|
David Wright is the only player to play every single inning for his team this season.
Prior to last night’s game, Willie Randolph told reporters that he may give Wright a day off soon, saying:
“We’ve been talking about that, but he says he feels
great. We’ll try to find a spot here and there. If I really feel like he’s struggling, then I’ll give him a day off…If he’s swinging the bat good, you’ve got to be careful – you don’t want to throw him out of rhythm.”
…i’m guessing that this is why Abraham Nunez promoted from Triple-A New Orleans, to give the team an option at third other than wright…
However, regarding Nunez, Ted Berg writes the following in a pretty funny column for SNY.tv:
“Here’s the short list of players who were hitting better than Nunez in New Orleans: Everybody.”
Wright, as quoted by Newsday:
“Mentally, you just can’t think about it. You can’t think about needing a day off. That’s kind of accepting defeat mentally, giving in to being tired. It’s a grind, but I take a lot of pride in trying to go out there every day…It’s one thing if you’re rolling as a team, playing well and racking up the wins. But when the team is scuffling a little bit, I want to be in there. When we’re this inconsistent offensively, I feel responsible as an everyday guy to go in there and make something happen.”
…i mean, if wright needs a day off give him a day off…but, if he doesn’t, and he feels good and he’s hitting well, let him play…i don’t think this is very complicated…said Cal Ripken…
Ted’s comments are made solely because he loves this guy Pascucci who is a 30year old career minor leaguer…I would agree with him except that his solution to not calling up Nunez would be to call up his personal savior.
I hope Val gets called up and I hope he is the Messiah you want him to be….but until then, enough already, can we not bash every single reserve this team has so that you can make some idiotic point that your boy should be called up???
Whatever your opinions on Ted’s comments, they are somewhat accurate. We have no power bat off of the bench. Nunez is Endy Chavez light if that is possible. It would be nice to have a power threat coming off the bench late in close games.
Please read today’s column before you take exception to the quote above, since it only mentions Pascucci in passing and has way more to do with Nunez than anyone else.
Also, for the record, I’ve never written anywhere that Pascucci would be anything more than a productive right-handed power bat off the bench.
He would probably be an improvement over DelGarbage.
You need not defend the blatantly obvious, picking Nunez off the garbage heap was bad enough, calling him up is ten times worse, I’d rather see Tatis making an uncomfortable effort at 3B than Nunez in a met uniform.
I know Ted but if you are going to write about how having Nunez on our roster doesnt help because we have Tatis and Easley who do the same thing…you have to have a solution as to what to do, and while I would prefer to have Val (or anyone) up in NY than a 3rd catcher, it seems like bashing Nunez cause he’s worthless is just a way to promote calling your boy up instead…to me, enough already, theres a reason he’s been a career minors guy and if Nunez is up for 3 days cause nick Evans is green, so be it…theres no need to keep promoting Val every single day…
its like the guys who post here on every thread just to say “well anderson hernandez is better than [some unfunny name making fun of terrible delgado]…enough you made the point once, now move on.
Maybe I will start posting that Tony Armas shopuld be called up every time any pitcher doest pitch a perfect inning.
like I said nothing personal, just its getting old, about as old as my incessent ramblings as to why its getting old.
Val Pascucci is a right-handed bat off the bench who could not then enter the game without seriously damaging Met defense in the late innings. Ergo, what use is he? At least Honest Abe can catch the ball, play second or third, and has over 1000 games of big-league experience. We can do better than to drag the guy through the mud for a whopping 45 AB at New Orleans.
Joe Orsulak – haHA!
Good job, Ted Berg. Keep up the good work.
rumor has it that Mario Mendoza laughs at Abraham Nunez
I think it’s better than being laughed at by Mario Cantone.
Nice to see another bench spot taken up by a slap and judy hitter.
.500 team with .500 player call ups
wright is the man.
what happens when santana actually loses a few games (I know he’s lost 3 already)?
Yea Wright! That’s the bull right there – the horse. MAN is there any chance this team can sign big Tex this offseason?
