A very Happy Birthday goes out to third baseman David Wright from all of us at MMO. Yesterday, we honored Wright by making him the first active player to be inducted into the Metsmerized Hall of Fame.
Wright turns 30 today and is all set to begin earning his brand new 8-year, $140 million dollar deal that he signed earlier this month.
The soon-to-be captain of the Mets had some things to say yesterday, when he was asked to comment on the loss of his teammate R.A. Dickey and the overall direction of the team:
“I think it was important for us to get a little bit younger. I think it actually kind of works out well for both sides. You have Toronto, obviously, with their situation, and us with our vision. I spoke to R.A. earlier this morning and he seems to be happy. The players we’ve gotten back, I’ve gotten a chance to speak to them. They’re excited. And I think it fills needs for both sides.”
“The trade fills needs for both sides. Of course, you’re talking about losing a 20-game winner. They’re very difficult to come by. And I know very little about the younger players we got back. But just from what I’ve read, you’re talking about one of the best catching prospects in the game and one of the best pitching prospects in the game. So how can you not be excited about what the future holds with those two plus the [Matt] Harveys and [Zack] Wheelers? So I’m excited about what the future holds.”
I wanted to mention something, that I never got the chance to during the last few weeks. From the very beginning of the offseason, there was a noticeable difference in what R.A. Dickey had to say about extending teammate David Wright as opposed to what Wright had to say regarding Dickey.
Right from the start, Dickey said he wouldn’t sign an extension with the Mets unless the team took care of extending David Wright first, saying it should be the top priority and even calling himself and Wright a package deal.
On the flip-side Wright mostly dodged questions all offseason about Dickey, almost as if he knew the Mets ace was being traded and as good as gone.
Wright of course knew and apparently loved the plan that was laid out for him by Sandy Alderson… At least that’s what he told reporters and what Jeff Wilpon and Alderson both also confirmed early in the process.
Did anybody else get the sense that Wright knew more than the rest of us regarding Dickey’s future, including even Dickey himself?
Anyway, Happy Birthday, kid…
