Wright was so concerned about free agency that he played for months in 2011 with a broken back in pain … and then at the end of 2012 agreed to a long term contract with the Mets at what many consider to be a below-market rate.

So thanks for inadvertently buttressing my side of the argument!

No, Wright adapted to Citifield by trying to pull for power more

Which is exactly what I have been saying all along, especially in regards to 2010. Show me anything I’ve said that contradicts this. However, as we’ve seen in 2012, all his numbers went back closer to his career norms. Which supports the idea that he returned to his traditional approach at the plate as a result of the new fences — and found success.

When you look at the PAs of how often he batted 3rd compared to how often he hit 4th and 5th it’s no contest!

The only reason he moved from 5th at all was Delgado being hurt and missing time…
But when the season started and for most of it he was not batting 3rd!
197PA 45 Games batting 4th
173PA 39 Games batting 5th
Add them up and it’s a lot more than
296PA 66 Games batting 3rd….
He played nearly two thirds of the season batting NOT 3rd!

So TRS’ attempt and trying to catch me at being wrong about Wright not being regularly bat in the 3rd position is just semantical because My point was never about him batting 5th but him NT being the #3 hitter for most of 2006 and 2007…I did explain what it was about 2008 which was the ACTUAL point I was making….

It’s never about who is batting BEHIND Wright….But more about who Bats BEFORE Wright that is the key to his success!

Hard for anyone to PROTECT Wright when he hits the way he does!
Only guys who we have had who are scarier than Wright with the bat was Beltran and Delgado. And more often than not they batted BEFORE him not After him!

In 2008 we had a 1-2 leadoff combo that got on base nearly 1 in every 4 PA….
Could not pitch around him and load up the bases for Delgado or Beltran that year now could they?
He saw better pitches and hit them over the fence.
In 2007 when he DID hit 3rd pretty much the same thing was true….Reyes .354 OBP, Castillo (only 50 games due to inujury .372 OBP) so the same situation existed in late 2007 and continued into 2008….

Look at Wrights numbers and they all seem to correspond to what happened before him more than who was behind him….Because in his greatest seasons he was usually the PROTECTION not PROTECTED!

and even though DJ has almost 1,000 LESS PA, Jeter has 300 MORE hits than Biggio.

LMAO, the difference in their plate appearances is exactly 609. Far far cry from 1000. Seeing how challenged you are when it comes to even reading numbers, let alone using them, I suggest you stay away from them completely.

And Jeter always played in stacked lineups in the AL with the DH and, in later years, in one of the best hitters parks in baseball — prime conditions for a hitter. Biggio was almost just the opposite. Generally weak lineups and weak teams. And Biggio was a better fielder than Jeter.

So, yes, if Biggio is a bubble candidate (and many say he is) then Jeter is one.

As for Omar/Beltran … In this context, relationship=affinity=familiarity.

I’m not saying they were BFF or anything close to it. In fact I explicitly said they were familiar with each other from those scouting days. That in this context means relationship, the full context being the entirety of their experiences with each other and the fact Omar pursed him hotly and he was his first big signing.,

Sorry, but if you believe Omar would have traded Beltran mid-2011 than I have a bridge in Brooklyn to sell you. And even if you were naive enough to believe that, the chances of him making a deal as good as the one Sandy made are pretty small given Omar’;s dismal track record in trades. I know you love Omar and are in love with him, but you are just so biased and blinded by that love that you can’t see straight when it comes to his weaknesses and foibles. Instead you make all sorts of excuses for him and stretch credulity. You have no credibility when it comes to Omar.

BTW, I also believe Omar wouldn’t have traded Dickey, either, because he was probably too attached to him too. Unless of course he was ordered to, but no one has suggested Sandy’s trades were ordered by anyone.

You long ago killed your credibility with your exaggerations, biases, and inability to even accurately read numbers. So I guess it can’t be driven any further into the ditch! But you make a good effort at it everyday!

