Tag Archives: David Wright

Feb 24

Mets’ Ike Davis Doesn’t Like Story; Did Not Refute Accuracy

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New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis isn’t happy with a recent story that concealed an oblique injury last season.

DAVIS: Unhappy with story. (AP)

DAVIS: Unhappy with story. (AP)

Davis said he didn’t report the injury because he was about to be optioned to Triple-A Las Vegas and didn’t want it to sound like an excuse.

On Monday, Davis did not refute the Post’s Mike Puma’s accuracy, but instead took him to task for writing it in the first place.

“You made it look like, you know, it’s an excuse,’’ Davis said. “That’s not what the story — it shouldn’t have been a story anyway. Because that’s what we talked about before you wrote it, was we shouldn’t write this, because that doesn’t matter. But that was nowhere in the article.’’

There are two things to note: 1) if Davis didn’t think it was a story, he shouldn’t have answered the questions, and 2) he should have been more forthcoming about the injury.

When he saw Puma writing in his notebook, he had to know there would be a story.

Even manager Terry Collins said had he known of the injury the team might have handled things differently.

To his credit, Davis didn’t deny the quotes, and in his strongest comment as a Met, said: “I sucked last year because I sucked. It’s not because I had an injury.’’

I’m glad Davis didn’t hide under the “I was misquoted’’ umbrella, and here’s hoping he learned something.

We admire athletes who play with pain, but sometimes playing with an injury could come back to haunt them. I have been critical of Matt Harvey and David Wright playing injured, if for no other reason they risked further injury and might have jeopardized their team’s chances of winning.

With Harvey, doing so might have caused his elbow injury and subsequent surgery. With Davis, it might have lead to a dreadful season and the Mets’ desire to trade him.

When you’re a gamer like Wright, like Harvey and like Davis, nobody will question when you call in sick one day.

ON DECK:  Thoughts on Nelson Cruz

Feb 23

Could Matt Harvey Become A HIgh Maintenance Super Nova?

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Could the New York Mets have a potential problem with Matt Harvey?

There are already signs of him being high maintenance … signs he enjoys the trappings of New York too much … signs he doesn’t handle injuries well … signs of being too sensitive … signs he knows he’s good and isn’t afraid to let you know.

HARVEY: No hiding there are questions (ESPN)

HARVEY: No hiding there are questions (ESPN)

Harvey has never pitched a complete season and is 12-10 lifetime. While we’re not talking about the second coming of Tom Seaver, Harvey seems to be caring himself with a sense of entitlement and a “you can’t touch me’’ aura.

The latest is his reported reluctance to want to undergo his rehab in Port St. Lucie, which the Mets prefer, and desire to work out in New York.

After Harvey threw for the first time Saturday, general manager Sandy Alderson backed off saying where the 24-year-old 2010 will rehab, but made clear his preference.

“As a general rule, our players rehab in Florida,’’ Alderson said Saturday. “But that’s not a decision we’re going to make or mandate [now]. When we get to the end of spring training we’ll see where he is, and I’m sure there will be discussion between now and then.’’

For somebody with 36 career starts, why should there even be discussion? If Port St. Lucie was good enough for David Wright and Pedro Martinez to rehab, it should be good enough for Harvey.

In fairness, we haven’t heard Harvey’s reasoning for his preference of New York, which leads to speculation, with little of it showing him in a good light.

Making this more touchy is this could go before the Players Association, as the collective bargaining agreement mandates a player can refuse his rehab in a spring training locale during the season for longer than 20 days.

“The CBA imposes limitations. Yeah,’’ Alderson said. “But in the past, for the most part, our players have been here and it’s been a good situation.’’

We know New York is Harvey’s home, has superior Italian food and a better nightlife than Port St. Lucie.

But, what’s the purpose here?

New York’s nightlife makes one wonder, as Harvey clearly enjoys the perks of being a star – even though that might be a premature characterization of his professional status. Harvey likes the clubs and openly spoke about his drinking in a Men’s Journal magazine piece.

“I’m young, I’m single,’’ he was quoted as saying. “I want to be in the mix. … I have a 48-hour rule. No drinking two days before a start. But, those other days? Yes, I’m gonna go out.’’

The bottom line: If you’re 24 and a high-profile figure, you shouldn’t need a rule about drinking. If he finds it necessary to have a rule, he shouldn’t be drinking in the first place.

Everybody these days has a phone with a camera. Harvey has already been caught several times in incidents of public displays of affection with his former supermodel girlfriend, Anne Vyalitsyna at Rangers and Knicks games, where he is gifted the tickets. More trappings.

