Bigmouth Strikes Again

I'll admit that I was as surprised as anyone to hear that David Wright had copped the NL's Gold Glove for 3rd Basemen this past week. I had figured that Ryan Zimmerman was the most likely candidate, although you can't really say there was a clear favorite in the race (I know Rolen has been the perennial winner here, but with his essentially dropping dead this season, the award has opened up again). The Silver Slugger award that Wright took home on Friday was not nearly as much a surprise. I'd like to see a convincing argument anywhere that Wright didn't deserve that one, and when the NL MVP award is announced on November 20th (the effort to extend the Baseball season as far into the Winter as possible), Wright likely won't win, but he'll get strong consideration.

Nobody will confuse Wright's fielding prowess with other Gold Glove Mets such as Robin Ventura or Rey Ordonez. But he handled his chances admirably well, and despite 21 errors, made some key plays when they were needed the most. Of course, Wright is helped by his popularity (which is what most of these awards really boil down to), the fact that he's his team's marquee player, and his ESPN factor (that by which all sports figures seem to be judged in today's society).

But then there's this little paragraph buried deep in the bowels of David O'Brien's Braves Blog in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

"When I found out [Wright won] I was speechless, for quite some time. Certainly the guys with the least amount of errors and best fielding percentage quite obviously didn’t win it."

"I wouldn’t have been disappointed had someone like Feliz or Ramirez won it. I’m a little confused by the final tally — that’s a head-scratcher for me."

-Larry Jones

When will Larry ever learn? I know that it's his new MO, since he's getting up there in years and his team has crumbled around him, to become this new, outspoken voice about the "good ol' days," but it's not as though he deserved the Gold Glove over Wright. Wright's response was, of course, typical classy Wright, as it appears in a rare positive Mets piece in Sunday's Post:

"Chipper Jones plays for the Braves. Honestly I could care less. I respect what Chipper does in this game. I respect Chipper as a player. But what he says to the papers doesn't mean anything to me personally. I don't take anything he says to heart. Obviously I think I can be better defensively. There's no doubt about it. But I have a Gold Glove, and that's the bottom line, and that's something I'm very proud of, and I feel like I'm getting better and better defensively, and obviously managers and coaches have seen that."

-David Wright

Larry, nobody likes you here anyway, and anything you say in regards to the Mets will just draw the ire of the fans even more. Obviously, you and your team have fallen on a bit of hard times over the past couple of seasons, and really, that's a damn shame. Perhaps you have some residual bitterness over the way Wright and the Mets have handled the Braves over the past couple of years (see above). Or perhaps you're upset that the stadium that bears your daughter's name is being torn down after next season. But is there really any good reason for you to attack David Wright like that? I don't think so. What next, you'll complain that you didn't get a Silver Slugger, either? You're old, you're bitter, and you're ugly. Shut up, Larry.

Chipper "Shocked" by Wright Gold Glove [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
2 For The Money [Tabloid Rag]