Fired Mets hitting coach Dave Hudgens has some words for Keith Hernandez

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The Mets fired hitting coach Dave Hudgens yesterday. And, after he was let go, he was a pro with the media, sitting for extended interviews and talking openly and honestly about things. He said nice things about Sandy Alderson and Terry Collins too.

He did not, however, have nice things to say about Keith Hernandez and the SNY broadcast team, which had been on his case before he was let go. Marc Carig of Newsday reports that Hudgens is no fan of Hernandez’s repeated on-air comments about how Mets hitters need to be more aggressive as opposed to following Hudgens’ advice about waiting for the right pitch to hit:

“The naysayers, the guys who disapprove of us, the guys who I listen to on TV all the time, those guys that know everything about the game, I’m just amazed at it,” Hudgens said. “What’s wrong with getting a good pitch to hit? Somebody, please punch a hole in that for me. I just shake my head at the old-school guys that have it all figured out. Go up there and swing the bat. Well, what do you want to swing at? It just confounds me. It’s just hilarious, really.

“That’s one thing. I’m glad I don’t have to listen to those guys anymore.”

Philosophies differ, obviously, and Hudgens has every right to defend his approach and dismiss that of outsiders.  That said: why is a major league hitting coach listening to the broadcasters in the first place? Let alone, why does he “have to?”

 

Roger Clemens will be an analyst for ESPN on opening day

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Roger Clemens will be an analyst for ESPN when the defending World Series champion Houston Astros host the Chicago White Sox on opening day.

Clemens made four appearances on last year’s KayRod Cast with Michael Kay and Alex Rodriguez. He will be stepping in on March 30 for David Cone, who will be doing the New York Yankees opener against the San Francisco Giants on YES Network.

“Roger has been sort of a friend of ours for the last year, so to speak, he’s in. He’s been engaged, knowledgeable and really present,” said ESPN Vice President of Production Phil Orlins. “You know, whatever past may be, he’s still tremendously engaged and he really brought that every time he was with us.”

Clemens was a seven-time Cy Young winner but his career after baseball has been tainted by allegations of performance-enhancing drug use. He is a Houston native and pitched for the Astros for three seasons.

Orlins said that with the rules changes and pitch clock, it is important to have a pitcher in the booth with Karl Ravech and Eduardo Perez.

“We don’t feel like we have to have the dynamic of Eduardo with a pitcher, but we certainly think that works. Throw in the added factor of rule changes and it is better to have a batter-pitcher perspective,” Orlins said.

Orlins did not say if this would open the door for future opportunities for Clemens as an ESPN analyst.