Hot Wright making up for lost time

For the first time in months the arm band was dirty inside David Wright's locker at Citi Field. In the hours before the Mets took the field Monday, there was fresh laundry on the coat hooks, used batting gloves on a shelf -- and a former All-Star in the stall.

Wright reintroduced himself to the home clubhouse and home crowd Monday, batting cleanup for the Mets' game against the Marlins. But as much notice as his mere presence received, it was given extra import by the third baseman's torrid production after coming off the disabled list.

In 10 games since stepping back into the Mets' lineup on July 22, Wright was hitting .455 (20-for-44) with two home runs, 12 RBIs and 10 runs entering play Monday. He had at least one hit in each game.

"Not everybody can come back and perform like that," said Scott Hairston, who's been on the DL six times himself. "David's a professional. He's had a lot of experience and once he gets his swing right, he gets a lot of hits."

But early in the season, that swing was going all wrong for Wright. He was hitting just .226 and slugging only .404 when he went on the DL with a lower back stress fracture on May 18.

"I think it's a tribute to how hard this guy works," Terry Collins said. "When he couldn't do anything for the period of time with his back. When he went to Florida. No doubt in my mind he overworked himself. No question, because you're not out as long as he was and get your stroke back that fast. He's just a workaholic."

Wright played in six rehab games with the St. Lucie Mets in July, hitting .476, and when the Mets activated him, he continued to treat major-league pitching like he was still in Class A.

And though his hot streak took place solely on the road, Wright didn't give any particular importance to getting back to Flushing.

"Whether it's home, on the road -- it's good to be back," he said. "Obviously, it's been a little while since I've been here. Like I said, I feel good. I'm excited that I'm back playing every day and that my body feels as good as it does right now.

"I'm glad that I get a chance to put this uniform on and do what I'm supposed to be doing in the middle of the summer, which is playing games and not in Florida rehabbing."

The timing of Wright's return was a fortunate bit of serendipity for the Mets, who traded Carlos Beltran to San Francisco last Thursday. With Beltran's big bat gone, Wright stepped smoothly into his spikes.

"The one thing he's done obviously is he's brought that force in the middle of the lineup, which you got to have," Collins said. "When we lost Carlos, if David wouldn't have been swinging good, we would have had some real issues. But he has been swinging well."

Aside from the sheer numbers, Wright's presence in the clubhouse helped stave off the morale hit a team can take when its most productive player is traded.

"They're two different types of players, but it really does help having him back," Hairston said. "It kept things pretty much even and kept the flow going. And we hope that David continues to do what he does. I think it's going to continue to get better as the year progresses."

Wright's recent performance boosted his batting average to .279 and his OPS to .825.

"I think sometimes you kind of take for granted coming to the park every day, playing the game," Wright said. "And when you're out for that long, you miss it and you're not used to too much time in the summer not playing."

He's certainly making up for it.