COME TO YOUR SENSES! MOVE IN THOSE FENCES!

COME TO YOUR SENSES! MOVE IN THOSE FENCES! By Tom Brennan

Hello to those who care greatly about our Mets!  Well, they're really Wilpons' Mets, but let's not quibble over minor details.

Several days ago, I emphatically stated my case for significantly shortened Citi fences.  Why was I emphatic?  Because I don't trust ownership to get it right, again.  Two tries so far, two failures.  

Here are a few of my key reasons for significant fence shortening:

1. Drastically fewer runs at home than on the road (almost 1 per game) since the fences were sort of, kind of moved in back in 2011.  Moved in a little bit. A tad. A smidgeon.  A self-induced run-scoring deficit that, unlike the one in Washington, must be solved!

2. Players frustrated, confounded, and yes, even tortured, by overly spacious, out-generating dimensions.

3. Fans longing for a few drops of water on a parched tongue, otherwise known as more long balls being deposited on the fans' side of the outfield walls, making the Apple rise along with the deliriously happy fans themselves (from their seats).  Even Sandy said as much, in Sandy-speak, the other day.

4. Deliriously happy fans become repeat attenders at Citi ball games.  Repeat spenders spend $$ that makes the Wilpons richer...and more likely to write big checks.

5. The wind blows in off the bay across the currently spacious expanses, and that and the heavy close-to-water air slows the flight of baseballs almost as if little disk brakes were attached to them.

6.  Think big. When, with shortened fences, Duda hits 45, Wright, Grandy and d'Arnaud hit 30 each, Dilson and Wilmer drop 20 apiece, and even Juan Lagares hits double digits, THEY will be happy.  We want them to be happy.  And Conforto and Nimmo, too, once they get here.

7. The pitchers will pout a bit - but will adjust, as superior pitchers do, and smile when they win more games due to support from their happy hitters.

So last week, I proposed fence dimension changes as follows below:

Field size	Current	Brennan Proposal	Shorter By
Left field Left center Deep left center Center field Deep right center Right center Right field	335 feet 358 feet 385 feet 408 feet 398 feet 375 feet 330 feet	325 feet 358 feet 378 feet 400 feet 398 feet 358 feet 325 feet	10 feet 0 feet 7 feet 8 feet 20 feet 17 feet 5 feet

But very few readers chimed in - I know there are those among you who love those close 2-1 losses, and doubles up the gap as your excitement for the day, but not me.  And not many others either. 

I think this is a unique opportunity to urge management to do it right the third time, after ridiculous dimensions when the stadium was built only being partially fixed in 2011. 

So I am urging you to take the opportunity to weigh in. The happiness of future Met fan generations may be in your hands today. You don't need to register to vote, nor show your voter ID, but on this great issue of our time, border security, this is the time to make your voices heard!  We need to let more baseballs escape past our outfield borders and into the seats!

Whaddya think?  Mets management reads Macks’ blog, no doubt, as it is a serious man’s blog (except for my one-liners).  So chime in please.

And for the heck of it (except for the chart I already included above), here is last week’s article, if you missed it and should you care to read on for more particulars.

 (Prior article) Lets REALLY Bring Those Fences In by Tom Brennan

Are the field dimensions at Citifield too deep?  Sarah Palin was asked and answered with a resounding “YOU BETCHA!”

As noted in Wikipedia:

During its first three seasons, the large field dimensions caused Citi Field to play as an extreme "pitcher's park", and home-runs at the stadium were among the fewest in the Major Leagues. Mets' general manager Sandy Alderson changed Citi Field's dimensions in time for the 2012 MLB season in order to make it more friendly to hitters.^[20] Changes include building an 8 feet (2.4 m) wall in front of the high 16 feet (4.9 m) wall in left field that many had dubbed the "Great Wall of Flushing", removing the nook in the "Mo's Zone" in right field, and reducing the distance in right center field from (a ridiculous) 415 feet from home plate to (a still too deep) 398 feet.  (Brennan commentary)

So, all in all, the first cut of dimensions for this park was simply poor decision making, for two reasons. First, the sheer depth damaged the hitters.  Don’t believe me, just as Jeff Francoeur or Jason Bay.  One of my favorite recollections back then was in a subway series game, A Rod crushed a ball to the left of dead center.  It caught the top end of the Great Wall of Flushing and ricocheted into play for a ground double.  The camera panned to A Rod who was laughing and shaking his head in disbelief, surely thinking “I hit the ball THAT hard and THAT far and it was just a double.  Thank God I don’t play here!”  Murphy led the team that year with 12 homers in 508 at bats, and Wright had 10 in 535 at bats.  Excruciating.  Fans stayed home and played tiddlywinks for fun.

