CitiField Dimensions

[Centerfield]

So we've had some time to digest the new dimensions. What do we think?

The Mets suck at hitting at home. Some of the splits are pretty bad. All of the Mets hitting prospects are struggling (Davis, Duda, Tejada, even D'Arnaud and Flores in small sample sizes). Does Citi have something to do with this?

On the other hand, the pitchers are doing well. Even borderline guys like Niese and Gee are performing better than we would have guessed. Mejia, Wheeler and Harvey all looked good. Do we risk this if we move fences in further?

During the Phillies series, I watched Wright, Duda and Murphy smash the ball out of the ballpark and thought about what numbers they would be putting up playing there. I think Murph would have an OPS in the 800's and Wright would be an MVP candidate.

I don't know. I don't think I have any organized thoughts on this one. Just speculating out loud.

[Ceetar]

I don't get worked up about them too much, huge or tiny, or fairish, good players/teams will tend to win wherever they play.

I think they're fine though, the moving in of the wall in LF particularly, where sometimes it'd steal a homer from guys that legitimately yanked one down the line but not quite hugging the line. Still plays a little big, but you don't really get as many "woah, I thought he crushed that" moments anymore. If there's any sort of letdown for players thinking they hit one and flying out, that's mostly alleviated without creating the opposite effect of pitchers thinking they had enough movement to keep a guy from squaring up on the ball and it leaving the park anyway.

[Edgy MD]

Either the fence in leftfield has to come in a few feet, or the fence on top of the fence has to be pushed back a few feet. Alserson specifically stated when announcing the original reconfiguration that the pullback catch was a key feature to baseball and fences should allow for them, but the current fence while shorter, don't allow for them because the Party City Deck railing fence interferes with the glove of the reaching player, and in fact sometimes leads to home runs clanking off the iron rail and 'sploding back toward the pursuing outfielders' face.

I don't know that the park is specifically hurting the team at home so much as the players are, and this year perhaps the schedule did, with the team maybe coming home flat after some weird trips, but that's not really here nor there. They could build a porch in right center just for Wright, with similar dimensions to Shea, but custom tailoring a park to suit a marquee player is really kinda a weak-o Yankees-signed-Winfield thing to do.

I hate the seats wrapping around to the foul line behind first and third base, but that's not gonna change.

[metsmarathon]

is there perhaps something about hte batters' eye that's masking the ball as pitchers deliver it? could this drive some of the difference?

interestingly, home vs away, the mets hitters have an identical bb/k rate, though lower rates of k's and bb's on the road.

[table:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]stat[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]home[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]away[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]bb%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]8.7%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]7.8%[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]k%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]23.2%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]21.4%[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]bb/k[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]0.37[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]0.37[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]babip[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]0.273[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k].309[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]gb/fb[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]1.09[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]1.38[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]ld%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]19.7%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]20.2%[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]gb%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]41.9%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]46.3%[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]fb%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]38.4%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]33.5%[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]iffb%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]11.2%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]9.4%[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]hr/fb[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]7.7%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]9.8%[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]ifh%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]4.3%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]8.3%[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][tr:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]buh%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]16.3%[/td:3rj5604k][td:3rj5604k]25.5%[/td:3rj5604k][/tr:3rj5604k][/table:3rj5604k]

i don't have the time right now to put up a table for hte pitchers, but their babip is higher on the road as well, 0.283 vs 0.307. interestingly, at home, the mets pitchers have a hr/fb% of 11.1% compared to 8.7% on the road.

which makes me believe the problem is in the approach to hitting at home vs on the road, either collecitvely, individually, or organizationally. one of them. or it's wickedly bad luck, or that they put their worse hitters in home games. that could be it too.

[Zvon]

Meh, we make a stadium designed for a Reyes type of player and then we let Reyes fly away. I get stuck right there.

[MFS62]

As long as they say they are committed to building a winner around (young) pitching, I have no problem if the current dimensions are slightly pitcher-friendly.

Later

[Edgy MD]

I think what we learned the second half of this year, though, is that, while sometimes superior pitching is exciting and invigorating, sometimes it just gets you really really long ties. And the strategy of playing until somebody screws up is really really stressful. We need some three-run innings.

[Ceetar]

Edgy MD wrote: I think what we learned the second half of this year, though, is that, while sometimes superior pitching is exciting and invigorating, sometimes it just gets you really really long ties. And the strategy of playing until somebody screws up is really really stressful. We need some three-run innings.

Just get solid quality guys more than trying to fit molds. Guys that don't make outs.

It's temping to say we need a slugging OFer, but that might not be as worthwhile for the Mets/Citi. I'd certainly rather a guy like Duda (as an example of one we have) who's gonna OBP while still being able to drive the ball even if it's not for 41 home runs than one we think is going to hit 40 and ends up hitting 24 with a .310 on base percentage.

[Lefty Specialist]

This. Lucas Duda would hit more home runs in a smaller park, but he'd still suck. The dimensions are okay now. What's needed are better players.