After last night’s game, David Wright apologized to his teammates for making the baserunning mistake which cost the Mets a run in the fifth inning.
After he apologized, Wright addressed reporters as he normally does, saying:
“It’s been tough because we’re playing, as far as the standings go, in pretty meaningless games…That’s the tough part. I knew it was going to be a challenge for me coming off the DL and just right away feeling good at the plate. I wish personally I would have had a little more success coming off the DL, but that’s not the case and you have to work your way through it.”
…part of what makes a bad team bad is the attitude of a team, because the attitude of a team dictates mental preparedness, and for a player to admit that a game is meaningless, whether there are 30 days left or one day left, is a testament to the manager…i don’t think any game is meaningless and with 89 losses and seven days to go in the season, I still want my team to win, and if the players themselves aren’t into it mentally, why should we as fans invest our time in them…
Wright did break his 0 for 10 streak with an RBI double in the fifth inning, but he promptly struck out two times after that.
Despite his struggles, Wright would like to work on what Jerry Manuel calls a “loop” in his swing which makes him susceptable to inside pitches, telling reporters:
“You still take a lot of pride in each at-bat, so you want to try to fix things…By no means am I just looking ahead to next week. I want to try to correct whatever I’m doing wrong mechanically and go from there.”
…so i guess these games aren’t meaningless…
Wright will not be in today’s starting lineup.
{ 13 comments }
Wright is guarded and usually says all he right things…a la Jeter. But this is a bit troubling.
He’s the leader of this team and face of the franchise and he’s basically telling a passionate fan base still spending money on this trainwreck of a team that he doesn’t care. Not good!
They need to get rid of anything that isn’t nailed down to change the culture…ugh.
He said it was a pretty meaningless game, standings wise, this is getting blown way out of proportion.
Hustle, focus and effort should be a given…especially in a losing season. It is a big deal because it sends the wrong message.
They are concerned on Wright being susceptible to inside pitches? Give me a break. He strikes out frequently on the outside changeup. I’ve got to think Manuel is off the mark on this one.
Also, I don’t think Manuel has moved this team forward. Like it or not, the team we field next year may look a lot like this one. We may have one or two additional players but not too different at its sum. If Manuel can’t win with what he has, he won’t win with what he gets. He will have a pitching staff with five question marks, Wright being a question mark and a sub par catcher, LF and 1B. There will not be an influx of power to this team next year. He has not shown any ability to give this team a character or a direction. Its hard to say that this team is anything more than slap hitters and that was the philosophy he pushed in spring training. I like him but he is not the man for this job.
Ya know, Mr Mingo, I’m thinking all the same things. And it makes my stomach churn.
It’s gonna be Omar and Jerry, the “core” hitting the DL early and often, no big arm, no big bat, and a lot of BS all over again!
Lots of excuses and meaningless games in July!
Ya know, Mr Mingo, I’d say we need some new owners with a wallet big enough for NY and a brain for baseball smarts; just for starters!
Meaningless games? David, you make $46,000 per game. You make more, per game, than the average household income of the typical american family. Nothing in your career-life should be considered meaningless.
As for the mentality, it’s Jerry Manuel. Everyone thrashed Willie Randolph for how the Mets played under his reign, however the quality of play has been 10X worse under Jerry. Jerry needs to go this season, as does Omar. The team needs to show the fans that they’re willing to take this team in a new direction. I believe that everyone feels as though we have the players to be successful…we’re just not sure if we have the proper management.
meaningless standings wise, geez, most fans thought that all games after Beltran went on DL were meaningless, once they were mathematically eliminated, wins and losses did become irrelevant. When fans call games meaningless for months its one thing but when a player acknowledges that it was a game that won’t affect the standings, he’s bashed into the next time zone.
I’ve noticed this kind of play since the beginning of the season before all the injuries started. Besides all the base running errors, I haven’t seen them run out ground balls either. It’s like they don’t want to hurt themselves for a single. Maybe if they ran hard they would cause a throwing error. Once in a while it does happen. I also noticed outfielders, including Beltran, not rushing to throw the ball back in on a single. Still love my Mets but would like to see them play hard especially now.
1-The Mets will be no better next year than this year without adding LOTS of pitching, which they will not do.
2-Wright(whom I love) has had a crappy swing all year, I dont care WHAT his avg is. He has been horrid in the clutch and strikes out wayyy too much for a guy who has decided that he cannot hity any Hr.
3-if EITHER Minaya or Manuel return there is NO hope of betterment
4-The window of opportunity has closed for this group. From 2005- 2008 it was there to be had. Poor management and front office decisions have resulted in one playoff appearance. It will be quite a while now.
I generally agree with this, and this is why I think the team is at a major impasse for hte next couple of offseasons. I do not think it is worth going for high priced FAs in order to “win now” because I think that boat has long sailed away. Reyes, Wright, Santana, and Beltran might not ever be able to all produe at once, whether it is due to Wright’s swing, Beltran’s health, Santana’s declining velocity, etc. While I have said that the Mets should not settle for mediocrity, there are not enough players available to fill their needs, and this is all assuming the other teams do not improve. Therefore, the notion of a total firesale for high upside prospects is not something that should be dismissed, at least in my opinion. I don’t think they can catch up in 3 years, so why not cut their losses now?
Wright should be getting bashed for what an awful season he’s had, not for his comments last nite.
He is no doubt very embarrassed at the year he has had, but he has battled through a lot, and that is more than you can say about the other core members who spent a lot more time than necessary loafing on the DL.
DW saying the games are ‘pretty meaningless’ doesn’t bother me at all – I take it as reflecting his competitiveness and disappointment that it’s the last week of the season – a critical time for the Mets each of the last two years – and they’re not in the hunt for a playoff spot, not even close.
Sure, there’s some meaning in all the games, whether it be improving his swing or whatever – but would we rather him saying he’s pumped up to be padding his stats the last week of the season? That’s not him, and I think that’s fine – he’s bummed out because it’s been a crappy year. Aren’t we all?
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