Barra: The Mets Are Above .500—Compliments Of David Wright

David comes to life…and Barra loses his 10,000 marbles!

The Mets are probably playing several games above their heads. At any rate, it’s fairly easy to pinpoint the main reason that the Mets are 3 games over .500: David Wright, after going 2 for 4 yesterday, is batting .412.

But what happens if Wright cools off and ends up hitting, say, just a lousy .350? Wright is the closest thing the Mets have to a superstar, and, at age 29, making a pretty strong bid this season for the unofficial title of “Beat Everyday Player in Mets Team History” (think about it: this is his 9th season and his career batting average is .303. If he drives in more than 100 runs this season, it will be for the 6th time; Darryl Strawberry accomplished that only three seasons.).

So why am I thinking every time I see David Wright stroke another hit that he won’t finish the season as a Met? It’s beginning to look as if anyone who is a few games over .500 is going to be a contender in the NL East, and as long as the Mets maintain something like their current pace they will have to hold onto Wright. They can’t justify trading him as long as there’s a serious possibility that they can make the playoffs. But if they go into a tailspin and lose, say, 7 or 8 straight, then what would be the point into holding onto a $15 million salary?