Manuel Will Focus on Pitching and Defense

Pitchers and catchers have yet to report, yet we’re already being treated to “Manuel Being Manuel”.

A few weeks ago on MetsBlog, it was reported that Jerry Manuel will be focusing on pitching and defense this year:

“Pitching and defense, that’s going to be the game plan. We spent a lot of time last spring on the hitting program. We think we have that in place. It probably needs some tweaking here and there, but we have to play better interior defense. And if we can do that, we feel it will make our pitchers better. That’s going to be the big emphasis.”

First off, what in the world is “interior defense”? Does that mean “infield defense”? Some kind of self-defense (such as karate or tae-kwon-do) in the clubhouse? And, if there is “interior defense”, is there also “exterior defense” ?

Also concerning is Manuel reminding us all of the special focus put on developing offensive skills last spring. For those who forgot, it was centered around Manuel’s inane and exhausting “100-swing drill”, and an emphasis on hitting to the opposite field.

Anyone recall how that offensive strategy worked out last summer? Perhaps you can ask David Wright … or simply check out the Mets’ final hitting stats.

After seeing the results of last spring’s “focus on offense”, I can’t wait to witness how the “pitching and defense focus” works out in 2010.