A Little Off The Top Please

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• Mykey February 9, 2010 at 9:05 am

  I don’t think Citi Field is entirely to blame for the Mets lack of homeruns last year. It was more injury related. IF you look at the Mets HR’s Home and Away, the numbers are actually close. 49 were hit at Citi Field, while 46 were hit on the road. It didn’t matter where the Mets played last year, they had no power.
  • METS62FAN February 9, 2010 at 10:49 am

    This is absolutely a phenomenon of injury riddled replacement players. The only replacement with any power credentials was Sheffield & he hit 10, 5 @ home,5 away. While i recall at least 1 Met shot landing inside the Apple(Church,pre-trade) I don’t recall any bouncing off the top 8′ of CF wall. This alteration is another Jeff “special” so as to obfiscate cause for increased HR production whereby he can claim to Daddy it was his doing by changing the wall,; not Omar’s for changes to the roster. unfortunately, Fred is what I refer to as a casual fan, certainly not astute,avid or motivated. His son knows he can sell it!
• theonlymaskman February 9, 2010 at 9:46 am

  Now this is strange. Weren’t we told that the Mets weren’t going to touch the wall this year because it took more time than just the first season to understand how it plays under all weather conditions? So after we all believed that there would be no change, now suddenly the wall is being shortened. This smacks of another desperation move to appease fans and sell tickets without any actual thought or planning, kind of a rabbit out of the hat move. The pitchers park will be a little less frinedly to pitchers and with our questionable rotation, one needs to wonder who this will help more: the currently constituted Mets team or our opponents? Don’t get me wrong, I’m all in favor of fixing this wall, but I think a little more foresight on the part of mgmt and a better pitching staff would have helped the situation. Once again, Mets mgmt comes across as somewhat vacuous in the thinking department.
• Colonel_Kurtz February 9, 2010 at 10:03 am

  It won’t do THAT much to change Homeruns given that it is the wall at dead-center. What they need to do is get rid of that black hole known as the MoZone. That is what killed so many of the hitter’s here. Left field is fine, it is just right field that seems like a disaster. Then again, you also need another year and not a lineup filled with AAAA guys, so no reason to change it yet.
• metsfanforever.com February 9, 2010 at 10:12 am

  Mark Reynolds, Jason Werth and Adam Dunn didnt seem to have a problem hitting HR there – I dont think we can blame anything on Citi field just yet. I do like the idea of being able to rob people of HR though and so im happy they lowered the wall there – i think they should do that in LF as well
• Russell Zanca February 9, 2010 at 10:16 am

  Dunno, call me old school, but I like it when HRs are “earned”. take your bandboxes and shove ‘em, though I realize this can lead to imbalances and disadvantages.
• Scott February 9, 2010 at 3:55 pm

  I like this, I think all the walls should be between 6-8ft. There is nothing better than seeing your team’s outfielder go up to the wall and rob a homerun to save the game or inning.

  See 10-19-2006 NLCS, Game 7, Top of the 6th, Endy Chavez robs Scott Rolen and turns Double Play.
• Mex_17 February 10, 2010 at 6:12 pm

  This is scary, but who do you think the Mets’ HR leader will be this year, and how many HR?

  Will Wright hit more than 10? How many will Bay hit?

  I’m not sure where our power is supposed to come from. We don’t have one player who I would guarantee will hit 20 HR. Crazy.
• metsfanforever.com February 10, 2010 at 6:23 pm

  I think that Bay will hit close to – if not get to – 30 HR and i think Wright will get between 23 – 27 HR. i also think theyll get 10 -15 from Reyes and 15 – 20 from Beltran – 15 – 20 from Francour – am i being way too optimistic? maybe. but spring training is 8 days away so LETS GO METS!
  • Mex_17 February 10, 2010 at 9:27 pm

    I think you’re being too optimistic on Bay and Beltran.

    I’d be surprised if Bay hits more than 25, and I’d be surprised if Beltran gets 250 AB, so 10 HR would be an accomplishment.

    I’ll name Wright the team leader in HR with 25. I’ll give Bay 23.
    • METS62FAN February 11, 2010 at 8:29 am

      Mex, your prognostication SUCKS!
      Did u realize that Bay has never hit less than 31` HR in any season where he’s played in at least 150G?
      Considering his propensities by percentage of HR is:
      LF-55%
      LCF 10%
      CF 7%
      RCF 9%
      RF 19%
      Because he’s so Pull heavy is why CITI presents NO DIFFERENT A CHALLENGE & why he will show the way leading the club in dingers
      If Wright actually has success altering to pull, he should place a close second with around 25 is my estimate slightly nosing out Beltran’s 22-23 due to late start; but all trailing Jason’s 31.
• Des February 10, 2010 at 8:03 pm

  I think it’s a good idea to make more of the outfield fences within the reach of home runs. How do CitiField’s fences compare with the old ballparks?

  The Polo Grounds, with its horseshoe shape, had easy-to-reach seats on both the foul lines. Its most famous home run was hit by Bobby Thomson in 1951 against the Dodgers. But it was Buyanesque in dead centerfield.

  The old Yankee Stadium had a particularly easy rightfield seats with a low fence and a short distance. Yogi Berra, in particular, benefited from this shape. If the ballpark had a higher right field fence, which it didn’t, Yogi’s line drives down the line would have resulted in a bevy of doubles, perhaps many of them just long singles. His teammate, Joe DiMaggio, had many long flyouts in the left-center nether regions of the Stadium. Life wasn’t fair to Joe, but Yogi didn’t complain.

  Ebbets Field’s dimensions changed over the years. It last set numbers covered ten post World War II years, ending when the Dodgers left Brooklyn in 1957. The wall in leftfield started at 348 at the foul line, stayed about 350 from left field into left-center field, and was about 390 feet in center. Its most prominent feature was the right field wall, some 38 feet high from the foul line all the way to right-center field. Duke Snider’s power and lefty swing was made to order for these dimensions. He lofted many homers over the wall and onto Bedford Avenue. But Duke would have hit homers in any ballpark.
  • Mex_17 February 10, 2010 at 9:29 pm

    CitiField is normal.

    Other teams hit an average number of HR there. Only the Mets couldn’t hit HR, because they didn’t hit HR on the road either. They didn’t hit HR anywhere.
    • METS62FAN February 11, 2010 at 8:10 am

      All this BS re. LACK OF POWER IS REDICULOUS, who was left with Power creedebntials? D. Wright, already realizing,in ST, that Citi was not friendly to his RCF poerstroke altered it to drive the allies; but with only Tatis to protect him he got few opportiunities to perform normally. Surrounded by the replacements(strike scab) lineup, what pitcher is ever going to give him an opportunity? if he did he’d be punching his own AAA ticket off whichever roster he was clinging to. Knowing Wright was due up, what instructions does anyone think a pitcher rec’d other than “O NOT LET THIS HUT BEAT YOU,MEAT!”????? Now really? Tat’s rediculous! This CF alteration is even more rediculous. It makes more sense to conjecture about the better view fans will get of the Apple than how many more HRs?
      • METS62FAN February 11, 2010 at 8:12 am

        Sorry, bad proofing, read it as DO NOT LET THIS GUY BEAT YOYU, MEAT!!!