Rickey Being Helpful

By Metstradamus
Posted Friday, July 13, 2007

In 2005, Mets hitting coach Rick Down took what probably amounted to more than his fair share of blame for the Mets' offensive shortcomings. In 2006, the team put up numbers never before seen in Mets uniforms...ever.

Did Rick Down take smart pills that winter? And did his prescription fail to up the dosage the following year?

Because you see, in 2007 that historic offensive production has taken a sharp nosedive. Outside of Carlos Delgado, most if not all of the Mets whose hitting production disappeared have done so due to some sort of injury. Carlos Beltran had a great April, then partly due to some recurring quad problems he bottomed out in May and June.

Did Rick Down give Beltran some different advice?

Jose Valentin is struggling after coming back from a knee injury, just as he did in 2005. Moises Alou has been injured pretty much all year after having a good April. Just about every other outfielder has been hurt, and as Down has said, they had to depend on guys like Ricky Ledee to right the ship.

So should Rick Down have been a doctor? Or a faith healer? Or a witch doctor? Should any or all of the above been in his job description?

You can kind of guess where I'm going with this. Rick Down was not as horrible a batting coach as we would all have liked to believe. I wanted to believe that for the sake of pure comedy. But Rick Down isn't to blame here. And having said that, firing Rick Down in favor of Rickey Henderson or Howard Johnson was the absolute correct move.

I hope that I haven't confused you all that much with that seemingly contradictory statement. You see, Rick Down needed to be fired because the Mets really had no other choice. This franchise had been extremely comfortable since April of 2006, and most of us have seen a disturbing change in the franchise. The team that used to catch other teams asleep at the wheel by stealing bases against unsuspecting defenses are now finding themselves on the other end of that spectrum. The "heads up" plays we've become accustomed to haven't been there. That little something extra has disappeared.

And no, that's not Rick Down's fault either. But something needed to be done (and as much as I hate cliches) to light a fire under the Mets. Anything else the Mets could have done in terms of firing people or making a personnel change would have had adverse effects. So Rick Down becomes just enough of a scapegoat to make the Mets think, but not so much a part of the fabric of the team that his being jettisoned out of here would have caused a revolt.

Certainly, there was an issue with first pitch swinging and such...and that's where Rickey Henderson, who has never been a hitting instructor before outside of a brief spring training stint in 2006, comes in handy. The Mets were sorely lacking in working deep counts and putting opposing pitchers behind the eight ball. Rickey Henderson, who has more walks than anyone in the game not named Barry Bonds, certainly knows how to work counts.

He also knows how to be Rickey. If he does wind up as the hitting coach when all is said and done, who knows how much of an effect that Rickey's pure personality is going to help the Mets batting average go up ... but he'll sure make the Mets a more relaxed club, and put a few more smiles on the faces of some of those middle of the lineup guys that are feeling the pressure a little bit.

Ultimately, it's up to the players on the field to pick themselves up and get going. We're talking veterans here (and in some cases, super veterans) that I can't see not knowing themselves as well as any hitting coach can. But it's also up to the organization to give the Mets any and every chance to win. And by executing the small move of firing Rick Down and hiring Rickey Henderson, the Mets have given the Mets that chance, whether Rickey actually does some teaching, or Rickey just worries about being Rickey, and plots his comeback as an active player.

So go ahead Rickey, be yourself. (Just stay away from the playing cards, okay?)
 

Come on down to home base at The Musings and Prophecies of Metstradamus, and get your fill of Metstradamus being Metstradamus. Metstradamus writes for Flushing University every Friday (including Friday the 13th) except for next week, when he will be taking a vacation.