Thanks to Matt Cerrone from Metsblog we get the following interview with Keith Hernandez concerning mostly David Wright.
Q&A: with Keith Hernandez about David Wright
“Sure, when he connects and hits it perfect it’s going to go out – and maybe it won’t in Citi Field. But, there is such a big margin of error now in his swing that he doesn’t catch up with fastball and he hits fly balls. He’s got to do something to break that habit.”
Yup that pretty much sums up Wright’s struggles. What I think we get too caught up in though is that while Wright has not produced a slash line like 2008 he did end up with 29 HR, 103 RBI, 19 steals, 131 OPS+ in 157 games.
75 comments
tkfj2
5/18/2011-10:38am at 10:38 am (UTC -4)
It seems rational to me that a good amount of his struggles lately have to do with the injury.
We all know that he is still going to be a big K guy, because he has been the past few years with a good back, but he did have a couple of hot streaks early in the season prior to an injury.
Bobby O pointed out that Wright’s swing incorporates the back alot, so I do expect a better version of David when he makes his way into the lineup again, whenever that is.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-11:24am at 11:24 am (UTC -4)
Everyone’s an arm chair batting expert these days, so it seems.
Keith made an interesting point though about different batters and their styles. You can’t force them all into a cookie cutter batting stance. What works for one, might not for another.
I’m curious though what all those ‘bad habits the past couple’ of years are about. Is Keith referring to ‘home run happy’ and ‘hits the other way too much’?
Of course, never playing the game of baseball (just softball) I’d have to think it’s just not as easy as moving up on the plate. Back issues aside, he definitely needs to make some adjustments though. Once his back does heal, I’ll be looking for him to put up the type of line he did last year.
TRS86
5/18/2011-11:29am at 11:29 am (UTC -4)
I think those bad habits mostly include the upper cut swing, the going the other way too much, the bailing out on outside pitches and the toe-tap. Based on what I have heard and read Keith say.
stickguy
5/18/2011-11:41am at 11:41 am (UTC -4)
of course you can’t force guys to chance to something uncomfortable, or that they can’t handle.
To me, the bigger issue with Wright is that he used to be really good, and has changed into something that seems worse (whether from age, injury, or trying to conciously become a different player).
so what keeps getting pointed out is, why has he become what he is vs. what he used to be, and why doesn’t he just go back to the former version?
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-11:56am at 11:56 am (UTC -4)
It can’t be age, it just can’t. He’s a kid for crying out loud, one that was 2 years younger when this problem started. Jeeze, is the window for a ML ball player like 2 years now? LOL
I don’t know why he doesn’t go back to what worked when he first came up. It’s either he had to make adjustments, b/c the pitchers were making adjustments to him or….he was getting far better pitches to hit ’cause pitching around Wright to have to then face Delgado then Beltran was not going to work.
TRS86
5/18/2011-12:33pm at 12:33 pm (UTC -4)
It’s not just a “just go back to what you were doing” situation. The pitchers now and how they are pitching him are not the same as they used to be either.
stickguy
5/18/2011-12:42pm at 12:42 pm (UTC -4)
but his old style/approach was much more suited for handling the outside stuff. Plus he seemed to be less “guessy” .
would think that he could have adjusted to different pitching approaches without trashing a beautiful swing and good control for a giant hack attack.
My WAG is that he felt pressure to hit more HRs (though he seemed to hit plenty and was driving in runs) when the big guy went down.
probably got worse then in Citi when the HRs weren’t coming. And who the hell knows what it did to him when he was the only viable bat in the middle of the lineup for extended periods of time.
TRS86
5/18/2011-12:47pm at 12:47 pm (UTC -4)
Again, it’s so long ago I am not sure we or he remembers the slight mechanical changes that he has made or the adjustments pitchers have made. There is no reset button.
gategem
5/18/2011-12:14pm at 12:14 pm (UTC -4)
I have a theory (opinion) that unfortunately I can’t prove but nonetheless seems plausible. I believe that the vastness of the ballpark has effected both Wright’s and especially Bay’s approach at the plate. Now why are the numbers on the road not better? Very simple once you adapt bad habits to cope with playing all those games at home in a huge ballpark you cannot rid yourself of these habits when you go on the road.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-12:20pm at 12:20 pm (UTC -4)
I very much agree with that last statement. I’ve heard that said numerous times. The experts claim it’s not easy, or almost impossible, to have 2 totally different approaches on the road and at home.
