Press Conf: Terry Collins, Ken Oberkfell & Dave Hudgens

By David Rubin

Thanks to Mack, I was fortunate enough to have participated in today's telephonic Mets Press Conference with the Met beat writers, introducing new bench coach and former Buffalo manager, Ken Oberkfell. In addition to "Obie" new hitting coach, Dave Hudgens, also joined the call, as well as manager Terry Collins. Collins is in New York, Obie in Santo Domingo and Hudgens is in Caracas. While I didn't get to ask any questions due to time constraints, the usual beat reporters had a chance to touch base with one-half of the new Met field management team.

Some notable quotes/comments:

Oberkfell, on finally getting this opportunity & working with Collins, as well as his demeanor:

"I'm extremely happy to get this opportunity, getting back to the majors after 12 years with the organizaton...I know most of the players already...Terry and I had a good relationship last year, Spring Training was unbelievable, and Terry is a very no-nonsense guy, very organized, and no one will out-work Terry and his staff...I'm supposedly laid back, but I get a little riled up at times."

It's been posited that Oberkfell would serve as a positive foil to Collin's fiery side, to which Collins reminded everyone that he recently saw Obie get into a heated argument with an umpire in the Dominican Republic.

Collins, on what he learned about Oberkfell:

"Ken was one of the first guys on my short-list to be on my coaching staff. He gets guys prepared well, and it was obvious how much fun the guys in Buffalo were having under him. He knows a lot about many of the guys currently on the roster."

Hudgens, on his hitting "philosophy" and hitting home runs:

"The main thing to win games is you have to get on base. Whatever the philosophy is, whatever the type of hitter it is, we've got to have a good approach.The thing we're going to teach, and demand, really, of the players, and get also their input - is what it's going to take for us to win ballgames and what is it going to take for us to get on base and have a good approach at the plate. Not giving at-bats away. Make fewer easy outs. Make the opposing pitcher work. How we can develop a good strike zone? How do we learn our strengths? There are a whole lot of things that go into it. But the bottom line is getting a good pitch to hit and staying aggressive. We don't want these guys to be un-aggressive, looking for walks. I'll very rarely, if ever, talk about walks. But the philosophy is to be aggressive -- really under control -- and knowing your strike zone and knowing your strengths....there aren't too many hitters that can walk up to the plate and say they're gonna hit a home run. Hitting as you know is very hard. Home runs come from a good approach at the plate, and capable guys can hit it out. Guys like Beltran, Wright...hitting home runs comes with good swings."

Hudgens managed catcher Josh Thole last year in Venezuela, and is getting familiar with the other Met hitters via video, which he expects to look at prior to Spring Training.

Collins, reiterating what he's learned since his previous stints as a manager:

"As I've said before, I've learned from my mistakes...we're gonna have better lines of communication, Ken had that in Buffalo, I saw how the players had no problem walking into his office and talking to him, and we want that here, too."

Finally, Collins, on addressing the specific assignments each coach will have:

"The coaches have specific assignments, but at any time if any coach sees something that needs to be addressed in any area, say a hitting coach sees something that can help a pitcher out, we want to address it immediately, we want it brought up with no hard feelings."

There was definitely a sense of "unity" in what the coaches had to say, in spite of the geographical distance between them. The lack of a Hispanic coach on the staff was also touched upon, to which Collins said that the team was looking into adding someone, but that major league baseball limits the amount of guys you can have in the dugout.

It might seem like just another press conference to some people, but, quite frankly, it finally feels like the Mets as an organization are not only putting together a long-term plan, led by extremely capable people, but are also going to find a way to pull it off, in time, led by both the leaders on the executive team as well as those on the field. There's a wealth of knowledge in that clubhouse, and there's going to be even more impressionable young players coming through there over the next few years, and this cements the fact that a positive learning process will take place, and also, there will be a lot of fun to be had. Imagine that- FUN on a baseball field!!

Look, if you were going to build a school, the first thing you'd address would be the physical plant, followed by hiring teachers, and then filling the school with children. In this case, the Mets HAVE a new physical plant in Citi Field; they HAVE their teaching staff in place, in the form of Collins & Company; now they have to work on the "children" - or "players" - portion, which, of course, is going to be a longer-lasting project Sandy Alderson & his management team.

Finally, since we're on the subject of Sandy, I thought it was disgraceful how Mike Francesa constantly talked over Sandy, who was gracious enough to spend over an hour with Mike earlier today on WFAN, taking calls from fans and attempting to answer every question Francesa threw his way. I know that controversy sells, but that doesn't mean I have to "buy." Sandy was ever the gentleman, and Francesa was his usual boorish-self. I think in the future, I'll pass on listening to any more interviews with Francesa, regardless of who he has on...I don't want to sound like a "Pollyanna" because I don't like Francesa. I encourage, and enjoy, contrary opinion and discourse. I enjoy getting into arguments with people who have not only an educated opinion about something, but who also engage in give-and-take instead of talking over the other person. Francesea is so full of his own malarkey that it's just not bearable listening to him anymore...