra bases.)
After beginning the session by having Wright swing at every pitch regardless of location, Manuel had Wright identify the part of the plate where he preferred to hit a pitch. Manuel placed a ball on the plate at that location, then had Wright identify the height of the pitch he preferred.
Manuel then returned to behind a protective pitcher's screen and forced Wright to increase his selectivity by having him swing at pitches only in the zone he identified.
( I love this ! First, by having him swing at every pitch, and realize how difficult it is to hit every pitch with authority, then, he forced Wright to swing at only pitches in his comfort zone, so Wright could see how much better his swings, contact, and power, would be.)
The other early invitee was Brian Schneider, who repeated that process as hitting coach Howard Johnson pitched.
(Great job ! Keep repeating this process with all of the Mets' hitters.)
As for the session, Wright concluded: "Jerry wants to be involved offensively, defensively, pitching-wise. So it's good to hear input from a guy that's obviously been around the game for awhile. Jerry tries to simplify everything. It's obviously easier said than done, but his drills work on simplifying the game."
LESS MANUEL LABOR: Manuel said he intends to rest Carlos Beltran, Reyes and Wright more than predecessor Willie Randolph, but suggested the days off would ideally be limited to the road. That way, Manuel reasoned, fans at Shea can see their favorite players.
(Great idea. They need rest, but, Mets' fans spend a lot of money to see games at Shea. They want to see the better players, and an increased probability of a win, in a game they're attending. Mike Piazza would frequently be rested for Saturday or Sunday day games, following a night game, the day before. Shea customers would complain that they wanted to see day games, with their children, and see the wildly popular Piazza play, in person.)
2 comments:
Many rumors/accounts, as well as NY radio is stating that Manuel told Reyes he was going to go Gangsta' on him, stab him on the field, etc.
A big bunch of nothing being made into a huge ordeal. Manuel was tongue-in-cheek. After Willie, I think the press corps has forgotten humor.
My jury is still out on Manuel, but I do like how when he removed Reyes from the game Tuesday, he showed who was in charge. I also liked Reyes' passion, although he was immature. I wish all the Mets showed that passion. Manuel appears to be real cerebral, and that will be a big plus for this team; think about what you're doing and what you are going to do...
I can totally relate to the last paragraph. I can't tell you how many afternoon games I would attend with my family only to find Metal Mike out of the line-up to be rested. It drove me nuts. Rest the guys on the road trip and during the week. Let em play all weekend long for the fans who come out once in a while to see the special guys.
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