Daily Archives: November 8, 2007
Bob Carpenter was given a one-year deal with an option to return as the Nationals’ announcer for MASN.
The decision comes months after Carpenter was told by Nationals president Stan Kasten that his contract would not be renewed.
After trying to lure ESPN’s Dan Schulman, the Nationals revisited talks with Carpenter. He will rejoin analyst Don Sutton and field reporter Debbi Taylor.
…for the best commentary on carpenter’s return to the booth, look no further than Chris Needham‘s Capitol Punishment…hilarious as always, chris…out-of-market mets fans, here’s to another season of irrational play-by-play…
Mike Fitzpatrick of the Associated Press writes that former Mets manager Davey Johnson and the late Billy Martin
are among 20 former baseball managers, executives and umpires on the new Hall of Fame ballots to be considered by the Veterans Committee next month.
The Veterans Committee has gone three straight elections without a selection, which has led to significant changes in protocol, the details of which are outlined in Fitzpatrick’s report.
Tagged Billy Martin, Davey Johnson |
In a winter forecast series for ESPN.com, Bob Klapisch provides his take on the Mets needs and outlook for this off season.
According to Klapisch the Mets primary needs are starting pitching, second base and catcher, noting free agent C Paul Lo Duca is “all but gone” and will not be resigned.
Overall Klapisch believes the Mets will look to make a big move this off season, i.e. signing Alex Rodriguez or Jorge Posada, but most likely just “tweak” their current roster.
…i agree with klapisch for the most part, but only because it’s so hard to tell what the Mets are going to do…i mean, Omar Minaya and company do a tremendous job at not showing their hand, which you can’t say about prior Mets regimes….
Tagged Mike Nichols |At SI.com, Jon Heyman writes that should the Twins fail to come to terms with Johan Santana soon, it is expected that he will hit the trade market.
Heyman names the Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, Angels, Red Sox, Cubs and Mariners among potential suitors for the southpaw.
Additionally, Heyman notes that Omar Minaya now believes that top pitchers will be available this off-season.
…minaya’s belief is certainly in line with the information currently circulating in the media…namely, that teams with quality arms under contract may dip their toes in the water to see what they can get, especially with teams looking for an alternative to a weak free-agent class…
…okay, i get it, johan is the new a-rod, at least as far as post frequency is concerned…
…over the next few days, i will be running a series of polls that aim to gauge the collective conscience of this site’s readers with regards to how best to approach this off-season…i will run a new poll every hour or so, so please check back often…
…this is the seventh poll…scroll down for previous polls…
[poll=18]
Tagged Poll |…over the next few days, i will be running a series of polls that aim to gauge the collective conscience of this site’s readers with regards to how best to approach this off-season…i will run a new poll every hour or so, so please check back often…
…this is the fifth poll…scroll down for previous polls…
[poll=16]
Tagged Poll |Todd Zolecki of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the Phillies are close to a multi-year deal with LHP J.C. Romero.
Romero had a 1.24 ERA in 51 appearances with the Phillies after signing a minor league contract in June.
Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald cites “whispers” that the Padres are letting teams know that Jake Peavy is available.
Silverman notes that the Padres are an example of a team attempting to capitalize on a weak free agent pitching market.
He also reports that the Twins have not let teams know that Johan Santana is available.
On a related note, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports on his blog that the Yankees and Padres briefly discussed a deal that would have sent Peavy to the Yankees for Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera, but that the trade “almost certainly won’t happen.”
Tagged Jake Peavy, Melky Cabrera, Phil Hughes |The Associated Press reports that first and third base coaches will wear helmets next season.
The decision comes just months after Mike Coolbaugh, a minor league coach for the Rockies, was killed after getting stuck in the neck by a line drive.
A number of major league coaches voluntarily wore helmets following his death , but it will now be a requirement.
Earlier today, David Wright was a guest on The MetsBlog Podcast.
To listen to his 14–minute interview, click here, or use the play button in the audio player located in this site’s left-hand column.
The following is a rushed transcript of the discussion…
Matthew Cerrone…
The David Wright Foundation will be holding their 3rd Annual Do the Right Thing Gala in New York City on Thursday, November 15 – and as such, I am happy to welcome in David Wright to The MetsBlog Podcast.
To learn more about the Gala, click here.
David what is going on buddy, how you doing?
David Wright…
Doing OK, a little bitter taste in my mouth after watching the playoffs but started to refocus, regroup and getting into the workout program.
Matthew Cerrone…
If you could take a second and maybe tell my readers what they can expect if they buy tickets to the gala. Also a little bit why you initially started the foundation, you guys do great work there.
David Wright…
We do tremendous work, it’s growing expedientially, and the foundation is just getting to that elite level where we are able to help out many great causes. I started the foundation a couple of years realizing that being a young player in New York there are a lot of kids and a lot peers that look up to you. By wearing that jersey, by being a New York Met, the community rallies around their own and that by using the Mets and the name on the back of my jersey that I could do good things in the community.