TRS86
5/18/2011-12:31pm at 12:31 pm (UTC -4)
Yet again Bay’s numbers at home are MUCH better than on the road. At this point who would not take an .850 OPS from Bay?
It’s not the point that they are not “better” on the road it’s that they are tremendously WORSE on the road.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-12:38pm at 12:38 pm (UTC -4)
Just read about Harmon Killebrew’s passing. R.I.P., Mr. Killebrew.
Now there’s an example of a power hitter I’d like to see on this team. I like Wright but he’s not a typical type power hitter, IMO. We really need someone to replace Delgado’s bat. Maybe Ike will be that someone.
TRS86
5/18/2011-12:40pm at 12:40 pm (UTC -4)
Could be. Honestly Beltran is it’s just we have came to expect so much more than just the HR from him.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-12:48pm at 12:48 pm (UTC -4)
Yes, that with the fact that Beltran missed a full year, if you add it all up, and everyone know’s where just crossing our fingers his knees hold up for this first half.
Wright, Delgado, Beltran with Reyes at the top of the order was one fine lineup back in the day.
Reyes, Wright, Beltran and Ike isn’t too shabby but Bay – who was supposed to be more like Delgado than Beltran, is never going to come close. And Beltran is not long for a Met uniform.
Would make my day if FMart starts showing something up here once and for all and can be that starting RF next year.
stickguy
5/18/2011-12:47pm at 12:47 pm (UTC -4)
I think Ike was doing it before out eyes, until DW ran him over. Hopefully he is good to go after the 15 days, and his bat does not lose anything while he is gone.
bay is the damned anchor just killing the lineup. If he was close to his last year in Boston, they would score a ton of runs.
hopefully by June 1 Wright, pagan and Davis are back. then what do you do?
Reyes, murphy/turner, wright, beltran, davis, bay, pagan, thole? Pagan in the 2 hole (but not until he proves he can hit again!) and 2B 7th?
now if Bay was crushing, you actually have a log jam for 3-5. with someone really good pushed down to 6th. Or even the ability to hit someone like wright 2nd!
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-12:51pm at 12:51 pm (UTC -4)
Even Rubin, who predicted 20 HRs for Ike at the beginning of the season has admitted he may need to alter his opinion of him after seeing the first 5 weeks or so this year.
If Ike can put up a solid 30 HRs every year, without striking out too much, taking his walks and put up about a .280 average – coupled with his superior defense at 1st I’d say we’ve got ourselves a fine first baseman for years to come.
Now if he would only start hitting lefties a little better……
TRS86
5/18/2011-12:51pm at 12:51 pm (UTC -4)
Come on Wright’s got a broken back, lets leave him alone for Davis getting in his way.
As for Bay, if he is hitting 6th he is not really anchoring the team down that much. Obviously we would love to see the Bay at home go into that Bay on the road and see an OPS at least in the .800′s. Yet if Reyes, Pagan, Wright, Beltran, Davis can’t get it done we are in trouble anyway.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-1:13pm at 1:13 pm (UTC -4)
O.K., I don’t know what this means:
‘Come on Wright’s got a broken back, lets leave him alone for Davis getting in his way.’
I was getting on Wright. I was just commenting that I don’t think Ike and Wright are the same type hitters and as far as power, I see Ike as a possible power hitter more so than Wright.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-1:14pm at 1:14 pm (UTC -4)
Should have read: ‘WASN’T getting on Wright’…..
