Wright to play every other day

Posted on 28 Aug 2009 by Danielle

With the Mets' snake-bitten season long since lost, David Wright can expect a lot of bench time even after he comes off the disabled list.

Jerry Manuel made that clear yesterday after the Mets supported Tim Redding with 17 hits in a 10-3 win over the Marlins.

Wright is eligible to come off the DL on Tuesday, although the Mets said the All-Star third baseman had to show no post-concussion symptoms during a scheduled medical evaluation yesterday in New York.

The Mets had not announced the results of that evaluation as of yesterday evening. Fernando Tatis started at third base again and had two hits, including a homer, so it's not as if the Mets lack a legitimate option at the position.

"When David comes back, I'm going to be careful with him," Manuel said. "I'm going to try to rest him, let him recuperate, [give him every other day off] and see how he responds until he gets back into the rhythm and the flow of playing on an everyday basis."

Wright balked at going on the DL in the first place and said he wants to be in the lineup every day. Asked if he expected Wright to accept a lighter schedule, Manuel smiled.

"He'll fight me very hard," Manuel said. "It'll be Ali-Frazier, but it's OK. I'm Ali, though, in the last fight."

Credit: New York Post

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Catch David Wright at Keyspan Park!

Posted on 25 Aug 2009 by Danielle

David Wright was at KeySpan Park today, working out with the Cyclones as he rehabs his way back to the Mets after being hit in the head by a pitch on August 15th.

D-Wright looked great, sporting a Cyclones uniform, and blasted some home runs off of the scoreboard. He also took some ground balls at third base, ran, threw, and joked around with the Cyclones players and staff! He said he felt good, and was looking forward to getting back on the field with the Mets.

He will be back again to take batting practice on Wednesday, and in a special offer, fans can get to the game early to watch!

The KeySpan Park gates will open extra early tomorrow, at 3:00pm, with BP slated to start at 3:30. You MUST have a ticket to the August 26th game to be admitted to the ballpark. (Get yours here.)

So come to KeySpan Park and cheer him on tomorrow, then stay to watch the first-place Cyclones continue their push for the playoffs!

Tickets are available at brooklyncyclones.com or by phone at 718-507-TIXX.

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Wright on track to return, takes infield practice

Posted on 24 Aug 2009 by Danielle

David Wright took ground balls at third base this morning.

No, none of them kicked off the edge of the infield grass and hit him in the head. That wouldn’t be such a farfetched scenario, given all the bad news circulating around the Mets. Jeff Francoeur is the latest regular to be sidelined, this time by a bruised left thumb he suffered on Sunday, just before lining into a game-ending triple play.

So Wright getting through his first baseball activity on Citi Field since he suffered a concussion after being hit in the head by a Matt Cain pitch nine days ago wasn’t exactly huge news, but still a pleasant bit of progress for a team that only seems to know from setbacks and defeats lately.

“It felt good to go out there, put the spikes back on,” Wright said after the 10 minutes of fielding work followed by 10 minutes of hitting in the batting cage. His next step will be on-field batting practice, which he hopes to do today.

Wright won’t fly with the Mets to Florida after today’s game, but he said he still plans on playing the three-game series in Denver that begins on Sept. 1, when he’s eligible to come off the disabled list.

“The doctors have set a schedule and we’ve stuck to the schedule,” Wright said. “It’s been a difficult week, just to sit back and watch.”

Credit: Newsday

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David Wright's Return

Posted on 23 Aug 2009 by Danielle

David Wright is due to return from the 15-day disabled list on September 1st and is on target in his recovery after being hit in the head by a 94 mph fast ball last Saturday.

However, if Wright did return on September 1st, he would have to travel with the team to Colorado, the same place former Met Ryan Church flew to and experienced his setback. As a result, there is a strong chance that the Mets will keep him on the shelf for a few more days for him to return on September 4, against the Cubs.

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UPDATE: David Wright discharged from hospital

Posted on 16 Aug 2009 by Danielle

David Wright was released from the hospital some time before 10:30am this morning. It has been reported by David Lennon of Newsday that he was diagnosed with post concussion symptoms. That is a correction from the previously stated post-concussion syndrome.

As we reported yesterday, his CAT scan was negative.

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BREAKING: David Wright hit by pitch in head, leaves game

Posted on 15 Aug 2009 by Danielle

David Wright was hit in the head by a pitch thrown by Matt Cain in the bottom of the fourth inning during today's game.

Wright walked off the field under his own power, and Fernando Tatis replaced him as a pinch runner.

Please keep checking back on the site for more updates and keep an eye on Twitter.com/TWSDanielle for up to the minute coverage.

6:05: David was taken via ambulance for further tests. He had changed out of his uniform and most important of all, walked into the ambulance of his own volition.

6:14: Tests are being done as a precaution, not as a necessity.

7:28: The tests are currently being conducted at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

7:59: After undergoing a CAT scan which was negative, David was diagnosed with a concussion and will be held overnight for observation. There is no timetable for his return at this time.

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Announcing: New Shirt Designs! The Homeboy series!

Posted on 02 Aug 2009 by Danielle

I've been working on these shirts all day and they're finally done! Thank you to everyone who helped me work out the kinks in the designs. Frankie will come soon enough, I promise... but he's proven a little difficult to render!

