Showing posts with label David Wright. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Wright. Show all posts
Friday, May 9, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Monday, July 15, 2013
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
In case you forgot, David Wright = Captain America
Mets' David Wright hits clutch home run off Phil Hughes to bring team back - Daily News
“Brett Gardner’s spectacular catch was proof this would be another night when the Yankees and Mets would go their separate ways.
And then Captain America intervened.”
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
New York Mets' David Wright is looking to fix what was wrong | Tom Verducci - SI.com
Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci has a great profile of New York Mets third baseman David Wright. He also mentions this important point:
"If you watched Tiger Woods hack and shank his way around Augusta National last weekend, his mind cluttered with swing thoughts, you understand what can happen when an emphasis on mechanics passes a tipping point and becomes destructive. Wright might not have been baseball's Woods, but in 2008 noted baseball writer and stats guru Bill James told 60 Minutes that if he could pick one player to start his dream team, it would be Wright, who was then embarking on his age-25 season. "He does everything I like. And he's very young," James said."
Let's hope Verducci is right about Wright beginning the third act of his career.
"If you watched Tiger Woods hack and shank his way around Augusta National last weekend, his mind cluttered with swing thoughts, you understand what can happen when an emphasis on mechanics passes a tipping point and becomes destructive. Wright might not have been baseball's Woods, but in 2008 noted baseball writer and stats guru Bill James told 60 Minutes that if he could pick one player to start his dream team, it would be Wright, who was then embarking on his age-25 season. "He does everything I like. And he's very young," James said."
Let's hope Verducci is right about Wright beginning the third act of his career.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
Today's Mets win, Mets team captains, and Double-A 2B Reese Havens (a hodgepodge of stuff)
The Mets start the season 2-0 powered by an opposite field home run from David Wright and two homers from Lucas Duda. However, the moment that stood out in my mind is the scene of Wright calming down Ike Davis after a strikeout during the game. A little over five weeks ago, I wrote the Mets should officially name David Wright and Johan Santana as team captains, since that's the role they serve the team anyway. More recently, a question was posed to Anthony DiComo, Mets beat reporter for Mets.com asking a related question:
"In Mets history, have they had many captains? I can think of John Franco, maybe Gary Carter or Keith Hernandez?
-- Ralph G., Rahway, N.J.
You named them all. The Mets did not name a captain until Hernandez in 1987, who shared the captainship with Carter from 1988-89. Franco was captain from 2001-04. The Mets have not had one since, though David Wright has served as sort of a de facto captain for most of his tenure in New York."
So, in a way, putting that 'C' on the jersey (which I'll admit, is more common in football and hockey than baseball) would only be stating the obvious. However, it would also be sending a message to the team and the fans where the team's priorities are.
By the way, if you go to the same Mets.com link, you'll see this question at the very end:
"Where is Reese Havens? We haven't heard any reports of his injury. Is the team keeping it quiet because of his history or is he really making no progress?
-- Amod V., Montclair, N.J.
Havens made little progress after experiencing a bout of lower back stiffness early in camp, and he began the Minor League season on Double-A Binghamton's seven-day disabled list.
I have yet to meet a talent evaluator inside or outside the organization who does not believe Havens can thrive offensively at the Major League level. But at some point, the injuries began consuming him. Now 25 years old, Havens is hardly young for a prospect. He is running out of time to prove he can stay healthy over a full season, and the more time he misses this summer, the more difficult his path will be."
Yes, Mr. DiComo answered my question! And I'm glad to see the part about how successful Havens could be if he could put it all together. A first round pick taken four spots after Ike Davis, let's just hope he finally does.
"In Mets history, have they had many captains? I can think of John Franco, maybe Gary Carter or Keith Hernandez?
-- Ralph G., Rahway, N.J.
You named them all. The Mets did not name a captain until Hernandez in 1987, who shared the captainship with Carter from 1988-89. Franco was captain from 2001-04. The Mets have not had one since, though David Wright has served as sort of a de facto captain for most of his tenure in New York."
So, in a way, putting that 'C' on the jersey (which I'll admit, is more common in football and hockey than baseball) would only be stating the obvious. However, it would also be sending a message to the team and the fans where the team's priorities are.
By the way, if you go to the same Mets.com link, you'll see this question at the very end:
"Where is Reese Havens? We haven't heard any reports of his injury. Is the team keeping it quiet because of his history or is he really making no progress?
-- Amod V., Montclair, N.J.
Havens made little progress after experiencing a bout of lower back stiffness early in camp, and he began the Minor League season on Double-A Binghamton's seven-day disabled list.
I have yet to meet a talent evaluator inside or outside the organization who does not believe Havens can thrive offensively at the Major League level. But at some point, the injuries began consuming him. Now 25 years old, Havens is hardly young for a prospect. He is running out of time to prove he can stay healthy over a full season, and the more time he misses this summer, the more difficult his path will be."
