Hefner Looks for Ways to Help His Old Hometown in Oklahoma With the full extent of damage from a tornado that tore through the Oklahoma City area on Monday still being assessed, Mets pitcher Jeremy Hefner was considering ways to aid his old hometown. Hefner, 27, lived in Moore, Okla., the suburb that bore the brunt of the damage, until he was 10 years old, and many family members and friends continue to reside there. Hefner now spends his baseball off-seasons in Tulsa. Before throwing a scheduled bullpen session Tuesday, Hefner called in to the ESPN television show "Outside the Lines" for a joint interview with Sam Presti, the general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, to discuss the tornado. At his locker afterward, Hefner said he was a bit uncomfortable trying to speak for the people of Moore, considering he was currently in New York. But he said he understood his profession afforded him a chance to do some good. "I don't feel like I'm the right person to represent the community, if that makes sense," Hefner said. I get that I am in the public eye, a Mets pitcher that lived there. I just feel a little inadequate. The feeling would not stop him from trying to help. Hefner said he wanted to raise awareness of the relief efforts, a task that he planned to begin Tuesday inside the Mets clubhouse. He said he would initiate a discussion with his teammates about whether they might be able to pool money to make a joint donation to help the tornado victims. "We'll see if we can get something together in here and what we can do, financially, to help," Hefner said. The tornado Monday killed dozens, injured hundreds more, and flattened rows of buildings. Hefner first received news of the devastation during the Mets" pregame workout Monday afternoon. Like others with ties to the area, it led to a stressful evening. Hefner went inside and began calling people, trying to determine whether family members and friends were safe. Cellphone service disruptions meant it was several hours before he was able to do so. During the game, his mother sent him a text message assuring him that all members of his extended family were fine. One of his cousins lived three blocks from where the tornado passed, but there was no damage at the home. His grandmother's home, in south Oklahoma City, less than 10 miles from the tornado, was not affected either. Hefner found out later that Briarwood Elementary, the school he attended as a child, was leveled. He noted one of his Little League teammates was an area firefighter and first-responder on the scene Monday. "My ties are still there, for sure," Hefner said. Another Game, Another Lineup The Mets on Tuesday deployed another new lineup in the hopes it might get their stagnant offense going. Right fielder Mike Baxter was slotted into the No. 2 spot, while center fielder Rick Ankiel, who batted second Monday, batted fifth as the Mets faced the Cincinnati Reds at Citi Field. It was business as usual for the Mets, who have used platoons at those positions all season in an effort to maximize their productivity. Second baseman Daniel Murphy, meanwhile, was penciled in the leadoff spot for a third straight game. He is the seventh player the Mets have batted first this season. Collins said the Mets coaches on Tuesday asked each other whether they were putting too much pressure on the players in constantly adjusting the lineup. But they have not had much choice, considering how much the Mets hitters have struggled. Collins laughed when asked why the Mets" leadoff hitters, all of them, struggled so much to get on base this year. "It's one of those questions that, if I had the damn answer to it, I'd fix it," he said. I don't have an answer to it. Mets players were hitting a combined .182 with a .250 on-base percentage from the No. 1 spot entering Tuesday's game. Murphy, who carried an eight-game hitting streak through the weekend, went hitless batting leadoff Monday. "We've tried guys there who are aggressive; we've tried guys there who are patient," said Collins, who added about Murphy, "We've tried, in my opinion, one of the top hitters in the game, who's there right now." Collins said shortstop Ruben Tejada would be a prime candidate to leadoff, but he has been struggling, too. Tejada entered Tuesday batting .213, leaving the Mets scratching their heads. Collins said, "We're not getting on, and I don't have an answer for it.