Why New York Mets should not award contract extension to R.A. Dickey and David Wright - MLB Part 1
The season is folding up on a miserable end for the New York Mets. Preparations are underway about what to do for the future. A complete revamp of the roster is not out of the options. The players that have failed are likely to bear the brunt of the possible
wrath that is brewing up gradually. While every attempt will be made to unload the roster through trades and reconstruct it with the prospects that boast credentials for becoming a force to reckon with in the years to come, some players are likely to fetch
undue advantage out of the present situation of the club.
As part of the reconstruction of the roster there is an undying assumption in the club-house that the players that have put up splendid performances in the season will be retained and those with a poor record will be removed. This produces the fear that
the Mets are upbeat after watching Dickey and Wright become stars for the team in the season which may offer terms in their contracts that may be totally inconsistent with their overall budget.
For example, a couple of days ago the Mets’ General Manager Sandy Alderson appeared all-out to suggest that the club will love to keep Wright and Dickey from enjoying free agency after 2013 and therefore every attempt will be carried out to clinch an agreement
with them. While GM spoke about the contract extension and expressed his desire to see them in the team for a long period of time, he must be disappointed inside his heart about the way Dickey and Wright responded to it.
“I fully expect David Wright and R.A. Dickey will be here not only next year, but long term,” Alderson said. “We have options on both of those players. I don’t want to rely on those options and go into next season with their free agency after 2013. “We’re
going to deal with them while we still have a little bit of room to maneuver, but we’re committed to trying to bring those two back — I hope they will both be back — and I am excited about the possibility they will be.”
Although both of them thanked the GM, they gave no reason to believe that they are as enthusiastic about the contract extension as the GM is. Instead their views underscore the assumption that the Mets suffer financial problems and therefore unless they
offer something substantial they will be more interested in testing free agency.
Regardless of what the GM wants one thing for sure is that the decision of a contract extension is going to prove counter-productive for the club. The kind of performance that the club envisions from them in the years to come is least likely to be achieved.
Conversely even if they live up to the expectations to some extent, the purpose of the organisation will not materialise.
Undoubtedly Dickey surpassed expectations by miles this year and recorded an incredible number of wins but this never means that he is going to maintain the same in the future. Looking at his past, it is easy to conclude that the form that he is enjoying
is transient and thus the probability of sustaining it is of great performance. Apart from this is the fact that the only weapon which has acted as a fortified front of his overall mediocrity as a starter is the knuckleball. This suggests that once he is worked
out by the batters they will be as comfortable against him as they have been in the past.
Continued in Part 2
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