TRS86
5/18/2011-1:15pm at 1:15 pm (UTC -4)
LOL, I was getting on Stick for his continuing to “blame” Wright for Ike’s injury.
stickguy
5/18/2011-1:35pm at 1:35 pm (UTC -4)
I wasn’t blaming wright for it. Just noting that Ike was out due to the altercation.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-1:14pm at 1:14 pm (UTC -4)
lol..never mind. I see you were probably responding to Stick. My bad.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-12:55pm at 12:55 pm (UTC -4)
There won’t be much of a logjam b/c just about the time Wright and Ike return, we’ll be living on borrowed time with Beltran’s remaining days.
I’ve just about giving up on Bay. I predict he’s going to have a real down year in 2011. I can only hope he returns to somewhat of a normal year for him next year. And isn’t next year the last year on this contract? If that ‘walk year’ nonsense can be taken for gospel, here’s hoping we get some production from him in ’12.
stickguy
5/18/2011-12:59pm at 12:59 pm (UTC -4)
2 more years guaranteed (through 2013 season) I believe. then a vesting option for 2014 based on either ABs or plate appearances (I think it is 600 in 2013, or 500 in 2012 and 2013).
the option won’t be a problem, since if he keeps playing like this, he will at best be a platoon guy by then!
TRS86
5/18/2011-1:09pm at 1:09 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah option is not a big one at all. The hope is that he can rebound this year and that there is someone to take his place to justify eating a large chunk of salary to trade him this off-season.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-1:11pm at 1:11 pm (UTC -4)
Dang, I don’t know why I thought that was a 3 yr contract.
stickguy
5/18/2011-1:36pm at 1:36 pm (UTC -4)
wishful thinking. Seems like Omar was bidding against himself again, since no other teams were even vaguely rumored to be in the running. and not at 4/5 years.
TRS86
5/18/2011-1:43pm at 1:43 pm (UTC -4)
I laugh at the idea of GM’s bidding against themselves. It’s not like they just say ah hell just throw that extra year in. Of course they thought someone was going to pull the trigger, just because we don’t read about it does not mean they don’t exist. Only reason I could think of a team “drastically” overpaying the next offer would be if you are Washington and no one in their right mind wants to sign a long-term deal with you.
Most likely another team was offering 4 years and Bay came back with the option. Could have even been the Redsox offering him 3 years but a lock at a 4th year option. That might still be enough for Bay to use as leverage.
gategem
5/18/2011-2:25pm at 2:25 pm (UTC -4)
Aside from the fact that Bay may be more comfortable at home you have to breakdown the type of hits at home and on the road. For example in a smaller ballpark the outfielders play shallower and are spaced closer together than in a large park. Thus balls that fall in at home my be caught on the road. It’s also possible that subconsciously Bay is trying too hard to hit homeruns on the road but playing in Citi he has lost his homerun swing as he adapted to Citi so he performs poorly on the road.
TRS86
5/18/2011-2:32pm at 2:32 pm (UTC -4)
Again I guess it’s possible but then that would mean that we should see a difference in his swings home and away. Anyone got something on that?
gategem
5/18/2011-2:48pm at 2:48 pm (UTC -4)
When I was a mere tyke I followed the Brooklyn Dodgers. Duke Snider developed a swing that was perfect for Ebbets Field. Right field was a stones throw from the plate but there was this huge wall that you had to hit it over. Snider would hit these moon shots that would end up on, I think, Bedford Avenue. When the Dodgers moved to LA they initially played in the LA Coliseum and tried to adapt it for baseball. They constructed this fence in leftfield to compensate for it being a popup away from home plate but right field was death valley. This totally destroyed the Duke who was never more a threat at the plate.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-12:43pm at 12:43 pm (UTC -4)
LOL…so when did the lineup for the Mets, when facing a lefty, be termed the ‘Turner and Hooch’ lineup? I guess Hooch stands for Paulino?
DPLennon: Turner and Hooch #Mets lineup: Reyes-SS, Turner-3B, Beltran-RF, Bay-LF, Murphy-1B, Paulino-C, Hairston-CF, Tejada-2B, Niese-LHP
I don’t like either Hairston or Harris’s defense in CF. Would just assume see Pridie out there. None of them can really hit, but Pridie’s defense is better.
njstuckintx
5/18/2011-12:46pm at 12:46 pm (UTC -4)
What an ugly lineup…
TRS86
5/18/2011-12:48pm at 12:48 pm (UTC -4)
Better get used to it, not much they could do other than Pridie for Hairston.