He’s the only player for Mets to play every inning? Or the only player in MLB to play every inning?
It reads like he’s the only player in MLB. That’s how I’d interpret it, at least.
I’m pretty sure he’s the only one in MLB…I could be wrong but I believe I read/heard that somewhere before this post..
only one in MLB.
interesting. Anyone know: a) when the last time Wright took an inning off, b) the last time he took a game off, and c) what the longest current consecutive games played streak in MLB is? I know Tejada had the longest streak for a while, but he missed a ton of games last year. If Wright is anywhere near the top of the list, doesn’t that really put Ripken’s streak into perspective?
I don’t know who the current leader is. Francouer had the active lead going into this season at 370, but sat one of the games of DH against the Mets. Not sure who the new leader is. But yes, it does but Cal’s record into perspective.
I am pretty sure Wright had a day off sometime last Sept, so I don’t think his streak is that high.
alou is returning soon (…) and pagan could be back within a month or so. i dont see val pascucci getting a shot in the near future
I agree with Cerrone…if he feels he needs a day off, he’ll ask Willie for one and get one…if he says he feels great and doesn’t want a day off, then no need to take him out of the line-up. Simple.
He may feel great now, but not taking any days to rest before the All Star break, can translate into a more tired, weaker Wright in the dog days of August. And then it’ll be too late to rest him. Young players often don’t know how to pace themselves correctly. One of the most important jobs of the manager is making sure that your players stay fresh and focused.
I agree with the idea of giving him a day off soon. I honestly don’t see David Wright ever ASKING for a day off so I don’t buy into the whole *if he needs a day off he’ll ask for it* thing.
I hear what you’re saying, but Wright isn’t a rook, he’s been in the bigs since 2004. He’s 25 and mature beyond his years. I trust that Wright knows his own body well enough.
I guess I look at it like it isn’t a question of CAN he play everyday as opposed to SHOULD he play everyday.
I agree that he isn’t a rookie and he knows what he needs, but that’s the thing, I don’t think he NEEDS to take a day off(physically.) I’m sure he CAN play everyday. I guess I just don’t think he SHOULD. And that is where the *asking* for time off thing comes in. Even though he can physically handle it I still think he would benefit from a day off here or there. And, as I said above, I don’t believe he will ever ask for a day off unless something is physically wrong(even then, I’m not so sure…last year he wanted to play when he had back spasms but he said that Willie told him no, so, who knows.)
I’d be happy if they even just took him out after the sixth or something. There’s a reason no other major leaguer has played as much as him this year. There is some value to getting a day off.
Or maybe he will continue to push himself no matter what because of the enormous pressure that we put on him and because of the great makeup of his character. i agree with metsfan227, I don’t ever see DW asking for a day off unless he got body parts going numb…
I’d prefer Wright take a day off here and there and be strong through out the entire season than grind it out each day to be like Cal Ripken and tire out late in the season.
As long and grinding as a season it is…..it is baseball. This isn’t a contact sport. Ripken was able to play a few thousand games in a row. If Wright doesn’t request it, then keep sending him out there.
Maybe if they’re winning 12-1 you take him out after the 6th inning. But other than that he’s our horse and you send him out there day in and day out.
Exactly.
A player doesn’t always know what’s best for himself especially 25 year old. Playing every inning just isn’t necessary. And maybe old Ripken could’ve had a more productive career than the one he had. Yeah, he’s a HOF’er, but he’s no Gehrig.
D wright IS A GAMER!!!!
The Mets have off days on June 9th, 19th, and 26th. Thats plenty of rest until the all star break. He’ll get an off day or two in July or August.
If they were going to give him a game off it should have been the first game in San Francisco. In fact, they probably should have pulled him in the first…
they should have pulled the whole team and have Perez just throw until he struck guys out
LOL, I really think they should have made him pitch his way out of it. What, thrown 206 pitches? Well don’t suck so bad next time.
