Art Stapleton, of The Record, writes about the new whipping boy at Shea.
Apparently those gathered inside Shea Stadium on Monday have found a new target, and it’s the supposed face of their franchise.
(I’m not happy that the Mets lost, and that they aren’t scoring runs for Santana, who could be 10-3, instead of 7-6. But, making Wright the whipping boy is not the answer. He is the franchise, the future team captain, a marketing dream, never an off-the-field problem, always there for the media (along with Billy Wagner), and a leader by example, never wanting out of the lineup. He’s human, and had an off night. Manuel has already acknowledged that Wright needs rest, and Wright needs some time off, as soon as possible.)
It was not a good night to be David Wright. And it was stunning from the outset, with Seattle ace Felix Hernandez following a two out Wright error, which should have ended the inning, into a second-inning grand slam which proved decisive.
Ironically, Wright talked before the game about wanting to step up in support of Santana, who has not won since June 1st, despite allowing a combined five earned runs in his previous three starts.
“He hasn’t gotten very lucky, so we feel for Johan,” Wright said. “We’d like nothing more than to go out there, give him a few runs and let him work his magic.”
On this night, there was no magic for the Mets, and especially not for Wright.
There were derisive cheers when Wright managed to cleanly field a groundball to end the top of the fourth, but boos returned when he bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to close the fourth.
They voiced their displeasure with Wright again when he took a called third strike with Luis Castillo at second base in the sixth.
(Mets fans need to think first, and have a little patience, before having a knee-jerk reaction of booing. Look at the Mets’ eight starting position players. If fans think Wright’s performance is the reason the Mets are struggling, it’s time to go for an eye exam.)
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