Mack and Company – Weight Training

 Mack - Keith Hernandez brought up an interesting subject. The discussion was about Mets injuries and Hernandez made a point to say that, when he was a player, the weights were done AFTER a game, rather than BEFORE. He went on to say that you tend to "tighten up" after working with weights and he couldn't see the advantage of doing these drills before a game. I assume that the current Mets trainers have the players working out with weights before the game. Thoughts? 


 Michael Freire - I think that Keith is definitely onto something. It seems like as the players getting bigger and stronger, the number of injuries has also climbed. While I am no expert, it seems like being strong AND flexible would be a better combination, as opposed to looking like a weight lifter and being tight, with limited range of motion. In a weird way, working harder to be healthy and fit, has actually contributed to more injuries. Maybe weight training to become lean is a better bet? Either way, working out before a game seems asinine, for lack of a better word. Not only are you getting "tight", but aren't you expending valuable energy that would be better used during the actual game?







Jarod Alley - 

Keith is dead on here. I've been musing this same thought for a while now. There has to be some sort of connection between the way players are prepping before and after they practice, let's also not forget about during the off-season too. IF I could I'd like to point the finger a bit at what I believe is the actual root cause...The real cause is the home run. The game went from natural ability to how far you can hit the ball. That change in mindset causes so many players to push too hard to bulk up. Look at David Wright last spring, he said I dropped some weight and spent more time in the gym to put on some extra muscle. Not that I think that is what caused his injury but it sure seems to be a likely contributor. When you alter your body in a drastic manner injuries tend to become more common. Look at players like Miguel Cabrera and CC Sabathia. Both of those guys are often ridiculed throughout the game for being overweight. However, last I check they haven't missed long stretches of playing time due to injuries.

 Reese Kaplan - That would seem to make sense to me, too. Weightlifting has a recovery period as well. What purpose is served to put the players into the field while their muscles are trying to recover? Why not let them recover overnight? "If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane."