From Newsday

Wright's Trying To Improve On Gold Standard

BY DAVID LENNON
david.lennon@newsday.com

February 17, 2008, 7:54 PM EST

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Some things, even David Wright admits, are impossible to practice. Like diving headfirst into the box seats to make a catch, as he did in Seattle. Or leaping to make a barehanded grab of a pop-up in shallow leftfield, as he did in San Diego. Or going horizontal to take away a sure base hit down the line, as he did to save a game in Philadelphia.

Those plays just happen. But for every one of those spectacular highlights, Wright knows there are dozens of two-hoppers, the kind that he can pick chest-high and practically run over to first base by himself. And lurking in that pack of supposedly routine grounders is the possibility that Wright could screw one up.

That's why Wright, coming off his first Gold Glove season, was working with infield coach Sandy Alomar yesterday on his balance and other details as simple as getting the ball out of his glove.

Wright seemed to be an unlikely choice for the award. He made 21 errors last season and his .954 fielding percentage was ninth in the National League among third basemen with more than 100 games at the position.

Even the Braves' Chipper Jones, who had fewer errors (nine) and a better percentage (.971), expressed surprise publicly that Wright beat him for the honor. But don't expect Wright to apologize. He knows his defensive flaws, but sees the trophy as more of a reward for the tireless effort he's spent trying to improve, just as he was yesterday with Alomar.

"It's a huge honor," Wright said, "and it means a lot to me because I know how many hours I've put in. But now I have a standard to uphold. Now I'm going to be under the microscope even more and people are going to pay close attention to what I do there. It's that much more pressure."

Some scouts have suggested that Wright, who tends to make too many throwing errors, might be better off at first base in the long run. And Wright himself admits that he needs to minimize those mistakes.

"I take a lot of pride in playing third, I want to play third and I think I have all the tools to play third," Wright said. "It's just a matter of going out there and continuing to get better. I think I make a lot of silly mistakes, silly errors, and that's something I've got to cut out. Mistakes are going to happen, but mechanical problems are probably 75 percent of the errors that I made.

"It feels like a lot of times I'll make that diving play, but the routine ball, where I have almost too much time to think, I maybe get a little lazy mechanically and throw the ball away. So I have to focus on every play on staying mechanically sound. But I'm very comfortable at third and I think the coaching staff is very comfortable with me playing third."

Now that Alex Rodriguez is locked up in the Bronx for the next 10 years, Wright doesn't have to worry about moving anywhere. It was this time last year that Wright offered to switch positions if the Mets had a chance at A-Rod, but that never became a possibility, and there will be no such distractions for him during this spring training.

The purpose of yesterday's drill, which involved Alomar throwing grounders to Wright's backhand side, was to help him get balanced and into throwing position more quickly. If Wright can improve his mechanics in that way, he should have better accuracy, and also shave a split-second off the time it takes for his throw to get to first.

"He wants to establish himself as a premier third baseman," Alomar said, "and I have seen a lot of improvement. That comes with experience, and he gets more confident every year."

That doesn't happen by accident. Wright arrived in Port St. Lucie more than a week before position players are required to report and it wasn't just a cameo appearance to drop off his duffel bag. He's been at the Mets' complex during most of that time and sharpening his defensive skills is at the top of his priority list.

"I can sit there and take ground balls until the sun goes down," Wright said, "but if I'm not specifically working on anything, it doesn't do me any good. Anybody can go out there and put a glove on and catch ground balls at half speed with nobody running and no pressure to make the throw. It's all about seven o'clock when the game starts to do it with a guy running to first. That all comes down to getting back to the basics and making those minor adjustments, and that's what I want to work on this spring."