Been thinking a lot about this years New York Mets lately.  As spring training quickly approaches I am trying to remain positive and search out new considerations on why I think this team will fair better then in the past.  I was surprised when I thought about this latest topic that it hasn’t gotten more talk from around the blogosphere.  With a new year, and especially the departures of players like Delgado, these New York Mets will hopefully have a new leadership core.

I feel very strongly that this team should be pushed onto the shoulders of David Wright and Jeff Francoeur.  I think it’s time for a change of “heart” on this team and say whatever you want about these two players, but they play hard, and they play all the time.  They have grit and they have professionalism.

I wont bash Delgado, I feel he was a professional and worked hard at his craft.  But at the same time it’s hard to ignore the fact that it has been reported many time that it was his clubhouse and that it’s widely believed to be an addition by subtraction.  I don’t think it’s really anything bad about Delgado, it’s just more about his strong personality that his removal will create a gap that hopefully Wright can grow into.

I have said before I love Francoeur and really hope he helps Wright along as a player with his approach to the game.  I loved what I saw from him last season and would love for more people to follow that style.  Wright is the natural hope when you consider leadership into the future.  Wendy Adair over at BleacherReport.com seems to agree with me:

Jeff Francoeur is undoubtedly a gamer and will fight for his convictions. Whoever it is that stands in his way had better yield, and the Mets will benefit from his fiery mentality.

I admit I was not a fan of Francoeur when he was a Brave and was very upset when Ryan Church was sent packing to Atlanta.

His play and attitude in the second half of 2009 made me a believer that Francoeur is and can continue to be a force to be reckoned with on the Mets.

David Wright is also a tough gamer, the face and voice of the franchise, and de-facto captain who will most likely be a lifetime Met, if he has any say in the matter.

I do think that Jeff Francoeur and David Wright should be co-captains, officially or otherwise. They are the present and future of the Mets and they are both in their prime and seem to work well together

She and I basically felt the same way about Francoeur when the initial deal was made.  I too liked Church and hated how he was treated by the Mets, and despite having seen a lot of Francoeur as a Brave, I had a hard time liking him.  Maybe it was the french name, and maybe it was the Braves heritage and how he was touted as a “natural” when he came up, but I was a hard convert.  But he did it and now he’s one of my favorite players on the team.

We aren’t the only ones too, as Matt Ceronne of MetsBlog.com is also excited about the possiblities:

…that’s awesome… i’m so excited to see how wright and Jose Reyeslead camp this spring, considering a) they’re essentially the longest tenured players, and b) without Carlos Beltran and Carlos Delgado, it’s their camp, it’s their time to lead…

If nothing else this year I really hope that the Mets show me something for the future.  Show me that the team has a solid core of players that want to play.  That will work to improve.  That actually like each other and want to play for each other.  Even if it’s a losing season, show me some progress.  Show me leadership and most importantly show me an overall grand plan.   It’s a make or break season for so many of the Mets players, coaches, and personnel that they should have absolutely no problem with motivation.  Hopefully Jeff Francoeur and David Wright will step and fill the leadership role this team so badly needs.