Prismo
5/18/2011-12:49pm at 12:49 pm (UTC -4)
FMart?
stickguy
5/18/2011-12:56pm at 12:56 pm (UTC -4)
they seem to think he can’t play CF at this point, but I suspect he could do just as good a job as Hairston.
but he is lefty, and the rules say, he can’t start vs. a LHSP. otherwise Pridie would be in.
njstuckintx
5/18/2011-1:05pm at 1:05 pm (UTC -4)
Put Bay in CF. He’s done it before. Fmart in Right, Bay in Center, somebody with bat in LF? Evans? It’s like trying to polish up a turd here. Either way, you still have a turd, shiny or not.
TRS86
5/18/2011-1:06pm at 1:06 pm (UTC -4)
Already said they will NOT put him in CF. He’s just not very good there.
Guys they have to think about defense too. It’s not JUST about offense. So while yeah you could slide Evans in at 3B or LF and MAYBE have a stronger offense your defense is taking a BIG hit.
stickguy
5/18/2011-12:55pm at 12:55 pm (UTC -4)
Pray for more rain. it is terrible down south jersey, and I assume NY is getting the same. last night however was fine, I even got the lawn mowed!
I agree MF about CF. hairston is worthless at bat, and not that good in the field. Just let Pridie go. If you aren’t likely to get much better offense, might as well skip handedness (I know JC is slavish to it though) and go with the better glove.
TRS86
5/18/2011-1:07pm at 1:07 pm (UTC -4)
Honestly they have to give Hariston some playing time to see if they need to just DFA him. IF he does not start hitting LH pitching then when Ike/Pagan or Wright comes back he’s gone.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-1:18pm at 1:18 pm (UTC -4)
Speaking of Pagan, I heard a couple of days ago he was starting ‘baseball activities’. Haven’t heard anything since.
I know he got off to a slow start but I’d like to see him back sooner rather than later. I’d also like to see Harris gone sooner rather than later. I predict he’s the next casualty in the Alderson mindset of ‘if you’re not getting the job done, yur atta here’.
TRS86
5/18/2011-1:22pm at 1:22 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, one would think that Pridie has the inside track to replace Harris. Only problem is that Harris can also stand at 3B and 2B.
stickguy
5/18/2011-1:32pm at 1:32 pm (UTC -4)
well, assume that ike, wright and pagan come back 6/1. They could replace hairston, harris and F mart. Murphy goes back to startin 2B
that leaves bench as:
Evans, turner, catcher, pridie, tejada.
that is 2 guys that play 3rd, 2 guys that play 2nd, 2 guys that play short. Evans also plays corner OF and backs up 1B. Murphy can play all over.
still only 1 lefty (unless Turner starts on a given day), but looks way better than what we got now (or what they had before the injuries hit).
TRS86
5/18/2011-1:39pm at 1:39 pm (UTC -4)
Evans has to prove he can even produce up to Hairston’s numbers first. Also, not sure I want Tejada as a backup all year.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-1:48pm at 1:48 pm (UTC -4)
Who are the two that play SS on your list?
I know Tejada does. Is Turner the other one?
TRS86
5/18/2011-1:58pm at 1:58 pm (UTC -4)
Yeah, he has stood there some in the minors I think.
stickguy
5/18/2011-1:33pm at 1:33 pm (UTC -4)
the key point of course being they have no need for Harris to stand anywhere on the IF, so no need for Harris at all.
TRS86
5/18/2011-1:23pm at 1:23 pm (UTC -4)
As for Pagan, I think he and Ike both were headed to FLA to start rehab.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-1:24pm at 1:24 pm (UTC -4)
Guess who posted this?
1. Jose Reyes SS
2. Justin Turner 2B
3. Carlos Beltran RF
4. Jason Bay LF
5. Daniel Murphy 1B
6. Ronny Paulino C
7. Scott Hairston CF
8. Ruben Tejada 2B
9. Jon Niese LHP
**********************************
If you thought the lineup I pasted in above was bad, this one is even worse. Apparently, we’ve got no 3rd baseman tonight and 2 playing 2nd.