He’s now seeing another model, Ashley Haas, which has his comments of wanting to be like Derek Jeter resurface. Of course, It is doubtful Harvey would have ever posed nude.

“That guy is the model,’’ he said. “I mean, first off, let’s just look at the women he’s dated. Obviously, he goes out – he’s meeting these girls somewhere – but you never hear about it. That’s where I want to be.’’

New York’s nightlife has burned out dozens of athletes. Look what it did for Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry. Imagine what Mickey Mantle would have been able to accomplish with a little less drinking and womanizing.

And, as for Jeter, he’s not the Teflon he’s made out to be. Stories of sending his conquests home with a gift basket of memorabilia and forcing houseguests to surrender their cell phones don’t portray him in a flattering light. Mom must be so proud.

Shortly after the magazine piece came out, Harvey complained about being misquoted and taken out of context. A reporter for a magazine profile records everything, so it is doubtful the quotes were manufactured. Backing off his comments shows a lack of accountability.

Harvey also got into it with WFAN talk-show host Joe Beningo, ripping him on Twitter and then deleting the post.

When it comes to fighting with a radio personality or the media in general, it is futile as it comes off as petty and unprofessional, plus, he’ll never have the last word.

The media isn’t as easy to bully as was former teammate Jon Rauch, whom Harvey forced out of town after challenging the former Mets reliever to a fight because he didn’t appreciate the rookie hazing, which included getting doused with water while sleeping on the trainer’s table.

If Harvey had a problem he could have confronted Rauch in private rather than making an uncomfortable clubhouse scene. That’s something somebody with a professional grasp on things would have done. Instead, he came off as behaving like Jordany Valdespin.

That’s not the only thing Harvey hasn’t handled well. Twice he wasn’t immediately forthcoming in disclosing injuries to the training staff, and arguably it led to his elbow surgery.

I want the best for Harvey. I want him to have a long and brilliant career. However, he has a long way to go, on and off the field. He hasn’t always shown good judgment and a case can be made it cost him this season.

He needs to reign himself in off the field, and that includes not making a big deal about where he rehabs. If reflects poorly on him and makes one wonder if this isn’t about carousing the bars with Haas and watching the Rangers.

If he maintains this course, instead of a franchise pitcher, he could end being a high maintenance super nova.

Feb 22

Wrapping Up The Day: Matt Harvey Throws; Mets Re-Fi; Collins To Ease In Vets

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Matt Harvey’s first throwing session and news of the New York Mets’ refinancing their debt incurred from the Ponzi ruling were today’s most significant developments from the Mets’ spring training camp in Port St. Lucie.

Harvey made 20 throws on flat ground from 60 feet Saturday morning and described his feelings as “awesome.’’

Harvey will continue to throw on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. He described it as part of a process and acknowledged he must resist the urge to throw harder.

In addition:

* The Mets’ application to refinance was accepted with the organization several weeks away from having to make a $250-million payment. The five-year loan was priced at Libor plus 3.25 percent.

* Saturday was the first day of full-squad workouts. John Lannan, Gonzalez Germen, Rafael Montero and Scott Rice were among the pitchers to throw live batting practice.

* Manager Terry Collins plans to “ease’’ his veterans into spring training games. Daniel Murphy, David Wright and Curtis Granderson aren’t expected to play the first week.

* Overall, Collins is pleased with the workouts. “I have never seen the drills done with more enthusiasm, with more energy without major mistakes than we have in the last six days. It’s incredible,’’ Collins said.

* Prospect Erik Goeddel will work as a reliever during spring training and the regular season, said general manager Sandy Alderson, whose reasoning is the Mets’ starting pitching depth in the minors.

* Alderson will delay the decision where Harvey will rehab this season. He prefers Port St. Lucie; Harvey wants New York. Since there’s no need to make a decision now, he’ll wait to later in camp.

* Alderson expressed no regrets in the Mets signing outfielder Chris Young and not waiting to sign Nelson Cruz, who just agreed to an $8-million, one-year contract with Baltimore. That’s $750-thousand more than they’ll pay Young.

 

Feb 20

David Wright Part Of MLB Promotion

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New York Mets third baseman and captain David Wright is one of eight finalists of the MLB Network’s annual Face of MLB contest.

The promotion is to determine a player who best represents the sport on and off the field. Wright, named team captain last year, has always been one of the best ambassadors of the sport, not only with his talent on the field, but his generosity off it in donating his time and efforts to numerous charitable events, plus his longtime, easy-going interactive nature with the club’s fans.

In the NCAA-type format, Wright defeated Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera last week and from tomorrow until Monday is paired against the Dodgers’ Clayton Kershaw.

