David Wright

I like to think of myself as a realistic Mets fan.

This offseason, while many of my fellow Mets fans were picking the Amazins to finally overtake the Phillies and win the division, I was quietly optimistic while still taking a wait-and-see approach.

I even picked the Phillies to win the division in my National League East season preview article on Bleacher Report.

With that even-keel mentality in mind, I think it may be a long season for us Mets fans.

A little more than two weeks into the season and the Mets are 6-9 and were just swept by the St Louis Cardinals, and there is serious talk about firing coaches and demoting pitchers to the minor leagues.

The Mets are now starting a home stand against the Nationals and Marlins, it is crucial that the Mets get their legs under them soon or else there will be major consequences.

Jerry Manuel is on a short leash, no question, but I for one am not positive firing the coaches and sending pitchers down to the minors will solve the team's problems.

Over the first 12 games of the season the New York Mets compiled a record of 6-6. That means that the Mets are .500, that's not bad for most teams.

For the Mets it apparently is. I don't know the reasoning for that, maybe because they are favored to win their division. 

Whatever it is, "Don't Worry 'Bout It". I say that because all the Mets have to do to get in good shape is at least take two out of three from the St. Louis Cardinals in their upcoming series.

After 12 games the Mets have a 6-6 record, which equals .500, but based on the OBP percentage of the team and an average of about 12 hits per game, their record should be 8-4 at worst.

They are averaging about 15 men LOB each game, this has to stop in order for the Mets to be competitive in their division.

Jerry Manuel has basically stuck with his lineup, not really tinkering too much, but something needs to be done to maximize the hitters getting on base and being driven home.

The Mets have a very potent offense, no question, but most of the hitters are extremely streaky, especially the heart of the lineup and this is a concern for the fans and for Mets management.

Howard Johnson is the hitting coach and was spared the late night firing that Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson received in Anaheim last June.

Mets fans, here is yet another screw up by the Mets brass in the face of history.

Tomorrow night at 7:10, a New York Met will toe the rubber and fire the first ever regular season pitch to the Padres' leadoff hitter. Wouldn't you think that the $157 million arm of Johan Santana should be making that pitch?

Well, he isn't.

Drafted No. 38 overall by the Mets in 2001, third baseman David Wright has seen his skill, and popularity, rise more and more each year in the organization.

Raised in Chesapeake, VA (20 minutes away from the old Mets' AAA-affiliate Norfolk Tides), Wright grew up a Mets fan and dreamed of playing for his favorite team one day.

Never in a million years did he imagine it would come true.

The son of a retired police chief, Wright was raised in a very disciplined household.

For the New York Mets, this spring has been very eventful and it will only get more interesting. They will be under a strong microscope to show that they have put two consecutive September collapses/meltdowns behind them, and that Jerry Manuel is in control of a team who needed a radical changeup in attitude and approach.

Manuel has been preaching a "team first" message and does not want anyone to play the part of the hero, they must all do their part to get the job done, and that no one player is more or less responsible than any other teammate.

Team USA is falling apart at the seams more each passing day, and last night, they suffered another blow. The game did and will continue to go on, but with few to no reserves, it is getting scarier by the minute. Reserves can and will be called on for the semifinals this weekend, but their effectiveness in this tournament will remain to be seen in front of the world.

Some people consider David Wright a hero for his walk-off right-field blooper last night against Puerto Rico in the WBC. I understand why some may praise him, but am surprised that no one is critical of the pitch he decided to swing on.

What the hell are you doing swinging at a pitch down and outside when the count can go to 3-1? It was an awful decision by Wright to swing at such a poor pitch.