Click here and you can view the full line of tanks and tees at the store.

Remember, not only are all of our items reasonably priced, but all proceeds will be donated to the David Wright Foundation at the end of the season!

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Five years ago today...

Posted on 22 Jul 2009 by Danielle

Five years ago today, David Wright debuted for the New York Mets... July 22, 2004.

Congrats, David, on five years in the major leagues and the success you've achieved since your debut!

Two golden gloves, two silver sluggers, and four All-Star game selections...

Unbelievable.

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ARTICLE: My Greatest High School Moment

Posted on 20 Jul 2009 by Danielle

My Greatest High School Moment

I went to Hickory High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, and we had this huge rivalry with a school, a new school, called Great Bridge. Every time we played them it was a big event. We'd get 1,500, maybe 2,000 out for the game. That's like a Friday night football crowd. Baseball is big in the Chesapeake area where I grew up. It's treated like football in other areas of the country.

I mean we had tailgating and barbeques before a night game. It was great. They would party and tailgate all the way up to game time. Everyone would come out and watch.

Great Bridge was a new school, but I knew a lot of kids who went there, including some friends of mine. One of them was Jeff DeMara, who was pitching for them the night I hit two homers.

I remember they got off to a good start, and I hit a three-run homer in the first to tie the game. We went back and forth with one another for another five, six innings, and Great Bridge took the lead again, going into the bottom of the seventh.

It's when I hit another homer, a two-run homer that tied the game again, and it was against DeMara, one of my really good friends. We wound up winning the game on a walk-off in the eighth inning, but it's a game I'll never forget, regardless of what level I play. In fact, I remember that game like it was yesterday.

B.J. Upton, who played with me on my AAU team, was there in the stands. He went to another school, but I can remember smirking at him during the game.

That game was big for me. There were a lot of college scouts there that night, you have the rivalry, there's no question it was one of the best times of my life. And it'â„¢s definitely one of my best baseball memories.

There are times I think back to when I played high school baseball. It was pure back then, fun. Not that playing for the New York Mets in the majors isn't, but it is different. You wore your jersey to school on game days, you remember the joy of playing the game. Because back then, it was a game. And that's how I think a lot of big leaguers look at their high school days, as a game they enjoyed playing.

This is obviously a lot of fun at this level, with pretty much everything you always dreamed of having and doing. But you're always going well in high school, hitting .500, hitting homers. It can get hectic here because you're not always going well. You have your ups and downs. When you're in a slump, you turn around and see all these pads and pens, and camera lights in your face. In high school, you're not dealing with that.

It's those times you remember playing in high school and why you found so much joy playing the game. It wasn't about money or making TV commercials then, it was about having fun playing a game you love. When I'm down, I think back to that game my senior year against Great Bridge. It's all you can do but smile. It brings you back up to realize why you play.

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ARTICLE: David Wright's All-Star Game Workout

Posted on 11 Jul 2009 by Danielle

How does David Wright, the New York Mets All-Star third baseman, turn on that explosion that makes him such a powerhouse?

In part, it's his explosive workout: lunges, twists, focus on an agile core.

Wright has always been an over-achiever, a competitor who plays hard and works out just as hard.

But back in 2005, a year after he joined the Mets, he got a valuable example of how to make his determination pay off. That year, Carlos Beltran invited David Wright and Jose Reyes to be his workout buddies.

Beltran, the $119 million centerfielder who had just come to NY from Houston, told writer Bryan Hoch, that he knew Wright had talent, but he hoped to teach Wright [and shortstop Jose Reyes], "to be successful, you need to work, [and] ...to stay healthy through the whole season you need to work more."

Wright was always a hard worker, but the workouts he did with Beltran seven days a week were all about developing skills he needed for the field.

"We're not going to work on our beach muscles," Write said. Instead, the workout buddies were learning how to work out as if they were on the field all year long.

Strength building, agility, and year-round fitness training, have helped the 26-year-old third baseman maintain a steady stream of honors: two Golden Gloves, two Silver Sluggers, and coming up, his fourth All-Star game.

Wright gave the editors of Men's Health insight on what he sees as crucial for his position:

"Third base is a reaction position. It's all instinct. If I think too much, I might take one off the face."

Wright saves his mug by performing explosive exercises that match the moves he makes on the field. His program can help you move better in every direction.

This "explosive" workout was something Wright developed in the off-season before 2008-2009 and has continued since.

Wright's off-season trainer, Jeff Cavaliere, gave Stack an even more in-depth look.

“We train his lower body in a way that is functional to the position he plays,” Cavaliere said. "...baseball is a game of short bursts of activity. I am also a big believer in the core, because he needs the ability to produce rotation, which baseball is heavily dependent on.”

The functional approach includes core training (because there is so much rotation in baseball) and upper body strength and speed, because, "David needs to be able to make a diving stop on a hot liner down the third base line, pop up and get into a throwing position to get the guy out." (Cavaliere's exercises and adaptations are definitely worth a look).

Like all professional athletes, Wright understands that talent is not enough. "There are so many players out there who are better than me talentwise," he told Men's Health. "But I like to think I'll outwork all of them."

Credit: The Examiner

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