21
2012
David Wright Talks About His Future And Legacy With Mets
An article by Craig Lerner
David Wright was a guest today on MLB Network’s “The Rundown”. Here is what he had to say on a variety of topics:
His future with the Mets:
“That’s a great question. I hope…I’d love to get this thing turned around and headed in the right direction and I think we’ve done that, taking that first step. Hopefully, I’m a big part of that.”
Playing in New York:
“New York wants winners. I see how these fans react to Gary Carter when he would come to Shea. That’s what I want my legacy to be is this guy was a winning player, he did everything he could to help his team win.”
Being the team’s longest-tenured player:
“Well, it’s funny because we have team pictures in the clubhouse and you gotta go year from year and we were looking back on the 2006 team that won the NL East and we were searching, searching, searching and there was a lot of faces that aren’t here anymore.”
Getting back to the post-season:
“It’s addicting. The atmosphere here was incredible … Running out on the field for the first time, looking up in the upper deck at Shea and literally seeing it rock, I was like, ‘Man, this is [it], doesn’t get any better than this.’ I kind of took it for granted. But it continues to push you and motivate you and drive you.”
Outside of guaranteeing that Wright will not be traded at the Trade Deadline, Sandy Alderson and the Mets have been silent on the subject of re-signing the Mets third baseman despite overtures from Wright that he wants to continue to play in New York and retire as a Met. Where have we seen and heard this before?
About the Author: Craig Lerner
I'm a data analyst and researcher for a leading news agency who loves life and is hooked on the Mets. I love following the Amateur Draft and have a particular fondness for the Mets Minor Leagues who I follow each day. Give me a cold beer, a summer day, and a Mets game, and I'm good to go.
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Still remember last November when asked about David, Sandy said something about nobody would want to lose a Reyes and a Wright the same year.
A few weeks ago when asked the same question, Sandy said he couldn’t foresee David being with a different club but that was following the remark “”We’ve said, look, let’s play out at least part of this season and see where we are.”
That’s also what he said about those no longer wearing the orange and blue. Of note was that Sandy would not elaborate further regarding his statement, not even adding the usual lip service about a player being part of the team’s plan for the future (I can only guess not wanting to appear making a commitment one way or the other is simply the cautious instinct associated with lawyers).
But if Sterling Equities is indeed in somewhat better financial shape with the civil suit no longer hanging over it’s head, it’s not appearing so at least with the language not being changed in regards to David. Either that, or David really doesn’t fit in the front office’s plan for the future.
http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/43358/sandy-on-wright-comment-no-deviation
Alderson dont care about the players he inherited. He wants his own stars. When he became GM it was clear Reyes and Wright would never get re-signed.
He wants his own stars?
I don’t even understand that statement.
Are you saying that he’ll trade away anyone he considers a ‘star’ because his ego can’t take having ‘someone else’s stars’ on the team?
MF, when you stop looking for logic, it will all become clear. Maybe.
My mistake.
That’s the sound of me slapping my forehead.
Well if you two want logic answer this to find some…
Beltran
Reyes
K-Rod
Stars no Stars?
I know they are all All Stars at minimum
Well, one might argue that cutting Perez and Castillo, and the trading of Pagan kind of shoots that theory out of the water. Along with making moves like cutting bait with the Rule V pickup of Emus and demoting of Carrasco – both guys SA brought in that didn’t work out. Throw in there retaining Pelfrey as well.
Whether Met fans liked the trading of Beltran for Wheeler, trading of KRod to dump that salary, not paying or topping what Miami did for Reyes – or disliked all those moves……that the statements of ‘Alderson don’t care about the players he inherited. He wants his own stars.’…..is, IMO, so far out there it doesn’t merit any long winded debates about it.
Whether you like or don’t like the direction this FO is going in, singling out those 3 players they’ve made moves with and qualifying it with those two statements is a just new conspiracy theory that facts do not support.
Good post.
those are huge contracts thats what it was about.
Wow, way to take things completely out of context.
“Asked by ESPNNewYork.com to expand on his Sunday night television comment in which he said about David Wright, “I, honestly, at this point cannot foresee David playing elsewhere,” Sandy Alderson said the statement spoke for itself. The GM added that it was not a deviation from previous language he had used.
I’ll let it stand for what it was,” Alderson said.
But there is a confidence level he’s going to remain a Met long term now?
“I don’t think anything I said last night is a deviation or expansion on what I’ve said before,” Alderson said.
Still, “cannot foresee David playing elsewhere” has strong implications. Does that mean the GM has always felt that way?
