Mets third baseman David Wright wanted to be the Brewers’ target last night and believed any revenge should be exacted on him. Milwaukee star Ryan Braun had been hit by a pitch in the top of the inning before, and Wright felt if retaliation were coming, it should be coming at him.
Wright, you could say, wanted to protect his team. Terry Collins decided instead to shield Wright, and proceeded to trigger as heated an exchange as any Mets manager and player have had in a long time.
In the top of the seventh inning of the Mets’ ugly 8-0 loss at Citi Field, D.J. Carrasco served up a moonshot of a solo homer to the Brewers’ Rickie Weeks. Carrasco’s next pitch was a fastball right into the shoulder of Ryan Braun, the NL’s MVP. Not surprisingly, Carrasco was ejected, and Braun walked slowly to first base.
In the bottom of the inning, Wright was due to lead off. But Collins pinch hit for Wright with Jordany Valdespin. Collins’ reasoning was simple — he feared retaliation.
“He’s not getting hurt in that game tonight,” Collins said. “Believe me, I’m not accusing them of anything. I just know what might have taken place and I was trying to avoid it.”
Wright, though, hardly saw it the same way. The livid Mets star screamed at Collins and stormed away. Soon enough, Wright returned — calmer — and heatedly started up with Collins again. Why? Wright didn’t want another Mets player to get drilled instead of him. He believed that as Braun’s equal, this was his responsibility.
“He said, ‘If somebody gets hit, it should be me,’ ” Collins said. “And I said, ‘It’s not going to be you. We have enough problems now. So you’re not hitting.’
“He’s a pro. He said, ‘Look, I’ll take this for the club.’ Not tonight you’re not.”
Two batters later, Collins pinch hit for Daniel Murphy for the same reason.
In what was his only real revelation about why he got so upset, Wright said, “My thinking at the time was, Ryan gets hit and then I go up there and get hit and everything’s settled.” Wright opted not to elaborate much on why he thought he should stay in the game. When asked what his case was, Wright said, “That’s something we’ll take care of in here.”
Wright was also adamant how much he respects Collins.
“Whatever decision Terry makes, I’m on board 100 percent,” he said.
Clearly, Wright didn’t feel that way when he was pulled, and admitted, “I probably should have picked a better spot for it.”
But Wright also said, “It wasn’t directed at Terry at all. … It was more just upset at the situation.”
Wright also said he later spoke multiple times to Collins and told him he wasn’t his tirade’s target. Collins was fully satisfied with that, saying, “He’s not mad at me.”
Wright also said “there’s zero issue” with Collin, but that may not be true with Wright and Carrasco. Though Collins didn’t think Carrasco hit Braun on purpose and both Carrasco and catcher Mike Nickeas said there was no intent, Wright curiously was not as conclusive.
He said why Braun got hit would be discussed, and when asked if he thought Carrasco hit Braun on purpose, Wright said, “I don’t know.” That was a telling statement because Wright easily could have absolved his teammate.