After three years of frustration for their hitters, especially David Wright, it looks like the Mets are ready to make some changes with the vast dimensions at Citi Field. Why a team with power hitters would build an overly-friendly pitchers' ballpark with a 16-foot-high wall in left field or a 415-foot alley in right-center is anyone's guess but this place was hardly well thought out. Remember, it's an ode to Ebbets Field and it took two years before there was a Mets museum.
First-year General Manager Sandy Alderson admitted last week in St. Louis that he sees the problems the Mets are having with the park. Although they had a winning home record in their first two years, they went into the weekend just 31-44 at home this year -- but 43-38 on the road.
"We're not looking for an advantage with respect to home runs versus visitors' home runs [the Mets have 45, the visitors 54]," Alderson said. "At the same time, I think there is some sense that the park is a little more overwhelming to a team that spends half its time there as opposed to a team that comes in for three games and doesn't really have to alter an approach or think about it too much and leaves."
The Mets entered with the weekend with 58 homers on the road and 45 at home but with batting averages (.265/.263) and slugging percentages (.390/.391) nearly identical. Wright was at .268 with nine homers on the road and .242 with just five at home. There seems to be more of a psychological than statistical impact.
"It's very difficult to play here if you're an offensive player," manager Terry Collins said last month. "Especially if you're a guy who's supposed to be driving in runs. It's a tough place to play. If there are some adjustments made, I think that would help. I think it would certainly help to get some of our guys to relax."
Wright has never really complained about the ballpark, but regular Mets watchers know his frustration. Opposing players have often talked about chatting with him on the field when their long drives die in the alleys or fail to clear the wall.
"If I'm an owner, I'm not going to build a park specific to one or two players. It's just not the way it should work," Wright told ESPNNY.com last week. "They spent a lot of money building that ballpark, they should get what they want out of it.
"One of the things that played to my strength at Shea was being able to drive the ball to right-center. You've really got to hit it at Citi Field to get it out there. It's obviously welcome because I'm not great at pulling the ball with a lot of power. Most of my power comes from gap to gap. Obviously if they change the dimensions as has been kind of hinted, I don't think that could do anything but help my strengths."
Why has Wright been such a good soldier?
"I understand what my job is. And my job is to go out there and try to play third base," Wright said. "I really always thought you've got to have that separation of powers. I shouldn't be going, telling Terry [Collins] how to manage. I shouldn't go tell the front office or ownership what changes to make to the park. I think there's got to be that division of powers. I have never gone and said anything about changes, or wanting changes, or needing changes."
You wonder why teams build parks that are so big and have to change them lately. The Tigers moved in fences at Comerica Park in 2003 after three years, and the Padres made changes to Petco Park after just one season in 2006. There are rumblings the Twins may do something to make Target Field more hitter-friendly as well after two seasons outside.
The Mets haven't had a 30-home run season since moving into Citi Field. If they had money -- which we know they don't -- good luck getting a power hitter to agree to come.
Dirt devil
Blue Jays third baseman Brett Lawrie saw his season end a week early Wednesday when he suffered a broken finger in batting practice. Last week, prior to the series against the Yankees, Lawrie got plenty of air time in Toronto for taking some dirt out of an envelope and spreading it around third base.
As it turns out, the British Columbia native took the dirt from the mound of the then-SkyDome as a child in the early 1990s when he was on the field for a pitch, hit and run competition and kept it at his parents' house for motivation, always promising to return it when he made the big leagues.
Lawrie did just that this season following a trade with the Brewers and returned it at the spot of his current position.
Ozzie on Obama
White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen on his tenuous contract status: "So I want an extension? So what? Everybody does. It's not just me. Everybody wants to know what's going on. That's a normal thing in life. That's why the President wants to run again for President. He wants more years. Obama wants an extension, too. ... If I was Obama, I wouldn't want an extension."
Triple-A title talk
Aside from needing a new name, I still wish the Triple-A National Championship Game was more than a winner-take-all showdown. Baseball isn't meant to be one game. The concept of the old Triple-A World Series, the best-of-five affair the Bisons lost to New Orleans in 1998 in Las Vegas, was the way to go but it simply stretched the season too long and parent clubs didn't want to support it.
Columbus won its second straight Triple-A title Tuesday, posting an 8-3 win over Omaha in Albuquerque. The game had been played for five years in Oklahoma City and will now move around, likely alternating between the International League and Pacific Coast League. It will make its IL debut next year in Durham. You would think the IL would want to get the Bisons in on this one at some point down the road.
Numerology
The Elias Sports Bureau and ESPN.com did some incredible collaborating last week. To wit:
* The Phillies are the first team in history to clinch a division and then embark on a six-game losing streak the next day. Yikes.
* The Indians were once 30-15 and had a seven-game lead in the AL Central. If they don't finish above .500, it will mark just the third in history -- and first time since 1940 -- a team won at least 30 of its first 45 and didn't have a winning record.
* The Pirates entered the weekend 16-40 after hitting the 100-game mark in first place at 53-47. That's the worst record ever for any team leading a division after 100 games.
* The Blue Jays won their home finale Thursday over the Angels on Edwin Encarnacion's walk-off homer in the 12th. The 4-3 win gave Toronto an 11-0 record in home extra-inning games -- the first time since 1920 a team was perfect in overtime at home with at least 10 wins.
* Contrast that with the Yankees, who are 4-10 overall in extras this year, the worst winning percentage in the AL and third-worst in their history behind 1933 (1-9, .100) and 1949 (3-9, .250).
Around the horn
* Red Sox in September entering Saturday: 4-0 when they score 12 or more runs -- and 1-16 when they don't.
* Now that the Astros have lost 100 games for the first time in their 49-year history, the only teams left without a 100-loss season are the Rockies (established in 1993) and the Angels (who date to 1961).
* Lehigh Valley, the Phillies' top club, led the minors in attendance for the second straight year at 9,249 a game. The Bisons were seventh in the International League at 7,794 -- but a healthy 11th overall in the minors. The four non-IL teams ahead of them were Sacramento, Round Rock and Albuquerque of the Pacific Coast League and Class A Dayton of the Midwest League.
eosemail:
mharrington@buffnews.com
mharrington@buffnews.com
No comments:
Post a Comment