NEW YORK -- Mets general manager Sandy Alderson had to hear the booing at Citi Field throughout a miserable homestand. Cheap Air Max 90 Wholesale . He took steps to begin fixing the problems Monday after a 5-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, firing hitting coach Dave Hudgens and cutting reliever Jose Valverde. "This is a very difficult decision to make. Ive known Dave for many years, decades," Alderson said. "Our situational hitting is not where we want it to be." Minor league hitting co-ordinator Lamar Johnson will take over for Hudgens. The 63-year-old Johnson has been in this role with the Mets for 10 of his 11 years in the organization and is responsible for helping teach the organizations hitting philosophy throughout the minors. The Mets have tried to implement a plan of patience at the plate but the results have not shown. "Our hitting approach will not change appreciably," Alderson said. "Any time theres a new person, theres a new voice, a new take, a different interpretation both from a mechanical and an approach point of view." The 57-year-old Hudgens was in his fourth season as the Mets hitting coach. The Mets began the day with a .237 batting average, ranking among the worst in the majors. They have scored just 32 runs in losing nine of 12. "This is by no means Dave Hudgens fault. Not whatsoever," manager Terry Collins said. "Its about trying to get the execution better. Well see if change helps." The problems are more glaring with runners in scoring position: New York is 13 for 66 (.197) in that situation in the first seven games of a nine-game homestand after getting one hit in eight tries Monday. The Mets hit into five double plays Sunday in a 2-1 loss to Arizona in the first-game of a doubleheader. Daniel Murphy hit into one of the teams two double plays Monday, wiping out another hit by Jacob deGrom. "Theres frustration at the way were playing. Theres frustration with the way the offence is going and that Dave unfortunately bears the brunt of that," Murphy said. "It stinks." David Wright was unhappy that the popular coach lost his job over what he thinks is the players fault. "When you struggle the way weve struggled offensively, a finger, obviously, gets pointed. A lot of times that finger gets pointed unfairly," Wright said. Alderson said this was not to read as a warning to Collins. "I think this is in response to a specific situation," Alderson said. "Nothing else should be read into it by any means." The Mets have been revamping their bullpen, and Valverdes dismissal after allowing four runs while getting only two outs in the eighth and ninth innings is the next step. With new closer Jenrry Mejia unavailable after pitching both games of the doubleheader Sunday, Collins turned to Valverde. Valverde (1-1) was booed off the field after allowing pinch-hitter Jose Tabatas tying single in the eighth. He returned for the ninth and was even worse, yielding four runs overall. "Dont think for one second that theres not a guy in there that realizes that this is part of it. We just released one of the best professionals I ever been around in Jose Valverde," a fired-up Collins said. "You deal with it, and if you cant you dont belong in the game." With one out in the ninth, Valverde gave up a single to Neil Walker and walked Andrew McCutchen. Gary Sanchez, who homered off Scott Rice to open the eighth, then singled to left, scoring Walker. Juan Centeno couldnt handle Curtis Grandersons throw that bounced to the right of the plate and skittered past Valverde, who was backing up but way too close to the catcher. McCutchen scored on Grandersons error for a two-run lead. Valverde gave up four runs as the Pirates took the lead. The 36-year-old righty was 1-1 with a 5.66 ERA. Valverde joined the Mets this year after pitching for Detroit last season. He briefly was New Yorks closer before losing the job. Reporters were told Valverde had left the ballpark even though his street clothes remained in his locker. Right-hander Vic Black is being recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas to fill Valverdes spot. "Our bullpen will get better when our young pitchers emerge at the major league level," Alderson said. "Not only will we have better arms, but well have more flexibility." In the minors, top prospect Noah Syndergaard was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to May 22, because of a mild flexor-pronator strain in his right elbow. The flexor-pronator muscle is on the inside of the elbow, forearm area. The Mets said the Triple-A Las Vegas ace will be brought to New York for an exam. Syndergaard was acquired in a trade that sent 2012 Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey to Toronto. He is Baseball Americas No. 6 righty pitching prospect and is expected to make his big league debut this year. "Were very concerned about it, obviously, I dont know too many guys -- I shouldnt say that, I know a lot of guys who go to the doctor and its nothing. But I know some go to the doctor and its an issue," Collins said. "Anytime you go in and the word elbow shows up, especially when you throw as hard as he does, its a concern. NOTES: The Mets placed OF Eric Young Jr. on the DL because of a right hamstring strain. They recalled OF Matt den Dekker from Triple-A Las Vegas to take his place. ... Up Next: Pirates RHP Edinson Volquez (2-4) faces Mets LHP Jonathon Niese (3-3) on Tuesday night. Air Max 90 Clearance . "Win basketball games," Collins said. He will get at least a few more chances. Collins played the final minutes of a winning home debut with the Brooklyn Nets, who cooled off the Chicago Bulls with a 96-80 victory Monday night. Nike Air Max 90 Cheap Wholesale . -- Canada played to expectation up until halftime. http://www.airmax90cheap.net/ . Rinne had surgery on his left hip May 9 and recovered in time to start the season. He then had arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 24 because of a bacterial infection in his hip.The battle for the Premier League title has gripped the nation. Can Leicester City pull off one of the most remarkable shocks in history? Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City also remain in the hunt for the crown as the season enters the final straight.Spurs sit five points off the summit in second, while Arsenal are eight adrift and Man City - who have a game in hand - are 10 points behind Leicester. Premier League table Team Games played Points Goal difference Leicester 29 60 21 Tottenham 29 55 27 Arsenal 29 52 16 Man City 28 50 21 Ahead of this weekends Premier League action - including Manchester Citys trip to Norwich and Leicesters Monday night clash with Newcastle, which are both live on Sky Sports - Jamie Redknapp has his say on the title contenders…Leicester Leicester are entering uncharted territory, says Jamie Redknapp Leicester have risen to every challenge theyve faced this season. And when theyve had set-backs theyve bounced back quickly. There was a great quote from Riyad Mahrez, saying the team felt more pressure when they were battling relegation than they do right now. Thats a great position to be in.However, one thing we dont know about this Leicester team is how they will react as they edge closer to potentially pulling off an incredible title win. Theyre not Manchester United in the Ferguson era. Theyre not Chelsea when they were winning league titles. This is uncharted territory.We havent seen this before. Its amazing. Ive grown up always believing the big clubs, with the most money, win. Even Blackburn, when they won the title, spent a lot of money and had the best players. This is like no other. But things can change quickly in football. When Liverpool beat Man City a few years ago, when Brendan Rodgers side were going for the title, you thought theyd win the league. Then boom, it all changed.Its difficult to put your finger on what changes it but its that momentum shift which happens so quickly in sport, not just football. It happens in tennis, in golf. When you think someones won, things can still turn around.There are still 27 points to play for and thats an awful lot of points - and a lot of time in which a lot of mistakes could be made. But all of the neutrals in the country are behind Leicester. Tottenham Tottenham must put recent setbacks behind them Mauricio Pochettino got some stick for making a number of changes against Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League on Thursday but they can turn their focus back to the Premier League now, knowing they have the chance to make history and change their club forever.Spurs are right in the mix for this title and if theyd turned a few of their 10 draws into wins, theyd be top of the table. Im expecting them to finish in the top four now - it would be a capitulation if they missed out on qualifying for the Champions League. But can they get back on track after some disappointing results? The title race run-in We analyse the title rivals run-ins to see who will emerge victorious... Theyve hit a small bump in the road, with defeat at West Ham followed by a draw against Arsenal, after the Gunners were reduced to 10 men, and the loss at Dortmund. Cheap Air Max 90 Free Shipping. . But this is the time of the season where everyones stuttering.We are going to see some strange results, particularly now teams at the bottom are fighting for survival. The important thing for Tottenham is to not get stressed by whats happened in the last couple of weeks. Theyve not picked up any major injuries, Jan Vertonghen is coming back and they have a great chance to get back to winning ways at Aston Villa on Sunday.Arsenal Alexis Sanchezs equaliser against Tottenham could be key Theres a lot of negativity around Arsenal and Arsene Wenger in the press and in the stands at the moment but they cant be ruled out of this title race.In fact, I think their result at White Hart Lane could have changed everything for them. If they were beaten at Tottenham, it could have been so damaging to the manager - who you felt was under pressure - and the players. Alexis Sanchez was out of form, theyd picked up a couple of injuries - but now theyre back on track and, with the FA Cup this weekend, have the opportunity to rest some key men. Pundits player of the year The Soccer Saturday pundits pick their player of the season They are going to be knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona - not many people doubt that - and that will free them up to focus on the Premier League and the FA Cup, should they get past Watford.They will drop points and slip up. But this season is like Rocky I, when theyre knocking each other down and getting back up again. The last team standing will lift the trophy.Man City Dont count Man City out yet, says Redknapp If you put yourself into the Leicester dressing room right now - wheres the danger? Which team do you fear the most?Tottenham havent won in three, including the cup games, and how damaging will that defeat against Dortmund be? Aston Villa looks like a gimme for them but they have tough games to come. Theres a good gap to Arsenal, and they also have some big away games ahead of them. But Man City - because theyve been there, seen it, done it - they would be the team that bother me the most, if I was a Leicester player. I know they will still be seven points behind if they win their game in hand but you look at their squad and think surely theyre going to go on a run.Im not saying City will go on a run but, if youre a Leicester player, thats what youll be thinking. Theoretically they could win every game and win the league. Until they cant mathematically do it I would still be nervous of them. ConclusionIts too tight to call who will win this Premier League. This season has made fools of us all. Leicester are five points clear - last season Chelsea would have been 1/5 to win the title from that position but Leicester are 11/10 with Sky Bet. That shows even the bookies arent sure whats going to happen.Its so fascinating - this weekend there are games youd expect the top teams in the title race to win but would it surprise you if there was an upset?The Premier League might not be the highest standard in Europe but it is the number one for excitement. There arent many leagues where you think a team in the bottom three could shock a team in the title race. Thats what makes the Premier League so special. No team has won the Premier League by spending the amount Leicester have. That makes you start having doubts and thinking someone else will rise to the top. But maybe not this year… Jamie Redknapp All of the neutrals would love Leicester to do it because its a great story. Its a wake-up call for other teams, in terms of finding players in lower leagues and their spending policy.The problem is its never happened before. No team has won the Premier League by spending the amount Leicester have done and that makes you start having doubts and thinking someone else will rise to the top. But maybe not this year…Who do you think will win the Premier League? Let us know using the message boards or by tweeting @SkyFootball Also See: The title race run-in Leicester champs, Spurs fourth? Pundits player of the year Citys woes against the best ' ' '