Thursday, February 18, 2010

I'd make a joke about denial and Egyptian rivers but I'm afraid David Wright would take it too literally

by Larry Koestler

Super-earnest, reality-shunning third baseman David Wright really, really believes in his lovable ragtag band of underachieving (and $150 million) misfits, also known as the 2010 New York Mets.

Despite the fact that their 2009 season was an unmitigated disaster. Despite the fact that they have no reliable pitching after Johan Santana, even though there were several opportunities to go out and upgrade the rotation this winter (where were the Mets on John Lackey, Rich Harden, Ben Sheets or even Chien-Ming Wang?) Despite the fact that they inexplicably resigned Alex (career .291 wOBA) Cora . Despite that they have no catcher and once again played pining, unrequited lovelorn geek to Bengie Molina's moderately attractive blonde cheerleader. Despite the fact that the players don't trust the front office with regards to injury treatment and rehabilitation. Despite the fact that the GM's continual employment lends further credence to the idea that anyone can be a general manager in Major League Baseball. Despite the fact that ownership built a cavernous new ballpark that helped contribute to the Majors' lowest home run total last year (the Mets managed to hit less than 100 home runs in 2009!)

Despite all of this, David Wright told reporters at Port St. Lucie yesterday that he feels pretty damn great about his team:

"Maybe from the outside looking in, there are some different expectations on us. But we feel like we're going to go out there and win the National League East and go deep in the playoffs and win the World Series."

Now obviously I wouldn't expect anyone -- except perhaps a Pirate or a Royal -- to proclaim their upcoming season a lost cause on the very first day of Spring Training. But predicting a World Series victory? After your archrivals just won the National League pennant and traded for the best pitcher in baseball? After nearly every team in your division went out and improved themselves over the winter, even the Nationals? After you mostly stood pat during the winter save throwing a boatload of money at a reluctant and defensively-challenged Jason Bay, who won't post anywhere near the numbers he did while playing in the Boston bandbox?

Frankly, I hope part of Wright's prediction comes true. I would love to see the 2010 Mets somehow turn up as the 2010 Yankees' opponent in a Subway Series rematch this October.
at 8:42 AM
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7 comments:

  1. I'm on the other side of the coin here. If you're David Wright what else do you have going for you but the possibility/hope of accidentally winning the World Series. He plays for an irrelevant team, with teammates who probably are not fun to play with at all, he's a dork and he's probably going to be stuck a Met forever. He has to motivate himself somehow and this is the way he's going about it. It's not realistic but that doesn't mean he shouldn't be able to say it
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  2. I think there are a lot of ways to answer what ever question he was asked, such as, "We'll go out there and play our hardest every day and let the chips fall where they may. As a player, it's all you can do."
    that seems like a simpler answer than to predict NL East and World Series victory. I doubt the Mets could get past the Dodgers if they played them in the first round, never mind the Phillies in an NLCS.
    But you have to say this for David Wright: he has BALLS.
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  3. I think you need to lay off DW a little bit. Being a Baseball player is a job, like any other. Do you go ahead and tell people "yea so, I'm not going to work too hard today"...no. OF COURSE he says they are going to win the World Series; that's a requirement (and goal) for every player in baseball, save for members of Buccos & Royals. This is a silly, cheap stab at this franchise. We all know they suck, so why continue to talk about.

    If I wanted to read www.Mettiest.com I would've gone there. You should rename this blog www.Hackiest.com instead.

    Can I get some Spring Training updates? Don't we have players on OUR team that reported yesterday to Tampa??
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  4. I was watching Game 3 of the 2005 World Series on MLB Network a few days ago, and one of the announcers mentioned that no World Series game had ever ended on a walk-off walk. I thought, "Yeah, that's only because the Mets haven't been there since 1986. They'd lose four straight on walk-off walks. Including the games played at Citi/Shea."

    But yeah - I just can't call him delusional. I'm pretty sure there's someone on every team that says "we're the guys to beat this year." Yes, those teams probably include the Pirates and the Royals. Everyone laughed at Jimmy Rollins when he said that the Phillies were the team to beat in the NL East prior to the 2007 season when the Mets were coming off an excellent season and were heavy favorites and, well, look what happened to the Mets and the Phillies in 2007... not that I think the Mets will beat the Phillies in that division this year, or even get close.
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  5. I agree with Craig -not about the Yankees being your team- that this is mostly what athletes are taught to do. If the New York papers get a quote on the opposite end of the spectrum, they'll go to town on him for being pessimistic, not a team player, etc.: "DAVID DOWNER THROWS IN THE TOWEL BEFORE SEASON EVEN STARTS!" This is mostly a throwaway comment, another stupid sports cliche that's become part of the press conference vernacular. At least he acknowledged that people probably have other ideas about the Mets chances (slim to nil). But yes, it'd be refreshing to hear him say something more realistic, and it might even put pressure on the front office to go out and get a fucking pitcher or two so Santana isn't on a 2 day rotation.
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  6. timothy olyphantFeb 22, 2010 07:50 AM
    What's the point of this post? Why bash the Mets for no reason? It's a yankees blog.

    I'd expect this from Jaggers-Radolf, but I was surprised you wrote it Larry.

    This is stupid in so many ways.
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  7. While I appreciate you holding me to a higher standard, I wouldn't read too much into this. There hasn't exactly been a ton of news in Yankeeland, and I don't see any harm in giving the Mets a good-natured ribbing on a slow February day.

    Additionally, I really didn't view this post as bashing them per se, moreso pointing out the team's many flaws that are frankly a bit mind-boggling given the team's payroll.
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