Ike has benefitted from Terry's slump management.
At one time, the word “slump” was verboten in the Mets’ clubhouse. A struggling hitter was said to be in a “funk” instead. It was meant to take the edge off a player’s hitting woes, to make is sound less negative than it was. Kind of like “Custodial Engineer” takes the edge off “Janitor.”
Calling it a “funk” really did nothing to help a player get out of a slump.
But these days, manager Terry Collins, hitting coach Dave Hudgens, and GM Sandy Alderson do much more to help a player out of a slump than simply using a nicer term. They have done a great job of bringing players back from what Keith Hernandez once called the “deep, dark forest.”
To use a cliche, they do it by putting struggling players in a position to succeed.
Ike Davis started the year in a miserable slump. Collins and the Mets knew they needed Ike to hit in order for their lineup to score runs. Collins began the road back by moving Davis down in the batting order. Instead of facing the pressure to drive in runs as a cleanup hitter, he was allowed to work out his swing in the number 7 hole. When that wasn’t enough, Collins sat Davis against left-handed pitchers. Davis had better numbers against righties, so he had a better chance to succeed if he didn’t face southpaws.
When that wasn’t enough, Collins and Alderson considered sending Davis to Triple-A Buffalo to break out of his slump. But they decided that it wasn’t the right move for Davis. Sometimes a demotion helps a player (ala Steve Trachsel), sometimes it does nothing (ala Gaby Sanchez of the Marlins). The brain trust felt it would would be more beneficial for Davis to remain on the big club.
All the while, Hudgens was making adjustments to Davis’s stance. Ike bent his knees more to make low pitches more accessible. At 6’4″, Davis had had trouble making contact with any pitch, especially offspeed stuff, below the knees. To help his timing, he also quieted his movement at the plate, and raised his hands a little higher.
The results have spoken for themselves. Davis had a .926 OPS in the month of June, after putting up a paltry .496 mark in May.
When Daniel Murphy went into a slump, Collins handled him much like he handled Davis. First, he moved him down in the order. Then he sat Daniel against lefties. Then Murphy came back on June 27th and hit his first two home runs of the year in one game. Since then, he has gone 8 for 18 with 3 doubles, 3 home runs, and 10 RBI.
Terry’s latest project is Kirk Nieuwenhuis. After a hot start, the league finally caught up to Kirk. Once again, Collins is sitting him against lefties, and keeping him out of the leadoff spot. On June 30th, he went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Will the slump-busting formula work again? The very early returns seem to suggest so.
Collins and his staff deserve a lot of credit for how they’ve managed struggling players. Some people wonder how big of a difference the manager makes on a team. This is an example how a manager can make a positive impact.
13 comments
SaltyGary
7/2/2012-12:16pm at 12:16 pm (UTC -4)
Good write up Paul. I was definitely not for being this patient with Ike, and they showed me why I don’t work in baseball.
That being said TC should not have sat Murph and Ike last night. I get putting Hairston in with Kirk slumping right now. Having Turner, Cedano, Nickeas in and the pitcher just destroys half the lineup. Kershaw is a great pitcher but Ike needs to start facing these guys. He doesn’t need the rest right now, rest is coming next week.
Stickguy
7/2/2012-12:30pm at 12:30 pm (UTC -4)
Ike needs to be in there for all 3 Phillies games, including both the lefties.
Paul Festa
7/2/2012-12:34pm at 12:34 pm (UTC -4)
I agree that Ike, at least, should have played last night.
srt
7/2/2012-12:38pm at 12:38 pm (UTC -4)
Ike should have played last night. If there’s some reason he needs a day off, Turner is not a defensive viable option at 1st base – IMO.
I want the A line-up out there against the Phillies in this upcoming series.
SaltyGary
7/2/2012-12:42pm at 12:42 pm (UTC -4)
The A-Line up should be out there every game for the rest of the season except for catcher when applicable. No sleep till ASG, with these two series against bad teams, they need to make a statement.
srt
7/2/2012-12:45pm at 12:45 pm (UTC -4)
Agree.
Platoons often work for some teams but platooning Ike with Turner is just a dumb idea.
IF should be set with Tejada back now.
Mr North Jersey
7/2/2012-12:37pm at 12:37 pm (UTC -4)
Good read and good observation Paul. Nicely done.
srt
7/2/2012-12:44pm at 12:44 pm (UTC -4)
I wasn’t enamored with sending Ike down, even when the slump stretched into 2 months. I was getting close if only for the fact that even if I didn’t believe sending him down to AAA would help much, the black hole his bat created in the line-up was starting to make a bigger difference.
Glad they stuck with the plan to leave him up here and work it out.
Don’t think I heard any noise about sending Murph down to triple A. Think they might have had a little more confidence in his bat coming out of it soon than Ike’s.
Kirk is a different story all together. He strikeout ratio in the minors was always a problem and it certainly didn’t get any better when he came up here. You could probably live with the Ks if he had some nice power against lefties as well as righties but that’ snot the case..
Due to injuries there was/is a need for him right now. Here’s hoping Hudgens can work on it with him at this level.
NJStuckinTX
7/2/2012-4:56pm at 4:56 pm (UTC -4)
I still think Ike should have been sent down. He was abysmal. He probably cost the team 3-4 games himself (if not more) this season. I’m certainly glad he’s turned it around (and Murph too), but Terry’s approach is not one that I agree with. I know he’s got the players back and gets them to hustle, but his in game management is not above average, his oddball RH/LH pitcher lineups are mind boggling and he’s loyal to his players to a fault. I’m glad he’s helped to change the culture, but at the end of the day, I don’t see Terry as a major impact to the team. His positives are counter-balanced by the negatives.
Stickguy
7/2/2012-5:22pm at 5:22 pm (UTC -4)
But Terry has 1 major plus.
He isn’t Jerry!
but i agree, that he giveth and taketh away. only time will tell (as in, if they are in the playoffs) if it was a net positive.
gategem
7/3/2012-8:59am at 8:59 am (UTC -4)
Paul, it’s an interesting article and effectively describes the Mets approach to hitting slumps. But honestly the Mets approach is not unique. The only thing that has changed over the years is the technology. It allows hitters to view their approach and swing comparing when they were successful versus the present and also allows them to break down their approach and swing. But many times the problem is not technical as much as it is mental and TC’s approach in taking pressure off the hitter has been a standard staple of managers dating back to a time even before I was born.
NJstuckinTX
7/3/2012-9:57am at 9:57 am (UTC -4)
Did they have video back then?
Stickguy
7/3/2012-10:31am at 10:31 am (UTC -4)
Video? Not sure they had baseball!