“Yeah. I’ll let those comments stand on their own.” ”
Also, since when did Sandy say, ” honestly, at this point cannot foresee David playing elsewhere” about Beltran or Krod? Who besides Reyes would he have even came close to saying that about?
No, K-Rod is not an allstar. Hasn’t been one in three years has he?
I hope they sign David for several years but none of us has a crystal ball. I’d love to be a fly on the wall in the front office.
I think with the way he’s played this year and the negative backlash from letting Reyes walk, they’re gonna do whatever it takes to keep him. Unless Wright asks for a 6-7 year gauranteed deal,he’ll be here. I don’t see what’s the rush though, he’s got an option for next year so it’s not like he’s in his walk year.
Give him a strong five-year deal and negotiate from there–incentives for a sixth what have you.
Of course, it isn’t crazy to say (from the FO perspective), we need to see who the Mets are at mid-season. In other words, if Wright were sucking, or doing great–whatever–but were an island unto himself, and there was no strong team spirit, good relations, etc., then, yeah, you could see people saying who cares.
If there’s an energy, a dynamic, a chance, a momentum, and a great-playing Wright, they well may get ‘er done.
My question on a few things about wright’s fans is this, you people want wright to get extended, but isn’t he part of those team that failed miserable to get it done? i thought we wanted a clean slate? no?
Also,i wonder, why is it ok to talk about signing him to an extention but not mention he’s playing for a contract? don’t you guys think he’s playing for that extention/contract in case he gets traded? Why is it ok to pegged other superstars or good players with all about the money signs but not david? Do any of us know exactly what hus intents are?
about what he said on the MLB network, let me clarify a few things:
I’d love to get this thing turned around and headed in the right direction and I think we’ve done that, taking that first step”
Uhhhh.. What?? You wanna turn around, or is it done already? not sure what he means, and if we are headed the right direction, it sure doesn’t look like it imo
“New York wants winners”
True, unfortunately it hasn’t been that way for mets fans!!
we were looking back on the 2006 team that won the NL East and we were searching, searching, searching and there was a lot of faces that aren’t here anymore”
Well, That’s because as of now, only you remind david.
Getting back to the post-season: I kind of took it for granted
HMMMMMMMMMMM…. You mean by going awol david? i wonder how your legacy of fans might view that comment since they defend you to no end no matter if you’re admitting it..
Look, i like the guy, i think he’s a good player, we should trade him for a boatload of players that can fill up our minor leagues, top prospects, he’s on fire now but as we’ve seen he’s a streaky player, he’s part of the choke jobs and failures we’ve had in the past, not sure why he gets a pass when reyes, beltran and co were tagged that way.. but that’s just my opinion…
Alex, I am just curious. Couldn’t you have said the same things about your former favorite Met? So basically the best thing that Sandy did was not sign Reyes because he was too much a part of their previous failures and was clearly playing for a contract. Nice, I knew it.
A few answers for you before you finish off poking your Wright voodoo doll…
“My question on a few things about wright’s fans is this, you people want wright to get extended, but isn’t he part of those team that failed miserable to get it done? i thought we wanted a clean slate? no?”
— trs said this best. If this is your logic then does this mean you were okay with Reyes being gone?
“Also,i wonder, why is it ok to talk about signing him to an extention but not mention he’s playing for a contract? don’t you guys think he’s playing for that extention/contract in case he gets traded?”
— First, its not a contract year. So your theory would then basically extend to every player plays for a new contract. Second, you’re saying it jest because you don’t like that people said it about Reyes. But… right now, the people who said it about Reyes, are right.
“Look, i like the guy, i think he’s a good player, we should trade him for a boatload of players that can fill up our minor leagues, top prospects,”
—- So its okay to trade Wright for prospects when he’s under team control through next year and isn’t old. But it’s not okay to trade Beltran for a prospect when he’s gone in 3 months?
Also, the difference between Wright and Reyes right now is that apparently the Mets had confidence in an immediate replacement for Reyes. They trusted Tejada could be an every day SS. Was that the sole reason Reyes is gone? No. But it had to be a factor.
Right now, the Mets do not have a replacement 3B. People can say Murph, but they have seen Murphy play 3B in 25 starts. So how do you know?
That’s a big factor in this whole thing.
