Down On Rick

By Taryn "The Coop" Cooper
Posted Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Where does Rick Down fit into the picture?

Paul Lo Duca said after Ollie Perez’s meltdown versus the Phillies last Wednesday that “We haven’t been swinging the bats.” Curious – one of the strongest offensive contributors on the team says the guys aren’t swinging bats? With the Mets losing only three of their first ten games, outscoring their opponents by a total large margin, they weren’t do so by swinging the bats, Paul?

Things that make me go hmmmm…

So, where does Rick Down fit into the picture?

On the other hand, when Rick Peterson was asked about Ollie’s erratic pitches that same night, and not making it through the third inning, his response was – well, where were you after he pitched his gem versus the Braves? Great response, Rick. Yeah, where were they exactly?

So, where does Rick Down fit into the picture?

This introduction is something to think about – Paul Lo Duca says that the team isn’t swinging the bats, but the press is willing to jump all over certain pitchers or the entire Mets pitching staff, and Rick Peterson. Well, I think we Met fans know why. Rick Peterson, the mullet-sporting jacket-wearing new-age pitching guru, is a prime target. After all, wasn’t it only three years ago he made an infamous comment about a certain pitcher he could “fix” in ten minutes? When that didn’t happen, we Mets fans and New York sports writers in general were willing to not only write-off unsaid pitcher, but to write-off The Jacket as a hack. Besides, hadn’t he had it “easy” by nurturing his naturally talented Oakland Big Three – Zito, Mulder and Hudson? I have to admit, I was one of those people.

But Peterson has grown on me.

It’s easy to pick on the Mets pitching staff when they have a bad game. The names Glavine, El Duque, Maine, Perez and Pelfrey hardly invoke the fear of Bart Giamatti in you. But we Met fans know better. Glavine and El Duque are the old heroes, those with the knowledge from having been around. Maine is an up-and-coming young pitcher with a ton of upside. Oliver Perez, is, well, Oh Pea (as I like to call him) – the erratic pitcher who has sabor, the pitcher with a bit of flair and eccentricity. Pelfrey has already been compared to Justin Verlander, but at worst could be a Nate Robertson or a Jeremy Bonderman -- hardly a back-handed compliment. I believe with Rick Peterson’s tutelage, the staff will not only thrive, but will be able to go deep into games and see many wins from each this year.

So, where does Rick Down fit into the picture?

Let’s talk about Willie Randolph. It’s easy to pick on the manager of any team. While there are some Willie lovers out there, let’s face it – Omar made it extremely easy for him to manage this team. Plus, he’s been able to learn from coaches like Jerry Manuel and Sandy Alomar, and senior citizen Julio Franco (in baseball age), coaches and players who have been around and back a few times. Throw in the kick-ass team Omar Minaya has put together and you have yourself a winner.

So COOP! Where does Rick Down fit into the picture?

One name that has hardly been kicked around in the press is Rick Down, hitting coach “extraordinaire.” Why does he get let off the hook so easily, especially when one of the heaviest offensive contributors on the team says bats are not swinging? To be honest, I don’t know a lot about the guy, but considering he was last with the Yankees, and came over with Willie in Oh-five, I’m assuming he must be one of Willie’s “guys.”

What I also find interesting, according to the Mets Media Guide, is that he has managed several Columbus AAA teams to over .500 records. Impressive. On the other hand, as the Yankees hitting coach, Rick Down was considered the “fall guy” in 2003 for the failure of the team to capitalize on timely hitting (nothing about the fact they had a physically and emotionally draining series versus the Red Sox, but I digress…).

One thing the Media Guide does not “disclose” is how many hitters he has turned around or what his tips or secrets on how to be a successful hitter. Of course, one can argue that as good a hitting coach is, he cannot practice skills to score RISP, or stop the wind from blowing to hit one towards South America. But what he can do is improve upon naturally talented hitting skills. From a lay perspective, let’s take a look at how the Mets have turned around under his instruction.

