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
Green waived his no-trade clause to become a Met, a process that ought to have been as easy as requesting that Paris Hilton show a little skin. But it wasn't that simple for Green, who had to decide if he wanted to swap the tame environs of Arizona, where only a few reporters follow the team and winning is the sauce atop the enchilada, for insatiable New York. A flurry of phone calls from Delgado, Green's good friend since they were in Toronto's farm system, alleviated any of Green's trepidation.
"It wasn't tampering, no tampering!" Delgado said. He was laughing, pretending to understand only Spanish. Of course all they discussed was upper East Side eateries, or how lefties might shorten their swing. Of course Delgado never mentioned how flashy and talented the Mets are this season, or the club's brilliant future.
Maybe the issue with this team isn't "the core" but rather something related to certain players, coincidentally of "Latin" descent, not wanting to be clubhouse spokespeople - and when a certain percentage of your stars are "latino" that leaves nobody but Wright, who doesn't seem to want the job.
So Lo Duca went from fan favorite all-star to son of a gun with a bad reputation and his name on the Mitchell report. (Imagine that, a Mets catcher on such a list!) I think that's what happened Sparks.
By the way, Paul LoDuca thinks all the "104 names" should come out. There is video here, but KCBS has yet to learn about embed technology, so click here.
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