TRS, i will ask you something, aren’t we past that reyes talk?? I mean, as much as you guys tell us not to talk about him because he’s no longer a met you do bring him up a lot eh? Move on…
First, its not a contract year” Basically, it is… If he’s traded he’d opt out, becoming a free agent. second of all, he’d probably force the mets hand to either extend him or trade him.. again, if he loves the mets and NY as much as he says why doesn’t he come out and put a number right now just for goodness sake? why don’t he say, sandy, give me 5 years and 80 million. i am fine with that… ? Nope, he won’t say that will he? You guys think somehow this guy is the perfect everything… I kinda hope he does become a free agent and sandy alderson is the GM stilll.. Let’s see how negotiations will be handle…
Come on Alex, the reason this is still about Reyes is that your entire complex on Wright is based on jealousy. You developed your opinion on Wright based on what others thought of him and not about Reyes. You have said so many times. So why does Reyes continue to come up? Because your standards change.
So if Wright is only playing for a contract and it wouldn’t be wise to sign him because he failed in 2006 and 2007 then why in the hell should Sandy have signed Reyes?
Isn’t wright part of the reason why the mets failed in 2006?2007?2008? I thought they were gonna clean the slate and move on with new players.. Why then wright gets to stay? I don’t quite get that it’s my point… If he stays so be it, if he goes so be it… Thing is, if he gets a $100+ million contract i want jesseP to write an article about players and failures when getting paid like that…
You refuse to answer the question. So Wright was part of the failures, we have already established Reyes did worse, and is playing for a contract. Thus that would be a bad signing by Sandy….
So why on Earth should Sandy have signed Reyes?
No one ever gave the guy a pass, show me one post where anyone said, give this guy a pass. However, there are people around here that put more blame on him than others, like yourself.
Your opinion is clear, you hate the guy, you like anyone on any team other than David Wright, so the “I like the guy” is a pure lie, and the only one you are fooling is yourself. No one else buys it.
You’d rather have Hanley Ramierz at 3rd on this team, you’ve stated that numerous times.
The guy is putting up MVP numbers right now, yet you’d argue to the death that there are plenty of other better players, ie. Kemp, Beltran etc…..
You hate Wright, more than you like the Mets…………………..it’s obvious.
No one ever gave the guy a pass, show me one post where anyone said, give this guy a pass. However, there are people around here that put more blame on him than others, like yourself”
Sigh……
Your opinion is clear, you hate the guy, you like anyone on any team other than David Wright, so the “I like the guy” is a pure lie, and the only one you are fooling is yourself. No one else buys it”
Sigh…….
You’d rather have Hanley Ramierz at 3rd on this team, you’ve stated that numerous times”
True.. i said that.. At the beginning of the year i said that, but not now as he’s having n MVP type season…
The guy is putting up MVP numbers right now, yet you’d argue to the death that there are plenty of other better players, ie. Kemp, Beltran etc…..”
Those 2 guys imo are the MVP right now, then it’s wright based on numbers, because as we’ve all seen, this team is not equipped to win anything…
Alex, honestly, you did read where Wright talks all about wanting to be remebered as a Gary Carter-type, which means he wants the fans to know all he wants is to win, to bring us a championship. I know, he doesn’t have a ring yet. I believe completely that he has all the goods to help bring a ring to the Mets. With the exception of one season, really, this man has the potential to be a HOFer.
He said, “we’ve taken the first step.” He’s right. Nobody for a second looks at this team and says, “Hey, these guys are going to the WS.” I think he’s saying that once we get one guy ho thrives in the pen, one SP who wins 15-18 games for us, and one more Wright or Murphy-type guy, then we can compete with any team.
As we all know, we should be at least six or seven over .500 now, but, um, we’re not.
I see DW as part of the long-term (baseball years) solution, not a player holding us back in any way, shape, or form. I want to think guys like Duda, Neuwy, Murphy,Tejada, and Davis are a part of the winning core, too, but only one other guy seems proven–sort of–to me at this point, and that is Murph.
Alex,
Again showing your true feelings! “Sigh!” Does not answer the accusation. If the guy is a “Choker” and all the other negatives you call him then who in the world would give the Mets “a boatload of players” as you put it?
By turn around, I believe he meant getting rid of all the fat cats(except for Bay) , overpaid aging player(except for Bay), and pampered or broken down players (except for Bay) and are now gaining some financial flexability (even more without Bay).
