David Wright has no financial reason to return to the Mets this season. He certainly isn't looking over his shoulder at an incumbent waiting to take his place in the hot corner of Citi Field. There is no playoff hunt to join and yet, David Wright is set to return from his hamstring injury with just a few games left on the calendar. So why is he so determined to make an appearance in 2013 when there is nothing at stake? Maybe he just loves to play baseball.
"It's something that I'm against personally...It's not right for a player, I think, to just shut it down when I feel like I'm healthy enough to go out there and produce," said Wright in regards to shutting down his season. I agree with him. There are games to be played and maybe Wright can't stand to miss another inning of the game he loves and to watch his team struggle to score runs. He wants to be the solution to this teams recent hitting woes.
You have to applaud him for wanting to return and give us something to watch in these last couple of weeks. I'm all for getting a look at prospects and seeing what we have, but I want to see what those players will do with the future lineup rather than the one missing our best player. We are looking for chemistry next year with David. I don't want to evaluate someone at a position that won't be there next year.
Some of you are probably dreading the moment when Wright is hustling around the bases and he grabs at the same area. We'll all be hit with flashbacks of Jose Reyes and a recurring injury that essentially changed his career, but that isn't always the case. I think Wright knows his body more than anyone and if he says he is ready, I believe him. Wouldn't you rather see him now for some games and get a sense that he is alright rather than have the worry through Spring Training? I bet Wright is trying to avoid the early 2014 headlines while every reporter stares at his legs and scrutinizes every move he and the organization make as the season comes. He will hustle and he will dive. That is the type of player David is and no injury is going to change that. We will all exhale when he slides into second without a setback.
Something that gets lost in this is that David Wright is the captain of this team. Maybe it is cliche to think that Wright returning means anything to his ball club, but it certainly can't hurt. A leader has to be someone who will be able to be there and push on through good times and bad. These are the times when a fan should want the captain of their team to stand up and be counted. Septembers have been filled with sighs and eye rolls for Mets fans and the ending of 2013 hasn't been any different, but if David Wright won't lead the men on this team, I wouldn't want him to lead a team that should be better come April of next year.
When David Wright steps back onto the field, he will step back into the place he belongs. It will mean a lot to him when he adds another hit to the column of 2013. It should mean even more to us that he cares enough to do so.
1 comment:
Personally, for a franchise with no money (despite platitudes to the contrary) I don't know why they overpaid for him in terms of dollars and years. It would have been far more prudent to trade him to bring in a collection of younger, cheaper players and TRULY give the team financial flexibility for 2014.
Even now, I will make the sacrilegious suggestion that perhaps what they need to do is install Flores at 3B and trade Wright for two outfielders and/or a shortstop. Then you have the $20 million you save available to address any other needs via free agency.
It will never happen of course -- face of the franchise and all that -- but he's not the same player he was in his Shea days and is unfortunately being paid as if he is (and will be getting paid long past his prime).
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