With free-agency coming in a few seasons, he knew he would be in the placido polanco pool of hitters if he didnt get his power numbers up.

Re: Minaya/Beltran, Nope, you didnt use the word affinity, you said “relationship”, several times in fact.

Re: Derek Jeter/ Biggio

Biggio played until age 41, DJ is 38…and even though DJ has almost 1,000 LESS PA, Jeter has 300 MORE hits than Biggio.

Just the fact that you said DJ is a borderline HOF candidate completely erased any credibility you thought you had. Neither Biggio nor DJ are bubble candidates, you clear 3,000 hits, clean, with not a peep about PED’s and you are in. Not 1 candidate in the history of baseball with 3,000 hits has ever had their candidacy questioned ( unless ur name is Pete Rose or Barry Bonds )

But feel free to completely kill your credibility, I have fun watching u drive it further and further into a ditch

.727 Pre-All Star
.672 Post-All Star

So, yes, the entire lineup was weaker the second half than the first. Even though Ike’s numbers went up. And while Wright’s own decreased numbers played a role in that decline, it’s not enough to account for most of it.

The protection theory is alive and well.

If Biggio is a bubble candidate, then Jeter is a bubble candidate.

And, no, I never said Omar never had a “secret” personal relationship with Beltran but he had an special affinity for him from his scouting background AND the fact Beltran was his first big signing who he pursued hotly.

And, no I don’t know any more Mets secrets than the average fan, but I have a way better and more objective grasp of recent Mets history than you do. Yours is colored and skewed by some weird baggage and chip on your shoulders.

0-Swing % for Wright according to PITCH f/x:

2007 – 24.9
2008 – 25.2
2009 – 24.2
2010 – 29.1
2011 – 24.8
2012 – 22.7

So …… PITCH f/x actually says Wright’s plate discipline was the best last year since 2007, when data first became available! Given the disparities, I would hesitate to use either system as proof of anything, unless one gives a logical explanation for the differences to satisfactorily explain it. fWAR and bWAR differ, but there is a logical rational explanation for that difference. But why would 2 systems measuring the strike zone differ that much?

But one thing is interesting about the 0-Swing %. No matter which system you use, in 2010, Wright had the worst plate discipline in his career. Which supports the idea he overswung to get to that 29 HR total. And while he hit more HRs, his BA and OBP plummeted. So, as I’ve been saying all along, the park has been a killer for Wright, and he was only able to reach 29 HRs by overswinging and sacrificing BA and OBP.

but Derek Jeter to you is a bubble candidate for the HOF

and Omar Minaya had a secret personal relationship with Carlos Beltran based on Beltran being a prospect in 1995.

Using that as a barometer, Omar had a secret personal relationship with every prospect from Latin America, from 1987-1997

a secret to everyone but Metro12

holder of all secrets

2012 High Leverage
Wright 934 OPS
Cano 851 OPS

So LOL at anyone who had a problem with Wright in the clutch just last year. For any player with a 900+ OPS in high leverage situations in a pitchers park in a weak lineup, Mets fans should kneel down and kiss the ground in gratitude!

309/389/533 – 921 Pre-Citi
284/364/463 – 828 2009-2011
306/391/492 – 883 2012

As I said, his numbers bounced back to career norms. His 2012 numbers are closer to his pre-Citi ones than the numbers he put up his first 3 years at Citi. Citi Field is still a pitchers park, even with the fence changes. And Wright has been in weak lineups ever since his move to Citi Field, Factor in all this (and his age too) and Wright is pretty much the same player as he was prior to Citi Field.

As we saw in the WBC, surround Wright with a better lineup and he’ll hit better — as with most players. And before you say players like Beltran can hit without a good lineup, I already showed you what BS that is. As i showed you the other day Wright with Beltran was BETTER than Beltran with Wright. And in 2012 Wright w/o Beltran was BETTER than Beltran without Wright. And Beltran in 2012 hit in a great lineup. Wright did not.