Honestly I have always liked Wright and rooted for him but I overlooked him somewhat. He never came to mind as one of my favorite Mets (I had Reyes way higher on my list and I always loved Beltran). I think I need to reevaluate my list. This guy is a GAMER! Not counting 2012, He’s been in the Majors for 7 FULL seasons of those he got hit slightly by the injury bug somewhat and a slightly under par season in 2009 and a flat out out injury filled bad season in 2010. Oh and those injuries, a concussion after getting drilled in the head by a Matt Cane heater and a BROKEN BONE IN HIS BACK that he tried to play with for about a month. Oh yeah of the other 5 full seasons he’s been an All-Star 5 times, top 25 in MVP voting 5 times (2007 was the high water mark were he finished 4th), 2 Gold Gloves, and 2 Silver Sluggers.
So if you ask me I say SIGN HIM NOW! The guy is a leader on the team, relatively injury free (not like Reyes, Beltran, etc, etc,), Is a team first guy, And he’s a solid producer that you never hear a peep out of.
So Alex, stop being a hater! Realize the fact that if he were on another team you would be posting about how we should trade for him!
Sloatburg, I Respect your opinion… I do agree the guy is a gamer, i never said anything about his toughness, he plays every day and quite franly he was a guy a liked back around 2006-2007, When i said he was a bit unclutch for his playoffs performance then all hell brooke loose. ever since he’s been proving me right, this year he’s shutting me up… No complains here, thing is, how do we know he’s not playing like this because of the contract situation?? i mean, we accused every player of playing amazingly when it’s contract year.. Why not wright? see my point… The legacy of fans he has can see no wrong on this guy.. I am waiting for his sign me to a 5 year 80 million comment if he loves the mets so much comment… If he has an all world season he’s getting paid… Wether be it by the mets or some other team…
OK, so again the Mets not signing Reyes because he was having a contract year would also be the right move?
Still on reyes i see??? Yet you often cry and whine and bit** about when a thread becomes about sandy alderson or david wright? be consitent ok… Move on already, this ain’t about reyes… It’s about your all american here DW
Answer the question buddy and I will move on.
What question? Your insanely obsession with reyes is what’s starting to concern me.. You’ve been defending wright since the MB days, still continue to do and noone in here gloated more than you i bet when reyes was gone.. Move on man… We get it, he’s your Fav player, we got it. thanks..
Again Alex, you have a Wright complex and always have.
My question for the 1,000 time is
If it is a bad decision to sign Wright long-term because he is playing for a contract and was part of the failures of the past then how could you justify wanting Reyes re-signed?
Why is it linked? Because this entire thing is over your jealousy over how Wright and Reyes were portrayed.
Answer the question.
What was the reason why reyes wasn’t signed? the $100 millin contract? DW will demand that, maybe more..
The failures? DW is part of it, big time….
Injuries? He did miss a chunk of game last season as well.. So.. Power hitter with a bad back can be an issue down the road wouldn’t you say.
Answer the question Alex.
Considering that Wright was a big part of the failures of 2006-2008 (Reyes more so) and that he is playing for a contract it would be a bad move to re-sign him…. Thus it would have also been a bad move to re-sign Reyes? Correct? Yes or No?
Let’s see if he signs wright first, then we talk.. Because dependign on the lenght of the contract and the $ i’ll be able to see where i stand compare to what was said about reyes,,,
Let’s assume 6/100 you or I might be dead before Wright reaches FA.
Alex, notice how the people who always say they are tired of talking about resigning Reyes, and having the same debate everyday, are always the ones that bring it up all the time?
If you tired of these debates, then simply stop bringing them up everyday.
Vinny, the CORE is with you a always.. I don’t get it, specially that guy TRS is obsessed with reyes… I don’t get it… I don’t even talk about him anymore, yet, every day i am reminded of reyes by him and some saber gooners in here… Amazing..
Vinny the ONLY reason it’s relevant here is that Alex’s entire opinion on Wright has always been based on the perception of others, his jealousy of how Wright was favored over Reyes.
So my question for him remains. If it is a bad idea to sign Wright because of the reasons he has alluded to then in turn it was a good decision to not re-sign Reyes.
I think it’s a combination of things. I think the walls being moved in has helped him, being healthy this year, after playing the majority of last year hurt, has helped, and I think the contract could also be a factor as well.
I also think the contract was a factor in Reyes season last year. But I don’t think that means the Mets shouldn’t have signed him. He hit almost .340 last year, I don’t think anybody was expecting him to hit that good again. I think realistic projection for him would be about .290-300 with lots of triples, doubles and steals, plus very good defense at SS. That type of production I think is well worth the money he signed for.
So in turn those issues should not come into play when looking to bring back Wright?
Let’s see how he finishes the year. We still have a long season ahead of us. After that, then we’ll talk about bringing back Wright.
probably need to make that decision by mid-season. much better chance of working out something reasonable for both sides with more time left on the deal, since the risk shifting dynamic is different.