TRS86
5/18/2011-1:39pm at 1:39 pm (UTC -4)
Just easier that way, I guess with Niese pitching they expect a lot of shots down the 3rd baseline.
njstuckintx
5/18/2011-1:41pm at 1:41 pm (UTC -4)
It’s the extreme shift defensive alignment.
TRS86
5/18/2011-1:43pm at 1:43 pm (UTC -4)
I think you put an extra “F” in that sentence.
njstuckintx
5/18/2011-1:46pm at 1:46 pm (UTC -4)
Who needs defense when you can slug your way to victory!!!! oh wait…
Prismo
5/18/2011-1:49pm at 1:49 pm (UTC -4)
I heard our cleanup hitter is really good at bunting in late-inning clutch situations!
njstuckintx
5/18/2011-2:06pm at 2:06 pm (UTC -4)
They did it in Major League, the movie!
Prismo
5/18/2011-2:07pm at 2:07 pm (UTC -4)
You think that’s where Terry gathers his strategic knowledge?
njstuckintx
5/18/2011-2:09pm at 2:09 pm (UTC -4)
Cardboard cutout of Little Jeffy Wilpon in a banana hammock, covered by pieces of a 10K suit, taking pieces off for every loss… I could see it.
kingman 26
5/18/2011-1:49pm at 1:49 pm (UTC -4)
I really have contempt for Cerrone and Baron at this point.
They literally wallow and bathe in their mediocrity and wear their laziness like a badge of honor.
Cerrone left that post there all day with the “Darryl, Straw and Doc” or whatever headline.
Seriously, it is not funny anymore. He is a major corporate-sponsored entity, and he is such a sloppy frigin’ slug.
Prismo
5/18/2011-1:50pm at 1:50 pm (UTC -4)
But you have to admit, the sloppiness at MB reflects the sloppiness of the Mets organization amazingly well!
kingman 26
5/18/2011-1:56pm at 1:56 pm (UTC -4)
Well, I must say, I have been to a lot of Met games, and I never remember the lineup at Shea or Citi being posted with eight players or two guys playing the same position!!
Seriously—I am not talking about a spelling error, or an extra apostrophe here—how hard can it be to just have a nine-man lineup with one guy at each position!
And that headline with Darryl and Straw in it—I mean, these are things that are so frigin stupid they are unreal!
At this point, just as Cerrone CLEARLY constantly uses the phrase “from what I can gather” as a rebuke to the people who mock him for using it, I seriously think he leaves these errors posted to simply say “hey, I am mediocre and look at where I am—HAHA!!”
Prismo
5/18/2011-1:59pm at 1:59 pm (UTC -4)
“hey, I am mediocre and look at where I am—HAHA!!”
Not the worst argument in the world…
TRS86
5/18/2011-2:00pm at 2:00 pm (UTC -4)
He had two mishaps yesterday. The Darryl and Strawberry post and one other one.
post icon
YouTube: The great fan espace in Houston against Mets
By Matthew Cerrone on May 17, 2011, 2:11 pm
njstuckintx
5/18/2011-2:05pm at 2:05 pm (UTC -4)
They shot that fan in the parking lot, by the way. Don’t mess with Texas.
Ceetar
5/18/2011-2:08pm at 2:08 pm (UTC -4)
Actually, it happens all the time. I don’t remember the specific details, but the Mets themselves tweeted the lineup with a proofreading error and all the beat writers retweeted it.
There’s nothing wrong with using ‘from what I can gather’. it’s how he writes. Buster Olney always uses “heard this” one of the beat writers..Popper? throws “So there’s that” into many tweets.
This is the world we live in though. No longer does every piece of content go through a rigorous editting period, passed to someone else for review, approved by someone else before being sent to print.
kingman 26
5/18/2011-3:21pm at 3:21 pm (UTC -4)
It might be the world we live in, but it is still wrong and disappointing; I hate it.
We all really don’t HAVE to give in to mediocrity.
