30
2010
Mets Need The Wright Backup At Third Base
An article by 
David Wright has his fans. Those are the ones who say he’s the face of the franchise and can tell you without giving it much thought how many seasons he’s had with a .300+ batting average (five, in case you were wondering) and 100+ RBI (also five).
He also has his haters. Those people will point to his declining batting average and his rising strikeout totals, as well as his “aw, shucks” attitude that doesn’t inspire his teammates to raise their game to another level.
One thing David Wright doesn’t have is sufficient rest during the season. Since he’s expected to be a key cog in the not-so-well-oiled machine, it’s difficult to give him too many days off during the regular season, but because he’s in the lineup day in and day out, his production tends to suffer more than it should.
Since being promoted to the Mets midway through the 2004 season, Wright has had a number of prolonged slumps. Each time after his manager has given him a routine day of rest, he’s responded well after his 24-hour respite.
- In 2005, Wright began his first full season in the major leagues by starting 32 of the team’s first 33 games. With David’s batting average down to .255, Willie Randolph gave him a day off. After his one-day layoff, Wright went on a tear over his next 14 games, batting .440 (22-for-50) and lashing out nine extra-base hits to the tune of a .700 slugging percentage.
- In 2007, David Wright had appeared in every game the Mets played in April and May, but was only hitting .271 with 8 HR and 28 RBI. After getting his first full game off on June 1, Wright responded with a bang, hitting .339 over the next 30 games. He also banged out seven home runs and drove in 21 runs over that month-long stretch.
- In 2008, the Mets could ill afford to give Wright a day off, but when his batting average had dropped to the mid-.280s in early August, Jerry Manuel knew that he had to give his third baseman a day off. After not playing against the Pirates on August 17, Wright caught his breath and regained his batting stroke, hitting .336 over the team’s final 38 games. He also scored 31 runs, to go with 10 HR and 29 RBI.
- In 2010, Wright played in each of the Mets’ first 40 games. However, he was only hitting .262 and was striking out at a record-breaking pace (55 Ks in those 40 games). After getting his first day off of the year, Wright came back with a four RBI, no strikeout game. This type of performance continued over his next 37 games. In those 37 games, Wright hit .359, with 16 doubles, six homers and 37 RBI (an average of one RBI per game). More importantly, he cut down on his strikeouts, fanning a total of 35 times over that stretch.
Of course, sometimes it’s difficult to find a good day to give Wright a break, especially if his replacement is one you’d rather not see in the lineup. During the first half of the 2010 season, the Mets played Fernando Tatis at the hot corner whenever Wright was given a day off. After Tatis played his final game of the season on July 4, the role of David Wright’s backup went to Mike Hessman. Neither player performed at a level that could afford the team more opportunities to rest their starting third baseman, with Tatis hitting .185 in 65 at-bats and Hessman hitting a paltry .127 in 55 at-bats. It almost made fans long for the days when Chris Woodward and Julio Franco were backing up David Wright.
If David Wright is going to continue to be one of the key components in the lineup, the Mets must find a backup who will not be an automatic out whenever he gets a spot start. Finding that type of player will allow them to give Wright a day off here and there before he goes into those extended slumps. It can also give them a player they can use as trade bait or perhaps a player who can become a starter at another position (a la Angel Pagan, who filled in nicely for Carlos Beltran in 2009 and 2010 and is now an everyday outfielder even with Beltran back in the mix).
Right now, the Mets’ 40-man roster doesn’t have too many options for the backup role to David Wright. Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus can play some third, but he is mostly a second baseman. Zach Lutz had a promising season in 2010, but that was in AA ball. The only player on the Mets’ 40-man roster with major league experience who has played third base before is Daniel Murphy, who played 196 games at the hot corner in 2007 and 2008 while in the minor leagues. Perhaps Sandy Alderson can made a trade for a capable backup infielder. If not, then there’s always the free agent route, but there aren’t too many reasonable options there (Andy LaRoche, Hank Blalock and Nick Punto, to name a few).
David Wright turned 28 last week. He is now firmly entrenched as one of the veterans on the team. However, if he’s going to be counted on to be one of the offensive leaders on the team, he has to be given regular rest in order to fully take advantage of the production he’s capable of. Having a roster spot taken up by the likes of Mike Hessman was not the answer in 2010 and having a Hessman-like player in 2011 will not be acceptable.
Simply stated, the Mets must have a productive backup for David Wright on the roster. They have to give him more days of rest during the season, especially when (or better yet, before) he’s on one of his “ten strikeouts in six games” streaks. If they don’t, Wright’s production will continue to suffer as will the Mets’ position in the NL East standings. And considering where the Mets have found themselves in the standings over the past two seasons, that’s a little too much suffering than any fanbase needs.
About the Author: Ed Leyro
Ed Leyro was hatched in the Bronx, but spent most of his youth in Queens at Shea Stadium. Apparently, all that time spent at Mets games paid off as Ed met his wife (The Coop) for the first time at Citi Field during its inaugural season. Guess the 2009 season was good for something after all. In addition to his work at Mets Merized Online, Ed also owns, operates and is head janitor at Studious Metsimus, where he shares blogging duties with Joey Beartran. For those not in the know, Joey is a teddy bear dressed in a Mets hoodie. Clearly, Studious Metsimus is not your typical Mets blog.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 26 | 17 | .605 | - |
| Nationals | 25 | 17 | .595 | 0.5 |
| Marlins | 23 | 19 | .548 | 2.5 |
| Mets | 22 | 20 | .524 | 3.5 |
| Phillies | 21 | 22 | .488 | 5.0 |
Last updated: 05/22/2012
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Evans…can play 1b, 3b, corner OF…and can be RH bat off the bench.
Hmm, David Wright has slumps!!!! Oh my gosh…… He needs rest!!!! oh my gosh…. Gee lets see Cal Ripken had prolonged slumps. How much rest did he need??? David Wright needs rest if he is bruised and battered and his body needs to rest to be healthy. He doesn’t nees rest merely because he’s in a slump. David Wright needs to stop trying to be a totally different batter every season. He needs to stop feeling the need to prove every criticism wrong. He needs to be David Wright, whomever David Wright is. An extra day off isn’t going matter.
I think 12 days off a year would matter. #1) His swing does get pretty tired looking some times. #2) I’d rather see him emphasizing quality over quantity. #3) It would give him a chance to not always have to be the spokesman after every game. Let someone else own the tough losses once in a while instead of Wright having to do it game after game. No wonder he feels all the pressure in the world to get it done every time.
All in all I still feel he is far more the solution than the problem and I remember all too well all those different 3rd basemen we have had around here through the years and I wouldn’t want to go back to those days.
METSFAN, PLAYING THE RIPKIN CARD IS LUDICROUS IF ALL PLAYERS WERE CREATED EQUAL & INTERCHANGABLE ITHE HOF WOULD BE USELESSLY FILLED WITH EVERYONE WHO EVER DONNED SANITARIES & STIRUPS. IT’S SORTTA LIKE ME CALLING U OUT FOR NOT THINKING AS CLEARLY AS WILL, BEFORE U COULD TYPE REDICULOUSLY, U MUST BE ONE OF THE HATERS DISGUISED AS SOMEONE WITH INTELLIGENCE!
62….. Maybe you are kind of correct, but why is it any more ludicrous ( I would call it an extreme example vice ludicrous) than people saying without a doubt he needs x number of days off. Unless a star player in the prime of his life is injured or worn down mentally he doesn’t need a day of rest. The only one who knows if Wright is playing with diminished ability is Wright and the coaching staff and the trainers. Being in a slump doesn’t mean you need rest. It means only you are in a slump for one of a million possible reasons, rest being only one of the possible solutions. And as for the haters, since David, according to the press and his last manager never wants a day off, the haters must be the ones who are demanding he rest, since it is after all, being critical of an aspect of him!!!!. Oh how they now all fit in their own accusatory shoes! lol.
