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Manuel Making Changes.

metirish Jun 21 2008 10:21 AM

Makes sense. ] Mets' Manuel streamlines batting practice BY DAVID LENNON | DENVER - Those wanting to get a glimpse of the Mets during batting practice at Shea Stadium might have to get to the ballpark a little earlier for the remainder of the season. One of the new plans of interim manager Jerry Manuel has been to shorten those pregame sessions in an effort to make them more efficient. Manuel says he wants to focus more on quality swings during BP rather than quantity. He's already supervised a couple of extra sessions in the early afternoon during the series in Anaheim and Friday at Coors Field. "That was something that we're trying to do as often as possible to get the bats going," Manuel said before Friday's game against the Rockies. "And I really think if we can get it going offensively, I really believe that we will appear to be playing better. Hitting is a thing -- if a guy hits, he looks a little better defensively, as well." Manuel has been trimming the regular BP sessions by more than half, from eight rounds to as few as two. The new approach seems to be a hit so far with the Mets. "Once you get locked in, you want to stop," Carlos Delgado said. "Whether it's 10 swings or 100." Manuel seems to be very involved in things , not sure if that's any different than Willie. From an article the other day. ] Manuel spent his second afternoon as interim manager working David Wright to near-exhaustion. Roughly 4-1/2 hours before Wednesday night's first pitch, Manuel rapidly fired balls to the plate during a session that lasted three times longer than a typical early workout by Wright's estimate. It paid off, as Wright delivered the game-tying single in the ninth inning off Francisco Rodriguez, driving in Reyes with his third run of the game. That allowed Damion Easley to win it, 5-4, with a homer in the 10th. The extra tutoring session's theme: becoming more selective at the plate. After beginning the session by having Wright swing at every pitch regardless of location, Manuel had Wright identify the part of the plate where he preferred to hit a pitch. Manuel placed a ball on the plate at that location, then had Wright identify the height of the pitch he preferred. Manuel then returned to behind a protective pitcher's screen and forced Wright to increase his selectivity by having him swing at pitches only in the zone he identified. The other early invitee was Brian Schneider, who repeated that process as hitting coach Howard Johnson pitched. As for the session, Wright concluded: "Jerry wants to be involved offensively, defensively, pitching-wise. So it's good to hear input from a guy that's obviously been around the game for awhile. Jerry tries to simplify everything. It's obviously easier said than done, but his drills work on simplifying the game."

TransMonk Jun 21 2008 10:24 AM

Change is good.

TheOldMole Jun 21 2008 10:51 AM

Wouldn't you want to get to the ballpark a little later rather than earlier, if BP were shortened? Maybe Jerry does it differently, but if I were shortening BP, I'd start it later rather than cutting it off earlier and giving the players a little extra time to play Texas hold'em in the clubhouse.