R.A. Dickey not completely satisfied with changes at Citi Field – MLB Update
Earlier this week, the New York Mets announced plans to refurbish Citi Field in a bid to make conditions more neutral. This proposition came good with many members of the ballclub, but it was the pitchers who showed slight concern.
Currently, the longer out-field favours the pitchers and makes it a bit difficult for batters to lash home-runs at will. Mets’ starter R.A. Dickey was the first player who actually was not enjoying the changes. Dickey asserted that it is never easy pitching
in smaller ballparks, but it still remains to be seen how things work out when the team actually plays out there.
The good part about these changes, Dickey believes, is that they are not permanent. The pitcher continued that if the changes do not yield good results for the team, they can always be reverted. However, with an offensive boost needed to the team, it seems
unlikely that the management will consider undoing these changes.
Another concern which Dickey expressed was that the team will never want its ballpark to be similar to Yankee Stadium. Explaining his reasoning, the pitcher stressed that the Mets will accept anything but comparison to arch-rivals New York Yankees.
Dickey furthered that with the new changes in place, the team will no longer need three stellar out-fielders for the simple reason that there will not be enough room to cover. This may prove to be a dilemma for the Mets, who aim to improve their offence
as well as defence during the offseason.
Bringing his focus on defence, Dickey opined that prior to these changes the pitchers were in a position to challenge hitters even when the count did not support them. However, given the current scenario, odds of pitchers coming out victorious from tough
battles are expected to be relatively lower.
Dickey said, “I remember a few times where I would roll the dice and say, ‘Here’s a 3-1 fastball. I’ll take my chances of you hitting it at somebody. I know you’re probably not going to hit it out’. A couple of times it would burn me, but sometimes it paid
off.”
Giving importance to his team, Dickey stressed that he is ready for the trade-off if this would mean the offence scoring more runs. However, he did not rule out the possibility of his ERA inflating during 2012, largely due to the changes.
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