Leave the moves on the field to actual athletes Manhattan: It’s about six weeks until spring training. Already, self-appointed hitting experts like Daily News sportswriter Gary Phillips are analyzing how the Yankees’ fine shortstop Anthony Volpe can improve his hitting production (“Yanks amped for Anthony upswing,” Jan. 2). Phillips uses a surfeit of inane analytical gibberish to explain how Volpe’s 2024 hitting production has fallen off from his rookie year in 2023. Phillips points to such nonsensical metrics as “hard hits” and “squared up” percentages. What’s the difference? Similarly, what is the magical revelation in a batter’s “BABIP”? That would be “batting average on balls in play.” Really? Ivy League geniuses who never played the game of baseball on a serious level are paid to conjure up such nonsense to purportedly analyze and improve the art of hitting in the major leagues, arguably the single most difficult thing to do successfully in all of professional sports! The best thing the Yankees can do regarding Volpe’s hitting production is to leave him alone and not put pressure on him to hit 20 or more homers! That’s the one reason this fine ballplayer struck out an unacceptable 156 times last season! If anything, the Yankees should be talking to Volpe and all of their hitters about having a two-strike approach. This is when the hitter’s main priority becomes putting the ball in play with authority. Volpe’s main focus as a hitter should be to drive the ball to the left- and right-field alleys. It should definitely not be to swing wildly to satisfy the recommendations of non-athletes who play their baseball on spreadsheets instead of the grass and dirt of major league ballparks! Gerard Rosenthal Don’t worry about it Carle Place, L.I.: Can we please have an end to the hand-wringing about Saquon Barkley not having the chance to break Eric Dickerson’s rushing record? Dickerson played 16 games, and through last week, Barkley has played 16 games and he’s 100 yards behind. Also, Dickerson played when there were fewer teams in the league. The more teams, the more diluted the product becomes. Exhibit #1: baseball. Case closed. Rudy Rosenberg What a boss Beechhurst: Newly minted NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch is rooting out the corruption and cronyism that has plagued the department ever since ex-NYPD captain Mayor Adams entered Gracie Mansion. Tisch’s experience at cleaning up the garbage as former Department of Sanitation commissioner is coming in handy as she rights this badly listing NYPD ship. Although she doesn’t look the part — man, she’s a diminutive dynamo who has hit the ground running. The city is lucky to have such a managerial wunderkind atop an agency that has lost its way. James Hyland Deny them that Westerlo, N.Y.: We don’t need to know the name of the person who killed and injured people in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, or any mass murderer or terrorist. Such people should get no fame and no free publicity for their cause or grievance. Common sense tells us that plastering the name and photo of such a person all over the news and social media only encourages more evil people to emulate such crimes because it works. It gives them what they want: attention. Tell us what happened and the names of the hurt and wounded. Tell us about heroes who protected others. Tell us, in general terms only, what the motivation was — political beliefs, religious zealotry, mental instability, etc. But please, don’t write or say his name. Cindy Adams-Kornmeyer Ideological threat Waltham, Mass.: The deadly terror attack in New Orleans is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of failing to confront radical Islamist ideology as it spreads from the Middle East to the West. The suspect behind this heinous act carried an ISIS flag on the truck used to plow through a crowd. This attack is part of a deeply alarming trend. Over the past year, we’ve seen countless protests in which people openly waved the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah on American streets. The surge in support for these terror groups is not about ending the war in Gaza or supporting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. It never was. That’s why you don’t see peace signs or American flags among those waving terror banners. Their hatred extends to the West itself, and if we fail to take a firm stand, we will undoubtedly face more tragedies like the one in New Orleans. Aviva Klompas Immortal enemy Manhattan: The latest reports from Gaza are that infants in squalid tent camps are freezing to death. Normally, I would be imploring Israel to send more blankets, but not this time. Hamas is regrouping in the east. Or, maybe it was the south or perhaps the north, I don’t quite remember which. The important part is that Israel tells us Hamas is regrouping. They are clearly banding together and planning their next invasion of Israel. They will once again catch the IDF sleeping and march through mile upon mile of rubble and desolation to invade Israel, kill thousands and take hundreds of hostages, then escape back to their safe haven in Gaza. If Israel allows blankets into Gaza, Hamas will steal them to keep their weapons warm as they prepare for the invasion. Israel will kill a fair number of innocents as they hunt down Hamas and seize its cache of blankets. Those Israelis sure know how to protect their citizens. Steven Davies Another break Delray Beach, Fla.: Once again, the 9/11 terrorists get a reprieve. As usual in American justice, the criminals get a break. Of course, the lowlife defense attorney argued that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin did not have the authority to override the plea agreement. As we all know, this trial has gone on too long, and for the families who lost loved ones in 9/11, it is just another knife in the heart. Manny Agostini On R&R? Richmond Hill: It’s so comforting to know that we have such a sharp, dynamic, intelligent leader in the White House who we can always depend on in times of crisis in our country. Oh wait, he’s on vacation at Camp David! It must be so exhausting to keep taking those calls from Barack Obama to get advice! Maybe he should get some nose candy (cocaine) from his son to get his heart pumping. “Two-hundred joules! Clear!” Joseph Napoleone Changing course Brooklyn: Donald Trump is a breath of fresh air with his new, non-political team that wants to focus on Americans first and new ideas like paying off the national debt embarrassment and trimming the fatted calf that is the government we’ve become grudgingly accustomed to. Even plans for the Panama Canal and Greenland are something different to think about instead of funding wars, with borrowed money wasted on death and destruction. I’m pretty sure Kim Jong-Un in North Korea is having sleepless nights with Elon Musk coming into the mix, a computer, space and rocket genius. Joe Many According to him… Forest Hills: How can Musk — a prototypical James Bond villain — become Trump’s co-president when Musk was not born in this country? He’s an immigrant, here to “poison our blood” (among other things). Alan Hirschberg Appreciated Brooklyn: I would like to thank Voicer Francisco Matos for his support and for speaking the truth re Voicer Bob Pascarella. For years we have tolerated Pascarella’s venomous letters insulting and badgering any reader who didn’t agree with him or who spoke out against his nefarious dictator wannabe. Voicer T.S. Fallani and I wrote only the truth about the MAGA cult, of which Pascarella surely qualifies as chief. Matos was absolutely correct: Pascarella’s letter expressed exactly what he is. Susan Cassano Uncorrected injustice Bronx: To Voicer Ed Woods: An October 1975 FBI ballistics test did show that the gun that was allegedly Leonard Peltier’s was not the one that fired the bullets that killed two FBI agents. The FBI pressured Myrtle Poor Bear, who did not know Peltier, to claim to be his girlfriend and a witness to the shooting. The FBI had no actual witnesses, so they pinned the murder on Peltier, a political enemy. The fact that no judge has been willing to correct this on any appeal does not mean that it was not an injustice. Richard Warren