According to Checked Swing, the Mets are 15–6 at home when wearing their white jerseys and traditional blue hats, their best record of any uniform combination.
…hat tip to Mets Police for the link…
Alex Schirling of Dugout Central lists MetsBlog.com among things on the Bright Side of Being a Mets Fan.
In a post to the Real Dirty, Rusty looks at this day in Mets infamy.
John, from Metstradamus, explains, “Don’t blame yourself. This franchise makes suckers out of all of us at one point or another.”
Greg Prince from Faith and Fear looks at the Art of Losing.
D-Backs 3B Mark Reynolds tells Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse that the media may be in David Wright’s head.
Lastly, in a video for On the Black, Kerel Cooper discusses Francisco Rodriguez, and his small number of save opportunities.
{ 27 comments }
Mark Reynolds doesn’t play shortstop.
I’d agree with Price and Reynolds but take it a step further. Wright is beyond spooked by New York, he is still looking like the same guy who fanned on a 3-2 ball four in the 9th inning last September with nobody out and a runner on third.
People can argue and defend him all they went but he has a look of no confidence in RBI spots this year, especially at home.
Patrick I know better than to argue and defend, you have made up your mind to be a DW hater, that’s well known around here believe me.
The fact remains is that he is still the team leader in RBI’s, the HR thing is much too blown out of proportion, and as far as last September agains the cubs find a bridge and get over it, he delivered last night and it could have been the game tying run had Pagan actually ran on Castilo’s hit.
Do you have posters of him in your room? Is that why you are obsessed with responding to his name in every post by anyone who dares to call a spade a spade. Leading a crap team in RBIs by the way is much ado about nothing.
He has all of 12 more RBIs than Beltran who has missed 40 games, hell Delgado had 23 RBIs in 24 games.
Yeah, the HR thing is much too blown out of proportion, it is great having a singles hitter who is on pace to K 150 times as your 3 hitter.
Love your what if scenario, it is Pagan’s fault Wright is not your hero last night. BAH.
No point in even saying anything more than my spouse would be offended if there were posters and you have made up your mind to be a hater not a fan.
You can spin it any way you want. I am a realist and not a dreamer.
I understand your criticism and perspective of Wright, but you also have to be a little reasonable. Wright had a big September last year and came through in a few big spots, ok, so he didnt come through every time. You can’t expect that. with a guy on third and no out, fine, i can harp on him for not at least getting a productive out, but you have to understand it is unrealistic for him to come through every time with RISP.
This season is bizarre, to say the least. I think he has suffered from being the only guy in the middle of the lineup for so long, (especially in May and June). I think he’s been pressing at times, and he definitely did something to his swing, and to be honest, good players should never change their swing unless the original isn’t working anymore.
But what options do you propose? He’s an all-around talent at 3B, you can’t trade him. He plays every day, he doesn’t complain. We have no idea how frustrated he could or could not be. I just know he is on our team, and numbers aside, he’s a top 5 3B in MLB. What else do you want us to do?
To actually respond to your original post…i do agree Wright has a look of no confidence in big spots this season.
Couple of things.
1. I am not really expecting him to drive in a run in every spot. What would have been nice in that particular spot? Accepting ball 4 which it clearly was.
2. I don’t dislike David Wright as a player, I have just come to expect him to fail in a big spot and I think his greatness is overhyped. This was an enormous opportunity for him to put this team on his back and carry it for two months. Did I expect him to drive this team to first place? Hell no. But had he performed like the superstar everyone is happy to label him as, perhaps this team would be a few games over .500, with a fighting chance if some of the DL returned.
3. Hard to argue that this year had not been a step backwards. And I am bored with the illusion that CitiField is the problem when team after team marches in to the new digs and players hit the ball over the wall.
patrick, I hear what you are saying and i can’t say i disagree, and i don’t mean to come off as some kind of obsessed dreamer, but as a fan i do try to find the good in the players, and do a lot of them frustrate me beyond belief, yes, but hearing nonstop negativity about a player who busts his butt 160+ games a season does not deserve such wrath.
I always wondered what it was like to be a Pirate fan….
so now I know!
well, its too early to say that. we havent traded away Reyes or Wright or Pelfrey, you know, like guys in their prime.
Oh the fire sale is comin’ Mr Starz!
Don’t think Freddy ain’t steamin’ ’bout this mess!
He’s got this rotunda in a bunch!
haha…well hopefully the fire sale begins with the first name off the shelf being Omar
The Mets have to do what it takes to revamp big time for 2010.
The only players who shoudl be considered safe for attendance at St. Lucie next spring:
Reyes, Wright, Santana, Pelfrey, Frankie.
My personal stance I would keep Francouer and also keep moving with Murphy at firstbase.
Castillo should be moved. Schnieder should not return and Delgado should move on to DH. I would also seek to move Beltran.
Taking Wagner’s salary out the the mix with the right mix of cash and prospects regarding Castillo and Beltran the Mets could great some flexibility for free agent acquisition and trades.
Ideally make a move on Carl Crawford. If Tampa won’t bite go hard after Matt Holliday.
Try to use prospects to pry Roy Halladay.
And all of this most certainly is going to have to be done sans Omar Minaya. I am not a proponent of blaming Minaya for all that has gone wrong, but he had a 5 year plan when he arrived. That plan failed. What is worse is the Phillies are going to win their 3rd straight division title and have already won a championship. That was the model. It is time to reassemble, but it does not come without significant risk.