Haha thats hilarious and true. Stupid Oliver Perez, the whole team is beat, dog-tired yet he is well rested and goes out there and stinks it up in the 1st inning. The rest of the team had to stay in the game and get even more tired, meanwhile Perez is drinking dos equis in the clubhouse. The mets shoulda put in the backups and forced him to throw 150 pitches.
What a tank, i love this guy.
:o uh oh…the bloggers are retaliating against the commentators…we must watch out!
I thought Alou also hadn’t missed an inning this year. Am I wrong?
close he hasn’t played an inning…at least a meaningful one.
Hilarious!
Haha, nice one SoCal
That’s what she said.
Regardless of whether Berg’s agenda is to bring up Pascucci (something I agree with), is there anything at all in his article that’s wrong? Nunez is horrible, and unnecessary given that we have no need whatsoever for a player at his position (Wright and Reyes play every inning, we already have a backup 2B, and if needed, Tatis can back up third), can anyone give a good reason as to why he’s here instead of someone who actually stands a chance at getting a hit once in a while?
I was at the Zephyrs game in Round Rock Texas last weekend. I saw Pascucci hit two bombs to left field. He looked comfortable at the plate but a little awkward at the plate. However, Nunez who is supposed to be a defensive player made two errors at 3b, one was terrible on a straight ground ball, the other was out of his zone and was ruled a hit, though it should have been error number 2. Nunez has no value for the Mets and Tatis who has played 3b could fill in a game if need be instead wasting a roster spot. I know Pascucci isn’t a long term solution, but this is when you have to catch a hitter in a hot streak and get the most out of him.
“He looked comfortable at the plate but a little awkward at the plate.”
Classic metsblog sentence. You can’t be wrong. Good job.
I was at that game as well. He has a nice, easy swing. Yet he looked uneasy.
I like to eat steak, but I don’t like the taste of steak.
Didn’t Fernando Tatis start his career as a 3B?
If DW needs a day off, it’ll be against a RHP, so go with Reyes-SS/Castillo-2B/Church-RF/Beltran-CF/Delgado-1B/Tatis-3B/Schneider-C/Chavez-LF.
Call up Valentin, I am sure he can play one game there and he would be perfect as he hits better LH. So you could rest Wright against a RHP.
Pascucci looked a little awkward in the field — sorry about the typo – should probably proof read.
Ahh, now it makes sense. Must be that Texan sun burning through you…
Nunez is obviously a waste. Isn’t Tatis a 3B? Can’t Easley play there? You don’t call up a position player that can’t hit to get a spot start and then waste space on the bench the rest of the time.
The answer to our problems is in Baltimore. Go get Mora and Bradford and a little cash for a low prospect. Mora can play every position but catcher and still has some pop. Bradford woudl help solidify the pen and be a mentor for Smith. All it would cost us is money. They are both under bad contracts next seasona and I am sure Baltimore would uload them. I think they are owed 17 million between this year and next. Get Baltimore to pay about 7 million of that and you got a deal.
Chad Bradford a mentor for Joe Smith. I did read that correctly, right?
Wonder what the six degrees of separation from Omar that led us to this sterling pickup of Abe Nunez
More importantly, when will Willie take a day off?
It probably would be a good idea to give him a day off sometime soon. He probably would never really ask for a day off, but that doesn’t mean it won’t benefit him. But at the same time, with Alou out and Church maybe not 100% you don’t want to sit Wright if you don’t have to.
There is a legitimate reason for why Pascucci has not been promoted. I just penned something about it on my own site. I love Pascucci too… maybe as much as Ted…. but until the Mets make an alternate move to give him a permanent spot on the 25, their hands are tied.
Great article by Berg. Nunez is trash and the move is ridiculous.
damion easley is a below average defensive player, Tatis is even worse and Pascucci is apparentely the worst defensive player in professional baseball history.
Nunez on the other hand is a very good defensive player and while he can’t hit he gives the mets another backup infielder with MLB experience.
Willie cant use Easley to pinch hit that often b/c if Castillo, Reyes or Wright has to leave the game then noone is available to play the infield.