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Registered: 06-2006
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Mets hitters enjoy new "Citi" walls in Florida...


Mets hitters happy about fences coming in
Mobile Newsday Link

Updated: Feb 22, 2012 09:15 PM
By DAVID LENNON

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Shortly after the ball disappeared over the newly trimmed chain-link fence in right-centerfield, David Wright walked back over to the on-deck circle and was immediately greeted by the man who helped make it possible.

"You realize that would have been a double last year," Jeff Wilpon said.

Wright smiled, unfastened his batting glove and then pretended to look at an imaginary watch on his left wrist. "That took about two minutes," he said.

Wilpon enjoyed the "told-you-so" moment on Field 7, which has been reconfigured to resemble the new, more hitter-friendly specifications of Citi Field . Wednesday was the first time that any of the Mets had the chance to take some swings at the shorter, closer fences. The early reviews were favorable.

"It's nice to look out there and see the adjustments," Wright said. "You know in the back of your mind, hopefully if you hit a ball well, it's going to go out."

That was the motivation behind chopping Citi Field's monstrous leftfield wall in half and pulling in the fences in right-center, which is Wright's favorite target area. At the team's spring-training complex, the original fences still stand, so the contrast is visible with a grassy space between the two.

Judging by the number of baseballs that are starting to collect in those alleys, the Mets are getting the desired result from shrinking the ballpark's playing surface. The alterations figure to most benefit Wright and Jason Bay , who arrives Thursday, but Daniel Murphy could become more of a deep threat as well.

On just his third pitch of the day, Murphy sliced a line drive that narrowly cleared the lowered fence in left. Last season, it would have caromed off the wall about halfway up.

"There's definitely a difference -- you can feel it," Murphy said. "Balls that just kind of get up there and keep going that you're not used to. You're used to them hitting off the warning track or banging off the wall. One swing I took went to 358 [feet] in left-center and ran out of real estate. I was like, 'All riiight.' I kind of like that.

"This early in BP , we're kind of dipping our toe in the water trying to get our feet wet, to find our swings a little bit. I know I felt good, [Lucas] Duda looked great, and David -- he's a killer. He looked awesome out there."

That psychological boost is exactly what the Mets are hoping for by taking batting practice early and often on Field 7. Just as Citi's cavernous dimensions took a mental toll on the team's power hitters during its first three years, Terry Collins believes this downsizing effort will have the exact opposite effect.

"It's going to change the way these guys think when they're at home plate," Collins said. "I just think this is going to ease some minds. This past year I saw many guys thinking they have to pull the baseball to hit a homer; therefore we came off some balls, hit some routine fly balls, swung and missed a bad pitch. The same goes for lefthanded hitters. Our guys are going to hit on that field a lot. Hopefully it makes a difference."

The Mets are very interested to see what effect it has on Bay, who probably won't get a chance to hit on Field 7 until later in the week with the first full-squad workout scheduled for Saturday. But in some cases, the impact won't be quite as profound, as Duda showed with towering shots that sailed over the old fences, too.

"I don't think it matters what kind of field Duda hits on," Wright said. "He's got a ton of power and he was putting it over the trees."


Last edited by vtmet, 2/23/2012, 11:17 am


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Once I thought the truth was gonna set me free
But now I feel the chains of its' responsibility
2/23/2012, 11:16 am Link to this post Email vtmet   PM vtmet Blog
 
Catcherlady Profile
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Re: Mets hitters enjoy new "Citi" walls in Florida...


I hope the pitchers are getting in some work on Field 7 too...the hitters aren't the only ones who are going to need to adjust their game.

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2/23/2012, 12:53 pm Link to this post Email Catcherlady   PM Catcherlady
 
RenoHitman Profile
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Re: Mets hitters enjoy new "Citi" walls in Florida...


No more excuses.
2/24/2012, 7:15 pm Link to this post Email RenoHitman   PM RenoHitman Blog
 


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