Patrick, I mostly agree with your evaluation. I really feel like Castillo has proved he wants to play here and play well; but I have no great loyality to him. Just a case of; if you keep the 5 you mention, what indeed do you have to trade?
Not much, my friend. Not much.
So you still need a legit 1st baseman, a LF, a catcher, A HAMMER, 2 or 3 starters, another L in the pen….need I go on?
What we have here, is failure to build a baseball team!
Keeping Wright, Reyes, Santana, Pelfrey and Frankie are paramount to having a team worth fielding. The first two are heading into their prime, the third is not replaceable by any realistic means and the fourth is barely getting started. Closer is essential.
Trading Castillo is going to mean eating some of his contract, ideally you can swing him for low level prospects or a decent bullpen arm, or mix of both.
I don’t buy the hypothesis of a “legit 1b” you need 8 players who collectively contribute.
If you are dealing Beltran that gives you a lot to deal. If the Mets bit at say $3M a year on his salary he becomes very affordable to some teams. Get some prospects and turn those around to build other areas.
Focus on lf, 2b and pitching. I’d keep firstbase and catching largely as is.
Patrick, I must agree with you on this, especially on your 1st base anaylsis, if Murphy can contribute with the other guys around him then leave him be, I don’t think we should label guys, his defense has been good and he may hit better next season with more protection in the lineup, Similarly I’d keep F-core, I like his attitude and if he can produce this season keep him, I agree with Crawford, try to get him, idk who you would trade but if you get Crawford you don’ t “need” F-mart for the future. That gives you a trading chip
Halladay, plus Crawford and the rest of the team healthy would be great, then you need another catcher. IF you get Halladay that solidifies the rotation a great deal providing that Pelfrey can somehow regain his form, he has to work out that. I would keep Castillo but I”m not married to the idea. Two big pieces ideally a starter and a LF would do a lot for this team
Patrick:
I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU about David Wright. I’ve been saying for months that he needs a sports psychiatrist–ever since the play you mentioned from last September (Murphy triples, winning run on 3rd with no one out, Wright and Mets can’t bring him home) DW has not been the same player. I used to always want him in a big situation, now I cringe. He will always be a good ballplayer, but I’m not sure he will ever return to his former glory of being “Mr. Clutch” again.
Everytime I complain about Wright to friends I hear “Wright is the face of the franchise, he’s great, look at his batting average,” blah blah blah. But like you, I see a difference this season.
And btw, I noticed DW was clean shaven last night. What happened to the “not shaving till we reach .500 oath”? Cora and Frenchy were still sporting beards, Way to keep the team comraderie DW! Would it have killed you to look grubby for a few more days–or at least decide as a team to give up the facial hair.
Patrick, what is the long term health deal with Beltran?
I’ve heard some rather dire results should surgery be required on his knee bruise.
This turns the plan a bit upside-down!
Of course, try to get a straight answer on the condition or health of a Met player is like breakin’ the DaVinci code.
I feel like the 2009 Mets are like Ron Howard’s film adaptation of the Da Vinci Code, all sizzle but no steak.
The facial hair thing is up to the individual, if it wasn’t working for him so be it, doesn’t make him less of a team player.
wlaadair:
It’s not a big deal, so I’m not going to argue about it. But I believe it does say something.
And I would have mentioned it if it were Francoeur or Santos or Cora–it just happened to be DW.
And it DOES send a message; however subtle. They decided AS A TEAM not to shave until they reached .500. It was printed in the newspapers, on TV, and posted on this very blog. So it was a sign of unity, of brotherhood, however small. It was silly, it was fun, everyone got a big kick out of seeing their grubby faces on the field.
You don’t think when DW walked in cleanshaven to the clubhouse yesterday it didn’t send some sort of message to the rest of the team? Even if the reason he got rid of it was simply, “My face felt itchy,” you don’t think the other guys said, “Hey, I thought we all decided to do this thing, and now you’re not?”
Again, in the grand scheme of things, OF COURSE it’s not a big deal. But I do think it sent a subtle message. So I guess you and I will just have to politely agree to disagree.
(And again I would have mentioned it no matter which player decided to “break the pact,” –it just happened to be DW.)
I know its not a big deal and its not worthy of any kind of arguement, but i’m sure if anyone thought that even a subtle message was being sent, they would be on his case about it, even if just teasing and whatever explanation he gave i’m sure would be accepted.
I think Cora is the one that initiated the beard thing so if anyone felt slighted it would have been Cora, not the rest of the team, but again, probably did not take offense or contradiction to it.
Very true, I agree. And DW comes from a family of boys, I believe (two brothers?) so he’s used to teasing and ribbing…
It will be interesting to see if any other players have abandoned the grubby look tonight.
(I’m just curious…I’m all about the little details…!)
He’s the oldest of 4 boys so you know the older veterans on the Mets give him the little brother treatment any time they can, just like Mike Pelfrey and Daniel Murphy are like his adopted baby brothers.
You never know, maybe there was a clubhouse discussion about it and no one was caught off guard by the clean shaven thing, its impossible to know what goes on behind those clubhouse doors (i would love to be a bug on the wall some days)
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