Re: What is the "bottom line" on Wright and Reyes, going forward ?

On Sep 23, 11:42 pm, montygraham <monty1...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Several people on this group like to "play politics" rather than
address real issues.  I've encountered this before and find it
laughable, but to those who don't fully realize what is going on, I
will make it as explicit as possible:

1.  Wright and Reyes clearly have "raw talent."  At some point,
however, a decision will have to be made about how much offense they
must produce, and what to do if they can't get the job done.

2.  I have said that trading them should only be considered if it was
clearly beneficial, or at least appeared to be (since there is no way
to be sure if a trade will be good).

3.  Much depends upon who the next manager is and how much power he
has.  I hope it will be made clear that the next manager will be there
longer than any one player who he thinks is not getting the job done.
If not, it will likely continue to be a case of "the lunatics running
the asylum."

4.  My major criticism of Reyes is his approach is not consistent with
what a leadoff hitter's approach should be (and he doesn't seem to
have his "head in the game" too often).  His injury issues should be
considered a failure  of the GM or manager, IMO.

5.  My major criticism of Wright is that he once had the right
approach to hitting, but now has adopted an obviously flawed one (in
more than one way.

6.  Jerry's recent statement about Wright being too streaky for a
player at that point in his career leads me to think that nobody in
the organization has noticed and tried to correct Wright's flaws.
Furthermore, from what I've heard, Wright is stubborn and is just
going to keep doing what he wants, no matter what the results are.
Thus, if another team thinks he is the same hitter that he was a few
years back, and makes a good trade offer, the only smart thing to do
is to take it, especially considering the fact that Citi Field is a
"pitcher's park."  Reyes'  trade value is probably low but if a team
makes a great trade offer, I would have no problem seeing him gone as
well.

7.  "Addition by subtraction" is probably a very good approach for the
Mets now.  We have seen what happens when there are players like Ollie
Perez and Castillo on a team, if the ownership isn't willing to just
cut them when no other team wants them.  Once you get stubborn or
pouting, high-paid players off the team, you can replace them with
smart veterans (who are willing to take short-term contracts) and
rookies who know that if they don't produce they will be back in the
minors or traded off.  It's not just about getting players with pretty
statistics, but also about how they can be handled.

8.  In this context, Wright and Reyes represent a major problem,
because they will require new contracts soon and they will probably
want at least 5 years and a whole lot of money.  The team won this
year when they AND several other players were hitting, demonstrating
that they will not get the job done without a lot of support.  Since
ownership is not likely to spend a lot on Wright and Reyes and 3 or 4
other players who are good hitters, especially considering Citi Field,
they may become "addition that is subtraction," because if they
continue to under-perform, they will be hard to trade at that point.
They may never be as "untradeable" as Castillo is now, but they will
either compel ownership to eat a lot of the contract money or they
will have to take on some other team's under-performing player with a
long contract.  Thus, problem we have seen with the Mets this year may
continue for several more years.

9.  If ownership is as I think they are, I prefer that they just go
with an all-out youth movement that is tailored to Citi Field.  For
example, if they start the season with Duda in RF against righties,
and he isn't getting it done, and he is then replaced with another
young player, that will be more interesting to me than watching Reyes
hit pop ups and Wright chasing outside pitches while standing far from
the plate and trying to pull the ball.  In this scenario, the next
manager would have to be good with young players, obviously.

What did lunatics like yourself do before the internet?
.

Relevant Pages

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