Wright Speaks Out on Lo Duca, Mitchell Report
“I’d like to think maybe there’s some fabrication, maybe it [the Mitchell report] is not all true…. But I’ve said from day one, whether it’s my best friend in the game or whoever, that if they get caught, if they fail a drug test, if there’s substantial evidence they used steroids, there should be a harsh penalty”.
You have to admire Wright’s strong opinion on the subject. He goes on to mention the 
Wright says he has indeed talked to Lo Duca at times this off-season, but the Mitchell Report has not been a topic of their conversation(s).
Filed under: New York Mets, _Mitchell Report/Steroids
“Wright says he has indeed talked to Lo Duca at times this off-season, but the Mitchell Report has not been a topic of their conversation(s).”
what???. They didn’t talk about it once??? Okay, David. here’s how a conversation likely went:
LoDuca - Yo Dave, how F&cked up is it that my trainer outed my to that rat bastard George Mitchell?
Wright - Yea, man, that sucks. He “fleeced” you.
LoDuca - I know. What should I do? Take him out?
Wright - Hahaha. No, man, you can’t do that. Murder’s never an answer.
LoDuca - Murder? I meant: How do I get my steroids now? I can’t go back to that guy. He’s working for the feds.
Wright - Don’t worry about it. I’ve already sent you a shipment of my special stuff. The first one’s free.
LoDuca - I love you, man.
Interesting, haha, and amusing. Who knows what they’ve spoken about? I am sure Wright did not go to the fund raiser intending to ruin Lo Duca. The Mitchell Report was brought up, and David was honest.
lol.
I do love the use of the term “fleeced”, Utley for Prez. Great job on that, you worked it in nicely.
Utley for Prez, who’s more likely on steroids:
David Wright or Ryan Howard
Not saying either of them are, but…
Between Howard and Wright, I’m gonna have to go with… Ortiz.
acewpk -
Howard’s always been enormous. Wright was a skinny twirp who all the sudden got large. He’s the new Nomar. Give him a few years. You’ll see him break down.
David Wright is the most overrated player in the league.
Let’s see… on the one hand we have a young player who’s succeeded at every level of professional and amateur baseball, of average athletic frame who hits for high BA, high RBI #’s, above-average (but not monstrous) power, steals bases, plays above-average defense…
Versus a guy who comes out of nowhere with RIDICULOUS power, is a strike-out machine, and has found a power stroke as he neared thirty in the minors and was worried about becoming obsolete. Hmmm… if the Phil’s really had thought Howard was a legit power threat in his youth, they never would have signed Thome back in the day.
Howard and the Phil’s offense is fantastic, and matches up with any in the league. But Wright overrated? I don’t think so. That’s like all those guys who hate the Yankees and say Jeter/A-Rod/Mariano are overrated. It’s like me saying Rollins is overrated, which he most decidedly is not. Hate the Mets all you want, but Wright and Reyes are not overrated, anymore than Chipper or Utley are.
Your analyis of Howard’s career path couldn’t be more wrong, but I expect that out of a Mets fan.
PS: Didn’t the mets almost trade Wright for a bag of balls? ANd then all the sudden he starts mashing?
STEROIDS.
PS: How’s your post-collapse syndrome treating you?
Regards,
A Division Champion
Just as you got Wright’s career path wrong. How much credit do you want me to give the Phils? Rollins, Utley, Howard might be the best heart-of-the-order in the league. But you still need to trash talk. The truth about steroids is nobody knows (and this is what’s sad about it) is who has taken and who hasn’t, and who they can trust. And here’s the truth about ‘07: The Mets suffered one of the most disgusting and embarrassing collapses in baseball history that makes me sick whenever I think about it, and the Phils were slightly less mediocre enough to win the division, but still mediocre enough to suffer their own 3 and out playoff collapse to the Rox. The whole NL East was flawed last year, and this year looks to be more of the same.
But logic is something I simply shouldn’t expect on a sports fan forum, I know.
Ace, don’t lob us all into the no-logic category!
It’s cool ace…I’m just teasing.
Hey, at least we get to join forces this year and completely annihilate Tom Glavine a few times!
I hope Howard smacks Glavine to the top deck… and then throws him off of it.
I hope Glavine dominates you both, and the Braves come out of nowhere and win the division.
If the Braves get one of their young pitchers to step up, they might have the best rotation in the East.