Cerrone constantly says he is a “writer” and he’s not, he’s a joke.
People at the level of Cerrone should be able to frigin spell and write, and if I had a nickel for every unnecessary apostrophe I see every day, I would be a retired millionaire by now.
When the hell did apostrophes become commonly used in plurals?
And “editting” is spelled “editing.”
Ceetar
5/18/2011-3:44pm at 3:44 pm (UTC -4)
yes. As i’ve pointed out before, I’m a bad speller and IE doesn’t seem to have a default spellcheck feature at work. Also, the performance of this website is historically poor and it’s giving me a real bad feedback delay that makes correcting typos tough.
They don’t/didn’t even teach grammar in NY State schools, at least on long island in the 90s.
There appears to be a difference between a ‘writer’ and a ‘blogger’. different sites have different focuses. Metsblog is mre about news and info, getting things out there, compared to say Faith and Fear in Flushing that’s about flowing prose and stories. You see a lot less errors on Greg’s site for obvious reasons.
mistakes like copy and pasting Turner’s name from an old post and forgetting to change 2b to 3b is sloppy, but the apostrophes and commas are likely hear to stay. More about content than style.
Ceetar
5/18/2011-3:45pm at 3:45 pm (UTC -4)
here to stay. ugh. I think it’s the shoutbox that’s causing the delay for me.
kingman 26
5/18/2011-3:47pm at 3:47 pm (UTC -4)
I understand Ceetar, and you are right.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-3:55pm at 3:55 pm (UTC -4)
Just an FYI on performance:
I’ve had no luck at all with getting this site to load in a timely manner using I.E. 7.0 (have not loaded I.E. 8.0).
I have absolutely no problem with this site on Firefox though.
Prismo
5/18/2011-4:02pm at 4:02 pm (UTC -4)
I was in grade school throughout the 90s in upstate NY and the education I received was *excellent*. I specifically remember an English teach in high school (who unfortunately has since passed) who emphasized the importance of grammar and it stuck with me ever since.
The only point in this comment is that one can indeed receive a top notch English education in the NY state public school system.
Ceetar
5/18/2011-4:17pm at 4:17 pm (UTC -4)
Well, i had one high school teacher that tried to teach a little grammar. But it was a senior english class (he also insisted we hand write an essay in cursive..) and most people were already tuned out and he kept it really simple. not much between sentance structure and that sort of thing. Most of what I’ve learned is from repetition and reading with the occasional looking things up on the internet, which of course doesn’t necessarily stick that well. Also learned some grammar from Italian class.
I’m not knocking the education system, I think I got a pretty good education and on par with many private schools like Chaminade, but some things do/did fall through the cracks, like grammar. Also, Phonics. I remember we had a phonics book for about two weeks, before it was scrapped. I’m pretty bad at pronouncing words sometimes. I prounced Stacey with a hard C until I was probably 14.
I don’t think there is a ‘right’ answer to this. (again, more talking the gist of things about content versus style over the obviously sloppy errors like not re-reading your post titles) This is one of those topics that’s quickly changing as the way information flows changes. Emoticons and shorthand and when it’s okay to abbreviate.
using IE7. normally use 8 but my work machine is fubar. I think i might just download chrome and just be less caring about people wondering if i’m goofing off or ‘working’.
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-8:17pm at 8:17 pm (UTC -4)
You all will get a kick out of this:
http://www.gamesotd.com/blog/3-matt-cerrone-vs-6-dave-lennon
He was a communications strategist before his full time gig at metsblog? Really?
metsfan4decades
5/18/2011-4:12pm at 4:12 pm (UTC -4)
Interesting:
AdamRubinESPNAdamRubinESPN: Jason Bay may soon move to No. 2 in lineup to offer him protection and try to jumpstart his bat, Terry Collins said.
Ceetar
5/18/2011-4:18pm at 4:18 pm (UTC -4)
better hurry before all the protection goes on the DL too. *sigh*
kistics
5/18/2011-4:41pm at 4:41 pm (UTC -4)
Now Terry can use Bay’s bunting ability in a legit way…