Yes, Mr. DiComo answered my question! And I'm glad to see the part about how successful Havens could be if he could put it all together. A first round pick taken four spots after Ike Davis, let's just hope he finally does.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Gary Cohen says these are the 1984 Mets; I think they're more like 1983.
The New York Post has some great quotes from Gary Cohen about his optimism for the 2012 New York Mets:
"“Mets fans always talk about ’84. They had gone through seven straight horrible seasons and then all of a sudden there was a great young infusion of talent — (broadcast partners) Ronnie (Darling) and Keith (Hernandez) were a part of that — and they won 90 games out of nowhere and that led up to the World Series a few years later. Those are the years the Mets fans tend to relish and what they are waiting for.”"
With all due respect to Mr. Cohen, this team actually reminds me more of 1983. That team had a veteran leader (Keith Hernandez) and a rising star (Darryl Strawberry) but it also had an aging former power hitter (George Foster). Most of the players making the buzz though were yet to be major leaguers: Ron Darling, Dwight Gooden, Sid Fernandez, Lenny Dykstra. And even Strawberry and Hernandez didn't join the team until May 6th and June 15th of that year, respectively.
This year's team has a veteran leader (David Wright), a couple of rising stars (Ike Davis and Lucas Duda), and an aging power hitter (Jason Bay). But most of the buzz is still on the farm (Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, Zack Wheeler, Jordany Valdespin, Kirk Neiuwenhuis, Matt den Dekkar, Jenrry Mejia.)
I hope Gary Cohen is right but it seems more likely that I will be.
"“Mets fans always talk about ’84. They had gone through seven straight horrible seasons and then all of a sudden there was a great young infusion of talent — (broadcast partners) Ronnie (Darling) and Keith (Hernandez) were a part of that — and they won 90 games out of nowhere and that led up to the World Series a few years later. Those are the years the Mets fans tend to relish and what they are waiting for.”"
With all due respect to Mr. Cohen, this team actually reminds me more of 1983. That team had a veteran leader (Keith Hernandez) and a rising star (Darryl Strawberry) but it also had an aging former power hitter (George Foster). Most of the players making the buzz though were yet to be major leaguers: Ron Darling, Dwight Gooden, Sid Fernandez, Lenny Dykstra. And even Strawberry and Hernandez didn't join the team until May 6th and June 15th of that year, respectively.
This year's team has a veteran leader (David Wright), a couple of rising stars (Ike Davis and Lucas Duda), and an aging power hitter (Jason Bay). But most of the buzz is still on the farm (Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia, Zack Wheeler, Jordany Valdespin, Kirk Neiuwenhuis, Matt den Dekkar, Jenrry Mejia.)
I hope Gary Cohen is right but it seems more likely that I will be.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Team Captains for the New York Mets?
The ever optimistic Rich Coutinho gives another reason to be optimistic about the 2012 New York Mets:
"Remember this Mets fans — I know you feel beat up right now and naturally your expectations have been lowered. But Johan Santana does not have low expectations and wants nothing to do with any players who possess those tendencies. He intends on being on the mound on Opening Day and plans on making his next start five days later because that is what he was made to do...To me, that is best reason Mets fans should be optimistic — Johan Santana is hell-bent on carrying this pitching staff."
Couple that with this quote from Metsblog.com today about David Wright:
"It’s worth noting that Wright did a lot of hanging with and goofing around with the younger guys, specifically [Cesar] Puello."
The Mets haven't had a real team captain since Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter (R.I.P. Kid) They had John Franco but I always felt he was too chummy with management and did more to undermine the team than to lead them. Let's face it, John Franco may have worn the 'C' on his jersey but it was Mike Piazza's team all those years.
Does it make sense to Terry Collins to anoint Johan Santana and David Wright team captains this season and let them lead the team? Or would that undermine Sandy Alderson's ability to trade them (and, more importantly, their contracts) during the season?
"Remember this Mets fans — I know you feel beat up right now and naturally your expectations have been lowered. But Johan Santana does not have low expectations and wants nothing to do with any players who possess those tendencies. He intends on being on the mound on Opening Day and plans on making his next start five days later because that is what he was made to do...To me, that is best reason Mets fans should be optimistic — Johan Santana is hell-bent on carrying this pitching staff."
Couple that with this quote from Metsblog.com today about David Wright:
"It’s worth noting that Wright did a lot of hanging with and goofing around with the younger guys, specifically [Cesar] Puello."
The Mets haven't had a real team captain since Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter (R.I.P. Kid) They had John Franco but I always felt he was too chummy with management and did more to undermine the team than to lead them. Let's face it, John Franco may have worn the 'C' on his jersey but it was Mike Piazza's team all those years.
Does it make sense to Terry Collins to anoint Johan Santana and David Wright team captains this season and let them lead the team? Or would that undermine Sandy Alderson's ability to trade them (and, more importantly, their contracts) during the season?
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