HO-JO

The jury remains out on what sort of impact Howard Johnson will have as the Mets' new hitting coach, but it's clear that he's at least going to do his best to work hard with the Mets hitters to correct their collective malaise of underacheivement.

For an interesting perspective on Johnson's work so far and what seems to be a good look at the ins and outs of big-league coaching, check out this article that appeared in yesterday's Sunday New York Times. Times beat writer Ben Shpigel does an excellent job covering the Mets, and this profile of sorts on Johnson is definitely a good read.

Here's the full link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/15/sports/baseball/
15johnson.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

"Nice hit, Dave. Just a single, that's all we need."

After taking an absolutely necessary 3 out of 4 from the Reds, the Mets move on to San Diego to start a tough 7 game West Coast swing against the Padres and Dodgers. Jorge Sosa will take on David Wells tonight at Petco Park, 10:05 PM New York time, to get things underway.

Good luck, Mets, and God speed...