The Mets REALLY Need to Swing for the Fences

If there wasn't incentive enough before, now there's real incentive for the Metsies to take a page out the book of their cross-town Bronx Bomber friends: hit some home runs. Why? Because at least when they do so in 2010, it'll go to a good cause. From the New York Post:

If there are Mets fans who don't know who Stewart Rahr is, they will soon enough. The Brooklyn-born billionaire -- a k a Stewie Rah Rah -- is donating $1,000 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation every time a Met hits a home run at CitiField, and $5,000 every time David Wright does, as he did on Opening Day. Later in the season will be "Home Rah Rah Day" with giveaways of Rahr's trademark yellow sunglasses.

Last season the Mets hit 95 home runs which was dead last in the National League--well dead last in any league. Their leading homerun hitter was Daniel Murphy  with 12 and they had 4 people (David Wright, Gary Sheffield, Carlos Beltran, Jeff Francoeur) tie for second with 10. They had the longest streak of games without a home run in 2009, when they had an 8 game drought from July 3rd to July 11th (they also went 7 games in May). So let's just say, they need to hit some more home runs in 2010. That's why they signed Jason Bay, wasn't it?

David Wright was the real disappointment of 2009 on the power front only hitting 10 home runs after hitting 33 the year before. Wright has the Mets only home run so far this season (pictured to the right from The Star-Ledger), so that's $5,000 in the books. It must be The Situation and Vitamin Water (H/T Ari). According to FanGraphs, the projections for Wright's 2010 home run total lie between 19 and 25. Let's hope that he finds his power stroke again. Come on David, it's for the kids!