Reyes and Wright have something in common (lst year to this year). Healthy finally. Makes a huge difference, much moreso than “playing for a contract”. These guys have been playing for their next contract pretty much since they signed their last ones!
and there were really 2 Joses last year. The finally healthy one that started the season, and the one that played (or not) the 2nd half.
4/1 – 7/2: .354 BA and .927 OPS (both huge outliers from his career #s in well over 3,000 PAs)
7/19 – 9/28: .305/.784 (BA a little higher than career, but not by much).
However, that was skewed by his last few games.
7/19 – 9/24 (so a full 1/3 of the season) he hit .279/.707 (plus of course the 2 weeks he was out where he, well, was out!).
So tell me, was he only playing for a contract in the 1st half, not the 2nd? Or he decided he better kick it into gear the last few games (which certainly would support the idea he only tries when there is money on the line!)? Or just maybe, he gets limited when his legs are hurt, and takes a long time to get back into a groove after an injury?
Basically, he had a really hot start, that was way out of line from his career #s. So, what is the outlier? Anyone can have a particularly good or bad stretch, or a “career year”, but once you have a significant body of work (IOW, a career) to look at, you pretty much are what you are.
Basically, he had a really hot start, that was way out of line from his career #s. So, what is the outlier? Anyone can have a particularly good or bad stretch, or a “career year”, but once you have a significant body of work (IOW, a career) to look at, you pretty much are what you are”
Sound like David wright this year… His highest BA was 325 back in 2007… Hmmmmmmm
only his BA is. the rest of his numbers aren’t really. Looking at career #s, DW is much higher than reyes (other than steals of course). BA, OBP, SlG, etc.
so fine, adjust this year to career norms, and Reyes 1st half of 2011 to career norms, and project that going forward, and you still end up with Wright having better #s.
bottom line, for established guys, you have to be real careful getting sucked in by a career year (or 1/2 year), and can’t overreact to a bad year, especially if there is an extenuating circumstance (like an injury).
Right so Wright is playing way over his career norms, failed when it mattered, was injured a lot, and was only playing for a contract so we shouldn’t sign him. How do you justify wanting Reyes re-signed?
“No complains here, thing is, how do we know he’s not playing like this because of the contract situation?? i mean, we accused every player of playing amazingly when it’s contract year.. Why not wright? see my point…”
Actually Alex, I don’t. This is not his contract year. He has a team option for next year that completely voids if he is traded so if you think about it he would be very difficult to move this year (unless the aquirring team negotiates an extension with at the time of the trade, something rarely done in season). Next year would be a different story, another reason I believe he should be re-signed this year.
Alex68 — “… ever since he’s been proving me right, this year he’s shutting me up”
He’s not shutting you up. You’re still one of the top 3 whiners on this site.
Sigh? Is that all you got?
The main goal of the general manager is to put the best team on the field – whether that means down the road or immediate depends upon the circumstances.
But to do that doesn’t mean making the task more difficult than it has to be. David Wright is a solid third baseman and not attempting to re-sign him simply creates another hole to fill or waiting to be filled by another prospect.
We’ve already seen the hole created in the bullpen. Krod was due to salary dumping and nothing more – from a baseball perspective one does not get rid of it’s closer when doing the job he was (admittedly) overpaid to do.
BTW – in the past five weeks (13.1 innings) KRod has reduced his ERA from 7.20 to 4.91 while in that same time frame Hisanori Takahashi, in his role as a situational reliever ala Byrdak, has reduced his ERA from 10.38 to 5.56 (almost five runs less), withJason Isringhausen in 16 apperances, now sporting an ERA of 2.30.
This is what I mean about creating holes when they are not necessary. Is our bullpen better off now than it was in November, 2010? No. This indicates the best player moves are not always those one obtains but rather those whom one decides to retain. And they were not replaced with youthful arms that have a posible future, either. Rauch is 33, Francisco is 32, Rameriz is 30 and the now departed Carasco is 35 so none of them were obtained for the sake of rebuilding. They were replaced either because there were arms cheaper to get (which means Sandy’s edict was to save as much money as possible) or in terms of how best to put together a quality bullpen (which is then a reflection of Sandy Alderson’s decisions either on his own or through the recommendation of Paul DePodesta). We just don’t know which.
JD, never forget to factor in the intangible: the pressure of pitching in the NY market–it ain’t KC, Pitt, St. Lou, Clev. or Milwaukee!!!