Squawker Jon, I know you that you inhaled the WBC and all, given your most recent column, but I’m going to have to mock your guy David Wright, the star of Team USA’s victory over Puerto Rico.
Or should I just call him Mr. March again? Yeah, yeah, I know somebody could say that about my team’s third baseman, Alex Rodriguez. And come to think of it, Wright may not have made the USA squad in the first place if it weren’t for A-Rod remembering his Dominican roots.
Speaking of A-Rod, Wright seems to be channeling his propensity for saying dopey things. After David’s walkoff hit the other night, he told the media, “That situation is what you dream about when you’re a kid.”
Mets blogger I.M. Forme at It’s Mets for Me is having none of it:
Really? Wright dreamed about playing for Team America in the World Baseball Classic? The WBC wasn’t a dumb glimmer in Bud Selig’s greedy eyes when Wright was a kid. Get your head on straight, Sugarpants, when you were a kid, you dreamed about winning the world series with the NY Mets. That is the situation.
I don’t even root for the Mets and I’m nodding my head agreeing with this guy.
But wait, there’s more! According to today’s Kevin Kernan column in the New York Post:
Wright had scratches on his face, the result of being dog-piled by teammates. He also had the glow in his eye such a hit builds in the baseball soul.
“I’ve heard from everybody,” he said. “I got more phone calls and text messages in the last 24 hours than I had the last 24 months.”
He’s thrilled that his bat is being sent to the Hall of Fame. One of the best messages came from his brother Daniel, a high school senior. “He sent me a text that said, ‘This is by far the coolest thing you’ve ever done,’ ” Wright explained.
Can Wright get a little perspective here, please?
Team USA hasn’t even won the WBC yet. They made it to the semifinals. The semifinals. Which means that they’re one of four teams left. To paraphrase a Chris Rock routine, you’re supposed to make it to the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic if you’re the US. What does Wright want, a cookie?
Wright is darned lucky that, despite the Mets’ two epic September collapses in a row, he still essentially gets a free pass in this town. Because I think the other New York third baseman would get a little more criticism if he told the media what golden boy David did yesterday:
“Being in these kind of high-pressure situations, you know, big at-bats in March, can only help you out come April and hopefully beyond that,” Wright said of the two-run single that beat Puerto Rico, 6-5. “You’re talking about being up there with the game on the line, and when you wear those three letters across the front of your chest, you have quite a bit of pressure and weight on your shoulders.
“I think that can only help,” Wright said. “It’s good to get that big hit because when you do get those big hits it allows you to take a deep breath and maybe not put as much pressure on you the next at-bat.”
Again, can you imagine if A-Rod had said something so damning about himself? Good grief.
What do you think about David Wright? Leave us a comment!
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