Long to meet with Mets hitters in Arizona

NEW YORK -- New hitting coach Kevin Long wasted little time immersing himself in video of the Mets' hitters this offseason.

The former Yankees hitting coach met with the Mets' video staff shortly after being hired and had all of the club's video material downloaded onto a tablet computer. He said he's already watched approximately three hours of video on each player, jotting down notes as he watches.

"I write down notes of things that I like and things that I think can get better," Long said. "But that's not even meeting with these guys yet, so the next step will be meeting with them individually. There's some work to be done, but that's to be expected. We'll get there, but I have a really good feel and understanding for some of our hitters right now, and I think we'll just get better and better as we go along."

Long, who lives in Arizona, said that David Wright plans to visit and work with him in Phoenix in early January. Travis d'Arnaud will also spend some time with Long in the near future when he travels to Phoenix to work on his catching with coach Bob Geren.

Long also plans to reunite soon with Curtis Granderson, though the two have yet to work out the exact dates. Long served as the Yankees' hitting coach during Granderson's four seasons in the Bronx (2010-13).

Video: HOU@NYM: Granderson hits a long solo shot to right

"Curtis and I have known each other for a while now, we have a real good relationship," Long said. "He's a great kid, a great human being. I know his swing, I know his personality -- so yeah, it helps to know someone coming in. I really didn't know a lot of the players or the coaches, so having Curtis here is a nice nugget to have."

Granderson, in fact, reached out to Long prior to his interview with the Mets.

"I talked to him before I interviewed for the Mets, and he just talked to me about the organization and where it was going, how he fit in and the things that he really, really liked about the organization," Long said. "I appreciated that phone call and just kind of picking his brain. It wasn't the ultimate factor in coming to the Mets, but it certainly helped."

As for helping Granderson rediscover the swing that led to multiple 40-homer, 100-RBI seasons with the Yanks, Long said he's already noticed a few things in reviewing video.

"The main thing I've seen is that his hands are kind of moving more than they did when he was with the Yankees," Long said. "So we're going to try to just quiet that down a little bit. They're not really getting into a strong position consistently, so we'll work on that. There are a few little, minor other issues that we'll hit, but Curtis, he had some streaks this year where he was really swinging the bat well. I just want Curtis to be consistent. The more consistent he is with his swing, the better his numbers will be."

When it comes to the rest of the offense, Long said he's excited about the club's potential. Paired with a "really impressive" pitching staff on the other side of the ball, Long expects the Mets to score quite a few more runs in 2015.

Video: HOU@NYM: Duda rips two-run double for 5th-inning lead

Breaking down each position, Long expressed excitement about the potential of a number of players, including Juan Lagares and Lucas Duda, both fresh off breakout seasons. The mix of those players with veterans such as Wright, Granderson, Daniel Murphy and newcomer Michael Cuddyer is one of the things that made the Mets' job most appealing to Long.

"As I went through the interview with the Mets, I got a good vibe," Long said. "I liked their philosophy and I liked what they were doing. So I took that information and went home, and I was just really excited about what the Mets are doing. I think we've got a really good chance of winning and winning soon -- that all factored into it."