New Coaching Staff

It's been a while since we had an entirely new coaching staff in Brooklyn, but that's exactly what we're getting this year.

The Mets have announced that Pedro Lopez (pictured) will be at the helm in '09, becoming the seventh manager in club history. He'll be joined by Pitching Coach Rick Tomlin, Hitting Coach Jack Voigt, and Coach Joel Fuentes.

I have to admit that I don't know a whole lot about the members of this staff yet, other than the bios we included in our press release, but I didn't know a whole lot about guys like Tony Tijerina, Hector Berrios, or Donovan Mitchell, either, before they got to Brooklyn, and those are three of the best coaches (and people) I've met during my time in baseball. (They also led the '04 squad to the playoffs, incidentally.) And I had never heard of Edgar Alfonzo before he led the Cyclones to the best season in franchise history and racked up over 150 wins. So name recognition doesn't mean much in my eyes.

In the weeks and months leading up to the season, we'll learn more about our new staff (and maybe even have them author a blog entry or two), so that we can get to know the men we'll be welcoming to Brooklyn this summer!

-- Dave