METSFAN, to expect the player to ask for a blow(rest) is just as ludicrous, it’s also unlikely that a kid from the boonies of Va armed with a HS education is going to be inciteful enough to truly be able to measure the mental fatigue his natural obession to win creates in a losing environement. 1 player regardless of talent can’t be expected to truly carry this entire team on his back for 3 yrs running, can he?(unfortunately Wright does of himself) Perhaps more than anything they somehow need to prove to him the Mets can actually win without him in the lineup!
I truly doubt there is one proplayer on any NY sports team that takes on the full responsibility for his team’s results as much as D.Wright does. BTW, THAT ALONE IS EXHAUSTING!!! In my opinion, that’s the single most crucial cause for his increased Ks, esp in clutch situations. for instance, another homegrown product with an equally impressive desire to perform;but has more perspective as to his rightful place as a key contibutor not a sole contributor is Dereck Jeter. Jeter has always known he was an inmportant contributor; but should he occasionally falter there were3,4 guys directly behind him to picj him up, imagine if Wright ever had that luxury, he did once, iin ’06! Bering not ONLY your team’s best hope is tiring day in & night out; but thinking you are not just the BEST HOPE; but are also the LAST HOPE. every single game(only missed 12G bet ’06-’08) as did Reyes bothy played in 474 out of 486 games from 2006 through 2008. Any wonder why production suffered late? that’s half the CORE running on fumes with Wright carrying that extra additional burden as a lifetime NYM fan as well as a PLAYER. BTW DURING THOSE SAME 3 SEASONS BELTRAN WAS TROTTED OUT THERE FOR 92% OF THOSE GAMES(445 out of 486) Delgado for 91.6%(442 out of 486)
Is there any wonder the entire core collapsed in ’09? Was it as much med/trainer incompetance or mngt abuseiveness? We’ve heard so litt;le about THIS rather OBVIOUS cause.
QUERY: we’re unlikely to ever know whether Gehrig became susceptable to ALS from being rundown through lack of proper rest compromising his immune system? Would a well rested Gehrig, robust immune system have successfully defeated it’s initial contact with the disease? We’ll never know esp since no one’s asking the question.
I agree that everytime Wright is in a slump it doesn’t mean its just b/c he needs rest. But I do think its true that sometimes physical fatigue can contribute to a slump and/or that giving a guy a mental break can help him out of a slump.
And Ripken is somewhat of a silly example. He’s a total anomaly. He’s known for the absurd streak moreso than his actual production. And besides, maybe Ripken would have been better had he not played so many games. Obviously he was good for a long time and was able to compile some impressive number, but looking at his individual seasons, most weren’t all that spectacular. He was a good hitter for a SS, and one of the first offensive minded SS, but if Wright put up the average Ripken season, it would be considered a major disappointment.
well said about ripken
LG, I think this is more about hoofbeats & whether most likely source is horses or zebras. This is certainly a talented effective team when healthy, why can I say that? Over the past 5 years they’ve had 3 healthy sequential seasons followed by 2 with abnormally high & high injury occurances to key components. the result was 3 successive #1 in standings late into the season & 2 barely competitive ones. it’s likely most effec tive to seek to improve on the first 3 rather than the last 2 naturally caused disappointments. Tghe lineup apparently ran out of steam late in ’07 & ’08 after ’06′s shocking ly late game 7 result still pyuched there despite losing 40% of the rotation prior to game 1 of postseasonal play. Fix the causes behind ’07 & ’08, most likely the lack of refular off days given to the entire core(aka, pisspoor-planning) is the culprit. Fes ever really consider what went down over the 3y span of ’06-’08 in thiose 3 seasons totaling 486 games, Wright played in 474 of them as did Reyes or basicly 97/5% of the games played, missiding a total of ONLY 12 GAMES OVER 3 FULL SEASONS. THAT’S ONLY HALF OF THE THEN CORE 4, simarlarly Beltran played in 445 of those games(92.0% & Delgado in 442 or 91.6%. in those 3 somewhat disappointing late seasons THE CORE 4 HAD ONLY 97G OFF OUT OF A POTENTIAL OF 1,458(4
(CONTINUED)
(4 players over 3 162G seasons combine to play in 1,458 games maximum derived by 3 potentials of 486 games)
put another way they combined to sit out only 6.6%(97) of the games that could be played over 3 seasons. conclusion: hoofbeats not created by striped equines; but plain old regular horses & ours were ridden hard & put up wet all too often. Is there ant question as to why they suffered physical breakdowns in the following 2 yrs? No one’s intimating every one of their slumps were due to exhaustion’; but isn’t this apparently rediculous? Imagine if they had been given just avg rest occasionally.
