Fred Wilpon: Wright Is “Playing Like A Superstar Right Now”

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• Alex68 May 17, 2012 at 8:51 am

  2011 Fred Wilpon On David Wright:
  “He’s pressing . . . A really good kid. A very good player. Not a superstar.”
  2012 Fred Wilpon on David Wright:
  “I think he’s playing like a superstar right now,”

  Agree on both statements… His defense is what i think he’s improved the most.

  Clayton, is it fair to say David wright is your Favorite player?
  • USMF May 17, 2012 at 9:21 am

    Agree about Wilpon being right on both statements…but even though his D has picked up, I think his approach is the “most improved” part of his game. He’s not trying to pull everything for power, he’s not forcing balls, he’s back to taking the ball the other way, he’s back to being a good 2 strike hitter and he’s not striking out at a monstrous rate.

    I’ve been critical or Wright…let’s be honest, he’s had a few of really poor years recently…just because I can be critical, doesn’t mean that I don’t like him and want to see him succeed.

    I hope he gets a long term deal, because to me, that means the he’s earned it…if I can say anything positive about Alderson, he’s not going to sign a guy to a big long term deal because the fans want it done…he’s going to do it only if he feels like it’s the right move.
    • trs86 May 17, 2012 at 9:29 am

      True on your last statement. I also agree that Wright listened too much to the media and fans and changed his approach to all power, who cares about the K. Now he is hitting better than ever and you still have some complaining that the power is not there. Lets hope this time he is not persuaded by ignorance.
  • Clayton Collier May 17, 2012 at 10:17 am

    I know lately I have been doing a lot of Pro-Wright stuff lately, but in my defense he’s also been in the news a lot as well while batting .400.

    To answer your question, he is one of my more favored players, but I wouldn’t label any player my “favorite”. I have about 17 guys on the active roster I would say I favor in different ways. Wright just happens to have a lot of positive things to talk about lately.

    Look at this post I did on Nickeas the other week:

    http://metsmerizedonline.com/2012/05/mike-nickeas-on-his-journey-thus-far.html
• Rich S May 17, 2012 at 10:23 am

  Not sure where you come up with “after the unprovoked and uncalled for bashing”. his initial comments were in no way bashing – it was his honest opinion that few people would argue (disregarding his play as of late). He is a great kid, but if any GM was starting a baseball team, David would not be one of the 1st 10 players selected (at that time).

  I guess you are one of the many that just don’t like the Wilpons – which is your right. Or maybe just standing up for DW; you sound a little like the Mets Police guy with his man crush on Murphy and will act like a school girl defending the artistic genius of Justin Beiber.
  • Clayton Collier May 17, 2012 at 10:40 am

    Unprovoked and uncalled for bashings of his players, not just referring to Wright. Did Beltran or Reyes provoke those kinds of comments last year? It’s not that I don’t like the Wilpons, what I did hate was his comments last year.
    • USMF May 17, 2012 at 11:47 am

      Do you even remember what was said or the context of the statements?

      !st…Fred didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.

      2nd, he didn’t just say negative things about the players, he said good things too, the negative was a way to explain what was holding these players back.

      3rd, Wilpon was doing a story, he was speaking candidly and honestly. I might not have been a smart move because the media twisted it to just focus on the negative…but Fred let his gaurd down and was just talking about the team he loves. It’s not like Fred pulled a Steinbrenner and hunted down a reporter to purposely bash one of his players.

      I hate defending Wilpon, but some of you are just ridiculous
      • trs86 May 17, 2012 at 11:53 am

        No I thought the venue for the comments was stupid and inappropriately timed considering but the actual comments themselves were way overblown in some ways. As an owner he has every right to say those things, especially to a friend. But as an owner he has the responsibility to not decrease the value of his product and he did a poor job doing that.
• Mr North Jersey May 17, 2012 at 10:56 am

  Is it the pic or does Fred Wilpon look less pale then he did before the Madoff situation was resolved?
  • Metsie May 17, 2012 at 11:14 am

    Well he is smiling….Jeff still has that deer in the headlights look though! LOL
    • Des May 17, 2012 at 12:01 pm

      Metsie — Look at the picture again. Check out Jeff’s eyes. Wouldn’t you swear he’s looking right a you? I think so. Jeff looks at Metsie. LOL
      • Metsie May 17, 2012 at 12:04 pm

        LOL Where I live smashing Deer with cars is almost a sport!
        He better not get in front of me on the road!
        I’ll slow down for a deer with him I’m more likely to speed up!