If you have a Twitter account, the Mets are asking if you could encourage your followers to tweet using #DavidWright and #FaceOfMLB. RTing your tweets also count as a vote.

There is a limit of 25 votes for each Twitter handle.

 

Feb 19

Judging Sandy Alderson’s Tenure With Mets

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Sandy Alderson said he’d like to stay on as general manager of the New York Mets for another two or three years.

In judging Alderson’s first three years, we must first understand why he was hired, and it wasn’t to build a winning team – at least not initially.

Alderson might have had the Mets in the playoffs had he thrown good money after bad, as the franchise was doing since the end of the 2007 season when they bid against themselves to sign Johan Santana.

ALDERSON: How would you judge Alderson?

ALDERSON: How would you judge Alderson?

Alderson’s objective was to put the Mets in position to win by changing their economic structure, which meant first stripping the team of its cumbersome, unproductive contracts.

It began by getting out from under the contracts of Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo, which meant eating salary, but counteracting that by not bringing in more payroll.

Next Francisco Rodriguez had to go, which happened in a trade to Milwaukee. Then Alderson had to buy out Jason Bay and wait for Santana’s contract to expire.

With over $75 million off the books and the Wilpons getting a favorable ruling in the Madoff scandal, Alderson could slowly rebuild the Mets.

There are three ways to build a team: trades, free agency and the draft. Let’s look at how Alderson has fared in these categories.

TRADES:  Alderson has completed four significant trades with the Mets, beginning with sending Francisco Rodriguez to Milwaukee in 2011 for pitching prospects Adrian Rosario and Danny Herrera. Neither prospect has amounted to much, but the key was getting out from under Rodriguez’s contract, which would have been $17.5 million in 2012 or a $3.5 million buyout.

The Mets tired of Rodriguez’s high-wire act on the mound and explosive personality off the field, which included assaulting his fiancé and her father, the latter inside Citi Field.

Alderson’s second big trade was to obtain pitching prospect Zack Wheeler from San Francisco for Carlos Beltran, which saved the Mets an $18.5 million option on the outfielder.

Beltran remains a productive player, but Wheeler is a key to the Mets’ pitching foundation.

Next, Alderson sent 2012 Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey, whom the Mets wouldn’t be able to afford to re-sign, and catcher Josh Thole to Toronto for catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud, pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard and catcher John Buck.

Finally, after a productive first half of the 2013 season, Buck was traded to Pittsburgh for reliever Vic Black and second base prospect Dilson Herrera.

So, at the cost of three players whom the Mets would not, or did not, want to keep, they obtained Wheeler, d’Arnaud, Syndergaard, Black and Herrera, all of whom represent inexpensive building blocks.

On the negative side, Alderson has not been able to resolve the first base logjam by trading Ike Davis. There could still be time as reportedly Baltimore and Pittsburgh are still monitoring the Mets in the possibility of making a trade.

It also must be remembered it has been difficult for the Mets to trade because they want to keep their young pitching and have few other chips to deal.

FREE-AGENCY: Unquestionably, Alderson’s biggest decision was to bring back captain and centerpiece, All-Star third baseman David Wright to an eight-year, $138-million extension last winter.

His other key decision was to not bring back Jose Reyes, which was a good move in that it gave them the latitude to keep Wright. Also, Reyes is a speed player with a history of leg injuries making the likelihood of him breaking down very real.

Alderson also signed Byrd, which he parlayed into prospects, and outfielder Chris Young, which is not a popular decision.

He also spent this offseason on Curtis Granderson and Bartolo Colon. The outcome of those two remain to be seen.

Alderson receives criticism for the signings he did not make, such as Bronson Arroyo. Some of it is fair if one is looking at the short term. When looking at the long term it isn’t because it doesn’t take into account his initial plan, which was to restructure the Mets economically and then build them up.

However, signing reliever Frank Francisco to a two-year contract was a bust.

It can also be argued by offering Davis arbitration when they really don’t want him was a mistake. However, that can be erased if Davis is eventually traded.

DRAFTING: Matt Harvey, by the way, was drafted by Omar Minaya’s regime. It is too soon to make a call on prospects pitcher Rafael Montero, who could come up this season, outfielder Brandon Nimmo and catcher Kevin Plawkecki.

Mets Chief Operating Officer Jeff Wilpon said the organization’s biggest weakness is a lack of position-player prospects in the minor leagues.

Conclusion: Alderson was hired not to make the Mets immediately competitive, but to put them in position to compete within four years. That timetable was pushed back because of Harvey’s injury.

His first priority was to strip the Mets of non-productive payroll, which he accomplished. Ownership likes him, so if he wants to stay he will stay.

ON DECK: The market remains open for Ike Davis.