Hey, Tyler, Glavine pitched some good games for the Mets (let’s ignore that last one), but I think his days of consistently dominating anyone are over.
As for “if” the Braves get one of their young pitchers to step up… let’s be real, dude, this entire division if full of “ifs”. IF Oliver Perez can be dominant… IF the “good” Brad Lidge shows up, not the “Pujolized” Brad Lidge… “if” Mike Hampton can stay on the field (is he even still a Brave?)… “if” the Mets get Johan Santana… “if” Brett Myers can stay healthy in the rotation… “if” Carlos Delgado can bounce back… “if” Chipper isn’t done… I’m not even going to try and call it because it’s too close to call. I’m not Jimmy Rollins; that’s not gonna work for me.
(BTW… I’m a big-time Mets fan, but I’d give my left arm, right leg, and a couple of teeth to get Rollins on my team. I’d have to slot him over to second, though… although he and Reyes are probably a push, defensively, I already know that Reyes can’t play second.)
Hey, when’s the last time we could refer to the Braves potentially winning a division as “coming out of nowhere?” Wow, that’s weird.
I’ll take Smoltz, Hudson, and Glavine over Maine, Pedro, and Perez or Hamels, Myers, and Kendrich, no “if” there.
Wow…ace, your comment got me thinking. If you combined the Mets and Phils, you’d have a ridiculous lineup! Check it out:
SS: Rollins
CF: Victorino
2B: Utley
1B: Howard
LF: Burrell
RF: Jenkins
3B: Dobbs
C: Ruiz
P: Hamels
How about you do that for real?
SS: Reyes
2B: Utley
CF: Beltran
1B: Howard
RF: Rollins
3B: Wright
LF: Alou & Burrell (platoon)
C: Hell, in this lineup, I could catch and it wouldn’t matter.
P: … Probably Hamels. Does he hit much?
The only problem, of course, is that there are too many infielders and I put Rollins as the athlete most likely to be able to switch to the outfield (although you could put him at 3rd and put Wright in a corner outfield spot.) Also, I like Alou as a hitter more than Burrell, but he’s hurt too much and Burrell, when he’s hot, rakes.
I don’t know much about Ruiz, but I’d probably put him in over Schneider, from a purely offensive standpoint. Church is a decent hitter (and I’d say that even if he was still a Nat), but if MIlledge turns out to be a superstar, I’ll be pissed, and Church gets talented out by those other guys.
Tyler, would you have taken Glavine before the Braves signed him back? Honestly. I can’t see how, as the Braves have pretty much owned him as a Met. But long time Braves fans could have some loyalty, I can see that.
Hey, honestly, from a Braves fan POV… how do you feel about the Kotsay trade? I think he’s a good player, but that was a pretty good prospect you gave up for him.
The more I look at the Phillies, the more I think they are not true contenders, can they truly say they have improved or upgraded one aspect of their team over last year? The Phillies need to get off to a hot start or they will be in trouble.
Brett Myers in the rotation helps the Phils, but taking him out the closer role hurts them. I wouldn’t trust Brad Lidge in Citizen’s Bank.
Im a Rangers fan, BTW, but there had to be something about Devine the Braves did not like, i don’t know what..
Of course, Tyler, if you say they haven’t improved their team from last year… well, last year they won the division. It’s dangerous to rest on your laurels, true, but I’d say every team in the NL East underperformed last year. If they all start playing up to par, it’ll be interesting, and if only one team starts playing up to what they are on paper, they could run away with the whole thing. Like the Braves did for years and like the Mets did in ‘06.
I would have put Reyes in CF, shifted Beltran to right, and left Rollins at SS.
You’re a Rangers fan? How has The Rangers’ offseason been?
Reyes in C… okay, that could work.
I’d probably put Reyes in the corner, leave Beltran in C, if we were keeping Rollins at SS. I would just have more confidence that Rollins could pick up the new position, having watched Reyes almost kill himself at 2B.
Or, like I said, slide Rollins to 3B and put Wright in RF.
Reyes might just be the best defensive shortstop in the NL (John McDonald has him beat out in the AL). Rollins is a little overrated defensively because he gets less balls hit to him than Reyes.
Wright may not have deserved his gold glove, but he’s still a great defender and should be left alone. Same goes for Beltran.
How do you know Rollins gets less balls hit to him than Reyes? Did you count?