Take Jose Reyes. Jose Jose Jose of the leadoff position was widely known as an impatient batter. John Smoltz so much as remarked so recently, by saying that you could pretty much throw anything at Reyes once upon a time, and he’d swing at anything. His plate discipline has come a long way, and he realizes his worth by bunting a lot and not being afraid of taking walks. Down must have taught him this discipline, right? On the contrary, it was special instructor Rickey Henderson who famously did so!

Look no further than Golden Boy David Wright for other hitting “woes.” On the surface, his .311 batting average in 2006, 26 HRs and 116 ribbies do not sound bad, above-average to the lay person. On the other hand, we all noticed a distinct drop-off in power after the infamous HR Derby. While we can pooh-pooh the idea of a “HR Derby Curse” (since the actual winner, Ryan Howard, went on to hit 60 HRs and won the MVP award), David Wright definitely tried to swing for the proverbial fences after wards. His big contract may have even contributed to his believing his own “hype,” which was pretty big at that point.

Don’t get me started on his performance in the NLCS either. I know players slump at times, but DW really did not have a slump, just a taper off in power at the end there. Even at the beginning of 2007, it seems as though he is uncomfortable at the plate, to put it mildly. Of course, he has this hitting streak going on since last season, so again, on the surface it appears as though there is “no problem.” Just bad luck. As spectators, we see a guy who needs to regain his confidence and alter his swing somewhat.

An interesting thing to note about David Wright is that he typically credits one Howard Johnson – Mets hero and current first base coach – with his hitting know-how and confidence at the plate. This speaks volumes, folks. His AAA coach in Norfolk has taught him everything he feels he needs to know at the plate, who is now the current first base coach.

Makes me wonder if there were any ulterior motives for bringing HoJo back to New York.

Something else that typically bothers Mets fans is the impatience of the hitters at the plate, and not just the 2005 version of Jose Reyes. Jose Valentin and Carlos Beltran are two examples of players who I often accuse of being “rally killers” by swinging at the first pitch, grounding out into double plays and screwing up momentum for trying to be a hero. This is what you get paid the big bucks for. I doubt Sandy Alomar is out there telling them to swing away. I give Moises Alou and Carlos Delgado “byes” on this because they’ve been around and have probably had some guidance over the years from more knowledgeable hitting coaches.

So where does Rick Down fit into the picture exactly? Well, I’m not sure he does. What really grinds my gears about this guy is that he is like the Joe Torre of hitting coaches – he has a ton of offensively gifted, youngish players who make him look good and win lots of games. He is a quiet guy who sits behind the scenes and gets a lot of credit for their talent but NONE of the blame when they do not perform. Yet someone like Rick Peterson, who pitchers have basically named outright and gave credit to for getting their careers back on track (I’m looking at you Oliver Perez), gets all of the blame when they do poorly and NONE of the credit when the pitching staff does well.

Quite a double standard, if you ask me.

Look, I have nothing against the guy. I’m sure he’s quite nice once you get to know him. But on Saturday, April 14, 2007, the Mets lost a game to the Washington Nationals by leaving a ton of guys on base, impatience at the plate and lots of caught-looking strike outs (though that had more to do with Enrico Pallazzo calling the game, from a spectator point of view). There was even a critical inning when Endy Chavez hit a leadoff triple, and no one could drive him home on a single, or at worst a sac fly. For a high payroll, visible and high-talent team, this is unacceptable. Ten games into the new season may not provide enough of a sample set, but it pains me to think there might be winnable games like this down the pipeline. And without nipping stance and swing problems in the bud, without knocking out bad hitting habits before they start, Met fans might be leaving Shea frustrated a few times this summer.

I leave you with this thought – in 1999, Bobby Valentine famously fired his coaching staff (or more aptly “demoted” them) to shake things up. Bobby V’s shake up was later viewed as a turning point, a positive change that ultimately made the Mets more competitive. The Mets were the dark horse candidates for the playoffs and made it all the way to Game 6 of the NLCS with a lot less talent than they have now. It would take balls for Willie Randolph to do something like that. Frankly, I see Willie as more of a Joe Torre don’t-rock-the-boat type of guy rather than a Bobby V take-no-prisoners guy. But on the coaching staff, I believe that Rick Down is the odd man out, and I for one would not complain if he was replaced or demoted.