Wright has not had decent protection around him since the move to Citi Field. If that is ever rectified before his prime is up, then you will see his numbers increase even more.

Also, this focus on clutch is ludicrous. All his clutch stats including Close and Late, High Leverage and Clutch show him to be average or above. In the meantime, players like Cano and A-Roid all grade out at average OR BELOW.

Late and Close Career
Wright – .829 OPS
Cano – .811 OPS

High Leverage Career
Wright – 911 OPS
Cano – .752 OPS

Their High Leverage stats are particularly stark, especially considering they are not park adjusted and Cano hits in a toy park in stacked lineups. So don’t talk about Wright in the clutch without putting it in perspective. By any measure, during the regular season, he is above average and is essentially a real Captain America compared to chokers such as Cano.

If the Mets get 2012 production from Wright almost every year of the first 5 years of his new contract, they should feel blessed, considering the park he plays in.

I’ll take that every year. Wright is now 30. Statistically that is a little past a position player’s prime. Considering the park, the weak lineups, and his age, last year he was producing very close to career norms, closer to career norms than any of his 3 previous Citi years, and still at an elite level in baseball.

2005-2008, DW hit 29 HR

2009-2012 ( and not counting his injury riddled 2011 ), DW has hit 61 HR…an avg of just over 20 per year…

I think 20 HR is the new baseline for DW, not 29

that means from a power perspective he is regressing

and since 2009, what u said about his swing is absolutely true…

from March – June…

every year….

and then magically….the league catches up with him….and then he loses his mojo for the rest of the season…

even when other batters around him are doing well….destroying the whole “dw needs protection theory’

also, DW has become less disciplined and strangely less powerful in time…

DW in 2005 had a 16.3% O-Swing

in 2006, it was 19.2
in 2007, it was 21.2
in 2008, it was 21.9
in 2009, it was 21.5 ( the early half he was still disciplined )
in 2010, it shot up to 30
in 2011, it was 25.5
in 2012, it was 25

O-Swing is a measure of how many pitches a batter is swinging at OUTSIDE the strike zone

the OLD David Wright was MUCH MORE SELECTIVE

he started his career with 16%…than had to swing at almost double the amount of pitches outside the strikezone ( 30% ) to even get close to 30 HR again

the DW of March – June was disciplined, his K-rate was back down, he was very selective, rarely challenged either since most pitchers were pitching AROUND HIM

the DW of July – September was not disciplined, his K-Rate went right back to post – Shea numbers, and coincidentally, pitchers were challenging him more often as Ike Davis behind him posted the highest # of 2nd half HR in the NL

my theory is this….

he can beat up on CB that stays flat in the zone, he’ll make u pay for ur mistake….

DW can no longer handle the 98 mph fastball…can no longer handle hitting off a stud reliever….

and in pressure situations, I think he suffers from anxiety…kinda like Pelfrey after anyone commits an error…u just see him unravel

this is why out of DW’s 21 HR, only 2 came after the 7th inning…and none came in tight/close situations

DW in the 1st inning is care free…

DW in the 9th inning is a nervous wreck

a nice guy, great spokesman, cares about the team, maybe even too much….

but put homeboy in the crunch, in August, facing Kimbrel or Brian Wilson, bases loaded, 2 outs, 9th inning…and i count on David striking out, the way i used to count on Fernando Tatis to hit into a double play back in 2010

What Boras did or didn’t know about why K-Rod fired his first agent has nothing to do with anything, because reality is K-Rod never told any of his agents to work out a deal with Sandy.

I’ll be waiting for your proof.

But what you are totally missing are Wright’s total numbers:

BA/OBP/SLG
300/380/508. Career
284/364/463 2009-2011
306/391/492 2012

So, yes, 2012 was the first year in Citi that Wright had triple-slash numbers close to his career norms. Because he wasn’t overswinging and tinkering with his stance constantly anymore, which is what messed him up from 2009-2011.

if a pitcher has the option of pitching around Wright, Wright’s OBP shoots up and he hits mistake off-speed pitches…