Mark Herrmann of Newsday, was in Virginia Beach last night where David Wright held his annual charity fundraiser for a Children’s Hospital near his hometown.
He had a chance to talk to reporters about the upcoming season, recent acquisitions, and his thoughts on the direction of the team.
“I think Sandy will be the first one to tell you that there is room for improvement,” Wright said. “With the additions that we’ve made, there is no question that on Opening Day this year, we will be a better team than we were on Opening Day last year.”
He expressed confidence in what Sandy Alderson is doing and the longterm future for the Mets.
“What Sandy is building is not a shortsighted, one-and-done type of year, where you go all in for one year. It’s going to be better than that. It’s going to be an extended period of time when we’re a playoff-caliber team, and this is the first step in that direction.”
The Mets captain wants desperately to win and be a part of a new culture of championship caliber baseball.
“From the very beginning, I wanted to help this franchise turn around, I want to be one of the building blocks in helping us get back to the playoffs,” he said. “Has it been an easy road? Of course not. We’ve taken some lumps and have had some rough seasons. But at the end of the day, I’m exactly where I wanted to be.”
“Losing is unacceptable, in my book, it’s unacceptable in the fans’ book, and I want them to know that although it was a great run in 2006, I think that we’re in store for an even greater run in years to come, because of the youth movement that we have, because of some of the pieces that Sandy and the front office have added this offseason.”
“I think this is only kind of the beginning … and it’s going to be fun when we get to that point where we’re a playoff team each year.”
Wright is one of the best things ever to happen to this franchise.
