Time on struggling rookie pair’s side
NUMBERS create reality and Mets’ rookies Amed Rosario and Dominic Smith are both getting quite the lesson in MLB truth. That’s a good thing because these are lessons that cannot be learned at Triple-A Las Vegas.
After a rough night in Monday’s loss to Arizona, Rosario hit his third home run in 21 games, and his first at Citi Field, a sky shot to left, in the fifth inning and tripled in the ninth in the Mets 7-4 loss to the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night.
Smith lashed a pinch-hit RBI double in the ninth. That’s progress. “It’s a whole different ballgame than AAA,’’ Smith told The Post with a smile at the end of the night. It sure is.
Rosario owns a .257/.276/ .473 slash line with 24 Ks in 74 at-bats while Smith’s slash line is .179/.200/.359 in 39 at-bats.
“I’ve told both of them that it’s going to take time. That there is learning that you can’t prepare for here that is forced upon you,’’ hitting coach Kevin Long said before Tuesday night’s game.
Classes takes place every night. Then there is a private lesson with Long and assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler every day to go over video with Rosario and Smith, and taking extra hitting.
“I’ve just matured a little bit being up here,’’ said Ro- sario, who is hitting .326 over his last 43 at-bats. “My strike zone is a little too big right now and we are working on that.’’
Pitchers are different in the majors, not only in velocity but in how they work.
“Dom is figuring out that 2-0 doesn’t mean you are getting a fastball or 3-1,’’ Long said. “It’s all part of it. They are getting a lot of offspeed stuff in hitter’s counts. They are doing fine. They are learning.’’
Noted one scout, who has kept close tabs on both players, “You have to feel like you belong, not be feeling your way.’’ That takes time. “You just don’t see the pitching that you are going to see day in and day out here,’’ Long noted. “They are able to throw balls when they want to throw balls, strikes when they want to throw strikes and off-speed pitches any time in the count.’’
There is much for the two rookies to learn. That is why Terry Collins is hoping David Wright can make good in his Last Chance Comeback. Wright was the DH for St. Lucie on Tuesday night in Port Charlotte. You can expect Wright (0-for-4, two Ks) to take a crack at first base, too. If Wright survives, he could be the DH in Houston the first three days of September.
Collins wants Wright back in the clubhouse to help guide young players.
“It’s important for them to find out this is a very, very good league, and what they have to do to be players here next year,’’ Collins said. “You can’t possibly teach it, you can’t possibly reenact it in spring training, you’ve got to be in the action. They don’t act frustrated. Kevin and Pat are doing a great job trying to keep them calm.
“It’s an invaluable experience they are going through now. I think if they can handle it and look at the positive side, they will come out of it better players.’’
That’s the goal. Pain now. Success in the future. Just think, Aaron Judge is struggling and he has 37 home runs.
“It’s a process. I feel good, I’ve learned a lot,’’ Rosario told The Post through an interpreter. “I would say this offseason I am going to spend a lot of time working on everything. This is big, coming from Triple-A I’m seeing pitches here that I really hadn’t seen in Triple-A.’’
Smith is learning to stay balanced and get the bat head out.
“It’s definitely a lot of learning,’’ he said. “I’m just so glad we get this opportunity to learn, coming up in not a big pressure situation.
“I’m just trying to figure out what pitchers are trying to do to me, try not to fall into their game plan,’’ Smith said. “It’s going to take some time.’’
Time is on their side — at least this season.