Coaching staff 2011

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

And the Mets confirm.

I know nothing about him, save his having been a Dodger scout at one point, but "Debus" sounds like the booger-eater in your second-grade class.

[metirish]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: And the Mets confirm. I know nothing about him, save his having been a Dodger scout at one point, but "Debus" sounds like the booger-eater in your second-grade class.

What really does the bullpen coach do?, organize parties and shit?

[Benjamin Grimm]

There was a pretty informative in-game interview a few seasons ago when Gary Cohen asked those questions of Guy Conti.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I've been a Guy Conti fan ever since.

[metirish]

As yes , good ole Guy....used to look like he was chewing rocks giving those interviews.

[Frayed Knot]

metirish wrote: From Heyman, Mets will hire Debus(bullpen) , Mookie(first) to join Hudgens, Oberkfell, Wharton and Hale.

So are there any Spanish speakers in that group?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Matthew Cerrone reports on a conference call Mets coaches had with reporters.

• Regarding his hitting philosophy Hudgens said the key to winning games is getting on base.
• Regarding Citi Field and the difficulty of hitting home runs in that ballpark, Hudgens said the ability to hit home runs has more to do with putting a good swing on the ball.
• Hudgens really isn�t familiar with any of the Mets hitters, except Josh Thole. He will watch video and prepare for Spring Training, and get to know the hitters in February and March.
• Regarding a hitters approach, their energy level and being down last year, Hudgens said hitting is very mental, and once they get on a decent roll, their confidence will rise � confidence is huge.
• Oberkfell has a good relationship with Collins, and thought he was �unbelievable� during Spring Training last year. He says Collins is organized, and is a no-nonsense guy.
• Oberkfell thinks the difference in personality between him and Collins is great, although he admits there are plenty of times he will get riled up. He feels he will work very well with Collins as they both know the organization very well.
• Collins says Oberkfell will be able to calm him down when he gets angry.
• Collins said the players in Buffalo always looked forward to playing for Oberkfell, and �that meant a lot� when it came to adding him to the staff.
• Oberkfell was one of the first people Collins thought of for his coaching staff.
• Collins says he hasn�t defined the individual roles as of yet. He feels if any coach at anytime sees something which needs to be addressed, even if it is outside of their role, it has to be brought up. There will be no hard feelings, and the problem will be dealt with.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Matthew Cerrone reports on a conference call Mets coaches had with reporters. Regarding his hitting philosophy Hudgens said the key to winning games is getting on base.

This is great to hear/read ... a welcome and stark contrast to Omar's:

"On Base Percentage? We don't need to get on base to win any games. You know what I'm sayin?" quote and philosophy.

• Regarding Citi Field and the difficulty of hitting home runs in that ballpark, Hudgens said the ability to hit home runs has more to do with putting a good swing on the ball.be brought up. There will be no hard feelings, and the problem will be dealt with.

Putting a good swing on the ball is one factor, for sure. But erecting outfield fences that are 10 or more feet farther from home plate and at least eight feet higher than the previous fences is also a factor. A significant other factor. If Hudgens thinks otherwise, he's either full of shit, or misinformed.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Or merely indifferently paraphrased by Cerrone.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Edgy DC wrote: Or merely indifferently paraphrased by Cerrone.

Yeah, I suppose. Unless that's what Hudgens meant to say.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Adam Rubin frames it all a little differently.

Hudgens, who actually managed Josh Thole in winter ball last offseason with Caracas, said he is not going to go over-the-top preaching walks. More so, it will be about plate discipline. "I think there's a perception there of what type of philosophy we'll have," Hudgens said. "But the main thing to win games is you have to get on base. Whatever the philosophy is, whatever the type of hitter it is, we've got to have a good approach. The thing we're going to teach -- and demand, really, of the players, and get also their input [on] -- is what it's going to take for us to win ballgames and what is it going to take for us to get on base and have a good approach at the plate. Not giving at-bats away. Make fewer easy outs. Make the opposing pitcher work. How we can develop a good strike zone? How do we learn our strengths? There are a whole lot of things that go into it. But the bottom line is getting a good pitch to hit and staying aggressive. We don't want these guys to be unaggressive, looking for walks. I'll very rarely, if ever, talk about walks. But the philosophy is to be aggressive -- really under control -- and knowing your strike zone and knowing your strengths." Hudgens on Citi Field's spaciousness and the Mets' recent lack of homers: "I don't think we need to worry about hitting home runs. That's something that comes with good swings."

IOW, walks and home runs are the end result of good process, not the thing to necessarily take conscious aim of.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Bobby Kielty talking, backs that up:

"I liked 'Hudge' a lot. He was a real easy to get along with. He knows the game really well. I had a really good experience with Hudge. He was an awesome guy -- overall just a really quality individual. He was very available to work with. All the hitters really respected him and liked him."

Is he, like, a maniac about walks?

"He's not. He's going to take the player and pretty much what he's good at, he's going to try to make sure he's performing the way he performs. I don't think he was ever about taking a player and making him a guy who is going to go up there and walk -- a guy who is going to go up there and take pitches. From what I remember, he always was about being aggressive and finding the pitch that you're looking for. If you don't see it, you take it, and that kind of works into walks. That was his whole kind of thing -- when you get pitches to hit, we're not going to go up there taking them. That's what I saw from him. ... He wasn't going to go change somebody. He was going to let them do their thing, and if they start struggling, he might bring some things up. But he wasn't a guy who has one certain philosophy. He was willing to work on what guys needed to work on."

Kielty was briefly a 2009 Buff Bison and possible Met callup but his knee wasn't cooperating, and he went in for the microfracture surgery. He's had good platoon splits in his career and is again looking for work and I wouldn't be surprised to see him Met-up again in 2011, if not for the Mets already being at their quota of microfracture rehabbers.

[batmagadanleadoff]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: Adam Rubin frames it all a little differently. Hudgens on Citi Field's spaciousness and the Mets' recent lack of homers: "I don't think we need to worry about hitting home runs. That's something that comes with good swings." IOW, walks and home runs are the end result of good process, not the thing to necessarily take conscious aim of.

But a player could generate a good swing, a desirable swing, ... the kind of good, desirable swing that would've sent the ball traveling over the Shea outfield fence for a HR ... and that same swing and contact will result in an out at Citi Field, a significant number of times.

[Vic Sage]

But a player could generate a good swing, a desirable swing, ... the kind of good, desirable swing that would've sent the ball traveling over the Shea outfield fence for a HR ... and that same swing and contact will result in an out at Citi Field, a significant number of times.

...or a double or triple off the wall; and HRs on the road.

I don't think you tailor your swing to your park. You only play 1/2 your games there, and a good swing is a good swing, and will result in good contact more often than not, which will often result in production. Screwing with the swing, however, because your TRYING to hit HR in a big park, or trying to avoid putting it in the air, or whatever, is far more problematic.

I don't think the coach is saying anything particularly controversial here.

[Guest Edgy DC]

That's where I'm at.