Well since it comes down to pitching, I would say the Mets way overachieved last year, and that show’d at the end. The Phillies probably overachieved somewhat, and the Braves played to par.
The Braves brought in Glavine, added a young pitcher and pretty good prospect in Jair Jurrjens to compete with JoJo Reyes for their last rotatoin spot. Chuck James will be the wildcard, he may push Glavine back to the 4 slot, where as he was the Mets ace last year.
The Mets lost their only reliable pitcher with a track record, so they will be counting on John Maine and Oliver Perez to repeat their best seasons at the Major League Level, the wildcard of course is Pedro, who knows what you will get from him, and then there is Pelfrey, don’t know much about him, but if the small sample of starts from last year are any indication, ouch.
The Phillies rotation gets really ugly past 1 and 2, but could be the best 1,2 combo in the East. Maybe Adam Eaton starts to earn some of his money, maybe Jamie Moyer can be serviceable again, maybe Kyle Kendrick is the best young pitcher I’ve never heard of, pretty decent rookie campaign thats for sure. Brad Lidge must return to from, and the bullpen must be very good for the Phillies to go anywhere.
The Mets overachieved? When the best team (at least last year) in the National League misses the playoffs, thats underachieving. The Phils got in on a fluke. They have less pitching then the Mets (3 proven starters and another injury risk to one and an injury/assault risk) and have an atrocious bullpen (let’s see how Brad Lidge holds up in his new bandbox). The Braves should easily finish second behind the Mets next year, with the Phils a distant third. Washington could contend for thrid if they stay healthy.
The Rangers offseason has been very, very good. I would say we landed the second best overall player in Josh Hamilton. Upgraded our outfield to very formidable with the Hamilton and Milton Bradley brought in. Acquired Ben Broussard to play 1st, love it. Added a solid pitcher to the rotation mix in Jason Jennings. But the best part of the\Rangers actually happened at midseason last year. With a nice draft and some very good trades, the Rangers farm system, which ranked no. 28 last year according to Baseball America, is now generally regarded as one of the top 3 in baseball. That is what gets me excited, and Josh Hamilton, and Brandon McCarthy, and Luis Mendoza, and C.J. Wilson.
They overachieved to the best team in the National League, most notably John Maine and Oliver Perez. If those two can prove to sustain there success another year, then maybe they underachieved at the end, but considering there past, I would have to say they overachieved at this point, allowing the Mets as a whole to overachieve.
Sorry, but the Rangers are going to finish third with about 75-80 wins. In the NL, they might contend.
That is fine, I dont expect others to expect us to contend. I like our underdog status, and so does Ron Washington.
Maine has a filthy fastball that rises up on the batter and touches 96 MPH, and is extremely clutch (’06 playoffs, one-hitter in crunch game vs. Marlins in ‘07). My projection: 17-9, 3.81 ERA. Solid.
As for Perez, he could do anything from regressing to ‘05 form to becoming the ace inside of him. I’m inclined to go somewhere in the middle, cause he’s bound to miss a few starts due to injury. My projection: 14-6, 3.34 ERA in 28 starts.
See, Tyler, it could go exactly as you say… or it could be the exact opposite. Mets, Phillies, Braves… you could argue that any of the three could dominate, play even with the division, or collapse. That’s what makes the NL East interesting in ‘08.
I do expect progression from Maine and Perez, and I expect Pedro to be better…. still, you’d have to be silly to not like Smoltz, Hudson, Hamels, and I’d even say Meyers.
Oh, and I’d love to see the Rangers come out of nowhere and beat the Angels and A’s and M’s. Nothing like a Dark Horse… that isn’t in my division.
That’s a good farm system the Rangers have. I like Jennings, but a move to the AL could be bad. (Having survived Colorado could help.) Milton Bradley: great name, what a hitter, out of his mind crazy.
Milton will be a model citizen as a Ranger.
And if they brought wild leopards to live in Dallas, they would totally leave their spots in the jungle. What evidence do you have that Milton will be a model citizen in Texas?
Ron Washington knows him well when both were with the A’s, and he is on a year deal, playing for what will likely be his last chance at a nice contract. Just a gut feeling, Dallas always seems to bring the best out of troubled athletes, Nick Van Exel, Antoine Walker, Carl Everett, Terrell Owens.. just to name a couple off the top of my head.
You’re right about TO, for the most part. We’ll wait and see on that one, I guess. The man can hit, though.