Matthew Cerrone…
That’s great and if my readers are interested in buying tickets to the Gala, they can click here.
David Wright…
It’s going to be a good event, we have Joel and Benji Madden from “Good Charlotte” doing the music set. We just have a great time for a great cause, it’s very casual. You go there and have a good time; it’s not stuffy at all. Like I said there is going to be plenty of celebrities.
Matthew Cerrone…
It’s not stuffy but you guys do the little cat walk thing at the start where everybody’s taking pictures, which has got to be strange, right?
David Wright…
Right, right, we will have some celebrities so we pull out the red carpet out. Even though it is casual we have everybody walk the red carpet to set the mood, I guess.
Matthew Cerrone…
Is that still kind of weird for you? I mean it’s got to be a little strange, now all the cameras and, I mean, It’s one thing when you are in your baseball environment, but in that setting does that kind of take you back a little bit? Are still you like “Wow this is kind of cool,” or have you adjusted to that stuff yet?
David Wright…
Yeah, I don’t know why anybody would want a picture of me without a baseball uniform, but you know its fun for me. I’ve got a chance to meet some great, some big time Hollywood celebrities, so it gives me a chance to mingle with that and get out of my element a little bit, it’s always fun.
Matthew Cerrone…
It’s interesting because at the same time, you guys are young men, you are living in this big city, you’re making good money and you are guys… So it gets people…I see fans are always interested. I think on the one hand they want you to be a clean cut professional, and on the other hand, I think we all realize that if we were in the same position we would want to hang and enjoy some of the success. Do you find it difficult to juggle between being this popular wealthy young guy in the city and then also staying focused and productive on the field? How do you deal with that?
David Wright…
Oh yeah, first and foremost I’m a baseball player and I receive these perks and I am where I am today because of baseball, and I would never lose site of that. As soon as I start slipping, as soon as we stop putting a winning product out there, on the field, then all these perks go away, so I always put baseball obviously before everything else. I’m 24 years old and I like to go out and do what a normal and typical 24 year old does, but I make sure that my number one focus is baseball. I would never do anything away from the field that hurts what I do on the field.
Matthew Cerrone…
That’s you, and obviously I’m not asking for specific people or anything, but do you ever get the sense… I mean you are hanging out with other guys, hanging out in the locker room with people. You travel to other cities and see other players; do you ever get the sense that there are guys that struggle with that? I mean like, “Dude tone it down, we have a game here to play”. Do you ever get that sense, or does everybody deal with it in that same professional manner?
David Wright…
I would say that the majority of the guys, I’m sure you have your exceptions just like in any other profession that maybe some guys…and I’m not saying anybody on our team because we do a great job of staying focused and even though we fell apart there at the end it had nothing to do with what anybody was doing away from the field. It had to do with productivity on the field, so…but I’m sure, I don’t know of any specific cases, but just like any other profession I’m sure there are people that put socially or whatever the case maybe before baseball. But for me, personally, I know that, the New York Mets, we care tremendously about our production out there on the field and we are not going to let anything away from the field distract us.
Matthew Cerrone…
That’s great. Again we are talking to David Wright, the third basemen from the Mets. He has the David Wright Foundation, the 3rd Annual “Do the Right Thing” Gala in New York City on Thursday, November 15th.
Again, to learn more about the Gala, click here.
We are talking a little bit about this sort of adjustment, I guess you want to call ‘fame and sports,’ and all this kind of stuff. How much impact does the manager and the coaching staff, in general, have on those kinds of things? You know, keeping you guys focused. I’m sure towards the end of the season you saw in the media people questioning Willie and all that kind of stuff. How influential are those guys on you, especially younger players? How much do they account for keeping you guys in line and that sort of thing? Or is that completely overblown and overrated?
David Wright…
Well, I mean, first and foremost, we are adults and we know what we have to do, we don’t need a babysitter. But, with that being said, yeah, we have one of the best coaching staffs in baseball and they know how to deal with us as professionals, deal with us as men.
You know, if there were ever any problems, Willie would be the first one to come and let you know about it. I feel comfortable and I think the team feels comfortable with Willie.
It’s easy to point a finger when things are going bad and that’s what happened over the last couple of weeks. Things went south and the easy person to blame was Willie. When in essence, Willie doesn’t strike out with the bases loaded, Willie doesn’t make bad pitches, it’s us.
I think as players, we need to accept the responsibility and the finger should be pointed at ourselves because we didn’t get the job done. I still think we had ability-wise, we went through some injuries, but ability-wise we had one of the best teams in the National League and we played dismal down the stretch. So, we didn’t deserve to go to the playoffs, but that has nothing to do with Willie, the coaching staff or the front office, that has everything to do with the 25 players putting on jerseys everyday.
Matthew Cerrone…
Obviously, now in the off season, it starts up all the rumors. How closely do you follow those things? And do you have in your mind sort of this idea of “Wow I’d love to see them do this; I’d love to see them do that”? Or, do you not even concern yourself with that?
