The end of yet another Mid-Summer Classic… I swear that I complain more and more about these All Star Games every passing year, but maybe I’m just getting crankier as I get older.
I was hoping they would have been able to squeeze in 60 seconds during the four hour Derek Jeter love-fest to perhaps honor the memories of Tony Gwynn, Don Zimmer and Frank Cashen. But what the heck do I know…
Honestly, all I cared about was seeing Daniel Murphy and even though he struck out, I toasted him with a glass of apple cider. What a humble guy and class act, I wish we had ten more like him.
Chris Cotillo of the MLB Daily Dish spoke to him last night, and Murphy says the Mets still have not approached him about a contract extension.
Murphy’s probably as good as gone in the offseason, but I’m going to keep posting that the Mets never once tried to negotiate with him so that when Jeff Wilpon’s minions start spreading rumors that he wanted too much, I could tell them they’re full of crap.
The truth is that Murphy has been downplaying the money issue all year and says that he is very blessed, wants to stay with the Mets, and that he already has more money than he could ever want.
He’s a hard worker who was bounced from position to position by the Mets until finally settling in to become an average second baseman and one of the only true major league bats on the team.
One of those who doubted that Murphy would stick at second, was teammate and Mets captain David Wright.
“Quite frankly, I had my doubts,” Wright told MLB.com. “I saw him fumble a lot of double-play balls. I saw him fumble a lot of routine second-base-type stuff. But to see the work that he put in every day made me more and more comfortable with him as a second baseman. This guy was out there for almost a painful amount of time trying to get better.”
On the subject of Wright, Joel Sherman of the NY Post spoke to a rival GM in Minnesota who was talking up the Mets and saying he loves our pitching possibilities in the majors and the minors.
He also praised Dilson Herrera, Brandon Nimmo and Kevin Plawecki, calling them “credible position prospects growing toward the majors.”
Then he said this:
“You know what I worry about some with them? When they are ready to really contend next year or the year after, do they have a No. 3 hitter? Because all these years we assumed they had a No. 3 hitter, that was the one item they have spent real money on, but I wonder if by the time they are who they want to be if David Wright will still be what they need him to be.”
Says Sherman, the Mets have wasted the prime of arguably their best homegrown position player ever with bad teams, bad finances and by constructing a stadium that diluted his power.
Asked about his first half this season and not making the All Star team, Wright expects a big second half and says he’s still as confident as ever.
“For me, I have had better first halves, and I am disappointed that I have not met my standards,” Wright said. “But by no means am I in decline. I feel like I am going to produce at a high level. I have plenty of belief that I have plenty left. As far as confidence-wise, I feel good and confident. I feel like I can produce. There is no question in my mind about it.”
Wright told Sherman he does not think he has wasted his prime on a pipe dream and that he still believes in Sandy Alderson’s vision and swears he is thrilled he has stuck it out. He says, “I’m a believer.”
