More than ever The New York Mets need something to draw the interest of
their fans. That something is third baseman David Wright. Since 2005,
Wright has emerged from a rising star to now being “The Franchise”. It
had been a tag-team effort along with shortstop Jose Reyes, but that duo
was broken up when Reyes left as a free agent and signed with The Miami
Marlins. The Mets have been shedding payroll the way that I shed hair
which is fast and furious. The Mets finally won something as they set a
Major League Baseball record for the biggest drop in a team’s payroll
from one season as they shed $51 million in payroll from 2011. Met
owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon are in the middle of the ongoing saga
regarding former ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff who bilked people out of
their life savings. The Wilpons might be forced to give money back as
they were alleged to have made a profit from Madoff which has left them
financially hamstrung.
Citi Field opened in 2009 as the new home for The Mets and attendance
has declined every season since the park opened. With three consecutive
losing seasons and the departure of Reyes, fans really don’t have much
of a reason to see The Mets play. The only saving grace for The Mets is
Wright.
Wright has been a five-time All-Star for The Mets and more importantly
he brings the image that The Mets need. Wright has the look of “the boy
next door”. Wright has the good looks which are able to attract women to
the ballpark. Wright is climbing up the ranks of The Mets all-time list
for home runs (183), runs batted in (725), and hits (1,248). Wright is
also the franchise’s leader in doubles with 281.
Besides seeing their favorite team win a World Series Championship, Met
fans want to see a lifetime Met. They want to see a player get drafted
by the team, work his way up through the minors and play his entire
Major League career in the blue and orange. It was expected that it
would be both Reyes and Wright, but now it is only in the cards for
number five.
Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has thrown Wright’s name out there
on the trading block only to pull him back. Alderson was trying to get a
gauge on Wright’s value on the market. Wright has seen his production
decline since The Mets left Shea Stadium, but he was injured and missed
time in 2009 and 2011. Wright is under contract through 2012 and The
Mets have an option for him in 2013.
Alderson tested Wright’s value on the market and now it is time to build
a team around Wright. I believe that The Mets can win a championship
with Wright. The Mets must keep Wright and show their fans that they
actually want to win. The other teams in The National League East have
improved while The Mets haven’t, which doesn’t give fans much hope for
2012. Keeping Wright would still allow The Mets to draw some fans at the
gates. On this team, Wright could be the equivalent to what pitcher Tom
Seaver was in the mid 70s and what outfielder Lee Mazzilli was in the
late 70s and early 80s. Seaver and Mazzilli were appealing to the fans
even though The Mets of that era were not that good.
The current Met squad has potential for the future, but it may not be
enough to draw fans. First baseman Ike Davis could be the big bat in the
middle of the lineup as he hit 19 home runs in rookie campaign. The
Mets are holding their pitching hopes of the franchise on Zach Wheeler
and Matt Harvey, but these guys are still at least a year away from the
majors.
The Mets have brought in the outfield fences which could be a boost to
Wright’s confidence as well. Wright is a lifetime .300 hitter, but he
has only gone over that mark once in his three seasons playing at Citi
Field. Wright was apart of one of the best seasons in Mets history in
2006 when they won 97 games in the regular season and were one game away
from The World Series before losing to The St. Louis Cardinals. Wright
has seen the best of times and the worst of times in Flushing. The Mets
owe it to Wright to allow him to be apart of the team as they try to
once again become relevant. The Mets are surrounded by successful big
market teams in The Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, and New York
Yankees. All of these squads have won a World Series in the past five
seasons and have big payrolls and large fan bases to go along with it.
Trading Wright would only put The Mets further behind them. Fred Wilpon
has already come out publicly stating that he doesn’t have any
intentions to sell the team, but shipping Wright out of town would
definitely be a sign of waving the white flag.
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