Mets Forget Good At-Bats and Win!

Jerry Manuel recently said something to the effect that his principal instruction to his hitters is to have a good at-bat. Such is the world of the thinker. He figures, “take a lot of pitches, get that starter out of the game.”

NEWS FLASH – Gary Matthews just got a BASE HIT!!!!

This, by the way, is my second attempt at writing something intelligent about the Mets. Something worthwhile. My 500 words of yesterday were filled with hateful invective; my principal target was Jason Bay, but David Wright, Jose Reyes and Jerry Manuel also figured largely in my mind and on the paper too, not that anybody uses paper anymore.

Back to having good at-bats though, that really shouldn’t be the prime directive. The prime directive should be to go up there and get a hit. It should be assumed that major league hitters would be able to figure out the rest, i.e. don’t swing at anything you can’t hit; get four of those and you’ll walk. But that’s secondary. You should be up there to get a hit.

It’s pretty hard for most people to hit a baseball at all. You’re considered a very good hitter if your batting average is .300, meaning that you not only hit the ball, but you hit it to a spot that no opponent could reach. Walks are not included in that figure, but on-base average does, further reflecting the batter’s efficiency. A further indication of productivity is slugging percentage, a figure that measures total bases divided by at-bats.

As every player watches his numbers, they all do the best they can at the plate, given their own proclivities and limitations. Some batters are free swingers and are very good at hitting that way. Most batters wait for a pitch they can hit and drive it. But it’s a pretty simple process to understand. Swing if the ball is over the plate.

Not in Mets-Land. In the Mets world of over-think, the prime directive is to have a good at-bat. That implies taking pitches, making that opposing pitcher throw as many pitches as possible. What this means is that a batter will now take a first strike for sure and further try to “work” the at-bat as it progresses, meaning to take further pitches out of the strike zone if at all possible before either getting a hit or not.

Some hitters are adept at batting that way. They have become so sophisticated as hitters that their natural inclination is to have a good at-bat. These batters can foul off pitch after pitch in the strike zone, waiting for not only a strike, but a strike that they can drive, and, if they drive it far enough, it’ll result in a home run, a wonderful event that not only helps the team but also does wonders for your numbers, thus eventually increasing your salary.

Most hitters can’t do that. Their bat control, their eye at the plate, their judgment, all those things aren’t refined enough to enable a good at-bat all the time. Many hitters will take a first strike if just to get a feel for the speed of the pitch. Some batters just feel better getting their three opportunities to hit the ball. Taking a strike restricts opportunities to two.

Given no further instruction, each batter would be able to maximize his potential at the plate, but, especially when opposed by a really good pitcher, at-bats could be either short or even very short, and if repeated inning after inning, this good pitcher could stay in the game for nine innings, or until that magic 100-pitch number rears its ugly head.

But most games would proceed naturally, meaning sometimes the team would get hits, and, stringing them together, get lots of runs too, as each hitter is given his three chances to hit the ball. A team like the Mets could succeed very well in that manner, happily swinging the bat and maximizing their potential.

You see, the Mets don’t really have any of those really accomplished hitters that can work counts, that can foul off all but the very best pitches ( Bobby Abreu comes to mind, Nick Johnson also comes to mind but in a much lesser way). The Mets have some good hitters too. It’s just that they’re not Bobby Abreu types. They are three-strikes guys.

Jason Bay, David Wright, Jose Reyes, maybe Ike Davis, they’re better off if they’re given their opportunities, every one of them. Shackle them with the “good at-bat” directive though, and you get a bad hitter, one who takes good pitches for strikes, swings at bad pitches, and, worst of all, takes a pitch that is only questionably a strike.

The Mets have been in that worst possible of worlds. Their core guys have looked bad at the plate, embarrassingly bad at times, resulting in many losses that could have and should have been wins, as the Mets pitching has been surprisingly good.

As I have watched tonight’s game though, it’s quite apparent that either the prime directive has changed, or the players are ignoring the prime directive en masse. They’re currently losing to the Nats 6-3 but the tying run is at the plate. Mets batters are swinging at anything that moves. They’re being aggressive. Bay, Wright, Davis….they’re all hitting the ball.

They might lose this game too, but it sure has been exciting to watch, and I’d bet anything it’s been more fun for the players as well. They won’t lose tonight because they were looking for a walk. They’ll be the aggressive hitters they’ve been all their lives.

Last year, Jerry Manuel’s thrust was hitting to the opposite field, which killed David Wright’s numbers, especially his power numbers. Last year was a lost year anyway though, with all the injuries. This year, the thrust has been good at-bats; it’s been killing this team, and I can only hope they’ll just forget about it. You can’t change hitters overnight.

(The Mets win, 8-6, scoring at will and aggressive as hell ).