Almost as rediculous as Reyes & Beltran now being criticized for missed play, duh, I wonder why??
“He also has his haters.”
To hate David Wright is nothing short of either stupidity or malevolence.
He may not be your favorite but to hate David is absurd. The lives of the haters must be empty.
What people like you and Leyro fail to cmprehend is that in criticizing someone you don’t have to hate him. You see the same line on every team’s site. A guy knocks a player or an exec and he is automatically called a hater. Yet these same people making the false accusation, go nuts when they are called blind lovers or loyalists or apologists. Isn’t that so? Just as you flasely claim that the lives of the so called haters must be empty, I will most assuredly claim that the lives of the empty minded blind followers must be at least as empty.
So why isn’t Des that David Wright has his critics and his lovers?
METSFAN — Your comments are so contrived and irrational that I feel a bit sorry for you. I don’t, and never have, thought that every criticism is a sign of hate. You are an angry dude.
Des; To put it simply so that even you can understand this. YOU ARE A JERK. Four simple words that peg you completely. Here’s another. YOU ARE A LOSER. Here’s another. YOU ARE A FAKE. and the three most important words about you. YOU ARE CLUELESS.
The anger gets worse.
Any other nice things you want to say?
Des, why would a guy say anything nice to you when you accuse people who disagree with the perfection of anthing Met as being a hater and having an empty life. You deserved everything thrown at you plus more, because its arrogance like yours that starts the crap on this board everyday. A guy doesn’t like something about a Met, and ignorant people like you respond with name calling of the poster and then when they give it back full force you whine like the little baby you are.
METSFAN was right to call you out for the true loser you are. At least he can take it, losers like you only know how to give crap but are to weak and witless to receive. So enjoy your really empty meaningless existence. PS: Your posts are without doubt the emptiest on this site.
Each of us has opinions. I was differentiating between views and over-the-top views. Sorry it escaped you. P.S.: You also seem pretty hostile. Using word like LOSER doesn’t encourage the dialog you seem to want.
Both “Metsfan” (clever name) and “IZ” are insanely hostile people without a rational thought between the 2 of them. They are both Nazi’s as well
Happy new year to you Vinny. Happy to know that you are correlate baseball to fascism. As a person who had family in concentration camps, you are truly are person that knows what he is talking about. Congrats. You are a prime ezample why when one travels the country and wears a Met shirt or hat, Mets are the laughingstock of the country. Good shopw Vinny. I’m sure you are proud oif your screqed up brain.
I’m glad you said that. You are right to say that talking about things you dislike in a players game is not the same as saying you hate the player.
I think sometimes that is confused among some.
You METSFAN actually like and root for David Wright correct? It’s just that you also don’t like certain aspects of his game as well. Right?
You are correct North Jersey. I’d have aserious discussion with you butI need to respond to the moron who thinks his hate his superior to others. Happy new Year
I am a DW criticizer – but I still root for him – like you guys.
But you have to admit — there are plenty of people ON THIS BOARD who dislike DW to such a degree, it makes you question their Met fandom. And tend to criticize the writers for a complimentary piece, or still manage to find the omission of a criticism of DW in a piece and blast that too. That is who Des is referring to. And my husband (aka the writer of this piece 
)
Thanks, The Coop.
I’ve witnessed hate and anger between teams, but some of the fans in NYC, Philly, and Boston take it to ridiculous levels with players on the team they claim to root for?
Can it be said that all hate is a form of implicit or explicit criticism, but that criticism is not necessarily hate? Sort of like ‘All dogs are animals, but not all animals are dogs.’ It’s apparently confusing to some folks.
I agree Coop.