I finally got fed up wrote a letter to Met ownership (I think late in 2010) indicating that if Jimmy McMillan (who ran for Governor in 2010 indicating the “rent is too d--n high”) were to be asked his opinion about the original Citi fence dimensions, he’d have said they were “too d—n high and too d—n deep.”  I strongly urged changes as a REVENUE INCREASING common sense move.  I also said that they were killing any chances a hometown hero with a real shot at the Hall of Fame being denied that shot by their moving from pitcher-friendly Shea to ridiculously hitter-unfriendly Citi.  Did they read it?  Dunno.  But they did change them. 

When I heard, after the 2011 season, that they were bringing the fences in, I was elated.  When I heard what they were bringing them in to, I was deflated.  They just did not get it!  I wrote them again.  But 2012, 2013, and 2014 had to be suffered through to get them to again realize it is not smart to neutralize the hero’s power (Wright) or to invest 4 years and $60MM in power hitters and have them hit long fly ball outs (Bay, Granderson).

So now they get another chance.  Before making that decision to again move the fences in, one must realize that THIS is the time to get it right – move them in for good, so do it right.

So how are the shorter dimensions of 2012, 2013, and 2014 treating our boys? Do they, like the rest of baseball, hit somewhat better at home than on the road.  NO!!!!!  In fact, the home results, as compared to the road results, are miserable, as seen in the table below, which shows their rank amongst the majors’ 30 teams. 

Obvious solution conclusions?  1) Move the fences in again. 2) Move them in a LOT!

YEAR	PLACE	RUNS	RANK	HR’S	RANK	AVG.	RANK
2012	HOME	287	29	67	21	.242	25
2012	AWAY	363	9	72	20	.256	9
2013	HOME	268	30	59	26	.219	30
2013	AWAY	351	12	71	19	.254	14
2014	HOME	249	29	51	23	.223	30
2014	AWAY	315	8	62	15	.250	12

 

Note: 2014 thru September 10, 2014.

Those are staggering differentials.  They have scored 225 less runs at home over the past 3 years (almost a run per game!), while the league on average scores more at home.  They hit on average 25 points lower…and average about 10 less homers per year at home than on the road.

I attribute 3 reasons: a) depth of fences b) ball does not carry well many games during the year c) field dimensions and poor ball carry gets in the hitters’ heads.

Solution?  Move the fences in – a lot – more doubles, more homers, more hitting confidence, more fan fun.

Here are my suggestions to do it right.  Met management, please read!

(SEE PROPOSED DIMENSIONS CHART IN ARTICLE ABOVE)

I think, because of the fact that the ball does not carry well, that these are not “bandbox” dimensions, but merely slightly hitter friendly ones.  Be fair to your hitters.

And…the pitchers will be hurt by this, but they will 1) adjust and 2) win more games, so why complain?

MANAGEMENT….PLEASE….DO….IT….RIGHT….THIS….TIME!!!!

I have to add this – I seems to be more exorcised over this than David Wright.  David, please be the Captain and speak up.  It’s your career, and these dimensions have hurt you and the team.   We want the team to hit, including you, and hope you’ll get the Hall of Fame.  We want the team to win and this will help.

If you speak up loudly, assuming you have not done so previously, it years late in coming, but there may still be time to boost your #’s.

I speak as a life-long since 1962 Met fan who is sick and tired of seeing the Yanks hit so many more homers than the Mets almost every year, and who is sick of anemic club hitting records like 41 homers in a season.  Bring the fences in RIGHT and let Duda take a crack at that record next year!

Any out there agree?