Yes, it has started- which I find quite surprising so soon.  The golden boy, David Wright, is getting booed at Citi-Field.  I thought the idea that Wright, the golden boy of New York and the perhaps the only player who could challenge Derek Jeter in the hearts of both young girls and the media, would ever be derided by fans is sort of surprising.  Filip Bondy though calls those boo-birds knuckleheads. Sure it is only 20 games into the season, but this flatness on Wright’s part extends into last season, since he got hit in the head with a pitch.

I wrote in spring training that Wright didn’t look right. His agressiveness was gone, and he looked like he either had no plan or was scared of the ball.  He still looks that way.    A couple of days ago, my friend and colleague Joseph DelGrippo wrote a piece more than suggesting David is afraid of the inside pitch.  His horrible hitting certainly can be traced back to that hit by pitch, and, well, it looks like a little kid who doesn’t want to make contact.

Wright needs to get in a batting cage and stay there.  He needs to really work through this.  He had the off-season, and if I can see that he looks scared, then Howard Johnson should be able to see it too.  It should have gotten taken care of in the off-season, really.  So why shouldn’t the boo-birds boo David Wright?  Is it because he stands up after each game and takes responsibility for his poor play?  Perhaps.  But while that goes very far with the media, how far should it go with those that paid to sit in the stands?

I am not a huge fan of booing.  I just don’t think it helps.  No player feels supported by the fans that boo him- obviously- and that doesn’t make him want to work harder.

I wouldn’t want booing David Wright to become a nightly occurrence. But perhaps the surprising nature of Wright getting booed last night might serve as some sort of wake-up call for him or for Howard Johnson.  I don’t believe this is a normal slump. I believe this is one of those things that needs a lot of extra work- a lot of extra care- to get David back to where he was.  It isn’t the ballpark anymore.  Its Wright himself.

So perhaps booing Wright so early isn’t the worst thing that could happen- but I tell you this, if and when he comes out of it, fans need to all cheer him.  We can’t be just breaking people down and not be there too to build them up.  That’s our job- and if we boo, we have agreed to those terms and conditions.