I am sure when Ed used haters he didnt mean anyone who criticizes a player. My reply to Metsfan was just to be sure that his perception of Wright then was that he actually rooted for him and liked him and just that he didn’t like certain aspects of his game.
I know there are some that the way they berate wright it is more than just things in his game they dislike it’s him as a whole.
I don’t have a problem with people who make rational criticisms of any player. I don’t think that is “hating”. But there are definitely a number of people out there who do seem to have an irrational level of hatred for Wright, which I don’t understand. Some people seemingly rip him for anything and everything and most of the time don’t even have their facts straight about things. There are those out there the same way with Reyes too, which I don’t get either. Of course there are people with both those guys who are so blind in their love that they overreact to any critiques those guys get, which is irritating as well. But there definitely are “haters” out there.
METSFAN, your life isn’t necessarily empty just your head(lol) did u not get enough attention as a child? Do u really think if u psoted something thought provoking & inciteful that u wouldn’t be noticed & acclaimed? As one of the best 3B playing today, criticizing him for nitpicking meaningless crap is a gutless cry for attention.
For a guy who prides himself on his owwn intellect,and if intellect were based on words written you would be an intellectual person, you must be ashamned of your post 62. Lets’ see you are so smart 62, so smart that you call me names for making petty attacks upon David Wright. If you had the ability to absorb what you read, you would have known 62 that I was criticizing people who call people who criticize a Met a heter. Well, that’s you!!!!! You have more than proven my point. Your post was about the most hateful post written here. Thanks !!!
Is that like killing a rookie (first year in the bigs) for hitting 19 homeruns and being the best rookie we’ve seen since Strawberry? Going on about a flaw and calling him a lair when he goes on National TV and says he realized his swing needed work, shortening it up etc….and that he continues to work on that for consistency?
Glass houses
JerryG – sounds very familiar…;-)
Both Willie and Jerry overused David. Willie used to say that David was a grinder. Managers overuse when they think someone is indispensable.
Wright probably needs 6-10 games off a season to keep his freshness and spark. But David bears some of the responsibility. He needs to assert himself and demand some time off. He doesn’t help the team when he’s mentally (and perhaps physically) exhausted. The season’s long grind after spring training means lots of games, long plane rides, irregular sleeping hours, interviews, charity work, and too little personal time. It’s too much to be all things to all people as David tries to be.
I don’t think the Mets will ever trade David because he brings so many good things to the team both on and off the field. If fact, it’s likely David will move into the front office or become an announcer after his playing days are over.
I would love to see cantu in this role, backing up first, third, and left. He is probably too good to be a fill in, but his poor last year may allow us to get him cheap.
I thought the idea of this blog was to figure out who should be the backup not to call each other names.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cuuq62v5Agc
I do agree with the general theme of the post. I think Wright could benefit from some more days off and yes it would be nice if the backup wasn’t completely awful. But I don’t think having a good backup automatically means Wright would be more days off. Tatis had some good years here, yet during that time Wright was still out there everyday.
And days off aren’t a cureall. Wright is still going to have slumps even if he is rested, and is going to find his way out of some slumps even without days off.
But yes, he should get more rest than he does. And the Mets should work to make their bench as good as possible. Though I’d probably say that having a good backup 3b man is probably less important than having good backups at some of the other positions since wright is pretty dependable to be out there everyday.
Looking at your article, there is certainatly a trend there. I believe Murph would do fine to spell Wright. Move murph to third once a month and put whoever at second. I also believe we need a solid back up outfielder for the same reason. Actually this was my main problem with Omar his bench or role players were washed up serious has beens, the past couple of years. And yes I did like Woodward lol.
This needs to be Dan Murphy’s role. Backup 1B/2B/3B.
Evans is redundant. Why would you ever sit Wright vs. a lefty in favor of Evans? Just schedule Wright’s off-day to be vs. a righty, and play Murphy there.
as others said, of the likely potential bench guys, Murphy, Evans and Emaus have all played 3B, and should be adequate for a day here and there. Emaus even played a lot there last season, and is the most “current” at the position. Not sure, but Turner may have spent some time there too.
so overall out of that bunch, there should be enough options to give Wright a game off every 3 weeks or so.
