I just want him to be David Wright. I want him to be a good hitter. I know one thing, with our new hitting coach, who I think is gonna do a great job, I think he’ll be a little more selective at the plate, because of our philosophy, and so he’ll get more pitches to hit and I think he’ll do damage with those pitches.

– Terry Collins.

I’d love to see it in practice first, of course, but this is excellent to hear. People love to blame Howard Johnson for Wright’s struggles, and I have no idea if that’s legit criticism or just baseless speculation. Wright always praises HoJo, but then Wright’s not really the type to rip any of his coaches in public.

What’s obvious is that Wright was not as good in 2009 and 2010 that he was from 2006 to 2008. In consecutive seasons, he struck out more and walked less. He’s still great, but the trend is bad. Learning to be more selective — even for a patient hitter like Wright — could help reverse it. Or maybe just having input from a different voice.

And Collins’ point emphasizes one I have tried to make several times: For a hitter to produce runs, he must be selective. It’s not an either/or. To sustain yourself as a power hitter in the Major Leagues, you must know how to wait for your pitch. Not all power hitters walk as often as Wright, but they all walk sometimes. You have to know what you can and can’t hit (inside or outside the strike zone) and be able to somewhat regularly lay off the latter.

I don’t really see what about that is complicated, but an interminable Twitter argument I suffered through on Friday reminded me that it’s not something all fans are willing to grasp.

There will be blips, of course — Jeff Francoeur and Mike Jacobs have both enjoyed them. But eventually, well, you know.