David Wright…
I think that is a separation that is needed. I think that I follow it more as a fan then I guess as an employee of the Mets.
Obviously I’m concerned with what goes on, but I’m not going to cross that line where I’m going to try to make judgments of what we should do or what we shouldn’t do. I think that’s check and balances that are needed in an organization. You can’t allow players to put the input of whom they want or who they don’t want, I think that’s what the General Manager gets paid for, that’s why those guys have jobs is to make those kinds of decisions and we go out there and try to play to the best of our ability.
I do follow what is going on as a baseball fan in general.
Matthew Cerrone…
If you don’t mind me saying, you can always read MetsBlog.com (Laughter).
David Wright…
(Laughter) Absolutely.
Matthew Cerrone…
That’s weird, it’s hard for us to think of you watching it as a fan, so I know you are a Giants fan and there are obviously other sports and stuff, so when you watch those things, you are considering the football, the Giants team do you start to find yourself reacting kind of the same way? Sort of me and the regular fans would sort of react when it comes to baseball?
David Wright…
Yeah, I catch myself yelling at the TV or screaming at somebody or things like that. Then I think to myself, “Wow this was the guy that was screaming at me in April when I was struggling.” Then it kind of quiets me down a little bit, but I’m a fan and I enjoy the passion that comes along with it.
Sunday’s I am plopped down in front of my TV for twelve hours a day watching football, so I am a fan and I catch myself screaming at the TV and screaming at certain players. Then I remember how it was in April when people were screaming at me and I try to tone it down a little bit.
Matthew Cerrone…
(Laughter) That’s cool… Besides the Gala, do you have any other cool off season plans, anything that you do to take it easy? Actually, what is your favorite thing to do during the off season that you can’t do in the regular season?
David Wright…
Watch my little brother play high school football down here in Virginia, so I’ve been trying to come home on the weekends as much as possible to catch…Obviously with us being in the playoffs last year, I didn’t get a chance to attend any of the games. This year my brother has been a line backer so I enjoy coming down and seeing my parents, seeing my little brother play high school football. That is special for me; he comes up to Shea as much possible, so I try to return the favor and go watch him play football.
Matthew Cerrone…
That’s awesome, that’s cool, and that’s definitely a silver lining. I saw you on John Stewart and you mentioned how you think one of the positive byproducts of not making the playoffs and the way that it all went down is that maybe you guys can learn from it.
Obviously at the end of the year everybody was really dejected, fans included. I don’t know if you have talked to different people during the off season so far, but do you think that’s realistic? Do you think you guys are going to attack spring training, and I use “attack” because it sounded to me like that what was in your eye. Do you think that is something that everybody will share?
David Wright…
I mean, I hope so, you know just being competitive, just being an athlete it bothers me. It is something that I have tried to close that chapter and look forward to 2008, but in the back of my mind that’s going to be there that we let our teammates down, we let our ownership down, we let our front office down, we let our coaching staff down and we let our fans down. So that is always going to be in the back of mind that I definitely don’t want that to happen again and I definitely don’t want to feel what I felt at the end of the year letting things slip away. I know that that has motivated me so far this season to get in the weight room a little earlier, take some extra swings a little earlier because I want to get going. I think you used the perfect word, “attack” spring training, I want to go out there from day one of spring training to the last out of the World Series next year and make sure that I don’t have that feeling again.
Matthew Cerrone…
The sense I got was that that would be Willie’s mindset also. He seems like a go getter kind of guy like, “Go get it.” You obviously come at it that way and I think the criticism a lot was that there were other players…and again don’t expect you to even really acknowledge it because I wouldn’t want you to disrespect any of your teammates…but the criticism in the media and among some fans was that there were some players that were maybe not taking it seriously. I can’t imagine that is the case, but for you personally, and I wouldn’t even really want you to comment on that. But for you personally, when spring training comes around, you have been with the team now for a little while, you aren’t necessarily a veteran, but I think that people look at you and at least publicly look at you to be a leader. What would you bring, or what do you think you will bring to the team to maybe inject that a little bit more and really get everybody on board and get everybody on the same page. Or is that not even really your responsibility, do you feel?
David Wright…
No, I think it’s my responsibility. I think that, although I am young and I don’t have nearly as much time or as many years in as other players, I think I can lead by example. I think that if I go out there I play the game hard, I play the game, you know give it 100%, leave it all out on the field from the first out to the last out of every game that people will follow my example. I am feeling more and more comfortable it seems like each day and you know being a leader on this team and maybe not vocally but showing the intensity, showing that we should go out there and play hard every out and hopefully that will rub off on the rest of the team. I think that we have a young core group of guys and we need to as a whole do a better job as leading by example and having that affect and rub off on the rest of the club.
Matthew Cerrone…
That’s great, man. Well, listen I appreciate your time and best of luck at the gala, I’m sure it’s going to be a great time. Again, I appreciate it, and enjoy your time in Virginia.
David Wright…
Thanks a lot, Matt, for having me.
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