Well who were the culprits in the first 1/2?
Delgado, LoDuca, and Beltran who after being in the league as long as they have I doubt any hitting coach is going to play much of a role in their approach. Whether they were blocking him out or not. They are veterans with track records.
Green seems to suck as much, if not more now than in the first 2-3 months.
Reyes was hitting very well WRISP all year until Hojo took over actually....
So that really leaves Wright...which I can see having some impact because of how close he is with Hojo.
But as SC said Milledge and Gotay have been amazing WRISP and they werent playing much/at all when Down was here. Castro is also getting more playing time now...
Then toss in that Alou came back which might be the biggest of all the changes. Dont forget the Mets were leading the NL in runs scored when he went down.....He comes back and the Mets offense is suddenly clicking again....
Again, I am not defending Down...I never liked the guy, but at the same time I'm not going to say him leaving is the reason they have begun to turn it around either. |