Sparks has left a new comment on your post “Sweet Caroline, John Franco vs. David Wright“:
Just out of curiosity, who was the team leader back in 2006 when they won the division by 12 games, and to where did he disappear?
I don’t buy the leadership thing as much as I buy the “edge” hypothesis. This bunch just hasn’t collectively had the passion, the grit, and the fortitude you see in championship-caliber teams, and that’s not something one person can force upon another even if you do have a couple of gamers in the clubhouse.
The sad thing is, you get the impression Wilpon prefers the team that way. He’s too afraid of his players doing something to embarrass him (well, aside from blowing a 7-game lead with 17 to play) to sign too many tough guys.
As for Wright specifically, I obviously can’t speak for his leadership, but yes indeed, he is too much “nice guy” and not enough “bad ass.” It’s hard to come to any other conclusion when he’s giving those all-but-patented deer in the headlights post-loss interviews with his voice cracking. He’s a tremendous player, but he comes across as soft. Hopefully, Franco’s words will piss him off a little, as Minaya’s appeared to earlier in the season.
I thought about it for a while and then I remembered who it was. It was Paul Lo Duca. Lo Duca may not have made people forget Piazza, but people sure weren’t bitching about the catcher position.
You remember Lo Duca, don’t you? He was an All-Star in 2006. That’s him on the left in those ugly yellow jerseys we talked about last weekend.
Then I’m sure you’ll remember this happened…as told by the June 30, 2007 Times:
”It’s the same three or four people every day,” Lo Duca said in the outburst, which came after the Mets’ game against St. Louis was postponed. ”Nobody else wants to talk. Some of these guys have to start talking. They speak English, believe me.”
Exactly what Lo Duca meant is open to interpretation. On one hand, he seemed to be telling reporters to be more resourceful and not simply gravitate toward players who speak English as their first language.
At the same time, he seemed to be expressing annoyance that only a few players — David Wright being the other primary one — are usually available right after a game to discuss a Mets victory or defeat. And recently, a lot of those games have been losses.
Park the racist discussion for a minute. Lo Duca was one of the voices of the team. Who exactly is that person in 2009?
Now back to the alledged racism, as I type “Lo Duca” into Google News I find this from August 2006
@metspolice
MP,
Where was Lo Duca's leadership in 2007, the year the Mets had the biggest collapse in baseball history? He was on the team then.
Leadership is not a problem. Injuries and poor roster construction by the GM are.
At the time of the comment the Mets had a 4 game lead. I suspect he was not loved by some of the "Latino" players after that, thus losing his role in the clubhouse.
All this leads us right back to the front office. LoDuca was firey and told it like it was, so of course he had to be shipped out ASAP. Never mind holding the other players accountable for the behavior of which he spoke.
The question isn't so much leadership as it is one of putting together complementary pieces. These "leaders" everyone speaks of don't really change anybody's disposition, they just fill in what's lacking in the rest of the locker room. Wright didn't suddenly go soft because LoDuca left. He was always soft, and LoDuca merely provided a counter-balance.
It's clear by his actions that to Mr. Wilpon, the franchise is an investment first, a nostalgiac trinket second, and an active team third. As long as the roster is filled with well-behaved guys and he can turn a profit, who really gives a crap about winning anything? To him, buying this team was like me going on ebay to buy a team set of 1988 Topps cards. It's cool to have, and while I may be able to re-sell it some day under the right circumstances, I don't expect it to do much. Yeah, they'll re-vamp the bullpen a year too late and sign a Piazza or Santana every decade, but only to give the appearance of trying when ticket sales are about to take a hit.
If one seeks the true leadership problem with this team, one should look no farther than the owner's box, where the game is always secondary. While the Wilpons choose to focus their efforts on creating new jerseys to sell, establishing "poster child" players, and grabbing headllines with one signing, other owners are actually putting together complete and competitive baseball teams.