HoJo Stays As Mets Hitting Coach

At Rotoworld they write about Howard Johnson and him staying on as the Mets Hitting Coach:

The Mets have decided to keep Howard Johnson instead of trying to hire Rudy Jaramillo as hitting coach.

"I love Rudy like a brother, but it would be totally unfair to bring him in after I interviewed him as manager," general manager Omar Minaya said. "It wouldn't be fair to HoJo, who did an outstanding job as hitting coach. If you look at the numbers, everything in the second half of the year we were up in."

Wright Hits 30/30

Anthony Di Como at Mets.com writes about David Wright and his first 30/30 season:

"I kind of laughed at the beginning of the season when he told me that 'I want you to be a 30-30 guy,'" Wright said of Johnson. "And here we are in the middle of September, and I was able to accomplish it. I'm extremely proud of it."

Wright now has 30 home runs and 31 stolen bases. Like father, like son.

Only two other Mets -- Johnson and Darryl Strawberry -- have posted 30-30 seasons. Johnson, also a third baseman, did it three times, in 1987, '89 and '91. Strawberry achieved the feat in 1987.

HoJo On Wright’s 30/30 Possibility

Marty Noble at Mets.com writes about David Wright’s possible 30/30 season and what, Mets Hitting Coach, thinks of it:

"I'd love to see him get it," Johnson said. "He's worked so hard on his [basestealing]. That didn't come as natural as the home runs for him. But he's concentrated on his running. He got his weight down before Spring Training, and he's taken such care of himself to stay strong. You have to be impressed."

Wright And HoJo

Adam Rubin at the NY Daily News, writes about the relationship between Howard Johnson and David Wright:

David Wright still vividly recalls the message waiting for him when he turned on his cell phone after landing at LaGuardia Airport on July 21, 2004.

"Just go up there and break all my records," Howard Johnson had said on the recording. "Go for it. If somebody is going to do it, I want it to be you."

Two and a half years later, Wright is on his way to doing just that. Only now, he'll have the man he refers to as his "baseball father" in the dugout as a firsthand observer. HoJo, who served as hitting coach on Wright's Class-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton teams during consecutive years in the minors, joined the major-league staff in December as first base coach. He replaces new Nationals manager Manny Acta. Wright's endorsements to Omar Minaya and Willie Randolph helped HoJo land the position.

"Some of the messages he left me after I got the job, I had to sit down. I was struck by it, how sincere he was," Johnson said. "It's nice. You work in this game to promote guys and to help them reach their max. When they appreciate that on the reverse end, it's kind of fun."