Wanted: Team Leader

Thanks goes out to mets.com for making my job easy today and providing a blog-worthy picture. The June swoon has taken over, but this picture makes me laugh. It even was appropriate for my thoughts of the day. I couldn't even think about posting when I first woke up. I still didn't really have anything to say that I haven't already been through once, twice, or ten times. After some thought and recollecting on some post-game quotes, I have something to say.

I like Willie Randolph. I think he's a good manager, but he's still working out the kinks. There are times I question some of his decisions, but he gets paid the mediocre bucks (in baseball terms) to do the job, not me. Last night I held my eyelids open after a snore of an effort by the Mets and listened to Willie, LoDuca and Wright weigh in on the skid. Every single one of them had a different opinion. Willie comes from the land of "Tomorrow we find a way to win. It's an early season test." Okay Willie, if tomorrow we find a way to win, this has been one very long today. Paulie, who I would anticipate to be the one to fire his team up, still mumbles how this happens to everyone, it happened last year and they will break out of it. While across the clubhouse, David Wright told reporters this is more than a slump and they all need to step up and do something, including himself. Hmmm, seems to me like we have a standard case of "not on the same page."

Willie is supposed to be the beacon of light for this squad and right not I do not agree with his even-keel attitude. If I saw just a little bit of fire in him, I may believe that he is relaying that onto his players. Besides the manager, someone on that team needs to step up and say enough is enough guys. I'm not a big believer in a team captain for a baseball team, as guys take turns in a long season to carry the load. But when things are looking down for your team, someone has to take the wheel and help guide the ship the better days.

I am a big David Wright fan. I think the guy is a good ballplayer, but not a great one...yet. He's good for the game and the fans love him to no end in New York. As if he needed more of an upside, it turns out he truly is a good person and somehow is still a down to earth guy. Above any one player, I love this team; so I try to stay away from tooting his horn here, as he has his downright awful days too. Last night, he said what I wanted to hear from someone. He admitted this was more than just a little slump. He challenged his team to step up. Apparently he is the only one who has watched the highlights of their games and wondered who the hell is running around in Mets uniforms. He even went so far as to take blame and say he needs to step it up as well. This coming from the hottest bat in the lineup right now.

D.Wright is only 24 years old, and with the "veterans" around him there should be others showing signs of agitation. I do not expect him to be the one to have to motivate this team with only 2 full seasons behind him. Then again, he seems to have some experience of first-time slumps, as his April will show. Despite his personal scuffle, he showed poise and determination in finding his way back. Now he is finally stepping forward and saying what we've all been thinking, despite the fact that maybe it is overreacting and a bit premature. Maybe that's why he's so easy to like, as what he says is a bit easier to relate to than Willie-speak. So while we all try to be patient and wait for the turnaround, maybe we can rest our hope on #5 to be our superman.