What's Wrong with Wright?

This is not an entry I had wished to write. I wished I never had to write an article on what is wrong with my favorite baseball player, David Wright. Well the time has finally come to do so. I ask you, what is wrong with David Wright? Why did he hit only 10 home runs last year? Why is he on pace for 225 strikeouts this year? Why has his fielding not improved? Why does he look completely lost at the plate?

I obviously can't say with certainty what is going on. I have never met him. I don't know what is going on in his head. But I do have a theory. And I don't think it can be fixed over night. It is along the same lines as an opinion expressed by Matt Cerone at metsblog.com.

First, you can tell that he is frustrated. I think one of the things I appreciate most about David is how much he cares. He cares about being a professional. He cares about winning. Most importantly, he cares about his childhood team that he is blessed to play for. When the Mets lose, I honestly think he feels it more than anyone.

Second, he is feeling a lot of pressure. As Cerone points out, we built David up to be the savior of the franchise. We are always living in the Yankess shadows - always competing against them even though we can never be competitive with them. David was supposed to be our Jeter. He was supposed to be the leader, the captain, the franchise. With that comes a lot of responsibility and a lot of attention. That has to weigh on him.

Third, he is not playing with a lot of support. In 2006 and 2007 he had Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado to take pressure of him. They hit 3rd and 4th and were expected to drive in runs. There was no pressure on David to drive in runs. In doing so he was able to put up better numbers than both of them. He was free. Last year he had Fernando Tatis and Daniel Murphy. This year he has an underproducing Jason Bay, who is on pace for 5 home runs and Beltran is no where in sight.

Finally, he is not the same player since getting hit in the head last year. He won't admit it nor will the Mets, but something is wrong. Some guys get thrown off the bull and are quick to get back on. Others will get back on in time but will never forget the image of getting thrown off. While I won't say that David is scared, I don't think he is at home in the batters box anymore.

Mix the four parts together - frustration, pressure, loneliness and fright - and I think we are all seeing the results.

I think the thing that bothers me the most is the high strikeout rate. I can handle that none of his home runs have come after the 6th. I can handle that his average with men scoring position is down. I am more than happy with his projected totals of 30 hr, 30 sb, 100 rbi. But those strikeouts just eat at me. Some say that he is seeing more balls out of the strikezone which explains his high walk total. That's fine - I'll accept that as a possible reason. But the old Wright would be walking at an incredible rate right now. The new Wright occasionally takes the free pass, but mostly the he wants to provide for the team; he wants to carry the team on his back.

He is frustrated with losing and his subpar performance so he presses more.
He is feeling pressure from fans and the media so he is presses more.
He is alone in the batting order so he presses more.
He is frightened and tries to cover it up by trying harder.

I truly believe (afterall, hope and belief are the only things Mets fans have these days) that the old David will reappear once Carlos Beltran comes back. The problem is that it seems like it may never happen. He may miss the entire year - who knows at this point. I also think Ike Davis hitting cleanup may help the old Wright reappear. If Ike can continue to be the Next Big Thing and consistently drive in runs that will undoubtedly allow David to relax a bit. Hell, if Ike wants to be the new savior, then I bet we'd get an even better version of Wright.

Some fans are calling for Wright to be traded. Most are out of respect to Wright and what he has done to the team. They can see that this is a bad situation and think the way to get him back is for him to get a change of scenery. I'm not sure that is the answer. I think they need more guys on the team to step up and take the heat from the fans; to step up and lead this team. Jason Bay was never going to be that guy no matter how many runs he drives in. Jose Reyes is not that guy regardless of how exciting a player he may be. The 2006 team had plenty of those guys. We need those guys back and our David will come back.