And the year before that, we didn't hear anyone blaming Spillman for Hidalgo's 2nd consecutive mediocre season. Honestly, I think most people, including myself, felt it was all on Hidalgo, that it was more of a physical/physchological problem with him (i.e. something that a hitting coach has a harder time correcting). And it may still be all about his mental/physical condition. Thats why I want to wait and see if this is just a major hot streak or that his swing did indeed have an easily correctable flaw that just needed correcting before I have totally convinced.
I read today, in the Chronicle I think, that the "easily corrected flaw" was his tendency to try to pull everything to take advantage of MMP's short left field. Since going to NY, he has quit trying to pull everything and started going with the pitch. I'll be willing to wager that many, many members of the Astro's staff told him to stop trying to pull the ball. It took a trade for it to sink in. Spillman isn't to blame here.
Im not so sure I buy that though. Given the following: Since he has been a Met, out of 21 hits, 19 have been to left field, including all 7 HRs. Also, during his successful 2000 and 2003 seasons, he was still a pull hitter.
Geez...Hidalgo would still be slumping on our team. Five homeruns in five games. Thanks Dawgy! The Astros curse at it again.
So far tonight, ripped two more hits. He's really raking it, putting great swings on the ball, even the foul balls are crushed. My Metropolitans haven't pulled off a coup of an acquisition like this in a long, long time. In recent years, the trend has been that a good player comes to the Mets and immediately becomes a bum (see Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, et al), it's really a nice change to have a struggling player come over and then turn it around and start playing up to his abilities.
kenny lofton, steve finley, curt schilling, daryl kile, freddy garcia, luis gonzalez, richard hidalgo...hmm
Oscar Henriquez, Aaron Miles, Tony McKnight, Russ Johnson, Manny Barrios, Chris Truby, Wilfredo Rodriguez, Mitch Meluskey, Wayne Franklin...what's the point?
It kind of makes me wonder if he was really trying in Houston because he heard his name floating around in trade talk and knew the Astros weren't going to re-sign him. I know the attitude is supposed to be "I'm here to do my job regardless of what goes on per the business side" but I'm thinking it's more like "Hey...they don't want me around as my name has come up in trade talks and I know their not going to re-sign me so why should I give them 100%". I guess that is really what they call a fresh start. Your name is no longer being floated around as you've just been traded to a new team. So, that's one less thing to worry about. Subconsciously, I think it affects a player to hear his name come up in trade rumours and to know that the team is looking to dump you and your salary. He may not have been "dawging" on our team on purpose but I think he was not completely immune to what was going on with his situation in Houston.
Either Baylor is damn good at what he does, or Spillman isn't. How many of our current hitters have flaws like this that aren't being picked up on??? http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2672354 Hidalgo's turnaround? All in wrist Mets quick to correct flaw in ex-Astros swing By AARON KURILOFF For The Chronicle NEW YORK - A slumping major-league hitter can get so wrapped up in bad habits and frustration that fixing his swing takes weeks of effort and a bit of psychological counseling. But ending the slump that last month got former Astros slugger Richard Hidalgo ignominiously benched by the Astros and traded to the New York Mets took a lot less, according to Don Baylor, the Mets hitting coach. Visualization exercises didn’t turn Hidalgo into one of the league’s hottest bats, win him the hearts of Mets fans and send him on an 11-game hitting streak. Instead, Baylor said restoring the hitter’s former prowess — so evident when the Astros offered him a four-year, $32 million contract in 2000 and so lamented during its absence throughout most of the 2004 season’s first 58 games — required nothing more than a change of scenery, a couple of long discussions and a series of sessions with a batting tee. "You don’t like to go in the first day and change a guy’s mechanics," Baylor said. "With him, it took maybe two days." Results come quickly Hidalgo’s revival came that quickly. Although the right fielder hit only four home runs all season for the Astros, his bat warmed up soon after joining the Mets on June 17 in the deal that sent reliever David Weathers and righthanded prospect Jeremy Griffiths to the Astros. Hidalgo hit two homers off Mike Mussina in a June 27 game against the Yankees, and then embarked on a 10-day tear in which he batted .471 and hit six more homers, including five in five games from July 1-5 — a personal best and a Mets club record. The Mets’ fortunes have improved with Hidalgo’s. They’ve won 12 of 19 since Hidalgo’s arrival, including three in a row against the Yankees. Eight games behind the Astros at the time of the trade, the Mets now boast a 44-41 record and stand one game behind division leader Philadelphia in the National League East. That reversal comes in part because of what Hidalgo calls "just trying my best to fit in." "I was struggling with the Astros, but that’s in the past," he said. "I’m going to do my best here and now." The source of Hidalgo’s struggles in Houston, according to Baylor, was a swing flaw caused by an inconsistent right wrist. In more than four seasons at Minute Maid Park, where righthanded hitters can see the close left-field wall over their shoulder when they stand at the plate, Hidalgo began rolling his top wrist slightly toward that fence at the apex of his swing, bringing the bat slightly out of line and leading to ground balls and double plays. To correct that tendency, Baylor said Hidalgo started practicing with a batting tee, swinging his wrists correctly until the feel of that swing became innate. The pair also discussed contact points — hitting the ball out in front of the plate and pitch selection. But Hidalgo’s breakthrough has been so dramatic that even Mets manager Art Howe struggled to explain it. "I don’t know," he said. "I wish I did, because then I’d make sure I did it with everybody." Teammates suggested that playing well in the field might have given Hidalgo a mental boost as well. During a game at Philadelphia, Hidalgo snagged a long single by Placido Polanco in deep right and made a perfect throw to the plate, enabling catcher Jason Phillips to tag out Jason Michaels and thwart a Phillies rally. Still a force with his arm Hidalgo’s recent defensive energy helps explain the Mets’ recent success as much as his help at the plate, said center fielder Mike Cameron. "I don’t think anybody’s really been noticing it, but the guy is playing solid right field," Cameron said. "When good things happen for the team, you get a lift." It’s a lift the team has enjoyed since the trade, and while Baylor doesn’t want to gloat, he will say the Mets were delighted to acquire a 29-year-old player in the prime of his career, who even came with $4 million from the Astros to offset part of his $12.5 million 2004 salary. Hidalgo was voted team MVP by the Astros in 2003, but he hit .219 in May and was dropped from fifth to seventh in the lineup. Eventually, he was told by manager Jimy Williams to read the batting order daily to make sure he was playing. Asked if he missed the Astros, Hidalgo said, "Not really." "That’s in the past," he said. "I’m just sticking to the game."
He's a dead duck as is Jimy Williams and Burt Hooten. BTW, the Mets hitting coach is none other than Don Baylor who SHOULD be the next manager of your Houston Lastros.
Damn, Jimy is a fool. That is not the way you handle this sort of a situation. If the Astros succeed with Jimy it will be in spite of him, he must go.
Thought I'd bump this up since Hidalgo is hitting .241 with a .290 OBP and 1 HR over the past 7 games, with 1 BB and 7 Ks.
