Why New York Mets should not award contract extension to R.A. Dickey and David Wright - MLB Part 2
Given the fact that Dickey throws knucklers in every game, by the start of next year most teams will have discerned the mystery behind them and therefore will be in a position to strike mammoth hits against them. That will be the time when the Mets are going
to repent their decision. Presumably the amount accorded to him in the contact is substantial as their already constrained budget will not be able to swallow it.
The criticism will come rushing at the management then and thus the players that may have been purchased through the same money will be put forward in order to add vigour to the denouncement by the critics.
As far as Wright is concerned, even gloomier performances by him are in line in the upcoming years. For example excluding the first half of the season, his production has been as bad as of any other player in the line-up. While occasional hits apart, he
has given clear indications that with the passage of time his performance is going to suffer.
The slump that he is experiencing currently tells that signing a contract with him for the next few years is not the right decision. It is not about the negation of the potential he possesses and his ability to win games for the team single-handedly, it
is about the very limitations faced by the club.
The yearly salary that the Mets pay to their players hovers around $100 million and therefore even if Wright can support the team offensively in the next couple of seasons the fact about him is that he does not fit in the equation.
Already the Mets host the likes of Jason Bay and Andres Torres on the roster that are clear reflection of the poor allocation of resources of the club. Their production is far lower than the amount they earn from the club yearly. They have done nothing to
save the team in the season while the slump of the offence was at its peak. Even some of the players that earn far less than them have stood up and posted better batting averages.
In light of this, the Mets cannot afford to commit Wright for another five to six years and end up second guessing their decision by the time doing so will be of no help. Repeating the mistakes again and again say nothing more than the fact that the management
is seriously ignoring objectivity in the steps taken to improve the performance of the team.
What is alarming is the fact that Wright is about to resort to a typical brinkmanship attitude that the players do when they feel doing so is going to bring them better contracts. Perhaps by keeping all options open until the last moment Wright intends to
experience the Cole Hamels type of hype and aims to compel the management to offer him the best possible deal in the same way. After all Hamels was successful in his ploy and was able to pull off one of the most expensive contract extensions that have been
given to any pitcher in the history of baseball.
“That’s nice of him,” Wright said. “Thank you. It’s good to hear. I’ve said all along I’m going to hopefully discuss something in the offseason, so we’ll see what happens.”
As the season approaches its conclusion, it will be hoped that New York accounts for all the factors that prevail in the clubhouse before awarding contract extension to the players.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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