Richard Herr - Don’t Wait Until Next Year! It Starts Now - 2

I’m throwing aside that old cry of “Wait until next year.” Next year starts right now. 2017 is creaking its way toward the end of the season, but preparations for next year have to begin. There are a couple areas of concern that have to be handled right away so they are in place at the end of the season. The club has to be ready to move forward with the off-season programs in place. Needless to say, this series is going to stretch into the off-season as I consider the whole list of topics, rendering the title of this series obsolete as time goes along.

As a matter of fact, I procrastinated so much that this article is moot. However I'm going to plow on, acting like it's a couple of weeks ago. These articles are in chronological order, focusing on those issues that need to be settled before the off-season begins.

So what does this club need next?

CONDITIONING

The Mets were a total train wreck this past season. They had players on the DL for all sorts of reasons. The contact injuries I am ready to excuse: the broken thumbs, the hyper-extended elbow, HBP. These are all accidents. However, there was a whole flood of injuries where muscles were popping and thwanging all over the place, pointing to a lack of proper conditioning. Injuries like the back injuries, the hamstring injuries, the lat injuries. The Mets all seemed to be conditioned for lifting weights, having washboard abs, strength conditioning for sports like football. Players kept getting injuries when they were called on to do agility moves, like dashing for a base. The guy who was supposedly in charge of conditioning was Mike Barwis (hired by Jeff Wilpon [see previous article] because of school affiliations from good old college days).

The team gets an F on conditioning. Barwis has to go. Get someone who knows about agility training and pitching mechanics.

UPDATE

What?!!!!

What?!!!!

They've renewed that turkey? My only advice is to go out and get the beefcake calendar of the Mets' players. They'll look good, but don't make any bets that they're going to win the pennant.