On Saturday at Tradition Field, Mets hitting coach Kevin Long spoke to reporters and talked about a variety of topics, including his work with Curtis Granderson, David Wright‘s swing and how much his shoulder injury might have affected him, and more.
In regards to Granderson, Long said while he knew he struggled during the 2014 season, he didn’t work with him at that time. But, Long said he intends to apply the same methodology they used while with the Yankees.
“We’re going back to the blueprint of when he was with the Yankees,” Long explained to reporters. “There are a couple of minor things that we’re working on. One is getting his hands into a consistent position and getting him to feel the consistency that he had, the shortness to the ball, obviously the compact swing that he had, the explosiveness.”
Long believes Granderson is a capable leadoff hitter, thanks to his ability to get on-base but also drive the ball.
“When I’ve seen Curtis, and I’ve seen him at a very high level, he’s able to get on base,” Long explained. “He’s able to drive the ball. Certainly the top of the order, those guys are going to get more at-bats throughout the year. Let’s say he hit sixth. So he’d probably lose, I don’t know, 70 or 80 at-bats to the guy who hits leadoff.”
In regards to Wright, Long said that while he didn’t watch him on a regular basis, there’s no question his shoulder problem could have impacted his performance at the plate.
“Ff I’ve got a shoulder issue and I need to get extension, at some point it’s going to pinch,” Long said. “It’s going to hurt. So if you saw him cutting off his swing and not getting through baseballs, or not driving the ball, you can put two and two together and probably say that had something to do with it.”
To listen to Long’s 20 minute talk with reporters, including his thoughts on both Juan Lagares, Travis d’Arnaud and Daniel Murphy, click the play button below:
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