Darth is probably correct about the L/R issue, but it depends on whether he is the starting 2B vs. LHP. if so, it means a RH bat is likely to play that day anyway at 2B if Murphy moves over to 3B, so probably better to just put the sub at 3B.
Murphy is the winter games played a lot against Left handed pitchers. He was hitting .400 and had 2 HRs. He has proved that he can hit both right and left hand pitchers.
IIRC, he had some hits off of lefties in 2009 too.
I would much rather have Murphy backup Wright than Evans. I think Evans is a career minor leaguer and not worth a roster spot on this team.
Some players can go out there every day and make corrections to whats going wrong (ex. Cal Ripken). Wright evidently is not that type of guy. Getting him a day off here and there in a season shouldn’t be an issue. Does Wright get a hit EVERY day? No. A talented hitting backup would be great, but when its only 5-15 games a year, it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. If the rest of the lineup hits even a little in those games, its a non-factor. Backups to star players should mainly be fielding specialists.
What about trying Murphy at third? See if he can handle that.
he played 3B mostly in the minors. Not a great fielding %, but he does have the experience.
If he is on the team, especially as a bench player, he likely will be the 1st back up for 3B.
I’m all for Murphy (196 games at third base in two years in the minors) being the backup third baseman for David Wright. Of course, if Murphy somehow becomes the Mets’ second baseman, it might just be Evans or Emaus. We also can’t rule out Alderson signing a journeyman utility infielder to spell David whenever Terry Collins feels he needs to take a rest.
You folks do realize he batter .283 with 29hr and 103rbi’s, right?
Not a terrible season when you realize he had almost no consistent protection in the line up? Outside of a rookie Ike Davis he did not have a truly dangerous bat behind all season! Lets face it Jason Bay offered him no protection and Ike was a rookie still learning the game and how to deal with teams making adjustments to him a lot more quickly than he was accustomed to.
What Wright needs to do is going back to being the two strike terror he was his first few seasons. Personally I think he took on too much of his former hitting coaches feast or famine career persona. Love Hojo but, lets face it he was one of the streakiest hitters in Mets history.
Wright has to focus on working the counts like he used and taking the pitches deep he can handle and driving ptiches the other way with authority like he once did.. Yes he will not hit 30 homers in Citi Field that way but, .310 with 20 homers and 125 rbi is not a shabby season or career numbers to settle on.
Sorry for the spelling errors folks, I’ve been up all night..
Still, Well said
there’s one person on this site that will insist that none of those home runs and rbi’s mattered, because they were all just hit to pad his numbers when the game didn’t matter.
Though said person seems to think that the only hits that aren’t “stat padding” are ones that are walkoffs.
It is true that Wright struggled in some clutch situations this yr. He needs to get back to the great “close and late” hitter he was in years past..this yr he was terrible in those spots. But its not true that all, or even any kind of large chunk of his production, came in “stat padding” situations. The Mets were not in many blowout games at all..a majority of Wright’s production came in close games. A hit that gives the Mets a 2-1 lead in innings 1-6 isn’t “stat padding”, nor is a hit in any inning that extends a 3-2 lead to 4-2, nor is one that brings the Mets from a 5-2 deficit to a 5-3 deficit “stat padding”. There are many important spots throughout the game that impact who wins.
Yeah if a hitter only gets hit when his team is up by 5 runs, that might be a bit of “stat padding”. But thats not the case with Wright. And really, players shouldn’t stop trying to get hits and score runs just b/c their team is up by a lot of runs. We’ve seen this team blow many a lead over the years. A-Rod always got a lot of crap from being a “stat padder” too, which was equally moronic.
He had a solid season. Certainly not worth some of the over the top reactions from some. He is far from the biggest problem on this team.
However, Wright from 2005-2008 that routinely put up an OPS well over .900 and an OBP close to .400, and struck out around 115 times a year is better than the 2010 version that put up a .850 OPS, .350 OBP, and struck out 160 times. It would be nice to get the 2005-2008 version back.