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March 18, 2009 Team Health ReportsNew York Mets
Head Trainer: Ray Ramirez Trend: Negative. It's hard to get to "neutral" when the team has nearly doubled the number of days lost that it had in 2006, but it's not as bad as it looked. The Mets took three season-long hits to pitchers they didn't expect much from (Orlando Hernandez, Matt Wise, and Ambiorix Burgos). Without those, they'd be in line with last season's ranking. Given what I had seen going into last year, the results weren't actually that bad. Ramirez and his staff are faced with numerous challenges, but it doesn't seem as if they'll have quite as much on their plates this year. They've done a great job with maintenance, and they're one of the best at keeping players at level. The Shape of the Season:
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Will, you know people will ask you to expand on the "On The Couch" comment. IMO, seems like a cheap shot w/o much merit.
Particularly after disavowing an interest in the psychological during the "big question!"
I don't consider it a cheap shot--but I'd love to know why he'd be considered any kind of head case.
I don't know if its that Wright is a head-case so much as this is a case of external and internal pressure. It always seems like the weight of the Mets, and therefore by proxy the weight of the world (with this team), is placed on Wright's shoulders. With the brutal season endings, though very little of the blame should actually be placed on Wright, a lot of it winds up there. This offseason, all we've heard is how "un-clutch" Wright is, which is a gross overstatement, but you have to figure Wright thinks about it regardless of the media with the massive disappointments this team has suffered. With the NY media thrown into the mix, these feelings are probably increased exponentially. It did seem like as last season wore on, he would press more and more in big spots, and it did manifest in some "un-clutchness" at the end of the season (for anyone who follows the Mets, remember Murphy's and Wright's subsequent punchout in a massive game the last week of the season? Wright was clearly pressing).
A reader on Amazin' Avenue made an interesting point though: Will Wright's big hit in last night's WBC game allow him to relax a bit more this year in big spots? I certainly hope so, because with a 26 year old as talented as Wright is, that's the only thing that could possibly hold him back.
He was spectacular down the stretch in 07. Not sure how that's been forgotten this offseason. His numbers that year:
Sept 352/432/602 that was after a 394/516/657 August.
overall RISP: 310/431/544
Close and Late: 346/447/590.
I really dont think his "clutchness" is an issue- if you believe in that stuff, that is.
No I completely agree with you, I think its absolutely absurd to call Wright "un-clutch". But the question I'm asking isn't whether or not Wright is clutch, its whether or not the idea that he's not has effected his mentality or even the team's mentality.
Regardless of whether he is or isn't clutch, this idea that he isn't is out there in full force. Wright's "unclutchness" is an NY sports media meme, not a fact. But big, prevalent memes like that are often harder to ignore than facts are.
Here's a good analogy: remember Y2K? It was such a big deal, everyone talked about it...until it actually happened. David Wright's "unclutchness" is probably something like the Mets version of Y2K. It may freak some people out, but its also not exactly true. The only damage that could be done is if someone panics and makes a poor decision or series of decisions as in a reactionary way.
Now, if we were talking about A-Rod....that would just be a completely different "On The Couch" (you might have to make it a four-parter).
Agree 100%. Wright has become the de facto leader of the team, and I always find it painful to watch him try to channel a guy like Jeter and be Dynasty Captain, saying the perfect professional thing every time he opens his mouth. Particularly last season, when there was such a hostile, negative fan/media vibe surrounding the Mets. It would be hard for anyone to face the shark frenzy every night, but you could see him trying too hard to please the people with the microphones, and he let them get in his head.
C'mon Will...that was ridiculous.