        He also looks like he may be giving Bud the Travolta!
        • Des May 17, 2012 at 12:14 pm

          Metsie — I live down in Florida on the east coast. We have wild hogs (mean critters), small deer, and small-minded Yankees fans. Where do you now live?
          • Metsie May 17, 2012 at 12:23 pm

            Upstate NY near the original Woodstock Site.
            Deer, Bears and a few Hippies who got lost!
            LOL
            • Joey D. May 17, 2012 at 2:56 pm

              Actually notice the one person not smiling in that picture is our Mayor? Guess being a Yankee fan has been getting to him lately.

              And doesn’t it appear that the guy in the lower right has a hair brush stuck on top of his head?
• Metsie May 17, 2012 at 11:17 am

  Wright is now doing what everyone thought he should….Actually MORE than anyone thought he would.

  He will not stay here for the entire season though at some point he will come back down to normal levels.
  Lets just hope it isn’t soon.
  He and Murphy are carrying this team right now.
  And once Ike or Duda gets really hot I suspect Wright will not get all the walks he is getting that are currently keeping his BA so high!

  Truth is thats the real reason for his High BA at this point. They are pitching around him and he is taking those walks given where before he would strike out.
  he’s recording less ABs between the hits and that is keeping his BA above .400.
  • trs86 May 17, 2012 at 11:23 am

    What in the world? If anything those guys hitting behind him would in turn give him BETTER pitches to hit thus increasing his batting average in theory. His OBP might decrease due to the lack of walks.
    • Metsie May 17, 2012 at 11:50 am

      You really need to go down the hall and sit in the reading comprehension class for awhile dude!

      Is he going to get better pitches with Ike and Duda behind him and them hitting mendoza?

      NO!

      So he is getting walked more to get to them.
      meaning more walks which are not recorded as AB or counted toward BA!
      Meaning he is hitting the few GOOD pitches he does get and the rest of the time he is getting walked keeping his BA high not because he has MORE hits than usual but less ABs than usual!

      Last year March/April 119 PA he had 25 Hits 104 AB 14 BB 31K
      This year March/April 89 PA he has 28 Hits in 72 AB 16 BB 14K

      Same Hits, Same walks 30 Less PA and 32 fewer ABs
      His Walk rate is way above that of last year which is why he is hitting at such a high BA otherwise he would be in the .300′s
      • trs86 May 17, 2012 at 11:58 am

        The BB do not take away from his PA though. He has 3 more hits in 30 less PA.

        Yes he is getting walked more (obviously less pitches to hit) because the guys behind him stink.
        Thus if they were to start hitting he would see more pitches to hit not less. So he would walk less but it would not show that his BA would go down. In fact if he saw more pitches to hit it very well could go up.

        The only way that walking keeps his BA high is that he is not getting out in that AB. If they throw him a strike instead of walking him then he would still get to hit.

        I have never seen this defense before. That the guys behind the player are protecting the player by sucking. Wow. So in that theory we should hit the pitcher after Wright and he will hit well all season.

        Of course lets not give any credit to the fact that he completely changed his approach and has decided to go the other way on pitches on the outside corner that he couldn’t even reach last year.
        • Metsie May 17, 2012 at 12:13 pm

          Check the rate and you will see the extra Walks to PA ratio gives you the .100 point differential

          Yes he is hitting more too! Striking out less the difference in the PA is quite clear when you look at the K’s.
          And that is a result of them not going AFTER wright late in the PA.

          HE is hitting the few strikes they throw him and not chasing the bad pitches he used to K on.
          You can say he is splitting the K’s between Hits and Walks at a higher percentage and thats true.
          But the reason is because they are not attcking Wright the way they used to and might once Ike Davis and Duda start being dangerous to pitch to again!

          If those guys were hitting he would get more PA as well which would probably lead to a faster return to his normal average (.300′s) for a hitter like Wright!
          His biggest improvement has been on the K side.
          Partly because they aren’t throwing strikes and partially because Wright has been better!

          It’s definitly a combination but the end result is the guys hitting badly behind him are actually helping him have the gaudy numbers.
          • trs86 May 17, 2012 at 1:09 pm

            “If those guys were hitting he would get more PA as well ”
            How is that? In the game itself? That if they were hitting it would turn the lineup over more often? Metsie I have seen a lot of strange debates but this one saying that Wright is hitting better because he has no protection really is the strangest. I guess that flies in the face of Alex’s theory that Wright only hit well because he had protection. Little did we know all he needed was for us to move the worst hitters behind him.

            OK I am done with this one. It’s too off the wall for even you Metsie.
            • Metsie May 17, 2012 at 1:42 pm

              “That if they were hitting it would turn the lineup over more often? ”
              Well isn’t that the obvious affect getting more hits behind him would have?

              If Ike and Duda were not making as many outs that would translate into more PA not just for Wright but everyone in front of him as well!
• Joey D. May 17, 2012 at 2:52 pm

  Wonder if Fred will take credit for David’s resurgence just like The Boss when he said it was his criticism that motivated his players.

  But yes, those are nice things for Fred to have said.