The Out Route

I love David Wright. I do. He's the same age as I am, but I admire him as if I were seven. He's a great player, nice guy, and the future of the Mets. My life would be shattered if it came out he used steroids, beat his girlfriend, or was a racist. Anything less than those things I'll make excuses for. Hell, sometimes I wish I were a girl just so I could call him 'dreamy.'

So when David weighed in on the A-Rod situation, I didn't know what to think. Newsday quoted Wright's response regarding whether he'd change positions if the Mets pursued A-Rod next season -- given A-Rod opts out of his Yankee deal.

"For Alex Rodriguez? Yeah," Wright said. "He's Alex Rodriguez. He's a Hall of Famer. He does everything in the game exceptionally well. I still think it's a little premature to be testing the waters, but he's a great player. You're talking about a player that makes any team so much better.

"The point is not to court A-Rod, because who knows if A-Rod is going to opt out or stay with the Yankees. But if it's something serious, I'd love to sit down and talk about it."

I didn't know what to think when I first heard that. In retrospect, someone probably asked David the question and he just answered as politely has he could. In my head, he's going to be playing third base for the Mets for the next 15 years. A-Rod is a head case who I love making fun of. To have him come to my side where I'd have to kind of root for him as he takes my boy's place on third would disturb me.

Honestly, I bet A-Rod would do well on the Mets. Met fans are tough, but not as tough as Yankee fans. Being on the Yankees carries the most pressure in baseball. The Mets, even when they were good last year, flew further under the radar than the Yanks. With the pressure off, he probably would return to form. It would probably lead to the strongest NL lineup there is. But I couldn't have it. David Wright in the outfield would just seem wrong.

Luckily, this will probably never come to pass. A-Rod will either stay with the Yanks or end up on the Cubs. And hopefully, we won't hear of David giving up his position again. I love the guy, but I would like him to sound more like a guy who knows he's the best guy to play third for the Mets. You don't hear Jose Reyes saying he'd move over from short stop so A-Rod could play his natural position. David Wright is the third baseman of now and tomorrow in the mind of all Mets fan, so he may as well get that into his head himself.